FILM PRODUCTION:Independent film finance and production have been hit severely by the credit crunch, says Mike Goodridge, the US editor of Screen International. "Unfortunately, the box office upswing has yet to have an impact on the crisis in funding production," he says.
“Private equity investments for movies are suddenly drying up and international distributors are finding it harder to invest in the production of these films because of the plummeting popularity of DVDs and the reluctance of TV stations to pay for anything other than blockbusters.”
Goodridge points out that one of the main areas of scrutiny in the new climate of frugality is the “often astronomical” cost of hiring actors. “This is a hazy area which has talent agents all over Hollywood quaking in their boots . . . As yet, nothing has appeared, and even the studios are struggling to find partners to share production costs.”
Irish Film Board (IFB) chief executive Simon Perry agrees. “Cinemagoing is famously immune to wars, depressions and other disasters,” he says, “but the new shortage of money for production will certainly diminish the number and scale of films being made over the next 12 months. In Ireland film producers can really only look to the IFB for funding since TV funding for feature films is becoming almost extinct here.”
Cuts in the IFB 2009 budget will inevitably curtail the output of Irish films in comparison to last year’s record levels, Perry says. “International co-production arrangements can offset the downturn to some extent. But the disappearance of risk equity funding in the UK, and the risk-averse attitude of almost all banks that used to finance films, could mean the postponement or shelving of many larger-budget Irish films.”
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