Warner Brothers grants £25,000 to St Albans Park
Filming for the upcoming film Wonka took place in Verulamium Park last week
Warner Brother studios will provide funding to St Albans City council after they used Verulamium Park as a filming location as part of their upcoming film ‘Wonka’.
The production closed parts of the Hertfordshire park to the public on Thursday.
Many locals gathered to catch a glimpse of the film's stars, including Timothée Chalamet, Matt Lucas and Olivia Colman.
St Albans East Councillor Anthony Rowlands told Greatest Hits Radio he was thrilled that Warner Brothers decided to use the park as part of the film.
“The council is very enthusiastic about working with film companies,” Cllr Rowlands said.
“We’ve got some fantastic local settings and the film industry is a very important part of Hertfordshire’s economy.”
Warner Brothers will also grant Verulamium Park a financial investment of £25,000 to improve local facilities.
The Council will ask local forums how the money from the film studio should be spent on improving the park.
Alongside this investment, Cllr Rowlands said that “all the costs to the council will be reimbursed and any areas of the park that were used where they put down trackway and boarding will be reinstated.”
‘Wonka’ features stars such as Timothée Chalamet, Olivia Coleman and Matt Lucas. Warner Brothers and the Roald Dahl Story Company announced they were working on the movie musical in May last year.
The film will follow the early life of the unconventional chocolatier from the children's book ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.
Wonka’s star, Timothée Chalamet, has been spotted filming in locations in Oxford and Dorset over the past year. The film is due to be released in December 2023.