Two separate film tax fraud cases are heading towards trial.
Chris Atkins, writer-director of 2007 BAFTA-nominated doc Taking Liberties and 2009 doc Starsuckers, and Terence Potter, co-producer of acclaimed 2005 drama Romanzo Criminale, are among 13 men and women alleged by the Crown Prosecution Service to have taken part in a £2.5m film tax fraud.
The charges against the 13 relate to two film partnerships that allegedly submitted false tax returns so its members could claim relief on losses.
Seven of the 13 individuals are investment bankers.
A provisional trial date of July 13 has been set.
Meanwhile, in a separate case, five film professionals are due to stand trial in September in connection with another film tax scam.
Salt co-directors Robert Bevan and Cyril Megret, executive producers Keith Hayley and Charles Savill, formerly of Little Wing Films (as was Bevan), and Norman Leighton are alleged by the Crown Prosecution Service to have taken part in a tax relief fraud that cost the public...
Chris Atkins, writer-director of 2007 BAFTA-nominated doc Taking Liberties and 2009 doc Starsuckers, and Terence Potter, co-producer of acclaimed 2005 drama Romanzo Criminale, are among 13 men and women alleged by the Crown Prosecution Service to have taken part in a £2.5m film tax fraud.
The charges against the 13 relate to two film partnerships that allegedly submitted false tax returns so its members could claim relief on losses.
Seven of the 13 individuals are investment bankers.
A provisional trial date of July 13 has been set.
Meanwhile, in a separate case, five film professionals are due to stand trial in September in connection with another film tax scam.
Salt co-directors Robert Bevan and Cyril Megret, executive producers Keith Hayley and Charles Savill, formerly of Little Wing Films (as was Bevan), and Norman Leighton are alleged by the Crown Prosecution Service to have taken part in a tax relief fraud that cost the public...
- 2/28/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Buried deep within Chris Atkins' Starsuckers, gems of reportorial excellence gleam brightly. Atkins and his team employed hidden cameras to capture representatives of British tabloids agreeing to break agreed-upon industry standards for the sake of celebrity "scoops." It is eye-opening to see how willing the tabloids are to sacrifice profesional integrity. To get to that point, however, one must sit through a banal, self-congratulatory, self-righteous "exposé" boldly declaring that celebrities, fame-seekers, and the media in general are all evil, and you are, too, even if you deny any interest in celebrity culture, because you can't be trusted, either. Atkins builds his case one random brick at a time, using an irritating voice-over narration to represent the media: 'We do this, and we do that, and...
- 10/11/2012
- Screen Anarchy
Today's extract from the updated edition of The phone-hacking scandal: journalism on trial* is by Chris Atkins, the man who made the Starsuckers documentary. His team fed fake celebrity stories to the tabloids, six of which ended up in print.
This is somewhat longer than usual, but the devil really is in the detail of the exchanges at the Leveson inquiry when reporters were questioned about their actions. Atkins begins with the performance of Gordon Smart, who runs The Sun's showbusiness pages, entitled Bizarre...
Two of our fake stories appeared without checks in Smart's column - one about film director Guy Ritchie injuring himself while juggling cutlery, and another claiming singer Sarah Harding [of Girls Aloud] was a secret fan of quantum physics.
Smart started off bullishly at the inquiry by defending his column: "I'd like to think that most of the time we get it right. Very occasionally we get it wrong.
This is somewhat longer than usual, but the devil really is in the detail of the exchanges at the Leveson inquiry when reporters were questioned about their actions. Atkins begins with the performance of Gordon Smart, who runs The Sun's showbusiness pages, entitled Bizarre...
Two of our fake stories appeared without checks in Smart's column - one about film director Guy Ritchie injuring himself while juggling cutlery, and another claiming singer Sarah Harding [of Girls Aloud] was a secret fan of quantum physics.
Smart started off bullishly at the inquiry by defending his column: "I'd like to think that most of the time we get it right. Very occasionally we get it wrong.
- 9/19/2012
- by Roy Greenslade
- The Guardian - Film News
Reports that a woman was claiming Downing Street's new cat as her own lost pet have been revealed as a hoax. Larry the ratcatcher was unveiled at Number 10 earlier this month, but according to various news reports a woman named Margaret Sutcliffe claimed that the feline was Jo, a pet she had adopted as a stray. According to the hoax - originated by Starsuckers director Chris Atkins - Sutcliffe's nephew Tim started a Facebook (more)...
- 2/24/2011
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
Chris Atkins made Starsuckers, the movie that exposed the gullibility and journalistic shortcomings of tabloid newspapers by feeding them fake celebrity stories.
Noting how The Sun's showbiz gossip columnists - such as Piers Morgan, Andy Coulson and Dominic Mohan - moved on to edit newspapers, he tells today's Independent on Sunday:
What happens is, in the two or three years working on the celebrity desk, their desire for the truth as a concept is surgically extracted from their brains. They stop caring what the truth is. Then they get to write about WMDs.
CelebrityThe SunPiers MorganAndy CoulsonDominic MohanIndependent on SundayRoy Greenslade
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
Noting how The Sun's showbiz gossip columnists - such as Piers Morgan, Andy Coulson and Dominic Mohan - moved on to edit newspapers, he tells today's Independent on Sunday:
What happens is, in the two or three years working on the celebrity desk, their desire for the truth as a concept is surgically extracted from their brains. They stop caring what the truth is. Then they get to write about WMDs.
CelebrityThe SunPiers MorganAndy CoulsonDominic MohanIndependent on SundayRoy Greenslade
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
- 8/15/2010
- by Roy Greenslade
- The Guardian - Film News
By Natalie Peck
A great big two fingers up to celebrity-obsessed media has come recently in the form of Starsuckers, from the director of BAFTA nominated documentary Taking Liberties, Chris Atkins. The film attempts to mix anthropological examination with some hilarious hoaxes, intent on exposing the way the media exploits the human desire for fame. The film orders itself into lessons, instructing the audience in a self–consciously patronising way on how we are regularly duped by large corporations and media organisations into consuming celebrity culture to a worrying degree.
After completing Taking Liberties, Atkins was told that not having any famous people in the documentary (besides Tony Blair) could hinder the marketing of the film.
A great big two fingers up to celebrity-obsessed media has come recently in the form of Starsuckers, from the director of BAFTA nominated documentary Taking Liberties, Chris Atkins. The film attempts to mix anthropological examination with some hilarious hoaxes, intent on exposing the way the media exploits the human desire for fame. The film orders itself into lessons, instructing the audience in a self–consciously patronising way on how we are regularly duped by large corporations and media organisations into consuming celebrity culture to a worrying degree.
After completing Taking Liberties, Atkins was told that not having any famous people in the documentary (besides Tony Blair) could hinder the marketing of the film.
- 4/10/2010
- by Natalie Peck
- Pure Movies
Bob Geldof has reportedly sent a hand written response to a film director who he believes has unjustifiably attacked his charitable music campaigns. In the 6,000-word letter, Geldof told Starsuckers helmer Chris Atkins that he has used his fame to persuade world leaders to take global poverty seriously, contrary to anti-poverty demonstrators who he described as being "a bit lame" and almost entirely ineffectual. The film, which will be broadcast on More 4 on Tuesday, is a polemic against media and celebrity and alleges that money raised from the 1985 Live Aid concerts was misspent and led to deaths. According to The Guardian, it also criticises the Live 8 concerts as overshadowing efforts by campaigners from the Make Poverty History coalition. Geldof denies the allegations made in the film and his lawyers have written to the film-makers and are also in contact with (more)...
- 4/3/2010
- by By Sarah Rollo
- Digital Spy
Singer pens letter to director of documentary that criticises his rock concert campaigns
The singer and activist Bob Geldof has launched an impassioned defence of his lifetime's charitable work, claiming he has used his fame to persuade world leaders to take global poverty seriously and mocking anti-poverty demonstrators as "wankers dressed as clowns".
His comments were penned in a 6,000-word letter to the director of a documentary that makes stinging and, Geldof believes, entirely unjustified criticisms of his rock concert campaigns.
In an attempt to persuade the director to retract the allegations from the film, which will be broadcast next week, Geldof wrote a meandering and at times emotional explanation of his work.
In the letter, seen by the Guardian, Geldof claimed to have had significant influence over world leaders, including Tony Blair, in the run-up to the 2005 G8 summit, and contrasted the achievements of his Live 8 campaign with...
The singer and activist Bob Geldof has launched an impassioned defence of his lifetime's charitable work, claiming he has used his fame to persuade world leaders to take global poverty seriously and mocking anti-poverty demonstrators as "wankers dressed as clowns".
His comments were penned in a 6,000-word letter to the director of a documentary that makes stinging and, Geldof believes, entirely unjustified criticisms of his rock concert campaigns.
In an attempt to persuade the director to retract the allegations from the film, which will be broadcast next week, Geldof wrote a meandering and at times emotional explanation of his work.
In the letter, seen by the Guardian, Geldof claimed to have had significant influence over world leaders, including Tony Blair, in the run-up to the 2005 G8 summit, and contrasted the achievements of his Live 8 campaign with...
- 4/2/2010
- by Paul Lewis
- The Guardian - Film News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.