Cadiz: Film industry a trillion-dollar business

December 18th, 2011 by admin

Cadiz: Film industry a trillion dollar business Producer Danielle Dieffenthaller, from left, with Suzy Murphy and Alison Murphy.

A well constitued film industry in T&T can generate billions in revenue, not just for the major players, but many of this country’s average citizens says Trade and Industry Minister Stephen Cadiz. In a Sunday Guardian interview, Cadiz said: “I don’t care if it is low budget movie or movies that nobody wants to see, the fact of the matter is that when you are making a film—and I can tell you from personal experience how much a film costs to make—the most simple film; because you are using creative people, the nuts vendors…the taxi driver…everybody gets a bite of the dollar when you are taking about the film industry,” he said.

Cadiz added: “I’m not even talking about Pirates of the Caribbean which was coming to Trinidad, but because the then administration couldn’t figure out how to work this thing, they (the movie producers) left and went to St Vincent (and the Grenadines).” Revenue from film amounted to a trillion dollars in United States currency, said the minister, even before revenue from animation was factored in. He said there were incentives for the film industry such as the production rebate. “People ask who is going to make a big blockbuster (in T&T). I’m not taking about a blockbuster movie. I’m talking (about) movies that could be worth maybe US$$40-50 million in the first instance. The Dominician Republic is building two massive studios…Puerto Rico, same thing because they realise the value of the film industry. It’s a trillion-dollar industry.”

But Christopher Laird, chairman of the T&T Film Company which has the mandate to develop T&T film industry, declined to comment on developments taking place in the sector. Following Friday’s Company’s Customer Appreciation function hosted by the state agency, he was asked to comment on the positives and negatives in the film sector locally for 2011 and his administration’s plans for 2012. He said he was not in a position to speak spontaneously and requested that an interview be formalised so that he could prepare. At the soiree held at the state agency headquarters, Bretton Hall, Port-of-Spain, Marcia Miranda and parang group Paramin Niños treated guests to quality entertainment.

Cadiz: Film industry a trillion-dollar business