posted by Ezra Winton on October 4, 2007
The Guardian ran a story yesterday about a little arthouse cinema in a Paris suburb that is fighting the megaplexes and Hollywood for a slim piece of the cultural pie in a country that manages to stave off much of the Hollywood Glam-Armada through strict screen quotas.
The Georges-Méliès Cinema wanted to expand it's screens from three to six. The megaplex down the street, multinational mammoth UGC, is taking it to the government saying UNFAIR! because arthouse cinemas receive public subsidies in France. The Georges-Méliès takes in about 200,000 audience members every year. UGC: 2 million.
Damn art-socialists moving into Hollywood's territory. The David and Goliath tale could take a surprising turn in the end, what with the likes of David Lynch, Wim Wenders and Wong Kar-Wai throwing their support behind the little player. Yes, diversity in the cinemahouse still has a chance in a few hotspots on the planet.
And a quote from the 60+ directors who have signed a petition in favour of the arthouse:
In these cowardly times where artworks are reduced to consumer products, auteur cinema and enterprising art house screens fight the same battle for quality, respect and freedom for directors and filmgoers.
Via The Guardian, and thanks to one of our readers, Roddy Doucet.
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