Pinewood Boss Says It Will Profit From Brexit
Bosses at British movie studio Pinewood have said that it will benefit from Britain voting to leave the European Union.
Thanks to the Buckinghamshire facility making movies like ‘Spectre’ and 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens’, it’s announced a 57% rise in profits from last year.
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It made £7.8 million during that period, and with the pound now dropping to a historic low against the dollar, the studio’s chief executive thinks that more movies with US funding will be attracted to the UK.
Ivan Dunleavy said: “The result of the UK’s referendum on membership of the EU is now known. In the context of our business, the decline in the sterling exchange rate is undoubtedly positive for our international customers.
“We will continue to monitor sentiment around the issue going forward.”
However, the affect Brexit will have on smaller budget movies, which benefitted from a raft of EU funding initiatives, looks less rosy.
Danny Perkins, CEO of StudioCanal UK, which is owned by French media company Canal Plus, and has been behind movies like 'Paddington’ and 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’, has said that the effects will be drastic.
“Anything you are looking to acquire has become 10-15% more expensive. Anything we are looking to invest in, our contribution is suddenly 10-15% less,” he told The Guardian.
“For any of us in the business of exporting British content, it’s going to be harder because I don’t think anyone is warming to us right now. Culturally, we have just given two fingers to the rest of Europe.”
Harvey Weinstein told Deadline on learning of the Brexit vote: “I think there will be discrimination now against some of the product and what it means to be European product. It could be very costly in the movie and TV industry in terms of content branding.”
Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph’s Robbie Collin tweeted: “EU’s MEDIA prog ploughed £130m into UK film over last decade. The King’s Speech, Slumdog Millionaire, The Queen & Hunger all depended on it.
“As did An Education, Philomena, Another Year, Amy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Four Lions, The Woman in Black, and Nanny McPhee.
“And Under the Skin, Pride, Berberian Sound Studio, Fish Tank, Sightseers, Mr Turner, Shaun the Sheep Movie, Macbeth, Belle, and The Lobster.
“And the thing about this magnificent bunch of films is they really only have one common characteristic: their unmistakable Britishness.
“And it took the collaboration and support of our neighbours to bring it to its fullest flowering.”
Image credits: Eon/StudioCanal
