AUDIOVISUAL: CINEMAS IN BRITAIN WORRIED ABOUT THE FUTURE.

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Actors blame the recent uncertainties over the production tax incentive system which since 1997 has allowed studios to reduce their costs by 20%. In March, the government launched a consultation on this system with the aim of reforming it, giving rise to fears that it is about to be done away with. In June, Paramount Pictures decided against filming "The Watchmen", a US $120 million blockbuster, in the UK and if rumours are to be believed, the filming of Harry Potter could be moved from Pinewood to Eastern Europe.

"British motion picture know-how is among the best in the world, and the country is privy to some of the best installations" said Michael Grade, Chairman of Pinewood, recently in a press conference. "The problem is that the time needed to implement a new tax incentive system and the resultant uncertainty meant that we lost some of our clients to our competitors" he explained.

The impact can be measured in terms of jobs: although the workforce remains larger than ten years ago, the number of salaried employees fell by one fifth in 2004. Only 25,000 people are currently employed in production compared to 31,000 in 2003. This loss can be...

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