The Brexit referendum has shown that more than half of Britain want to leave the European Union. There are some reports that claim that many ‘leave’ voters didn’t even know much about the EU.
A Washington Post article headline reads –
The British are frantically Googling what the E.U. is, hours after voting to leave it
Yay democracy, right?
But did you know the Brexit issue can also have a drastic effect on the creative industry? And that includes the production of many films and shows shot in the British territory.
Including Game of Thrones
As it turns out, many TV shows that shoot regularly within UK, are likely to feel the brunt of Brexit. How? Two ways – first, there’ll be different set of rules when it comes to paying taxes in UK and in Europe, and second, some of these shows were partially funded by the EU. And on the top of that list lies HBO’s Game of Thrones.
In an statement to Variety, Independent Film and TV Alliance chairman, Michael Ryan said –
The decision to exit the European Union is a major blow to the U.K. film and TV industry. This decision has just blown up our foundation — as of today, we no longer know how our relationships with co-producers, financiers and distributors will work, whether new taxes will be dropped on our activities in the rest of Europe, or how production financing is going to be raised without any input from European funding agencies.
Leaving Europe would be a leap into the unknown for millions of people across the UK who work in the creative industries, and for the millions more at home and abroad who benefit from the growth and vibrancy of Britain’s cultural sector.
Much of Game of Thrones is shot in Northern Ireland, a territory which incidentally voted to remain with the EU, but alas, got outvoted by mostly English voters.
So yes, if you notice a dip in production value in the show in the subsequent seasons, there’s a fair chance it might have been caused by UK’s decision to leave the EU.
h/t The Verge