Three Australian-made movies are currently on the Australian Top 20 box office list. So does this signal a resurgence in the Aussie film industry?
Tag: 08.27.05
California Movie Tax Credits – Corporate Welfare?
Reaction to a proposal to give tax incentives to movie producers in California has brought a wave of protest. “Critics have pounced on the estimated $50 million outlay since its unveiling last week, claiming that it amounted to ‘corporate welfare’ when basic social services are being cut. ‘Those who will benefit mostly by this are those independent movie producers who really are operating on very very thin margins. Really what this is about is stabilizing the middle-class workforce in California’.”
Don’t Books Need A Jolt Of Contest Popularity?
Some in the book industry are grumbling that the rich Quills Prize is just a reward for popularit. “But worried publishers, and the Quills organizers, say that show biz is just what publishing needs. Book sales have been in the dumps for several years, and with newspaper review space dropping, publishers are desperate to get public attention. The Quills appear after a year in which the National Book Award, funded largely by the publishing industry, drew sneers and grumbles for nominating five poor-selling novels by relatively unknown writers. The Quills idea is that if consumers participate in naming the best books and get to see the winners announced on national television, they’ll have a heightened interest in books.”