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Film in the News
Compiled from News Reports Around the World

Royal Film
Westminster, London, England—The Royal Albert Hall was opened by Queen Victoria in 1871 and remains one of the United Kingdom’s most treasured venues. Each year it hosts more than 350 performances. It also hosts safety and security film.

The fame associated with being an iconic concert venue makes the hall a potential target for terrorism. For this reason, 12 years ago management had impact-resistant film installed on the buildings 188 windows. Recently management decided it was time for an upgrade and had Armorcoat, a safety and security film produced by Bekaert Specialty Films, installed.

The Sound of Tinted Windows
A Venue Near You, Worldwide—We know what tinted windows look like, but how do they sound? Well, you’ll have to check your local concert listings to see if you might have the chance to find out. That’s right—the window film industry finally has a professional rock band named for it. The group, called Tinted Windows, is comprised of Taylor Hanson, formerly of the group Hanson, Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger, former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha and Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos.

After releasing its debut album April 21, the group hit the road, but discovered the difficulty of filling an entire set list when your list of originals is limited. “From the point of view of doing a bunch of touring, we don’t have a huge list of extra songs,” frontman Taylor Hanson told Billboard.com. Hanson says Tinted Windows has “two and a half” original songs beyond the eleven featured on its album.

No Place for Gangsters
Quebec, Canada—It’s not uncommon to hear of various criminals choosing illegal tint. But recently it was a criminal who chose tint as his business venue, then allegedly used criminal acts to increase market share. Gangster-like tactics didn’t mix well with the business proposition, and the venture ended when as many as 150 police officers invaded a chain of Quebec-based dealerships, according to CTV News, a Montreal-based CTVGlobeMedia Inc. station.

The Surete du Quebec, Quebec’s provincial police force, and local police raided tint shops in several areas including Montreal, Repentigny, Mascouche and Trois-Rivieres, arresting 27 people in conjunction with Operation Dictature (Dictatorship). The operation targeted X-Vitre Tinte, a local window film business, for allegedly trying to take over rival suppliers through threats and extortion, the station reports. Suspects face 140 charges including extortion, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and gangsterism, but as of press time the alleged ringleader, Yannick Larose, was still being sought and believed to have fled to Mexico. 

WINDOW FILM
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