EC COME, UIP GO?
Mega US distributor UIP's unfurling at Berlin of two competition films
by European directors adds a further irony to what is potentially the biggest
movie show-down between Europe and the US since the last GATT talks.
Last week in Brussels, Karel Van Miert, the European Union's competition
commissioner announced that the activities of United International Pictures
(UIP) should no longer be authorised under EU competition rules.
"We came to the conclusion that there are no longer enough good reasons
to allow this system of collective selling to continue," said Van Miert.
He alleged, but furthered no proof, that UIP has the potential for anti-competitive
behaviour.
But as the festival prepares to unveil the UIP-distributed The Butcher
Boy and Il testimone dello sposo (The Best Man), the Commission's onslaught
on UIP appears to have left much of Europe's film industry cold. UIP's
closure wouldn't better the European distribution sector, industryites
claimed. In fact, quite the opposite.
"I can't see it making a scrap of difference - in fact I think it will
possibly make things marginally worse. Whether it's UIP or Universal, they'll
still have the latest Lost World 3," Robert Beeson, general manager of
UK arthouse distribber Artificial Eye, told Moving Pictures.
"I don't think it will generate more space in the market if UIP is
split up into two or three companies - probably less, since the competition
will become more aggressive," argued Peter Philipsen, md of Denmark's Nordisk
Film Biografdistribution.
Distributors in Sweden and Spain echoed these sentiments almost word-for-word.
If the move is confirmed, the three US studios partnered in the UIP joint
venture - Paramount, Universal and MGM - will have to distribute their
films separately in Europe, said Van Miert.
The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to UIP,
including the argument that UIP has not committed to producing and distributing
European films to a "satisfactory" level. UIP has 10 weeks to respond and
the possibility of holding a hearing. Although the Commission's conclusions
are not definitive, it has found "enough solid evidence" to support them,
Van Miert sustained. There is no deadline for a final decision. "UIP intends
to continue to provide excellent service to its customers for many years
to come," said Paul Oneile, UIP president. UIP claims to have contributed
substantially to the European film community, distributing over 200 European
films since 1989, and that the three UIP studios have invested well over
$700 million in Europe in pre-production, production and post-production
activities.
By François Head and staff reporters
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