Northern England’s top film locations in Auris

Wollaton Dark Knight 2

Many of the greatest British movies been filmed in the north of England. As we’re celebrating the sponsorship of ITV Movies by the Toyota Auris, we’re visiting some of the UK’s top film locations with photographer GF Williams.

If you want to recreate his shots, take a look at the ‘Getting the shot’ section below each photo.

Can you guess the film from the image?

Billy Elliot Easington Colliery

Location nine: Ashton Street, Easington Colliery, County Durham, SR8 3PG

Movies filmed here: Billy Elliot

Set in the fictional mining town of Everington during the  miners’ strike, the film tells the story of aspiring ballet dancer Billy Elliot. The film was shot around Easington Colliery in County Durham, and although Alnwick Street, where the Elliot house stood, has now been demolished, neighbouring Ashton Street did feature in some shots of the film.

Getting the shot: “This was more about capturing the jump – it took a few tries but we got there in the end. In terms of set-up, it was very simple.”

Redcar beach Atonement

Location 10: Redcar beach, Cleveland, TS10 3AA

Movies filmed here: Atonement

Romantic war drama Atonement features one of the most lauded sequences in recent film history, a five-minute tracking shot of soldiers including James McAvoy’s character Robbie awaiting rescue on Dunkirk beach. This was filmed on Redcar beach, dressed with wrecked buildings, a bandstand and a ferris wheel for the movie.

Getting the shot: “I darkened the sky in this one to make it look moody, and brightened the blue of the car. My main aim was to re-create the shot from the film, even though all of the sets have been moved away.”

Regency House The Full Monty

Location 11: Regency House, Idsworth Road, Sheffield, S5 6UP

Movies filmed here: The Full Monty

One of the highlights of British cinema in the 1990s and one of the biggest word-of-mouth successes to have hit the screen, The Full Monty stars Robert Carlisle, Mark Addy and Tom Wilkinson as unemployed steel workers looking to make money with their own striptease act.

The furniture warehouse at Regency House served as the exterior of the club in which the one-night-only performance is held.

Getting the shot: “We struggled parking here, as there were cars and delivery vans parked along the road, so we quickly parked on the loading area. It’s a gritty-looking location, but that suits the film. I didn’t need to edit this, as tidying up the image would probably taken away from the feel of the place.”

Wollaton Hall The Dark Knight

Location 12: Wollaton Hall, Nottingham, NG8 2AE

Movies filmed here: The Dark Knight Rises

Situated in the heart of Nottingham, Wollaton Hall is a public building home to the city’s natural history museum and its grounds include a deer park. Built in 1588 for Sir Francis Willoughby and designed by Robert Smythson, Wollaton Hall is rightly considered a masterpiece of English Renaissance architecture.

It featured in The Dark Knight Rises as the rebuilt Wayne Manor, home of billionaire Bruce Wayne and his Batman alter-ego.

Getting the shot: “This was an easy one as I’ve shot cars at Wollaton before. The light was great as it was late in the day – the sky was a nice colour and the building was lit beautifully. There’s not too much photography magic going on here, it was just a case of showing off the building.”

Rush Donington Park

Location 13: Donington Park Racing Circuit, Derby, DE74 2RP

Movies filmed here: Rush

The story of the 1977 Formula One World Championship and the rivalry between star drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, Rush has proven to be one of the big cinematic hits of 2013. Sections of the film were captured at racing circuits across the UK, where certain corners stood in for similar-looking parts of tracks from around the world.

Donington Park is home to the UK leg of the Moto GP championship and a World Touring Cars Championship round. It hosted the 1993 European Grand Prix.

Getting the shot: “We arrived at Donington not expecting much as it wasn’t originally on our schedule, but we were actually allowed onto the track after a chat with the officials, who were really helpful.

“Donington is a recognizable track, and particularly the Craner Curves, so we wanted to show that as well as the lovely sky behind the car. I put a gradient on the sky to show off the colours, but that’s it. We also rather enjoyed having a personal track tour!”

There’s one leg to go on our Auris at the Movies tour – stay tuned! You can read part one here and part two here.

See also:
Toyota Auris set for UK movie tour
London’s top film locations: Auris at the Movies
Scotland’s top film locations: Auris at the Movies
Southern England’s top film locations: Auris at the Movies

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