The U.K. needs more first class studio space to encourage the growth of the film and TV sector.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
We need to work out who is paying for film; in the U.K., it is increasingly difficult to get production funds - and pre-sales demand more and more shot/cut material.
In England, there's a lot of people producing their own work and becoming producers and filmmakers, so they're not constantly waiting around. It can be very scarce for work, so it's important to create the work.
I've never worked in the U.K. television industry, but my guess it that it's a tough world for directors.
People in Scotland appreciate homegrown talent, but it's getting harder and harder to get films made in Britain.
The really successful work in England tends to be working-class writers telling working-class stories. The film industry has been slow to wake up to that, for a variety of reasons. It still shocks me how few films are written or made in England about working-class life, given that those are the people who go to movies.
It's hard to make a film in Britain. It's hard to raise money. The best stuff that is shot on film in Britain is usually shot on film for television.
In the U.S., it would be so much better if the studios made many more smaller films for niche markets rather than a few tent pole films that swamp cinemas and Hoover up all the funding.
I'd rather do theatre and British films than move to L.A. in hopes of getting small roles in American films.
The key thing for me is to secure medium-term funding for the Roundhouse studios. It costs around £2m a year to run, but we want to grow it, and of course that will cost more.
I have always thought we should think less about the British film industry as an entity, and more about getting British talent working.
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