I see that PACT have been getting a bit of press about their complaint that the BBC is not investing enough in British films. They spent £10 on British films in the last year, but I’m not at all sure that they should be investing much more than this in UK films.
If we’re just talking about purchasing for television, then it’s simply a question of the quality of fare that’s available. The best British film of the last 12 months has been Shaun of the Dead, and I don’t know who has the rights to that, but really beyond that I’m struggling. I don’t want to see licence payers’ money going into the great unknown that is cinema distribution. I’d love to see more British films, but I believe that the BBC only has a small part to play with this.
I think that the film that was on late on BBC1 last night is an excellent case in point – Up and Under. This is a film from a few years ago that was really at best a half-decent TV movie. It’s simply not good enough to get bigger billing than this, and I’d be amazed if it made much cash at the box office.
In any case, rightly or wrongly, there are fewer opportunities to show films on TV these days than there used to be. The only films that get shown in primetime are major blockbusters like the Indianna Jones trilogy which is being shown for the umpteenth time at the moment. Even Channel 4 air some of their catalogue’s only after 10.00pm. Modern audiences have simply had ample opportunity to see films well before they arrive on terrestrial TV, with theatrical, DVD/Video, pay per view, an premium movie channels coming first.
So rather than attacking the BBC for not showing enough fare, the British film industry needs to put better films together, and if they’re worth showing they’ll get shown, no question.
I’m a massive film fan, and like nothing more than seeing quality films on both large and small screens. But let’s not put “quotas” on them.