Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-g5fl4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-28T22:24:12.952Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - ‘The Tenor of the Times’: An Interview With James Ferman

from Part II - After the Deluge

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2013

Julian Petley
Affiliation:
Brunel University
Get access

Summary

Anyone who has read John Trevelyan's What the Censor Saw will realise what a close relationship Trevelyan enjoyed with many British film-makers, frequently advising them on censorship matters before and even during production. It's also noticeable that British films are rarely cut by the BBFC. Does this mean that current BBFC Director Ferman carries on in the Trevelyan tradition? Or have British film-makers simply internalised the Board's standards and know what they can and can't get away with? Ferman explains:

We are asked for advice sometimes prior to production, but we don't offer ourselves where we're not invited. However, films are very expensive to make, and if film-makers can know in good time the framework within which the society expects them to operate it can save them a lot of money later. We owe that service to the industry – if they want it. We are sent around two dozen scripts a year, and we make suggestions. Very often the makers will tell us the classification that they want and then we will tell them of any problem areas – things to look at and adjust rather than cut. But we'll also tell them, if necessary, that in our opinion they just can't get that classification without destroying the script entirely.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Print publication year: 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×