Nico Dekker, CEO of Cape Town Film Studios, says that the film is a major breakthrough for the studios and for South Africa to have secured a production of the calibre of
Judge Dredd. The studios are the first custom-built Hollywood-style film studio complex in Africa.
EnterntainmentAfrica reports that the film's makers, DNA films, chose Cape Town Film Studios for the production of
Judge Dredd. The site quotes DNA producer Andrew McDonald:
The film is not location specific and could have been made in any country in the world. The affordability of South Africa as a film destination and the new high tech Cape Town Film Studios provided us with the ideal combination.
McDonald's production team, who recently visited Cape Town Film Studios, consisted of Mark Digby, the set designer of
Slumdog Millionaire, the Oscar-winning cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, the writer of
The Beach, Alex Garland, and the Assistant Director of
Sherlock Holmes, Lee Grumett. Also co-producing is Michael Murphy, who worked on
District 9. DNA films movie credits include
Trainspotting, The Beach and
The Last King of Scotland.
The site also states that Dekker believes that
Judge Dredd is a dream production to start with since it is largely studio based, extremely high tech, and will also explore new ways of filmmaking:
'Judge Dredd' will use most of the available 17 000 square meters of production facilities and will be based at Cape Town Film Studios for the duration of the production.
Judge Dredd is expected to generate about R368 million for South Africa.
Anat Singh, Chairman of Cape Town Film Studios, says:
Securing 'Judge Dredd' as the first production at Cape Town Film Studios is a major breakthrough and sets the tone for the future. Our vision to create an exceptional world class facility for South African and international films is now an exciting reality.
Judge Dredd will be directed by Pete Travis who recently directed
End Game. The movie stars Karl Urban as the title character, Judge Dredd.
The movie is based upon the British comic books in which Judge Dredd is a member of uniformed judges who combine the powers of judge, jury and executioner in the futuristic city of Megacity (from wikipedia.com).
The film's pre-production started on 23rd August 2010 and physical production will commerce in March 2011.
Judge Dredd shoots its way into cinemas in 2012.