SKYFALL SETS SECOND-WEEK RECORD IN U.K.
November 6, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
If he were not a fictional character, Her Majesty’s secret servant would probably be up for a knighthood after upending British box office records for two weeks in a row. On Monday Sony and MGM released figures indicating that the latest James Bond blockbuster had become the fastest film ever to cross the £50 million […]
MASSIVE PARAMOUNT THEME PARK TO OPEN IN U.K.
October 9, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
Britain’s success in pulling off the Summer Olympics virtually without a hitch is apparently paying off in an unexpected way: a $3.2 billion investment in an 872-acre Paramount Pictures theme park in the Thames Estuary, a 20-minute train ride away from London. Reports on Monday said that the project is being being led by a […]
NO. 1 FILM IN BRITAIN: ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER
June 26, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
It would seem to be an unlikely success story. The No. 1 film at the British box office is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which opened with $1.75 million (including Wednesday and Thursday previews). As Britain’s Guardian newspaper observed, the movie had always appeared to be a tough sell at the British box office. Films about […]
ARGENTINE Y&R EXECS IN DEEPER HOT WATER
May 9, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
That television commercial featuring a member of Argentina’s hockey team training in the Falkland Islands, ending with the tagline “To compete on English soil, we train on Argentine soil,” was not, as originally presumed, commissioned by the Argentine government. According to Advertising Age, the 90-second spot was produced on spec by the Buenos Aires unit […]
ARGENTINE TV: OLYMPICS CAN’T ESCAPE POLITICS
May 4, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
Once again, the Olympics, which is supposed to be a politics-free zone, has been used for political gamesmanship — this time by Argentina, which secretly produced a TV ad showing one of its athletes, hockey player Fernando Zylberg, training there. It aired on Argentine television stations on Wednesday. “To compete on English soil, we are […]
WILL THE INTERNET ABSORB HOME VIDEO?
January 10, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings predicted on Monday that “the era of broadcast TV is going to evolve to click-and-watch with the Internet.” Hastings made the comment in an interview with the London Independent as Netflix launched a low-cost streaming service in the U.K. and Ireland costing just £5.99 ($9.25) per month. Amazon-owned LoveFilm, […]
BRITAIN RENEWS TAX CREDITS; HOLLYWOOD CHEERS
Citing the “massive success” of films produced in the U.K. during the past year, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced today that the country’s tax incentives to the film industry will be extended through 2015. Those incentives helped attract producers of such films as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Captain America, Pirates […]
YOU TUBE MOVIES JUMP ACROSS THE POND
October 10, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
YouTube, which launched an online movie rental service in the U.S. and Canada in May, has expanded it to include the U.K., Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported today (Monday). According to the newspaper, the Google-owned website has sighed “U.K.-specific” deals with Sony, Warner Bros., Universal and Lionsgate. The article did not indicate how the deals are […]
MPA WINS BIG VICTORY OVER U.K. PIRATES
In a landmark decision, a British judge has ruled that BT, the U.K.’s largest Internet service provider, must block a file-sharing website that offers pirated movies. The ruling had been sought by the MPA, the international arm of the Motion Picture Association of America. In it, Justice Richard Arnold said that BT has been aware […]
PRIVATE HOSPITALS CLEARED TO ADVERTISE ABORTIONS ON U.K. TV
July 4, 2011 by admin · 2 Comments
Britain’s Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice has drawn up recommendations, which if implemented would allow private hospitals in the U.K. to advertise abortion services. Previously only non-profit hospitals were permitted to do so. The only one that did, a clinic operated by the charity Marie Stopes International, drew 4,500 complaints last year to the Advertising […]
