India Opens its IMAX Dome

Come April, film news in India was dominated by the advent of something completely new and different, the size and scale of which had not been anticipated or imagined. This was the opening of India's IMAX-Adlabs Theatre -- the first of its kind in the sub-continent and one that boasts of the world's largest dome. It was inaugurated with pomp and glory in Bombay on March 25.

WGA's Money For A Rainy (Strike) Day

In the event of a writers' strike, the Writers' Guild of America has announced that $10 million in loans will be available to members through a Guild fund. The sum is made up of $7.4 million in the organization's strike fund and the remainder from the good and welfare fund, an ongoing program for emergency loans. The strike fund has been created from dues collected and as used to finance $3.2 million worth of loans during a 1988 strike that lasted 22 weeks. The WGA East also runs a strike fund, and the WGA will go on strike if negotiations fail by the May 2 contract expiration.

EU Adopts Copyright Law

A copyright bill approved by EU industry ministers and the EU Parliament this week gives rights holders in Europe the ability to use encryption to prevent illegal copying, but leaves many loopholes. The copyright directive had been tossed around the European organizations for three years to protect copyright holders. The final version accepted this week disappoints the film and music industries because it does not prohibit temporary acts of reproduction such as cache copies. However, when the directive becomes fully enforced in eighteen months, rights holders will be able to use encryption to hinder illegal copying, a measure directed at Internet users. The law comes in response to a similar law in the US, the Digital Millenium Act.

MGM Lion Roars On The Small Screen

MGM took a big step into the television market this week by announcing its first fully-owned and operated TV outlet, the MGM Movie Channel. It will be a round-the-clock digital movie channel in New Zealand in cooperation with Sky Network Television Limited. The move follows MGM's acquisition of a 20% stake in other cable channels such as The Independent Film Channel and American Movie Classics. The movie studio already has stakes in sixteen international channels.

Taj Mahal Story on Big Screen

US-based Indian technology tycoons have come together to fund an Imax movie on the 17th century marble mausoleum in India, the Taj Mahal. The famous palace, also known as the Seventh Wonder in the World, was inspired by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's intense love for his favourite wife and Queen, Mumtaz. The project has even attracted the funding of Silicon Valley tycoons known for backing hot technology startups with venture capital. They've even created a company called India Lotus Inc to fund and back Taj Mahal, the movie.

French Fund Targets Eastern Exodus

The Parisian metropolitan region of Ile-de-France is fighting the move of film production to Eastern European countries by pouring 15 million francs into the local film industry. Two-thirds of the money will be directed specifically at the technical side who will be encouraged to use local services. The donation will help between two and six feature films a year and help sustain the French industry which counts 5000 permanent jobs in the Parisian region in 600 companies. A regional film commission will also be created to attract filmmakers to the area. The sum of the regional industry comes to an annual 6 billion francs.

Putin Drives Russian Cinema Towards Capitalism

After the fall of communism, it was only a matter of time before Russian cinema was reformed, and president Vladimir Putin is up to the job now. He announced last Thursday his plans to revive Russian cinema, focused on two points. From the studio side, some of the state-owned studios will have share offerings to raise capital even though he is not willing to privatize the companies. He hopes it will even out the playing field a bit for the roughly 40 studios that produce only one film a year and Lenfilm, the powerhouse that produces a dozen and offers better quality and financing for directors. The move to offer shares in the studios could develop into a later privatization of the companies.

Secondly, Putin will work on film audiences by renovating or building 150 theaters belonging to the state. The goal is to drive up audiences of Russian films from a paltry 7% to 30% and improve the distribution system.

The Russian film industry currently is a money-sucking project with each film production costing $800,000 but bringing in only $150,000 from the theaters and $200,000 on video.

Mexico Grows Home Film Industry

The Mexican parliament has amended a 1992 law concerning film that will bring more money to Mexican film production and more national films to the screens. It has created a fund of 100 million pesos, roughly $600,000, to help Mexican film production which typically turns towards private funding, as in the case of Amorres Perros (Love's a Bitch), supported entirely by private funds. Then the films will be guaranteed cinema space. The legislation reserves 10% of theater sceens for Mexican films. The move might sustain the current trend of Mexican cinema where Mexican cinema now accounts for 13% of national film revenue, up from 3% in 1998.