Scripts, Screens and Audiences: a New Feature Film Policy for the 21St Century
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HOUSE OF COMMONS CANADA SCRIPTS, SCREENS AND AUDIENCES: A NEW FEATURE FILM POLICY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE MARLENE CATTERALL, M.P. CHAIR November 2005 The Speaker of the House hereby grants permission to reproduce this document, in whole or in part for use in schools and for other purposes such as private study, research, criticism, review or newspaper summary. Any commercial or other use or reproduction of this publication requires the express prior written authorization of the Speaker of the House of Commons. If this document contains excerpts or the full text of briefs presented to the Committee, permission to reproduce these briefs, in whole or in part, must be obtained from their authors. Also available on the Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire: http://www.parl.gc.ca Available from Communication Canada — Publishing, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0S9 SCRIPTS, SCREENS AND AUDIENCES: A NEW FEATURE FILM POLICY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE MARLENE CATTERALL, M.P. CHAIR November 2005 STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE CHAIR Marlene Catterall, M.P. Ottawa West-Nepean, Ontario VICE-CHAIRS Maka Kotto , M.P. Saint-Lambert, Québec Gary Schellenberger, M.P. Perth-Wellington, Ontario MEMBERS Charlie Angus, M.P. Timmins-JamesBay, Ontario Gord Brown, M.P. Leeds-Grenville, Ontario Hon. Sarmite Bulte, M.P. Parkdale-High Park, Ontario Sébastien Gagnon, M.P. Jonquière-Alma, Québec Deepak Obhrai, M.P. Calgary East, Alberta Bev Oda, M.P. Durham, Ontario Yasmin Ratansi, M.P. Don Valley East, Ontario Mario Silva, M.P. Davenport, Ontario Bonavista-Gander-Grand Falls-Windsor, Scott Simms, M.P. Newfoundland and Labrador. PREVIOUS MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY Marc Lemay, M.P. Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Québec David Smith, M.P. Pontiac, Québec CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE Jacques Lahaie PARLIAMENTARY INFORMATION AND RESEARCH SERVICE LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Joseph Jackson, Senior Analyst Sam Banks, Analyst Matthew Carnaghan, Analyst David Black, Consultant iii THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE has the honour to present its NINETEENTH REPORT In accordance with its mandate under Standing Order 108(2), your committee has undertaken a study on the Canadian feature film industry and reports its findings and recommendations. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Committee could not have completed its study on the Canadian feature film industry without the cooperation and support of numerous people. The Chair and members of the Committee extend their thanks to all the witnesses who shared with them their insights and knowledge on this subject. Our task could not have been completed without the valuable work of the Analysts from the Library of Parliament, Joseph Jackson, Sam Banks, Matthew Carnaghan and David Black, Consultant; from the Parliamentary Information and Research Service: Emma Butt, Michael Dewing, Allison Goody, Erin Prisner, Alex Smith, and Jack Stilborn. The Committee also wishes to acknowledge the Clerk, Jacques Lahaie, and Lucie Poulin for the administration and support throughout the course of this study. The members of the Committee also wish to express their appreciation to the staff of the Committees Directorate, the Translation Bureau of Public Works and Government Services Canada, and the support services of the House of Commons who provided logistic and administrative support to produce this report. Finally, the Chair wishes to thank the members of the Committee for the hours they dedicated to study this question and to prepare this report. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 A. WHY FILM IS IMPORTANT............................................................................................ 1 B. REPORT OUTLINE........................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 2: SELECTED STATISTICAL DATA....................................................................... 5 A. ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FILM INDUSTRY IN CANADA............ 5 Locating the Film Industry within the Cultural Sector....................................................... 5 Employment........................................................................................................................ 6 GDP and Employment within the Film Industry by Activity............................................. 7 B. CANADIAN FEATURE FILM: SELECTED DATA........................................................ 9 Direct Federal Support to Feature Film ............................................................................ 10 Indirect Federal Support ................................................................................................... 10 Scriptwriting Resources by Language .............................................................................. 11 Marketing Budgets by Language...................................................................................... 12 Regional Distribution of Production Funding .................................................................. 13 Domestic Box Office Shares by Production Type............................................................ 15 C. CANADIANS’ MOVIE VIEWING HABITS.................................................................. 17 How Often and Where Canadians View Movies.............................................................. 18 Factors that Influence Movie Selection ............................................................................ 20 Theatre ..................................................................................................................... 20 Rental....................................................................................................................... 20 Purchases ................................................................................................................. 21 Level of Interest in Types of Movies................................................................................ 22 Awareness of Canadian Feature Film............................................................................... 23 ix Viewership of Canadian Feature Film.............................................................................. 24 Attitudes Towards Canadian Feature Film ....................................................................... 25 Canadians, Movies, and Information Technologies ......................................................... 27 CHAPTER 3: SUMMARY OF RESPONSES TO THE INTERIM REPORT ............................ 31 A. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 31 B. CREATION AND PRODUCTION.................................................................................. 31 C. MARKETING................................................................................................................... 33 Size of Marketing Budgets ............................................................................................... 33 New Financial Instruments? ............................................................................................. 34 Differences Between the English and French-language Markets..................................... 35 Encouraging the Production and Exhibition of Trailers ................................................... 36 D. EXISTING SUPPORT MECHANISMS.......................................................................... 37 Are They All Needed? ...................................................................................................... 37 Are They Working? .......................................................................................................... 38 How Could They be Improved?...............................................................................39 Tax Credits........................................................................................................................ 41 Encouraging Private Investment....................................................................................... 43 E. DISTRIBUTION AND EXHIBITION............................................................................. 44 Ownership Rules for Film Distributors ............................................................................ 44 Ownership Structure of Film Exhibitors........................................................................... 45 New Support Instruments?................................................................................................ 46 The Federal Role............................................................................................................... 46 Proposed Exhibition Strategies......................................................................................... 47 Alternate Distribution and Exhibition Methods ............................................................... 49 x F. GOVERNANCE............................................................................................................... 51 Proposed Governance Changes ........................................................................................ 51 The Canadian Content Certification Process.................................................................... 52 Telefilm’s Equity Recoupment Process............................................................................ 53 The Canadian Feature