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EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
COUNTDOWN TO BASE AWARDS
BLUE PETER’S RADZI HEADS TO SHOWCASE
EARLY SCREENING AT MUSEUM
MIDWEEK CHART UPDATE
BLACK DAY FOR JCVD
LIONSGATE SCORES IN US, UK…
…AND UNVEILS Q3 SLATE
THE END IS NIGH
RIGHT SAID FRED
MANIA HITS STORES
UNIVERSAL MAKES TIME FOR HOUR
MERCY IN THE SEAT
BOBBY MAKING WAVES
BEATS WORKING
AMBITIOUS BFI BOX DUE
TRUST SPANS OCEAN’S
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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It Was A Good Week For… Good luck for the BASE Awards next week…
It Was A Bad Week For… Anyone illegally camcordering films in cinemas…
Let's start the week with some good news – well, good news, that is, unless you’ve been filming movies illegally in your local cinema, or downloading illegally uploaded camcordered films. For 21-year-old Jordan Quartermain, of Sunderland, was this week convicted of five counts relating to illegally camcordering films at the Empire Cinema in the city and uploading them. He admitted the five charges, two of possession of articles for use in fraud, two of distributing articles to infringe copyright and one of conspiracy to distribute articles to infringe copyright, and was ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work. Newcastle Crown Court heard how FACT and FCPA officers discovered an illegal copy of Ant-Man had been filmed at the Sunderland cinema. Later, illegal copies of Deadpool and London Has Fallen were filmed at the same location, before, in March 2016, Northumbria police arrested the suspect in the act of filming another title illegally. Seized items from Quartermain’s home showed he had illegally uploaded and distributed 17 illegally camcordered films. Simon Brown, director of the Film Content Protection Agency (FCPA), added: “This was a particularly egregious case in which numerous films were illegally recorded and released online. These actions not only damage the prospects of emerging as well as more experienced filmmakers, but can also diminish the choices available to public audiences. As most pirated films originate from copies taken in cinemas worldwide, it’s vital that offenders are identified as swiftly as possible, and we thank all parties involved in bringing Mr Quartermain to justice.” Chief Inspector Michelle Robson, of Northumbria Police, said: “This kind of crime is not victimless – thousands of jobs rely on the cinema trade and protecting our creative industries is of great importance. This is another great example of police working efficiently with our partners to bring an offender to justice. Hopefully this case acts as a reminder that such activity is not acceptable and we will continue to pursue people believed to be committing or deliberately facilitating such offences.”
It’s now less than a week until the most important day on the industry’s calendar, the BASE Awards, due to take place on June 7 at their recent home of Tobacco Dock over in east London. You should know the nominations by now – you can see them here on our website – and the event is, according to the trade organisation, shaping up well. Commenting on the event, BASE commercial manager Vicki Geddes said: “We are only a matter of days from raising the curtains on the hotly anticipated industry event and celebration of the year, the 2018 BASE Awards. The team are hard at work putting the finishing touches to what is going to be a truly remarkable evening. We will once again be running a competition on the night for the brightest and best dressed table, so make sure you’ve got your black (tie) and bright outfits ready. And of course, it wouldn’t be the BASE Awards without some surprises both in the build-up to and on the night, so watch this space. We look forward to welcoming so many of you on Thursday evening at the Tobacco Dock and hope that it will once again delight you all.”
Meanwhile, once the awards are out of the way – and stay tuned to The Raygun next week for a full report on who won what and a full breakdown of not just the awards ceremony itself but the whole evening – BASE’s thoughts will be turning to the next big event on its diary, the Category Showcase, presented in association with ERA and due to take place at the Picturehouse Central in the heart of London’s filmgoing district on July 4 from 8.30. And BASE has this week unveiled the host for the showcase side of the presentation – Blue Peter presenter Radzi Chinyanganya, better known to his army of young fans simply as Radzi. The popular host, who’s branched out into more mainstream channels thanks to his stint at the Winter Olympics and appearances on even Question Time, is a keen film fan, often covering movies for the long-running children’s show, as well as hosting the Into Film awards and even lending his voice talent to Kung Fu Panda 3. He’ll be looking after the half of the event previewing titles due at cinemas and home entertainment platforms through to the end of 2018 and beyond, while the speakers for the rest of the event, which covers category innovation, are due to be announced in the coming weeks. Commenting on Radzi’s appearance, BASE ceo Liz Bales said: “The Category Showcase and Innovation Forum is one of our flagship events so we’re genuinely excited to have someone of Radzi’s calibre on board to help us celebrate the sheer quantity of top flight content yet to come to market. With a demonstrable interest in film and a natural warmth, we think he’s the perfect host for what we hope will be a morning to remember. The event itself is the only one of its kind in the screen entertainment sector as it looks to the future to offer a first look at what content is coming up in Q4 and beyond. We are working with our members to ensure it’s a must-attend date in the diary for retail, distribution and those in the supply chain as they plan for this essential trading period. With that in mind, please do get in touch to discuss the content you’d like to unveil – we’ve already confirmed some breath-taking exclusives so over to our members to keep the bar set so impressively high.” Tickets are free to BASE and ERA members and available from here…
To the Museum of London, one of our favourite haunts in the capital, for a special spring bank holiday screening of Studiocanal’s Early Man, released on physical formats on the same day. As well as getting a chance to see part of Whitechapel’s famous fatberg in the museum, us at The Raygun, assorted media families and museum visitors and supporters were treated to fun activities, including making clay models, followed by a special screening of the Aardman animated family adventure. The film went down an absolute storm with those attending and also showed its chops as a home entertainment offering standing up to repeat and multiple viewings too – if anything, the film was even better the second time around than the first, affording the opportunity to not just marvel at the painstaking stop motion animation, but also at the scores of in-jokes and sight gags inserted into the film by director Nick Park and his cohorts. What’s more, the launch, along with Studiocanal’s marketing, as outlined here last week, helped the film get off to a strong start too – it was at number two in the Official Charts Company’s midweek bulletin, the highest new entry in the listing, shifting some 28,000 units in its first few days on sale.
The threat of Early Man was held off by The Greatest Showman, the unstoppable film that looks set to be king of the ring for the third week running, selling 50,000 in its first three days on sale according to the midweek bulletin from the Official Charts Company. The Hugh Jackman tale based on the life and times of PT Barnum looks set to replicate both its box performance and sales of the soundtrack by showing impressive longevity on or near the top of the listings. Other new entries in the midweeks included the latest in the Maze Runner franchise, The Death Cure, is at number three, while 12 Strong and Downsizing both make a showing in the top 10 after three days, at numbers five and nine respectively. A brace from Lionsgate, Winchester and My Generation, both covered here last week, are at numbers 12 and 13, with another title featured in The Raygun, BBC’s Royal Wedding souvenir, is at number 15. A set featuring all three Maze Runner outings is at number 26…
And also in the midweeks is another title from 101 Films, continuing the imprint’s strong run of releases in 2018. Black Water, in at number 30, pairs action legends Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren together on the same side for the first time ever. Commenting on its success, the label’s Tim Scaping said: "The success of Black Water surely reflects the continued affection and respect among film fans for Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, whose films many of us grew up with. It’s the fifth collaboration between the two legendary action stars, having first appeared together in Universal Soldier, and the first time they’ve been on the same side. Hopefully it’s not the last time we’ll see them team up.”
Some interesting news from the US, where Lionsgate has posted impressive figures for the year ending March 31 2018. They make for heartening reading for the home entertainment sector too, as the company increased revenues of almost 10 per cent in 2017/18, up to $774 million. Much of the growth came from the digital side of the business, taking in EST, ppv and vod, but its physical business was constant with the previous year, experiencing little of the decline seen by the industry as a whole. Its market share of 11 per cent during that period pegged it as the fifth biggest studio, while its conversion rate from theatrical to home entertainment, at 18 per cent, was the best in the business. Those strong domestic figures were matched only by a similarly heartening performance in the UK, where those US titles were further boosted by homegrown fare. Again, Lionsgate’s UK home entertainment arm outperformed the market as a whole, as head of home entertainment Marie-Claire Benson noted. She said: “We outperformed the market last year and gained share in all key segments on the physical formats, so yes, we are seeing the US success replicated in the UK. In amongst our top-selling US hits of the year - La La Land and Hacksaw Ridge, we had our own strong UK portfolio led by British content including Their Finest, Churchill and Limehouse Golem. You can expect a continued focus and investment in British productions from us this year too, with McQueen releasing in cinemas next week and The Happy Prince releasing the week after – both will be available to own in Q4. During a summer full of franchises and brands, we aim to demonstrate that not all superheroes wear capes”
Speaking of Lionsgate, we’ve been talking through the company’s Q3 fare this week, with the distributor outlining its line up from July through to September. In Ghost Stories it has a truly remarkable homegrown horror, while the company's presence at last weekend’s MCM event helped get another British-made feature, Genesis, off the ground too. Here’s the company’s Kirsten Sweeney on its slate: “Lionsgate presents an exciting range of titles for Q3, leading the pack are two fantastic British films of very different genres, but an equal spotlight on UK talent and creativity: the terrifying Horror Ghost Stories, and the poignant Ian McEwan Drama On Chesil Beach. Furthermore, Lionsgate remains the home of action this quarter with mobster biopic Gotti and the fast-paced crime thriller Traffik, joining bank heist movie 211 in our forthcoming releases. Based on the Olivier Award-nominated stage show, Ghost Stories will be positioned as an intelligent psychological horror with a twist. Building on the creative and engaging theatrical campaign, the HE release will target fans of horror and the cast, utilising the rave reviews and investing in exclusive extras for the Blu-ray and EST releases. On Chesil Beach will benefit from support from Saoirse Ronan alongside a targeted press and digital campaign to capture the attention of ABC1 adults, fans of the cast and McEwan. September will see the release of Mafia biopic Gotti, starring John Travolta as the infamous ‘Dapper Don’, benefitting from publicity driven by the international campaign at Cannes, Lionsgate will support the title with impactful AV and punchy assets to activate an audience of males aged 25-50. Thrilling bank heist film 211 stars the inimitable Nicolas Cage as a veteran cop caught up in an adrenaline filled armed robbery. Marketing will focus on an audience of 25-40 male action fans with a TV sponsorship campaign. The campaign around original British Sci-Fi Genesis is aimed at genre fans and began in earnest at last weekend’s ComicCon, where exclusive clips from the film were launched as a part of a panel discussion with the filmmakers and cast.”
While we’re still on Lionsgate, just worth pausing to look at a few of its titles due ahead of the Q3 onslaught, with the wildly different Journey’s End leading the charge over the trenches. Commenting on the release of the World War I film, marketing manager Susie Bould said: “Described by The Times as ‘The First World War Film to end them all’ the dramatic and tense Journey’s End releases on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday. With brand new home entertainment artwork to offer the consumer something new, alongside an intricately targeted media campaign combining outdoor, TV, press, digital and an event with the Scouts, we are very excited for this release and anticipate a strong Box Office conversion.”
Also from Lionsgate is Fred, or, to give it its full title, Fred: The Godfather Of British Crime, a documentary looking at the Cockney gangster who you'd probably rather call Mr Foreman. Commenting on the release, Lionsgate’s Ben Grunbaum said: “Releasing on Monday July 4, Fred tells the story of notorious London gangster and Kray twins associate Freddie Foreman. Lionsgate will be targeting the male audience with a punchy TV campaign, flyering at fight events, and beer mats placed strategically with London east end pubs. Our PR campaign kicked off with a screening at the East End Film Festival in April, which led to great placement with the Mail Online. Interviews with Freddie Forman are running across a broad range of press including The Sun online, VICE, Sunday Express, Daily Star Sunday, Sunday Mirror, Shortlist and The Guardian.”
It’s a big day for releases on Monday, with Fremantle’s biggest title on the WWE calendar, Wrestlemania, due in stores. It’s traditionally the year’s biggest grappling seller, with all the big names from the wrestling world turning out for the event. Commenting on the release, Fremantle’s Ken Law said: “WrestleMania is shaping up to be even better than recent years. The event itself has been universally received by fans and critics alike as the best since WrestleMania 30 back in 2014. On the back of this we have produced a number of SKUs and special retailer exclusives that have really caught the imagination of the fans, some of whom we know will buy every variant, proudly posting their collections on social media. Social media is the key to the marketing campaign with WWE’s massive on-line footprint and reach getting our message direct to the fans. WWE talent will also be actively supporting us with various WWE Superstars posting, tweeting and re-tweeting the WrestleMania message. When the call-to-action comes direct from their heroes, the fans will take notice.”
One of the year's biggest Oscar winners also arrives in stores on Monday June 4 in the shape of Darkest Hour, the Gary Oldman-starring drama focusing on the Dunkirk conflict. Universal’s marketing campaign is targeting the more upmarket consumer, with heavyweight TV advertising taking in everything from Coronation Street to England’s pre-World Cup friendlies. Outdoor advertising will appear at key rail locations, with print spots in more upmarket publications, with further radio spots. Universal is also partnering with The Royal British Legion for a fundraising auction due to be held in the West End on release date. Guests including Winston Churchill’s former secretary Joy Hunter, Churchill family members and author of Darkest Hour Anthony McCarten will be in attendance. Additional activity includes a media drop delivered by a British bulldog. Commenting on the release, senior product manager Emma Sihra said: “I have loved working on the campaign for Darkest Hour. We have fantastic support from our retail partners and pre-orders are looking really strong; we are looking forward to a great release and Darkest Hour being the perfect Father’s Day gift!”
Another quality film arrives n Monday in the shape of The Mercy, a brave and moving tale of a doomed explorer that boasts an impressive cast and some wide open spaces to boot. Commenting on the release, Studiocanal’s Olivia Dean said: “With Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz at the helm, the film portrays the powerful and compelling true story of Donald Crowhurst, who participated as an amateur sailor in the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race with the aim of becoming the first person to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe. Donald never returned from the trip and the story is one of the most enduring mysteries of modern times; explored through stunning performances by both Firth and Weisz as Donald’s wife, Clare. We’re supporting the film with a heavy press and online spend, targeting ABC1 45+ film fans just in time for the return of the race for the first time in 50 years this summer.”
More out on Monday too, and we’ve covered it here before, but it's well worth once more looking at the Bobby Robson documentary, More Than A Manager, particularly on the back of the wealth of press coverage it's got, including a double page spread in the Daily Mirror. The title is being released through Spirit, whose Sarah Stanley said: “Spirit is absolutely thrilled and honoured to be working on such an incredibly moving and inspirational film. With the World Cup and Father’s Day just a few weeks away, the 4th June is the perfect release date. We have been overwhelmed with the reviews, one stand out being from Esquire magazine who are calling it, ‘The best documentary since Senna’. Bobby Robson More Than A Manager’ takes you on a journey of his life including never before seen footage and anecdotes from key people he worked alongside. The cast is epic, starring Mourinho, Guardiola, Sir Alex, Ronaldo, Gascoigne, to name but a few. This film really is, one that all footballing fans will want to own.”
Also on Monday (it’s a busy day for new releases), from Curzon Artificial Eye, is 120BPM, a tale not about the beats per minute of early house music (believe us), rather about AIDS activism in France. It continues a strong run of releases from the independent, whose Paul Diment said: "We've had an extremely busy quarter with the recent home ent releases of the Oscar-winning A Fantastic Woman and Palme d'Or winner The Square. Both titles continue to generate strong sales for us. Our impressive release slate continues with the release on Monday of Robin Campillo's stunning and heart-wrenching Aids activists drama 120 BPM. We'll be supporting the release with a national press campaign and targeted online activity."
Last of the Monday June 4 releases is The Dam Busters, the classic wartime film looking at the invention and success of the bouncing bomb that made a major breakthrough during the Second World War. We’ve already covered it here, but having viewed the restoration this week, it’s worth giving it more, not least because it’s such a damn fine looking Blu-ray. The restoration was handled by Dragon Digital, whose Mylene Bradfield said: “The success of The Dam Busters campaign is a wonderful example whereby strategic investment and a 360' approach to back catalogue titles can really pay off. We were delighted to be involved with the project at Dragon Digital through the new 4K restoration of the film but also at the Edicis group level under whom we operate, whereby the resource of the group including Dragon Digital and OTM came together to create additional content for the home entertainment release including the ‘Making Of’ documentary and the Lancaster Bomber VR experience, both of which have been deemed a resounding success. We are really grateful to StudioCanal for entrusting us to maximise the opportunities around the film from a content point of view and hope that it proves a worthy case study for others!”
We’ve mentioned it before, but it’s well worth a closer look, as the release date for the BFI’s latest ambitious box set collection, Woodfall (it’s due on June 11), looms ever larger. The set, which contains eight different films, a raft of extras, documentaries and supplementary material spread across nine disc separate DVD and Blu-ray box sets, both with a mammoth book, loos at the greatest British film company that few people have heard of and coincides with a BFI season. The British production powerhouse’s output includes Look Back In Anger, The Entertainer, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, A Taste of Honey, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Girl with Green Eyes, THE KNACK…and how to get it and Tom Jones, all included in the set, the latter in two versions, including a director’s cut. In an excellent interview in Home Cinema Choice, the BFI’s Ben Stoddart said: “This boxset, this entire thing, is important. It's shining a light on Woodfall and its importance in British cinema. I think you've got to go back to Ealing for a production house, a studio, that had a real impact that changed British cinema quite as much. While both made very successful films, Ealing Studios had a more recognisable 'brand' of sorts.” And not only does the boxset look a treat (we’ve been working our way through the discs this week), it’s shaping up nicely sales-wise too. As the BFI’s Phil Roberts noted: “The BFI’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of Woodfall films is a big deal, with April’s successful month-long season at BFI Southbank followed by our extensive eight film box set on 11 June. As expected the set is packed with lovely new restorations and hours of extra material. We will be promoting across social, YouTube, targeted print ads as well as to fans who flocked to the season. Pre-orders on the Blu-ray set to date are very promising.”
With Ocean’s 8 starting to pick up plenty of interest ahead of its imminent release, this week was the perfect time for the Industry Trust for IP Awareness to unveil the latest in its long line of Moments Worth Paying For cinema ads. The latest ad, now airing in cinemas, sees the Trust partnering with Warner again, and the impending all-female take on the popular heist franchise features. The spot – you can see it here – features all eight cast members talking about the benefits of seeing a film legally and in the cinema. Commenting on the new ad, Warner supremo Josh Berger said: "It is always great to work together with The Industry Trust. The educational work they do is important to the film industry and we are proud to play our part in the Moments Worth Paying For campaign, this time with the extraordinary cast of Ocean’s 8. We want audiences to get completely immersed in every twist and turn of this summer’s biggest heist movie and experience all the movie moments worth paying for in the way they are seen best of all - on the big screen.” James Gallagher, senior marketing manager, The Industry Trust said: “Having the Ocean’s 8 cast come together to help deliver the Moments Worth Paying For message is truly thrilling and a massive endorsement on the important work the Trust does. We’re delighted to be partnering with Warner Bros. once again and it’s great to see these amazing stars highlight the premium cinema experience in a fun and playful way. The latest round of our campaign effectiveness research shows that featuring key talent resonates strongly with audiences and results in a likely increase in cinema trips and spend in the category. As one of the must see movies of the summer that appeals across genders and to core cinema goers, we’re hoping this trailer inspires audiences of all ages to go out and choose official film and TV!”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I do projections for everything we release. I'll say: 'Look, I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not going to say that these numbers aren't saying to me what they're saying to me. But I understand why it is we should be doing something like this, because we are the only ones to really do it.' And we'll do it to a level that is a very high standard. The Derek Jarman boxset is a case in point, in a sense. Jarman is a niche filmmaker. Caravaggio has sold very well over the years, but that is a much more accessible film than, say, The Angelic Conversation. WithCaravaggio you've got Tilda Swinton, Dexter Fletcher and Sean Bean – actors who people will say, 'Oh, I've actually heard of these people.'
“If anybody is going to do a Jarman Blu-ray boxset, with great extras and a book, then it's the BFI. I mean, he's intrinsically linked to it, having funded a lot of his films. We hold his paper collection in the BFI National Archive. So we have unprecedented access to a lot of his work.
I remember looking at these numbers a few years ago and I said: 'Look, I think if we make it limited edition and do something special with it, it will do well enough that we can justify it from a financial perspective.' But I'm not going to sit here and say it's gonna sell 5,000 copies. It's not going to do what a Hammer will do. It's not going to do what a Hellraiser boxset will do. But if we don't do it, it's going to get to the point where no one's going to release these films properly and they're only going to exist as really old, poor DVDs. This was the moment to pay a bit of money to do them properly, to get some great extras. And the reaction's been fantastic.
“If you look at the labels that are doing well and are still around, and new labels that have appeared, there is something that unites all of them and that is the quality of the releases. You can't just bang these titles out, whether it's the most niche thing in the world or the most commercial thing in the world. It might be a new 2K master or 4K master, but you can't just slap it on a disc and say 'There you go…' and charge people £15 for it. They'll just say, 'You're charging me £15 for this, but Arrow are charging me £15 for a disc with two hours' worth of extras, a booklet and it's a really nice-looking release, and they've gone back to the original negative.’The BFI’s Ben Stoddart in an excellent interview in Home Cinema Choice…
AT THE MOVIES
Life, or at least box office watching, can be so confusing sometimes. Take the case of Solo: A Star Wars Story, the latest spin-off from the franchise. Can a film that takes more than £7.5 million in its first five days (the long weekend from Thursday through to Bank Holiday Monday) really be called a flop? Is it just a disappointment? Was it the hot weather, or is it genuine Star Wars fatigue? The picture will be clearer once the half-term week figures have been totted up, but most analysts at the very least have called it disappointing. The only other new entry in the bank holiday top 10 was Show Dogs, which took £546,405, while Deadpool 2 has now broken the £20 million barrier.
In a week when cancellations and shuttered projects hit the headlines, courtesy of ABC’s decision to can Roseanne Barr’s sitcom after her deeply unpleasant Twitter outbursts, one news was far sadder. For while no one in their right minds will miss Roseanne, the prospect of a new take on The Crow, itself a doomed project after the death of star Brandon Lee, was far more enticing. But the remake, which boasted the involvement of Aquaman, aka Jason Momoa, is faltering again and looks dead in the water after Momoa and Corin Hardy exited the project. Distributor Sony was already said to be close to walking away and the film, only five weeks away from shooting, has now hit the buffers. What happens next is down to producer and rights owner Samuel Hadida and his Davis Films…
One long-mooted project that is happening, however, is the Top Gun sequel. There's still scant information on the bound-to-be-a-blockbuster flick as it stands, but one certainty is the involvement of the original Maverick, Tom Cruise. For it was the evergreen star who posted a pic of a jet, a silhouette of Cruise himself in pilot gear, and the phrase Day1. This, of course, means shooting has started on the 30-year plus sequel…
We love Warp Films, the bastard film production offspring of the legendary record label, with its involvement in any project, from This Is England through to the impending Yardie (see below) a guarantee of quality. Latest to be announced from the studio is a film adaptation of the West End musical hit Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. The plot is half Billy Elliott, half Paris Is Burning, following the true story of a northern teenager who went to his school prom in drag…
SITE OF THE WEEK
Our pals at the Duke Mitchell have unveiled their next film festival plans, the VHS night is essential, as ever… https://thedukemitchell.uk/duke-fest/
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun…
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Taxi Vicar…
More Whitney…
Zungguzungguguzungguzeng
Fresh and minty…
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