Land for peasants, factories for workers
The high-profile deal between the Disney and Fox corporations showed that in the modern world even multibillion-dollar film companies may be at risk of takeover. It is only natural that many independent studios began to look for non-trivial moves in order to stay afloat in an unfriendly business environment. As it became known to the British edition of The Guardian, the leaders of the world famous animation company Aardman came up with an elegant way to maintain autonomy and decided to distribute three-quarters of the shares to their own employees.Aardman executives hope that they will be able not only to maintain the status of an independent studio, but also to further motivate their animators, who are constantly trying to change their rich competitors. According to financial analysts, the British company will end the fiscal year with a surplus of $ 3.25 million. This is a solid amount for an indie studio, but, of course, it is significantly lower than the income of Aardman's Hollywood competitors. The Bristol Studio was founded in 1972 by young students Peter Lord and David Sproxton. Since then, Aardman has become one of the leaders of the British animation industry and has presented the audience with such cartoons as "Chicken Run", "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Werewolf Rabbit", "Flush Out!", "Sean the Sheep", "Pirates! A Gang of Losers "and" Wild Ancestors.  Not only Aardman's 140 permanent employees, but also third-party animators, will have the chance to become shareholders of the company. According to preliminary data, Lord and Sproxton intend to allocate shares to all freelance artists who have collaborated with them for at least three months. The studio owners also plan to create a special work council for new shareholders. “In an age of uncertainty, our employees will be pleased to know that they have a stake in the company, said David Sproxton. -We really don't want Aardman to have to sell to a major studio one day. Its owners will surely say, "Let's move on to computer animation and use cheap labor from Singapore". "  At the moment the British studio is busy working on the animated film "Farmageddon". The world premiere of the sequel "Shaun the Sheep" is scheduled for May next year. The Topic of Article: Land for peasants, factories for workers. |
