Archive for March, 2010
Film fantasy
Posted by: admin in General Industry News, State/Government Production Incentive News, Studio/Network News, United States Industry News on March 28th, 2010
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20100327/ARTICLES/100329688?Title=Film-fantasy
There’s only so much we can do to lure film productions here
Incentive, or blackmail? The latter seems to better characterize film industry executives’ comments to Gov. Beverly Perdue on her recent trip to Hollywood, where fantasy and reality are virtually indistinguishable. She and a state entourage flew to Los Angeles to tell the moguls they should be making movies in North Carolina.
Perdue told a group of local business leaders Thursday that the executives don’t consider North Carolina competitive with states that offer bigger giveaways, such as Georgia and Louisiana. Georgia, you may recall, is the state that outbid us for the big-budget Miley Cyrus movie “The Last Song”; the announcement came just minutes before Perdue was scheduled to hold a news conference at EUE/Screen Gems Studios announcing that the movie, written by Nicholas Sparks and originally set in Wrightsville Beach, would be filmed here.
That doesn’t sound like film execs didn’t consider our state competitive, and that was before the N.C. General Assembly approved cash incentives of up to 25 percent of a production’s costs, with caps on salary reimbursements and overall project cost. The producers couldn’t get North Carolina to go $125,000 better, so the movie and up to 500 jobs went to Georgia.
There’s the rub with incentives. They leave states between the proverbial rock and hard place. Smart incentives can help seal the deal when a new business is considering several locations. But businesses also have discovered that they can get more money by enticing states to engage in a game of one-upsmanship. And as long as states compete against one another, incentives will continue to be a necessary, if nausea-inducing tool for luring companies that will employ our state’s residents.
A film production is unlike many other businesses in that its presence in any area will be temporary, meaning it pays to fish for the best offer. In the case of “The Last Song,” Georgia gave the producers what they asked for.
Those temporary productions boost the local economy, providing jobs, sales tax revenue and help for local businesses. It’s worth kicking in a little extra money to persuade filmmakers that the Cape Fear region is the best place to make their movie. Because of our long experience with the film industry, the area also boasts skilled production crews who don’t need to travel from somewhere else.
Perdue has indicated she would be willing to propose lifting the cap to put North Carolina in a better position to elbow out Georgia and Louisiana. If the numbers show that our state would benefit economically and financially, then the Honorables should swallow hard, ignore the bitter taste in their mouths and put North Carolina in a better competitive mode.
Still, it would be nice if those Hollywood execs occasionally said, “Thank you.” But that would be fantasy.
Global movie box office nears $30 billion in 2009
Posted by: admin in Asia Industry News, Canada Industry News, General Industry News, State/Government Production Incentive News, Studio/Network News, United States Industry News on March 27th, 2010
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62955520100311?type=entertainmentNews
(Reuters) - Global movie ticket sales hit $29.9 billion last year, up 7.6 percent, with the most growth in the Asia Pacific region, the leading U.S. movie industry representative said on Wednesday.
The Motion Picture Association of America, which represents Hollywood’s major studios on government and industry issues, also said the number of digital 3-D screens worldwide tripled in 2009 to 8,989, which accounts for about 6 percent of all screens.
The $29.9 billion in global box office compares to $27.8 billion the year before.
The Asia Pacific box office increased 12.3 percent, mostly in Japan and China, generating $7.7 billion in ticket sales.
“While the motion picture industry continues to face tremendous challenges elsewhere in our business, we’re reminded again this year that the cinema is the heart and soul of our industry and it is thriving,” Bob Pisano, president and interim chief executive of the MPAA said in a statement.
Twenty films were released in 3-D last year, accounting for 4 percent of all films released in the United States and Canada. But 3-D screenings of those films accounted for an outsized 11 percent of the total box office, the MPAA said.
Theater owners can charge more for a film in 3-D, often adding around $3.50 in some locations, which increases overall revenue.
The number of films released by U.S. companies has declined over the past three years, and in 2009 it dropped 12 percent to 558 from 633 the year before.
The MPAA said the decline was due to the economic downturn and the 14-week strike two years ago by Hollywood writers.
It often takes a year or more for a movie to go from script to theatrical release, so a strike can have a delayed effect on the industry.
As had been previously reported, the U.S. and Canada box office generated $10.6 billion in ticket sales. That accounted for 36 percent of the global box office, a figure that has stayed constant in recent years, the MPAA said. The group also said the number of worldwide movie screens has remained constant the past five years at just under 150,000.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
New Mattel Project Brings Toys and Movies Closer Together
Posted by: admin in General Industry News on March 27th, 2010
http://www.kidglue.com/2010/03/26/new-mattel-project-brings-toys-and-movies-closer-together/
Ever since George Lucas built an entertainment empire on the back of toy sales for “Star Wars,” the toy industry and the film industry have been closely intertwined. This has become an even closer relationship in the past few years as many classic toys have been built into their own film franchises (see “Transformers” and “G.I. Joe”). Now Mattel wants to take it one step further and develop new toys with their movie, TV and web spin offs all at the same time.
The toy company challenged their designers to come up with a new toy line with an eye towards developing franchises. Now they’ve taken the best of those new lines and presented it to film producer Neal Moritz, who they’ve partnered with for the project. The winning idea is built around an alien civilization that’s been living in the depths of Earth’s oceans. Mattel execs thought that the undersea aliens had the best potential for “transmedia” development – “transmedia” being the latest buzz word for things that can live in all of the many media outlets that are available these days.
Some critics lament the move as just one more step towards the death of cinema, but others see the creative potential. If Hollywood is going to be building film franchises around toys, why not make sure toys are being developed with an eye towards becoming great movies from the get go? Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, a company that specializes in developing transmedia stories behind toys, says that “it’s actually a great idea, with the caveat that they need to coordinate the story and have it all make sense well beforehand.” Gomez emphasizes that, while brand name toys may have name appeal, it’s great characters and stories that children identify with. If toys can be created with great characters and stories already built in to their back stories, then it only becomes easier to make the inevitable movie spin offs quality films.
Mariano backs keeping jobs through film tax credit
Posted by: admin in State/Government Production Incentive News, United States Industry News on March 27th, 2010
“I am thrilled at the significant vote in the House today in support of the film tax credit program,” said Mariano. “As other sectors continue to struggle, the film and television production industry in Massachusetts has been a bright spot. Since the inception of the tax credit in 2006, the Mass. film industry has seen dramatic growth, especially in the area of employment. Jobs have risen by 30 percent and we continue to feel the ripple effect on ancillary industries statewide. I thank my fellow members for making a strong commitment today in support of this burgeoning industry.”
During debate on the House floor, lawmakers rejected an amendment that would have limited the tax credit to $50 million dollars per year for all production costs incurred in Massachusetts. Another amendment would have limited the tax credit to $7 million dollars per year for all productions.
A recent UMass-Boston study reported that each job created by the film sector produces .79 jobs in other sectors of the Commonwealth. The study also suggests that non-wage film production spending in Massachusetts – some $247 million since 2006 – creates “significant sources of revenue for local merchants.”
Money, locations drive industry
Posted by: admin in United States Industry News on March 27th, 2010
http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2510740
Posted By MARIA CALABRESE, THE NUGGET
Malcolm McCulloch pictures a scene with militia pouring out of an ominous, gaping tunnel.
In North Bay, it’s the former Cold War-era underground military complex dubbed the Hole.”
The freelance movie location scout told a community film forum this week the industry is experiencing burnout from shooting the same locations in Toronto. He encouraged residents, businesses and government to add images of properties and natural surroundings to the Ontario Media Development Corp. — a provincial agency in Toronto that collects images in a database accessed by producers who need a reason to head North.
The more images from a certain city are in that library, the more it can help producers make up their mind whether they want to go there or not,” McCulloch said.
The forum heard Disney Channel’s Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam filmed for three days in French River based on photos of its visitor centre.
Producers are interested in untapped and unfilmed” locations, including new buildings such as schools and the regional hospital nearing the end of construction. Even derelict buildings that are still safe to work in are an option to record audio or shoot commercials and music videos, McCulloch said.
A crowd of almost 50 people at the forum at Canadore College heard Music and Film in Motion in Sudbury has a location library, and North Bay wants to create one.
Ontario saw $1 billion in film production last year, including nine major projects in Northern Ontario–three in North Bay–in the midst of a global economic downturn.
McCulloch said being too excited about attracting talent turns them off, and so does expecting pots of money or site improvements since smaller productions mean smaller budgets.
The trick is to use a digital camera with enough megapixels to take clear images of a room or property in a way that tells a story,” he said.
The industry relies on people opening their doors to a scout, and McCulloch acknowledges the balance between earning trust and providing people with ID and enough details to help them decide if they’re dealing with a legitimate request.
Globalisation of the Indian film industry
Posted by: admin in India Industry News on March 27th, 2010
http://www.merinews.com/article/globalisation-of-the-indian-film-industry/15802285.shtml
The globalization effect on the industry has resulted in western production standards, usage of English in the script or incorporation of some element of western-style plots. Bollywood has produced hits like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Kal Ho.
Film Industry Group Asks Feds to Prevent Futures Trading on Box Office Results
Posted by: admin in General Industry News, Training & School News, United States Industry News on March 27th, 2010
The Motion Picture Association of America, the film industry group, has asked the federal commission that oversees futures exchanges to prevent the trading of futures contracts based on movie box-office receipts, calling such trading “unbridled gambling.”
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has been reviewing applications from two companies that, if approved, would open markets to trade movie contracts. Buyers and sellers on the markets would place money on whether a movie will sail or sink at the box office.
The letter to the commission, sent on Tuesday by Robert Pisano, the interim chief executive of the movie association, said that the “reputation and integrity of our industry could be tarnished by allowing trading in the movie futures contracts in a manner which allows them to be viewed as the economic equivalent of legalized gambling on movie receipts.”
Last week, one of those companies planning to open a market, the Cantor Futures Exchange, which is owned by Cantor Fitzgerald, allowed customers to start funding their accounts. Cantor expects to get final approval for the exchange in April.
The second company, called Trend Exchange and run by Veriana Networks, a privately owned media and technology company, had expected to get a ruling on their application by Wednesday. According to its Web site, the commission is now accepting public comments on the application until April 8. Unlike the Cantor market, which will be open to everyone, Trend Exchange will work only with professional and institutional investors.
Mr. Pisano argued in the letter that one of the purposes of futures markets – the ability to hedge an investment – is banned by the rules submitted in Cantor’s application. He wrote that the Cantor contract prohibits investors in a movie, such as a movie studio, from trading futures for that film.
Richard Jaycobs, the president of the Cantor exchange, said Wednesday that its exchange would limit the amount a company invested in a movie could hedge on that film, along with other restrictions, but not prohibit it entirely. He said he remained confident that the commission would approve Cantor’s application.
A spokesman for the commission said it had no response to the letter.
Greg Frazier, the executive vice president of the movie association, said in an interview on Wednesday that the group had started digging into the issue in recent weeks after reading news reports about the markets. Mr. Frazier said that, at a minimum, the commission should hold off on any rulings until after there’s a public discussion about the ramifications. “Let’s have a conversation about this,” he said.
Film producers scramble for Oahu space
Posted by: admin in United States Industry News on March 27th, 2010
http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2010/03/29/story4.html
by Janis L. Magin Pacific Business News
The former CompUSA building in Kakaako has a new tenant, but it’s not another big-box retail chain.
The 38,000-square-foot building has been leased for the next few months to the production company that’s filming “The Descendants,” a feature film starring George Clooney.
ABC’s “Lost” is wrapping up its six-year run at the state’s only film studio, the Hawaii Film Studio behind Diamond Head, which has left the other production companies scrambling to find space on Oahu that’s big enough to handle production.
This spring is a busy time for the film industry on Oahu. In addition to “The Descendants,” Disney is scouting locations for its fourth installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and CBS is hunting for space for the “Hawaii Five-O” television series reboot. And other TV series may be coming to the Islands if their pilots are picked up by the networks.
NAFTI/AFFC to collaborate to revamp film industry
Posted by: admin in Africa Industry News on March 27th, 2010
http://www.ghananewsagency.org/s_social/r_13922/
Accra, March 26, GNA - The African Federation of Film Critics (AFFC), and National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI), on Friday initiated efforts to collaborate to revamp the Ghanaian film industry.
The initiative includes coordinating activities of stakeholders in the film industry to maximise their power and influence, monthly industrial think-tank dialogue, promotion of professionalism in film production and projection of Ghanaian films both locally and internationally.
This was the outcome of a meeting between Professor Linus Abraham, Acting Director of NAFTI, Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Vice President of AFFC, and Mr. Fara J. P. Awindor, Senior Lecturer at NAFTI and Vice President of Director’s Guild Ghana, in Accra.
Mr. Ameyibor explained that the two institutions would create an enabling environment for the establishment of stakeholders’ coalition to champion a crusade for the promulgation of the National Film Policy.
He said such a policy would ensure the sustenance of an optimum standard in film and television production to parallel the Ghanaian audio visual industry onto the international film community.
Mr Ameyibor, who is also a Chief Reporter at the Ghana News Agency, stressed that the development and sustenance of the audio visual industry depended largely on the establishment of a concrete legal framework.
He said AFFC and NAFTI would organise film critics’ workshop for journalists, film students and professionals in the industry to enhance their capacity and sharpen their professional skills.
“The workshops would also address the operational challenges among film producers and film critics for the recognition of the critical role film critics play for revamping the industry,” he said.
Prof. Abraham said it was imperative for the African audio visual industry to respond pragmatically to global challenges, play active role in the economic and political emancipation of Africans.
“The audio visual industry was used to capture and enslave the African even years after political independence; we must use the same weapon to liberate our people.
“It is time Ghanaians and African governments recognise the power of the audio visual industry towards national mobilisation for economic independence. You cannot develop when you always see yourself through a lens provided by your competitors,” he said.
Prof. Abraham commended the collaborative efforts between AFFC and NAFTI to create a platform to rejuvenate the film industry.
Mr Awindor called on stakeholders in the industry to join the initiative to revamp the industry, adding “we must forge forward together in unity to transform our image”.
GNA
Breaks too generous to film industry
Posted by: admin in State/Government Production Incentive News, United States Industry News on March 27th, 2010
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2010/03/26/opinion/7148675.txt
Ellen Becker-Gray, in recent letter, criticized state Rep. Steve D’Amico for taking a tax deduction as a state representative while wanting to cut tax incentives to the film industry.
Not only is D’Amico entitled to it, most state representatives and senators take the same deduction. If D’Amico is to be criticized, so should the others.
Tax breaks for the film industry actually cost the taxpayers money. In one reported example the state grated $94,000 in tax breaks and received $68,000 in return. That is a losing proposition. The film industry is also 100 percent exempt from the sales tax. The industry will be entitled to $150 million dollars in tax deductions this year, at a time when the state is having trouble paying its own bills and taxes have increased for everyone else.
A typical TIF given by local communities and the state reduces the taxes to a business or industry, but the community and state do not lose money. If a city or town reduces a prospective business’s taxes by 20 percent it still receives 80 percent in taxes that it was not receiving before the industry moved in. There is also a time limit in which the incentive expires and conditions are imposed, such as job creation. The film industry is not playing by the same rules.
It is true that the film industry has created jobs and some businesses have profited. However, these jobs and benefits have been temporary and short term. The decision has to be made whether the cost to the taxpayers is worth the rewards. It is understandable, since Ellen Becker-Gray benefits personally from the current policy, that she would support it. However, I note she is not a Massachusetts resident and does not pay Massachusetts or local taxes, other than possibly sales taxes while working in the state. D’Amico is not saying the state should not give tax incentives to the film industry; he simply wants them to comply with the same requirements as other industries. D’Amico is doing what he is supposed to do - looking out for the taxpayer.