Showing 6 results for the tag: Filming rights.

April 24, 2012

Could licensing its history help Greece end its financial crisis?

Posted at 5:41 pm in Elgin Marbles, Greece Archaeology, Similar cases

Most countries in the western world inherit a huge amount of their cultural tradition from the ancient Greeks. From the Romans onwards, the political systems, philosophical approach, art & architecture have all borrowed heavily on Hellenic culture, using it as their foundations. Perhaps now is the time for some of these countries to think about how they can give something back – to acknowledge their cultural debt to Greece, by doing whatever they can to help support the country in its current situation.

Tourism is a huge source of income for Greece, bringing foreign money into the country – so the crisis shouldn’t be seen as a reason to stay away – but an excuse (as if one was needed) to return & rediscover the country.

Greece has made steps towards monetizing the licensing of its intellectual property – these should be given the support they deserve, rather than criticised as profiteering.

Perhaps most of all, for the reasons already given, now is the right time to return the Parthenon Marbles. They would be safe, because they would be held in the recently opened New Acropolis Museum & they would bring a fresh influx of tourists to Athens to see the sculptures reunited for the first time in over two hundred years. If Britain ever found itself in a similar situation, surely the British would expect the same?

From:
Forbes

3/15/2012 @ 3:01PM |1,493 views
One Way Greece Could Get Out Of Debt: License Its History

Of all the places I know, Greece lies most at the core to me, the place to which I always return as if visiting a beloved, again. To be there has always meant to be surrounded by life, poems, history, legacy, beauty of place, art and timelessness. Greece, for so many, has been a fountain of thought, cradle and pillar of western civilization, of course.

Such is its fascination for me that I carry a pocket Odyssey with me always, to read if I find myself waiting, wherever I may be waiting. And such is the global fascination with Homer’s great epic that I just recently read of yet another expedition to locate Odysseus’ home, the island to which he could not help but return.
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Using Greece’s ancient assets to support the country in a financial crisis is not a new idea

Posted at 8:14 am in Acropolis, Greece Archaeology

Despite consternation from some quarters about Greece’s plans to generate extra revenue from filming permits, this is far from the first time in its history that the country has looked to its artistic and architectural heritage to fund its way out of a financial crisis. Perhaps current critics ought to be thankful about the non-destructive nature of the policy presently being proposed.

From:
Philadelphia Enquirer

In Greece, an ancient solution to modern crisis
March 04, 2012|By James Romm

Greek opinion is divided over the government’s plan to offer the Parthenon and other heritage sites as film and photo backdrops to raise revenue during the country’s current economic crisis. “This is sacrilege!” one Greek tour guide protested. But others thought that, humbling though the measure might be, it was at least better than begging for foreign bailouts.

For some Greeks, the debate may have evoked a sense of deja vu. Pericles, the great Athenian statesman, also proposed raiding the Parthenon to meet a shortfall nearly 2,500 years ago – challenging the boundaries not just of good taste but of religious taboo.
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April 16, 2012

Could Greece’s ancient treasures help to rescue its economy

Posted at 7:55 am in Acropolis, Greece Archaeology

Despite the dire state of Greece’s economy, one of its biggest tourist draws & most recognisable assets is its ancient heritage. Plans to try & monetise these site with commercial filming charges have however met with mixed reviews.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Thursday February 9, 2012 (18:32)
Ancient treasures to the rescue of Greece’s ruined economy?
By Margarita Pournara

Greece’s Culture and Tourism Ministry last month said it would slash the cost of permits for filming and photographic shoots at more than 100 of the country’s ancient monuments, including the world-famous Parthenon in Athens.

Some foreign reports reacted to the news by saying the Greek government was putting the Parthenon under the hammer. Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanos tweeted that speculation that the sites would be “rented out” was totally unfounded.
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March 30, 2012

Professional photography charges at Greek archaeological sites cut

Posted at 1:01 pm in Acropolis, Greece Archaeology

More coverage of the decision by Greece to reduce the costs for filming permits at the country’s ancient sites.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Greece cuts filming costs at Acropolis
Thursday, January 19, 2012
By Natalie Weeks

The Acropolis, Greece’s star attraction for 2,500 years, may be preparing for a bigger role.

The Greek government lowered the permit costs this month for using archaeological sites and museums for film crews to 1,600 euros ($2,039) a day from as much as 4,000 euros in a 2005 pricelist, and for professional photographers to 200 euros from 300 euros, according to the Culture and Tourism Ministry. Historical spots include the Acropolis, which houses the Parthenon, and Delphi, home of the ancient oracle.
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Filming costs at the Acropolis will be reduced

Posted at 12:53 pm in Acropolis, Greece Archaeology

Despite the way that this was reported as hiring out ancient artefacts in many new sources, the actual story is that the cost of permits for professional filming on the Acropolis are to be reduced. The permits already exist, it is just that the cost will be less than previously.

From:
Greek Reporter

Debt-Riddled Greece Will Lease Acropolis For Commercial Exploitation
By Stella Tsolakidou on January 17, 2012

In a move bound to leave many Greeks and scholars aghast, Greece’s Ministry of Culture said on Tuesday it will open up some of the debt-stricken country’s most-cherished archaeological sites to advertising firms and other ventures.

Leasing the Parthenon through the taxation of photo and cinema shoots seems to be one of the top priorities for the Greek government, in order to raise money and tackle the debt crisis threatening the country with default.
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October 18, 2010

The problems of photography in the New Acropolis Museum

Posted at 8:59 pm in Elgin Marbles, Greece Archaeology, New Acropolis Museum

In the old Acropolis Museum located actually on the Acropolis itself, I never had any problems taking photographs. Within the New Acropolis Museum however, whilst I took many pictures while the building was under construction, I’ve had great difficulty in taking any pictures within the building since the exhibits were in place. Even at the opening in 2009, although people (only a very limited number of invited guests) were allowed to take photos in the lower levels of the building, numerous staff were making sure that no one took photos inside the Parthenon Gallery.

Whilst I can understand that museums make money from selling reproduction rights to items in their collections, I can not see how stopping all photography (when the general tradition in Greece is for museums to allow it) is a move that benefits anyone. In many cases, photographs would have acted as an advert for the museum. The building has already been published in numerous newspapers & magazines, so there is now no secret behind the appearance of the interior (which could have been argued as a reason prior to its opening).

From:
The Times Blogs

August 03, 2010
How much does a picture of the Parthenon cost?

How can we keep the Greek economy afloat? Well, one answer is by asking for permission to reproduce pictures from Greek museums.

Just recently I produced a new edition of my Parthenon book, brought up to date with a new chapter on the new Acropolis Museum (plus all the to-ing and fro-ing about the Elgin Marbles in the years since the first edition came out).
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