Film subsidies are not worthwhile

Stuff has a piece on the spiralling cost of film subsidies, which have grown to more than 5% of the government's new operating allowance. And the opportunity costs of that are significant:

But by 2019, the scheme already required topping up. An extra $155m was approved for the rest of that year. This year, the Government approved a further $206m.

To put that in perspective, the money paid out to a handful of Hollywood films this year is only marginally more expensive than increasing benefits.

Upping benefits by $25 a week for people on jobseeker and emergency benefits is estimated to cost $283.6m this year. Upping benefits for sole parent support cost just $104m this year – half the amount set aside for film grants.

Or, to put it another way: we could have increased benefits by another $15 a week. Instead, the government chose to shovel money at the world's third richest man, Jeff Bezos, for his Lord of the Rings TV show, to help him make even more money. Which seems to be a pretty weird set of priorities for a "Labour" government, or a New Zealand one.

SkyTV supports racism

So, apparently Murray Deaker described someone as "working like a nigger" on his SkyTV programme. It's appalling racism, and he deserves to be sacked for it - but what's even more appalling is SkyTV's reaction:

Sky Television spokesman Tony O'Brien said the network had not received any complaints about Deaker's comments.

"I'm not defending him, but that's a phrase that's widely used."

(Emphasis added)

Really? In what century? I think this tells us more about the racism of SkyTV executives than about New Zealand society.

If you'd like to prove O'Brien wrong, then you can complain to SkyTV here. And while you're at it, you might want to drop a line to the Broadcasting Standards Association Authority here. The broadcasting standards for pay tv are here; they do not include a standard against racial denigration and discrimination (WTF?), so I'd focus on it being a violation of good taste and decency (P2) and of fairness (P7).

Peter Jackson: Liar

Back in October, LOTR producer Peter Jackson led a public campaign against the local actors union, claiming that an international boycott of The Hobbit in support of better employment conditions would force the film overseas. It turns out he was lying to us. An email he sent to the Minister of Economic Development, released under the OIA, shows what he really thought:

Sir Peter Jackson told the Government he did not believe an international actors' boycott would force The Hobbit overseas, emails show.

The message, sent to the office of Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee on October 18, is in stark contrast to comments the film-maker made earlier in the month.

[...]

"There is no connection between the blacklist (and it's eventual retraction) and the choice of production base for The Hobbit," he wrote.

"What Warners requires for The Hobbit is the certainty of a stable employment environment and the ability to conduct its business in such as way that it feels its $500 million investment is as secure as possible."

The October 18 email also suggests Sir Peter thought the boycott had been lifted, even though he said in television interviews three days later he was unsure if it had been officially ditched.

Jackson continued to lie about the "threat" posed by the boycott, even though he did not believe there was one, in order to shake down the government for millions in additional subsidies for his project. And the government continued to repeat his lie - despite being told by Jackson that he did not think it was an issue - in order to "justify" its corrupt and repressive Hobbit Enabling Act, which reduced actors to peonage. The problem is that neither had thought about the Official Information Act, which makes all of their correspondence on the issue public. The question for us is now that their lies have been exposed, what are we going to do about it?

A combination of Hobbits

Film's backers told NZ law on their side against union, New Zealand Herald, 30 September 2010:

Yesterday, Mr Finlayson said in a letter to the studios - which was also copied to Sir Peter and Ward-Lealand - that legal advice from the Crown Law Office confirmed the Commerce Act prevented The Hobbit's producers "from entering into a union-negotiated agreement with performers who are independent contractors". Section 30 of the act, which deals with price fixing, "effectively prohibits" such arrangements, he said.

Combination Act of 1800 (UK):

No journeyman, workman or other person shall at any time after the passing of this Act make or enter into, or be concerned in the making of or entering into any such contract, covenant or agreement, in writing or not in writing ... and every ... workman ... who, after the passing of this Act, shall be guilty of any of the said offences, being thereof lawfully convicted, upon his own confession, or the oath or oaths of one or more credible witness or witnesses, before any two justices of the Peace ... within three calendar months next after the offence shall have been committed, shall, by order of such justices, be committed to and confined in the common gaol, within his or their jurisdiction, for any time not exceeding 3 calendar months, or at the discretion of such justices shall be committed to some House of Correction within the same jurisdiction, there to remain and to be kept to hard labour for any time not exceeding 2 calendar months.

And so at a stroke, by virtue of an arbitrary designation imposed by Jackson in an effort to shirk his responsibilities as an employer, labour relations are taken back two hundred years to the era when any effort by workers to improve their lot was an unlawful (seditious, even) conspiracy in restraint of trade. The only difference is that if they are successful in collectivising to press for their rights, instead of the actors being jailed or transported to Australia, Jackson's entire production is transported to Eastern Europe in search of lower costs and bigger tax breaks.

Frankly, if resurrecting the Combination Laws is the price of keeping him here, then I say let him go. He can leave his knighthood at the door, because clearly he doesn't deserve to keep it.

The real District 9

While everyone is drooling over District 9 (which I agree is good, but somewhat ruined by a one-hour gunfight), spare a thought for the inhabitants of Chiawelo, the Soweto-edge slum the movie was filmed in. Real people live there, scrounging for a living in the same way the aliens did in the film. And like those aliens, they're going to be forcibly relocated to clear space for the "new" South Africa.

The film made US$90 million. The inhabitants of Chiawelo got fuck-all out of it. They're so poor they can't even afford to see it. It would be nice if the film studio gave a little more back.

Anything but Sweden!

The Standard highlights the first part of the Daily Show's trip to Sweden to uncover the horrors of a socialist society. Part two screened last night. In case you missed it:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
The Stockholm Syndrome Pt. 2
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Free education, free healthcare, well-paid and well-treated workers - I can see what American elites have to be afraid of. As for the rest of us...

Scandanavian socialism seems to be a theme on US television at the moment - just before I saw that, I'd caught the tail end of 20/20 boggling at Denmark, where a strong social safety net and a high level of equality had led to the country being the happiest place on Earth. Cthulhu forfend that Americans - or kiwis - end up like that!

TVNZ's idea of "serious and intelligent"

Once upon a time, TVNZ had an intelligent weekly current affairs show called Agenda. Hosted by Simon Dallow, it provided a serious look at politics, with an in-depth interview every week. But ratings were poor - perhaps because they buried it at obscene o'clock on a Sunday morning - and so TVNZ demanded changes. Dallow departed to front One News, and was replaced by a string of other hosts. They added a theatre slot, and then sport, and threw in Jane Clifton just to make it clear it was no longer serious. Then they cancelled it.

Now its back, rebranded as Q&A, and TVNZ has managed to top their even their previous efforts of dumbing down and debasement with a new host: Paul Holmes. Paul fucking Holmes. if that's TVNZ's idea of "serious and intelligent", then it confirms every joke ever made about media executives.

Screw that. Life is too short to waste my Sunday mornings on like that. If I want to watch overinflated egos greasing and smarming to the powerful, I can watch patsy questions in Question Time. And they'll be about as informative.

The end of Agenda

According to Dennis Welch on Radio NZ this morning, TVNZ has cancelled Agenda, New Zealand's top current affairs show. No word on what, if anything, they plan to replace it with, but it would be interesting to know their reason. Agenda is a successful show, which has been attracting record viewers in the leadup to the election. It is widely regarded as a vital part of our current affairs landscape, and its longer interview format provides a better way of holding our politicians to account than the traditional five-minute slot on Campbell Live. But I guess intelligent political discussion just doesn't sell advertising; easier just to use recycled reality TV instead.

The full audio is here.

Must watch

Last election, TV3 screened a neat little show called The Pretender, detailing the attempt of right-wing property developer Dennis Plant to win the fictional seat of Wakatipu South. It was a wonderful political satire, beautifully understated, and it was a shame when it finished.

Now its back, poking at the themes of our election and of waka-jumping. Plant's new party even has its own website, though I'm sure I've seen that name before. I wonder how Gordon Copeland feels about the implied poke?

Soon to be a major motion picture

Via The Standard, I see that The Hollow Men has been adapted into a documentary by Alister Barry, the filmmaker responsible for the excellent In a Land of Plenty and Someone Else’s Country. Better, it will be screening at this year's International Film Festival. Guess I'd better think about getting some tickets then...

Reasons to get Freeview

Damn TVNZ for launching TVNZ 7 before there are decent Freeview decoders available. It means I'll miss out on this:

TVNZ 7 launches on Sunday with The Kingmaker Debate – a live political debate between the minor party leaders who will be crucial to the political landscape after the election later this year.

Political party leaders Jeanette Fitzsimons, Peter Dunne, Rodney Hide, Pita Sharples, Jim Anderton and Winston Peters have been invited to participate in the debate, to be mediated by TVNZ's political editor Guyon Espiner.

If this is a taste of what they're planning, then we might finally have a space for the sort of serious, thoughtful, detailed political journalism I'd like to see.

Hopefully they'll make the debate available online. Otherwise, any chance of someone torrenting it?

Update: Fortunately, it looks like the debate wil also be streamed live on tvnz.co.nz.

Diluting Agenda

Since the replacement of the insufferably irritating Lisa Owen with the rather-less-irritating-but-not-as-good-as-Simon-Dallow Rawdon Christie, I've started watching Agenda again. Now they're moving it to Sunday mornings - and making some changes in the process:

In addition to in-depth political analysis, and interviews with leading opinion makers, the new-look Agenda will feature news, sport and weather updates and regular arts and entertainment stories.

News? Sport?!? Entertainment?!? So instead of getting a couple of weekly, in-depth interviews about politics, we can get the same lightweight fluff and tabloid pap we get on the nightly "current affairs" shows? Screw that.

The reason I watched Agenda in the first place was the tight focus on politics and that it aimed high. If they're just going to turn it into Sunday-morning Holmes, then I might as well not bother.

Amazing Grace

I saw Amazing Grace last night, and unlike Che, I wasn't disappointed.

For those who don't know, Amazing Grace is the story of the great abolitionist William Wilberforce and his struggle to ban the slave trade. This threatened not just the economic order - at the time Britian's wealth (and that of many of its elite) was based on sugar, which was in turn based on slavery - it also threatened the political order as well: against the backdrop of the American and French revolutions, all this talk of equality and brotherhood sounded dangerously revolutionary. Naturally, Wilberforce was accused of sedition - but he won in the end with the passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807 which banned British merchants from carrying slaves. The movie ends here, but the story doesn't - that Act was followed by a declaration from the British that slave trading was tantamount to piracy, which became the basis for the ban on slavery as a fundamental principle of international law. And it was followed 25 years later by the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which finally outlawed slavery in the British Empire.

It's a very moving story, and one well worth seeing. Though it might be difficult - in Palmerston North at least it is often booked out.

Meanwhile, I'll take the opportunity to remind people about TradeAid's campaign to ban the import of goods produced with slave labour. You can sign their petition online here, or download a PDF version to share with your friends here. There's also a petition organised by a blogger asking 60 minutes to investigate child slavery in the chocolate industry, which you can sign here [PDF].

Human rights film festival

For the past two years, the Human Rights Network Aotearoa has organised an annual Human Rights Film Festival. Well, it's back for another run, with a slate of films focusing on "identity". It will hit Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in early May; unfortunately it doesn't look like its coming to Palmerston North.

Sadly its only fiction

Hot on the heels of Death of a President comes a British offering: The Trial of Tony Blair, a satire exploring the possibility of Blair being put on trial for his decision to invade Iraq. sadly it is only fiction, but in the Guardian Philippe Sands (author of Lawless World) points out some of the possible ways by which it could become reality. While he's cynical about the prospects of there ever being justice for Iraq, he also points out that a surprising number of countries have incorporated the international crime of aggression into domestic law (sadly, the UK is not one of them). Which means that if he wants to avoid being Pinocheted in future, Blair will be forced to heed the same advice followed by Kissinger and now Rumsfeld: don't travel.

It's not justice, and its nowhere near enough. But the thought of one of the world's current leaders being forced to live a hunted existence for fear of being dragged into court and made to answer for his crimes does give me a certain amount of pleasure.

Crivens!

Saturday's Dominion-Post had a (syndicated) interview with Terry Pratchett, which inted crypticly that in addition to the recent Hogfather miniseries (which is excellent, BTW), a US director was working on a Discworld movie adaptation. Looking on Wikipedia shows which book it is: The Wee Free Men

Crivens! Pictsies! Psycho scottish smurfs with drunkenness and violence! A frypan of fear! And of course a traditional faerie story about a stolen baby brother.

I'll be looking forward to this. Almost as much as I'm looking forward to Coraline...

Hogswatch Night

Today is Hogswatchnight, on which the Hogfather in his red fur lined cloak and sleigh pulled by four wild boars visits children. Good children receive pork products. Bad children receive a bag of bloody bones. And children with broadband who don't care too much about intellectual property rights receive a download of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather...

Cthulhu no longer waits

Cthulhu movie trailer [YouTube]

OK, so it's not The Call of Cthulhu; instead it looks to be more a contemporary version of The Shadow Over Innsmouth. But it still looks cool, and I'll probably have to see it if it ever makes it to the big screen.

(And some day I'll have to see the H P Lovecraft Historical Society's 20's silent movie-style adaptation of The Call of Cthulhu as well - if only for the neat art deco blasphemous idol).

Leadership

In a recent episode of The Sopranos, mob-boss Tony Soprano lamented to his counsellor that his recent brush with death had changed his crew's perception of him and undermined his leadership:

Tony: People misinterpret, they think you're weak, they see an opportunity. They're my friends, a lot of 'em, but they're also fucking jackals... It's subtle, but since I've been back I've been noticing certain looks, and people questioning my judgement where they never did before... In a perfect would I'd just relax, let 'em think whatever the fuck they want.

Dr Melfi: Act "as if". As if you're not feeling vulnerable. As if you're the same old Anthony. Strong, I'm sure, decisive. People see only what you allow them to see.

Tony: Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing...

That episode ends with Tony beating the shit out of his bodyguard in front of everyone, just to show that he's not weak, then puking up blood in the bathroom because he's torn a few stitches in his recently sewn-up innards. The comparison with yesterday's caucus suspension of Brian Connell ought to be obvious...

Stealing a nation

If you missed this Pilger documentary last night, then track it down it watch it. It is the appalling tale of how the Chagos Islanders were forcibly deported from their own country by the British, imprisoned like criminals, then dumped penniless on the docks in Mauritius so that Britain could give their home to the US to build a military base. Nowdays, we'd call this "ethnic clensing" and prosecute those responsible; back then, the British government didn't even pause to think before doing this to its own subjects.

Thirty years later, the Chagosians are still living in the same slum they ended up in. Many have committed suicide or died of "sadness". And they are still fighting for justice - a case in the High Court in London ordered the British government to allow their return. The government's response was first to stall, and then to issue an Order In Council (a decree from the Queen, acting on the command of Cabinet) nullifying any claim they had to their homes. Legally, they have gotten away with it. Morally, it is a shameful act which should hang like an albatross around the neck of the UK until it makes amends.

(The ability to issue an Order In Council without prior statutory authorisation, BTW, is one of the chief reasons New Zealand should become a republic. An OIC can do anything, and due to the process, is effectively done in secret, with no scope for public input. This is incompatible with the democratic principle that laws should be made openly and subjected to public scrutiny.)

The interviews with government figures were interesting. The spokesman for the foreign office talked incessantly about the cost to the British taxpayer of supporting the Chagosians if they returned home; there was simply no conception of an obligation towards the people they had so cruelly disposessed. The Americans, OTOH, simply couldn't understand why anybody would give a shit about the eviction of some wogs thirty years ago, or grasp the concept that justice might apply in small cases as well as large ones. Underneath all this is the logic of the Milian dialogue: "the strong do what they can; the weak suffer what they must".

That idea is an excellent reason to work to constrain powerful nations. If hegemony permits this sort of behaviour, then we shouldn't have hegemons. I know, it's easier said than done, but it is something to aim for.