There is a month left to get applications in to the FiveNews / Documentary Film Group
Five Films competition. The new talent initative, now in its second
run, sets out to produce five three-minute topical documentaries using
the medium in 'an innovative way'. The application deadline is October
26th, with shortlisted applicants invited to pitch to a panel at the
Sheffield DocFest on November 2nd. The films will be broadcast after
Five News in December 2006
Bridging the Gap, is another documentary talent initative which, like Five Films,
offers training alongside production. Now in its fourth year it is
commissioning seven documentaries with an £8k cash, £8k in-kind budget.
Although the scheme and associated training is based in Edinburgh and
Angus in Scotland and is managed by the Scottish Documentary Institute,
it is open to filmmakers anywhere in the UK.
The Knight Foundation have launched the 'Knight Brothers 21st
Century News Challenge', investing up to $5 million in its first
year in web 2.0-style community news projects that best use the digital world to
connect people to the real world.
The News Challenge is looking to fund new ideas, prototypes,
products and leadership initiatives that use innovative news methods to
help citizens better connect within their communities. The competition is open to anyone, not just the journalism
community. Although the fund is based in the US, it is open to
individuals, corporations and no-profits anywhere in the world.
Written by Eduardo Porter & Geraldine Fabrikant on . Posted in Finance
Is Sumner M. Redstone crazy like a fox?
Movie industry executives may be forgiven for thinking that the Viacom chairman was mad to let Tom Cruise go after a 14-year relationship simply because Mr. Cruise seemed a little off balance. After all, the movies made by Viacom's Paramount Pictures studio and the actors production company earned more than $2.5 billion at the box office.
Yet, if you ask economists and other academics that study the movie industry, Mr. Redstones decision was, in financial terms, spot on. The best reason to get rid of Mr. Cruise or, for that matter, Mel Gibson, or Lindsay Lohan, is not their occasional aberrant behavior. They, like most marquee names in Hollywood, are simply not worth the expense.
A film finance fund is expecting pace of business in the film industry to accelerate as filmmakers recover from the loss of UK tax breaks two years ago. Pacific Continental Film Opportunities Fund, launched in 2005, is to embark on a marketing campaign in 2007 and could eventually hold up to 100 million pounds in assets.
Strategic Research Institute's Summit is scheduled for November 27-28 in Los Angeles, CA.
The
entertainment industry is getting a face lift with the infusion of new
investments, creative distribution outlets, and consumer behaviour
evolving to "industry-wide standards." A better looking industry has
attracted Wall Street -- investments in content and intellectual
property as a new form of asset-backed transactions, in distressed
debt, and with hedge funds for guarantees on capital.
Written by Frederick Philander on . Posted in Finance
Employ Industry Analysis Tools To Show What Must Be Done
"It is a paradox that the film industry, through the cowboy genre, has taught the world the essentials of finance and yet Africa's film industries have not put these essentials into practice," said a film executive from South Africa, speaking in Windhoek, Namibia.
The film company behind the troubled movie River Queen has left a trail of debts in Queenstown after the collapse of its latest venture after only six weeks. Silverscreen Films (HD) halted pre-production work on Hard Drive, a car-chase stunt movie, two months ago leaving about 30 individuals out of pocket, New Zealand film insiders say.
Internet retailer Amazon.com is making its first foray into the big-screen movie business after buying an option to develop a film from Keith Donohue's fantasy novel "The Stolen Child."
Amazon said it will not co-finance the film, but it plans to meet with studios and potential partners who can put the story, in which fairies steal a young boy and replace him with a changeling, on the silver screen. The book currently ranks No. 62 in Amazon's list of 100 top sellers.