Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Testing...testing...testing... again...again
Technical issues with Blogger... new posts finally appeared below... it seems it was an upstream cache issue with my ISP.
Monday, May 9, 2011
The State of European Cinema Pre-Cannes
The European Audiovisual Observatory does valuable work in trying to put some statistical shape on the European distribution and production markets in advance of Cannes each year. The following tables were released today.
It's not an easy task, and while there must be various caveats attached to the tables below they do provide a useful set of data around which to begin a discussion of where the theatrical medium is at in Europe today. I'll have a look at the figures in some detail in my next post.
Table 1: GBO, admissions and national market share in European countries 2009-2010 (est)
Table 2: Breakdown of admissions in the European Union according to the country of origin
Table 3: Number of feature films produced in the European Union (est)
Table 4: Top 20 films by admissions in the European Union in 2010
Table 5: Top 20 European films by admissions in the European Union in 2010
It's not an easy task, and while there must be various caveats attached to the tables below they do provide a useful set of data around which to begin a discussion of where the theatrical medium is at in Europe today. I'll have a look at the figures in some detail in my next post.
Table 1: GBO, admissions and national market share in European countries 2009-2010 (est)
Table 2: Breakdown of admissions in the European Union according to the country of origin
Table 3: Number of feature films produced in the European Union (est)
Table 4: Top 20 films by admissions in the European Union in 2010
Table 5: Top 20 European films by admissions in the European Union in 2010
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Weekend Trim Bin
Notice... Due to technical issues with Blogger this new post is not appearing on the opening page, although it is here... somewhere...
---------------------------------------------------
A number of questions linger in the wake of the corporate demise of the Light House cinema in the High Court yesterday:
1. What becomes of the State's €1.95m investment?
2. What happens IFCO's viewing facilities?
3. What of the developer/landlord's 'cultural use' planning obligation?
4. Who are the two competing cinema operators interested in the site?
5. Can any programming restrictions be placed on a new leaseholder of the cinema?
6. Can any small cinema pay €200,000 rent each year and be commercially viable?
7. Are circumstances so changed for 'art house' exhibition and distribution that the numbers no longer add up, especially in leased premises?
8 Does it make sense to divide the audience for 'niche' films between four or five different cinemas in Dublin City Centre?
9. Is the Smithfield location currently too forbidding for a predominantly night-time activity?
update
An anonymous commenter on my last post has contributed the following (lightly edited with my own comments [interposed]):
The "rent increase" line being spun on this now appears to have been a complete red herring, put out to cover up for the unviability of the undertaking from the outset. What is not being reported is that the Balance Sheet for the Light House Cinema at the end of June 2009 showed an accumulated deficit of €241,189, or almost a quarter of a million euro.
[Presumably a good portion of this relates to start-up costs in the first year of operation - IFP]
This loss was made on a *discounted* rent level for 2009 of €100,000 as part of the lease agreement, which it now appears was signed on a discounted rent basis (Zero rent payable in 2008, € 100,000 in 2009; € 200,000 in 2010; € 400,000 in 2011; € 500,000 in 2012 - information from thepropertypin.com). So it appears the landlord was actually subsidising the rent.
[If this is true I have to say it does not seem commercially realistic at all - IFP]
The income from IFCO has been quoted at €120,000 per annum (same source). But even coupled with increased box office receipts, this would not appear to offset either the agreed rent increases or the accumulated deficit to a sufficient degree.
It has also been mentioned that there was no mention of the trading performance of the wider Smithfield Market area in the lease agreement - is this yet another red herring? (Source: propertypin.com)
[This might just be hearsay - IFP]
The mystery remains as to why ongoing revenue support from the state - clearly essential from the outset in order to ensure viability - was not part of the deal.
There is now a pressing need for a full and thorough investigation into the "Cultural Cinema Consortium" - who are people behind it, and how have they been able to mobilise millions of euro of taxpayers' money apparently without any accountability? And further questions need answering - why did Cork's Kino Cinema have to close apparently simply by applying for a grant from this body? What about the Galway project? Is this another folly, another Light House debacle in the making?
[As I understand it the closure of the Kino in Cork arose from a number of issues, including the substantial cost entailed in trying to redevelop a site which offered no economies of scale. The Solas cinema project in Galway is different to the extent that there are no landlord or tenancy costs - IFP]
------------
From the beginning of May the O'Gorman family will be taking a back seat at the Ormonde Stillorgan, a cinema with which they have had an association going back more than fifty years. They will now be concentrating on the Movies@ sites they established with the Spurling family.
It is remarkable the extent to which the Irish cinema trade is still a collection of family-run businesses, aside from occasional interlopers from across the water! The brothers Colm and Ciaran Butler will be taking over the running of the Stillorgan cinema.
The Butlers made their money from Leisureplex (and from the Quasar craze with Ossie Kilkenny and Paul McGuinness) and bought out UCI for some €90m several years back. The Tallaght UCI site was sold for redevelopment and there was talk of their developing new cinema sites in Belgard and Finglas.
Planning for a new cinema complex in Dundrum on former Airfield Estate lands that the Butlers jointly own with Bernard McNamara was knocked on the head last September.
-------------------------
The latest twist in the Magma Saga, following the cancellation on Tuesday, is that the much delayed / protracted Creditors Meeting will now take place 'later this month'.
There are rumours that the ODCE is taking an interest, and some suggestions too that the Revenue might be about to act. One can only assume that any and all professional advisors connected to this affair are anxious that matters now proceed without delay and according to the rulebooks for such things.
It seems extraordinary that the Light House can have been put out of business so quickly and easily over outstanding rent of €157,000 while part of the Magma group of companies owes considerably more, for a longer period, and yet creditors are no wiser now, officially, than they were months ago.
---------------------------------------------------
A number of questions linger in the wake of the corporate demise of the Light House cinema in the High Court yesterday:
1. What becomes of the State's €1.95m investment?
2. What happens IFCO's viewing facilities?
3. What of the developer/landlord's 'cultural use' planning obligation?
4. Who are the two competing cinema operators interested in the site?
5. Can any programming restrictions be placed on a new leaseholder of the cinema?
6. Can any small cinema pay €200,000 rent each year and be commercially viable?
7. Are circumstances so changed for 'art house' exhibition and distribution that the numbers no longer add up, especially in leased premises?
8 Does it make sense to divide the audience for 'niche' films between four or five different cinemas in Dublin City Centre?
9. Is the Smithfield location currently too forbidding for a predominantly night-time activity?
update
An anonymous commenter on my last post has contributed the following (lightly edited with my own comments [interposed]):
The "rent increase" line being spun on this now appears to have been a complete red herring, put out to cover up for the unviability of the undertaking from the outset. What is not being reported is that the Balance Sheet for the Light House Cinema at the end of June 2009 showed an accumulated deficit of €241,189, or almost a quarter of a million euro.
[Presumably a good portion of this relates to start-up costs in the first year of operation - IFP]
This loss was made on a *discounted* rent level for 2009 of €100,000 as part of the lease agreement, which it now appears was signed on a discounted rent basis (Zero rent payable in 2008, € 100,000 in 2009; € 200,000 in 2010; € 400,000 in 2011; € 500,000 in 2012 - information from thepropertypin.com). So it appears the landlord was actually subsidising the rent.
[If this is true I have to say it does not seem commercially realistic at all - IFP]
The income from IFCO has been quoted at €120,000 per annum (same source). But even coupled with increased box office receipts, this would not appear to offset either the agreed rent increases or the accumulated deficit to a sufficient degree.
It has also been mentioned that there was no mention of the trading performance of the wider Smithfield Market area in the lease agreement - is this yet another red herring? (Source: propertypin.com)
[This might just be hearsay - IFP]
The mystery remains as to why ongoing revenue support from the state - clearly essential from the outset in order to ensure viability - was not part of the deal.
There is now a pressing need for a full and thorough investigation into the "Cultural Cinema Consortium" - who are people behind it, and how have they been able to mobilise millions of euro of taxpayers' money apparently without any accountability? And further questions need answering - why did Cork's Kino Cinema have to close apparently simply by applying for a grant from this body? What about the Galway project? Is this another folly, another Light House debacle in the making?
[As I understand it the closure of the Kino in Cork arose from a number of issues, including the substantial cost entailed in trying to redevelop a site which offered no economies of scale. The Solas cinema project in Galway is different to the extent that there are no landlord or tenancy costs - IFP]
------------
From the beginning of May the O'Gorman family will be taking a back seat at the Ormonde Stillorgan, a cinema with which they have had an association going back more than fifty years. They will now be concentrating on the Movies@ sites they established with the Spurling family.
It is remarkable the extent to which the Irish cinema trade is still a collection of family-run businesses, aside from occasional interlopers from across the water! The brothers Colm and Ciaran Butler will be taking over the running of the Stillorgan cinema.
The Butlers made their money from Leisureplex (and from the Quasar craze with Ossie Kilkenny and Paul McGuinness) and bought out UCI for some €90m several years back. The Tallaght UCI site was sold for redevelopment and there was talk of their developing new cinema sites in Belgard and Finglas.
Planning for a new cinema complex in Dundrum on former Airfield Estate lands that the Butlers jointly own with Bernard McNamara was knocked on the head last September.
-------------------------
The latest twist in the Magma Saga, following the cancellation on Tuesday, is that the much delayed / protracted Creditors Meeting will now take place 'later this month'.
There are rumours that the ODCE is taking an interest, and some suggestions too that the Revenue might be about to act. One can only assume that any and all professional advisors connected to this affair are anxious that matters now proceed without delay and according to the rulebooks for such things.
It seems extraordinary that the Light House can have been put out of business so quickly and easily over outstanding rent of €157,000 while part of the Magma group of companies owes considerably more, for a longer period, and yet creditors are no wiser now, officially, than they were months ago.
Friday, April 15, 2011
The Light House goes dark
Following a successful winding up petition sought by landlord/developer John Flynn in the High Court in Dublin this morning the Light House Cinema has ceased trading with immediate effect.
I wrote about the situation previously here and here.
Mr Flynn claimed he was owed €157,000 in unpaid rent and that his tenant was unable to pay it. Mediation between the parties had failed to resolve the dispute which seems to have been forced by the landlord's obligations to NAMA and by the cinema's difficult trading circumstances in the incomplete regeneration of the Smithfield area.
A sad day.
I wrote about the situation previously here and here.
Mr Flynn claimed he was owed €157,000 in unpaid rent and that his tenant was unable to pay it. Mediation between the parties had failed to resolve the dispute which seems to have been forced by the landlord's obligations to NAMA and by the cinema's difficult trading circumstances in the incomplete regeneration of the Smithfield area.
A sad day.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
CISAC Dublin 2011
Here follows a release just in concerning the CISAC international directors and writers 'Authors Conference' taking place yesterday and today in Dublin.
IRELAND CEMENTS ITS PLACE ON THE INTERNATIONAL FILM STAGE AT FILM & TV CONFERENCE IN DUBLIN
As the world of traditional writing and film making collides with the modern age of gadgets, delegates from the film world descend on Dublin for a major international conference
Dublin, 14 April 2011 The Screen Directors Guild of Ireland (SDGI) welcomed a large number of directors and writers from across the globe at a high-profile international conference in the Morrison Hotel, Dublin today. The conference has a particular focus on the issue of authors’ rights as many directors and writers are struggling to have their voices heard amidst the technological clatter and noise.
Irish director and Chairman of SDGI, Ciarán Donnelly, left work on his $20 million TV series “Titanic”, currently filming in Dublin, to welcome these important filmmakers from around the globe who have made some of the most memorable films of the last decade. The conference demonstrated to the international film community that despite a difficult Irish economic climate, and the increasing influence of technology, the Irish film, documentary television and animation sector in Ireland is thriving, and generating significant employment and revenue.
“There is much to celebrate with the amazing success of Irish film and TV recently. Last year was a particularly strong year for Irish film. We punch above our weight time and time again so it comes as no surprise for Irish directors to play such a central role in this international conference. SDGI is a powerful voice for directors in Ireland and now, as the hosts of such a prestigious and influential conference, we can make our presence felt even more strongly internationally,” said Birch Hamilton, Executive Director of SDGI.
She continued, “In the age of gadgets and technological novelty devices the voice and rights of Irish writers and directors are being swept under the carpet. We are here to show that we are a collective voice to be recognised. Nothing evokes passion and emotion like the written word. No gimmick or gizmo can ever be better then the words written by a writer or film made by a director. Smart phones and e-books come and go but the true passion is in the story itself. If content is at the heart of digital culture then it is true that writers and directors are its lifeblood.”
Minister Deenihan said “This conference provides an important platform for writers and directors from across some 35 countries to discuss important global issues relating to the rights of creative authors. It will be an opportunity to share experience and explore issues such as supports to artists, payments for writers and directors, the use of new technologies through to creating a supportive policy environment for artistic endeavour. The economic impact of the creative sector is significant and the arts and innovation are key to rebuilding Ireland’s global reputation and driving recovery.”
This event, the Authors Council of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) took place at the Morrison Hotel in Dublin on the 13th and 14th of April 2011. It is the first time the annual event has been held in Ireland.
Minister of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs Jimmy Deenihan, TD, was the keynote speaker and was joined by leading Irish directors such as Darragh O’Connell from Oscar nominated Brownbag Films, Lenny Abrahamson, Oscar nominated filmmaker Juanita Wilson, Shimmy Marcus, award winning Spanish director Imanol Uribe, and Ian Power.
Speaking about the event coming to Dublin, Michael Stubbs Assistant City Manager of Dublin City Council said “We warmly welcome this group of international authors to Dublin. Artists are a critical part of the cultural capital and the economic success of Dublin. Dublin City Council is working very closely with the film industry to support writers and directors making films in Dublin, generating employment and raising the profile of the city internationally."
The event commenced with an evening reception hosted by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Edie Wynne, in the Mansion House on Wednesday April 13th. This gave Irish directors the unique opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the most influential European film directors and writers alive today.
This historic and prestigious event focused on important common concerns for directors and writers such as how we watch films today, how to remunerate directors and writers for their work and the impact this has on the creative process. In light of new technology developments such as Apple Films, Blu-ray and 3D which are significant for the filmmaking community in all its variety, and ultimately for the public, the conference certainly provoked fascinating questions from the diverse audience.
ENDS
IRELAND CEMENTS ITS PLACE ON THE INTERNATIONAL FILM STAGE AT FILM & TV CONFERENCE IN DUBLIN
As the world of traditional writing and film making collides with the modern age of gadgets, delegates from the film world descend on Dublin for a major international conference
Dublin, 14 April 2011 The Screen Directors Guild of Ireland (SDGI) welcomed a large number of directors and writers from across the globe at a high-profile international conference in the Morrison Hotel, Dublin today. The conference has a particular focus on the issue of authors’ rights as many directors and writers are struggling to have their voices heard amidst the technological clatter and noise.
Irish director and Chairman of SDGI, Ciarán Donnelly, left work on his $20 million TV series “Titanic”, currently filming in Dublin, to welcome these important filmmakers from around the globe who have made some of the most memorable films of the last decade. The conference demonstrated to the international film community that despite a difficult Irish economic climate, and the increasing influence of technology, the Irish film, documentary television and animation sector in Ireland is thriving, and generating significant employment and revenue.
“There is much to celebrate with the amazing success of Irish film and TV recently. Last year was a particularly strong year for Irish film. We punch above our weight time and time again so it comes as no surprise for Irish directors to play such a central role in this international conference. SDGI is a powerful voice for directors in Ireland and now, as the hosts of such a prestigious and influential conference, we can make our presence felt even more strongly internationally,” said Birch Hamilton, Executive Director of SDGI.
She continued, “In the age of gadgets and technological novelty devices the voice and rights of Irish writers and directors are being swept under the carpet. We are here to show that we are a collective voice to be recognised. Nothing evokes passion and emotion like the written word. No gimmick or gizmo can ever be better then the words written by a writer or film made by a director. Smart phones and e-books come and go but the true passion is in the story itself. If content is at the heart of digital culture then it is true that writers and directors are its lifeblood.”
Minister Deenihan said “This conference provides an important platform for writers and directors from across some 35 countries to discuss important global issues relating to the rights of creative authors. It will be an opportunity to share experience and explore issues such as supports to artists, payments for writers and directors, the use of new technologies through to creating a supportive policy environment for artistic endeavour. The economic impact of the creative sector is significant and the arts and innovation are key to rebuilding Ireland’s global reputation and driving recovery.”
This event, the Authors Council of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) took place at the Morrison Hotel in Dublin on the 13th and 14th of April 2011. It is the first time the annual event has been held in Ireland.
Minister of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs Jimmy Deenihan, TD, was the keynote speaker and was joined by leading Irish directors such as Darragh O’Connell from Oscar nominated Brownbag Films, Lenny Abrahamson, Oscar nominated filmmaker Juanita Wilson, Shimmy Marcus, award winning Spanish director Imanol Uribe, and Ian Power.
Speaking about the event coming to Dublin, Michael Stubbs Assistant City Manager of Dublin City Council said “We warmly welcome this group of international authors to Dublin. Artists are a critical part of the cultural capital and the economic success of Dublin. Dublin City Council is working very closely with the film industry to support writers and directors making films in Dublin, generating employment and raising the profile of the city internationally."
The event commenced with an evening reception hosted by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Edie Wynne, in the Mansion House on Wednesday April 13th. This gave Irish directors the unique opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the most influential European film directors and writers alive today.
This historic and prestigious event focused on important common concerns for directors and writers such as how we watch films today, how to remunerate directors and writers for their work and the impact this has on the creative process. In light of new technology developments such as Apple Films, Blu-ray and 3D which are significant for the filmmaking community in all its variety, and ultimately for the public, the conference certainly provoked fascinating questions from the diverse audience.
ENDS
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