The Mill to close film arm

Oscar-winning special effects company, The Mill, are to pull out of feature film work.
The Soho facility cite the volatile nature of the film industry and a desire to concentrate on their advertising activities as the reasons behind the withdrawal.
In what is seen as a devastating blow to the UK special effects business, the move will mean significant redundancies from the company, as the 35-strong Mill Film team regularly rises to around 150 staff including freelancers.
The Mill CEO Robin Shenfield insisted that Mill Film, which has just completed extensive work on 'Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets', was a profitable business, but there was possibility that it would become unprofitable in the short term.
He said: "There's an inherent risk of volatility in the film business, and I don't think we have an appetite to take these risks any further.
"At the same time our commercials business has lots of opportunity. Advertising is a tough market too, but it's a strong and continuous market. I didn't want to jeopardise the focus on commercials by potentially having losses in Mill Film."
The impact of Mill Film's closure is still being considered by London effects industry. Screen Daily report that the closure of Mill Film had shrunk London's capacity to handle effects films by up to 20%.
(GB)