All About Manchester - City in Motion - Best of Manchester Awards

Showbiz town

With three film festivals in town this month, you would think you are in Tinseltown or Cannes. But Manchester has a proud cinematic heritage of its own, and one that is worth shouting about, says Andrew Watson.

When Danny Boyle accepted the Academy Award for Best Director for his latest film, Slumdog Millionaire, earlier this year, how many people in LA's Kodak Theatre knew that he hails from Bury, Greater Manchester? Or that he studied at Thornleigh Salesian College in Bolton and very nearly transferred to a seminary near Wigan to become a priest?

Boyle was thankfully dissuaded from joining the priesthood, and went on to give the world some fantastic films, including Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, The Beach and, of course, Slumdog Millionaire.

He is now a major player in Hollywood and, if he ever gets homesick, he has plenty of doors to knock on for a cup of tea and a friendly ear. There's fellow Mancunian Anna Friel, for example. Born in Rochdale, the actress first rose to fame as Beth Jordache in Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, where she became the perpetrator of the first-ever lesbian kiss on prime time British television. But, again, not many people would know that as they watch her in big-budget Hollywood films like Timeline and Land of the Lost.

Steve Coogan is also hot in Hollywood at the moment, having appeared in Marie Antoinette, Tropic Thunder and Night at the Museum among other box office hits. He was raised in Alkrington, which is a suburb of Middleton, Greater Manchester, and although he no longer lives here, his TV production company, Baby Cow Productions, has a base in Manchester.

Another actor from Manchester who is often seen in Hollywood films these days is the talented Mr David Schofield, who played in Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, From Hell, Kingdom of Heaven and Valkyrie. This month, he returns to the city's Royal Exchange Theatre after 17 years to play failed song-and-dance man Archie Rice in a major revival of The Entertainer by John Osborne.

There are countless more people from Manchester working both in front and behind the camera for the entertainment of worldwide audiences because the city-region has always been a creative powerhouse. From Shelagh Delaney and her gritty Taste of Honey to Cosgrove Hall Films and their multi-award-winning animation work, there have always been people pushing the boundaries here.

With the creation of MediaCityUK, the country's first purpose-built media city, the region's creative talent has found a new home. Located on a 200-acre site at The Quays, the state-of-the-art, £500 million development won't be operational until 2011, but one of the buildings on its site, a former pie factory, is already making headlines.

The aptly named Pie Factory is a production facility housing three sound stages, make-up rooms, green rooms, flexible office space and workshop areas. It is also home to specialist 'on-the-lot' companies, from casting agencies to camera and lighting equipment hire. Since opening in 2007, it has been used as the production base for the films Looking for Eric (Sixteen Films North) and Boy A (Cuba Pictures), as well as a number of TV dramas.

From 2011, MediaCityUK will become the new home of BBC North, comprising seven brand new high definition television studios and two audio studios. The site will also include a technical block featuring fully equipped sound and vision control rooms, core post facilities, CTA (central technical area), dressing rooms, make-up rooms, workshops, set storage and green rooms. All the studios and facilities will be available for hire, putting Manchester firmly on the global film and TV production map.

But it's not just its creative talent and top- notch production facilities that draw film crews to Manchester. From Castlefield to The Quays and from Chinatown to Rusholme, the city-region boasts a wealth of filming locations. Cobblestone streets, quaint villages, rolling hills, cosmopolitan cities, great architecture... name it, we've got it. Not to mention the fact that local authorities, the police and the public have always supported filming in Greater Manchester, eager to showcase the city-region on the silver screen. Recent films that have been shot here include the acclaimed Ian Curtis biopic flick Control and Guy Ritchie's hotly anticipated Sherlock Holmes.

So next time you are watching a film at the cinema, see if you can spot a bit of Manchester in it. Check the credits to see if you recognize any local talent in the cast and crew. Ask yourself if that imposing Gothic building really is the Palace of Westminster or Manchester Town Hall - there is a difference, you see, and although it may not matter much to your average viewer, frankly, my dear, we give a damn.

Photographer: Steve Collinson www.stevecollinson.com

Model: Abbey Murray, Boss Model Management, Manchester

Hair stylist: Peter Edwards

Make-up artist: Wi Sheim Li

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Showbiz town

With three film festivals in town this month, you would think you are in Tinseltown or Cannes. But Manchester has a proud cinematic heritage of its own, and one that is worth shouting about, says Andrew Watson.