John Gore Studios Buys Hilary Bevan Jones’ Hilltop Screen

Hilary Bevan Jones’ recently launched Hilltop Screen has landed investment from Broadway producer John Gore’s TV and film venture, and drafted in Francis Hopkinson for a new central role.

John Gore Studios has bought a majority stake in Hilltop Screen, which former Endor chief and UK drama industry veteran Bevan Jones co-founded with Medwyn Jones, a British media lawyer. Financial terms were not disclosed.

At the same time, John Gore Studio has appointed former ITV Studios and Lookout Point exec Hopkinson as Creative Director.

Hilltop Screen joins John Gore Studios with several TV projects currently in development with major broadcasters and global streaming platforms, and feature films, including one soon to be announced.

Bevan Jones, one of the most well-known faces in British drama TV production, has credits ranging from Richard Curtis’ The Girl in the Café to Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot and from Cracker to The Boat That Rocked.  She was the first female BAFTA chair and supports emerging filmmakers through her global charity, Watersprite Film Festival, which she has chaired since 2009.

She launched her new venture after the Seven.One Studios-backed Endor closed last year in the face of the tough production environment in the UK. Bevan Jones had broadly stepped back from the business she launched in 1998, but remained a key player as a hands-on producer.

Hopkinson has been running his own script consultancy for several years, Expanded Media, and is known as one of the most experienced drama makers in the UK, having worked on the likes of The Bitter End and Wallander. He will complete work he has with Starz on 50 Cent-backed crime drama Fightland as he moves into his new post.

Hopkinson will oversee a slate of TV and film proejcts, and report to John Gore Studios CEO Hilary Strong.

As Deadline revealed in July, John Gore Studios launched with headquarters in London and offices in New York, and with a slate including Joan Collins-starring Wallis Simpson biopic The Bitter End (working title). Several high profile execs joined Strong on launch.

That news came over a year after Gore, a 25-time Tony Award winner, acquired iconic British Dracula outfit Hammer Films and several weeks after it bought Kaleidoscope parent KFilm. Gore is known theater productions such as Oklahoma!, Dear Evan Hansen and Hello, Dolly!.

Gore, who is Executive Chairman of John Gore Studios, called Bevan Jones “one of the most respected producers of British drama” and Hopkinson “an exceptional producer whose track record of delivering acclaimed, ambitious drama makes him the perfect creative leader.”

Strong added: “We are proud to be assembling a diverse and dynamic ecosystem of talent, IP and production expertise. By building an end-to-end studio of rights, production and distribution, we are accelerating our mission to deliver compelling, globally resonant stories rooted in both legacy and innovation.”

Bevan Jones, who is Managing Director of Hilltop Screen, said: “I formed Hilltop Screen as a small multi-generational company because I’m keen to continue making high quality, world class TV and film that will last a lifetime. I’m thrilled that John Gore Studios recognises and shares this vision and has chosen to enable it.

Hopkinson noted that Gore had directed him in a university play four 40 years ago, as he gears up for his new post. “The company has an incredibly exciting slate ahead, bringing together the very best of British creative talent—both on and off screen—and showcasing it on the international stage,” he added.

More announcements around commissions and slate developments from both Hilltop Screen and John Gore Studios can be expected this year.