Leopard Films Secures Commission from Five

LONDON, September 11:
Leopard Films has received its first series commission from Five in the U.K.
with the observational series Lights, Camera, Animals, which will air later this fall.

The series will introduce
some of the most famous animals in the world and will kick off with a look at
the training of Angus the cat, the feline star of this summer’s teen flick Angus,
Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Other
highlights will include Blanco, the rat from Channel 4’s Skins; Sykes the dog, the star of Heartbeat; and the training of the new Fang, who will be in
the next Harry Potter movie. The
series is being executive produced by Leopard’s new head of programming, Dan
Berbridge.

“Having secured access to
film on the sets of films, dramas and commercials all over the U.K., this
series follows a variety of animal stars through their unique training and onto
set on the day of their performances,” Berbridge said. “It’s a funny and
fascinating watch which reveals their often starry personalities, the tricks of
the trade used by their trainers, and the various difficulties on set, which
lead one drama producer to say, ‘When I see the script and realize there’s an
animal in the scene, usually my first reaction is to panic.’ For Leopard, this
series allows us to marry our strong factual background with a growing slate of
entertainment programs.”

Lights, Camera, Animals follows the recent Five pilot commission for
Leopard Films, due to air this fall, called Climbing the Giants. This half-hour special follows Guy Grieve on a
journey to Australia to learn about the people who climb giant trees.

—By Jackie Stewart