An Emissary to Hollywood

After a generation of spurts and starts, the British film industry is firing on all cylinders. A backlash against Hollywood blockbusters has contributed to successful runs of modestly budgeted British movies such as “Sense and Sensibility,” “Trainspotting” and “The Full Monty.” Although British talent has always enjoyed Oscar recognition, recent commercial successes have got the new Labor government thinking of ways to expand its movie-making machinery.

Spearheading this effort is an energetic film enthusiast and member of Parliament, Chris Smith, who joined Prime Minister Tony Blair’s cabinet as minister of culture, media and sports.

Though his portfolio includes everything from the Royal Shakespeare Company to the Internet, Smith has focused on the popular arts--British films and music in particular. He’s taking a multi-function approach, from attempting to beef up investment and infrastructure to engaging in trade missions extolling the artistry of British filmmakers and the economy of producing films in Britain.

Smith, who manages to mix formality and hipness, visited L.A. last weekend. In a conversation at the home of the British consul general, he talked about the relationship between Britain and Hollywood, the role for government in supporting the arts and the general renaissance in British cultural expression.

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Question: Right now only about 10% of film screens in Britain are showing British-made films. You’ve stated that you want to double that number. How’s that idea playing here in Hollywood?

Answer: The reception to the idea here has actually been very constructive. I think it’s in the interest of the big American film companies to evaluate how British films are now playing to British audiences. I’m not interested in limits or quotas--that’s counterproductive. But look at films like “Bean” or “The Full Monty.” These are films that are attracting big audiences. I think my interest, which is to see more and better British movies, and Hollywood’s, which is to make money, run hand in hand.

Q: And yet, while British films are having quite a success these days, the British are still not avid movie-goers.

A: Yes, but we are seeing growing numbers of people going to the cinema. Ten years ago the number was down to about 50 million a year. Now it’s 130 [million] or 140 million. There are more screens being built, and more good movies coming on those screens, so I see the numbers continuing to go up.

Q: How much of that is due to the new vibrancy in British films and how much is due to improving the theaters themselves?

A: I think a lot of it lies in a better-quality cinema-going experience. Fifteen years ago in Britain, most cinemas were pretty tacky places. Then along came some American companies, who spotted an opportunity, built high-quality theaters and the whole thing took off again. People have a quality experience when they go to the cinema, rather than an uncomfortable seat and a scratchy film.

Right now most of the people who go to the cinema are under 30. The older generations in large part remember the old, uncomfortable cinemas, and they haven’t been back. One of my aims is to find ways to lure those people back, so that they’ll understand things at the cinema have changed.

Q: Film production has become a global business and requires a good deal of capital. How much of the money do you generate within Britain, and how much comes from outside?

A: Quite a lot comes from Hollywood. One problem is that if a filmmaker wants to make a film which will cost $35 million, he has to come to America. He can’t get that kind of money in Britain. We need to develop a culture of investors who are willing to take a risk on movies. We’ve put some tax incentives in place to attract film investment, but clearly we need to do more.

Q: Britain, and especially London, is in the midst of a new flowering of the popular arts, such as movies, music and fashion. What’s created the renaissance in British popular culture?

A: I’d like to think that there is a new spirit in Britain. We’ve elected a new government, and people feel that things are happening in a new and different way. This is also a case of success feeding upon itself. In the case of fashion, British designers are now taking over the catwalks in Paris and Milan. Demand for British architects is at an all-time high and of course our popular musicians remain highly influential. People in other areas see this success, and it inspires them.

We set up something called the Creative Industry Task Force to help build on this. For the first time we’re drawing all the different departments of government together to see how we can help encourage these sectors of the economy.

Q: One great challenge for any arts official is in trying to define what’s meant by the word “culture” and finding ways to make art accessible to a wide variety of people. How are you going about this?

A: One way is to bring art into the everyday lives of people. Last year, in the town of Gateshead, artists turned carriages on the subway into traveling contemporary art galleries. So you’d be standing on the platform, waiting for your morning train, the doors would open, you’d get in and you’d be inside a traveling art gallery. That has a way of getting people to register the importance of contemporary art. Instead of expecting them to go to a special place in a special building, we’re bringing the art to them, and people love it. And having seen some interesting art in the subway, they’re much more likely to gather up their families and go to a museum to see more of it.

Q: There’s been a long debate in this country about the government’s role in supporting the arts. What’s your view of government’s role?

A: No government can create art, and governments that have tried have failed abysmally. But what a government can do is to create the right conditions. That can mean everything from protecting the copyright on an Oasis CD to making sure that there’s a concert hall for the philharmonic to perform in. What government must not do is meddle or dictate, but it can help.

Q: Yet while we’ve pretty much done away with the National Endowment for the Arts, you’re proposing establishing something similar for British artists.

A: I think your NEA led to very interesting things, and I’m sad to see it not being developed. We already have a system to make sure that the Royal Shakespeare Company can continue putting on plays and to make sure that the Royal Opera House is one of the best in the world. The amount of money is not huge, about $200 million. . . .

Q: Back to the movies, what do you hope you’ve accomplished on this trip to Hollywood?

A: I’m hoping the people in the creative industries will be saying to themselves, “These Brits have got some good ideas here. They’re creating the right environment for the film industry, we know they’ve got a big pool of talent over there and we ought to invest.” This is a government that wants to work with the international film industry. We don’t want to dictate, but we want to help.