The British Film Industry In 25 Careers

The British Film Industry in 25 Careers tells the history of the British film industry from an unusual perspective - that of various mavericks, visionaries and outsiders who, often against considerable odds, have become successful producers, distributors, writers, directors, editors, props masters, publicists, special effects technicians, talent scouts, stars and, sometimes, even moguls. Some, such as Richard Attenborough and David Puttnam, are well-known names. Others, such as the screenwriter and editor Alma Reville, also known as Mrs Alfred Hitchcock; Constance Smith, the 'lost star' of British cinema, or the producer Betty Box and her director sister Muriel, are far less well known. What they all have in common, though, is that they found their own pathways into the British film business, overcoming barriers of nationality, race, class and gender to do so. Counterpointing the essays on historical figures are interviews with contemporaries including the director Amma Asante, the writer and filmmaker Julian Fellowes, artist and director Isaac Julien, novelist and screenwriter Hanif Kureishi, and media entrepreneur Efe Cakarel, founder of the online film platform MUBI, who've come into today's industry, adjusting to an era in which production and releasing models are changing – and in which films are distributed digitally as well as theatrically.

What has brought about the transformation of the British film industry over the last few decades, to the beginnings of what is arguably a new golden era? In the mid-1980s the industry was in a parlous state. The number of films produced in the UK was tiny. Cinema attendance had dipped to an all-time low, cinema buildings were in a state of disrepair and home video had yet to flourish. Since then, while many business challenges - especially for independent producers and distributors - remain, the industry overall has developed beyond recognition. In recent years, as British films have won Oscars, Cannes Palms and Venice Golden Lions, releases such as Love Actually, Billy Elliot, Skyfall, Paddington and the Harry Potter series have found enormous commercial as well as critical success. The UK industry has encouraged, and benefitted from, a huge amount of inward investment, much of it from the Hollywood studios, but also from the National Lottery via the UK Film Council and BFI. This book portrays the visionaries and officials who were at the helm as a digital media revolution began to reshape the industry. Through vivid accounts based on first-hand interviews of what was happening behind the scenes, film commentator and critic Geoffrey Macnab provides in-depth analysis of how and why the British film industry has risen like a phoenix from the ashes.

This is the first book to provide a thorough examination of the British 'B' movie, from the war years to the 1960s. The authors draw on archival research, contemporary trade papers and interviews with key 'B' filmmakers to map the 'B' movie phenomenon both as artefact and as industry product, and as a reflection on their times.

British Film Industry

Film Distributors are the unsung heroes of cinema. Without them, the film industry would grind to a halt. Drawing on the archives of the Film Distributors' Association (FDA), as well as on interviews with leading British distributors of today, Delivering Dreams tells the, largely unacknowledged, story of how films were, and are, brought to British cinema-goers. It profiles some of the most flamboyant and controversial figures involved in UK distribution over the last 100 years, ranging from the founders of huge companies to visionaries who have launched small art house labels. Geoffrey MacNab also explores how the sector has reacted to a rapidly changing market and technological environment, from the transition to sound in the late 1920s to the spectre of TV in the 1950s and the move to digital in the 2000s. Ranging from the films of Charlie Chaplin to The King's Speech, and published to coincide with the centenary of the FDA's creation in December 1915, this book highlights the crucial role that distributors have played in maintaining the solid foundations of the British film industry.

A fascinating read both for the general reader on film and also those with a serious interest in the subject of the film industry and film-making For the past 80 years the British film industry has struggled to compete with Hollywood. The early control of distribution by American companies in London and the lack of investment in domestic production gave Hollywood a commercial advantage that persists to this day. Successive British governments have introduced measures to protect the industry from overseas competition and stimulate British production, all with little long-term success. This book traces the history of the British film business from the days of the early pioneers, through its near collapse in the immediate post-war era to the current age of digitally enhanced blockbusters. The authors chart the successes and failures and show how Government intervention has often failed to assist the industry. They provide comment on recent developments and suggest how these could help British film making talent reach the wider audience that it frequently deserves. Bill Baillieu is a non-practising barrister with twenty years corporate finance and licensing experience in the development and funding of creative and growth businesses. His career began in the venture capital industry in the City of London, and he now specialises in the management, exploitation and valuation of intellectual property rights ranging from copyright portfolios to patented technology. John Goodchild is an experienced investment analyst and currently an associate with the London stockbrokers Walker Crips Weddle Beck plc. He has been fascinated by the British cinema since childhood when he first heard his aunt's recollections of life as a wardrobe assistant at Gainsborough Studios in the 1930s. He is also joint editor of Professional Investor where Bill Baillieu's articles on the industry were the starting point for The British Film Business

Despite the disappearance of an integrated British film industry - where British studios made British films which were distributed by British distributors and shown in British-owned cinemas to British audiences - Britain still has the best film talents in the world, a fact assured by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and other leading Hollywood film makers. How can those talents be employed in a British film industry? Can those talents be employed in a British film industry? Need those talents be employed in a British film industry, when Hollywood gobbles so many of them up, nominates them for Oscars and awards them Oscars? Do we really need a British film industry anyhow? This report sets out to answer these questions.

The eclectic nature of British cinema is confirmed by an examination of genres from the Ealing comedies to heritage films. Viewed against the social, financial and political background, this is an indespensible evaluation of British cinema.