Tuesday November 19 saw the annual event that is the BVA’s AGM taking place a stone’s throw from Euston station, in London. And, as is the norm, the organisation invited a politician along in the form of Iain Wright MP,
shadow minister for competitiveness and enterprise. He addressed the crowd of industry luminaries and bigwigs and presented Labour as the party that both supports copyright theft and technological innovation. He witheringly damned the government for trying to pick winners ("this government would be choosing Betamax if that were the case," he joked) and like many politicians and experts, criticised ministers for their closeness to "an Internet search company" and blasted them for failing to introduce the Digital Economy Act or protect copyright in other legislation. Internet companies came under fire for failing to protect copyright and he said he wanted his party to work with the BVA in the run up to 2015. "Copyright is not bureaucracy, it's a legal right. It doesn't stifle creativity and it's very important it's maintained as much as possible," he said. And in a week when ISPs agreed to clamp down on images of child abuse and similar sites, he added: "It's not beyond search engines to have a formula that would identify copyright infringing sites. We have to have a priority to make sure that happens. If I pinch a DVD from Tescos, it's very similar to pinching it online as well."
Partisan politics aside, Iain Wright MP paid tribute to the BVA and its work in lobbying government and other legislative bodies about copyright theft, saying BVA director general Lavinia Carey was "very well respected" throughout Westminster. For her part, Carey had earlier outlined the BVA's work over the past year and the challenges facing our industry, from regulation through to changing consumer habits. She also said that while the medium might change, the message was the same: “The public is as devoted as ever to film, drama, sport, children’s, music documentaries and comedy. They want to be entertained, thrilled, scared, informed and amused just as they ever were. Our industry makes sure people can experience those feelings, by helping them access video in their homes and now also the trains, buses and flights they catch.” Acknowledging some of the problems our business has gone through, she added: “We are all experiencing a world of change, but that job of getting video into the hands of people is still our focus. If we focus on giving people the content they continue to love in the ways they want, we’ll not go wrong.”
Also addressing the audience at the BVA AGM was chairman and Paramount md Charlie McAuley. He spoke about a new millennial generation for whom connected devices were changing the way the viewed content. He told the audience: “We need as an industry to continue to adapt our content distribution and marketing reach to maintain continuity of consumer relationships and relevance with this generation who have a mobile culture of always connected, always with you. Our respective theatrical and home media teams continue to engage consumers through rich and immersive media experiences increasingly reaching the target audience via social media feeds. The pace of development in technology, the phenomenal growth in tablets, smart phones and gaming penetration and with evolution of new digital services gives me huge hope for the future of the home media industry.” But he didn’t ignore physical, and ended up looking forward to the remaining weeks of Q4, concluding: “The next six weeks however it’s about selling, in-store, on-line and digitally and on behalf of the BVA we wish you a very successful Christmas trading period.” We’ll have more on the BVA AGM, including more from the main speakers and a closer look at Labour’s support for our business on our website shortly, including Arrow's wonderful pop-up Cinema Paradiso, one of the best things we've received all year…
All the speakers at the BVA AGM mentioned problems facing our industry, either directly or indirectly referring to Blockbuster and its ongoing woes. And the rentailer and its staff both faced further problems this week as it looks increasingly likely that the once mighty chain will not emerge from administration. All kinds of stories and rumours are circulating, with legal action, both from former staff and some creditors, being mooted, nut its prospects of continuing as a going concern are looking bleaker by the minute. The entire chain could close before Christmas, with a loss of 2,000 jobs. Its store count stands at just under 200, after news that 72 will close was announced last week. Its postal service and marketplace offerings are no more, while stories about stores selling socks and umbrellas have reached our desk… Our thoughts, as ever, are with the staff affected.
But, let’s talk about those six weeks left and what’s happening in stores, online and in the digital world. The Wolverine this week got off to a bright start, Fox has been sharpening its claws in anticipation of this one and, if it continues its current path, it will be the best converting X-Men film since The Last Stand, third in the franchise of which The Wolverine is the sixth. Meanwhile, many have their fingers crossed that the special interest sector, which has been, as it has in previous years, a little slow to start off, will come to life soon…
In case you hadn’t noticed it – and, frankly, given the acres of publicity it’s had over the past week or two, you’d have to have had your head in the sand for the entire duration – Doctor Who is celebrating its 50th anniversary, with the special episode airing on Saturday November 23. It’s been arguably the Timelord’s biggest year ever, with the anniversary weekend being what insiders refer to as “the centre of gravity” for the activity. As well as a raft of releases already out there – Series 7, the Regeneration Box Set and Fourth Doctor Time Capsule and the lost episodes on iTunes – there’s still more to come, with the arrival of the Day Of The Doctor anniversary special joined by Adventure In Space and Time, the physical release of the lost episodes and, into January 2014, the Christmas special which will feature the final appearance of Matt Smith as the 11th incarnation of the Doctor. BBC Worldwide’s Sally de St Croix said: “This is the biggest year ever for Doctor Who, and we’ve got some amazing products across all our categories, not just DVD and BD that will appeal to anyone – from the biggest Whovian to the Saturday night family audience. It all builds up to the release of the Day of the Doctor on DVD and 3D Blu-ray on December 2 – our biggest Doctor Who release of the year and a real treat for anyone who watches the show.”
On the theatrical side, meanwhile, the big release now playing at cinemas is, naturally, the second outing in The Hunger Games series, Lionsgate’s Catching Fire. Much of the hefty theatrical marketing has reminded consumers about the home entertainment availability of the first Hunger Games film. The company’s Ben Grunbaum said: “Things are certainly heating up on The Hunger Games, we've got in place our biggest ever drafting activity which involves all key retailers in the UK and Ireland. As of today the title has now re-entered the chart in the top 10 and our main activity has only just kicked in. In conjunction with theatrical, Lionsgate has fully got behind this with social media, outdoor, joint press and a promotion with The Sun. The Hunger Games is a leading Christmas Gifting title and we will support with advertising throughout December with the rest of our key Q4 titles.”
One of the big drafting successes of 2013 has been Universal’s work with Despicable Me tying in with the sequel during its theatrical outing this summer. Monday November 25 sees the home entertainment bow for the eagerly-awaited Despicable Me 2. The company’s Rachel Graye said: “We are incredibly excited for the home entertainment launch of the biggest UK box office film of the year, with fantastic retail set-up helping us to maximise the Q4 opportunity. Starting in June with the hugely successful theatrical catalogue drafting, we have built up a marketing plan to ensure true Minion domination with a huge ATL media campaign kicking off on TV today (Friday November 22), supported with outdoor and an exciting industry-first promotion with Yahoo. Social media interaction with our consumers has formed the backbone of our campaign creative, ensuring we do this much-loved brand proud. Despicable Me 2 is also a key part of the Universal Gifting campaign so you can expect to hear it from the fans themselves in the run-up to Christmas.”
Hopefully you’ve all had time to digest our special Alan Partridge Alpha Papa newsletter by now (you can see it again here), but there’s been more activity in the handful of days since we sent it out. For Studiocanal partnered with blinkbox for a major stunt around the Christmas lights in the fictional character’s home town of Norwich. It was kept closely under wraps, but the lights feature the radio DJ’s face and were matched by plenty of Alpha Papa-related activity, including his pal, Michael (aka Simon Greenall), switching on the all-singing all-dancing display. He read out a message from Steve Coogan’s alter-ego Partridge, saying: “Dear people of Norwich, and to a lesser extent anyone here from Suffolk – welcome! I’m genuinely heartbroken not to be there with you, but it’s quiz night at the Rose & Crown and I’m the designated driver. You’re about to witness the biggest turning on of lights since the end of the 3-day week. The electricity used to power the illuminations is enough to run a trouser press for over 25 years. Instead, it’s powering an LED effigy of my face and body, lighting up the Christmas night just as the Archangel Gabriel did over two thousand years ago. I hope you have a wonderful festive season. A-HA!” The event was covered extensively on Twitter and made national newspapers and magazines, further publicising the December 2 release and its availability through blinkbox, which is rapidly making a name for itself with this kind of headline-grabbing stunt. blinkbox is putting together footage from the event, keep checking our website next week…
To the ever-swish Soho Hotel for a presentation from the aforementioned Studiocanal unveiling its theatrical slate for not just 2014, but beyond too. The company has enjoyed a strong 2013 performance thus far – it will be its second highest grossing year at cinemas ever. But judging by the titles it highlighted, next year could be its biggest ever. The line up kicks off with the next from the Coen Brothers, Inside Llewyn Davis, which already boasts a wealth of five star reviews from its high profile London Film Festival airing. This bittersweet tale of New York folkies when the times were-a-changing in the early 1960s, in an unlikely pairing it will be followed a couple of weeks later, early in February, by Robocop, one reboot that seems to be welcomed by the notoriously hard to please fanboys. February continues with Nick Frost and Chris O’Dowd starring romcom Cuban Fury, which is currently building a strong word of mouth (star Ian McShane came along to introduce the trailer, to much applause), the month is rounded out by Non-Stop, the next Liam Neeson actioner. March sees Under The Skin, a sci-fi with a difference, set in Scotland and starring Scarlett Johansson. Richard Ayoade’s sophomore outing The Double is due on April 4. Being a truly European studio, the company has its fair share of foreign language titles, including a quartet of French films, taking in Grand Central, Chinese Puzzle, Mood Indigo and Once Upon A Forest – the Gallic slate takes in a nature documentary, the next from director Michel Gondry as well as featuring stars such as Audrey Tautou. Also from overseas, The Wind Rises, in cinemas in May, represents the last film from Japanese anime giant Hayao Miyazaki, while The Congress, from the director of Waltz With Bashir, offers up another groundbreaking animation tale. Also due theatrically in the spring is `Before I Go To Sleep, starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth and based on a bestselling book, as is The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared. Other literary adaptations come in the shape of Serena, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, as well as Catch Me Daddy, a homegrown phenomenon from promo director Daniel Wolfe. Similar gritty UK-made fare is 71, set in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles. The Gunman is a Sean Penn-starring thriller from Pierre Morel, the director of, among others, Taken. Studiocanal is proud of its relationships with directors, a fact that is proved by its association with Terrence Malick, with the company having possibly two films from the maverick genius. It is also continuing its relationships with the likes of Working Title, with The Two Faces Of January and an untitled cycling project, based on notorious rider Lance Armstrong, both on the slate for later in 2014. Carol is directed by Todd Haynes and features both Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, The Outsider is a recent acquisition set in Japan and marking one of director Takashi Miike’s first forays into English language. Man Up is one of Studiocanal’s own productions, and is high concept romcom from the director of The Inbetweeners film, beyond this there are other productions such as Our Kind Of Traitor and The Imitation Game, the latter starring Benedict Cumberbatch. There’s also a classic Shakespearian adaptation in the epic take on Macbeth. Further in to 2014, there’s big budget family fare in the shape of Paddington, which boasts a cracking cast and blends CGI (the eponymous bear) and live action (everyone else) to bring the classic tales to life, it is, the company said, “a real British event movie”. In a similar vein is the next big Aardman film, Shawn The Sheep, based on the hugely popular character. The audience were treated to some exclusive images for the film, which, although not due until March 2015, is certain to be a massive proposition.
Back to blinkbox and it’s interesting to see a major promotional push kicking off that sees the online company teaming up with Cadbury and its parent Tesco to offer free treats for every film or TV programme blinkbox customers watch. All they have to do is collect vouchers, and when they have three they can print them off and redeem them at Tesco for four Dairy Milk festive mousse bars. The rewards grow up to tubs of Cadbury Heroes and blinkbox gift cards. It kicked off this week and will run through until just before Christmas.
Back to some Q4 business, and one special interest title that is making its mark is Anchor Bay’s Michael Ball title, Both Sides Now, Live In London 2013. As the company’s Helen Blesky said: “We got off to a very solid start with successful Week 1 sales for Michael Ball’s concert DVD, which will lead the campaign nicely through to Christmas gifting into December 15. The campaign was supported with standout TV appearances by Michael Ball on Strictly Come Dancing, This Morning, Loose Women and this week was a special guest host on the Paul O’Grady show with a further plug for the DVD and will also appear on Sunday Brunch on 1December just before Christmas. Michael Ball has gone out of his way to support the campaign at every turn, and whether it’s ardent followers from his fan club, or Christmas gifters the DVD sales are set to continue growing.”
One of the next big releases from Anchor Bay has been making waves over the past seven days too, as the rehabilitation of Danny Dyer continues apace. As we've noted here in previous weeks, the video star is making something of a comeback, with dual appearances in Vendetta, due at cinemas on Friday November 22 and to home entertainment on December 23, and his recurring appearance in EastEnders on the way too. Well, it seems as if Anchor Bay's release has prompted a fresh look at the much maligned and much-talked about actor, especially if you take this week's Film 2013 into consideration, where its presenters such as Danny Leigh and Chris Hewitt showed a greater understanding of Dyer than critics have in the past few years… Producer Jonathan Sothcott said: “The initial response to Vendetta has been both overwhelming and incredibly flattering - there was never any doubt in my mind that Dyer was still very much a force to be reckoned with, simply because nobody had popped up to fill the gap he left in his wilderness years of poor films and continual mis-selling. The fact is I had an incredibly talented writer/director, a strong, credible ensemble cast and Danny putting 110 per cent into the part and the results speak for themselves – we are picking up three and four star reviews, albeit often through gritted teeth, and as people see the film they respond to it positively. Anchor Bay's smart decision to do a low key, localised theatrical in the heart of Dyerland was incredibly smart as at times it was easy to get carried away with the hype and be inclined to go out further but we have never lost sight o the fact that this is high end DTV product and its looking like Dyer's going to be recrowned as King of DVD at Christmas.”
Talk of the post-Christmas market leads us on to Signature Entertainment, one of the industry’s most talked about companies in the past 12 months. It ends the year, in the Boxing Day slot, with Christopher Walken and Chrstian Slater in Bound, while the thriving independent has also unveiled its line-up for the first part of 2014. The company’s slate includes sci-fi actioner Time Runners and the marvellously titled Guns Girls Gambling in January. The latter stars Christian Slater and Gary Oldman and given its commercial sleeve and Tarantino influences, it should be a no-brainer. February sees Once More, a far gentler proposition starring Morgan Freeman and Virginia Madsen; Bonnie And Clyde Unjustified, another take on the classic tale and Luke Goss in action flick Dead Drop. March has a release for Inescapable, a Middle Eastern thriller with Marisa Tomei and Joshua Jackson. It also includes Cabin Fever 3: Patient Zero, in which a Caribbean cruise goes somewhat awry when a flesh-eating virus strikes a bachelor party in the latest instalment in this popular franchise and Skinwalkers, a supernatural tale about an abducted boy. The slate should see Signature further consolidate its standing and grow market share, as the company’s Marc Goldberg said: “We have had a really exciting year. 2014, starting with our Q1 line up, will see our slate going from strength to strength."
Some acquisitions news and it’s good to see documentary specialist Dogwoof, whose Blackfish is currently making waves and should enjoy a new lease of life from word of mouth after airing on BBC4, picking up more titles. Its latest acquisition is Manakamana, from the same home as Leviathan. It’s a film following pilgrims on a trip to worship high above the Nepalese jungle. Head of distribution Oli Harbottle said: “It’s a great pleasure to continue our relationship with the Harvard Sensory Ethnology Lab with the acquisition of Manakamana, one of the highlights of Toronto this year. The lab continues to produce unique work, finding an increasing audience both here and abroad – with this and their previous film Leviathan, there is a new force to be reckoned with in the documentary world.”
The Xbox One, the next generation Microsoft console, has arrived and, as it launched, LOVEFiLM has been quick off the mark with its streaming app for the hardware. Its Instant app will let owners of the new console have all the advantages of the standard service, as well as adding features tying in with the Xbox One, such as browsing through the LOVEFiLM catalogue by waving their hands, all very Minority Report. LOVEFiLM’s Simon Morris said: "The next generation of videogame consoles is a fantastically exciting prospect for LOVEFiLM members in the UK, as accessing and discovering quality content will be easier and even more intuitive than ever before.”
Also on the vod front and A Serbian Film is rearing its controversial head again, arriving as a physical release from Safecracker, it has also been picked up by specialist vod service The Horror Show.TV. Its acquisitions manager Damien Thorn (is that really his name?) said: "We're dead excited to be bringing this controversial and transgressive title to our vod platform for download and streaming. We're trying to offer a broad range of horror films, from new releases to older favourites, documentaries like Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, and now A Serbian Film - with a new 7 minute Making Of…”
And if it’s November, then, as sure as Christmas is on the way, you can bet that wispy facial hair will be growing among some of the industry’s males, all in the aid of Movember, the men’s health charity fundraiser that sees blokes every growing taches. Among those raising cash are a team from Paramount’s theatrical and DVD arms, who, given the December theatrical release of the eagerly awaited Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, are using newscaster Ron Burgundy, aka Will Ferrell, as their inspiration. The team of seven – Barney Hands, Ben French, Jon Deller, Adam Garrioch, Stephen Darlington, Stephen Rance and Andy Gray – have raised more than £500 so far and aiming for £1,000. As their latest update noted: “As we round the corner in the final week or two of Movember, we really appreciate your support. Whether sporting the bushiest of mo’s or struggling to affect anything more than a slightly furrier top lip, we are all working together to raise awareness and funds for men’s health. Our total currently stands at just under £400, thanks to those of you for donating thus far – if we reach our target of £1000 over the coming days, the Movember team promise a full day in fancy dress.” Their missive ends with Burgundy’s own trademark sign-off – Stay Classy. You can sponsor them here, as well as get updates. And anyone visiting the major’s west London offices can even drop some change in a collection box…
“The rich, serialized storytelling in ‘The Killing’ thrives on Netflix, and we believe that it is only fitting to give Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder a proper send off. We are looking forward to offering fans — both existing and new — a series that we know is perfectly suited for on-demand viewing.”
Cindy Holland, VP of original content at Netflix, on a second return for the series. It has twice been cancelled – and each time Netflix has saved it…
EVENT OF THE WEEK
We took out junior correspondents along to a special screening of Disney’s forthcoming theatrical outing Frozen on Sunday morning in Leicester Square, joining an assortment of celebrities (and their kids), as well as reindeer and the usual “fun in the foyer”. Verdict on the film? It went down a storm and was positively heartwarming.…
AT THE MOVIES
Gravity retained the top slot, but with The Hunger Games Catching Fire set to arrive and already making waves, its impressive reign (almost £15 million and counting) is set to come to an end. New entries included The Counsellor (£815,051), The Butler (£794,044) as well as Bollywood title Goliyon Ki Raaasleela Ram-Leela (£348,574).
And lo, it came to pass that nerds everywhere spent interminable lengths of time discussing Batman Vs Superman, or not Batman Vs Superman. Seems everyone had just assumed that’s what it was going to be called, when there was nothing confirmed. Now some smart web-type has found Warner has registered a load of different domain names which all revolve around Man Of Steel followed by a colon and some other words, such as Battle The Knight, and other Dark Knight related phrases. We still like Man Of Stuff Vs Bloke Of Thing, but, frankly, no one asked us and, with the film not due until 2015, there’s months of this stuff left…
More superhero stuff now, as Sony has this week said it is working on a number of scripts based in and around Spider-man’s world. No further details yet, but with more webslinger films already in the works, the likes of Venom could get their own spin-off…
Never let the facts get in the way of faux Internet outrage, part 237: bloggers and film writers everywhere were up in arms this week about plans for a sequel to It’s A Wonderful Life. Cue hundreds or thousands of hastily dashed off think pieces calling it sacrilege, only for Paramount to come forward and say that no one’s asked the studio and, seeing as it would have to be consulted on any potential sequel and no one’s so much as asked…
TWEET OF THE WEEK
See why 1,000 or so followers can’t be wrong, with updates on Blockbuster, what we’ve been up to and loads more at www.twitter.com/theraygun…
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
New Muppets stuff…
Do not, under any circumstances, confuse this trailer with the one above. This is beyond not safe for work, the reddest red band ever trailer for Lars Von Trier’s new outing…
And title of the year from Signature too…
New Robocop trailer…
