World Screen November 2009

THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA • NOVEMBER 2009

www.worldscreen.com

AFM Edition

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ZEROPOINT

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF

AMERICAN HISTORY X

A TONY KAYE TALKIE A NEW FILMS INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION 2O1O

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contents

NOVEMBER 2009/AFM EDITION

Publisher Ricardo Seguin Guise

departments WORLD VIEW

A note from the editor.

UPFRONT

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New content on the market.

WORLD’S END

In the stars.

Editor Anna Carugati

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12 18

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Executive Editor Mansha Daswani

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Managing Editor Kristin Brzoznowski

in the news

Production and Design Director Lauren M. Uda

CONSISTENT QUALITY

Fernando Szew, the CEO of MarVista Entertainment, talks about the appeal of the

Online Director Simon Weaver

company’s broad programming slate.

—Anna Carugati

spotlight

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together various cultures through movies.

—Kristin Brzoznowski

special report

Sales and Marketing Director Tatiana Rozza Sales and Marketing Manager Kelly Quiroz Business Affairs Manager Rae Matthew Sales and Marketing Assistant Cesar Suero

A NEW DAWN FOR INDIES

Independent producers and distributors are adapting to the new realities of the cashstrapped market.

—Anna Carugati

one-on-one

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Executive Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Rafael Blanco Art Director Phyllis Q. Busell

BUILDING A CULTURAL BRIDGE

New Films International’s president and founder, Nesim Hason, is focused on bringing

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Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari

STARZ ENTERTAINMENT’S BILL MYERS

As president and COO, Myers is leading a company that offers more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay- TV channels, as well as a host of advanced services.

—Anna Carugati

Senior Editors Bill Dunlap Kate Norris Jay Stuart George Winslow Contributing Editors Grace Hernandez Bin Liu José Miguel López Daniel McCourt Gerry Regan Contributing Writers Dieter Brockmeyer Chris Forrester Elena Mora David del Valle David Wood

Ricardo Seguin Guise, President Anna Carugati, Executive VP and Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani,VP of Content Strategy WORLD SCREEN is a registered trademark of WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, Suite 1207 New York, NY 10010, U.S.A. Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.worldscreen.com

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world view

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR ANNA CARUGATI

Back to Basics You have got to be kidding—big banks are about to give out record bonuses?

Yup, they are. Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Citicorp and Bank of America all received billions in federal aid during the bailout bonanza last year. Now all of them are awarding bonuses to their employees of up to tens of millions of dollars, and a lot of that is taxpayers’ money.

Isn’t something wrong with this picture? I’m no financial expert, far from it, but does this seem bizarre— morally questionable, actually—to anyone besides me?

Maybe, instead of handing out compensation packages that have effectively been given to reward risk, these banks could increase lending to businesses that really need it. Is there collective amnesia out there? Have we forgotten that “rewarding risk” was a main factor in driving the proliferation of questionable loans and nifty financial tools like derivatives that actually helped trigger the financial crisis in the first place?

And let’s look at the concept of risk in business for a moment. A calculated risk can rightDURING THIS fully reap rewards, but if you risk too much you fail and fold. But with the banks, where is the risk? The government bailed them out even DARK, SCARY though they had risked and screwed up. Risk used to imply adverse consequences. Now, the adverse consequences only happen to JOURNEY THROUGH possible the rest of us, including many who lost jobs or homes. The banks got rewarded for failing— THE TUNNEL OF with our money—and their employees now get bonuses! While in our business, many people lost jobs, many media companies were forced to RECESSION, WE close shop, but no one bailed them out.

It’s still really tough out there. In the food chain of HAVE LEARNED TO DO the media business there will be no significant improvement until advertising starts to pick up.

When it does, broadcasters will see their revenues MORE WITH LESS... increase and consequently have more money to spend on programming, which in turn will benefit distributors and producers and boost their businesses. I heard this over and over from media executives at MIPCOM, who told me that they were seeing improvement on the horizon.

And in fact, there is. Look at the latest data from ZenithOptimedia: while it has downgraded its global advertising forecast to a -9.9 percent for 2009, it has announced that in the second half of 2009, the advertising decline has been slowing. And looking ahead, developing markets are expected to grow by a healthy 7.8 percent in 2010 and by 9.8 percent in 2011. Developed markets 10

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(North America,Western Europe and Japan), on the other hand, are still bogged down by structural economic problems and will continue to show a decline in advertising of 2.9 percent in 2010, before seeing a modest recovery of 1.5 percent in 2011.

“Looking to the longer term, we predict 4.3-percent growth in global ad expenditure in 2011, with all regions experiencing at least some expansion,” says ZenithOptimedia in its press release. “This number…is somewhat below the 5 percent to 6 percent average growth rate for the global ad market, but would represent a welcome step towards normality.”

Back to normal—good words to hear. And while the natural reaction is to draw a collective sigh of relief and put all the bad news behind us, that is precisely what we should not do. During this dark, scary journey through the tunnel of recession, we have learned to do more with less—less money as we have cut costs—and in many cases less has also meant fewer people. Being “cost conscious” and “doing without” have become reflex actions.

And there is a lot of good in this new “less is more” attitude.This belief was expressed to me by several independent film producers and distributors I interviewed while preparing our feature on this year’s American Film Market. Prior to the financial crisis, there was way too much money available, due in part to a number of hedge-fund fat cats who wanted to get a new cool image by associating themselves with Hollywood glamour. As one distributor told me, “There is a fool born every minute.” There were also far too many kids with cameras out there thinking they were the next Fellini, convinced they could not only direct an art-film masterpiece but also secure financing and distribution.Well, many of them did—secure the financing and distribution, that is.The result was a glut of mediocre product.

Now, thanks to “less is more,” there is less product but hopefully of higher quality—the kind viewers will want to pay for and see.

The media industry is getting back to basics and showing a lot more responsibility than the Wall Street bankers.

So here’s a toast to “less is more;” now let’s just try to forget about those bonuses.

D3 Telefilm www.D3telefilm.com

Highlights • Nightfall • Silent Venom • From Mexico with Love • The Cage • Tales of an Ancient Empire

The AFM will be the first film market for D3 Telefilm, which is bringing titles such as Nightfall, which blends elements of Twilight and Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Silent Venom, a suspense thriller; and From Mexico with Love, a Latin boxing drama. The Cage is an action movie set in the world of mixed martial arts.

There’s also Tales of an Ancient Empire.“Demand has been very high for this title, as buyers have been looking forward to the new cut of the film that will be ready in time for AFM,” says Cord Douglas, the president of D3. Douglas also has some specific goals outlined for the market. “After a successful MIPCOM convention with many sales to TV buyers, we’re looking to make deals with all-rights buyers for key territories.With titles like From Mexico with Love that require theatrical buyers and [like] The Cage, that appeals to action-film buyers, we’ve got strong product available for the AFM.”

Silent Venom

“We are the only start-up company in the marketplace featuring a film slate of this quality.

”

—Cord Douglas

Nightfall

E1 Entertainment www.e1entertainment.com

Highlights • Would Be Kings • Keep Your Head Up Kid:The Don Cherry Story • The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler • Deadliest Sea • Absolution

Drama has a strong presence in E1 Entertainment’s catalogue for AFM. Titles include the 90-minute Would Be Kings, the mini-series Keep Your Head Up Kid:The Don Cherry Story and The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, based on a true story from WWII. Further drama titles include Absolution and Cradle of Lies. In the way of action-disaster offerings there is Deadliest Sea.The slate is also peppered with a mix of romantic comedies, family comedies and thrillers. E1 hopes that its wide variety of genres will bring in strong sales.

“There still definitely is a demand for TV movies,”says Prentiss Fraser, the VP and head of sales at E1.“People are getting a lot more specific about the genres that are working for them.That’s not big news to anybody, but with the competitive environment we have right now, they are really honing in on what their audience is looking for. But there is definitely an appetite.”

“AFM is going to be different for us because it will be the first time that E1 will be present as both television and theatrical together.”

—Prentiss Fraser

Would Be Kings

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The Fremantle Corporation www.fremantlecorp.com

Highlights • The Last Flight of the Champion • Nevermore • The Adventures of Black Beauty • Fang Force • Fantastic Tales

“ We are looking forward to introducing our co-production projects that we’ve been working on to our global partners.”

— Irv Holender

Showcasing its classic catalogue is what The Fremantle Corporation is most keen on for the AFM, says Irv Holender, the company’s principal director. As a further highlight, he notes, “We are looking forward to introducing our coproduction projects that we’ve been working on to our global partners.” Titles on offer include The Last Flight of the Champion, a tale of a peaceful galaxy protected by a fleet of powerful space ships. Nevermore is a highlight from the thriller genre.The Adventures of Black Beauty and The Further Adventures of Black Beauty are family-entertainment offerings based on Anna Sewell’s classic novel. Fang Force is an animated series.

Fantastic Tales is a franchise collection of 2-D and 3-D animated features.The movies feature the writing of H. G.Wells, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle and others, as classic characters such as Merlin, Jekyll and Hyde, Peter Pan, Moby Dick and Don Quixote are reintroduced in new stories.

Fang Force

The Last Flight of the Champion

RHI Entertainment www.rhientertainment.com Everything She Ever Wanted

Highlights • Alice • The Phantom • Everything She Ever Wanted • Too Late to Say Goodbye

Alice, a reimagining of the classic Lewis Carroll stories Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, is a lead title for RHI Entertainment in heading to the AFM. The female-skewing Lifetime mini-series Everything She Ever Wanted, featuring Gina Gershon, and the two-hour movie Too Late to Say Goodbye, starring Rob Lowe, are also top of the roster. Both are based on Ann Rule novels. Rounding out the slate is The Phantom, based on the legendary comic-book superhero. Robert Halmi, Jr., the president and CEO of RHI Entertainment, is optimistic about shoring up new sales for these titles, given the increased demand he’s seeing from the international marketplace. “Demand is picking up,” he says, “especially in Spain, the U.K., Italy and France.”As for entering new territories, Halmi, Jr., points out that the company is quite well established around the globe.“We already deal with everyone and we have good relationships with markets in all corners of the world. Most territories are well covered.”

“ RHI is expanding into the series business and we are actively developing new original series.

”

—Robert Halmi, Jr.

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SevenOne International www.sevenoneinternational.com

Highlights • • • • •

Crash Point: Berlin Factor 8 Sea of Death Cloud Chasers Gonger I & II

The catastrophe genre has been strong for SevenOne International, which heads to the AFM with such titles as Crash Point: Berlin, Factor 8 and Sea of Death. In Crash Point: Berlin, a passenger plane is hurtling through the skies toward the center of Berlin. Factor 8 follows what happens as passengers on a plane develop serious flu symptoms and internal bleeding. A host of tourists come down with mysterious maladies after an accident occurs on an oil platform in Sea of Death. Cloud Chasers centers on a dangerous weather phenomenon. It’s not all about catastrophe films for SevenOne, though, says managing director Jens Richter. “On the TV-movie side, there is something very interesting; we developed a new genre for us, mystery.” He explains, “ProSieben thought, OK, we do all these TV movies, and why don’t we try a mystery TV movie, and the first one we brought out last MIPCOM was Gonger.”

SevenOne is now offering two installments of Gonger.

Sea of Death

“On the TV-movie side, there is something very interesting; we developed a new genre for us, mystery.

”

—Jens Richter

Telepool www.telepool.de

Highlights

“ From thriller, drama, action and family

• The Door • Within the Whirlwind • Volcano • Cargo • Gravity

entertainment to science-fiction, Cinepool offers the best of German and selected European films for every taste.

”

—Irina Ignatiew Cinepool, the theatrical-sales division of Telepool, will present brand-new films at AFM, including eight market premieres and 14 screenings. “We have a large variety of different genres on offer,” says Irina Ignatiew, the executive VP of international at Telepool. “From thriller, drama, action and family entertainment to science-fiction, Cinepool offers the best of German and selected European films for every taste.” In the drama genre is Within the Whirlwind, while Cargo is a sci-fi adventure film. In the way of thrillers, The Door and Gravity lead the slate.

There are also event mini-series, including Volcano.

Ignatiew is optimistic about sales at the market. She notes, “AFM is more genre driven than any other larger international feature-film market. Besides our key European markets, we also find it easier to target the Latin American and Asian buyers.”

The Door

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in the news

MAKING HEADLINES IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY

BY ANNA CARUGATI

Consistent Quality

MarVista’s Fernando Szew Founded in 2003, MarVista Entertainment has focused on quality family and children’s programming as well as made-for-television movies that have satisfied the needs of broadcasters around the world. At MIPCOM, in fact, MarVista sold several packages of movies to Brazil, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Israel. The company has also successfully introduced to the market live-action formats aimed at tweens. CEO Fernando Szew talks about the appeal of MarVista’s diverse programming slate.

WS: And your size allows you to be flexible, right?

SZEW:Yes,our size astounds me to this day with all the things

we have done! We totally retain that flexibility and we’re decision-makers still going out and feeling the marketplace, we’re not just behind our desks.That’s important that we are thinking both at a macro level and at the same time retaining a sense of the day-to-day concerns of our customers.

WS: Beyond TV movies, you’ve been doing quite well in the

children-and-family programming business.

SZEW: We have carved out a bit of a niche in kids’ reality

WS: Has the demand for TV movies among inter-

national broadcasters been fairly consistent, and has your financing formula remained the same, or have you had to rethink it?

SZEW: The formula has not changed. It’s still the same. As an independent in a tight-margin business like the TV-movie space, it remains about pulling together the financing through presales and soft dollars available.

The environment for tax incentives continues to shift on a yearly basis, influenced by the peaks and valleys of the macroeconomic conditions, but it hasn’t changed.

We are actually in a much better position than we’ve been.

The demand for TV movies has remained constant in general terms and in particular for MarVista the demand has increased. One, because our positioning continues to get stronger and stronger as a company that has consistently delivered quality programming. Number two, unfortunately for some, a number of our competitors have not been able to provide that same level of consistency, and the way they financed their movies was more sensitive to potential shifts in the market, as what occurred a year ago in September when Wall Street crashed. So because of those factors we have seen an increase in demand and we are taking advantage of it.

WS: Jonathan Wolf, the managing director of the American

Film Market, expects that there will be a 20-percent decrease in the number of movies screened this year, not so much because of the credit crunch but because of consolidation in the film business.

SZEW: There is consolidation in the marketplace. That continues to be a trend in the broadcast area as well—the companies we are selling to are also consolidating. It is happening in markets like Eastern Europe. It’s just another variable to contend with.At times now, because of consolidation, buyers have the power to make deals across multiple territories, so it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does stifle competition. But we navigate the market with the cards we’ve been dealt.That’s the power of being an entrepreneurial company with the ability to be quick in our decision-making process.

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programming. We have been successful with a number of formats, and that is an area where we are seeing growth as well, especially in the tween and youth marketplace, where live-action kids’ reality can work across multiple territories if we format it in an appealing way. Kids’ broadcasters, like all broadcasters, want to exploit local talent the audience can see and enjoy in their local magazines. It just makes the show more promotable and something closer to home.

We are seeing growth in that area. By way of example, Prank Patrol, which is the format out of Canada with four seasons on YTV, has now been locally produced in the U.K. and aired on the BBC, and we are working on another local version of it.That is another area of interest for us and I think it’s interesting for the marketplace because it’s innovative, something new.

WS: After the success of Beyond the Break do you still have plans to develop and produce series?

SZEW: It’s absolutely still on the table.We do have two projects very actively in development with U.S. cable networks and we have also made some personnel changes that better position us to bring top-notch talent and ideas to our broadcast partners to complement our financial and production strength and thus give us the ability to further our inroads in the series space.

WS: Do you think the worst of the downturn is behind us?

SZEW: We now have the benefit of the butterflies, so to

speak, having flown away from everyone’s stomachs! I think everyone is a little more comfortable with what they have and what they don’t have and what their planning is. So I’m hoping that because of that the decision-making time will be shortened...there won’t be so much paralysis.

We are an independent company within a big industry and as we look at 2010 and beyond we are very optimistic.

We are considered a stable supplier to top channels around the world with a secure position in the marketplace and lots of growth opportunities. From our perspective, we have lots to be proud of but, more importantly, lots to be optimistic about as we continue to expand.

spotlight

A LOOK AT INNOVATION IN THE TELEVISION INDUSTRY

BY KRISTIN BRZOZNOWSKI

Building a Cultural Bridge

New Films’ Nesim Hason With a mission of blending multiple cultures through movies, New Films International produces and acquires projects intended for the global marketplace.

Nesim Hason, New Films’ president and founder, has long been a proponent of bringing cultures together, going back to 1980 when he began creating and selling mixed tapes in Turkey as a young entrepreneur.

His passion for opening peoples’ eyes to the world around them has only gotten stronger through the years. He talks to World Screen about the position the company is in to keep this vision alive.

we are releasing our own productions steadily within the U.S. We started on October 2 with A Beautiful Life, directed by Alejandro Chomski, with Alma Award winner Jesse Garcia, Angela Sarafyan, Bai Ling, Emmy Award winner Dana Delany and Debi Mazar. In November, we will release Turning Green with Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton, and in December we’re slated to release Fall Down Dead, a horror picture with David Carradine, starring Dominique Swain, Udo Kier and Mehmet Gunsur.We are an incredibly happy and healthy company right now, and I’m proud to say I built it from the ground up.

WS: How is New Films working to bridge the gap between the U.S. and international markets with its own productions?

HASON: New Films International is bridging the gap between the U.S. and the international markets by taking locally recognizable foreign talent and pairing them with well-known U.S. stars. By doing this we aim to further introduce talented international actors and actresses into the Hollywood industry, thereby making a film that’s marketable across the globe.

WS: New Films has aligned with some key channel brands.

Tell us about some of the current output deals in place and how these relationships are leveraged to further the company’s exposure.

HASON: Currently we have output deals with MGM for all TV rights in all of Latin America; Warner Bros. for home-entertainment rights and TV rights in Japan; Nordisk Film for all rights in Scandinavia; One Movie for all rights in Italy; Falcon Films for all rights in the Middle East; BBI for all rights in the Netherlands; California Films for theatrical and video rights in Brazil; and D. Productions (Dogan Group) for all rights in Turkey. If these alone don’t say something about the quality of our product, then I don’t know what does.We are incredibly lucky to have such positive relationships with these studios and distributors, and further to that, we’re working on some others that are too fresh yet to mention.

These output deals are helping us to become more well known as a premier independent producer/distributor domestically as well as internationally.

WS: How does this factor into your acquisitions strategy?

HASON: When we acquire films, we look for award-

winning talent with a story that people want to watch.

Essentially, we buy the same kind of movies that we aspire to make. We’re always looking to pick up good product, and we’re always looking to make good product. Our next production will be a political thriller directed by Tony Kaye (American History X ) and the mix of talent we’re looking to cast will surely amaze you. Everything we produce, just like everything we’re picking up, is only getting bigger and better…. 2010 is going to be a good year.

WS: What sort of titles do you pick up and how many do

you add per year?

HASON: New Films International looks to pick up

festival-winning films with top directors and awardwinning talent, within a fresh and interesting story. Right now our catalogue is heavy with Academy Award– and Golden Globe–winning talent, and we aim to only pick up bigger and better titles; about 10 to 15 per year.

WS: Have co-productions become increasingly important

given the financing issues nowadays?

HASON: No, New Films International has always been an

independent company that is able to finance its own films with cash. In fact, we are one of the only companies to be doing this at such a time of global financial crisis. On top of this, we recently opened our own theatrical division, where 20

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WS: You were an entrepreneur at an early age.What can you tell us about how your prior experience led you into setting up New Films and bringing the company to where it is today?

HASON: I was 17 years old when I established my first company, and my father told me,“With your honesty and fairness and hard work, there is no way you cannot succeed.” I guess I took that very seriously, and those words brought me to where I am in this business after 29 years.

WS: What further expansion plans do you have for the company over the next 12 to 18 months?

HASON: Our plan is to produce more international pictures by bringing incredible foreign talent into our Hollywood productions and helping our distributors to make good box-office numbers in their countries. And, to go to the Golden Globes and Oscars with all my New Films International team.

Santa Monica.

Independent producers and distributors are adapting to the new realities of limited money in the market and very picky buyers.

By Anna Carugati

A New

Dawn for Indies 26

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The financial crisis of 2008 did more than spark a series of controversial bank bailouts, shut off credit spigots, cripple the advertising market, and set off the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression.

It had a strong impact on the independent-film community. With less money available to finance production and with buyers having much smaller acquisitions budgets, indie producers and distributors have to focus on the fundamentals of the business: making affordable movies that buyers want to acquire and viewers want to see.

Getting back to basics will be an underlying theme at the American Film Market (AFM), where everyone agrees that this year will be a buyers’ market. International buyers have always been selective—now they are pickier than ever. Lack of funding in the market has led to consolidation, as several companies have had to close shop—not necessarily a bad thing for the indie industry as a whole. Jonathan Wolf, an executive VP of the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) and managing director of the AFM, saw this coming for quite some time.

“Last year I said there were too many films and too many companies,” states Wolf. “If the liquidity crisis [had not taken] place, the marketplace would have pushed out a number of companies, because you can’t double the amount of films that are being made and expect the consumer to watch them and spend money on them. We expected this bubble—and that is the best word to use—in production to burst. We didn’t know what would cause it, none of us knew that it would be the credit crunch, but the bubble had to burst because supply and demand were out of balance and needed to be realigned.”

As a result,Wolf expects a slightly smaller AFM this year. “We will see about 20 percent fewer films screening this year compared to last year, and that will bring us back to the level of 2004, which is probably where the industry needs to be,” he says. “And we will see about 15 to

20 percent fewer companies, again, back to the levels of 2004.”

For Wolf, this readjustment is long overdue. “During the last ten years we had more money coming into the industry than at any period in time.We had the dollar reaching alltime lows, so exports should have been high.We had soft money from tax subsidies from all over the world. Cultural subsidies were at an all-time peak. There was money available through hedge funds and through wealthy investors, the presales market through the early part of the decade was still healthy. This should have been a renaissance period for the indie film sector. Yet we’ve heard for the last three or four years the woes of the industry. And this is really because what makes the industry successful and profitable is not the access to production financing, but it’s a balance of supply and demand tied to great filmmaking.

You can never leave out the fact that the product has to be good.”

Wolf ’s hope, which is shared by many, is that consolidation will

Away to Wonderland: Alice, a four-hour event for Syfy airing in December, which reimagines the Lewis Carroll classic, is among RHI’s priorities at the AFM.

weed out the less good and make room for quality.“Maybe producers will be more careful and produce better product,” says one distributor, who prefers to remain anonymous. “Instead of throwing films out there and hoping they will fly, they might actually seek some advice from distributors before they produce. We had so much before. I would like to see less product and

of higher quality, just as the buyers would. Maybe before it was just too easy and now only dedicated filmmakers with credentials will be able to raise money.”

Given the positive moods at the Toronto International Film Festival and at MIPCOM, distributors are starting to see signs that the worst of the economic downturn has passed.

“As the world economy slowly improves, we are seeing some uptick,” notes Robert Halmi, Jr., the president and CEO of RHI Entertainment.

“Prices have been a little down but activity is picking up.”

“In general, you can see that the loss of advertising revenue has really impacted how aggressive the buyers are and what they look for,” says Gavin Reardon, the head of international sales and co-productions at Incendo. “They are basically acquiring what they really need and paying just what they have to pay to get it.”

SILVER LININGS

Popularity contest: From MarVista Entertainment comes Chatterbox, a 90-minute movie in the tween category.

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One relatively peaceful island in the turbulent sea of independent filmmaking is the TV-movie business, where demand is on the rise and the presale financing model takes a lot of risk out of production.

A case in point is RHI Entertainment.The company, as Halmi, Jr. explains, is seeing “demand picking up, especially in Spain, the U.K., Italy, and France. We sell our product before anything is produced, so it’s financed through presales.”

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Gene George, the executive VP of worldwide distribution at Starz Media, is also upbeat about the TVmovie business. “We are definitely seeing some positive signs for next year, and the reality of it is, it really all depends on your content. If you’ve got content that works for the marketplace and that buyers want, it’s still a really healthy environment.”

“In Europe there are a lot of TVmovie slots,” says Jens Richter, the managing director of SevenOne International. “In Spain, Telecinco has a weekend movie slot, in France every afternoon you have TV movies, and sometimes even in prime time.

Large broadcast groups run them a couple of times on their premium networks, like M6 or TF1, and then on their secondary digital channels, like W9 and TM6.There are also TVmovie slots in Germany, Italy, and Central and Eastern Europe. It’s a very healthy model.”

“There still definitely is a demand for TV movies,” concurs Prentiss Fraser, the VP and head of sales at E1 Entertainment.“Broadcasters are getting a lot more specific about the genres that are working for them.

With the competitive environment we have right now, they are really honing in on what their audience is looking for.”

The key to success in the TVmovie business is offering genres that broadcasters want. “We target movies that can play in the right slots, which right now are late after-

noon and post–prime time,” says Starz Media’s George. “Typically those are action films or disaster films or the female thriller films, which can play post–prime time.”

Movies featuring empowered women are a big sell on both sides of the Atlantic.“Female-skewing movies, especially those being made for cable channels in the U.S., primarily Lifetime and Hallmark Channel, have found a place in the international market because of the quality of these movies,” says Fernando Szew, the CEO of MarVista Entertainment.

“Plus, these cable channels have a very clear target audience that matches the target of certain international broadcasters,” continues Szew.

“In addition, it’s now been a few years that the female-targeted movies— either females in a position of power or the more traditional romantic comedies—have found an audience and an easier time to clear more territories than they used to.”

At AFM, MarVista will have a slate of movies, including the thrillers House Under Siege and Crimes of the Past, as well as romantic comedies such as Tricks of a Woman.

“The Lifetime thriller is any salesperson’s favorite movie,” says E1’s Fraser.“I wouldn’t say it’s a slam dunk, but it’s well received internationally.” E1 is bringing a variety of films to AFM, including thrillers and dramas such as The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, Absolution and Cradle of Lies.

“We have a real sweet spot in that the type of product we are producing—the female thrillers—appeal to a broad audience,” says Incendo’s Reardon. Incendo is bringing several to the market, including Equity, Second Chances, Web of Lies, Ring of Deceit and Hidden Crimes.“Over the next 16 months we will be delivering a total of 11 films, and that’s something that the buyers are really excited about—having a consistent supply of product that really works for them.”

Feminine mystique: There are a host of female-led thrillers on Incendo’s TV-movie roster, including Ring of Deceit.

Village Vanished, based on an actual event in 1961 when all the residents of a village in East Germany decided FEMALE PERSUASION to flee to the West rather than give Projects featuring strong, empow- their land to Communist authorities. ered women are driving TV“This movie is a female thriller movie production in Europe as because it’s a woman who has the well as in the U.S. SevenOne idea to escape, it’s a woman who International has recently had does the dangerous stuff, and the good results with The Night a antagonist on the Stasi side is, of course, a woman,” notes Richter. “The movie got a 20-percent market share on Sat.1 in Germany, when Sat.1 normally averages an 11-percent share.”

SevenOne is working on another female film, The Whore, based on a bestselling German novel. “That started production in Hungary. It is a German, Austrian, Hungarian co-production, with a French co-financing partner, and we added some gap financing,” says Richter.

Vision Films is also distributing a co-produced film. “Bathory, starring Anna Friel as the infamous countess, history’s most beautiful and prolific vampiric serial killer, is a Hungarian-Czech co-production shot in English,” says Lise Romanoff, the company’s managing director of Making the escape: Alongside its raft of disaster-themed TV movies, SevenOne has a selection of thrillers, like The Night a Village Vanished, based on a true story. worldwide sales.

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Co-productions are not the only way of financing TV movies—the most common is through presales.

“We combine presales with soft money and tax incentives and try to shoot in locations that give us the most bang for our buck,” says Christian Mercuri, the president of international sales and distribution at Nu Image. Among the company’s new titles are the drama Trust, starring Clive Owen, and the actionadventure-fantasy Conan.

Companies based in Canada, such as E1, can take advantage of various government subsidies.“The Canadian model is probably different from other international models,” says Fraser. “We are quite fortunate that we have the government to help support the financing of our projects. But a lot of times these come to us with existing television licenses or existing funding and we will just deficit-finance the rest of the production in order to complete the financing on the project.”

Starz Media produces between 10 and 12 TV movies a year and makes use of output deals. “I like to set up output deals because I want to give the company the confidence going in that a certain percentage of the budget is already covered,” explains George. But in today’s climate, with broadcasters being ever more selective and

Lady in waiting: Presales play a large part in the financing of Nu Image’s films, which include the thriller Stone, starring Robert De Niro, Edward Norton and Milla Jovovich.

competitive, the key to a good output deal lies in including the right kind of product.

“I have a pretty good sense about coming up with content that is going to work for broadcasters and that is going to fit into those deals, because even though they are output deals, they are only for certain types of content,” says George. “If we do a TV movie that is a western—which is very likely for Starz because we have the DVD distributor Anchor Bay Entertainment and for DVD in the U.S. the western is a great property—we could sell it to Hallmark or any other of the cable platforms, but international broadcasters are not looking for westerns.

So I have to structure output deals that make sense for international broadcasters.”

Among Starz’s offerings at AFM are the family feature The Dog Who Saved Christmas, the disaster feature Megafault and the thriller Blue Seduction.

RHI Entertainment is also bullish on output deals. “Packages and volume deals are doing well overall,” says Halmi, Jr. At AFM, RHI is focusing on Alice, a re-imagining of the Lewis Carroll stories, and The Phantom, both for Syfy, as well as the female-skewing Lifetime miniseries Everything She Ever Wanted and the two-hour movie Too Late

to Say Goodbye, both based on Ann Rule novels.

There’s no doubt, money is harder to find and buyers are more selective than ever, so distributors have to find different ways of serving broadcasters’ needs and reaching new audiences.

TRYING SOMETHING NEW

some of our movies and mini-series are also serving as backdoor pilots.”

Incendo, too, is on the lookout for co-production projects. “We are looking for partners to work with on television series, specifically pay-TV series,” says Reardon. “We are very actively looking at projects with different producers attached, and it is our goal within the next six to eight months to have two TV series.”

SevenOne International is looking for ways to broaden the appeal of its product. Together with the German commercial station ProSieben, it has created a new genre of TV movies for the European market—the mystery movie. The first, Gonger, scored an 18-percent share for ProSieben, when the station’s average share is 11 percent; it also performed well on Antena 3 in Spain.

“We are coming out with three more mystery movies, including Gonger II,” says Richter. “And we started shooting a mystery with ProSieben, this one in English.

There are some German actors, but the female lead is English, as is the majority of the cast, because we want to see how we can extend the reach of our movies by shooting in English. We have to think of new ways. Channels love these kinds of movies, but you still have to finance them in a period of time where money is a little bit harder to get.”

Getting back to the basics of financing product that fits the specific needs of broadcasters is the way forward for independent producers and distributors.

Vision Films has successfully branched into documentaries and bio films. It has two Michael Jackson specials, Michael Jackson: Unmasked and Michael Jackson: History The King of Pop.These were in the works before Jackson’s death this summer and have since sold around the world. A third one is currently in production called Who Killed the King of Pop? Other companies are branching out into the production of series. MarVista has already had considerable success with Beyond the Break and is developing more series. So is RHI Entertainment. “We are actively developing new original series,” says Halmi, Jr. “We recently opened an L.A. program-development office to increase our presence The perfect pair: The drama Cradle of Lies is among the Lifetime movies that E1 in this regard. In addition, Entertainment will be offering its clients.

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Fresh content. New deals.

12 - 16 April 2010 Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France www.miptv.com .../en Personne - Getty Images.

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one on one tarz, LLC, consists of two main businesses, Starz Entertainment and Starz Media, and through them it provides a variety of content to consumers on several platforms: theaters, traditional linear TV channels, DVDs, and on-demand services on TV and via broadband to computers and portable devices.

Starz Entertainment is a premium movie-service provider and operates 16 channels in the U.S., including the flagship Starz, with 17.5 million subscribers, and Encore, with 31.5 million, as well as Starz HD, Encore HD, and several on-demand services.

Starz Entertainment offers more than 1,000 movies per month, and its president and COO, Bill Myers, is leading the company to cater to viewers’ “whenever, wherever” penchant for watching films and programming. Under his leadership, Starz Media has started producing original series, such as Party Down and the ambitious Spartacus: Blood and Sand, which will premiere in January and is already selling internationally.

Starz Media also includes several production entities: the animation houses Film Roman, known for The Simpsons and the preschool series Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!; and Starz Animation Toronto, which produced the animation for Focus Features’ 9 and the upcoming Miramax Films/Rocket Pictures release Gnomeo &

Juliet; as well as Starz Productions, a producer of liveaction programming such as Lifetime’s Wisegal and Syfy’s Beyond Sherwood Forest.

Anchor Bay Entertainment and Manga Entertainment are Starz Media’s DVD businesses and have a combined library of more than 3,500 DVD titles, including bestselling fitness franchises like 10 Minute Solution and the classic horror franchises Halloween and The Evil Dead.

Overture Films develops, produces, acquires and distributes feature films. It releases between eight and ten pictures each year and, thanks to Overture’s integration with sister companies Starz Entertainment and Starz Media, those films are exploited across traditional and new-media platforms.

Myers is constantly on the lookout for ways of reaching and attracting consumers and enhancing their viewing experience—whether it’s a partnership between Electronic Arts and Film Roman to produce an animated movie based on Dante’s epic poem Inferno, with accompanying video games for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, or a partnership with cable and technology companies to develop Enteract Now, an interactive TV feature that allows viewers easier access to on-demand programming from linear channels. Myers talks to World Screen about his vision for Starz.

Bill Myers

Starz Entertainment

WS: Starz has 17.5 million subscribers.

Encore has 31.5 million. Despite the economic downturn, how have you been driving subscriptions?

MYERS: When you look at the pay business, particularly in today’s difficult economic environment, Starz is a great value and Encore is a great value. If you really think about getting 16 channels of service for what it might cost you to go to a movie once, and that service includes great first-run content, some terrific library and now our originals, it’s a great value for consumers.When they are staying at home and they want something new and that is free of advertisements, they migrate to the premium services. We are not immune to the economy. We’ve had some nice growth, but we’ve seen it level out a little bit. While advertiser-supported broadcasters have had significant losses, we have not. I think it’s a testament to the value of the product.

WS: And what role has HD played in driving subscriptions?

MYERS: It’s an extension of our product.

We have great linear product. We know 34

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that consumers are changing the way they look at content and they want to look at it on different platforms, so we have a very robust on-demand offering.

We’ve rolled out five HD channels and you will continue to see us roll out more.

We rolled out an HD on-demand service and we’ll continue to expand that.We are starting to see that as consumers get their HD sets and get more comfortable with them, the first place they go is to HD content, and they will do anything they can to stay in that HD segment. So we are in that space, we have our five HD channels and we’ll continue to expand. It’s a beautiful way to watch, and you get spoiled with that great experience.

WS: You mentioned on-demand. Is that an important business, and are subscribers viewing on-demand mainly through traditional TV, or is that also growing on broadband?

MYERS: It is important. If you look at any kind of research that tells you how people will be viewing content over the next four to five years, the traditional TV is still going to be the dominant mechanism for watch-

ing content. But you will see a little bit more of that viewing being on a time-shifted basis, and where you see time-shifted, it’s going to be on-demand and on DVR. So it’s an important part of our business. And as distributors, whether it’s cable or satellite operators, improve that navigational capability to allow viewers to really surf through content on an on-demand

basis, it’s going to be very important. Right now people do want to come home and have the linear-TV experience because they don’t want to deal with navigating, because it can still be somewhat complicated to get where you want to go. But if it’s easy to navigate, people do like more freedom and more control over what Catering to the crowd: The Starz original series Party Down, about a group of misfits who they watch. That’s work at an L.A. catering company, has been greenlit for a second season. why you’ll see us put more on-demand want to watch content in a lot of and we can sell product in the international syndication world. content as we go for- different ways. ward; we’ll put The one thing we don’t want to We create content primarily for more titles up and see happen is consumers leaving the those platforms. So when our we’ll put more titles Starz brand to watch content that Overture Films group wants to do in HD up because we already own. So we want to a movie, what we are really lookmake sure that we are out there and ing at is how well will that play theit’s important. we want to work with our distribu- atrically, how well will that play in Today we are tors to make that experience work. the home-video market, is it still seeing most of the on-demand We already have the linear channels, something that is very important we’ve done on-demand, we’ve done for the channels, and can we sell it viewing done on the traditional linHD, we’ve done on-demand HD, domestically and internationally? ear service. IP and and now we’re in the IP space. The So I always look at our company as broadband are nice question is, what’s next? Maybe it’s a distribution company foremost mobile—they are all extensions of and then we are creating content ways to extend your that experience with Starz through for that. But do you need to own brand and allow viewthe connectivity to the home? I ers to look at things on our 16 traditional channels. don’t think so, because people are a different platform, so WS: We’ve all heard the mantra looking at content in a lot of difit’s convenient for them.

“Content is king.” But for a long ferent ways.

But a very, very large time, large media companies percentage of that viewbelieved that they had to not only WS: For many years, Starz and ing is still on the tradiown their content but also own Encore offered primarily movies. At tional television. the distribution pipes. Is that still what point did the idea of original WS: What’s your as valid a statement today with programming come up? strategy toward new broadband and other new-media MYERS: We had talked about media? Do you want platforms? originals for a long time, but we to get your product MYERS: If your definition of had such a strong position in the out on as many plat- “owning the distribution pipes” is movie world and we were doing forms as possible? the cable distributor and connec- very well in that space. But in the MYERS: Yes. I think tivity to the home, people are last three or four years, as viewers anybody who owns watching in such a wide variety have been able to get movie concontent would be of ways that you can’t own all that tent in a lot of different platforms, remiss not to think distribution. But what’s impor- it really became apparent to us that they need to be tant, when you think about Starz owning original content was going on as many plat- and the way we look at our com- to be important for us in the long forms as they can pany, we are a distribution company, term. It does three things for us: it be. Consumers are because we have theatrical distri- brings high-quality content to our bution, we have home-video distri- consumers, which is very valuable Crash course: Dennis Hopper returns for another season of looking for flexibility and they bution, we have our pay channels to them. It will help us differentiCrash, a Starz original series co-produced with Lionsgate.

11/09

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one on one ate ourselves from our competitors, and the final piece is that it does give us an ancillary revenue stream—and you can see that here with Spartacus: Blood and Sand. It is going to be a terrific show on the Starz channel but it’s also going to do very well in the international TV market. After we air it, which will be in January 2010, it will come out on home video in the U.S., so we will have that product out on all platforms. But at the end of the day, consumers need to come to your service for something they can’t get anywhere else, and that is what original content will do for us.

WS: This past year has been tough for independents. How has Overture managed to navigate the credit crunch and still come out with an impressive slate of films?

MYERS: We structured that three years ago when we put the credit facility in place, and we’ve been for-

little bit this year, but that’s because we’re not seeing projects that we necessarily like. At the end of the day, when you look at Starz as a company [it has] a lot of free cash flow, and if we need to we can always fund ourselves, and that’s a nice balance to the capital structure.

WS: Filmmaking is a risky business. Does having a bouquet of channels help offset that On the ball: Starz Media’s Film Roman develops original animated properties, such as Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! risk a little bit because you have a guaranteed tunate that we haven’t really had to the last few years, and therefore it outlet for your films? do much with it or need a whole has allowed them to look at new MYERS: Yes, if you went to any stulot more capital. I agree with your ideas and projects and continue to dio they would say that the output statement.We would not want to be launch new films. agreement with a pay service is a out in the marketplace now looking The plan has been to release very important piece of their ecofor new money. But Overture hasn’t eight to ten films a year and we’re nomic stream. For us, since it’s all in had to do much in that space over doing that. We slowed it down a the family, [our channels benefit from that flow of movies] because they need a lot of movies. This is content that we now own and we have a little bit more input on some of the creative aspects of the kind of movies that play very well on the channels and that we hope will play well on all the other platforms. So having that outlet is really important, and from the channels’ perspective we know we are getting content that we really like.

WS: Starz Animation Toronto is

Roman holiday: Starz’s new gladiator epic Spartacus: Blood and Sand was inspired by the real-life slave of the Roman Republic who led a revolt in 73 B.C. 36

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doing well and just got a sizeable grant from the Canadian government. What does that say about the company? And how will you use the money?

MYERS: I think it says a lot about the company and about the quality of their work.The latest movie that came out was 9, and it was critically acclaimed from an animation perspective. That really showed the quality of work that Starz Animation Toronto is capable of, and they are getting a lot of calls now to do more work.We are doing another project right now for Miramax that will be

out next year. How will we spend that money? To be honest with you we haven’t worked through that yet, but I do think the grant is a testament to the quality of the work they do.

WS: The DVD market has been dif-

ficult lately for many companies.

What has been your experience with Anchor Bay Entertainment?

MYERS: I don’t think we are any different from other folks. The challenge, which we are trying to understand, is how many of the issues in the DVD business are really related just to the economy. I could walk in to a Target, Wal-Mart or Best Buy and people are just not picking up DVDs the way they used to. Is that because they are getting that content from some other platform or is it because economically they can’t afford to buy them right now? It’s probably a little bit of both. So yes, we are seeing the same [challenges in the DVD business]. But I will say, talking to the folks at Anchor Bay, we are starting to see it settle out. I am really excited about the fact that

Quality time: Spread, starring Ashton Kutcher and Anne Heche, was released theatrically by Anchor Bay Films, with DVD rights held by Anchor Bay Entertainment.

we are starting to put more Overture Films content on DVD, and we’re putting our originals on DVD, which gives them more high-quality content to sell.

People are going to buy Spartacus on DVD. At the end of the day, if a

A new beat: The Starz subsidiary Overture Films releases between eight and ten motion pictures per year, with a slate that includes The Visitor.

11/09

second season comes out, you are going to want the first season on DVD to catch up on what you might have missed. I still think there is opportunity in that business, but we have to continue to put good quality content in there and we need the economy to rebound.

WS: In what areas of the company do you see the most potential for growth, and where do you see the company in two years?

MYERS: We still believe there is opportunity in our core paytelevision business. We have 17.5 million Starz subs, but that is only 13-percent penetration of all homes. As cable continues to roll out its digital platforms and we are a digital service, you have to believe there is an upside in that. I see us adding new services that will continue to drive the pay-television business going forward.

As I said earlier, as we see the economy rebound and we start putting more content into the Anchor Bay distribution platform, I do believe there are still a lot of growth opportunities in the DVD business, and we should see that in the next several years.

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We’ve got to continue to explore new-media platforms and understand what those platforms are and where our customers want us to be.

In three to four years, I hope we’ll have a much bigger presence in the international marketplace. We’ve done a lot in the last two to three years, but we still have great opportunities out there, whether that’s doing co-productions with international partners, or finding ways to extend the Starz brand through other distribution mechanisms in the international marketplace.

WS: So you see launching channels internationally?

MYERS: I think that is an opportunity that we would be foolish not to look at.We have great HD channels.

We’ve got good content.We own all rights to our original content, and that’s what we’ve been trying to do and not just with our originals.

When you look at Overture Films, in the best-case scenario you would want to own all rights: theatrical, home video, pay television, international distribution. We need to be more open and take advantage of opportunities in the international market. It’s an exciting time.

world’s end

IN THE STARS

Almost every national constitution forbids the establishment of an official state religion. But this secular bent doesn’t stop people from looking to the heavens for answers to life’s most troublesome questions: Will I succeed? Will I find love? Will I get caught having an affair with David Letterman?

Every day, papers and magazines worldwide print horoscopes—projections for people born in a specific month, based on the positions of the stars and planets. While many people rely on these daily, weekly or monthly messages for guidance in their lives, some readers skip over them entirely.

The editors of WS recognize that these little pearls of random foresight

Maria Shriver

Tina Fey

David Letterman

David Letterman

Lindsay Lohan

Global distinction: Venerable late-night host.

Sign: Aries (b. April 12, 1947) Significant date: October 1, 2009 Noteworthy activity: The late-night host reveals dur-

Global distinction: Hollywood party girl.

Sign: Cancer (b. July 2, 1986) Significant date: October 4, 2009 Noteworthy activity: The troubled actress/singer is

ing the opening segment of his show that he has been the victim of an extortion plot. An individual threatened to go public with allegations that the 62-year-old had had affairs with members of the Late Show staff unless Letterman paid him $2 million. In testifying in front of a grand jury, Letterman admits that he engaged in sexual relationships with staffers.

Horoscope: “You’ve worked very hard to get where you are, but remember that it could all be gone in an instant. Make wise choices and watch your back, someone may try to knock you off this path of success.” (ganeshaspeaks.com)

named “artistic adviser” to the French fashion house Emanuel Ungaro.After she makes her Paris Fashion Week debut, the reviews come rolling in and they’re not good ones. Women’s Wear Daily calls the clothes “cheesy and dated,” and others are even harsher.

Horoscope: “You appear to put great effort into your work but may find very unreliable cooperation for your efforts once you ‘release/apply’ them. Don’t get discouraged, keep trying your hardest.” (0800-horoscope.com)

occasionally prove prophetic. But rather than poring over charts of the zodiac to predict world events, our staff prefers to use past horoscopes in an attempt to legitimate the science.

As you can see here, had some of these media figures remembered to consult their horoscopes on significant days, they could have avoided a few surprises.

Madonna

Maria Shriver Global distinction: Journalist and author.

Sign: Scorpio (b. November 6, 1955) Significant date: October 14, 2009 Noteworthy activity: Photographs and a video are posted

on the Internet showing Shriver driving while chatting on her cell phone. Her husband, the governor of California,Arnold Schwarzenegger, signed a law two years ago making it illegal to do so.The Governator says he will take “swift action” in addressing her infraction.

Horoscope: “Everyone’s eyes have turned to you. It may be weird at first, but if you can keep up your positive energy and positive actions, then others will look to you as an example of excellence.” (horoscopes.astrology.com)

Miley Cyrus Global distinction: Teen icon.

Sign: Sagittarius (b. November 23, 1992) Significant date: October 9, 2009 Noteworthy activity: The pop starlet deletes her

Twitter account, citing the fact that tabloids were using the Tweets as fodder.To explain all her reasoning, Cyrus releases a rap about abandoning the site, complete with backup dancers, and posts it on YouTube.

Horoscope: “Prying eyes may leave you feeling a bit vulnerable this month.You may want to take a step back to gain perspective on the situation.” (0800-horoscope.com) 38

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Madonna Global distinction: Pop-culture icon.

Sign: Leo (b. August 16, 1958) Significant date: October 16, 2009 Noteworthy activity: The Material Girl is sued by her

neighbor for allegedly transforming her Central Park West apartment into a noisy studio. The lawsuit states: “Madonna and one or more of her invited guests repeatedly dance and train...to unreasonably high-decibel, amplified music, causing noise and vibration to pour through the walls, ceilings and radiators.”

Horoscope: “The Leo is very dramatic and likes to be in the spotlight.This doesn’t always sit well with others, so be prepared to deal with a backlash every now and then.” (astrology.yahoo.com)

Tina Fey Global distinction: 30 Rock funny gal.

Sign: Taurus (b. May 18, 1970) Significant date: October 14, 2009 Noteworthy activity: Appearing on the Late Show

with David Letterman, Fey admits to losing her virginity at the age of 24. She tells the host her late blooming wasn’t completely by choice: “[I] couldn’t give it away,” she jokes. However, the man with whom she shared her first experience is her husband today.

Horoscope: “Exchanging information, ideas and opinions plays an important role in your life. However, there are some things that should just always remain private.” (homepagers.com)

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