You gotta love the French

[Thomas Paul]

Sometimes you can't be French enough!

http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2004/11/26/Arts/Jeunetfilm041126.html

[Michael Ernest]

When I get hungry for French food, I go to Jack in le Box or Burger Roy for a croissant sandwich.

It does seem very much like a Hollywood studio money scheme, though: set up shop in a country that funds film-making, use that money to make a film whose first intent is commercial distribution -- not the 'cultural advancement of France,' or whatever the actual criteria might be -- then deplore France for defending the intent of its cultural programs. I smell a roomful of B School grads who live for trying to turn the rules back on the rulesmakers.

[Frank Silbermann]

The funds were intended to promote the French film industry, but the only French people who benefited were actors, cameramen, set designers, producers, directors, make-up artists, writers and such. How many of the investors were French?

[Joe King]

I can see the point the French are making here. The grants are to help French film companies make films despite of the competition from rich Hollywood companies. Giving such a grant to a Hollywood company would be against the point of the thing. Its generally a good idea - who would want a situation where there are only Hollywood films? Variety is the spice of life.

[Marcus Green]

This issue can come up with other nations. For example there are some apparently typically US movies where only the actual production was by and in the US and the rest of it, and more commonly some very typically British movies where it was only the location and production that was British, the rest of it came from the US.

[Thomas Paul]

Originally posted by Joe King:
Its generally a good idea - who would want a situation where there are only Hollywood films?

Other than the company that owns the comapny that made the film, which part is Hollywood?

[Marcus Green]

If you consider the golden rule that the people with the gold tend to make the rules, then the part that is Hollywood is the decision making (aka power).

[Thomas Paul]

Originally posted by Marcus Green:
If you consider the golden rule that the people with the gold tend to make the rules, then the part that is Hollywood is the decision making (aka power).

So if it's a French company but most of the investors are not French then the company would be ineligible?

[Michael Ernest]

The crux of the matter seems to be that the film isn't even premiering in France, but in North America. That fact belies, in my mind, that notion that the producers kept to some letter of agreement about using the state funding, but not to the spirit and intent of the agreement.

So France declares the film "not French," i.e., not a true product of France. The very fact that it isn't even offered to the French public makes that clear. The ruling by the cultural ministry, or whomever, just formalizes the point.

[Thomas Paul]

Originally posted by Michael Ernest:
The crux of the matter seems to be that the film isn't even premiering in France, but in North America. That fact belies, in my mind, that notion that the producers kept to some letter of agreement about using the state funding, but not to the spirit and intent of the agreement.

So France declares the film "not French," i.e., not a true product of France. The very fact that it isn't even offered to the French public makes that clear. The ruling by the cultural ministry, or whomever, just formalizes the point.

I see. So if a movie is made in Hollywood but isn't shown in Hollywood first, then it isn't a Hollywood movie. Got it.

[Michael Ernest]

Oh stop, Thomas. If the French want to back their cultural branding with funding and ensure the products promote their endorsements, that's their business.

Hollywood is a purely commercial enterprise. They aim to make profits on the films they produce, which is the entire point. In the US, I can't imagine the consortium of studio producers would spend much time charging up Capitol Hill demanding NEA funding for that very reason. Plus they're more than successful enough to absorb the losses from producing flops, and there's enough money floating around that some dark-horse or artsy projects get funded.

Other countries like Canada and France don't have that kind of industry infrastructure, and they feel funding the art of filmmaking is important to their societies, so they put public money to projects. I don't think anyone would argue that this must be an open call for every Tom, Dick, and Harry filmmaker to set up local businesses just to get funding from a state government that they can't get from US studios.

More to the point, if you can name a single movie made 'in Hollywood' on the scale of this film that was made with public funding but available only for export, I'm all ears.

[Frank Silbermann]

I can well understand the motivation of the French government. Sometimes I wish we had a bigger _American_ film industry -- to counter to influence of Hollywood. Then we might have more movies from an American point of view -- like those made by Frank Capra.

[Thomas Paul]

Oh stop, Thomas.

Why when it is so much fun to tweak you?

More to the point, if you can name a single movie made 'in Hollywood' on the scale of this film that was made with public funding but available only for export, I'm all ears.

You might have a point if this film wasn't going to be shown in France. Only its opening was in the USA. As far as I know it isn't for "export" from France only.