OXFORDSHIRE could be more than £1m to the good each year following the launch of a one-stop shop for movie makers.

Geron Swann, the county’s new film officer, said the seven figure sum could be a “conservative estimate” following the launch of Location Oxfordshire six weeks ago.

The 18-month pilot scheme is being funded to the tune of £20,000 by Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council and the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership.

Mr Swann has been asked to spend 12 hours a week helping to attract film makers to the county by making it easier for them to find locations, and to hire local workers as support staff and use county services such as catering and security companies.

He said the project was expected to generate extra income by raising the county’s profile worldwide, which would encourage tourists to visit the scenes they had spotted on the small or big screen.

Mr Swann said: “I would think for the county £1m is a conservative estimate.

“I am really enthusiastic about it. This is a great opportunity for us, there has been nothing like it here in the past.”

Similar schemes are already running in Eastbourne, Kent and various London boroughs.

Oxfordshire already has a high profile on the silver screen, with a number of blockbusters filmed here, including several James Bond adventures.

In Die Another Day (2002), Pierce Brosnan found himself driving a hovercraft over a waterfall in North Korea — or Chinnor Cement Works as it is more usually known.

The super-spy had previously visited Brasenose College to brush up on a little Danish in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).


Roger Moore found himself in a circus parade at the former Upper Heyford airbase in Octopussy in 1983.

Other films shot here include The Oxford Murders (2008), The Golden Compass (2007) and the Harry Potter series.

As the county’s film officer, Mr Swann is expected to act as the first point of contact for any TV or film crew looking to shoot in the area.

A website due to go live in September will also point prospective movie makers to possible locations and local businesses who might be able to help them.

Mr Swann, who is based at OFVM Film Oxford’s offices in Catherine Street, East Oxford, said he had already helped a Malaysian TV crew film in the city.

He has also arranged for eight people to work as wardens at the filming of 20th Century Fox’s movie Gulliver’s Travels starring Jack Black at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock.

Some of them got the chance to work as unpaid trainee camera operators on the film as a result.

Mr Swann said: “In the long term, this project could be really important in terms of the amount of money it generates for the area, how it raises the city and county’s profile on the screen and the obvious opportunities for tourism.

“We want people to see film as a benefit to the county, not as a nuisance.”

To find out more about Location Oxfordshire, call 01865 244274.