Star Wars and Trainspotting sequels help UK film production break records https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jan/26/star-wars-trainspotting-t2-uk-film-production-rise-bfi?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger
Lights, camera, inaction – could Brexit hurt the British film production boom?
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/26/could-brexit-hurt-british-production-film-lights-camera-inaction?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard
New figures show a big increase in the UK market share of Indie cinemas, up from 17% in 2015 to 23% in 2016, and nearer 34% if Indies bought up by chains like Picturehouse are added.
I've blogged on the rise of boutique, small-scale arthouse cinemas such as that launched last year in Ilkley (and the longer established CinemaTheque here, in a country where the Utopolis chain dominates), but also the rise and rise of event cinema, from live screencasts of opera, theatre and orchestra to director Q+A's.
Now we're seeing weddings in cinemas, films paused so the audience can taste the same wine or chocolates as the characters on screen ... a lot of innovation in the fightback against home cinema and the emergent streaming giants.
Wine, weddings and ballet: new role for indie cinemas at heart of high streets https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jan/22/indie-cinema-at-high-streets-heart-brighton-blackpool?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger
A Chinese production company invested $50m of the staggering $180m budget - standard fare for Big Six Hollywood fantasy, sci-fi and action franchise flicks but more than twice the previous highest budget French production, the $78m Asterix.
To put that into perspective, the UK's consistently most successful production company, WT, have never since exceeded the $100m of war action movie Green Zone, a Matt Damon vehicle.
Having watched the trailer, it strikes me as Blade Runner meets Avatar - though director Lux Besson's 20 year-old Hollywood sci-fi hit The Fifth Dimension is another apt comparison. Where that movie starred Bruce Willis in his global box office pomp, it's much less certain that lead Cara Delevingne can carry the marketing. Her presence didn't help Suicide Squad's relatively disappointing box office.
http://m.imdb.com/title/tt2239822/
Sci-fi and superheroes in 2017: can Luke Skywalker save us from Hollywood's bleak year ahead?
https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2017/jan/04/sci-fi-and-superheroes-2017-can-luke-skywalker-save-us-from-hollywoods-bleak-year-ahead-ridley-scott-blade-runner-ryan-gosling-week-in-geek?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard
