The Japanese giant which owns Columbia TriStar has struck a two-year agreement to cover Ska’s overheads and get a first
Posted in General on 23. Oct, 2010
The Japanese giant, which owns Columbia TriStar, has struck a two-year agreement to cover Ska’s overheads and get a first look at its projects “You don’t want to dive in on your own,” says Ritchie. “You want to know that when the water gets cold, someone is in the pool who is going to pull you out.”With this partnership in place, Vaughn and Ritchie seem to be following what is likely to become known in British film-making circles as the gospel according to Tim and Eric. For Ska is hoping to emulate the success of Working Title, the independent film company founded by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, which has tapped into UK creative talent and US distribution muscle in the form of Universal Studios.”Working Title is the outfit in England which I admire the most, and one day I would like us to be serious competition,” says Vaughn. “Today I think they know we are on the radar, but we do not intimidate them one bit.”Ska is just beginning to spread its wings. This week saw the premiere of Mean Machine, a remake of the Burt Reynolds classic, with Vinnie Jones in the lead. It is Ska’s first film without Ritchie in the director’s chair.
And Channel 4 is just about to screen the company’s first foray into television, Make My Day, a six-part show that Vaughn describes as part Big Brother, part The Truman Show and part Candid Camera. Ska is also launching its own music label, Ska Records, beginning with compilation albums to accompany its movies.Vaughn is interested in other commercial opportunities, too “Richard Branson is my hero,” he says. “I once sat next to him on a plane, and it was the most inspiring 20 minutes of my life.”What appeals about Branson is that he “sees holes in the market” and plugs them Vaughn wants to do the same with Ska. He is toying with business ideas, ranging from setting up a movie distribution business to opening a string of Ska bars.From a company that has only had a couple of niche box-office successes, this may sound like puffed-up talk. And Ritchie acknowledges: “It is early days.” But neither man hasqualms about ambition They believe that Britain is awash with movie talent. “When you go to Hollywood, you’ll be surprised how many British accents you hear,” says Ritchie, who admires America’s capacity to celebrate its immigrants “It is an immigrant work ethic You do not find it in the British ruling classes,” he says.
“How many toffs do we know who are really ambitious?”Aren’t the two of them, though, ambitious toffs? Ritchie says “toff” is a bit strong. He knows he has been “lambasted for being a mockney”, but says he’s always been upfront about being “middle class”. What has surprised them is that among Britain’s “artsy establishment mafia, when we knock on certain doors, we feel resentment against us.”The doors in Ritchie and Madonna’s house are also kept shut. There is a sense, not surprisingly, that they are constantly aware of how fragile their privacy is.