Why don’t we just rename Britain Tesco and have done with it? The UK’s biggest retailer (by a large margin) continues its creep into trying to have a foothold in every single aspect on British life by annoucing it’s getting into film production. Thankfully though, the company won’t have any creative input, and will instead provide cash through a partnership with Amber Entertainment to make movies based on books by bestselling novelists, which it will initially sell exclusively.
Screen Daily reports that the first of these film, Paris Connections, adapted by Jackie Collins from her 1999 bestseller, LA Connections, is already in production. It will go directly to DVD and be sold exclusively in Tesco, both in its stores and online. The company is also in talks with the likes of Dick Frances, Jacqueline Wilson, Philip Pullman and Judy Blume about bringing some of their tales to Tesco shelves, while three more Collins ‘Connections’ films are also in the works.
In some ways the move mirrors what Starbucks tried to do in the US, where they not only attempted to secure exclusive first-run sales on albums by famous musician, but also started putting funding into movies like Akeelah and the Bee.
It’ll be interesting to see if Tesco getting into film works, as while the retailer is massive, what’s less certain is whether there’ll be enough interest in these straight-to-DVD titles to recoup the investment. It also makes me wonder if in a few years time there’ll be a range of Tesco Value films, filmed on a camcorder and based on stories thought up by primary school children.
Take a look below for the possible future of home entertainment in the UK…
