Proof of Evidence
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SUNNY VOHRA PROOF OF EVIDENCE Introduction 1.1 My name is Sunny Vohra and I am the Chairman of Twickenham Studios. I am an affiliated member of the Association of Certified and Chartered Accountants. I am a serial entrepreneur who started in hotels in 1971 in UK and Kenya, commercial and residential property and also in the automobile parts industry for the last 20 years. Our original family business was the assembly, wholesale and retail sales of bicycles and their spare parts, a business which was started in the early 1950’s by my Grandfather in East Africa and is still running today as a going concern. We are one of the largest bicycle businesses in Africa. 1.2 I have been an avid fan of the film and television industry ever since I was a child and grew up watching movies on both the big and small screen. For me it was always a fascination as to how films and television shows were made. 1.3 I’m the kind of guy that if I had any free time I would go and sit in an empty cinema in the middle of the afternoon even if I was alone just so that I could watch a movie on the big screen and in absolute silence. My involvement in the Studios 1.4 I always wanted to be involved in the industry in some shape, form or other and it was like a dream come true when an opportunity arose in 2011 when I was asked by a film producer to meet him at Twickenham Film Studios to look at a slate of films that he wanted to make. 1.5 Not knowing much about how films were financed, I declined investment into the films but I told him that I was interested in the property and in the business of owning and running a film studio. 1.6 He then put me in touch with the owners’ representative at the time and I started discussions about the future of these studios which were totally run down and in absolutely dire straits needing major investment. The CEO for the studio at the time told me what the studio needed and provided me with all the information including the financial reports for the last ten years. 1.7 These reports showed that the studios had been very successful and profitable. But as time went on, they turned into a loss-making operation due to lack of interest and investment. Page 1 1.8 The studio was started in 1913 by a gentleman named Dr Jurgen Krup. It has been through several ownership changes in the last 100 years and I bought it in 2012 from the administrators, after spending a year unsuccessfully negotiating with the then owners. Any creative business which has such an illustrious history and has the potential to be at the cutting edge of the UKs creative industries and has survived 100 years is worth saving. 1.9 During the year leading up to the purchase of the Studio I spent a lot of time walking around the Studio and the vicinity and the surrounding areas. It became very apparent that there was a lot of support to keep the studios running and there were many campaigns to stop the studio turning into just another residential development site. 1.10 After much negotiation I managed to secure a deal with the administrators in June 2012 and completed the purchase of the studio in August 2012. The re-emergence of the studios 1.11 As the studio needed a lot of investment at the time and would continue to do so, I put together a group of like-minded family and friends to rescue the studio from being demolished and in so doing managed to secure its future and that of the personnel employed which in turn secured the jobs of hundreds of people working in production companies that used these facilities. 1.12 When I bought the studios there were about 20 people working there and on completion of works we had nearly 70 full time employees. At any given time when the studios are busy at 80% capacity, there could be anything between 500-700 people on site. 1.13 After the purchase of the studios we have invested nearly £9m in bringing the studios to the standard they are today. Currently all the theatres are equipped with state-of-the-art mixing desks, projection equipment and sound technology. But, as is the nature of this business, continued investment is always needed. 1.14 Today we have two of the best sound theatres in the country as proven by some of the films achieving nominations and awards at the Oscars, Baftas and other global events. Prime examples would be Bohemian Rhapsody, Senna and Baby Driver which were all mixed in our Theatre 1 by none other than Tim Cavagin our very own talented and Oscar, Bafta and Emmy award winning sound mixer. Page 2 1.15 Over a thousand movies and television programmes have had either production, post-production or everything done at the studios. The Filmography list of films and television productions done at the studios is attached as Appendix 1. To cite a few examples of classics done at Twickenham are: Zulu The Italian Job Cry Freedom Chaplin The Eagle has Landed Gandhi Cry Freedom Help Bladerunner Straw Dogs The Message Iron Lady Elizabeth Layer Cake Sleuth Recent examples are: Bohemian Rhapsody Baby Driver Florence Foster Jenkins Hunter Killer The Last Witness Murder on the Orient Express All the money in the World Victoria and Abdul Crooked House Red Joan War Horse Goodbye Christopher Robin The Monuments Men The Martian Hitman’s Bodyguard Finding your Feet Marilyn Maradona The Hunger The Last Full Measure Legend TV production and shows that have been done at Twickenham include, amongst others: McMafia Belgravia Inside No.9 Horrible Histories Teletubbies Tipping Point Page 3 Renowned directors that have worked at the studios include: Sir Ridley Scott Stephen Frears Sir Kenneth Branagh Sir Richard Attenborough (who actually had his offices there for nearly 20 years) Asif Kapadia Edgar Wright Brian Helgeland Todd Robinson Carlo Nero Shekar Kapoor Actors that have been on stage at Twickenham and in the theatres include: John Cleese Hugh Grant Meryl Streep Nicole Kidman Colin Firth Pierce Brosnan Sir Kenneth Branagh Samuel L Jackson Salma Hayek James McEvoy Eddie Redmayne Vanessa Redgrave Brad Pitt Tom Cruise Daniel Radcliffe Producers Peter Heslop James Spring Mark Damon Tim Bogart Adam Rolston Guy Collins Post Production Supervisors Jeannetta Haley Suzy Shearer MirandaJones Sound Professionals James Mather Ollie Tarney Don Gibbs Paul Massey Tim Cavagin Craig Irving Page 4 1.16 At Appendix 2 are reference letters from people that are working or have worked at the Studios 1.17 Some of the biggest Hollywood studios namely Paramount, Universal, Fox have used our post- facilities and our talent. 1.18 We are currently in discussions with Arts Richmond to launch a Richmond Film Festival. This Festival was due to be started in April 2021 but has been delayed until April 2022 due to the pandemic that has decimated the world economy. We also actively participate and sponsor an Award with Richmond Awards Council at their Annual Awards dinner. 1.19 We are the only studio within the M25 that offers a script to screen service, whereby you can walk in with a script and walk out with a finished movie. We are also only 20 minutes from London Heathrow Airport, which makes us very convenient for International film makers from all over the world. 1.20 If these studios did not exist a lot of this production would go overseas. In addition, we would lose many projects that came in from Hollywood. Furthermore, much of our stage productions would be lost to Eastern European countries. 1.21 Most of the people who work at the Studios visit Crown Road for their grocery shopping, hairdressers, nail bars, pubs, butchers, green grocers, ironmongers, post office etc. Bearing this in mind if Twickenham Studios were forced to close or reduce operations, all the above traders would lose a large volume of trade as a consequence. 1.22 We need to expand as supply cannot meet demand and the fact that UK has some of the best talent in this industry. 1.23 If planning was granted to Arlington Works for the development of residential flats, there would be a major interruption to revenue which would put the business at risk. The main revenue and profits of the studio are generated by the sound centre which is literally adjacent to Arlington Works (see map attached at Appendix 3) that would become a building site for the best part of 3 years. The sound centre, the theatres and Stage One would become completely inoperable due to the noise and vibration levels that would be created on the site. In this industry due to the demanding nature of the clients and the investment they are making such problems are unacceptable. Page 5 1.24 Theatres 1, 2, 3 and 4 are all directly adjacent to the Arlington Works. These are labelled T1, T2, T3 and T4 on the map at Appendix 3. Also adjacent is picture post department. These facilities are used by clients who record voice-overs or make sound effects. Any noise or vibration has a direct impact and prevents the theatres being used. If the theatres could not be used, it would causes delays which productions cannot afforded because there are contractual obligations relating to the delivery of the final film to the cinema, or the final show to the Television Stations 1.25 As it is, when Arlington Works decommissioned and removed their oil recycling plant and equipment last year, the noise and vibration levels gave us no option but to stop working in the Sound Centre and it also affected Stage 1.