UK FILMS URGED TO BE MORE 'MAINSTREAM'

Ahead of a visit to Pinewood Studios today, Prime Minister David Cameron said the film industry should support 'commercially sucessful pictures'.His comments come before the publication of Lord Smith's review into the government's film policy on Monday. The review was commissioned to find out how the industry could offer better support to UK film-making.The British film industry should back more mainstream movies, a report is expected to recommend next week.

Mr Cameron praised the UK film industry but said "we should aim even higher, building on the incredible success of recent years". He acknowledged the British film industry had made "a £4bn contribution to the UK economy and an incalculable contribution to our culture".

Lord Smith, the former Labour culture secretary, is also expected to recommend developing an export strategy to increase the profits of British films. 

Speaking to the BBC, director Ken Loach said it was important to have a diverse film industry with a wide range of films to choose from.

"If everyone knew what would be successful before it was made, there would be no problem," he said. "What you need to do is fund a lot of different, varied projects and then you'll get a really vibrant industry."

Listen to Ken Loach on BBC here

Ken Loach: "Public money should go to fund a wide variety of projects"

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