Passing of John D. Schofield
Date Posted: September 11, 2020
We were so sorry to hear of the death on 30 July of John D. Schofield.
A lot of you will not have heard of John but if you have ever worked on any large scale studio production in Northern Ireland, you have John to thank for that.
In 2006 John was looking for a base for a studio film that required a huge set to be built, a working underground city. He heard from a friend who had previously worked in Northern Ireland that there was a huge building in Belfast that could work. That building was The Paint Hall and the film was City of Ember.
Without John bringing City of Ember to Northern Ireland, there would be no Your Highness, Game of Thrones, Dracula Untold, Krypton or The Northman.
John was a maverick and a trailblazer, he took a chance on us and gave us the opportunity to show the world what Northern Ireland’s screen industry could do; for that we are eternally grateful.
John was also inordinately generous and kind; there are so many stories of how John helped members of his crew while he was in Northern Ireland and long after he left.
John will be missed by all his friends around the world but especially by his friends in Northern Ireland.
Our thoughts are with his wife Rochelle and his daughter Annabel as they adjust to life without him.
