This is an important book, providing a much-needed history of Working Title, the most successful and influential UK production company over the past forty years. Nathan Townsends lucid and penetrating analysis, informed by deeply assimilated theory and an abundance of primary research, shows how the company managed to reconcile the competing demands of creativity and commerce to forge what he calls a Transatlantic British Cinema that promotes particular versions of Britishness. Deftly combining the micro and the macro, Townends authoritative study makes a significant contribution to Media Industry Studies as well as British cinema history and deserves the widest possible readership. -- Professor Andrew Spicer, University of the West of England There ought to have been a studio study devoted to Working Title years ago. Now, thankfully, there is one. And Nathan Townsends book proves that its certainly been worth the wait. This is a work of meticulous scholarship which does more than chart the history of what he terms, with customary qualification, arguably the most important production company in the history of British cinema. The story of Working Title, in Townsends thoroughly contextualised approach, is also the history of the British film industry over the past 40 years. Furthermore, it is an object lesson in how to do production history. -- Professor Justin Smith, De Montfort University Essential reading for anyone engaged in the serious study of contemporary British cinema, Nathan Townsends book provides a long overdue full critical analysis of Working Titles operations and outputs since its inception four decades ago. It traces the companys complex history and surveys the full range of its transnational endeavours, from Oscar-winning highs to critic infuriating lows, and is nourished throughout by Townsends conceptual sophistication and granular attention to detail. -- Professor Melanie Williams, University of East Anglia
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