Uncategorized

‘Studios will keep financing’ quality, diverse projects: Will Packer Productions President (finance.yahoo.com)

Will Packer Productions President James F. Lopez joins Yahoo Finance’s Kristin Myers to break down his outlook on diversity in film, and how movie theaters with fare post COVID-19.

Video Transcript

KRISTIN MYERS: Welcome back to Yahoo Finance Live. Now, the film industry has been heavily impacted by the pandemic, while audiences have really been demanding greater diversity in stories and film talent that they are going to be seeing on screen. So let’s talk outlook for this sector and more with James Lopez, President at Will Packer Productions. James, thanks so much for joining us today for this conversation.

So I want to start with the outlook looking forward. I’m wondering when you think the film industry will be back to normal, so to speak, or do you think that the film industry has been forever changed by this pandemic?

JAMES LOPEZ: You know, it’s hard to predict. Obviously, life gets back to normal as more vaccine rolls out and herd immunity is achieved. I happen to think that there are audiences out there that are clamoring to get back into theaters. We’ve been locked in our homes for over a year, close to a year now. And I just have to believe that once we come out of this, the, the appetite for in-person entertainment and getting out of the home will be fervent. That same goes for live music and just public gathering in general.

So I happen to think that the theaters will come back. And it’s all about the content that’s being offered. You know, the– obviously the movies that will be more of eventized, the big tentpole projects, will continue as in the past. The question will be, what is the threshold for a film that is theatrical worthy versus streaming, because obviously during this pandemic a lot of habits in terms of viewing have been formed. So some of those may be harder to, to break, or in terms of what types of programming people are willing to leave the home for.

Continue Reading at finance.yahoo.com

Bill will increase safety for FDNY on film sets across NYC after firefighter killed in 2018 (abc7ny.com)

NEW YORK — An agreement was reached Tuesday to protect firefighters with more safety on film sets throughout New York City

Eileen Davidson, the widow of a firefighter killed on a movie set in 2018, has pushed hard for the safety crackdown.

Michael Davidson, 37, was killed on the set of “Motherless Brooklyn” on March 23, 2018 in Harlem. When he and Engine Company 69 were called to the fire, they had no idea the building was not as it appeared.

False walls had been erected and flammable materials were brought on site. Davidson became separated from his team and ran out of air.

The pending legislation will protect future film locations and will require a fire safety director to be on set all the time, so if the layout is changed, responding firefighters will know before they go charging in.

Davidson and members of the FDNY were concerned that amendments proposed to the bill by the film industry would strip critical safety elements from it.

Continue Reading at abc7ny.com

Record China box office foreshadows global pent-up demand for movies, Imax CEO says (cnbc.com)

Imax broke its box-office records in China over the Lunar New Year holiday weekend and the results foretell what will happen when more U.S. movie theaters resume operations this summer, CEO Rich Gelfond told CNBC on Tuesday.

The company, which produces immersive movie experiences, said it grossed $25 million between Friday and Sunday, representing a 45% increase from a pre-pandemic record.

“It tells you [that] when it’s safe to go outside and people want to go, they’re going to run to go to the movies,” said Gelfond, who appeared on “Closing Bell” after trading ended for the day on Wall Street.

“Detective Chinatown 3,” a comedy adventure that was postponed from its Lunar New Year release last year, generated a large portion of Imax’s ticket sales during the three-day period. The film brought in $23.5 million, the best results Imax said it has ever seen for a Chinese film. The action film “A Writer’s Odyssey” and “New Gods: Nezha Reborn” animation also helped Imax reach both gross attendance and gross sales highs.

By: Tyler Clifford

Continue Reading at cnbc.com

Proposal awaiting approval for new film production studio in Savannah (wtoc.com)

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – Savannah’s movie and tv production industry could be getting a boost in the form of a new film production studio. And Georgia Tech’s Savannah campus is prime real estate for the venture.

Georgia Tech’s Savannah Campus sits just off Jimmy DeLoach Parkway near I-95, and sprawls 54 acres that could eventually be the site of Savannah’s newest film production studio.

At this point it’s just a proposal, though, and still needs to be approved by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

Currently, the University System of Georgia and Georgia Tech own one building and 43 acres. The rest is leased to Georgia Tech through The University Financing Foundation, Incorporated.

One benefit noted in the presentation to the Board is by developing a film production studio at the site, the Board of Regents and Georgia Tech would get a nearly $3 million decrease in lease costs. It would also allow for the professional education programs currently held here to move to a more central Savannah location.

By: Sean Evans

Continue Reading at wtoc.com

In New Essay On Federico Fellini, Martin Scorsese Takes Aim At The Movie Industry And Streaming (deadline.com)

In a new essay for Harper’s Magazine, legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese doesn’t pull any punches as he has some harsh criticisms for the state of the movie industry. Titled “Il Maestro”, the article focus is on director Federico Fellini but dives into so much more especially the current state of streamers and his issues with their effect on the movie going experience.

“As recently as 15 years ago, the term ‘content’ was heard only when people were discussing the cinema on a serious level, and it was contrasted with and measured against ‘form,’” Scorsese writes. “Then, gradually, it was used more and more by the people who took over media companies, most of whom knew nothing about the history of the art form, or even cared enough to think that they should.”

Scorsese does mention how he has benefited from places like Netflix that produced and distributed his gangster pic The Irishman and his upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon at Apple, but says film has been devalued by them and that they ultimately turned film into “content.” He goes deeper into the idea of content analogy by saying it is the “business term for all moving images.”

He goes on to say “We can’t depend on the movie business, such as it is, to take care of cinema. In the movie business, which is now the mass visual entertainment business, the emphasis is always on the word ‘business,’ and value is always determined by the amount of money to be made from any given property — in that sense, everything from Sunrise to La Strada to 2001 is now pretty much wrung dry and ready for the ‘Art Film’ swim lane on a streaming platform.”

By: Justin Kroll

Continue Reading at deadline.com