Pinewood...more Govt Propaganda

[Lost Login]

I see they are announcing that an A list cast could star in the AA Milne Biopic to be filmed here. Theortically anything could happen, it actually happening might be news. I could announce that I could be opening a restaurant in the IoM and that it could be run by Heston B. Theoretically possible but not actually likely.

 

However ignoring that, they propose to invest spend between £6.5 and £10 million on this film which "charts the life of the English author and playwright between 1918 and the 1930s. The film charts the difficult relationship between the father and his son, who inspired the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin. It will explore the impact of celebrity on the young Robin Milne, who saw his soft toy collection transformed into some of children’s literature’s most famous characters".

 

OK it is pure guesswork what or what not will be a successful film financially but looking at what is generally popular at the box office it is not biopics on writers. Surely if you are going to have a gamble/punt on a film have a punt on something at least do so on something where there is some evidence that there might be an audience for.

[Slim]

I see they are announcing that an A list cast could star in the AA Milne Biopic to be filmed here. Theortically anything could happen, it actually happening might be news. I could announce that I could be opening a restaurant in the IoM and that it could be run by Heston B. Theoretically possible but not actually likely.

 

Come on now, the films been backed by pinewood which will presumably include money from the development fund, so part of that backing agreement is that it'll be filmed in Pinewood studios and in the IOM. Given the 10-15m budget, it would seem likely that it will attract 'UK' A-List cast if not a big hollywood name. That's not exactly a guess now is it?

 

However ignoring that, they propose to invest spend between £6.5 and £10 million on this film which "charts the life of the English author and playwright between 1918 and the 1930s. The film charts the difficult relationship between the father and his son, who inspired the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin. It will explore the impact of celebrity on the young Robin Milne, who saw his soft toy collection transformed into some of children’s literature’s most famous characters".

 

OK it is pure guesswork what or what not will be a successful film financially but looking at what is generally popular at the box office it is not biopics on writers. Surely if you are going to have a gamble/punt on a film have a punt on something at least do so on something where there is some evidence that there might be an audience for.

 

Dead certs don't need to hunt for funding though, do they? Dead certs also do not cost £10m. Avatar, Titanic, Harry Potter, Lord of the rings, dead certs but they cost over $1b. Even a modest budget blockbuster like Bond costs upwards of $160m.

 

PS, where's that big share price drop I was slagged off for saying wouldn't happen?

[Lost Login]

Dead certs don't need to hunt for funding though, do they? Dead certs also do not cost £10m. Avatar, Titanic, Harry Potter, Lord of the rings, dead certs but they cost over $1b. Even a modest budget blockbuster like Bond costs upwards of $160m.

 

PS, where's that big share price drop I was slagged off for saying wouldn't happen?

 

I am not expecting them to find a ded cert. I am just expecting they use a bit of judgement and at least back something in a genre that shows some track record of producing the odd surprise. This just smacks of we have money to spend on a film, this is a film, therefore this is where we will spend our money.

 

As for share price I am not sure why you are addressing that to me as I never said it would. My stated view that is that the share price is basically meaningless as there is no volume or real market in the shares and it is little different to a private company.

[ScotsAlan]

Now that Scotland has declared it wants a bit of the action, do the posters here think that will affect the taxpayers investment?

 

I will edit later to add a link.... It's on bbc. Scotland. Sound stage and tax breaks etc.

 

Edit to add link.

 

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-22642279

[Slim]

I am not expecting them to find a ded cert. I am just expecting they use a bit of judgement and at least back something in a genre that shows some track record of producing the odd surprise. This just smacks of we have money to spend on a film, this is a film, therefore this is where we will spend our money.

 

The premise is quite similar to Miss Potter, a movie that cost a similar amount and went on to make money. The track record is there.

 

It's a notoriously difficult thing to call pre-production. Look at 'The Help', a film about the lives of black maids, who'd back that? Cost about what we're talking here but grossed $200 mil. No shortage of flops in all genres.

 

Is there another example of a £15m movie that's got a proven track record over the last few years that you can think of?

 

 

As for share price I am not sure why you are addressing that to me as I never said it would. My stated view that is that the share price is basically meaningless as there is no volume or real market in the shares and it is little different to a private company.

 

Just addressing the room

[Blade Runner]

If we are saying that we need to look at genres that have made big money in the past as a guide to what "we" invest our film fund money in, then we could not ignore the big budget action films that, even a bad one, grosses 200 million plus.

 

We do not have the money to finance one of these types of films only if we used the same production methods, ie CGI, expensive sets, big name actors/ actresses and an advertising budget equal to what we spent on the airport runway.

 

Keeping the blockbuster format above in mind, why could we not do similar style films but on a much cheaper scale? Imagine Avatar, filmed in 2D on location in Ballaugh plantation with local actors painted blue, a few microlights from the local club and a couple of DOI bulldozers painted green thrown in for effect.

 

Low, very low budget remakes of hugely expensive films could become a cult, the porn industry has been doing it for years.

 

I would pay to watch something that bad, it could catch on, and is likely to be more profitable than a biopic about some bloke not many have heard of...............................

[localyokel]

To be honest Bladerunner that's not even a joke as most of the films already attributed to our 'success' are fairly low budget affairs - Waking Ned, the Libertine, that pile of shite Danny Dyer was in that I can't even remember the name of. There's not really a decent budget amongst any of them. Its always been about the VAT structure not the quality of the proposition.

[Lonan3]

Low, very low budget remakes of hugely expensive films could become a cult, the porn industry has been doing it for years.

We'll defer to your apparent expertise on the subject!

[quilp]

Pinewood have lodged an appeal with HMG after their failed attempt with South Bucks District Council.

 

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-22728747

 

Taking it to the top...

[thebees]

Shhhhh silence! You've been told by Eddie, Pinewood is great, the government are great, it is all above board and perfectly legal and sensible. Now, move along, nothing to see.

[Albert Tatlock]

I was watching a BBC report this morning looking at Northern Ireland and 'Our Alien Overlords' being filmed there, and how it is to bring £64M into the local community etc.

 

I wonder how much this same film will be bringing to the island when part of it is filmed here?

 

No doubt yet another government spin master will be telling us yet another £64M.

[2112]

I was watching a BBC report this morning looking at Northern Ireland and 'Our Alien Overlords' being filmed there, and how it is to bring £64M into the local community etc.

 

I wonder how much this same film will be bringing to the island when part of it is filmed here?

 

No doubt yet another government spin master will be telling us yet another £64M.

I saw that report too ............................except they are filming here over the Tynwald Fair weekend in July, I don't think they are here for long filming...........just using Castletown Square to film scenes. Not much bed spaces etc being used over such a short period of time..............unless im mistaken and they are here filming for over a month.

[Albert Tatlock]

 

I was watching a BBC report this morning looking at Northern Ireland and 'Our Alien Overlords' being filmed there, and how it is to bring £64M into the local community etc.

 

I wonder how much this same film will be bringing to the island when part of it is filmed here?

 

No doubt yet another government spin master will be telling us yet another £64M.

I saw that report too ............................except they are filming here over the Tynwald Fair weekend in July

Coincidentally, when our very own alien overlords meet.

[Albert Tatlock]

From MR: Island already benefits from Pinewood deal says Minister (listen to audio)

 

Also, as a reminder, From IOMOnline (some time ago): Pinewood Studios plan £200m extension

Filming for the small budget Camera Trap has been taking place over two weeks in the island.

 

The movie, described as ‘Frozen Planet meets the Blair Witch Project’, has been shot in the plantations of Axnfell, Druidale, Tholt-y-Will and in the Barony estate at Cornaa. It stars TV regulars Paul Thornley and Mark Bonnar, and young American actor Ross Marquand and the Romanian actress Ana Ularu.

 

Mr Skelly said the island’s investment in Camera Trap was less than £1 million and half the cast are local people. Filming in remote locations was not without problems – equipment got stuck in the snow at Druidale the week before last. The cast and part of the crew will be off to Nepal next to film some location shots.

 

A £3M local spend? Really? Partnering with Gasworks Media (South Quay)?

 

I look forward to the audit, where the £3M came from, and of course where it was spent.

[asitis]

Albert you and I both know that the accounts will reveal some spending in areas which cannot be quantified, this is the whole premise around which the smoke and mirrors of this investment is based, in our current circumstances I only hope that in this case Eddie is correct and not living in a fantasy world injected into his mind by self interested others !