Virgin Films
| Industry | Motion picture production |
|---|---|
|
Key people
|
Al Clark Nik Powell Richard Branson |
| Parent | Virgin Group |
Virgin Films was a film production company of the early 1980s best known for making 1984 (1984). It was part of the Virgin Group and was headed by Al Clark.Nik Powell worked for the company before going over to Palace Films.
Virgin Films first came to attention distributing The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle (1980), in which they invested £150,000. They expanded into film production in the early 1980s, investing in the short, A Shocking Accident (1982) with Jenny Seagrove and Rupert Everett. This film wound up winning an Oscar and encouraged Richard Branson to expand into filmmaking, appointing Al Clark head of production. In 1983 Virgin announced they would invest £14 million in a series of movies.
Among their productions were Electric Dreams and Secret Places. Their best known movie was an adaptation of 1984 (1984). There was controversy between Virgin and the makers of that film over Virgin's request to introduce a music score by Eurythmics.
An investment in the notorious flop Absolute Beginners (1986) discouraged them from further involvement in the film world at the time.
At one stage they were connected with Hellraiser (1987).
In 2010 Virgin expanded into film making again with Virgin Produced.
Walker, Alexander, National Heroes: British Cinema in the Seventies and Eighties, Harrap 1986
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