Will Cameron's speech on funding only be fit for the box-office kings?

David Cameron is set to call for UK lottery funding to go to films with big box-office potential. But what will that mean for small-scale, independent cinema?

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Funding speech ... David Cameron is expected to call for UK lottery funding to be aimed at films with box-office draw, such as The King's Speech

The plans to overhaul public funding of British cinema, which David Cameron will announce later today during a visit to Pinewood studios, has so far drawn divided reactions.

According to early reports, Cameron will call for lottery funding to be aimed at big-budget, commercially successful films, and away from small-scale, independent cinema. Citing the box-office and awards success of The King's Speech and Slumdog Millionaire, he said: "Our role should be to support the sector in becoming even more dynamic and entrepreneurial, helping UK producers to make commercially successful pictures that rival … the best international productions."

Iain Smith, the chair of the British Film Commission, an organisation also cited favourably by Cameron for its work in attracting overseas productions to shoot in the UK, said in response: "It is reassuring to hear the government understands the role big-budget, international movies shooting in the UK plays in building a world-class skilled workforce, while boosting the UK economy."

A report on the Today show suggested that the likes of Mike Leigh – a critically successful but far from commercial film-maker – are "finished", but given that Leigh is currently marked with establishment favour by an Olympics commission, that may be a hasty conclusion.

Leigh's contemporary Ken Loach – another critic's favourite but no box-office heavyweight – has suggested that the government's plans include the return of profits to the producers, instead of the funding bodies as is currently the case. If this proves true, it will mark a sharp change from the modus operandi of the UK Film Council, which provided funding from lottery sources as a "loan", and expected repayment from a film's income.

With the much-criticised abolition of the UKFC being their first major act in the film-making sector, the coalition have been under pressure to develop a more coherent, constructive policy toward the sector. The costs associated with transferring the UKFC's functions to the BFI appear to have wiped out any of the financial savings the UKFC's abolition was supposed to achieve. Now it seems that the coalition will be considerably more relaxed about returns to the public purse of money handed out to UK film producers.

What this means for the future of UK film production has yet to be established. A runaway hashtag on Twitter, #fundablefilms, is drawing spoof suggestions for future film titles. It is notoriously difficult to predict commercial success in cinema, and during the lottery era the UK funding agencies have proved vulnerable to the financial machinations of wily film producers – the main reason why the UKFC's safeguards were introduced. The spectacle of profits being creamed off by Hollywood studios, after start-up funding from the UK lottery, is a very real possibility.

Furthermore, commercial film-making carries enormous financial risk; will the British public be happy to see millions go down the drain on inevitable failures? Whenever public funding bodies try to act like studios, they end up getting burned, as the furore around Sex Lives of the Potato Men demonstrated.

Moreover, what would happen to small-scale, high-impact films such as Shame, Wuthering Heights, The Deep Blue Sea and We Need to Talk About Kevin; all low-budget, "difficult" films that required a "cultural" imperative to get off the ground? Let alone the likes of Lindsay Anderson's If…, which Cameron professed to admire only days ago.

'Upside Down'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/jan/04/upside-down-cinema-2012

Margaret Thatcher in Film and TV

Meryl Streep created a storm last week when a picture of her made up to look like Margaret Thatcher was released. The Oscar-winner is filming a biopic about Britain’s first and only female prime minister.
Maggie, as some endearingly refer to her, ploughed the furrows of Britain with her beliefs in low taxation and privatization. Along the way, she had a few altercations with British miners, but her time in government was eventually brought to an end by the poll tax riots of 1990.
After 11 years in power, what cultural legacy did the Iron Lady leave behind?
The political picture
Despite Thatcher being opposed to the BBC as an institution, it has made a nice line of political and historic films based around her and her government. Just last year, they broadcast Margaret, a film charting her fall from power. The year before that, there was a drama that focused on her earlier years, The Long Walk to Finchley.
And it’s not just the BBC. In fact, watch any film about Britain in the 80s and you will be hard pushed to find one where the influence of her government is not referred to somewhere. Many profited as she stuck staunchly to her free market policies, but unemployment also rose. There were also the seminal miners’ strikes of the mid-80s that lead to the closure of several mines and weakened trade unions for years afterwards.
Billy Elliot is set during the miners’ strikes and the storyline interweaves Billy’s struggle to become a dancer with his father’s struggles as a miner. The film is now also a West End musical with music by Elton John. My Beautiful Laundrette looks at racism and homosexuality against the backdrop of Thatcher’s economic policies.
Thatcher had an equally controversial stand-off with the Argentines in 1982. The Falkland Islands (or Las Malvinas as they are called in Argentina) are technically British territory, but Argentina considers them to be Argentine.
Two films worth watching to get a sense of Britain at the time are The Ploughman’s Lunch, which focuses on British media during the war and This is England, which looks at English nationalist culture.

Sir Bob was one of the few who successfully stood up to the Iron Lady. Photo: Wikimedia

The Protesting Popstar
It was during Thatcher’s time in power that Band Aid was created to help with famine in Ethiopia. Bob Geldof stood up to Thatcher, the tax on ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ was returned to the charity and Geldof was free to say, ‘Give us your money’ as much as he liked for a good cause. This started the ball rolling for the Sir Bob and Bono to be the crusading campaigners they are today.
Billy Bragg also made his name during this time with protest songs. He started in the 80s siding with the miners and fronting Red Wedge, a group of musicians that attempted to engage people in politics and hasn’t stopped since. He still performs political punk rock and can be seen supporting groups such as Unite Against Fascism.
The 80s
Thatcher’s distaste for public expenditure and the era of the yuppie meant that the arts had to strive for commercial viability and you can taste the fruits of all this neon coloured virtuosity at Maggie’s Club in West London. Drinks are Maggie-themed and anyone who uses the toilet is subject to one of her inspiring political speeches.
If you feel that the political propaganda or the heady prices of the cocktails might be a little too much for you, never fear. You can still crimp your hair, don your leg-warmers and head to a Reflex bar or the infamous Infernos. Musical highlights will include synths, Bonnie Tyler and the Baywatch theme. Many British university towns also have a student bar that specializes in this sort of retro throwback music.
So there you have it First Pint readers – lycra-clad hedonism or bleakly lyrical protestation is yours to embrace should you wish it. Once you’ve familiarised yourself with the world of Thatcherite culture, it’s time to really embrace it as the British would by laughing at it.
Your first point of call for a Maggie giggle is Spitting Image. The satirical puppet show has been said to have ruined careers, so what are you waiting for? Grab some Babycham and enjoy some of Maggie’s best work.

Beautiful Laundrette - Context

Ah, those were the days. The '80s. A time when Margaret Thatcher towered bestride the country, a political colossus in a parliament of dwarfs. For those on the upswing these were years of infinite opportunity, a boundless feast of finance. Unfortunately such largesse commanded a desperate price, in this case the crushing of those without the means or desire to align themselves with Mrs. T's culture of greed. My Beautiful Laundrette, a fair and true product of the decade, crosses between these (and many other) camps in distilling the era. It captures the scents and sounds, the thoughts and actions; in every fibre Stephen Frears' film speaks of a past so removed it hardly seems to have existed.

The film highlights a dilemma at the heart of the immigrant experience - the desire to belong to Western society while maintaining a clear sense of Pakistani identity. The two brothers, Nasser and Papa, demonstrate this cultural conflict. An ardent intellectual socialist, Papa belongs to old school Pakistan because, like most first generation immigrants, he believes fervently in education combating racism and is vehemently against the greed and conservative economics of Thatcherism.

http://www.urmila.de/UDG/Lehre/SS05/Film/Merdian.pdf

Borders and Belonging in My Beautiful Laundrette

Stephen Frears’ My Beautiful Laundrette presents many representational issues of Eighties Britain, tackling racism, homosexuality, and class during the Thatcher era. The plot revolves around the homosexual relationship between Johnny, an English Punk rebel, and Omar, the son of a Pakistani journalist, who seeks to find success in the running of a local laundrette. The two characters represent the Asian and White communities in Britain, however as their controversial relationship develops and they are brought together, they are subjected to cope with the pressure of society, and more and more boundaries begin to form.

There are certain restrictions that surround Omar throughout the film. First of all, his father dislikes Britain, and resorts to alcohol to console his unhappiness with his surroundings, and also the loss of his wife, who committed suicide by throwing herself on to the train tracks that run behind their residential home. His ongoing grief is represented through the continuous passing of the train, which acts as a haunting reminder of her, and can be both heard and seen from the house. Omar has many responsibilities; he adopts the woman’s role of the house, doing such chores as hanging out the washing, and also looks after his father. However, due to the high rates of unemployment at the time and financial crisis, Omar was extremely lucky when he was faced with a job opportunity from his Uncle. This chance opened up the borders that restricted Omar. As a successful businessman, his Uncle was a valued member of society, and both this and his public affair with a glamorous white woman, Rachel, could be seen as his route of acceptance into society- reinforcing his sense of ‘belonging’.

However, Nasser’s high-class links mean that throughout the film, he talks down to Omar, is condescending about his class and makes hints about his sexuality. Upon meeting his Uncle and his cousin, Salim, Omar wears jeans and trainers. In comparison to their suits it placed emphasis on him being in poverty. Salim tells Omar ‘at least you’ll be able to afford a clean shirt, Mrs Thatcher will be happy with me’, which adds focus to clothes being status symbols and representative of class, and is also another reference to washing clothes. This could be considered ironic as Omar eventually runs the laundrette, somewhere responsible for washing shirts. There are also suggestions of strong boundaries between the wealthy and working class, particularly shown in the bar scene, where Nasser asks Omar ‘have you ever been to a high class place like this before?’, seeking to portray the luxuries that the upper class considered exclusive to them, creating limitations for the working classes.

There are many subtle sexual references towards the relationship between Johnny and Omar, and their sexualities. At the beginning of the film, before their relationship was established, Omar’s father tells Nasser to ‘fix him up with a nice girl; I’m not sure his penis is in full working order’. At the time, it was seen as a hegemonic norm to be straight, and Omar’s true sexuality was not expected. However, as the film moves on the euphemisms become more referential to the two characters’ homosexual relationship, for example when Salim asks Omar ‘you know how to rub don’t you?’ when he is set the task of washing the car.

When we are first introduced to Johnny, it is in the first scene of the film, where him and his friend are squatting in a house, and are violently thrown out. This establishes the theme of poverty in the film. They are punks, a stereotypical group with a specific, strong image, for example shaven heads, and commonly this look was associated with a right wing, racist outlook. Their ‘punk’ style is a symbolic signifier of the Eighties. Johnny projects a rebellious attitude, participating in violence and is seen drinking alcohol on many occasions. However his character stereotype breaks the mould of borders and belonging by the way he didn’t care about what his peers thought of him. His friends were adamant about keeping the ‘punk’ image, however Johnny turned his life around by finding love with Omar and not letting the views of homosexuality stop him, and also by working in the laundrette. He became eager to succeed.

Johnny Depp suffers one of the biggest box office flops of his career after £35m movie The Rum Diary takes in just £3m

By Alanah Eriksen
Last updated at 1:01 PM on 2nd November 2011

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Johnny Depp has suffered one of the biggest box office flops of his career with his latest film The Rum Diary.
It took in just £3million during its opening weekend and is on target to be his worst performing movie ever.
While moviegoers flocked to see the Hollywood heavyweight him as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series they were less enthusiastic to see him play 1950s journalist Hunter S Thompson in Puerto Rico.

Bad news: Johnny Depp's new film The Rum Diaries grossed just £3million during its opening weekend making it on track to be one of his worst performing movies ever

Moviegoers preferred to watch Shrek spin-off Puss in Boots 3D which made £21million.
Critics also slammed the film, which cost £35million to make, giving it a C rating.

 

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The film opened at more than 2,000 theatres across America.
Depp has starred in three of the biggest grossing films of all time as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

Frazzled: The Hollywood heavyweight plays journalist Hunter S. Thompson, who Johnny counts as a friend

He is usually box office gold and his pairing with Angelina Jolie in The Tourist brought in £180m at the box office.
His 2009 film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus opened to just £1 million.
But it went on to gross £4.7million domestically and £38million worldwide on a £18million.
And his 2006 The Libertine fared worse, opening to £1.3million and grossed £3million in North America and £6.7million worldwide.
But the film was shot on a modest budget of around £12.5million.

Pirate man: Fans preferred to see Johnny play Captain Jack Sparrow in box office smash Pirates of the Caribbean

The Rum Diary was a labour of love for the 48-year-old actor as he considered Hunter S Thompson a close personal friend.
He appeared in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas which was based on a book by Thompson.
Producers hoped Depp's wide appeal and Thompson's cult status would help the film take £7million on its opening weekend.
The actor took part in mass publicity for the film, appearing on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine and touring colleges saw him visit UC Berkeley, the University of Texas at Austin and Columbia University.
The Rum Diary also stars Aaron Eckhart, Amber Heard and Giovanni Ribisi. Bruce Robinson wrote and directed and Depp co-produced.

Kids show: Moviegoers preferred to watch Shrek spin-off Puss in Boots which made £21million and featured the voices of Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2056553/Johnny-Depp-movie-The-Rum-Diary-box-office-flop-takes-just-3m.html#ixzz1cYkn90BN