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MOMENTS WORTH PAYING FOR RETURNS WITH FURIOSA…
…AS SAGA HEADLINES AT CINEMACON
US CALLS FOR SITE BLOCKING TO FIGHT PIRACY
FDA UNVEILS YEARBOOK…
…REPORTING ON FILM CONTENT PROTECTION AGENCY WORK
NEW FILM STORIES MAG LANDS
DUNE PART TWO HE PLANS ANNOUNCED
PICTUREHOUSE HAS A TASTE FOR IT
HIGH FLIER’S SHIP SETS SAIL
I-SPY FOR ANIME HIT
BFI UNVEILS SUMMER PLANS…
…WITH FATHER AND SUN COLLABORATION DUE…
…AND BIG PLANS FOR 2025
AMY SPECIAL NME LANDS IN HMV
LAST RENTAL STORES GET COLUMN INCHES
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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It was a good week for… Dune: Part Two out on digital this week, with physical in May following on from its sterling theatrical release…
It was a bad week for… Pirates in the US as site-blocking moves nearer…
We have been watching… The Spy X Family Code White premiere went down a storm and Dazzler's Blu-ray of The Holdovers looks a treat too…
Ask any genre film fan what title they’re looking forward to more than any other this year and it’d almost certainly be Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the latest from the franchise that has successfully reinvented itself for the 21st century. So it’s great to see the Industry Trust’s Moments Worth Paying For campaign aimed at encouraging consumers to watch films legitimately on the big screen returning complete with an exclusive, bespoke look at the forthcoming film. The creative, which was released last week and will appear on the big screen and elsewhere ahead of the film’s May 24 theatrical release, features stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth talking about the film and the benefits of seeing it legally in a cinema. You can see it here and comment came from chief executive at British Association for Screen Entertainment Liz Bales who said: "After 13 years of the Moments Worth Paying For campaign, which has generated £95m in media value and reached a total audience of 6.4 billion people, we today launch our first trailer of 2024 with Hollywood stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth emphasising the enduring importance of experiencing films like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga first on the big screen, at your local cinema. The latest BASE research continues to demonstrate the campaign's positive impact on cinema-goers and their infringement behaviour and attitudes. If the creative community can work together to combat piracy, we have the tools and the knowledge to achieve maximum impact and effect. I'd like to thank our partners at DCM, Pearl & Dean, ClearChannel UK, UK Cinema Association, and our many distributor members for your continued support in bringing this message to the big screen and beyond. We look forward to showcasing more brilliant films throughout the rest of the year.” Warner Bros. Discovery UK & Ireland SVP for marketing Alexandra Lewis said: “We’re proud to partner with BASE again, this time working with the outstanding Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth in George Miller’s highly anticipated Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, to support the hugely important Moments Worth Paying For campaign. There is nothing quite like experiencing an epic movie on the big screen and Warner Bros. Discovery is proud to partner with this programme to help drive this important message.”
Furiosa was also one of the stars at the massive theatrical expo CinemaCon, which took place in Las Vegas last week. Cinemas owners and staff from the US and around the world headed to the city for all sorts of shenanigans, with major studios unveiling sneak previews, trailers, extended clips and more to get multiplex managers fired up about the forthcoming summer slate of blockbusters. There were plenty of notable hits there as studios rolled out plenty of previews. Furiosa stood alongside the forthcoming Joker outing Folie A Deux and the eagerly-awaited and long-time coming Bettlejuice Beetlejuice also starring for Warner Bros Discovery. Disney went from family fare – 35 minutes of the Inside Out sequel – through to an expletive-ridden look at Deadpool Vs Wolverine, which many pundits expect to return Marvel to the top of the tree. Lionsgate’s Ballerina, a John Wick spin-off, also wowed audiences, as did its Jacko biopic Michael and game to screen adaptation Borderlands. Universal showed off musical Wicked, the latest Despicable Me outing (the fourth) and long-gestating sequel Twisters. Another sequel years in the making, Gladiator 2, from Paramount, had wowed the audience, with the animated Transformers One, new A Quiet Place prequel and a Running Man remake also featuring
Meanwhile, Motion Picture Association chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin used a platform at CinemaCon to call for site-blocking in the US to combat piracy. He said that digital piracy was costing US cinemas $1 billion a year in lost box office revenue, noting: “Today, our job involves another plotline countering a central threat to the security of workers, audiences, and the economy at large: Widespread, digital piracy. Now, I’ve talked about piracy here before. This problem isn’t new. But piracy operations have only grown more nimble, more advanced, and more elusive. These enterprises are engaged in insidious forms of theft, breaking laws each time they steal and share protected content. These activities are nefarious by any definition, detrimental to our industry by any standard, and dangerous for the rights of creators and consumers by any measure. Remember – these aren’t teenagers playing an elaborate prank. The perpetrators are real-life mobsters… organised crime syndicates – many of whom engage in child pornography, prostitution, drug trafficking, and other societal ills. They operate websites that draw in millions of unsuspecting viewers whose personal data can then fall prey to malware and hackers. In short, piracy is clearly not a victimless crime. Across the globe, it undermines everyone who works in production – actors, directors, writers, carpenters, craftspeople, and more. In the US alone, it steals hundreds of thousands of jobs from workers and tens of billions of dollars from our economy, including more than one billion in theatrical ticket sales.” He said the MPA was taking the fight to Washington and would fight for site-blocking, adding: “So today, here with you at CinemaCon, I’m announcing the next major phase of this effort: the MPA is going to work with Members of Congress to enact judicial site-blocking legislation here in the United States. Let’s be clear: this approach focuses only on sites featuring stolen materials. There are no grey areas here. Site-blocking does not impact legitimate businesses or ordinary internet users. To the contrary: it protects them, too. And it does so within the bounds of due process, requiring detailed evidence establishing a target’s illegal activities and allowing alleged perpetrators to appear in a court of law. This is not an untested concept. Site-blocking is a common tool in almost 60 countries, including leading democracies and many of America’s closest allies. It dramatically reduces traffic on piracy sites. It substantially increases visits to legal sites. Simply put, this is a powerful tool to defend what our filmmakers create and what reaches your theatres.”
The Film Distributors; Association this week launched its Yearbook, looking into the state of the theatrical market, pulling in statistics from across the board, as well as further afield, delving into home entertainment and more too. As the announcement noted: “2023 saw UK and Irish theatrical box office break the £1bn barrier (£1.06bn) for the first time since 2019 – rising 8 per cent on the already strong recovery results of 2022 – with admissions exceeding 135m (+6 per cent). 1,013 titles were released into cinemas across the year, the highest volume of releases recorded in the territory since modern records began. FDA Chief Executive Andy Leyshon said:“Looking back at cinemagoing in the UK and Ireland during 2023 in detail, it was great to see the theatrical business continue on its recovery path with some truly unique cultural moments that successfully captured the consumer zeitgeist. Hopefully the FDA Yearbook conveys that sense of optimism at what cinema can achieve, whilst continuing to be a handy and insightful resource for our members and anyone else with a keen interest in the sector.”
The FDA Yearbook also outlines the work of the Film Content Protection Agency, which fights against piracy, so it’s worth noting in full its achievements and work carried out in 2023. The yearbook said: “One of the FCPA’s primary duties is to deliver nationwide cinema staff training, with 55 regional visits and 14 VRAs (Vulnerable Release Alerts) issued to cinemas in 2023. The FCPA also offers a rewards scheme for cinema staff who demonstrate vigilance and anti-piracy interventions, with 25 frontline cinema employees recognised last year. The FCPA has a real-time online detection and take down service run by Cyber Theft Watch, available where FDA member companies find their assets are compromised and illegally available online. The larger member companies also have their own similar systems, so smaller operators are able to benefit the most from this offer. The MPA (Motion Picture Association) has a long-standing alliance with the FCPA, sharing two PIPCU (Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit) secondees plus a further intelligence and investigative asset. Helping promote the value and importance of copyright, The Alliance for Intellectual Property and The Industry Trust were also excellent partners. Directly involved in the professional investigation, intelligence gathering and research of 155 in-cinema copyright theft incidents, successful FCPA detections led to 10 police arrests and six recorded cautions. A high-impact prosecution concluded in Oct 2023, where an individual who camcorded four newly released films was convicted of multiple offences. FCPA continued to assist Law Enforcement bodies in examining counterfeit discs and ISDs (illicit streaming devices). In Nov 2023 a case returned to court following an offender’s 2021 imprisonment – resulting in the offender being ordered to pay a confiscation order of £216k, one of the most significant Proceeds of Crime ever prosecuted.” We’ll be reporting more and pulling more facts from the Yearbook in the next newsletter.
Speaking of statistics, The Raygun’s Tim Murray pulled apart some of 2023’s home entertainment figures for the current, just published issue of our favourite movie magazine, Film Stories, in his role as physical media correspondent for the UK’s heftiest (and best) film publication. The feature analysed some of the year-end figures, sitting alongside a clutch of Blu-ray reviews and further editorial taking in everything from The Terrifier released by Signature through to Black Mask, from Eureka, looking back at the first visit to the UK by star Jet Li back in the 1990s. In a bold move, the magazine’s cover flags up 10 British independent films worthy of more attention, taking in the likes of Swede Caroline, The Shamrock Spitfire, Chicken Town, Baltimore and These Are The Ones That Count. Simon Brew, editor and founder of Film Stories said: “Since day one of Film Stories, I’ve been determined to give a platform to independent films and filmmakers, squeezed out amongst the world of superhero blockbusters. I’m thrilled that - against tremendous odds - indie filmmaking is thriving, and doubly thrilled to celebrate so much of it in our latest issue.” You can get the latest issue here. If there’s physical media you want covered in there, get in touch with Tim Murray at the usual address.
Back to Warner and ahead of the theatrical release of Furiosa (and more) from the major, the company has this week announced its home entertainment plans for current box office hit Dune: Part Two. The film (“the blockbuster cinematic event of the year”, as the studio calls it), landed as a premium digital release to own or rent this Monday (April 15) and, Warner Bros Discovery’s announcement noted “on May 27, Dune: Part Two will be available to own on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD from online and physical retailers. Dune: Part Two will also continue to be available to own in high definition and standard definition from participating digital retailers”. Extras on the 4K and Blu-ray include sections looking at the linguists involved in developing the Fremen language, a look at the production design, one on the flying “thopters” in the film, the music, the costumes, and one focusing on Austin Butler and his work in the film…
This week’s releases landing on April 15 included the latest from Picturehouse’s home entertainment arm, as it brings the acclaimed culinary delights of The Taste Of Things to shelves. Audiences and critics alike were sated by the film, with Rolling Stone calling it “the Best Food-P*rn Movie of the Year” (asterisked by us to avoid ending up in spam folders) while Little White Lies gave it five stars noting “every frame is delectable”. Comment came from the company’s Emily Evans, who said: “Trần Anh Hùng’s Cannes award winner THE TASTE OF THINGS has had a fantastic theatrical run, grossing over £660k with screenings still continuing. Following the theatrical release on Valentine’s Day, there’s been an incredible response from both press and audiences with many commending the exquisite culinary scenes and perfectly-matched pairing of Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel. We’re now delighted to be releasing the film on DVD, blu-ray and digital platforms for audiences to continue to feast on the sumptuous romance.”
Good do see what is effectively the longest-standing independent home entertainment (and film) distributor in the UK High Fliers still going strong and, moreover, continuing its move into its own productions. Latest on the block is Ship Of The Damned, due in store next week (April 22). The company’s May Monteiro and Jeremy Rothwell are credited as executive producers on the film, which tells the story of a long disappeared pirate ship that turns up off the English coast hundreds of years after it went missing. But maybe the vessel is not as deserted as coast guards and experts investigating first believed, and maybe its brutal and vicious crew have somehow survived – worse still, they’re planning to go on the rampage again. Commenting on the release, the company’s senior account manager Mark Anderson said: “We are really looking forward to the release of Ship Of The Damned and we have done well in the past with `spooky ghost ship’ horror films, hence the inspiration to choose this theme for one of our own productions. It’s an entertaining Horror film with some great actions scenes as well, involving a crew of Cannibalistic immortal pirates! Our thanks go out to our retail partners for the chart support and also for the support across all our digital platform partners.
To the Vue cinema in Leicester Square in the heart of London’s West End, where The Raygun was invited to a premiere of the next big theatrical release from Anime Ltd entitled Spy X Family `Code White. And what a blast it was too. Scores of anime fans, many of them influencers within the tight-knit community, were out in force for the first airing of the film, which lands at cinemas on April 26. And seeing it with assorted Cosplayers and devotees added spice to the screening, with howls of laughter, screams and more accompanying the exciting action story (we’re not going to reveal too much of the plot, but let’s say it hinges on someone going to the toilet, which makes for some great Japanese lavatorial humour which went down a storm). Given the reaction of those present, as well as the social media response, then it should be another biggie for Anime Ltd, with the home entertainment bow sure to follow further down the line. It's received rave reviews in Japan and topped the box office in its first three weeks on release, earning more than £21 million in that time. Comment came from the company’s CEO Andrew Partridge, who said: “Spy x Family has such a passionate following and fanbase. To be able to celebrate the release of Spy x Family CODE: White with fans and partners means a lot to us - seeing everyone in their cosplay and excited for this release was incredible! The anime community in the UK and Ireland is remarkably supportive, and we try to give back by creating special experiences unique to the audience when we can. We're thrilled to be releasing this brilliant and fun film theatrically in the UK and Ireland and hope audiences enjoy the fun, rollicking adventure when it's out!”
The BFI has announced its home entertainment titles for June and July and, as ever, promises an array of eclectic and wildly differing offerings for the summer months. Moreover, one of the titles, which we’ll come on to, boasts a family story around its release that will genuinely warm the cockles of your heart. But more of that further below, first let the organisation’s home ent chief John Ramchandani talk us through June and July. He said: “The BFI slate in June kicks off with the addition of Ken Russell's 1971 British drama, THE MUSIC LOVERS, starring Richard Chamberlain and Glenda Jackson - a film that has been requested by our customers for several years. Melvyn Bragg's screenplay focuses on the life and career of 19th century composer Tchaikovsky and we have packed the release with incredible special features including a 'radical Bronte' ballet staged by Ken Russell in 2007 and donated by Lissi Russell, a new interview with Ken's son, Alexander Verney-Elliott and Melvyn Bragg's Guardian Interview from 1988. Also out on June 17 is A DRY WHITE SEASON - the first Hollywood feature by a Black female director. Euzhan Palcy's incredible commentary on apartheid in South Africa stars Donald Sutherland, Susan Sarandon, Marlon Brando and Zakes Mokae with a script so powerful it persuaded Brando to come out of his self-imposed retirement and went on to earn him an Academy Award nomination. Our final release for June is Film Four's HEAVENLY PURSUITS starring Tom Conti and Helen Mirren in Charles Gormley's charming and quirky Scottish comedy. July sees the Blu-ray release of the first of several of Toho's 4K restorations with Mikio Naruse's FLOATING CLOUDS. A classic of Japanese cinema described as a 'masterpiece' by Yasujiro Ozu, this is a melancholy meditation on the hopeless side of love and remains one of Naruse's most acclaimed works. We are also thrilled to release MGM's classic DIE, MONSTER, DIE! on July 22. Based on H.P Lovecraft's story The Colour Out of Space, this classic British horror stars Boris Karloff in a tale contaminated with mystery, shock and gore when a meteorite crash lands, scorching the earth and emitting a mutating radiation that transforms greenhouse plants into pulsating giants.”
And as for that heartwarming story, BFI stalwart Ben Stoddart, who prior to that cut his teeth at Tartan’s home video arm, has fulfilled a career-long ambition in bringing a film written by his father to market. What’s more the Stoddarts, father and son, will be collaborating on the release of Remembrance for the BFI. Ben Stoddart told The Raygun: “Joining the BFI Flipside series in July is Remembrance, one of the first film’s commissioned by Channel 4 upon its inception in 1982. The film was written by my father Hugh Stoddart and it’s been a long held desire of mine to see it released on Blu-ray. We’ve been able to track down original film materials meaning that it can be brought back to life, and it’s great to have both my dad and director Colin Gregg involved in the release. The film provided early roles for Timothy Spall, John Altman and Gary Oldman, and whilst it means a huge amount to me personally, it’s also represents an important chapter in the history of British cinema.”
Also from the BFI, and due further down the line, the company has announced it has done a deal with the Fondation Chantal Akerman to acquire rights to the director’s film catalogue ahead of a major retrospective and release plan for 2025. Akerman’s classic Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles was voted the greatest film of all-time by critics in Sight and Sound magazine’s poll last year and the deal, inked in collaboration with the Royal Film Archive of Belgium (CINEMATEK), covers almost 50 years’ worth of titles from the director. The announcement noted: “Other films acquired include Je tu il elle (1974), News from Home (1976), Les Rendez-vous d’Anna (1978), La Captive (2000) and No Home Movie (2015). Almost all of the feature films have been restored in either 4K or 2K during recent years, with further restorations currently underway.” The Sight and Sound winner will re-released next year as the “centrepiece in a package of Akerman films”, with a season at the BFI and releases on Blu-ray and via the BFI Player. BFI acquisitions manager Laura Dos Santos said: “Despite her colossal reputation, Chantal Akerman’s work has previously had little distribution in the UK and Ireland. We wanted to correct this incongruity and so it is with both excitement and emotion that we will bring her immense body of work to British and Irish audiences next year.” “It is a great honour that Chantal Akerman’s work is joining the wonderful BFI catalogue,” said Céline Brouwez, co-ordinator of the Fondation Chantal Akerman at CINEMATEK. “We are eager to see the films and our restorations distributed and promoted in the UK and Ireland by the BFI, whose work and editorial line we much admire.”
You can’t have failed to notice Amy Winehouse biopic Back To Black came out at cinemas last week, earning an impressive £2.7 million in its first weekend at cinemas. The release was aided by an exemplary campaign from Studiocanal, with PR seemingly everywhere and the film emblazoned on bus sides wherever we looked. The film also saw a return to print for New Musical Express, with a special edition of the NME focusing on the film across 36 pages being distributed to hmv stores around the country, as well as a raft of independent record retailers too. Moreover, the presence of the film in hmv and other retailers can only help pave the way for the eventual home entertainment release, with pre-orders now live, including hmv itself offering one of its First Editions of the film as an exclusive ("where the best new movies are given the best possible treatment” as the retailer says). It comes in a special slipcase complete with art cards, a booklet and poster. On the special NME edition, Holly Bishop, chief operating and commercial officer at NME Networks said: “We’re thrilled to partner with STUDIOCANAL to celebrate the release of BACK TO BLACK and honour the unique legacy of a British icon. Our special film edition of NME Magazine encapsulates the very essence of Amy Winehouse: from her raucous live shows to the continued impact of her music on today’s emerging artists. The magazine serves as a timely reminder of her incomparable talent and the perfect companion piece to the hotly anticipated new film.” Christina De Rienzo, head of theatrical marketing at STUDIOCANAL added, “It’s been such a pleasure and incredibly nostalgic to partner with NME for our release of BACK TO BLACK. NME documented Amy Winehouse’s rise from a Camden singer-songwriter to global superstar and both represent the power of great writing, making this the perfect platform to dive back into Amy’s world in celebration of our new film.” Robyn Flowers, client partner at Havas Entertainment, which brokered the deal added: “Our Back to Black campaign has been centred in shifting the narrative surrounding Amy Winehouse’s legacy from tragedy to that of celebration, reminding audiences of her incredible talent and re-establish the prominence of Amy’s incredible achievements. Authenticity is the key to success for this campaign, working with media partners that truly reflect Amy’s attitude and values. This sophisticated campaign nostalgically brings together two hugely influential icons who have helped shape the British music culture scene.”
And we’ll end with some of our regular correspondents and Raygun readers, as video rental once more came under the spotlight in the past week, as the Guardian looked at physical media (again), focusing on the UK’s remaining rental stories, such as Snips on the Wirral and 20th Century Flicks in Bristol (hello to Daves Wain and Taylor from those respective stores). The piece started evocatively: “A man shuffles along a royal blue carpet and props himself up against a stacked shelf of videos. Reeling off a list of films, he is handed three store-branded DVD cases. In return? A crisp fiver – plus his thoughts on South Korean horror flicks without any dialogue. This isn’t a sepia-tinged flashback from the past. Nor is it all just a dream. It is 2024 and the transaction is taking place at Snips Movies, one of the UK’s last video rental stores, tucked away in a town in Wirral since 1995. The odd passerby does a double take, staring back at the shop’s welly-green facade to confirm its reality.” It’s ironic, given that the Guardian spent much of the early streaming era laughing at anyone still using physical media, but, as both Wain and Taylor note, it’s about a lot more than nostalgia. As the piece noted: “‘I have an issue with the word ‘nostalgia’. I get people coming in dropping to their knees saying it reminds them of being 16. And that’s really nice. But for me it’s about tomorrow,’ [Wain] says. Taylor feels the same way: ‘Nostalgia suggests what we do isn’t real or relevant or part of the present.’” You can read the article here (and we suggest you look at the comments too).
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
“The most violent and goriest film India has ever produced.” We’re in…
https://youtu.be/5SUY3t20NvI?si=_FUGFlH8i-JI53k2 Series due on AppleTV+
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…
Remake alert…
THE OBLIGATORY GDPR BIT
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