This year, for several reasons, reps for the U.S. studios were very anxious to take over the L.A. Screenings from the independents. They started on Saturday morning at Paramount. Then it was Lionsgate’s turn (at a Westwood location) in the afternoon. That continued into the evening with a Lionsgate party at the Santa Monica Pier, providing just enough time for Argentina’s Telefilms to conclude the L.A. Screenings Independents event by staging its own Saturday afternoon screenings and party at the Century Plaza Hotel, the venue for the L.A. Screenings Independents.
Studio execs were anxious about showcasing their own new series for the 2024-2025 season for broadcast, cable, and streaming TV outlets that are now back to licensing internationally. To show their renewed enthusiasm, the studios hosted more parties than ever before (albeit, less grandiose ones than in pre-pandemic times). In addition to the large Lionsgate party, the big Fox party on its lot on Sunday, and the equally big Disney party on its own lot on Tuesday, all other studios (NBCUni, WB, and Sony) threw parties throughout the week, from Saturday, May 18 through Thursday, May 23.
Today, VideoAge‘s Water Cooler is at Paramount. Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 21, we’ll be at Disney’s party. And Wednesday, we’ll be back on the Disney studio lot for its screenings. Previously, we attended the L.A. Screenings events at Lionsgate and Fox.
The reduced amount of new, licensable content from the studios, as well as the increased cost of accommodations in Los Angeles has cut the number of buyers who come to the event from LATAM, while other regions sent fewer buyers from each company. MIP Cancun has also contributed to changing the “geography,” since some buyers from LATAM skipped the L.A. Screenings in favor of the November Mexican market that is all-expenses-paid for most of them by the organizers. Naturally, the studios are well aware of these new developments, even though the studios’ recreational aspects (i.e., parties, luncheons, and cocktails) on their lots still represent attractions that cannot be missed at the L.A. Screenings.
Pictured above: The closing of the L.A. Screenings Indies with the Telefilms party and screenings on Saturday. That same night, the Lionsgate party marked the start of recreational activities for the studios. On Sunday there was a party on Fox’s studio lot.
Clockwise from top: Telefilms’ Tomas Darcyl; TV Catalunya’s Carles Blanch and Darcyl; Lionsgate’s Jim Packer and David Kines of Canada’s Hollywood Suites, Susan Hummel of Lionsgate Canada and Blue Ant’s Craig Junner and Andrea Harrick; Fox’s David Smyth; Bell Media’s Sean Cohan and Fox’s Rob Wade.
Leave A Comment