31/07/2013 Newsnight

Remember this? What happened is completely unacceptable, this is

not the way we raise money in the Conservative Party, it shouldn't

have happened, it is quite right that Peter Cruddas has resigned. I

will make sure there is a proper party inquiry to make sure this

can't happen again. That was March last year. Today Peter Cruddas won

his libel action against the Sunday Times, when the court found he did

not corruptly try to sell access to the Prime Minister. So is it time

for Mr Cameron to apologise? Also tonight:

Newsnight goes climbing the turbines of the Humber, they are a

giant economic success story for Denmark. In terms of the

Government's performance in off- shore wind strategy it has been an

F-grade. They have given consistently conflicting messages,

this was supposed to be the greenest Government ever? They

campaigned on that, it has just been confusing. Perhaps the Energy

Minister can explain. After 33 years in power Robert

Mugabe still feels he has more to offer the long-suffering people of

Zimbabwe. They have been going to the polls today, anyone like to

guess who will win. If you let me speak to the people of the UK, go

Arsenal. Why has Ang Lee taken up the virtual begging bowl to fund

his next movie! -- why has Spike Leely taken up the virtual begging

bowl to fund his next movie. The Sunday Times claimed that Mr

Cruddas a former co-treasurer for the Conservative Party was

supposedly in the business of corruptly selling access to the

Prime Minister. He was dropped within two hours by his political

friends. While today in the High Court Mr Cruddas won his libel

action against the Sunday Times for publishing what he called malicious

lies. The judge said that because of the false newspaper report the

Prime Minister had subjected Peter Cruddas to massive public

humiliation. Is there something seriously wrong with a political

system in which people are rapidly tried, convicted and punished by

the politicians, when what is necessary is to wait for the

reasonable process of the law to find out the facts. We have been

talking to Peter Cruddas. It looked like a scandal thought up

in central casting, a Conservative donor caught on camera bragging

that cash would buy you a place in the court of David Cameron.

�100,000 is not Premier League. It is not bad, it is probably bottom

of the Premier League. �200,000, �250,000 is Premier League. Within

two hours of these front pages dropping Peter Cruddas, Tory

treasurer for years, was treasureed by the Tory Party no more. What

happened is completely unacceptable, this is not the way we raise money

in the Conservative Party. It shouldn't have happened, it is

quite right that Peter Cruddas has resigned. I will make sure there is

a proper party inquiry to make sure this can't happen again. The party

moved to distance themselves, and Peter Cruddas lost his unpaid Tory

job within hours. Since no questions were asked of him, Peter

Cruddas lost his respect for the party. Over the last 16 months he

has fought the story in the High Court. Today a judge found in his

favour. The judge found that Peter Cruddas's taped comments were in

fact descriptions of agreed and legal party donations policy. The

judge also revealed that elsewhere in the full transcript Mr Cruddas

Today Peter Cruddas believes he's bested the newspaper that stung him.

Now he's turning his sights on the Conservatives. The fact of the

matter if you look at the sequence of events the party drafted my

resignation statement, they issued it and really since then I haven't

had any other contact. It is not closure for me. Because off the

back of the story the Conservative Party decided that they were going

to ostracise me, not support me and not only that they lined up to

criticise me. Unfortunately the damage to my reputation was

increased by their behaviour. this is the party that you have had

a decade or more relationship with and then they judged you within two

hours, through the media, how can you continue to have a functional

relationship with them? I don't know. I don't know if I can, to be

honest, but what I do know is I need closure and the fact of the

matter is that I have been heavily criticised by them. They didn't

know the facts. Perhaps they would like one day to hear my side of the

story. I would be happy to tell them, or better still, why don't

they read the judgment and see for themselves. The Sunday Times

Do you think that if they offered you your old role back you would

take it? Oh my God. What a question that is. I mean you know, six hours

ago I was in the High Court, I was getting the judgment handed down to

me, that is a massive feeling of relief, the dark cloud has lifted.

I want to enjoy that moment. I honestly haven't thought about that.

I mean I thought the party has disowned me, ignoring the fact that

I won no to AV with them, and with the team I injected a lot of cash.

I have supported David Cameron and given the Conservative Party �1.2

million since David Cameron became leader. Do you think had you been

one of David Cameron's mates, part of the famous cuum-oxcy, you would

have been street -- chum-ocracy, you would be treated differently?

Before this Mr Cameron treated me very nicely and well, I don't know

why this happened, I never felt, I know that you know, I know why you

are asking the question, he went to Eton and I went to Shoreditch

Comprehensive. I actually found that Mr Cameron was always very

fair to me and very supportive up until this incident. Why do you

think he's backed someone like Lord Fellman who is accused of saying

very damaging words that the party was "swivel-eyed loons", but so

swift to dismiss you? That is a question I'm going to want answered.

Will you vote Conservatives? Yes, I'm a Conservative always was and

always will be, you can thank Lady Thatcher for that. No way UKIP for

you? No.When the story broke the Prime Minister dropped Peter

Cruddas after more than two hours. Today more than two hours after the

new judgment Peter Cruddas has still not heard from the Prime

Minister. David Cameron's team might want to reach out, his party

is perceived as upper-class and out-of-touch. And there is one boy

from Shoreditch Comprehensive who is keen to make friends again.

It is obviously what he wants, he wants an apology from David Cameron,

is he going to get it? It doesn't look like it right now. It is

difficult to tell, all the key sources are on beaches in far flung

places. They are not in policy drafting mode. But today we had a

sign from the Tory Party chairman, who was asked seven-times to

apologise on camera, he ducked and weaved and didn't apologise, it

might have been, many you would say, easy. There are many colleagues who

think just go ahead and do it. People who spoke again this evening

to me who think he has been treated badly by dick defence and kicking

him out after -- quick defensive, kicking him out after two hours.

They think on a political level he is somebody who is not obviously a

close friend of David Camerons or an old Etonian, and that is

something that the party had massive problems and it wouldn't

just be good manners it would be good politics to make amends.

Conservative peer Lord Howell hit the headlines when he suggested

fracking would be appropriate in the north-east of England because

it was so desolate there. He has apologised and now claims he meant

the North West. Tomorrow we will hear of another potential energy

source producing jobs. The Government is due to launch its

off-shore wind strategy, aimed at filling energy needs and creating

jobs. It has certainly helped German and Danish workers. We have

gone in search of those elusive green jobs.

This may take some time. He has a rather long way to go. He is

climbing an offshore wind turbine, taller than the London Eye. Out at

sea, distances can be deceptive. This turbine's closest neighbour is

500ms away. This is the new Lincs Windfarm, providing power to

200,000 homes. Keeping the turbines turning is now the job of

maintenance workers based at Grimsby docks. Many of them are ex-

military. I think they are fantastic, I really do. I just

think they are very peaceful to look at. There is something almost

hypnotic about it. You just are harnessing mother nature.

mother nature doesn't come cheap. This wind farm cost investors,

including Centrica, �1 billion. No wonder this industry is subsidised.

But apart from electricity, what is the taxpayer getting for its money?

Well not the lion's share of the jobs. The turbines were built in

Denmark. That is hardly surprising, there are no turbine manufacturers

in the UK. Centrica says it is investing in the local work force.

We have employed 100 individuals, predominantly locally there in

highly-skilled jobs, engineering, technicians, vessel-type jobs. We

are having a very positive impact in the local area. But you are

still having to rely on the Germans and Danes when it comes to

installation? To a certain extent we have to, to be honest. The

technology is currently being constructed in Denmark and we have

to bring that expertise in. That expertise is being flown in every

day. Humberside Airport's only year-round international connection

is from Amsterdam. The three daily KLM flights bring in Scandinavian

off-shore workers. Such is the demand that soon there will be a

daily flight from Copenhagen. Is it a good job? Yeah.Well paid?

Of course. How long do you think you will be here for? For us it is

only four weeks. Do you know which wind farm you will be working on?

No. We don't know that yet. It is the first trip here so ...You

from Sweden? Yeah. Legend has it that it was a Danish

fisherman called Grim, who founded Grimsby in the 19th sent treatment

by the mid-20th century it claimed to be the world's biggest fishing

port. In this decaying factory they once manufactured ice to keep the

catch fresh. The hope is that the docks can once again attract a

large work force, this time in the offshore wind industry. For that to

happen this renewable energy consultant says more must be done

to recruit local people into the offshore jobs. Here on the Humber

we have a long tradition, our economy is largely built around the

marine industry, we have a wealth of experience and expertise in the

oil and gas sector. It needs a firm commitment from the Government to

the industry so employers can put their hand in the pocket and take

the risk of spending tens of thousands of pounds to train

somebody up to get them out there. Right now it is such an uncertain

market it is dominated by contractors, people you can bring

in and out when you need to. this industry certainty is all

about knowing how much the Government will pay for electricity

and how much electricity they actually want. After a long wait,

long-term subsidy rates were recently' nounsed. But how much

wind power the Government -- recently announced. How much wind

power the Government wants is unclear. Today they generate 3.3

gigawatts, the target for 2020 is 16 gigawatts, or 10% of the

Government's generation capacity. Beyond that the industry says

Government projections are uncertain. There is nothing

abstract about the figures. They will help determine how many UK

jobs are created. For example, at this dockyard in Hull it could be

the site of Britain's first-ever turbine factory. Seem mens have

been eying it up for the last -- sem mens have been eying it up for

the last five years. But the Government wants more clarity from

Government. At a community centre close to the site, this group are

learning what it feels like to operate a digger using a simulator.

They hope that one day they can help build the factory. Have you

heard about this promise of green jobs in the area? Yeah, I read

about it a few times in the paper. About like the wind turbine farms

and how much job opportunities it will create. But it was like a big

hype about a year ago and then it has just gone totally quiet, we

haven't heard anything else since then. When we first heard about it

I finished my apprenticeship in Brick Lane, and then I thought,

great, there will be jobs for building the factory and stuff like

that. What does all this talk of renewable mean, how important is it

to the region? This region could survive because of it. Really we

are not doing very well for ourselves. We could do a lot better.

With this it would change everything. It is not just Hull

that's hoping the factory comes, Tata Steel in Scunthorpe produces

the steel plates that end up in the turbine, they are shipped overseas

where manufacturers mould them into turbine towers. There is no

guarantee that Seimens would buy their steel from here. Tata wants

the Government to make local firms buy the supply chains. It needs to

make clear to inward investors that they have a responsibility to the

communities they are investing in. And secondly, the measures around

local content and the wider economic benefit that they bring to

the community need to be really well-defined, transparent and be

able to be reported. Newsnight understands that tomorrow's

strategy will propose that developers of large wind farms be

required to provide the Government with a detailed supply plan. In

other words, ministers are trying to link tax-payers' subsidies and

UK jobs. Some though want the Government to go further and follow

Europe's lead. Their ministers get practically involved in deals, they

actually go out there and look out for local companies, we have just

simply not had that to date from this Government. The links turbines

are getting their final check -- the links turbines are getting

their final checks by Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, who will

officially open the farm, today he spoke of an Industrial Revolution

led by the wind industry. The challenge now is to make that

revolution British. The Energy Minister, Michael Fallon,

is here. First of all you know this, you saw the flights coming in,

bringing in Danes and Swedes and Germans and so on. Why not more

British jobs for British workers? They were first into the wind farm,

all this should have started years ago, they started meeting their

renewables targets much earlier than we did. Catching up, there are

4,000 jobs already in Britain, the foundations are made in Billing ham,

and the steel work in Great Yarmouth. The strategy we are

publishing tomorrow will require new developers putting up new

turbines to have a supply chain plan that makes sure more of the

work is done in Britain. We are publishing tomorrow more incentives

for the foreign manufacturers, like Seimens to do their manufacturing,

their fabrication, their assembly, the installation work in Britain.

Do you think that would happen, the Seimens deal would be very big,

will that happen? We have worked hard to get Siemens into the Humber,

we want more assembly work done by them. It creates more jobs for the

small businesses and the rest of the supply chain. There are 4,000

at the moment. We hope to get that up to 30,000. This is the beginning

of the North Sea oil in the 1970s. Why an F-grade, confusion, lack of

leadership? We published the prices now, we brought that forward. The

industry knows the support price that will be available if they want

to invest. We have the legislation going through parliament at the

moment. I know it has been frustrating, everybody wants

clarity. We have published the prices right through to 2020, so

the industry knows the background in which it can invest, there is

more clarity and certainty now for people who want to take these

decisions. Is part of this, implicit in the film of the bar

again, we as tax-payers will pay for this, it will be clean energy,

more expensive, but that will create a lot of employment. Have

you had a figure of how many jobs? We think we can have jobs right

across the east coast of Scotland and England and all the way down,

30,000 jobs. Developments also in the Irish Sea and Scotland as well.

Around 30,000 jobs in total. There is no form of cheap, free energy.

If you want people to invest in wind turbines, like nuclear, that

has to be paid for and you have to give them some certainty they will

get their money back years ahead. The other energy question, which

has been raised, yet again today, by Lord Howell, was this question

of tracking. He said it would be appropriate in the north-east

because it is desolate there. He has apologised and said he meant

the North West. He right about the prospects for fracking and the fact

we should get on with it? We should certainly get on with it. We know

already there is probably twice as much shale gas in the north as we

originally thought. We are having another study doing done on the

second-largest basin in the south, Dorset, Sussex and Kent, we will

publish an investment in the spring. It looks like there is more shale

gas here than anybody realises. It looks like it is thicker than the

shale in the United States where there have been dramatic reductions

in people's gas bills and cost of energy for business. We don't know

if we can get it out as efficient low as cheaply as they have been

able to get it out in the United States. That is the purpose of the

explorations. You used the word "frustration" about some of the

things we have seen in Lincolnshire. There will be frustration from

those in the industry. We will get on to the environmental concerns,

but you are not getting on with the fracking quickly enough? We have

put the tax ray genome in, the planning system is simplified, we

make sure they know the permits from the Environment Agency. There

are 170 licenses out there, there is nothing stopping developers

going and exploring now, digging the exploratory we wills and asking

permission to -- well -- exploratory wells and asking

permission to do that. There is the issue of Lord Howell? He has

apologised. Shale is in the north and south, some in Scotland, some

of it all over the country. One- nation fracking we shall have?

Indeed, we are sitting on the shale, we do owe it to the next generation

to go down there and find out whether we can extract it and

whether this is a new large source of cheap energy. One final point,

while you are here. David Cameron's been asked to apologise for Peter

Cruddas, I wondered what your thoughts on that, whether he should

or not? Peter Cruddas has won his action against the Sunday Times, it

is the Sunday Times who should have been apologising, they have

libelled him badly. They should apologise. He has been dropped like

a hot potato by Mr Cameron? resigned precisely to establish

that there was no link between donations to the Conservative Party

and any influence over policy. judgment was quick by the Prime

Minister? The judgment was pretty clear that he was libelled by the

Sunday Times, it is the Sunday Times that owes him the biggest

apology of all. Thank you very much.

There have been further developments in the row about rape

threats against women on Twitter, Paul Mason has been on the case.

Let's start with the police developments first of all? The man

from South Shields, the 25-year-old arrested yesterday, after

Newsnight's investigation, identified the source, the apparent

source of one of the Twitter rape threat accounts has been released

on bail. He was arrested on suspicion of harassment. That's the

first thing. There have been more threats today? There have been more

threat. There have been more rape threats against the usual women,

there have been worryingly death threats, a specific death threat

issued against five people. Caroline Criado-Perez, the

campaigner, Stella Cerasy MP, and three other women in public life

got this today. This is car bomb outside your house, don't call the

police we will blow you up, around about now. So distressing as this

is, and ludicrous at one level, it is a crime. The police are having

to investigate these crimes. I have talked to the Metropolitan Police

today, they have spade the problem, they are certainly taking that

seriously. The problem is they are even now, only at the stage of

"scoping" the investigation into the original flurry of on-line rape

threats over the weekend. That means they don't even know how many

perpetrators there are. There is no, for example, "operation this or

that". There is no name for the operation. That is how much work

lies ahead of them. We got into last night this whole question of

how can you technically block some of the stuff, or stop it, there is

evidence yet again of how tricky this is going to be? I'm hoping

there is not a lot of our viewers who have no idea what we are

talking about. But people who can use Twitter can block people

individually. The idea is if it completes itself the best way would

be -- if it can police itself, the best way is to get together

collectively and let's make a list and throw them off, or keep them to

one side, blocked. We looked at one technology that does that last

tight night. It has been interesting -- night. It works on

levels, violent rape threats, abusers and those who are just

annoying. I have been contacted today by numerous people, internet

Twitter people who say they have been put on the annoying list, and

been through many of the serious ones but the people on the annoying

list see that as a form of harassment, because they have been

named in the same ball park as serious stuff. So it is a said/she

said situation. Why does it matter and to people watching, because the

police are asking Twitter and its users to police themselves. But it

just gets you into all kinds of confusion that I have been spending

all day today trying to get through, it is almost impossible. Last

night's Newsnight caused a bit of a stir on Twitter? It did, in the

studio there was this debate between Stella Cerasy and Toby

Young the journalist, during that debate, somebody in the Scottish

police force used the Scottish police official account to tweet

this, Stella Cerasy had called him into account about his tweet over a

female MP's breasts, I think we will let our viewers read for

themselves what the police official account said about Toby Young.

There will be somebody helping the Scottish police with their

inquiries over that. It has been withdrawn. The problem is, for all

of that, watch what you tweet. Tweet safely? But there is some

serious stuff out there. Thank you very much.

A cartoon in today's Times newspaper gives a flavour of how

Zimbabwe's election today is seen in many parts of the world, the

cartoon President Robert Mugabe says he would like to thank the

people of Zimbabwe for his election victory tomorrow. At 89 years old

he's Africa's longest-serving leader and reports that eight

million ballot papers have been printed for an license rate of just

over six million. Suggest -- a population of just over six million.

He talks about the ballot box. Robert Mugabe do swear that I will

be faithful...To Some Mugabe is the ultimate cartoon villain, a

ruthless leader who has used violence and electoral fraud to

cling to power for 33 years in Zimbabwe. He was lauded by royalty

when sworn in as the new country's leader. The former liberation

fighter like Nelson Mandela initially brought hopes of

reconciliation between black Zimbabwean and white. Within a few

years he put down a small rebellion by former guerrillas with such

violence thousands of civilians were killed. Then came the land

reclaimation programme, which saw thousands of white farmers evicted.

Their land handed to Mugabe cronies. Western sanctions followed, that

plus mismanagement brought about economic collapse. Hyperinflation

and a basket base currency. By the end of the last decade millions had

fled the country and 40% of those remaining were reliant on food aid.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai stepped forward to take on the

increasing tyrannical regime. But after an organised campaign of

violence in which hundreds of his supporters were killed, injured or

jailed, he pulled out of the rigged 2008 elections. Mugabe eventually

agreed to share power, and the two men have led an uneasy coalition

since 2009. These days things appear brighter in Zimbabwe, where

the economy has stablised and today's election has been conducted

without the violence of the past. At 89 Robert Mugabe promised voting

would be free and fair he will step down if defeated. Years ago he

promised to turn the grand Government house into an orphanage,

the first of many promises he would break. Observers in Zimbabwe

reported a large turnout, with elections passing peacefully.

Morgan Tsvangirai appeared confident as he cast his vote

earlier, his party has expressed concern over alleged irregularities

on the voters' role. Counting was due to begin tonight, it is thought

the results could be close with the candidates facing the prospect of a

run-off election. I'm joined by my guests in the studio.

If Tsvangirai win, will Mugabe leave power? Tsvangirai is not

going to win the election, because there is no evidence that suggests

that he will. You need to turn the argument in slightly different ways.

Presumably you believe the people have a chance to vote. There must

be a chance for Tsvangirai to win? There isn't a chance, because the

evidence tells us something else. What does it tell you? If we look

at the pattern of the prime rows across all political parties, the

participation of members of the public at all rallies, the evidence

provided by independent pollsters not ones associated with any

political institutions, over the last year or so, they all indicate

ZANU-PF victory. That is my starting point. So the Times

cartoon is right, thank you for the victory tomorrow? The odds are

stacked against Morgan Tsvangirai, there is ballot rigging and a

campaign to manipulate the ballot with millions of extra voters,

keeping out the young voters and inflating the numbers of elderly

and rural voters more likely to support Mugabe. In 23

constituencies there is more people on the register that live there.

There is 109,000 people over 100, there is 129% of votes than should

be there. Dead people can vote? Just a month ago there is a

referendum where they went around campaigning for the yes vote. They

used the same voters' role. In the coalition Government the MDC that

knew the election would take place this month, this year, July, did

nothing to contest those figures, to contest the ballot papers. If I

could just finish. Every time the MDC makes these allegations, when

you ask them to produce the evidence that cor relates the

evidence to the claim of ballot rig, -- co-relates the evidence of the

claim of ballot rigging. It is possible the MDC will lose? If it

was a free election. It is more likely the MDC will win

convincingly. The truth is it is not just the MDC saying this, it is

independent auditors who have been through it and come up with the

same thing. Indeed when I was there, I was given internal papers

belonging to the highest levels of security explaining precisely how

they were going to rig the election, who was funding it and the

mechanisms they were using to do it. It is a total manipulation of the

register, it has gown on before? Just a minute, let me look at this,

the Catholic justice committee, not a firm friend of ZANU-PF today has

issued a statement that the election is free and fair. Others

say the same, the Chinese have said the same, the AU is saying the same.

I want to see the evidence that backs up the allegations and claims

that he this make. I haven't seen it. I printed it for you, it shows

the Chinese are helping ZANU-PF steal the election. The Chinese are

there. It is telling of the election observers allowed into the

country the UN was not allowed in the EU of not allowed in, the Jimmy

Carter Centre was not allowed in, who was allowed in? Belarus, Iran,

China, Venezuela, they are not bastions of democracy. They are the

sort of countries allowed in? need to distinguish between the

hate campaign. It is not a hate campaign, it is support for

democracy. The hate campaign against, the kind of demonisation

of the institution, that is the favourite hobby horse of western

institutions. There are 600 observer people within Zimbabwe,

they know Zimbabwe. Western diplomats are in Zimbabwe, they

know it. What is it that the west sees that the rest of Africa

doesn't see what is this claim, what is this claim? The answer is

easy to that, in 2002 you wrote that Robert Mugabe was a person

best placed to improve public services there, and to prevent HIV

AIDS from ripping through the country, five years later after the

man you supported had been in Government it had the second worst

hyper-inflation in history, it had no food in the shops, hospitals

with doors looked and the life expectancy had halved. It is not us

who are demonising Robert Mugabe, it is the people there suffering

very, very badly, and have suffered underneath him, they are the people

who are angry. In 2008, let's not forget, it was Robert Mugabe's

forces and the generals really running the country behind him who

unleashed the most hidious violence against ordinary supporters of the

MDC. You can play the argument that you have run over the last 15 years

add naus yum, in news speak we all austerity measure, they were

imposed upon Zimbabwe, in the years loading up to 20008, and they

created conditions in which the largest exit of public sector

workers left Zimbabwe. We are running out of time. It is all the

outsiders' fault? No, the reasons caused for the crisis are not by

Robert Mugabe alone. We have to ask who made the Zimbabwe economy

scream. Robert Mugabe.No the EU directors were set up to do exactly

that. You have both been very clear thank you very much. What's going

on and going wrong in Hollywood, some of the summer block busters,

Pacific Rim, Lone Ranger and After Earth, just aren't bringing the

punters to the cinema. One of America's great directors, Steven

Soderbergh, chose to make his critically acclaimed movie about

Liberace, Behind The Candelabra for American TV. Now Spike Leely is

asking his fans to fund his next -- Spike Lee is asking his fans to

fund his next movie. First a low- budget B movie from Stephen Smith.

Look at her? She's gone Hollywood. He's the same. Meet the backers of

Spike Le, he's new film, anybody, it could be you or me. Maybe not

you. The Oscar-nominated Lee is crowd-funding his new movie, some

say Joint, said to be a vampire picture. He has turned his back on

the big studio, or is it the other way round? While you weigh up

whether you fancy investing or not, here is a reminder of Lee's work.

From his debut picture, She's Gotta Have It. Are you following me.

were following me. Oh. I was. But I was minding my own business waiting

for the 41 bus when you walked by. I know it sounds corny but if I

didn't follow I might not ever see you again. Jo you are right, that

does sound corny. The lower budget film which is

swimming in and tends to get squeezed. The sorts of films we

like to make and that Spike likes to make may be more dramatic, less

obvious, if you like, in a quick sell. Almost definitely have no

sequel potential. And also are probably what we call quite a small

bullseye, you have to make a good movie to make an audience go out

and see it. Is it a coincidence that Spike Leely's passing the hat

around after a number of Hollywood big ticket summer releases

underperformed. Take Johnny Depp in the Lone Ranger, which reportedly

cost $250 million. It is not out here yet, but in the states the

Lone Ranger turned out to be all "high ho" and no silver. Taking $85

million. Never mind, let's put some actors in robot suits and have them

fight monsters and blow getting on for $200 million. What's not to

like, the takings, that is what. Pacific Rim has earned less than

half its cost, $84 million. All of Hollywood's prejudices have been

confirmed this summer. They believe very strongly in tranchiess,

sequels to existing properties, and also to films based on what they

lovingly called established properties, existing characters and

so those films, whether based on a famous character like Superman, or

a sequel, like Iron Man, Star Trek, Fast & Furious 6, Dispeckable Me,

they have done all done very well. So much so the movies are planning

aure with Superman and Batman, they announced this at a comic beacon

veings, to a thrilled audience of men with no dependants. To get a

win in Hollywood you need a man who can fly, they have two, that puts

them ahead of anybody else. Let's talk about us, if we back Spike

Leely's film, we will have our names in lights. Won't we?

investors don't get an awful lot from that. They will get

potentially, depending on the level of Government, maybe a signed DVD

or invited to the premier, or a non--speaking role. But the model

is not that they will -- non- speaking role. The model is not

that they will recoup their investment. All right Spike I'm in.

I spoke to the director Spike Lee a moment ago and asked why studios

are not putting money into Spike Lee? This particular film is not a

film they think that they can make a trillion dollars on. This is a

small, personal film, so I'm not, I want you to understand clearly I'm

not condemning Hollywood. I'm not saying I won't work with Hollywood,

the film that is coming outd in the fall Oh Boy is a studio film. Some

films they will do with me, and my more personal films they are not

going to do, he's fine, that is why I'm appealing directly to my fans,

especially the ones in the UK who have may have loved my films since

going back to 1986 with She's Gotta Have It. I have a lot of fans in

the UK. You do. But you have got to tell the fans what the film is

about? Otherwise what are they backing? This is a film about human

beings who are addicted to blood. They are not vampires, we're not

doing a black Twilight, we are not remaking the blackexploitation film,

Blacula. We can have many addictions, sex, drugs, alcohol,

power, money, this is a film, my vision about people who are

addicted to blood. And what they will do to keep living. I tell

people when they ask the question, just like you asked, I would say it

is a psychological bloody thriller, a sexy psychological bloody

thriller. How much of a risk is it to do this on Kickstarter, you have

until the end of August to race $1.25 million? We have 21 more days,

sir and my whole career has been about risk. When I was in film

school, when I was back in film school from 1979-1982, NYU graduate

film school, where Ang Lee was my classmate, there was only one

African-American working in Hollywood. Only one. So from the

very beginning I have not let risk stop me from doing what I feel I

need to do. Will you get the money? No, I'm just saying overall, in my

film career I have not let risk stop me from achieving my vision,

my goal. Do you think a young Spike Lee would make it in Hollywood

today? Even Spielberg and Lucas have said it, the industry has

changed. The world of film in 1986 where I made my first film, She's

Gotta Have It, which I raised the money myself. $175,000, it went on

to make so much at the box-office, that world has gone. I have been

doing Kickstarter before there was Kickstarter. I was writing letters,

writing postcards, making phone calls, but now there is more

technology. There is technology now, social media, so I'm using the new

tools but I was doing this way back in 1986. I self-financed my last

film, Red Hook Summer, hi to use a Kickstarter method -- I had to use

a Kickstarter method before there was Kickstarter to finish Malcolm X.

The only reason it got finished is because I had to call up personally

Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, Prince, Janet

Jackson, and others who gave me the money to finish the film. Just a

final thought, in ten years time will you be making films this way?

Asking your fans do you think this is the future? I think this is

something you only do once. So I hope that with me being a success

this is a perfect example for young film makers that it can be done. It

was done before Veronica Mar s which was a cancelled TV show, they

mazeed $5.5 million, and the actor ZacBraff raised $3.5 million. They

were successes before we are doing it now. Thank you very much?Thank

you for letting me speak to the people of the UK, go Arsenal.

Thanks to Mrs Tiggy Wrinkle, the hedgehog has had a special place in

Britain, the position is now cemented, it won a national

popularity poll by BBC Wildlife, by a healthy 42%. We like hedgehogs as