Pure Grass Films is a British independent

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...

that specialises in digital entertainment series, feature films and television series.

History

Pure Grass Films was co-founded by

Managing Director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Ben Grass Ben Grass is a British Film producer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of film and television production company Pure Grass Films. Early life and education Grass was educated at Dr Challoner's Grammar School; a selective grammar school f ...

and

Creative Director A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...

Tom Grass in May 2005. The company specialises in digital entertainment series, feature films and television series. On March 18, 2008, Endemol UK, now

Endemol Shine UK Endemol Shine UK (branded as EndemolShine UK and formerly Endemol UK Ltd) is a British production company. Since 2020, the company has been a subsidiary of Banijay. Endemol Shine UK incorporates a number of production brands, including Artist ...

announced its acquisition of a 40% stake in Pure Grass Films. Endemol UK's Chief Executive Tim Hincks commented that: "our digital strategy is simple – we want to work with creative people who have brilliant ideas. Ben and Tom fit the bill perfectly."

Current Productions

Pure Grass is currently producing ''

Twist Twist may refer to: In arts and entertainment Film, television, and stage * ''Twist'' (2003 film), a 2003 independent film loosely based on Charles Dickens's novel ''Oliver Twist'' * ''Twist'' (2021 film), a 2021 modern rendition of ''Olive ...

'', a 3D contemporary retelling of '' Oliver Twist'' shot in London. Raff Law was cast to play the titular Oliver.

Lena Headey Lena Kathren Headey ( ; born 3 October 1973) is a British actress. She gained international recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the HBO epic fantasy drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which she rec ...

was cast as Sikes and

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut stud ...

as Dodge.

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

was cast as

Fagin Fagin is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. In the preface to the novel, he is described as a "receiver of stolen goods". He is the leader of a group of children (the Artful Dod ...

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Br ...

was cast as Losberne, Noel Clarke as Brownlow,

Jason Maza Jason Maza (born 24 April 1986) is an English actor, producer, director and screenwriter. Career Maza was accepted to the Central School of Speech and Drama, but at that time, he was already working as an actor so decided not to attend. Althou ...

as Bedwin,

Franz Drameh Franz Alhusaine Drameh (born 5 January 1993) is an English actor. His film debut was in Clint Eastwood's fantasy drama, ''Hereafter'' (2010). He also appeared in British film ''Attack the Block'' (2011) and the 2014 blockbuster ''Edge of Tomorr ...

as Batesy and Sophie Simnett as Red. The film is scheduled for release in late 2020.

Sky Cinema Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema o ...

will distribute the film within the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, with

Saban Films Saban Capital Group LLC is an American investment firm based in Los Angeles, California focused on media, entertainment, and communications investments. Formed in 2010 by Haim Saban, Saban Capital Group owns Saban Films, part of Univision Commu ...

distributing within North America.

Board & Advisors

Pure Grass' Advisors include British Actor

Damian Lewis Damian Watcyn Lewis (born 11 February 1971) is an English actor, presenter and producer. He is best known for portraying U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'', which earned him a Golden Globe nomination ...

, whose credits include Band of Brothers and Homeland (TV series); Roger Vakharia, Director, Media & Entertainment at Google Cloud; David Chermont – veteran media sales specialist & founder of INBOUND CAPITAL; Erica Motley – a former SVP of acquisitions at UIP and

Sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...

and

Ernesto Schmitt Ernesto Gottfried Schmitt (born August 1971) is an American-born serial entrepreneur and investor. He is co-founder of The Craftory, a $600m venture capital fund for cause-driven challenger brands in the consumer goods space. Born in Cinci ...

- a German-Uruguayan tech & media entrepreneur. The Chairman of the Board is Christophe Charlier, the former Chairman of Renaissance Capital and the Brooklyn Nets NBA Basketball team.

Credits

Prior credits include ''

Kirill Kirill is a male given name, deriving from the Greek name Κύριλλος (Kyrillos) which in turn derives from Greek κύριος (kyrios) "lord". There are many variant forms of the name: Cyril, Cyrill, Kyrill, Kiryl, Kirillos, Kyryl, Kiril, Ky ...

'' starring David Schofield, which won a Webby and was nominated for a Digital Emmy, and ''

Beyond the Rave ''Beyond the Rave'' is a British horror film, initially published on MySpace, that marked the return of Hammer Films in 2008. Plot The story follows the last hours of freedom of local soldier Ed, who is flying out to Iraq the following mornin ...

'' – MySpace's first international production.

was a 20 part Horror series financed by Hammer Films – their first production in 25 years. It starred

Jamie Dornan James Peter Maxwell Dornan (; born 1 May 1982) is an actor, model and musician from Northern Ireland. Formerly a character actor, he often portrays solemn, steady characters. The recipient of two Irish Film and Television Awards, he has been n ...

(

Fifty Shades of Grey ''Fifty Shades of Grey'' is a 2011 erotic romance novel by British author E. L. James. It became the first instalment in the ''Fifty Shades'' novel series that follows the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, ...

Sadie Frost Sadie Liza Frost (née Vaughan; born 19 June 1965) is an English actress, producer and fashion designer, who ran fashion label Frost French (until its closure in 2011) and a film production company (Blonde to Black Pictures). Early life Frost ...

( Dracula),

Nora-Jane Noone Nora-Jane Noone (born 8 March 1984) is an Irish actress. In 2020, ''The Irish Times'' ranked her 47th on its list of the greatest Irish film actors of all time. She made her screen debut in the drama film ''The Magdalene Sisters'' (2002) and h ...

(

The Descent ''The Descent'' is a 2005 British horror film written and directed by Neil Marshall. The film follows six women who enter a cave system and struggle to survive against the humanoid creatures inside. Filming took place in the United Kingdom. Ex ...

) and

Tamer Hassan Tamer Hassan (born 18 March 1968) is a British actor. He is best known for his role as the leader of the Millwall firm, opposite Danny Dyer, in '' The Football Factory''. Hassan has also appeared in ''Batman Begins'', Declan O'Brien's '' Wrong ...

(

Eastern Promises ''Eastern Promises'' is a 2007 gangster film directed by David Cronenberg from a screenplay by Steven Knight. The film tells the story of Anna (Naomi Watts), a Russian-British midwife who delivers the baby of a drug-addicted 14-year old Russian ...

). Music was by

Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong, (born 30 July 1960) is an English disc jockey who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as ''Essential Mix'' and ''Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio stre ...

. On 17 April 2008, the series was first released through MySpace TV, as their first international co-production, followed by a major international DVD release. Other credits include ''When Evil Calls'' – the world's first horror series for mobile phones, starring

Sean Pertwee Sean Carl Roland Pertwee''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' (born 4 June 1964) is an English actor, narrator and producer with an extensive career since the 1980s in television and cinema productions. He is known ...

(''Dog Soldiers''), Dominique Pinon (''Amelie'', ''Delicatessen''), and

Chris Barrie Chris Barrie (born Christopher Jonathan Brown, 28 March 1960) is a British actor, comedian, and impressionist. He worked as a vocal impressionist on the ITV sketch show ''Spitting Image'' (1984–1996) and as Lara Croft's butler Hillary in th ...

(''Red Dwarf'').

Full Credits list

* ''When Evil Calls'' - Won the 2006 Telemedia Eureka Awards in Amsterdam, and has been nominated as a finalist in the

Broadcast Awards ''Broadcast'' is a monthly magazine for the United Kingdom television and radio industry, owned by Media Business Insight. History ''Broadcast'' was started in 1973 by Rod Allen, who went on to work at LWT, HTV and HarperCollinsInteractive. ...

in the category of Best Use of Mobile TV. * ''

'' * ''

'' - Won a 2009 Webby for Best Drama Episode, and was also nominated for a Digital Emmy. * ''The Cell 2'' * ''Trigger Point'' - Commissioned by ITV * ''

'' (Upcoming 2020) - Contemporary remake of Oliver Twist featuring Rafferty Law,

and

References

{{reflist Film production companies of the United Kingdom Television production companies of the United Kingdom