Latest news with #TheWindThatShakestheBarley
The National
3 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty dons 'Palestine Action' top at Fringe
Paul Laverty, who has written some of director Ken Loach's most famous films including The Wind That Shakes the Barley and I, Daniel Blake, donned a top with the words 'Genocide in Palestine, time to take action' emblazoned on the chest. The design is such that at a glance, the slogan could be taken to read 'Palestine Action'. Wearing clothing with the group's branding or name can result in a six month prison sentence under terror laws. Palestine Action were proscribed under the Terrorism Act in an unprecedented step against a protest group earlier this year after vandalising RAF planes. The screenwriter, who grew up in Wigtown, wore the T-shirt at an "In Conversation" event in Edinburgh on Wednesday. Writing in The National, Laverty said: 'All the palaver over a black T-shirt with the words 'Genocide in Gaza, time to Take Action': it's truly mind-boggling that hundreds may have been arrested, and some face terrorism charges for wearing this shirt.' Accusing UK Government ministers of having 'colluded with genocide', Laverty said: 'No doubt they will have teams of legal experts to argue otherwise. READ MORE: David Lammy broke law while fishing with JD Vance 'But in the court of public opinion who will ever forget Starmer's very first interview justifying the cutting off food and water to the entire population of Gaza? Who will forget Foreign Secretary Lammy at the dispatch box denying that Genocide was happening in Gaza, and Starmer too. 'It is vital to remember that the Labour Government did not revoke arms licences to Israel until September of 2024, long after tens of thousands of innocents had been bombed.' He added: 'Nothing this UK Government does, even with their revocation of arms licences, impinges on the genocide machine as it continues to murder the starving. Critically, there is no mention of support for the Boycott and Divestment Campaign which could make a difference. 'And shamefully, not one UK Cabinet member can say seven simple words: 'Genocide in Gaza, time to Take Action'. 'One day, when it all comes out, as it will, we will look back in horror and ask how it all unfolded. Western collusion will haunt us.'
The National
3 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Acclaimed Scottish screenwriter dons 'Palestine Action' top at Fringe
Paul Laverty, who has written some of director Ken Loach's most famous films including The Wind That Shakes the Barley and I, Daniel Blake, donned a top with the words 'Genocide in Palestine, time to take action' emblazoned on the chest. The design is such that at a glance, the slogan could be taken to read 'Palestine Action'. Wearing clothing with the group's branding or name can result in a six month prison sentence under terror laws. Palestine Action were proscribed under the Terrorism Act in an unprecedented step against a protest group earlier this year after vandalising RAF planes. The screenwriter, who grew up in Wigtown, wore the T-shirt at an in conversation event in Edinburgh on Wednesday. Writing in The National, Laverty said: 'All the palaver over a black T shirt with the words 'Genocide in Gaza, time to Take Action': it's truly mind-boggling that hundreds may have been arrested, and some face terrorism charges for wearing this shirt.' Accusing UK Government ministers of having 'colluded with genocide', Laverty said: 'No doubt they will have teams of legal experts to argue otherwise. READ MORE: David Lammy broke law while fishing with JD Vance 'But in the court of public opinion who will ever forget Starmer's very first interview justifying the cutting off food and water to the entire population of Gaza? Who will forget Foreign Secretary Lammy at the dispatch box denying that Genocide was happening in Gaza, and Starmer too. 'It is vital to remember that the Labour Government did not revoke arms licences to Israel until September of 2024, long after tens of thousands of innocents had been bombed.' He added: 'Nothing this UK Government does, even with their revocation of arms licences, impinges on the genocide machine as it continues to murder the starving. Critically, there is no mention of support for the Boycott and Divestment Campaign which could make a difference. 'And shamefully, not one UK Cabinet member can say seven simple words: 'Genocide in Gaza, time to Take Action'. 'One day, when it all comes out, as it will, we will look back in horror and ask how it all unfolded. Western collusion will haunt us.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Simply unworkable': British film industry leaders aghast at Trump's movie tariffs
Leading figures in the British film industry have reacted with a mixture of wariness and bemusement at the prospect of tariffs announced by Donald Trump on movies produced in 'foreign lands'. Rebecca O'Brien, producer of a string of films by Ken Loach including Palme d'Or winners The Wind That Shakes the Barley and I, Daniel Blake says that tariffs appear 'simply unworkable given how intertwined and global the film industry is'. 'I can see that Trump watches Hollywood collapsing and losing its jobs to the rest of the world but that's because it's a very expensive place to make films.' O'Brien added: 'No doubt it'll take a while for the dust to settle, deals to be made and something or nothing to come out of this. What's for certain, though, is there will be a pause in the industry while everyone runs around working out what to do. The fragile film economy definitely doesn't need that.' Stephen Woolley, producer of Carol and On Chesil Beach, called Trump's plans 'ludicrous' and said: 'I am sure no one has thought this through and in a world of international co-productions its nigh impossible to regulate. One thing is for certain: those enemies of the state like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Tom Cruise who are presenting a National Security threat by insisting on shooting their films in Europe have been warned!' Woolley added: 'The insidious message behind this is that Trump's brains trust could make it really difficult for the already beleaguered independent film industry, in the US and globally, to continue making original and innovative films, especially with a propaganda watchdog on their backs. That is the dark message of his statement.' Colin Vaines, producer of Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool and Coriolanus, said that while it was 'very unclear exactly what President Trump is intending', it appeared 'that his main aim appears to be to return more production to the US, but of course there are many other proposals which might help achieve that to some degree, including incentives like major film tax credits.' Related: Trump's talk of film tariffs makes no sense, but it's already doing damage – to Hollywood | Peter Bradshaw Trump's movie tariff announcement came a day after a meeting with actor Jon Voight, one of Trump's so-called 'Hollywood ambassadors', who had proposed 'limited tariffs' as part of a wide-ranging plan to boost US film production. The Queen director Stephen Frears had some sympathy for Voight, saying: 'Trump is as usual hopeless at everything. I feel sorry for poor Jon Voight who, I imagine, made perfectly sensible suggestions. Subsidies, support etc. Trump failed to understand and bolloxed it all up. What a halfwit! Still, nobody got killed.' Mike Figgis, director of the Oscar-winning Leaving Las Vegas said: 'Like a lot of the Trump stuff it makes a good headline. I don't think it will help Hollywood particularly as so much of the productions go to Atlanta now. The more interesting question would be, why are they continuing to make so many bad films at insanely inflated budgets which force them to go shopping overseas?' Mark Cousins, director of A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things, said: 'Film history is full of countries tipping the lever in favour of their own film industries. What's new in Trump's sudden announcement is the unreason, bellicosity and instinctive xenophobia.' The UK appears to be particularly vulnerable to any attempt by the US president to prevent US studios shooting overseas, with suggestions that tariffs could 'wipe out the British film industry'. Figures show that non-British film and TV projects brought in £4.8bn, or 86% of production money spent in the UK, with the recent boom of studio construction – already in trouble – further threatened if productions dry up. Actor Brian Cox described the prospect of tariffs as a 'disaster', adding '[Trump is] not really understanding the point of view of how films are made, and what films cost, [how] the cost of films [has] gone up and the cost of films in America went up considerably … It's a kind of nonsense and a divine ignorance on all their parts.' With political figures such as California state governor Gavin Newsom pushing for a federal tax credit scheme, Jezz Vernon, producer and senior lecturer in film at the University of Exeter, says this could provide a viable alternative. 'If Trump were to authorise and fund bigger regional tax credits in the US in tandem with state governors then we would see a big production shift back to the US. Just last week we saw Netflix move 3 Body Problem from the UK to Hungary to use their tax credit rebate which is higher than the UK.' Vernon also pointed out that reciprocal tariffs would cause major problems: 'It would instantly damage the global economy of Hollywood studios and the streamers – they rely on the economy of scale from worldwide subscribers and audiences to fund and monetise their productions. Instead of aiding Hollywood, the tariffs would immediately damage the central economic model that sustains them.' The British actors' union Equity criticised the 'fragility' of the film and TV industry, with Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming saying: 'A lot of the panic over the past 24 hours is due to the fragility in the system. This can be addressed positively through properly funding our public service broadcasters and ensuring an attractive and fair tax and investment environment for studios and production.' Related: Trump's movie tariffs are designed to destroy the international film industry Fleming added: 'America's objective is to generate more productions and more jobs in film. Is that going to be achieved by stopping filming Barbie, which was filmed here on British union agreements, or Wicked or Mission: Impossible? Clearly not. The industry tends to feed itself, so an upturn in American production is a good thing for the UK.' Since making his bombshell announcement, Trump has appeared to row back on his comments, saying he was 'not looking to hurt the industry' and planned to meet with Hollywood leaders.
