Universal to shoot feature film in Belfast

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS will shoot a major multimillion dollar feature film in Northern Ireland this summer, First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness have announced.

Your Highness, a fantasy film about a lazy prince, will be shot entirely in the Belfast studio facility, the Paint Hall, in the Titanic Quarter.

The filming of Your Highnesson location in Belfast, could infuse as much as £10 million into the economy, employing hundreds of cast, crew and extras from Northern Ireland, according to Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness.

The film will be directed by David Gordon Green and is written by Danny McBride and Ben Best. Scott Stuber is producing through his company Stuber Productions and Danny McBride and James Franco will play the lead roles.

City of Ember, starring Bill Murray, was most recently filmed in the Paint Hall.

"Filming Your Highnessin Northern Ireland allows us to capture the extraordinary beauty and topography which resemble the medieval European backdrop in which this story takes place," said executive vice president of Universal Pictures and co-president of production Jimmy Horowitz.

“It also makes good financial sense given Northern Ireland’s film incentive programme, the favourable exchange rate and a local infrastructure that is well suited for this type of project,” he added. “We appreciate the opportunity to work in Northern Ireland.”

Mr McGuinness said that he and Mr Robinson met representatives of Universal Pictures during their recent visit to the US.

“The enthusiasm that Universal displayed at that meeting for this project has come to fruition following several months of negotiations between the studio and NI Screen and we are pleased to announce that pre-production will commence later this month with principal photography due to start in early July,” he said.

Mr Robinson added: “This is a major boost for not only the local economy, but also for Northern Ireland’s film industry. Northern Ireland has beaten off stiff competition from other regions and film commissions to secure this film and I am certain that the commitment displayed by Universal will lead to further investment by other US film/TV production companies.”