ASK & DISCUSS
INDEXGrand Theft Auto and Harry Potter vs the UK film industry
11 years, 11 months ago - Vasco de Sousa
Grand Theft Auto broke all records. Blah blah blah, right? Well, along with the Harry Potter franchise, (and I won't even get into music) it proves that there is a global market for the British muse. And, Grand Theft Auto has a UK production company behind it, which is doing very well.
So, as far as excuses from us British based filmmakers, well, we just don't really have any now. Do we?
I mean, some of us may claim that we want to make highbrow stuff, but really, most of the people I see bemoaning the lack of a UK film industry are making stuff that's no more artsy than GWA or HP.
Agree? Disagree? What does EA have that film production companies don't?
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11 years, 11 months ago - Nicholas Hughes
Interesting observation from Paddy. On a similar theme (but different conclusion), the UK film industry isn't as beloved of the public, government and business as it is in the US. Sure, everyone wants to toast British entertainment success when it happens but to support projects along the way is the problem. Also, there's always been a debate in this country between those who want more state involvement in film making and those who want to model the American system and in the end we get a system which falls between the two. It isn't an artsy/commercial divide anyway; there are British gangster movies and low farce comedies aplenty which are hardly artsy. The GTA series is interesting; they play off familiar TV and movie tropes and put them into a game where people familiar with them can get to experience crime thrillers. If GTA V were a movie, it wouldn't be as satisfying because you'd be sitting there watching a clichéd film.
11 years, 11 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin
It's kind of relevant if the question involves flag-waving! ;)
Britain's not short of talent, it's short of opportunity mostly. Surprisingly, that's partly down to the NHS. Many non-studio productions in the US traditionally have wealthy private individual investors. Private, very expensive healthcare and dentistry leaves a glut of wealthy individuals with pretty grim jobs, they want a bit of glamour and excitement, bit of a punt on a well structured project, and possibly a daughter with actress aspirations. Social healthcare and a narrower bottom/top social divide leaves fewer rich investors looking for fun, risky projects.
Well, maybe anyway... it's complex of course and I may be well off the mark, just kicking the idea around.
11 years, 11 months ago - Nick Goundry
To go back to Vasco's initial argument, I would say that in fact the UK has a pretty healthy film industry.
Absolutely crucially, we have one of the most competitive filming incentive programmes in the world, which is consistently attracting the biggest movies in the world, including the new Star Wars film and Marvel's upcoming slate. Adding to that, we also now have a TV filming incentive, which is helping keep high-end TV series like Game of Thrones in Northern Ireland.
GTA is certainly inspired by movies, which makes sense as the two media are now closely connected, although the videogame industry is now considerably bigger than the movie business. This is the profit margin that's missing from film production companies. Rockstar games spent years developing GTA V and was rewarded with, I believe, $800 million in profits in the first 24 hours of release.
11 years, 11 months ago - Vasco de Sousa
So? The parent company of Sony Pictures is Japanese owned, and many UK football clubs have foreign owners.
11 years, 11 months ago - SP User
Aren't the parent companies behind both Harry Potter and GTAV American owned?
11 years, 11 months ago - Sam Seal
So, Paddy, if we abandoned the NHS and went with the dysfunctional American healthcare system, that would empower the UK film industry with a glut of shallow ninnies with money and talentless wannabe actress daughters bringing bags of cash to the party?
I don't really think so.
But one of the things that has massively empowered the UK film industry is JK Rowling's insistence that the Harry Potter films were made in Britain. A whole studio has sprung into being as a result of that idea.