Finally, we have a broader choice in the NSW Film Industry for film production space. Callan 201 is fully operational and at present inhabited with Blackfella Films and their successful, Logie award winning TV series, Redfern Now, now in its second series
Do you agree that the producer offset should be raised from 20 to 40 per cent for television?
Yes
No
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AWG backs Screen Aus shift away from auteurs
[Mon 07/11/2011 04:35:28]
By Brendan Swift
The Australian Writers' Guild has backed Screen Australia's decision to help shift the local feature film industry from an “auteur expression” model towards more audience-driven content.
Screen Australia chairman Glen Boreham, writing in Screen Australia’s 2010-11 annual report, said audience outcomes were a top priority when the government agency was set up three years ago - a stance which led it to increase support for writers and attach clear statements of expected outcomes to feature film funding.
AWG president Jan Sardi said he supported the shift. "It's reassuring to see that the obsession with auteurs of recent years is on the decline and that there is a long overdue acknowledgement of the importance of the screenwriter's craft," he said in a statement. "Hopefully this signifies a real shift in the industry."
Nonetheless, nine of the 17 feature films funded by Screen Australia in 2010-11 were driven by writer-directors: Hail, The King is Dead!, Lore, Mental, Satellite Boy, Summer Coda, Venice, The Last of the Great Apes and Wish You Were Here.
That 53 per cent ratio is similar to the final year of the Film Finance Corporation (2007-08) when 13 of the 22 features funded were by writer-directors.
The AWG has spent several years campaigning against the number of writer-director funded features, and for its members to be afforded equal recognition with directors and producers.
Don't funding decisions depend on what is the best script and the best team? Does it really matter if the writer is the director? Why would this even factor into funding decisions? This is bureaucratic nonsense.
Posted by Peter.07/11/2011 07:18:59 PM
It seems obvious yet it has been overlooked for the longest time. The film industry's very existence will depend on:
1. Investment in concept development
2. A focus on market driven concepts
3. Collaboration between the Writers-Director-Producer teams
4. A usurping of the current means of distribution.
The last, (4), refers to a shift from distribution to fan subscription as the prime revenue source for Producers. Film-makers have got to position themselves at the head of the line. You cannot run an industry when you are the last to be paid and working on 3 cents in the dollar if you are lucky.
Posted by David Steinhoff - Presence Films.08/11/2011 09:15:58 AM
Writers who aren't filmmakers aren't necessarily better writers of films.
Posted by willy.09/11/2011 02:19:11 PM
I agree with Peter previously. Actually perhaps we should just consider the script first, then the team. Teams can easily be put together with a good script....no?
Posted by Paul kelman.12/12/2011 10:04:00 PM
The script/scenario is the first and hardest thing to put together - teams can be created around the script once itb has been developed to a reasonable level and standard. The problem in Australian Film & TV has been lack of resources for writing and too much emphasis on directors.
