U.K. CABINET MEMBER HURLS CHARGES AT FILM COUNCIL

Bombarded with protests from the likes of actor Clint Eastwood and DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg over the announced plans to shut down the U.K. Film Council — as well as protest campaigns on the Internet that have attracted tens of thousands of supporters — U.K. Culture Minister Ed Vaizey on Tuesday complained on Tuesday that the letters and protests were instigated by the Film Council itself. Vaizey dashed of a letter to John Woodward, who heads the UKFC, saying, “I am very concerned about what has come to light,” wrote Vaizey. “It looks as though sources at the Film Council have been overzealously briefing in order to protect their interests. As a result they may be damaging the film industry that they purport to represent. This is completely wrong and I will be seeking urgent reassurances that the Film Council will promote the interests of the film industry rather than its own from now on.” The letter appeared in today’s (Wednesday) editions of the London Independent. In response, a film council spokesperson told Daily Variety that the Council has no interests beyond the future of the U.K. film industry. He added, “We will continue to do everything we can to reassure people that any change to us will not affect the UK’s film offer to the world.”