What’s holding the UK film industry back?

[Guest]

Shouldn't you be having a fit Brian over the Hollywood films that it says where shot in the UK vs Los Angeles?

 

I mean shooting Captain America in the UK, gee that's a low blow :D

 

R,

[Brian Dzyak]

Shouldn't you be having a fit Brian over the Hollywood films that it says where shot in the UK vs Los Angeles?

 

I mean shooting Captain America in the UK, gee that's a low blow :D

 

R,

 

 

I suppose so, but I wager that you should be having an equal fit because all that profit never finds it's way back to the Queen. ;)

[Dave Green]

As much as I hate the idea, quota systems on US films are the only answer.

 

Why hate? That's precisely what countries like France do. In fact, so does the UK when it comes to broadcast content. It's only in the cinema where there isn't a quota.

 

One of the main reasons why countries like Italy, France, China, Germany, and Japan are still able to produce hundreds of movies per year is the fact that people still prefer to see movies in their own language.

 

And, more importantly, they actively protect their film industry - for both financial and cultural reasons. We do not. Also, most of the profitable films that are made in the UK are not 'UK films', so those profits are not reinvested into the UK film industry.

 

We are to foreign productions what child labour is to Nike. We may get a fair amount of work, but we don't benefit in any real way from it.

[Guest]

Why hate? That's precisely what countries like France do. In fact, so does the UK when it comes to broadcast content. It's only in the cinema where there isn't a quota.

 

Well because I've had a lot of success over the years exporting my products to the US market. So I don't want Canadian product shut out of the US market.

 

The problem in the case of entertainment in general in Canada is that it's such a lopsided victory for the US. We do have Canadian content laws for TV and radio, yes. But I worked at three Canadian networks, they all found tricks to get around the rules and the CRTC only does lax enforcement at best. In the history of the CRTC they have never cancelled a broadcast license so why should any broadcaster fear them?

 

For theatrical releasing the US controls 98% of the Canadian market. That's what I mean when I say it's so lopsided. A ten year quota of 30% Canadian content in Canadian cinemas would light a huge fire under the industry here.

 

R,