U.k. Prod'n Running A Fever

U.K. television and film production schedules are facing delays or last-minute location changes because of the rampaging cattle and sheep foot-and-mouth epidemic that is sweeping the country, producers said Monday.

While several high-profile projects such as the Steven Spielberg-Tom Hanks HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers" and Warner Bros.' "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" have wrapped filming, a number of feature films in development or in production face delays or disruption of their schedules.

Among films under the gun are Natural Nylon's "Cromwell and Fairfax," Lynne Ramsey's "Morvern Callar" and FilmFour and Ecosse Films' "Charlotte Gray," which stars Cate Blanchett and Michael Gambon.

Leading TV shows, including ITV's top-rated soap "Emmerdale" and the BBC drama series "Down to Earth," also have been affected, while such popular sports events as rugby and horse racing have been canceled.

Foot-and-mouth disease has so far resulted in the mass slaughter of more than 100,000 cows, sheep and pigs during the past month. Severe government-imposed restrictions on the movement of individuals and animals in the countryside also have been enacted.

The disease afflicts cloven-hooved animals and causes blisters in animals' mouths and hooves and loss of appetite. It rarely infects humans.

Humans, vehicles, clothing and wild and domestic animals are all known to transmit the highly contagious disease, leading to a virtual shutdown of Britain's rural areas.

Footpaths, small roads surrounding farms, public-access routes through country and farm land and vast areas controlled by the National Trust, the rural heritage body, have been closed down.

"Foot-and-mouth has affected our recce (reconnaissance) schedule," said Natural Nylon producer Kevin Loader, who is working on the 17th century English Civil War drama "Cromwell and Fairfax." "We've had to cancel trips to look at different locations since all the National Trust's historic country houses are closed."

With filming slated to begin on the project in July, Loader said there is still room to maneuver but that the next six to eight weeks are crucial.

"It is still early enough to be flexible," he said. "We can still think about moving onto soundstages and building sets. The worst situation would be to have found and committed to a location and then find you can't get access to it."

Representatives for Ramsey's "Morvern Callar" said location shoots planned for Oban, Scotland, had been canceled because of the risk of transmitting the disease.

New locations have been found in the West of Scotland, however, and the project is going ahead as planned. The film stars Samantha Morton as a Scottish girl who becomes involved in the literary world after the death of her boyfriend.

"Charlotte Gray," adapted from the World War II-based novel by Sebastian Faulks, is shooting in France, but a return to the United Kingdom for filming in Scotland and London could be delayed. New location venues are being considered.

In television, ITV regional franchise Yorkshire Television, producers of "Emmerdale," said filming was continuing but producers were doing all they could to comply with government regulations and prevent the spread of the disease.

"All crew and cast arriving at 'Emmerdale' village will leave vehicles outside the boundary of the estate," a spokesman said. "Crew and cast are then entering the estate on foot, using disinfectant wash on footwear as they enter and leave the set. In line with the restricted movement of animals order, we shall not be using any livestock when filming current episodes. We will continue to review the guidelines and orders at regular intervals."