What determines a British film? Emily Capon

Working titles

In Working Titles’ case, they have a clear idea of the audience theyenvisage for the film before they bring a director on board, matchingthe director to the nature of the project and the target audience. Whenthe film is complete, they usually test completed projects with UKaudiences first, and then with American audiences, to get a good ideaof how the movie will be received. The chairmen of Working Title claimgood luck has played a huge part in their success. They are constantlysurprised by reactions to their films.“We often put down the number of what you think a film will ultimatelydo worldwide in gross revenue, but it’s amazing the one you didn’t thinkwould work is suddenly huge” -Eric Fellner

‘Four Weddings’ like most of Curtis’ films are all quintessentially‘British’ therefore appealing to a wider target audience. Countriessuch as America enjoy seeing Britain, especially Englandrepresented as a charmingly quaint country, with chocolate boxcottages, tea shops, and posh accents. However, this sort ofidealization in British film is looked upon by some Britishfilmmakers as a problem.

Working titles

The Concept: The idea/Production company

In thinking about the processes that occur during the life of a film, itis easy to forget the first step in that journey is the original idea. Thiscan either come from a writer, a director or producer in the form of abook, a play, or an original treatment for a script. In the case of ‘TheBoat That Rocked’, the idea is an original one. Writing the script isonly the first stage in getting a film to the screen. What Curtis(Writer) needed was finance in order to get ‘That Boat That Rocked’actually made. He turned to Working Title, one of the leading Britishproduction companies with whom he had worked successfully in thepast. Eric Fellner knew audiences would react well to the film, it wasa great mainstream idea, with amazing music and cast.

“It had a number of things going for it, the first being that its RichardCurtis, he’s almost like a brand in this country, people look out for hisnext film” -Eric Fellner

How British is a film?

Category A - Films made with British money, personnel & resources

Category B - Films co-funded with money from Britain & foreign investment, but majority of finance, cultural content & personnel are British.

Category C- Films with mostly foreign money (but non-USA) investment and a small British input, either financially or creatively.

Category D - Films made in the UK with (usually) British cultural content, but financed fully or partly by American companies.

Category E - American films with some British involvement

Example 1 – Trainspotting

• ‘Trainspotting’ in 1996, both as far from ‘quaint’ ‘rose tinted’ representationof Britain as you can get. The films delve in to a world of drugs, deception,betrayal, addiction, and ultimately death, laced with pitch- black comedymoments that left audiences undecided to whether ‘Trainspotting’ promoteddrug use or not.

• ‘Trainspotting’ is often accused of ‘glamorizing’ the gritty lifestyle of heroinaddiction, however the film was critically appraised for tapping into theyouth subculture of the time, being given the title as ‘a true representation ofBritish social realism’ the main theme being the exploration of urbanpoverty and squalor, in ‘culturally rich’ Edinburgh. The film did incrediblywell in Britain, revealing that the heroin culture, although dark andforbidden, was also equally as fascinating.

• On its release in the United States, the first 20 minutes of the film were re-edited, with alternate dialogue. Because of the strong Scottish accents and language of the characters, it was believed that American audiences would have difficultly understanding them, as they were so culturally specific. The film was a huge success; it demonstrated that the American public hungered for glimpses into Britain’s dark and mysterious heroin culture.

Cultural test Cultural test

Pass the Test -There is a cultural test from the UK film council, which tells if a film is British or not -There are 31 points you can achieve and you must have at least 16 points to be accepted You get points for 4 sections :Cultural Content: -The movie was filmed in the UK, it has British actors, was filmed in English language or has a British subject matter Cultural Contribution: -Reflects British culture Cultural Hubs: -Music and Effects done in the UK Cultural Practitioners: -People who worked in this movie are from Britain

Gravity passes the test if you count director Alfonso Cuaron as British because he lives in London.

Advantages of British films The main advantage is that you get tax relief. That means: -If you spend less than £20 million, the film production company can give you up to 25% tax relief. -If you spend more than £20 million, the film production company can give you up to 20% tax relief. Apart from being accepted as an British film by passing the cultural test, the film needs to fulfil some criteria's : -Films must be intended for theatrical release -Films, including those made under official co-production treaties, must reach a minimum UK spend requirement of 25%

Example 2 -Gravity

In addition to its wins for director Alfonso Cuaron, cinematography (for Emmanuel Lubezki) and Special Effects, Gravity also triumphed in the somewhat contentious category of Best British Film. It beat out more ostensibly 'British' titles including The Selfish Giant, Philomena and Rush. On the surface, the film couldn't appear to be less British. It's directed by a Mexican and features two big-name Hollywood stars (Sandra Bullock and George Clooney) in a narrative about American characters that never once touches on any aspect of Britishness. Except things aren't that clear cut. For a film to qualify as a British entry, it must pass a cultural test set down by the British Film Institute, mandating certain criteria about setting, language, crew nationality and so on. Gravity scored on the basis that Cuaron has himself lived in London for several years and the film's extraordinary effects were completed by London-based company Frame store. However, it also depends on whether the film's producer will push the entry for the Best British Film category. This happened to be the case with Gravity whereas Brad Pitt and the other producers of 12 Years a Slave (directed by Brit Steve McQueen) didn't. Should we simply look towards gritty home-grown hits like This is England? Or towards big-budget, shot-on-location like Harry Potter?

Britishness

Britishness is the state or quality of being British, or of embodying British characteristics, and is used to refer to that which binds and distinguishes the British people and forms the basis of their unity and identity, or else to explain expressions of British culture —such as habits, behaviours or symbols—that have a common, familiar or iconic quality readily identifiable with the United Kingdom.]Dialogue about the legitimacy and authenticity of Britishness is intrinsically tied with power relations and politics;[in terms of nationhood and belonging, expressing or recognising one's Britishness provokes a range of responses and attitudes, such as advocacy, indifference or rejection