VideoAge is MIPing around with Michelle Wasserman of Argentina’s Telefe and Gene George of North Hollywood’s Starz to talk about the upcoming L.A. Screenings and MIP at hand.
VideoAgeInternational: From MIP and looking forward, how do you expect the L.A. Screenings will be?
Michelle Wasserman: The Screenings are a very important [market] for us. We’ll be giving a party on the last day, and it’s even more important than NATPE. Our strong season starts in March/April, so we introduce most of our 2011 new products there. We have high expectations; every year expectations are higher and better.
Gene George: We definitely have thought about it and plan on having a presence there. The size of the presence still hasn’t been determined yet. The L.A. Screenings is still a really important venue and allows us to see a lot of broadcasters who are in town.
VAI: Do you get any floor traffic at the L.A. Screenings?
MW: To be honest we are always going to L.A. with our schedule pre-booked. Floor traffic is not even 10 percent of our meetings. It’s not a significant figure, but our stand does get crowded. We have meetings, but not formally.
GG: Everything is by appointment for us.
VAI: Do you feel the indies get enough attention at the Screenings, or is it purely an event for the studios?
GG: For us, we feel like we definitely get attention and see the people we need to see. We have a very strong slate and content that is very high profile.
VAI: What new product will you be introducing at the L.A. Screenings that is not seen at MIP?
MW: We’re working on one entertainment show, a production done by Fox U.S., and we just signed a deal to represent them internationally. Also, a show called The Legacy, which we just got the Latin American rights for. It’s been launched around the world, but we’ll finally launch it for Latin America at the Screenings. Another show, The Man of Your Life is also in pre-production and ready to be introduced at L.A. Screenings. It’s being directed by Juan José Campanella, who directed The Secret in Their Eyes
VAI: Which territories are strong buyers at both here at MIP and the Screenings?
MW: We open and close deals at [MIP], but they’re mostly of the deals that we are already working on before the market. Poland, Russia, Italy and France are strong buyers, because we were working already on those deals. Eastern Europe is coming back after the crisis, if only slowly.
VAI: What new product do you have here at MIP?
MW: We’re launching A Year To Remember in the European market. It’s a family-oriented romantic comedy from the same producers of The Successful Mr. and Mrs. Pells. Our other main title is The One, which is a primetime telenovela with more tragedy and drama and a high dose of action. Plus, we have game show Just in Time, which is in its third season.
GG: In our traditional fashion, we have quite a varied slate. We are still highly focused on the series base. We’ll be at the market talking a lot about Spartacus our original series. We just finished a prequel and we’ll also be talking to a lot of our partners about season two of Spartacus, which is starting to go into production. We have most of the territories locked in on that series. We also have animated series Dan Vs. produced by Film Roman. It’s a show being broadcast on The Hub, formerly Discovery Kids, and it’s one of their lead series. We’ll be coming out into the market place with that. We’ll also be doing a series two on that. We’ll also be handling another series in our ongoing relationship with IFC in the U.S. called The Onion News Network, which is a new series we’ll be talking to broadcasters about at the market. It’s going into production on its second series as well. Plus, we also have five new movies for the market.
VAI: What are your goals for MIP?
MW: We have offices in Russia and have been working hard to consolidate our presence in the region. We’d like to continue to consolidate our presence throughout Europe. Spain is a key country right now. We’re launching a project there that will support us in Spain like our offices in Russia. We think there’s a parallel market in the region, and it’s difficult to grow there from abroad. We’ll also be looking for territories to co-produce with locally and to grow through partnerships.
GG: We are always focusing a lot on Europe. We’re focused on all the territories around the world, but we’re taking a deeper look into Canadian and U.K. television because we’ve been able to clarify our rights in those regions.
