Netflix has become the first studio to hire The WonderWorks to use for one of its productions. The streaming service will utilize the mobile nursery for writer-director Gareth Evans’ crime drama, Havoc, which is set to shoot in Wales this summer, Variety is reporting.
The mobile nursery will provide Care Inspectorate registered childcare for the children of cast and crew members who are working on the movie. The WonderWorks will help parents cope with the logistical issues of caring for their children while they’re shooting on location. The news comes after the company launched its Keeping Families in Film campaign in April to create greater equality within the movie industry by helping provide childcare for working parents.
The mobile nursery is known as a Tardis, in reference to the time machine and spacecraft that’s featured on the cult British television series, Doctor Who, The WonderWorks’ founders, London Has Fallen actress Charlotte Riley and her business partner, Mark Radcliffe, have said. The nursery is located in a double-decker bus that features an on board dining room, bathroom, library, office, sleeping area and fully stocked kitchen, which prepares fresh meals up to four times per day.
The Tardis has space to accommodate a maximum of 19 children at a time, from birth to 5-years-old on a full-time basis.
It can also accommodate children up to 16-years-old outside of school hours.
The set for Havoc will also include an enclosed garden with water play, activity zones and a chill-out area. It will also feature a double digits zone, where older children can relax, read a book or do pottery.
Netflix is supporting The WonderWorks as it’s an known advocate for parents in the film industry. The streaming platform demonstrated that support through initiatives such as its 2020 Motherhood in Focus U.
S. campaign.
While discussing The WonderWorks nursery for the Netflix drama, Riley, who has two children with her husband, Tom Hardy, said: “We are beyond excited that our beautiful mobile nursery has taken on its first job on Havoc. Prior to now, on set childcare has been more informal and offered on an ad hoc basis by willing productions, so having fully qualified, Care Inspectorate Wales/Ofsted [the U.K. Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills] registered staff and a first-rate home from home for children on set is something we’re incredibly proud to be able to offer.
“We hope this will be the start of many studios like Netflix recognizing the need for this service in order to keep talented people in the industry once they start a family,” Riley added. “Putting a line in the budget for childcare is something we believe should be a necessity, not a luxury.”
The Production Guild of Great Britain, which is the UK’s leading membership organization for people working on movie and television productions, recently released a childcare survey that revealed that 85% of respondents knew someone who had left the industry because of a lack of childcare. The WonderWorks aims to help fix the issue, and encourage more parents to remain in the film and television industry.