August 13th, 2010
Newcomer Simon Stratton has won the 2010 John Brabourne ‘Big 5′ Comedy Award with his screenplay Get Miles.
The Cardiff-based screenwriter will now have his script made into a short film, funded by the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund (CTBF). He will also receive a cash prize of £1,000 from Working Title.
Stratton said he was ‘ecstatic’ to have won: “It’s very hard at the moment to be a new writer and so it’s nice to have someone take a punt on you.”
John Brabourne was one of Britain’s most prolific producers with an illustrious career spanning four decades and twenty seven films. He was the father of Production Wizard Chairman, Timothy Knatchbull, and Production Wizard are very proud to be sponsoring the Newcomer Award.
The winner of the John Brabourne Newcomer Award will receive £1,000 and free use of the Production Wizard website for a year.
Stratton’s film, which follows the life of the unlucky main character, will be made with the support of the ‘Big 5′ award sponsors: Kodak, Technicolor, Pinewood Studios, Arri Media and n2o Entertainment. CTBF and the UK Film Council will fund the production.
Norma Burke of n2o Entertainment compiled the shortlist from over 200 entries and was impressed by the quality of the writing.
One of the categories for the competition was transitional talent and Burke felt that the awards will encourage stand-up comedians, theatre and TV writers to cross over to film writing in the future.
For more information on The John Brabourne Awards:
www.ctbf.co.uk/johnbrabourneawards
Tags: Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund, CTBF, Get Miles, John Brabourne, John Brabourne Newcomer Award, Newcomer Award, Norma Burke, Production Wizard, Simon Stratton, UK Film Council
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August 6th, 2010
Production Base recently unveiled a new look whilst Broadcast Freelancer earlier this year promised ‘Radical changes’. Are we about to see a major shift in the online recruitment landscape? The answer is yes, but not from either of the aforementioned websites. Both still ask for an upfront payment from ‘candidates’ to simply create their online ‘profile’, thereby missing out on the demonstrable value (witness Facebook, Linked-in) delivered by offering a level playing field to members on which to build useful business networks.
Despite their youthful, iPhone touting credentials, TV and film production professionals have been surprisingly slow to apply new technology to the day-to-day management of their talent networks - whether freelance or companies. It’s not to say that they aren’t willing. Media professionals and production management in particular, are much more likely than many other industries to mix business with pleasure, joining groups and forums on Facebook et al. And many Production Companies have invested in databases to keep track of companies and freelancers that they’ve worked with, not least to meet health & safety and employment law requirements.
So perhaps there just isn’t a product or service ‘out there’ that captures their imagination or that understands the unique anatomy of the industry: its language, its reliance on teams, short deadlines and its often erratic hours? And that the current industry networking offerings rely upon payment for inclusion sets an unnatural barrier to the growth of useful organic networks? Their ‘no entry without payment’ model (often a pretty large sum of hard earned -or not yet earned- cash) inevitably skews the market, driving the submission of hundreds of CVs for every role posted by candidates no doubt keen to get their money’s worth from their subscription.
So the spirit is willing but the services on offer are weak? We certainly think so. Here at Production Wizard we are quietly aiming to deliver a revolution. We want to offer the industry a level playing field for talented professionals. A free platform where employers can create and manage their network of trusted suppliers. And looking towards the Autumn, somewhere that they can share job requirements or supplier feedback with colleagues, and assess supplier credentials based on credits, recommendations or number of employer connections. We want to create a vibrant and accessible community in which Production companies can manage and grow the talent networks the industry depends upon. Could we have the answer? We hope so.
Tags: Facebook, freelance, iPhone, Linked-in, management, Media, networks, Production, Production Companies, Production Wizard
Posted in The Weekly Wizard, UK - Film news, UK - TV news | No Comments »
July 30th, 2010
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) plan to abolish the UK Film Council and the news has caused outrage across the UK film industry with the likes of Mike Leigh, Liam Neeson and its Chairman, Tim Bevan CBE, all speaking out regarding the decision.
Bevan called the decision, “imposed without any consultation or evaluation,” while Neeson called the government’s decision to axe the UK Film Council as “deplorable”.
The government announced on Monday that it is to abolish the Council as part of a cost-cutting drive by the DCMS. The Film Council was set up by the Labour government to develop and promote the British film industry. Funded by the National Lottery, it channelled around £160m into more than 900 films over the last 10 years, including Bend It Like Beckham, The Last King of Scotland and this year’s hit, Streetdance 3D.
Online petitions have been set up to hopefully save the Council and work in the same vain as the Save 6 Music campaigns. The online petition now has nearly 10,500 members and a Facebook group called Save the UK Film Council has also been created, which currently has almost 17,000 supporters - with 10,000 supporters apparently signing up within the first 24 hours.
The page’s description reads: “Join this group and pass on the message to show Mr Hunt that stripping away potential for our future film-makers is a huge mistake for one of the world’s most creative countries.”
Without the UK Film Council the UK film industry loses a huge amount of support and funding and the cull of such an important institution throws greater strain on young talent as well as writers, directors and ‘budding filmmakers’.
Tags: Bend It Like Beckham, DCMS, Department for Culture, Labour, Liam Neeson, Media and Sport, Mike Leigh, Save the UK Film Council, Streetdance 3D, The Last King of Scotland, Tim Bevan, UK Film Council
Posted in The Weekly Wizard, UK - Film news | 3 Comments »
July 23rd, 2010
This week the UK Film Council stated that the number of feature films funded in the UK fell from 77 in 2008 to 71 in 2009. The figures were released as part of the Film Council’s first fully-searchable website with comprehensive statistics.
Median budgets for UK domestic feature films also fell from £1.7 million in 2008 to £1.5 million in 2009.
“Overall it’s clear that British cinema has been weathering the global recession well,” said UK Film Council chief executive John Woodward. He added that the sectors of production, distribution and exhibition were “firing on all cylinders”.
For a small country, the UK film industry has an astonishing creative track record. Of the top 200 global box office successes of 2001-2009, 30 films are based on stories and characters created by UK writers, which together have earned more than $16 billion at the worldwide box office.
The UK Film Council report showed that independent UK films were at their most popular in 2009 - both in the UK and global markets - since records began.
As mentioned on the BBC website this week, with the success of films such as Slumdog Millionaire, indie films took 8.2% of the UK and 2.3% of the global market share. Other top performers included Nativity and The Young Victoria.
The Film Council report also showed that British film talent - including actors, writers, directors and crew - continued to shine on the international stage. Some 14% of all major awards won around the world between 2001-2009 were won by British films and talent.
John Woodward commented that, “Low budget independent production is a tough business - it always has been,” noting that figures for the first half of 2010 showed a continuing pressure on smaller film production. The marketplace for financing small and independent films has always been difficult and the recent economic slowdown has not helped the situation, along with world broadcasters paying less for feature films and the slow erosion of the DVD market.
Tags: BBC, crew, directors, DVD, John Woodward, Nativity, Slumdog Millionaire, The Young Victoria, UK Film Council, writers
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July 16th, 2010
The former Daily Mirror editor, Piers Morgan, is reportedly poised to replace veteran talk show host Larry King on American news channel CNN. According to The Sun newspaper, Morgan has signed a £5.5m, four-year deal with CNN to replace King. This follows reports in the US media that NBC had agreed to share Morgan with CNN, clearing the way for negotiations to begin. Morgan is contracted to NBC as a judge on America’s Got Talent. CNN has been losing a ratings war with Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News and it is hoped that Morgan can gain ground on the competing news channel.
King, aged 76, announced his retirement last month and a host of rivals, many of them better recognised in America, were in the running to replace him on his nightly interview slot. They included American Idol host Ryan Seacrest and CBS News presenter Katie Couric. King was even reported saying he wouldn’t recognise Piers Morgan “if he saw him walking down the street”.
Morgan, 45, who recently celebrated his marriage to Daily Telegraph journalist Celia Walden, is believed to have impressed CNN executives with his bold and direct interviewing style. Talks were complicated by Morgan’s commitments to NBC. His NBC contract prevented him from taking on extra work that clashed with the show, but this has now reportedly been resolved.
Back in the UK, the BBC announced this week that Gwyneth Williams has been appointed controller of BBC Radio 4 and Radio 7. Ms Williams was, until recently, director of the BBC World Service’s English programming. She will replace Mark Damazer, who is moving on after six years to become head of St Peter’s College Oxford. Her most pressing issue is likely to be the succession process on the station’s biggest show, Today. BBC political editor, Nick Robinson, has been tipped for a permanent presenting role on the programme.
And finally, some of the industry’s leading production managers gathered on Wednesday evening in Notting Hill for the PMA (Production Manager’s Association) summer party. Sponsored by Production Wizard, the members made the most of what seems to be left of the English summer and were able to relax and converse over champagne and canapés.
The PMA provides invaluable information and support for its Members, regular social events, workshops and training courses. “Within the Film and Television Industry the Association provides a unique network for both freelance and permanently employed Production Managers.”
For photographs from the evening visit our News section and Facebook page:
http://www.productionwizard.com/about/news01
http://www.facebook.com/productionwizard
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July 9th, 2010
The Vision Charity Soho Fun Run returned this year and witnessed more teams and three-legged race runners from the TV and film industry weave their way through the streets of Soho, stopping off at points to collect their drinks and raise funds and awareness for the Vision Charity and its sterling work with blind, visually impaired and dyslexic children.
Production Wizard’s stand stood out from the crowd with its pink theme and white balloons and we handed out pink Prosecco to continue the trend and quench the thirst of the runners. It’s fair to say, that on their arrival to the Square and finishing stop, the charity runners were in high spirits from spirits.
We met with the runners and discussed how Production Wizard can help to make production bookings and job searches easier, from sourcing freelance suppliers quickly and easily to comparing the freelance rate market and saving bookers time and money when crewing up for productions.
The party continued well into the night in Soho Square with drinks being served and the band playing to the eager dancers. Boos rang out as the band packed away, before taking again to the stage for one more song as Love Shack had the runners, sponsors and event organisers up and grooving.
For more pictures from the event and info on Production Wizard, see our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/productionwizard and follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/productionwiz
Posted in The Weekly Wizard, UK - Film news | 1 Comment »
July 2nd, 2010
John de Mol
A new prospective bidder has emerged in the sale of RTL’s Channel Five, as Dawn Airey, Five’s chief executive, meets with more than a dozen different potential buyers.
The Dutch media entrepreneur John de Mol - of Cyrte Investments and Talpa Media, as well as founder of Endemol and creator of the Big Brother and Deal or No Deal formats - is working with Antenna Group of Greece in an attempt to acquire Channel Five.
Cyrte Investments owns around a third of Endemol, the Dutch Big Brother producer co-founded by De Mol in the 1990s. De Mol created the Big Brother format (coming to an end of their 10-year run in the UK) when he ran Endemol and there is speculation that several long-running reality TV series, including Big Brother, could appear on Five should his bid with Antenna succeed, according to a report in on the FT.com website on Wednesday.
The Antenna chief executive, Theo Kyriakou, is understood to be in London this week for talks with JP Morgan, who are running the sale. The leading financial services firm are expected to narrow down bidders over the next three weeks before selecting two prospective buyers who will then be given access to Five’s latest trading figures.
Dawn Airey
It’s difficult to put a figure on the company as Five has been making a loss (there was a £10m recorded operating loss in 2009), however its value lies with its content and format shows, as well as its ability to run paid advertisements. It is believed from bankers and analysts that TRL want around €200m for Five.
In 2005, Forbes magazine named De Mol as one of the 500 richest people in the world. The pan-European broadcaster is 90 per cent owned by Bertelsmann of Germany.
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June 25th, 2010
When George Osbourne announced the budget on Wednesday, it was no great surprise that the term “pay freeze” was mentioned here and there. The two-year pay freeze for workers in the public sector mean that the broadcasters are going to find themselves under even greater scrutiny than they previously have been.
With the expenses fiasco at the BBC quietening, they now stroll into summer and Glastonbury, where in 2009 they were criticised for sending over 400 members of staff to the Somerset festival, almost as many as they flew out to film the 2008 Beijing Olympics. There were so many on the corporation’s payroll that it had to block book hotels within a 10-mile radius of the festival. The BBC sent just 32 more to cover the Olympics.
The Glastonbury festival - which has grown with the BBC into a glorious multi-platform thing - has small teams roaming the farm to report on all manner of cultural activities. The output dipping in-and-out of footie and tennis bouts across BBC Two, Three and Four, plus the red button and online.
Then there’s the recent ‘firm stance’ against their staff and the Christine Bleakley saga which has created numerous side stories in the press, “Should she stay or should she go…?” In the end it was decided that enough was enough and that the BBC would not continue their negotiations and so she’s off to…ITV of course! To rejoin her One Show laughter-buddy, Adrian Chiles, and recreate their paragon of sofa chemistry. And it only cost ITV and Peter Fincham (BBC1’s former controller) a mere £4 million. That’s roughly one-quarter of Frank Lampard.
One executive at ITV said, “”There was almost zero consultation with most staff. Even in meetings up to a week ago managers just told us Christine was the ‘elephant in the room’ and they wouldn’t be saying any more.”
Channel 4’s chief executive, David Abraham, is also creating a state of metamorphosis over at Horseferry Road with a 25% cut in senior management. The cull will cut a quarter of senior managers and calls for a “fundamental evolution” at the group. The new shape of C4 will see online commissioning and production combined with its TV equivalent to form a single division.
One industry expert said: “C4 needs to survive the downturn, and in the absence of a deal or the ability to buy its way out, it needs to focus on reorganisation and cutting costs.”
At least the broadcasters are moving with the times and echoing the chorus of the new sprity coalition government, but with industry jobs thin on the ground anyway, these recent cuts cause new and foreboding clouds that waver uncertainty over this already fragile industry.
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June 18th, 2010
Broadcast Digital Awards.
Judges at Wednesday evening’s Broadcast Digital Awards, called Blood, Sweat And Takeaways, “an immersive style seeing participants live alongside factory workers in an intensive five-week filming period.”
The BBC3 show picked up the award for Best Popular Factual Programme (the award sponsored by Production Wizard for the second year running), beating Electric Dreams, Made In Britain, My Big Fat Cycle Challenge, Ross Kemp: Return to Afghanistan and What Katie Did Next. The four-part series – made by Ricochet – gained almost 1 million viewers on its initial airing, making it BBC3’s most successful documentary ever, and won a transfer to the 10.30pm slot on BBC1, when the same instalment was watched by 2 million. The show was a clear winner for the judges in what they described as “a wide-open field”.
David Constable, Emma Hardcastle and Group Head of TV Studio Operations at Pinewood and Shepperton, Simon Honey.
The awards were hosted by comedian, Rufus Hound, fresh from hosting The Isle of Wight Festival coverage, and the comedian joked on how he was on a stage looking out at TV commissioners and media executives, many of whom he’d pitched to and many of whom had turned him away. “At least I have Dave!” he proclaimed, to the amusement of the channel’s table.
Other big winners on the night included E4; Four Weddings, ITV Studios for Living; and Sky Arts. The Individual Achievement Award went to John Ryley, Head of Sky News. Conor Dignam, Group Editor of Broadcast, Screen and Shots commented:
“As the editor of one of the most powerful news brands in the market, this year’s winner launched an online campaign calling for a televised debate that attracted thousands of signatures. He wrote personally to every party leader - and published their replies. He lobbied, he cajoled, he used the power of his channel and brand and he twisted arms - to make it happen. Even his broadcasting rivals concede that without his passion and commitment to make this happen, there may have been no live debate… the award for outstanding achievement goes to the editor of Sky News, John Ryley.”
Head of Sky News, John Ryley.
John Ryley said, “The award is for everyone at Sky who contributed to the success of the Leaders’ Debate and the launch of HD. Never accept the status quo.”
It was a wonderful evening and Production Wizard are very happy to have sponsored an award and supported the event. Congratulations to all the winners and we’ll see you all at the Soho Fun Run on 24th July.
For a full list of the winners: http://www.broadcastdigitalawards.co.uk
Tags: BBC1, BBC3, Blood, Broadcast, Broadcast Digital Awards, Conor Dignam, E4, HD, ITV Studios, John Ryley, Leaders’ Debate, Living, Production Wizard, Rufus Hound, Screen, Shots, Sky Arts, Sky News, Soho Fun Run, Sweat And Takeaways, TV
Posted in The Weekly Wizard, UK - TV news | No Comments »
June 11th, 2010
Lorraine Heggessey, beginning of a new chapter after five years at Talkback Thames.
Shock waves rippled across the UK television industry with the news that Lorraine Heggessey would be leaving her post as chief executive of Talkback Thames; producer of Britain’s Got Talent, The X Factor, The Apprentice and The Bill.
Heggessey - an industry heavyweight - took over from Peter Fincham in 2005 and led Talkback Thames to huge successes through some of the nation’s biggest brand shows.
A spokeswoman for Talkback Thames said, “We can confirm that Lorraine Heggessey is stepping down as the chief executive of Talkback Thames. Sara Geater will now take over as interim chief executive for Talkback Thames reporting into Tony Cohen. No further comment at this time.”
Heggessey’s TV career began in 1979 as a BBC News trainee. Highlights include the Channel 4 show Hard News, editing science series QED, and a producer of Panorama. Her posts as Head of BBC Children’s and Director of BBC Factual and Learning lead her to become controller of BBC1, the first female in the role. As controller she helped the channel successfully revive Doctor Who as well as introducing Strictly Come Dancing. And it was her controversial move of the evening news bulletin to 10pm that paved the way for 9pm drama hits including Spooks, Cutting It and Hustle.
A report in Broadcast stated, “It was known that the Talkback boss fought hard to save The Bill, and if owners Freemantle are making her the scapegoat for its loss, it is more than a little harsh.” ITV’s decision to cancel the long-running police series (26 years old) had a huge impact on the company, to which Talkback owned the rights.
Sara Geater, the company’s chief operating officer, is to take over as interim chief executive. Like Heggessey, Geater will report to Tony Cohen, chief executive of Fremantle Media, the production, distribution and rights arm of RTL, which is Talkback Thames’s parent company.
The next few months will be telling for Talkback. Replacing Heggessey will demand a new media-minded leader with a host of creative ideas to fill the void of the axed shows. With the industry coming through one of the slowest periods for commissioning, there is real emphasis on finding new creative talent. A new and successful long-running series is just what ITV - and perhaps more importantly - Talkback Thames, need.
Tags: BBC, Britain's Got Talent, Broadcast, Channel 4, Cutting It, Doctor Who, Fremantle Media, Hustle, ITV, Lorraine Heggessey, Peter Fincham, Spooks, Strictly Come Dancing, Talkback Thames, The Apprentice, The Bill, The X Factor, Tony Cohen
Posted in The Weekly Wizard, UK - TV news | No Comments »