Boxoffice-July.1997

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS EUROVIEWS European News Notes by Melissa Morrison LEAD STORY: ITALY'S QUALITY QUOTAS ROME—Two major Italian movie funders, Mediaset and RAI, have announced plans to up their respective budgets for film production. Mediaset, the media group of business kingpin (and former Italian Prime Minister) Silvio Berlusconi, said that it will dedicate 10 percent of its advertising revenues to boosting its own film and TV production. The announcement by one of Italy's most powerful private media enterprises is welcome news in a country where film production is suffering from the withdrawal of traditional state subsidies. In 1995, production fell to a postwar low of 75 films, totaling investments worth $153.5 million. Mediaset's contribution is expected to total $150 million annually, about two-fifths of which would goto cinema productions. The announcement could pave the way for similar commitments from the private sector, which is regarded as the Italian industry's savior, and was welcomed by the country's deputy prime minister, Walter Veltroni. Veltroni is regarded as a cinema supporter who wants to boost private investment with tax breaks as a replacement for government subsidies. Mediaset's announcement comes as the Italian Parliament considers a law that would require national TV networks to allot 30 percent of their production and acquisition budgets for European movies and programs. Mediaset's Managing Director Carlo Bernasconi criticized government-imposed quotas, saying they would drive down the quality of productions. State broadcaster RAi announced a few weeks later that it would increase its budget for the production of films and TV programs, tipping the balance of its resources away from the acquisition of outside productions. A spokesman said the broadcaster would do so with the intention of replacing American fare with Italian and European programs. Like Mediaset's proclamation, RAI's announcement was also seen as an attempt by a media company to avoid government controls by setting its own guidelines. POLYGRAM GRABS LOAN, CARLTON REORGANIZES CANNES—There were deals aplenty at the recent Cannes Film Festival as it' s considered the place for companies to announce their latest goings-on. In an agreement that marks a first for the European Investment Bank (EIB), PolyGram has been granted an $80 million loan to partially finance films produced under the PolyGram Filmed Entertainment label. According to EIB's statement, the financed films will be "targeted to the general-interest and family entertainment market" and will be lensed primarily in the European Union. It is the first loan of its kind to the film indu.stry . Brian Unwin, EIB president, said the aid was to promote Europe's entertainment mdustry and "enhance its international competitiveness." Poly- Gram recently scored big with the Oscar-winning "Fargo." Upcoming titles include "Welcome to Sarajevo" and the next Coen brothers' film, "The Big Lebowski." Meanwhile, Carlton Film Distributors (CFD), which was formeriy Rank Film Distributors (RED) before Carlton Communications paid out $ 107 million for the distribution arm, cut back a third of its staff—some 20 jobs off the roster. George Helyer, CFD' s new managing director, who used to be the number two man at RED, said he was happv with the changes. Insiders say Carlton Communications is now looking to acquire Rank's Pinewood Studios. GROWTH SPURTS BUDAPEST—Cinema-expansion news from opposite sides of the continent: Hungary's lead as the former East Bloc country with the most multiplexes widens with the announcement that major distributor/exhibitor Budapest Film plans two more like its pioneering Corvin cinema. A new, private offshoot of the formerly state-owned company has been set up to attract foreign investment to finance the new complexes. Budapest Film invested $3.6 million into the Corvin last September, converting an existing theatre from 1,100 seats to 1,500 and outfitting it with six screens and Dolby sound. As a result, admissions in the Hungarian capital have risen 25 percent since 1995 to 125,000. The Corvin was the first of a string of multiplexes, including one by Intercom (the country's largest distributor), Australia's Village Roadshow and Canada's Cineplex Odeon. The latter two companies have announced plans to build additional cinemas in the country. (Budapest Film itself will undergo a transformation: In January, its distribution wing, which is municipally owned, will become a wholly private company.) Over in London, Virgin Cinemas has announced it will accelerate its expansion plans in 1997, devoting $54.9 million to fixing up and building new theatres, rather than the $31 million it had originally intended to spend. The change was inspired by an especially good 1996, in which the company reported a 90 percent increase in operating profits, for a total of $21.5 million. Virgin plans to build 20 new multiplexes by 2000. CLEAN CARS AND DIRTY DEALINGS ST. PETERSBURG—Victor Sergeyev, the new head of renowned Russian studio Lenfilm, is trying to scrub up business by launching (of all things) a chain of car washes, while stunning the country with his film about government corruption. The car-wash business is meant to restore income to the studio, which hit its financial and creative nadir last year, producing a single film. State funding has been slashed, and Lenfilm' s production services for foreign productions (the bread-and-butter of post-communist studios) have been usurped by such foreign competitors as the Czech Republic's Barrandov Studios. Lenfilm will build 20 car-wash machines on St. Petersburg's outskirts, and should attract a lot of business since the city's governor announced that driving a dirty car within the city would now be against the law. The State Auto DO YOU HAVE AN EXHIBITION OR FEATURE FILM RELATED NEWS ITEM ABOUT THE « EUROPEAN MARKET? M CONTACT MELISSA MORRISON IN CARE OF THE PRAGUE POST AT: NA PORIC1 12, 115 30 PRAGUE 1 , CZECH REPUBLIC email: tomeUs@bohem-net.cz
iiiiv. igg? ifiQ Inspectorate, GAI, will receive a portion of the profits in return for its officers directing dirty cars to the machines. The studio hopes to earn $2 million annually—same as its current budget—from the side business, for which it took out a $3 million loan. Some would argue that Russia's government should devote itself to cleaning up its politicians rather than its cars. Sergeyev's justreleased film "Schizophrenia" draws a startlingly bleak picture of the new Russia with its story of a former KGB officer who carries out hits on prominent figures. The film's veracity has been ensured by its main consultant, Alexander Korzhakov, himself a former KGB officer as well as President Boris Yeltsin's former bodyguard. The plot is reportedly based on a true account by a Russian mafia godfather. SAVED BY THE BELL MADRID—Spain is another European country grappling with the threat of reduced government funding for film productions. Most recently, the Culture Ministry narrowed the subsidies available to movies by requiring that a film generate at least $350,000 in boxoffice receipts before it can qualify for a subsidy, up 67 percent from the former requirement. The plan also lowers the ceiling for subsidies, which can compose no more than one-third of a film's budget, from $ 1 .4 million to a little over $ 1 million. Some good news, however: The country's telecom behemoth, Telefonica, is considering investing in local productions as a way of smoothing the film sectors' opposition to the perceived competition of digital TV, which should be launched in Spain by the summer. Telefonica, which is a semi-public company, has had discussions with producer Andres Vincente Gomez's Lola Films, as well as other companies. Telefonica's representative in the talks is producer Pedro Perez, a former head of the Spanish producers federation, FAPAE. According to Telefonica, the telecom would create a financing and sales operation similar to that operated by the media group Prisa. And on the wholly private end of the spectrum, at least one production and financing company, Sogetel, has pumped up its commitment to films. So far this year, Sogetel has co-production plans with six different entities, as well as a commitment from broadcaster Tele 5 to fund three of its films in the next two years. SHORT TAKE HAMBURG—Ten European countries will band together to promote their films around Europe, an example of lightweights and middleweights teaming up to battle a champion heavyweight—America. Film export federations from the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, France, Switzerland, the Flanders half of Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and Italy have establishecl the European Film Promotion. The organization will be based in Hamburg and its board will consist of president Claudia Landsberger of Holland Film, Bruno Barthemy of Unifrance, and Christian Dorsch of the German Export Union. The union seeks to promote members' films collectively at international festivals. Q&A: ANICA'S ALBERTO FIORETTI ON ITALIAN CINEMA Italy's ANICA (National Association for the Cinematography and Audiovisual Industry) has a challenge tougher than a two-day-old biscotti ahead of it. The trade association for movie producers and distributors, as well as others in the audiovisual industry, is facing one of the bleakest periods for Italian cinema. Production in 7 995 reached a postwar low of 75 films. Although that number improved by 24 films in 1 996, domestic films got only 20 percent of Italy's market. Abroad, the figures are even worse. Italian exports are below 2 percent elsewhere in Europe and even lower in the United States, according to a 1996 study. The slashing of government funds for promotion abroad is one reason. Others say that, except for the occasional "11 Postino, " the Italian industry hasn 't returned to the days when lira rained down upon the glory of Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni. Alberto Fioretti, ANICA's foreign-department representative, discusses what his organization intends to do about it. That's why we are now discussing a joint promotion between Italy and France. That could he a good idea, because in some countries if you go alone, you are lost. not the minister for Boxoffice: How is ANICA dealing with Italian cinema's low period? ALBERTO FIORETTI: ANICA works with the government department for movies and discusses from the point of view of the producer how to improve the new low. As you know, we have some problems selling Italian films abroad, because, as everywhere, the Americans are powerful in distribution. So we try to improve distribution abroad. Our minister now is money, he's the minister for the culture, Mr. (Walter) Veltroni, and he's starting a new formula for promoting Italian film abroad. That's why we are now discussing a joint promotion between Italy and France. That could be a good idea, because in some countries if you go alone, you are lost. Boxoffice: You say the American distribution machine is the reason Italian films have trouble with distribution abroad? FIORETTI: They make a lot of good pictures, and the people are used to the American style. So every country—like France, like us. like Germany—finds some difficulties in promoting and distributing film in foreign countries. Even in markets where we're usually successful, like South America [because of similarities in language], we have some problems now, because even these countries are used to American films. Boxoffice: How else do you plan to improve distribution abroad? FIORETTI: We .still continue to attend all the festivals—Beriin. Cannes. Moscow—and make a couple of Italian promotions. Maybe we have to use more media promotion, to do something in television, to improve the forum for promotion. Boxoffice: Italian film has a good reputation in the United States. What caused the decline of popularity of Italian films in the United States and elsewhere? FIORETTI: I read something in the States where they say there is no more Fellini. But that's not true. The problem is to educate the audience to go to see an Italian film. Maybe there is a chance, because the people are grow ing tired of the usual American film with the violence. I don't say that all the American pictures are like that, becau.se many are very good, but the people now maybe would like to go see more European film. That's important also for the country identity, the cultural identity. Boxoffice: How Mould you characterize Italian cinema right now? FIORETTI: From the cultural point of view, it is good. It starts again in a new direction. The number of films is down from before. Before we made 100, 150 features. Now we are making 65 or 70 features. So the quantity is down, but the qualitv is good. The last success is "II Ciclone" [directed by Leonardo Pieraccioni]. which made probably 50 billion lira in our state. ^n
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