By Anna Burdett

Last updated at 12:19, Saturday, 18 July 2009

Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Russell Crowe is becoming a habit for Carlisle’s Mally Chung – whose latest job is on the set of Hollywood blockbuster Robin Hood.

Mally Chung

A little over 10 years since leaving college in Carlisle and starting in the movie business, Mally is working with some of the world’s most famous people and at the top of his game.

As unit manager for the film, the 37-year-old has to keep everyone happy from residents living near the set to the stars themselves.

He has rarely been off duty over the last two months during filming on location in Surrey and Wales.

The £110 million Ridley Scott epic is due for release next year and stars Crowe as Robin Hood and Australian actress Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian.

An entire medieval village was built for the film at Bourne Woods in Surrey and then the action moved to a Welsh beach for a bloody battle scene.

Mally was also unit manager on the Panama shoot of the last James Bond film Quantum of Solace starring Daniel Craig.

He was responsible for the smooth running of the working lives of the 400-strong crew and said at the time: “It’s the day-to-day stuff, making sure everything’s all right, setting up all the logistics to make sure it works. We’re like a travelling army.

“We roll into town, cause mayhem, and roll out again. How you communicate with people is 99 per cent of it.”

He left his course at Cumbria College of Art and Design – now part of the University of Cumbria – to help a fellow student make a film in 1998 and hasn’t looked back.

The production crew of BBC One drama The Lakes were staying in the hotel where the film was being made so Mally asked the location manager for a job.

Since then, he has worked on Atonement starring Keira Knightley and The Other Boleyn Girl with Scarlett Johansson.

As unit manager Mally is the first to arrive and the last to leave, meaning 90-hour weeks are common. He is the first point of contact for local councils, emergency services and the public.

Mally lives in Carlisle with his wife Rachael and daughter Leila.

First published at 09:05, Saturday, 18 July 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk