Each week I look at a different topic around the film industry, focusing on the data and statistics which reveal what’s going on.
The film industry is full of under-appreciated people whose work doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. Visual effects teams make movie stars look younger, body doubles make them look sexier and writers make them seem normal and likeable. But only one set of such heroes put their lives on the line in the course of their […]
It’s been almost a year since I last addressed the topic of Brexit on this blog and I’ve wanted to give you an update for a while. The reason you’re reading this now is that the BFI have finally released an internal report (commissioned last summer) which looks at the effect of Brexit on the […]
Short films have long been a vital part of the journey of new filmmakers, allowing them to learn new skills, meet like-minded collaborators and showcase their talent. Most people’s first few shorts have a budget of almost (or exactly) nothing, with the filmmakers relying on the help of friends and family. However, as their ambition […]
You may have heard rumblings in the press about a possible upcoming writers’ strike in Hollywood, and a few readers have been in touch to ask about the debate. In today’s article, I will look at some of the key numbers that lie at the heart of the disagreement between the writers and the studios. I […]
Recently, I’ve been covering topics that could be described as ‘inside baseball’, eg they are very technical or mainly for people deep within the film industry. I don’t intend to stop doing this, but I also want to address questions I get from film fans and people who are just curious about how the industry […]
Last week, I looked at six trends for how the film business is changing. It got a great response and I was heartened to see such interesting, lively debate about it. One of the topics raised by a few people was the move from analog to digital processes. I didn’t include the move to digital as a […]
The coming of a new year always makes me pause and take stock. It’s a time when people traditionally ponder what they’re up to, where they’re going and what they want to do next. So I have spent some time thinking about what’s happening in the film business and where we’re going. I don’t like predictions […]
Age is a touchy subject for many actors, and last September actors in California have won the right to have their date of birth removed from IMDb. IMDb claims that a date of birth is just a piece of biographical data (therefore fair game for publication) whereas the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) claim that it […]
Today’s article was inspired by a question from Pliny, founder of movie titling software Endcrawl. We got chatting on Twitter and the topic of end credits came up. He mentioned that a couple of years ago they had worked on the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz and noticed that a large number of the cast […]
The film industry is good at generating wisdom but not so good at disseminating it. A case in point is all of the tips and tricks learnt by attendees of a festival or market. The first time someone attends they spend the first half of their trip totally lost, but after a few days they start to get the […]
