InsIder’s PoInt of VIew: dIstrIbutIon
Hooray for
Hoodywood!
Noel Clarke, writer, director and star of Adulthood
link to a defined culture of consumer
within UK society that we, the traditional
distributors at least, can seldom, if ever,
reach with standard marketing and
publicity. The whole campaign dynamic
was not about what you could see above the
surface, it was what was going on beneath
it. The deft touch of smart people was in
evidence here and it augers well for the
future. As for the new wave of cool urban
flicks hitting the screen, long may it
continue. He is a canny lad that writer-
director-producer Noel Clarke.
Believe it or not there was a time here in
the UK when cinemas were pretty much
clogged up with British made exploitation
films. Titles such as Can You Keep it up
for a Week (1974), The Ups and Downs
of a Handyman (1975), The Confessional
Murders (1976), Frightmare (1983),
regularly adorned UK cinema marquees.
A lot were god-awful but very many were
actually very good indeed. With films such
as Witchfinder General (1968), Here
We Go Round The Mulberry Bush (1967)
The new exploiters and low-budget flick
or Night of The Eagle (1962), their
masters are pushing aside the tired old,
existence was through necessity.
frilly frocked, middle-class drivel that
T
he somewhat amazing recent
box-office performance of Adulthood
here in the UK has had a lot of During the sixties and seventies the
production and distribution professionals Labour Government had introduced quotas.
has for too long postured as the only
scratching their heads in sheer wonderment. This meant that cinemas were obliged to
indigenous production to be given real
Made for what probably went on hair and play no less than 33 per cent British or
cinema space. But, is this a new
make-up on the terribly sweet but awfully European community produced films.
invention or just an updated variation
drab The Edge of Love, which was released There was even a quota for supporting
at the same time only to disappear up its features and featurettes. To sweeten the pill
on a style of filmmaking that many
own powdered arse a couple of weeks later, they introduced a Levy Fund on admission.
would like seen scratched altogether
this low-budget, simply told tale of everyday Proposed by the young MP Harold Wilson
from our illustrious industry history?
hoody folk going about their day-to-day and introduced in 1957 with the Eady Levy,
business defied all perceived logic of what a proportion of the ticket price was to be
By Mick Southworth
constitutes modern commercial cinema. pooled—half to be retained by exhibitors
& Martin McCabe No stars, no eye boggling effects, no big and half to be divided among qualifying UK
budget. Just a well made, domestic movie films (sound familiar?) in proportion to
whose key talents appear to have a direct UK box-office revenue, with no obligation
14 by fIlmmakers. for fIlmmakers.
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