film production  falls  40% in uk the number of british films produced in the uk fell 40% in 2004  with movies starring johnny depp and jude law among those affected  screen daily has said.  twenty-seven british films were made in the uk last year following a drop in funding  compared with 45 in 2003  according to the trade weekly. it attributed the drop to tighter tax laws and reduced funding from sources such as the national lottery. uk and us co-productions in britain fell from 102 in 2003 to 81 last year.  last year the government closed tax loopholes that many film investors had taken advantage of to fund films in the uk. several projects were shelved as they faced the implications of this clampdown  coupled with the reduction in movie funding from traditional sources including the lottery and miramax films. shooting on period drama tulip fever  which was to star jude law and keira knightley  was postponed indefinitely while shooting of the libertine starring johnny depp was moved to the isle of man.   there isn t anything coming in to replace (the funds)   said the libertine s executive producer marc samuelson.  we are in a hiatus.  films with  medium  budgets of up to £9m  a similar level to box office hits vera drake  calendar girls and enduring love  are expected to be worst hit by the tax clampdown. the strength of the pound against the dollar is expected to have resulted in a fall in the number of us films shot in the uk during 2004  screen international added. big budget co-productions  such as the harry potter series  continued to be shot in the uk  however. the uk film council said the drop was partly due to 2003 being an especially good year for british film production  when bridget jones: the edge of reason  wimbledon and thunderbirds were all filmed in the uk.   the drop was expected as there was no way 2003 s record level of production could be bettered   the council s spokesperson said.  the reduction in indigenous film production in 2004 was due to a variety of factors  including the continuing long-term trend towards co-production of films in more than one country and changes to financing arrangements.  it was  too early  to predict whether the downward trend in uk production would continue throughout 2005  the uk film council said. in september the government introduced subsidies worth up to £4m per film for medium budget films  under new treasury measures. it is also due to announce a replacement for uk film tax relief scheme section 48 in july.