The Age of Stupid – the world’s most ecofriendly premiere

For the release of her film The Age of Stupid Franny Armstrong insisted on the premiere being a ‘0-footprint’ affair.
Indeed, big names like Vivienne Westwood turned up on a bicycle, rickshaw and electric car rather than in a limo.

The cinema was powered by the sun, and the usually luxurious red carpet replaced by one that is green and fashioned from recycled bottles.

The premiere of the film, which sees Postlethwaite play a man living in 2055 looking back at footage from the present day and considering why humanity did not save itself from climate change, was also broadcast at over 60 cinemas and venues across the UK.

All of the profits from the event are set to go towards the Not Stupid campaign, which has been created to raise awareness of climate change in the run-up to December’s major summit on the topic in Copenhagen.

With over 16,000 film fans attending the live screening of the premiere across the UK, and Guiness Book of World Records confirming The Age of Stupid screening as the largest ever film premiere, filmmakers succeeded where other climate change films have failed – the “earnest” 11th Hour , which featured Leonardo DiCaprio, and Al Gore’s lecture, An Inconvenient Truth — to galvanise cinema-goers into action.

As the environment begins to hit our news pages more and more, we must consider the changes, choices and approaches to creative output, this premiere shows us that it’s actually possible to launch the largest film premiere without making any “footprint” on our planet.

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Project Pinewood

When film-makers need to shoot a sequence in New York, they must cart their whole production to the Big Apple. Similarly, if they want to capture a shot or two in Rome, the crew and all their equipment head for Italy. You get the picture; travel is a huge, expensive necessity of the film-making process.

But Pinewood Studios one of the largest film and television production facility providers in the world, with studios at Pinewood, Shepperton and Teddington are planning to change all that

With project pinewood the studio are planing to create a living and working community for creatives consisting of 1,400 sustainable new dwellings situated in the re-created streets of New York, San Francisco, Amsterdam and Paris. This somewhat bizarre, inhabitable film-set will mean crews will be able to shoot city scenes without having to build wasteful, one-off sets or transport film crews to foreign cities. Pinewood hope that the project will bring about a maximum of 77% reduction in emissions for the average film or commercial (quite optimistic).

As one of the world’s most esteemed studios for UK film production, it is a responsible move in the right direction.

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Why Green filmmaking is important ?

First things first, I thought it would be appropriate to start this blog by saying why green filmmaking is important.

There is no doubt that making every industry, and every aspect of our own lives, a little more environmentally friendly is extremely important.

However, greener film industry can not only have direct environmental impact, it can also have an impact on movie-goers, television watchers, and all participants in the entertainment industry.

Here are some reasons why I believe the film industry is a great target for greening:

It’s a huge polluter

Big budgets, extravagant sets and demanding film stars- the film shoot can be a very wasteful place. With the transportation by vehicle of entire film crews, and the disposable props and bottled water of film sets (not to mention entire large-scale sets being built and thrown away- think of the entire freeway that was built for the Matrix sequels), the sustainability of film-making appears to be a pressing issue.
In addition to that a 2006 study done by the University of California Los Angeles concluded that Hollywood represented a major contributor to poor air quality in Los Angeles. The movie industry was found to produce more emissions than aerospace manufacturing, apparel, hotels or semiconductor manufacturing (which are other major industries in the five-county region surrounding and including Los Angeles)

It’s visible

By its nature the entertainment industry is in the public eye. Movies made according to green filming best practices and films with environmental themes raise awareness about environmental issues in a way that other media can’t.

It’s a role model

For better or worse, people follow celebrity trends. Celebrity endorsements have already had major effects on other causes, such as getting out the vote. Hollywood can also serve as a positive green role model not only to individuals but to other industries. By demonstrating environmentally friendly practices and having characters engage in eco-conscious activities, films can have an effect on how people act in their own lives.

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