Spielberg showers thousands of liri to keep shops closed

 
Author Matthew Vella      Source  Malta Today
17th JULY 2005

(Read Winston Azzopardi's comments on this article at the end)

Hollywood’s manna is in town as shopkeepers make takings of some Lm3,000 each to keep their shops closed whilst Steven Spielberg’s film on the 1972 Munich Olympics attacks by Black September are being filmed in Malta.
Retailers and shopkeepers in Valletta and Bugibba pocketed some Lm3,000 each to stay out of the way of Spielberg’s crew and keep their shops shut, this newspaper is informed, as film location managers dished out thousands of liri to secure areas around Malta to themselves.
Local councils were also on the take. St Paul’s Bay mayor Paul Bugeja confirmed that his council ‘accepted’ a Lm1,500 donation to help in traffic management.
Valletta local council did not accept any donation although they were offered it, mayor Paul Borg Olivier said, who said his council believes in promoting the film industry in Malta. The council had been working with the production team for two years providing it with information and logistical support for their shoots in Valletta.
Instead, it gave Spielberg a hefty 75 per cent discount on the fees they were owed under the Trading Licences Act, which lays down a Lm1 per square metre charge for space that is taken up by the entire production crew, including filming and the setting up of marquees and trailers.
Spielberg’s crew took up 1,200 square metres of Valletta space for ten days, taking the bill up to Lm12,000, but having a sizeable chunk – some Lm9,000 – knocked off their tab.
So it has been a field-day for shopkeepers who landed in Spielberg’s path, although former Malta film commissioner, Winston Azzopardi, warns the exorbitant fees negotiated with the retailers could scare off low-budget moviemakers.
 I did suggest to 'Munich'  producer Colin Wilson that the production should engage  a local production manager especially to negotiate location fees. It was never taken up and a number of people actually took advantage by asking for exorbitant sums to give the film crew their space.”
Even Valletta mayor Paul Borg Olivier did not deny that some people “could have tried to make a quick buck” out of Spielberg’s brief visit. Borg Olivier said his council did not negotiate any sums for Valletta outlets. “I will not get into the question of what these amounts were.”
Oliver Mallia, Malta’s current film commissioner, says the commission is equally concerned about the fact that producers have been faced with situations of “extortion”.
“We cannot solve everything. But we do our best, because biting the hand that feeds you is not ideal for Malta. As a commission we are concerned and we do our best to actually help location managers negotiate market prices with suppliers, because million-budget or not, there is obviously a budget line to respect for every film.”
Shopkeepers were free to negotiate their sums with Spielberg’s location manager – not a local – who also called the Malta Film Commission to intervene in certain situations.
MaltaToday is reliably informed that Bugibba retailers upped their prices in a bid to be able to negotiate downwards to a decent Lm1,000 payment – Spielberg’s crew accommodated them with a handsome Lm3,000.
Oliver Mallia however said the film commission does not negotiate on behalf of producers in such situations, except in the case of excessive payments. “If the company is happy paying those fees there is nothing we can do about it.”
Mallia said he was also involved personally in securing a respectable price on certain negotiations. “In some cases we managed, in others we didn’t. But we also managed to compromise in certain cases. If we can control certain expenses, I think we would be giving a good example in a bid to promote Malta. That is our job. We facilitate the work for film production companies and limit the bureaucracy.”

Winston Azzopardi comments on this article:

Earlier this year when the word was out that Steven Spielberg was coming to Malta to film 'Munich' I immediately got hold of Colin Wilson (who was a fellow producer on Troy) and advised him to hire the services of a Maltese production manager especially to negotiate fees for the many locations that was on the shooting schedule of this film.
This film shoot was in my opinion unique in the sense that Malta usually plays hosts to period pictures where the majority of filming takes place on specially constructed film sets. However Mr Spielberg had already visited Malta in April 2004 and it was very clear then that he primarily came here for the locations particularly the  Middle eastern look that our some of our architecture has inherited from the Arab occupation that lasted nearly 600 years.
There were many reports on the press regarding the excessive location fees that were being paid  by the production company. Many shopkeepers in Bugibba (a town where I closely live)  had called me for advise on how much to charge Westlake Ltd to keep their shops shut for a couple of days.  I advised them that due to the nature of the shoot and the scale of the production, a fee in the region of USD 3,000 per day will be a fair price for both parties.

A few days later the shop keepers called again to inform me that they were paid 3 times the amount I suggested. Some even accused me of taken sides with  the production.  Was this generosity from Westlake or was it the Maltese tough negotiating skills?  I believe this was a bit of both. However one thing I know for sure is that whenever a foreigner steps on to another country to do business, overcharging will inevitably happen. No matter what country in the world you are in, no matter what type of business you are in, you will be overcharged unless you get a local to negotiate on your behalf. And  Malta is no exception. The word 'Film' is an antidote for many,  'A quick Buck' made easy to the expense of the film company which has money to spare. 
Local knowledge plays a pivotal  role  in the pre production stage and can determine whether a film will be in the  parameters of the budget. Local knowledge is not just handy for sourcing out material but also for understanding the mentality of trading in the country in question.  Through the years I have seen producers  shoot films here without hiring a local person believing that they can make their movie cheaper as they are fully in charge. However more often than not they come to regret this decision and soon realise that they are being taken for a ride. Very often they turn to the film commission arguing that the estimates they were given do not match. The film commission are powerless to help them as they do not have the authority to intervene with the private sector.
And so it goes on.  Does this give Malta a bad name?  Yes it does!  How can you stop overcharging?  By hiring local people to work for you and leave ample time to negotiate terms with your suppliers and location landlords so in the eventuality that your negotiations are not successful, one can look for alternatives. The worst form of dealing with anyone anywhere is when the other party knows that you are at their mercy.  Leave plenty of time (sometimes weeks) to conclude.
Before you take a director to a location make sure that this is feasible.  Imagine taken a high Calibre director like Mr Spielberg to a location before any form of price has been agreed on. Imagine the delight of the landlord when he hears the director say 'I want to shoot here'  
There are an abundance of suppliers in Malta. It's a dog eat dog situation in some cases. Get quotes from different sources, you will be amazed what levels of discounts you can get when comparing prices.
Get advise from your local crew, even the lowest rank employee can teach you a thing or two on how and who  to deal with. Malta is a small country and the people are well known. People in the business know who is who, take their advice. Avoid the 'bad apples' of which there are plenty.
Filming in Malta is easy and fun once you comprehend the way business is conducted. The authorities are very helpful as they fully understand your importance and  the multiplier effect your spend is going to generate into the economy. 

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