UK taxpayers footing part of £600,000 bill for unpaid crew after Simon Pegg film collapses

The government is paying up for the mistakes of the producers - this is not why I pay my taxes' one anonymous crew member said

Source: Jacob Stolworthy, Thursday 19 March

The British government will pay back crew members left out of pocket after a new Simon Pegg film was forced to cancel production due to financial problems.

Approximately £600,000 ($800,000) is owed to those working on the independent period drama, titled Angels in the Asylum, which filmed for half a month in February 2025 before grinding to a halt.

According to Deadline, the UK government’s Redundancy Payments Service (RPS), funded by national insurance payments, told crew members to expect a form of remuneration

The report claims that crew members are not expecting to receive the full amount, with one noting they believe they will be paid back a third of the money owed to them.

Simon Pegg

The RPS aids those who are owed money when businesses run into financial trouble. Last year, the service helped out almost 70,000 people left in the red, and the amount that’s given back is funded by national insurance payments.

“It’s absolutely outrageous,” the anonymous person told the outlet. “The government is paying up for the mistakes of the producers. This is not why I pay my taxes. Pegg and the executive producers could write this off in a second and pay everyone off.”

Mission: Impossible actor Pegg was an executive producer on the film, as well as its lead star, but he was not paid for his work and didn’t have any involvement with the film’s finances. The Independent has contacted Pegg for comment.

A spokesperson for AITA Films, a production company that’s been in administration since April 2025, said: “Crew payments are being handled through the standard insolvency process.”

At the time the company went into administration, Angels in the Asylum director Rob Sorrenti and producer Heather Greenwood said: “We have been forced into appointing an administrator as a precaution. We hope this is temporary while we continue to raise the funds for the film.”

However, one year on, creditors are owed approximately £3.8m ($5m).

Angels in the Asylum is a true story about a group of women who were wrongly imprisoned in a mental institution in Surrey after being deemed to be typhoid carriers in the first half of the 20th century.

The film also starred Katherine Waterston, Minnie Driver, Aurora Perrineau, Rose Williams and Alex Jennings.

Deadline reported that, when the film went into production, its budget was set at £4.9m, but it started shooting without all of its money in place. Just 15 days into the shoot in February, a gap in the budget emerged and production was paused.

In an email update, reportedly sent by Sorrenti and Greenwood in March 2025, the crew were told: “We appreciate how difficult this is for everyone. We’re incredibly sorry. We endeavour to give you all an update as soon as possible, but the situation is incredibly complex … Please know we are in this with you, neither of us intended to be in this situation and have been personally affected by it too.”

A further statement from Sorrenti and Greenwood said: “It has taken 15 years to bring the film into production. It was devastating when we were forced to halt filming due to our second round of financing failing to materialise. After being let down, we were forced into hiatus.

“Since that time, we have been desperately trying to raise finances with the goal of addressing our outstanding obligations to both our cast and crew. We have also put some of our own funds into the project, but sadly, it hasn’t been enough to rectify the situation. We remain determined to find a solution. We also want to make it very clear that we, the producers, have not been paid for our work on the production.”

Pegg reportedly told his colleagues: “We’re making something really special here, something important. This is a crisis, but it’s also an opportunity, and we’ll be back soon.”

There are currently no plans to resume production on the film.

Happy Birthday Denis Borrow GBCT, DoP - 17 March

Denis was born in Casablanca to a French mother and oil industry father, who was posted there. His was an international childhood, as his father’s work took the family from Morocco to Istanbul then Puerto Rico and finally Singapore, before they settled in the UK. An early training in resilience and adaptability – essential qualities for a freelancer in the film industry. He was only nine when his passion for photography and film was sparked by “Le Monde du Silence”, the Palme d’Or and Oscar winning documentary, co-directed by Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle. It was one of the first to use underwater cinematography showing the ocean depths in colour. This cut no ice with his parents who wanted their son to have a steady job and secure financial future, so insisted that he study architecture. He duly attended the requisite Polytechnic college, but met a fellow student who encouraged him to help on the films he was making and apply for his course. The Polytechnic asked him to submit a year’s worth of photographs, so he applied to the London film School instead. Having completed his studies there, he was granted a place at the newly founded National Film School (now the NFTS) run by the late, great Colin Young CBE. Denis was in the first intake of five Cinematography students. He was in illustrious company, which included Dina Hecht, Michael Radford and Bill Forsyth. Roger Deakins was among the applicants, but had to defer for a year.

Prior to the launch of the shuttle Atlantis.

Denis’ graduation film was the first 35mm film to be shot at the NFTS. Cinemobile Systems based at Pinewood generously supplied an Arriflex 2C, plus lenses and a dolly. They shot at the very grand and allegedly haunted Harlaxton Manor in Lincolnshire. The film was called Matushka and was a period piece feature drama. Shooting was completed within the last ten minutes of the scheduled single week of principal photography, despite several of the crew having sleepless nights and strange experiences. Denis noted that the light level for the interiors was inexplicably boosted from a mysterious source. Regardless of supernatural influences, the film was deemed worthy of showing at the London film Festival.

Despite having graduated as a Cinematographer, Denis decided to learn his trade starting as a Camera Assistant and working his way up through the grades to Director of Photography. Whilst he was a student, he worked as a projectionist at the Ritz Cinema off Leicester Square, thinking that this would gain him the requisite Union ticket. Sadly, it qualified him to join Nattke (The National Association of Theatrical Television and Kine Employees) and it was only after loading on many commercials and corporate films that he was finally granted ACT (now Bectu) membership. On the plus side, he met Madeleine, his wife of 51 happy years, during his projectionist days. She accompanied him when he was invited to set up a Documentary Film Unit in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. As well as running the unit, he was resident DoP on a two year contract. Denis and Madeleine enjoyed living the ex-pat life and seeing every film shown in the only cinema in town. He has an abiding love of Africa and has filmed in many of its countries.

On his return to the UK, Denis found that the ACT still considered him to be a Clapper Loader. His luck changed when he was asked to do a day on Superman. Jonathan Taylor, the focus puller asked if he was available for the next two years. The answer was of course yes and he joined the Model Unit, run by Derek Meddings. He got the occasional focus pulling days and stayed with the same camera crew – Paul Wilson DoP, John Morgan camera operator, Jonathan Taylor focus puller – when they moved on to the model units of Moonraker and then Superman 2. It was during this film that a conversation in a portacabin on Pinewood’s backlot led to all the model unit camera crew and the majority of those on the other 6 units joining the newly founded GBCT!

Still a loader, Denis worked in Malta on the model Unit for Raise the Titanic and then with Jeff Paynter focus puller on The Wall in Poland. He returned to the UK and little work, due to the steep economic downturn of Thatcher’s early years. This led to him returning to his first vocation and he moved up to DoP on documentaries. He met fellow documentary makers at the BBC, which brought a rich and varied assortment of jobs ranging from Yorkshire TV’s Runaway Bay- a children’s series set in the Caribbean, to cookery shows to Crimewatch to Time Team to Desmond Wilcox’s series “The Visit” and not forgetting Zenith North’s “Blues & Twos” series for ITV, which reached an audience of 14 million. Apart from his many productions, he specialised in royal occasions and filmed most of the senior Royals, particularly the late Queen Elizabeth.

A Royal occasion (hence the suit) and the very first use in UK of the Amira Camera, still a prototype at the time.

“My industry is forever changing, not always for the better. Schedules are often tough and budgets ever decreasing. Demand for quality is a constant but maintaining it is, in my opinion, an ever- growing struggle. For those of us who, like myself, pride ourselves on producing the high standard of work required of us, often with fewresources, the workplace is often tough. However, our huge experience over decades of practising our trade does count for everything. At the end of a beautiful African day though, I loved what I did and can honestly say, I wouldn’t change it for the world!”

Denis is now retired and spends his time between Sherborne in Dorset and his eldest son’s house in France. Still travelling, still curious – the GBCT wishes you a very happy birthday, Denis.

SPOTLIGHT ON GBCT MEMBERS

Stepping Up: Amy HC Wilson’s journey from 2nd AC to Director of Photography

Making the leap to Director of Photography rarely has a single moment of confidence or certainty. For Amy, it was a long, thoughtful journey shaped by years of assisting, self-doubt, preparation, and ultimately, commitment.

Amy admits she wanted to make the move around five years before she actually did.Yet despite this momentum, the decision to formally step up took time. Amy admits she wanted to make the move around five years before she actually did. “It’s terrifying, especially financially,” she says. “You overthink everything – where your life is at, what the industry looks like, what support is around you.”

That turning point came after working on The Diplomat: Series 1. The seven-month shoot was a period of reflection. “I kept thinking,”maybe this is the last one,’” she recalls. By the end of the series, something clicked. “It was such a brilliant job, I felt it was time to end my assisting career on a high and start the next step”. As the months rolled into Christmas, she knew the time had come. She stopped actively looking for assisting work and finally made the ultimate commitment: selling her kit. “That was the proof to myself”

Owning the Title

One of the hardest parts of stepping up wasn’t the work itself, but the identity shift. “As assistants, we’ve worked with many DOPs that we look up to,” Amy explains. “Suddenly I’m doing that job. It’s a huge commitment and responsibility to your peers.”

At first, others helped bridge the gap. A couple of Christmas party’s ago, a friend became her unofficial mouthpiece, telling others, “Amy’s a DOP now.” Confidence grew with experience, recently she stood up at Operators’ Night when DPs were asked to stand – despite a surge of imposter syndrome.

“What fights the fear is that I love the role” she says. “I hope I’m a good HOD. I’ve worked with people I respect, and I want to make people feel the way they made me feel, when I was assisting” Amy believes assistants bring a unique insight to leading departments – knowing what to take on, what not to, and understanding the pressures of high turnaround schedules. “It’s a role to be proud of and to take seriously’

Choosing Her Own Route

The journey to DOP is different for everyone. Amy didn’t formally call herself a focus puller, despite doing focus pulling work when asked – short films, the odd commercial and cover days & step-up days on films and HETV. “I never actively sought work as a focus puller,” she explained. “I enjoyed it when the opportunities came but my brain capacity outside work was always focused on shooting shorts as a DP.”

Amy also felt a deep respect for the craft. “I didn’t feel I could call myself a focus puller and do it justice in the way the people I worked with did” She also spent a period of time pursuing Steadicam, using it on her short films to gain hours in the rig and even doing some commercials.

She knew that stepping up always came with a step backwards, and chose to put that energy into developing her voice as a cinematographer instead. “After so many years of shooting short films, it felt like the natural and right step for me to take, I felt I had grown into the role of a DOP as much as I could before making it official”.

The First Break

Amy’s first TV show came last year – and not where she expected. A message arrived saying she’d been recommended for a BBC project by a DP she’d previously worked with. A meeting and recce followed, then the job itself.

The moment carried the weight of a 14 year journey. She’d worked with the recommending DP as a trainee and loader years earlier. “You never know who will recommend you,” Amy reflects. “If someone likes you and they trust you – it’s then time to prove yourself.”

The show was Waffle’s After School Club, a spin-off of Waffle the Wonder Dog, with a strong existing audience on iPlayer. “I never expected a BBC show to be my first ‘professsional’ job as a DP,” she says. The experience came full circle when she was later offered Series 2. “I’m very proud to be invited back” That first job also led to conversations with agents, ultimately gaining representation with Berlin Associates, and an article in Cinematography World Magazine (Issue 206 March/April 2025). “One TV credit wasn’t a huge amount” Amy acknowledges, “but they could see my trajectory.”

Building the World of Waffle

Working with children and animals comes with its own challenges – we all know the saying.. For Amy, success came down to preparation. “Our biggest challenge going into the shoot was pace, our camera and lighting approach was streamlined as much as possible in prep so we could be seamless during the shoot, and it worked well.”

The brief called for warmth, cosiness and authenticity. With six-year-old performers, a dog at the centre of it all, the approach was reactive and fluid. “We wanted to capture their authenticity” she says. “We needed to be ready for anything during the take.”

Equipment

Two cameras were essential, and A-camera operator Guido Cavacuiti helped lead the charge in a fast-moving environment.

Cameras used were the Alexa Mini’s paired with Panavision PCZ 19–90mm zoom lenses and rolling spiders in the main location, allowing the team to work at pace without constant lens changes.

Amy speaks warmly of her crew, many of whom she’d grown up with in the industry. Her Gaffer, Martin Cox, someone she’d previously worked with, joined the project to support her and will return for Series 2. “Finding a gaffer I worked with so cohesively was a relief” she says. “I learned so much.

A Safe First Step

Looking back, what Amy appreciated most was the environment. “For my first job, I felt safe” she says. “The production company took a risk on me, and gave me the perfect amount of trust” The project was fun, meaningful, and something people were proud to be part of. “Several of the crew’s children watched the original show. My nephew’s a big fan.”

What Comes Next

Amy hopes this chapter opens the door to more – particularly film. “I’d love to maintain a mix of HETV and Film” she says. “I’d love to do a film soon where I can really get stuck into creative prep”

She’s candid about the emotional shift of stepping into a new role. “I didn’t foresee missing being on set as much, missing my peers that I’d spend so much time of set with. You go from being an experienced camera assistant to, starting again as the ’newbie. The identity change and fresh start can be isolating” She’s open about wanting mentorship. “I’d love an established DP to take me under their wing. It can be a lonely place.”

Redefining the ‘Right’ Path

Amy is passionate about challenging rigid ideas of progression. “I grew up in the camera department where it’s expected you move through every role. I assisted for near on 14 years”

While she didn’t officially label herself as a focus puller or operator, she did the work and understands the roles deeply. “Everyone’s journey looks different and their time in each role varies. I’m very proud of my 14 years as a camera assistant and I’m proud of my journey. I don’t think skimming a role takes anything away from that.”

As Amy continues to find her footing as a DP, one thing is clear: the care she brings to her crew, her work, and her craft is deeply rooted in the years she spent learning from others – and that foundation is already shaping the kind of HOD she is becoming.

Link to Amy HC Wilson's showreel