RUNWAY ROOMS ANNOUNCES NEIL MARSHALL AS STUDIO AMBASSADOR, LAUNCHES FOUNDING 100 COLLECTIVE
Runway Rooms, a North East based independent studio redefining how creative work is
developed, produced and owned, has announced acclaimed filmmaker Neil Marshall as an official
Studio Ambassador.
Founded by actor, producer and director Craig Conway alongside Ammar Mirza CBE, recently
appointed Sheriff of Tyne & Wear, Runway Rooms is building a new kind of studio system, one
designed to support creators from concept through to production and distribution, while ensuring
they retain meaningful ownership of their intellectual property.
At the heart of its launch is the Founding 100 Collective, a first wave of writers, directors, actors,
producers and crew who will help shape the studio’s early slate, culture and long term ecosystem.
The studio is also working in partnership with Morning Sir Productions, led by Michael Burns and
Lou Burns, winners at the recent Royal Television Society Awards for their production “Gan
Canny” as one of the first anchor production companies within the studio, Morning Sir
Productions brings proven regional and national success into the Runway Rooms ecosystem.
A key pillar of Runway Rooms is its education to employment pathway, working directly with
regional institutions including the University of Sunderland. This builds on recent productions led
by Conway, including his directorial feature Red Riding and the psychological thriller Trash TV,
both of which were developed and filmed on campus, creating hands on opportunities for
students and graduates to work alongside industry professionals.
These productions saw collaboration with Hollywood producer Gail Lyon (Erin Brockovich),
alongside leading actor Noah Taylor, bringing international experience directly into the region.
Regional casting was supported by talent agent Andrea Davison of Newtown Artist Management,
who is now working with Runway Rooms to expand opportunities for regional actors while helping
grow a stronger network of agents across the North East.
Marshall, whose work includes Dog Soldiers, The Descent and directing on Game of Thrones,
brings decades of experience across independent and large scale productions. His involvement
marks a major endorsement of Runway Rooms mission to create a more sustainable and
equitable model for independent creatives.
Neil Marshall said:
“From Dog Soldiers and The Descent to directing Game of Thrones, I’ve seen first hand that
independence can thrive when there’s genuine structure and commitment behind it. Runway
Rooms represents that structure in the North East it’s a practical, people led studio where
projects and creatives are supported, protected and moved forward from development into
production. I’m proud to support Craig Conway and Ammar Mirza in this bold endeavour and to
be an ambassador for what they’re building.”
Runway Rooms positions itself not as a shared workspace but as a fully integrated studio
environment, a place where ideas are developed, projects are produced and long term value is
created. Its model supports creators through the full lifecycle of their work while building
sustainable careers and scalable creative businesses.
At its core, the studio addresses a long-standing imbalance within the creative industries: creators
often contribute significant value while retaining little ownership. Runway Rooms aims to shift that
dynamic by embedding fair participation, intellectual property retention and long term asset
building into its foundation.Craig Conway said:
“We’re not here to replicate existing systems, we’re here to collaborate, compliment evolve and
create new ways of working while celebrating regional talent. Too many creatives generate value
without sharing in the upside. Runway Rooms is about changing that. The work we’ve already
done with the University of Sunderland shows what’s possible when education and industry truly
connect. Having Neil Marshall involved now takes that vision even further.”
Operating from the North East of England with a regional, national and international network of
collaborators, Runway Rooms develops stage to screen, tv, film and digital content development
and production whilst encouraging national and international productions to film here as co-
productions. We then connect with creators and financier’s to align the creative and buisness
structure to ensure honesty integrity and transparency through to distribution pathways.
Marshall’s appointment marks a key milestone as the studio continues to expand its partnerships,
slate and reach positioning itself as a new kind of independent studio for the next generation and
there are several more major annoucements coming soon.
Currently we are still looking to find our first invested 100 founding memebrs to begin with our
developing slate of multi fotmat content, so if you’d like to join you still have just over a week to
get online and sign up.
For more information please email: runwayrooms@issairview.com
Or follow the link and sig up now.
https://www.issairview.com/runway-rooms