Boxoffice-July.1995

make the right contact, it isn't going to
matter where anyone lives."
"There is one negative issue in Europe at
this point," Sands says, "and it's the quota
issue. As long as that's in effect, that encourages
companies to enter into co-production
agreements, which we are doing." And, to
paraphrase Ingmar Bergman, local producers
have a hard time becoming upset when
American powerhouses arrive with check
in hand. "I've been out in tlie marketplace
exploring [co-production] possibilities, and
they're coming together," Sand says. "Tlie
foreign producers are very interested in
doing business with American companies."
UIP's WUliams-Jones sees the burgeoning
multiplex as a forebear of the trend
toward local partnerships. "Tlie growth of
admissions in Europe," he says, "wiU drive
a healthier total economy for the industry,
which in turn will have a knock-on effect on
local production." Kagan's Borde sees tlie
connection as well, but his tone is more
measured. "The whole purpose behind coproduction
is to create a symbiosis between
territories. As European films are able to
establish themselves as viable sources of
entertainment, multiplexes wQl be a great
source of revenue." But tliere's a catch, he
says. "The question is, are European multiplexes
going to be showing European films
or American films? As long as Europeans
are able to establish market share, there'll
be a greater increase in co-production."
As
American production values
and corporate bottom lines become
more of a factor in European
production, many see a new kind of
film product coming out of the longtime
art-film stronghold. "The reason the share
of the marketplace for European films has
slipped is not because ofthe perceived dominance
of Hollywood," WUliams-Jones says.
CO-PRODUCTIONS ON THE COME: US. star
Bruce Willis joins with French director Luc Besson
for Columbia/Gaumont's "The Fifth Element.
"It has more to do widi the fact tiiat European
filmmakers have lost touch with their
audiences. I think European filmmakers
wall, on the back of this expanding market,
get back in touch.... And you see this happening
already with 'Four Weddings and a
Funeral' and 'Shallow Grave.' There are a lot
of mo\'ies sourced in Europe that are finding
vast audiences."
Decatron's Bert goes so far as to see the
new-style European fUm being made in
America. "I hope that more and more European
producers and directors will find their
way to HoUyivood and make films with
European talent there. You see the trend
witli 'Basic Instinct' [directed by Dutch director
Paul Verhoeven] and the film from
[fellow Dutchman] Jan de Bont, 'Speed,'
which was received in Holland almost like
a European product."
The handwTiting for the commercial European
film is already on the wall. A good
example is the work of French director Luc
Besson, whose "La Femme Nikita"— a highadrenaline,
Holhrn'ood-style action picture—was
so weU-received stateside that
Hollywood remade it as "Point of No Return."
Besson's most recent effort, "The Professional,"
was made in conjunction with
Columbia Pictures; his next, "The Fifth Element,"
has A-list star Bruce Willis attached
and will like-s\'ise be financed jointly by
Columbia and tlie French giant Gaumont.
Williams-Jones isn't surprised. "The
whole economic reshaping of the industry
is making the fimding of production
more accessible. I think you'll find a more
commercially based European film made
as a consequence."
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