The Knowledge - Antony Ginnane
CSB has been working for months on an exciting project with film journalist Andrew Urban of Urbancinefile. We’re interviewing film and television practitioners about their business experiences.
Our aim is to develop a deeper understanding about the history of business decision-making in film and television and to share with our audience the wisdom from the accumulated mistakes, experiments and achievements of the contributors.
Antony Ginnane - biography
Antony I. Ginnane has been involved in all aspects of the film and television industry for 35 years. During that time as a film-maker he has produced 59 feature films, mini series and TV specials: 20 as Producer and 39 as Executive Producer.
While at University of Melbourne from 1968-1976 Ginnane was extensively involved in film journalism, distribution and exhibition. He graduated in Law in 1976 and practiced at the Victorian Bar for 12 months.
In 1977 he formed a joint venture with Melbourne financier William Fayman to produce films in Australia that were of international appeal, to package film financing arrangements that attracted private investment as well as government investment, to invest in the motion picture industry by way of the acquisition of theatrical, television and video rights to films and to represent other producers as agents or sub-distributors.
As a theatrical distributor he has overseen start up operations in the specialty film releasing business in Australia and New Zealand - consulting to Filmpac Holdings Limited (then Australasia’s largest independent mainstream theatrical distributor) from 1985 to 1988.
Between 1986 and 1989 Ginnane served as co-Managing Director of a joint venture partnership for Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Hong Kong which released 30 movies in the theatrical, home video and television markets of those territories during that period.
Ginnane moved his base to Los Angeles in 1991 where he had a non-exclusive ‘first look’ deal with Fries Entertainment. At Cannes in 1996 he relaunched his own international sales entity, IFM Film Associates Inc. IFM World Releasing Inc. was established in 2002 and is a full voting member of the Independent Film and Television Alliance.
He is a member (and former counselor) of the Screen Production Association of Australia and a member of the Producers Guild of America, the British Academy of Film and Television (LA) and NAPTE. He is a board member of the Independent Film and Television Alliance and serves on both the Legal, TV, Export Alliance and Admissions Sub Committees of IFTA.
Audio download
Chapter 1 - Beginnings - 13 minutes
- The beginnings – active in University film society, before Australian film industry Wrote and directed low budget art house feature – unsuccessful, so set new direction
- Starting to buy foreign movie rights
- AFDC set up and new censorship regime introduced –helped shift my focus to production, notably genre films
Video downloads
Chapter 2 - Fantasm - 12 minutes
- The light went on with the R certificate, and hence Fantasm
- Private investors in Melbourne finance Fantasm – for a return
- Driven to cast adult stars in the US – controversial
- Finished shooting in Melbourne
- Took it to Cannes market 1976 and sold it for more than the budget
Video downloads
Chapter 3 - The success of Fantasm - 10 minutes
- Fantasm sales essentially theatrical only
- Censorship battles
- Opened in Queensland first, banned with PR fanfare
- Opened in Melbourne, ran 18 months, took over $1 million
- Opened at Dendy Martin Place – ran 3 months, then drive-ins
- One of the first 12 titles on video in Australia
- Pressured to do a sequel – reluctant but did it: Fantasm Comes Again
- Problems: too much money, Richard Franklin didn’t want to direct sequel, Colin Eggleston’s sense of humour didn’t match; the time had passed - we didn’t make ‘blue sky’ on it
Video downloads
Chapter 4 - Filmways - 9 minutes
- But having two films did work well long term
- With Filmways, set up Australian National Film Corp and determined to use private money
- Taking contrary views to Government funding and writing about them in publications
- Filmways raised budget ($235,000) for Blue Fire Lady, with foreign cast
- Then a series of movies with Filmways
Video downloads
Chapter 5 - Investment - 13 minutes
- We generated working capital
- Learnt the value of vertical integration while embedded in the distribution/exhibition side through Filmways
- The era of 10BA begins – preceded by 10B (tax deductible film investment)
- In the 80s, 10BA massively increased the number of movies produced – from 12 – 16 a year, to a high of 30 – 40 a year
- Also a move from one man producers to larger operations
- Plus an increase in significant successes, eg Mad Max, Phar Lap, Crocodile Dundee – never equalled since
- The process developed more filmmakers
Video downloads
Chapter 6 - The 10BA era - 8 minutes
- 10BA also had negatives - certain finance models were pushed to limits, over the line from tax avoidance to tax evasion – but a minority
- At the peak of 10BA earning potential, several video distribution business outside Australia collapsed, eg Hemdale, Nelson, Embassy
- After a successful track record with Hemdale in 1987, we (IFM) ramped up our business with them – the following year they were in trouble and that reflected badly on us
- But that wasn’t the cause of the demise of 10BA – the ATO never liked tax driven investment schemes, so they supported the coming scheme of direct subsidy driven investment (via the FFC) and painted 10BA in a bad light; worse than it deserved
- In my case, this change led me to switch base to Los Angeles, retaining a Melbourne office
Video downloads
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