REVOLUTION REMEMBERED: Crew left with hopes of awards success after King’s Lynn filming

The next of our articles looking back at the filming of Revolution, starring Al Pacino, in the 1980s…

The Revolution film crews said farewell to West Norfolk in July 1985 – leaving with high hopes for the success of the film and perhaps even some Oscar nominations. How wrong they would be!

Film company Goldcrest’s publicist, Geoff Freeman, told the Lynn News: “I think the film has a good chance of having a royal premiere.”

He went on to say he would like to see the Prince and Princess of Wales attending the film’s premiere in this country.

Promotion of the film, once it was completed by Goldcrest was then in the hands of Warner Brothers for general release and at the time it was suggested the world premiere in America would be just before Christmas to enable it to qualify for the following year’s Academy Awards.

Mr Freeman thought that Al Pacino could be in line for an Oscar nomination, along with the film’s sets and costumes. “There are hopes for awards,” he added.

Responding to a national newspaper report that Goldcrest had overstepped its budget for Revolution by £3million and the total bill could reach £17million, Mr Freeman said it had been Goldcrest’s biggest production of the year in terms of money, size and scope.

He said the film was running above schedule and budget because of its sized and scope, but not to the extent suggested in the press. He also pointed out that part of the problems had been illnesses to Al Pacino and Nastassja Kinski during shooting, for which there could be claims on insurance.

“With a major, international movie like this it takes two to three years to recoup money on it,” he said.

Mr Freeman said executive producer Chris Burt had been extremely pleased with the co-operation he had received during filming in Lynn, “and the extras have been out of this world”.

Reports later suggested that Goldcrest Films had invested more than £15m in Revolution, recouping just under £6m and lost some £9,600,000.

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