World Screen Pre-MIPCOM 2017

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Pre-MIPCOM Edition

WWW.WORLDSCREEN.COM

THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA • SEPTEMBER 2017

Drama Financing / FremantleMedia’s Jens Richter / eOne’s Stuart Baxter / Sky Vision’s Jane Millichip Eccho Rights’ Fredrik af Malmborg / Criminal Minds’ Paget Brewster / Kanal D’s Özge Bulut Maraşli

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CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER 2017/PRE-MIPCOM EDITION DEPARTMENTS WORLD VIEW

By Anna Carugati.

Publisher Ricardo Seguin Guise

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Group Editorial Director Anna Carugati

UPFRONTS 16 New content on the market.

SPOTLIGHT Entertainment One’s Stuart Baxter.

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IN THE NEWS Sky Vision’s Jane Millichip.

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FOCUS ON Eccho Rights’ Fredrik af Malmborg.

30

MARKET TRENDS Kanal D’s Özge Bulut Maraşli.

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WORLD’S END In the stars.

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Editor Mansha Daswani Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Managing Editor Joanna Padovano Tong Associate Editor Sara Alessi Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari Associate Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Rafael Blanco Editorial Assistant, Spanish-Language Publications Jessica Ávila Contributing Editor Elizabeth Guider

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Paget Brewster

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Production & Design Director Victor L. Cuevas Online Director Simon Weaver Art Director Phyllis Q. Busell Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Dana Mattison Sales & Marketing Assistant Nathalia Lopez Business Affairs Manager Andrea Moreno Contributing Writers Steve Clarke Andy Fry Jane Marlow Joanna Stephens Jay Stuart David Wood Copy Editor Marina Chao

32 WORLD SCREEN is published ten times per year: January, February, March, April, May, June/July, September, October, November and December.

SPECIAL REPORT 32 WHERE’S THE MONEY?

Annual subscription price: Inside the U.S.: $90.00 Outside the U.S.: $160.00

As budgets soar and competition intensifies, distributors are using new models to piece together the financing for high-end drama series.

—Jay Stuart

Send checks, company information and address corrections to: WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, Suite 1207 New York, NY 10010, U.S.A. For a free subscription to our newsletters, please visit www.subscriptions.ws.

ONE-ON-ONE 40 FREMANTLEMEDIA’S JENS RICHTER The CEO of FremantleMedia International talks about how he and his teams in ten regional offices around the world are not only selling programming but also building brands.

—Anna Carugati 12 WORLD SCREEN 9/17

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development 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 ©2017 WSN INC. Printed by Fry Communications No part of this publication can be used, reprinted, copied or stored in any medium without the publisher’s authorization.

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WORLD VIEW

BY ANNA CARUGATI

The Benefits of Binge-Viewing I spent all my free time during the summer bingeing on TV shows and reading. I’ve discovered that the two are not mutually exclusive, provided you are willing to give up a lot of hours of sleep. Television, in fact, spurred me on to read more about the subjects presented in the series.

I watched The Crown with my husband and daughter, and we found it superb. We were captivated by the extraordinary writing and acting, which depicted Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s marriage, the extreme burden placed on the young royal’s shoulders and the unique relationship she shared with Winston Churchill.

The series was so good that when we finished season one I couldn’t fathom having to wait until December for more of Elizabeth’s discipline and dedication, so I dove into the biography Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith.

Those ten episodes of The Crown left me craving more TV drama and something else that I couldn’t quite describe at the time. We moved on to The West Wing, in part because our daughter is studying screenwriting and we thought the show is one of the best-written dramas, period, and in part because I was in desperate need of images of a functioning White House inhabited by sane, balanced and informed individuals. Watching President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet, Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (Leo’s management of the Oval Office led me to read The Gatekeepers—How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency by Chris Whipple), Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman, his assistant Donna Moss, Communications Director Toby Ziegler, Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn, Press Secretary C.J. Cregg and Charlie Young, personal aide to the president, soothed my soul and ulcer. Yes, of course it was fiction, but these characters presented real-world issues—terrorism, gun control, employment, health care and public education, among many others, all of them still pertinent today—and engaged in reasoned, eloquent debates grounded in facts, often encouraging opposing viewpoints. And it was all for the benefit of the public good, not personal brands, hotels, resorts or other businesses.

The only ill effect of my West Wing marathon was the impact Sam Seaborn had on me, and I’m not referring to the dreamy good looks of actor Rob Lowe. Sam is a gifted writer who meticulously searches for the right words in every sentence, calibrated to elicit the intended emotional and intellectual response. I got so invested in the series that hearing him describing a phrase as “too pedestrian” sent me into a tizzy about my own writing. Each time I sat at my laptop and started writing, four words in I could hear Sam in my head saying, Oh my God, how lazy, how uninspiring—all of

The best television

shows open eyes

and hearts and shatter

preconceived notions.

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which catapulted me into the worst case of writer’s block I’ve had in years. This column took four times as long to write as previous ones. Talk about the power of television!

That thirst for drama I felt during the summer masked a more deep-seated need. Both The Crown and The West Wing put on display proper rules of behavior. This all reminded me of an interview I did with Julian Fellowes, creator and writer of Downton Abbey, back in 2014. We were talking about the appeal of shows like his and Mad Men and the apparent wave of nostalgia that was washing over viewers. He said that during unsettled times people feel insecure and they look back at earlier periods in history that they perceive as having been more settled—times when people had more rules and more shared knowledge about what they were supposed to do, say and wear, and felt more secure about their self-worth. These rules gave society a framework.

Although we have since abandoned that framework and consequently have more freedom, Fellowes noted that the advantage of television is that it can “give you the security of the rules without the difficulty of sustaining them.”

I have always been an unapologetic defender of quality television, even long before this Golden Age because the seeds of it were planted decades ago. I learned from the favorite shows of my youth—Julia, All in the Family, M*A*S*H, Maude, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Hill Street Blues—that the best television shows open eyes and hearts and shatter preconceived notions.

Today, there is so much great television that we must regularly sacrifice hours of sleep to keep up. And the best series are not only homegrown; they come from around the world. In this issue, we talk about global hits with FremantleMedia’s Jens Richter, Entertainment One’s Stuart Baxter, Sky Vision’s Jane Millichip, Eccho Rights’ Fredrik af Malmborg and Kanal D’s Özge Bulut Maraşli. Quality drama is not just North American or British, it’s also Turkish and Korean, and who knows where tomorrow’s hit will come from.

Our feature looks at how distributors piece together financing for high-end drama series. We also hear from actress Paget Brewster of Criminal Minds, a longrunning crime procedural that has found dedicated fans across the globe and offers a window to a world that, fortunately, most of us do not know.

So I will continue to give up hours of sleep to binge and read. And surely the current occupant of the White House would benefit from bingeing on The Crown and The West Wing—both offer views of history, acceptable behavior and civil discourse.

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UPFRONTS

A+E Networks

Knightfall

Knightfall / Live PD / Cocaine Godmother Based on the Knights Templar, the upcoming period drama Knightfall has already drummed up interest from broadcasters around the globe. “The series goes well beyond stories of romance and history with evolving storylines designed to establish a wide breadth of audience appeal,” says Ellen Lovejoy, the VP, head of sales for the Americas and formats at A+E Networks. Another scripted highlight is the TV movie Cocaine Godmother, which stars Catherine Zeta-Jones and is directed by Oscar winner Guillermo Navarro. “Based on the life of Miami drug lord Griselda Blanco, who is suspected of ordering more than 200 murders, the film will premiere in 2018 on Lifetime in the U.S.,” notes Lovejoy. On the unscripted side, A+E Networks is touting Live PD, a new format that sees American police officers working night shifts in real time. “The groundbreaking series comes to MIPCOM on the heels of significant success in the U.S., where Live PD continues to set ratings records,” says Lovejoy. “Since its premiere in October 2016, the show has posted 152 percent ratings growth in total viewers.

Live PD also became the most-watched unscripted series on cable. A&E Network has greenlit an additional 100 episodes, extending the freshman run of the show to 142 episodes.”

“A+E Networks is an ever-growing force in premium content creation and distribution.”

—Ellen Lovejoy

BBC Worldwide

Astronauts: Toughest Job in the Universe

Blue Planet II / Astronauts: Toughest Job in the Universe / McMafia Following up on the landmark natural-history series The Blue Planet from 2001 comes Blue Planet II, which BBC Worldwide will be screening for the first time to the international marketplace. “The BBC’s Natural History Unit is unparalleled when it comes to producing global event TV,” says Paul Dempsey, the president of global markets at BBC Worldwide. “Blue Planet II, filmed over four years covering every continent and every ocean, shows you the dedication the team put into making a breathtaking series that will enthrall audiences everywhere.” The company is also offering up the factual-entertainment show Astronauts: Toughest Job in the Universe, which follows a dozen individuals as they attempt to pass a space agency selection process. “We will be launching Astronauts: Toughest Job in the Universe with Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who will be in Cannes to introduce the series to buyers,” notes Dempsey. Then there is McMafia, a fast-paced series spotlighting a network of organized crime. “Our key drama at MIPCOM is McMafia, a stunning thriller inspired

by Misha Glenny’s best seller and created by Hossein Amini and James Watkins,” says Dempsey. “This impressive eight-part series, produced by Cuba Pictures, stars James Norton as the English-raised son of Russian exiles with a Mafia history.”

“We are putting our main focus on natural history, scripted and factual entertainment at MIPCOM 2017.”

—Paul Dempsey

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Entertainment One Burden of Truth / The Detail / Caught This MIPCOM marks Entertainment One’s (eOne) first market since the company combined its film and television sales units into one global team. “We will be operating as a united cohesive front,” says Stuart Baxter, the president of eOne Television International. “We’re looking forward to meeting with clients as we take on a more holistic approach to our content business.” Among the titles being promoted by the company is Burden of Truth, a serialized drama starring Kristin Kreuk (Smallville) that Baxter compares to Erin Brockovich in that “it’s big corporation against community.” There is also The Detail, a classic precinct procedural with two female leads.

Then there is Caught, which follows an escaped prisoner and is “riveting with betrayal, complex characters and an exciting twist you won’t see coming,” says Baxter.

Burden of Truth

“In the last 12 months, our business has doubled in size as we’ve continued to grow and invest in creative partnerships.”

—Stuart Baxter

Escapade Media Household Empires / Animal Clinic / The Fo-Fo Figgily Show Thriving small home businesses are featured in Household Empires, an original 4K show from Escapade Media’s catalog.

“There are many examples of people from villages in India to South America who have used the tools at their fingertips to create a successful e-commerce business,” says Natalie Lawley, the company’s managing director. “This series will inspire everyone from everywhere.” Escapade is also showcasing Animal Clinic, an observational docuseries following the work of Ireland’s largest animal charity, as well as The Fo-Fo Figgily Show, a puppet-led preschool program. “Part of each story includes fun tips about making healthy choices and enjoying exercise, inspiring and appealing to children all around the world,” says Lawley.

In addition, the company is looking to secure further sales for JC Tha Barber and Charged & Disbarred.

“We are keen to look at new projects for development that have VR offerings at the core of the story.”

Animal Clinic

Global Agency

—Natalie Lawley

Patrimonio mundial - Herencia de la humanidad

Beat the Wheel / In and Out / Cash or Splash The daily game show Beat the Wheel looks on as contestants answer general-knowledge questions for the chance to win a cash prize. Izzet Pinto, the founder and CEO of Global Agency, highlights the fact that the format’s “spectacular visuals and scenography are designed to help the narrative of the game mechanics—the wheel is not only part of the set; it is the set.” The company is also offering up In and Out, which sees participants given 14 selections hidden in suitcases and tasked with choosing which should be “in” versus “out.” “It is the easiest and most fun game to earn money,” says Pinto. “This is why it is so easy to adapt in each territory, and the excitement never ends during the show.” Another highlight is Cash or Splash, a quiz program in which contestants get dunked for wrong answers.

Cash or Splash

“The contestants [in Cash or Splash] are always uneasy, not knowing when and if they will be dropped.”

—Izzet Pinto

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Hat Trick International Derry Girls / Serial Killers with Piers Morgan / Eden: Paradise Lost The family-themed comedy series Derry Girls is made

by Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4 in the U.K. The new show, which comes from writer Lisa McGee (Being Human), is set in Northern Ireland during the early 1990s. “Derry Girls is a warm, funny and honest look at the everyday lives of ordinary people living in extraordinary times—amongst immense civil conflict— all seen through the eyes of 16-year-old Erin and her friends,” says Sarah Tong, the director of sales at Hat Trick International. On the factual side, the company will be promoting Serial Killers with Piers Morgan, which sees the titular host sit down with mass murderers, and Eden: Paradise Lost, a social experiment in which 23 participants start fresh in a remote part of the British Isles.

Derry Girls

“With laugh-out-loud moments, [Derry Girls] will appeal to global audiences looking to be truly entertained.”

—Sarah Tong

Multicom Entertainment Group

After the Sun Fell

Moriah Films content / Freeway movies / Choice Films titles Multicom Entertainment Group has partnered with Moriah Films for the release of documentary content featuring celebrity narrators and cast members, including Kevin Costner, Sandra Bullock, Michael Douglas, Ben Kingsley and Christoph Waltz. The films cover timely topics such as faith, history and perseverance in the face of oppression. Additionally, Multicom is “unveiling its brand-new in-house UHD restoration process with the release of the infamous cult classic Freeway, produced by Oliver Stone and starring Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, Brooke Shields, Bokeem Woodbine and Brittany Murphy, and its sequel, Freeway II, starring Natasha Lyonne,” says Darrin Holender, Multicom’s president. The company is also partnering with Choice Films to release two new indie features, After the Sun Fell and Above All Things.

“Multicom has cultivated strong relationships with partners worldwide, delivering content wherever, whenever and however consumed.”

—Darrin Holender

Red Arrow International Buying Blind / Autopsy of a Murder / Stella Blómkvist Families that can’t decide which house to buy hand over their life savings to experts who purchase a home for them sightunseen in the reality format Buying Blind. After the experts buy and renovate the house, the family must decide whether they have found their dream home or if they want to put the property on the market. Red Arrow International’s slate also includes Autopsy of a Murder. The factual title “takes a forensic look into the world of autopsies and how they have helped to solve real-life crimes,” says Henrik Pabst, the company’s managing director. Stella Blómkvist, meanwhile, is a neo-noir crime drama that follows a quick-witted lawyer played by Heida Reed (Poldark). “Red Arrow’s new slate for MIPCOM reflects our ambitious strategy to offer a market-leading selection of international shows across all genres,” Pabst says.

“We are home to a diverse range of innovative and bold formats, fascinating factual series and world-class scripted shows, all with the ability to travel internationally.”

—Henrik Pabst 20 WORLD SCREEN 9/17

Stella Blómkvist

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SPI International Gametoon / FUNBOX UHD / Zoom TV Among SPI International’s channels is Gametoon, which features animated series, game reviews, tournaments (eSports) and viral content from the web. FUNBOX UHD, with programming in 4K, showcases documentaries, sports, performing arts and scripted series. Zoom TV, the second terrestrial channel in SPI’s portfolio in Poland, airs local affairs, infotainment, films and series. SPI is now launching channels in Latin America and recently signed a deal in Russia and CIS. The Far East is on its radar as well. With regard to programming, the company is working in partnership with Saradan Media to co-produce the new Steven Seagal series General Commander. It is also strengthening its lineup of action features for its FilmBox movie channels with acquisitions of films that feature big-name stars such as Nicolas Cage and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

The Humanity Bureau on FilmBox movie channels

Sky Vision

Britannia

Britannia / The Plague / I Don’t Like Mondays David Morrissey (The Walking Dead) and Kelly Reilly (True Detective) star in the drama Britannia, set in 43 A.D., when the country was ruled by powerful Druids and warrior queens. Sky Vision is also presenting The Plague, a co-production between Sky and Telefónica. “Britannia and The Plague are the most ambitious commissions to date for Sky and Movistar+, respectively, making them this year’s landmark dramas,” says Jane Millichip, the managing director of Sky Vision. “These incredible series are not defined solely by their scale; they both boast incredible writing talent in Jez Butterworth (Britannia) and writer/director Alberto Rodríguez (The Plague).” There is also the Alan Carr-hosted I Don’t Like Mondays, in which contestants compete to earn their annual salaries in prize money and the winner must then quit their job on air.

“We have the scale and leverage to manage some of the biggest shows and clients in the market, yet we handle each hour of content with a tailored marketing strategy.”

—Jane Millichip

STUDIOCANAL

Patrimonio mundial - Herencia de la humanidad

The Child in Time / The Lawyer / Paris etc.

Adapted from Ian McEwan’s Whitbread Prize-winning novel, the 90-minute drama The Child in Time stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, The Imitation Game) as Stephen Lewis, a children’s book author whose only child disappears.

“The Child in Time is a lyrical and heartbreaking exploration of love, loss and the power of things unseen,” says Beatriz Campos, the head of international sales for TV series at STUDIOCANAL. The company is also launching the ten-part Nordic noir crime thriller The Lawyer. “Set in Malmö and Copenhagen, this fastpaced, sharp and intelligent thriller centers on Frank Nordling (Alexander Karim), a young and exceptionally promising defense lawyer whose whole world unravels when he learns the truth behind his parents’ death,” says Campos.

STUDIOCANAL is also debuting the Canal+ Création Originale Paris etc., a 12-part dramedy set in the City of Love.

The Lawyer

“Our wide-ranging and brand-new MIPCOM programming offers strong, engaging and universal storylines with exceptional talent both in front of and behind the camera.”

—Beatriz Campos 22 WORLD SCREEN 9/17

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SPOTLIGHT

STUART BAXTER ENTERTAINMENT ONE WS: In May, eOne announced it was combining its film and television units into one global sales team. What motivated that decision, and what are the benefits of this new global sales team?

BAXTER: With the scale we’ve achieved through strategic acquisitions, equity investments and strong organic growth, we decided it was important to take a more holistic approach to our content business that aligns with our customers’ needs, the way that they work and the content they want so we can then implement best practices and efficiencies.

Customers get real benefits from this reorganization in that they get someone who really understands them, as well as a single point of contact. We get more efficiency, much more transparency and better practices.

We want to be able to use all of our products and all of our strengths in one relationship and as one team be focused on bringing that content to the client.

By Anna Carugati

Entertainment One (eOne) has established itself as a leading independent producer of television drama, comedy, factual and unscripted programming. It has also formed partnerships, set up first-look deals with producers and invested in production companies, all to boost its catalog, which ranges from the worldwide hit The Walking Dead to Designated Survivor to David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef. As the president of eOne Television International, Stuart Baxter oversees distribution to free-TV broadcasters, pay-TV channels and SVOD platforms. He recently combined the company’s film and television units into one global sales team. Baxter talks to World Screen about the reorganization, best-selling shows and investing in talent.

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WS: Would you give some examples of what considerations go into giving a show the best exposure it can get?

BAXTER: There are three prime considerations in developing a take-to-market strategy for each show.

First, how do we achieve the best audience? Sometimes that might not mean the biggest audience; it might mean a very defined audience. Although when we determine the best audience, size is an important consideration. Second, who do we think is the best marketer? Who is really going to drive awareness for that show and target their particular market the best?

Lastly, which strategy is going to yield the best overall economics for the show?

For example, we have a show called Private Eyes, a charming, nostalgic procedural with Jason Priestley. It’s a very accessible procedural that could be scheduled in any daypart. We decided to go with the basic pay universe, so Turner has it in some markets, NBCUniversal has it in some markets and Fox channels have it in some markets where it’s become very successful and has proven that there is a big audience for Private Eyes. This show seriously over-delivered for their channels. Those channels typically expect 100,000 viewers. Private Eyes was sometimes delivering 250,000 and in some cases five times the channels’ prime-time audience. They were delighted. Some of the big free-to-air broadcasters like RAI in Italy and Antena 3 in Spain took notice of this success and decided to take the next window for their viewers. It worked perfectly—right strategy, right way of maximizing your dollars and really good marketing by the relevant channels to their core audience. Because it’s nostalgic and slightly Moonlight-meets-Castle and female-driven, Private Eyes is very advertising friendly. [Advertisers like] P&G and Unilever love shows like that.

With Designated Survivor, on the other hand, we had a huge internal debate about the best way to sell it. Internationally, we had seen what happened with The West Wing. Designated Survivor is not the same as The West

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Wing, but the two do have elements in common. Internationally, The West Wing had sold to big free-to-air broadcasters; the first season did OK, then it started to struggle. It was considered too political, too highbrow, too American politics. So, for Designated Survivor, we needed somebody who really understands this show and knows how to drive niches within their market. Internationally, we took Designated Survivor to Netflix first and now we’re taking it to linear and free-to-air second.

WS: How are you working with services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime?

BAXTER: The interesting thing is that the relationships we have with them are wonderfully complex and include film, TV and family content. They are also partners with us on a number of co-production initiatives. Netflix is keen to partner on shows at the earliest possible stage.

They are co-producing partners, distribution clients buying what’s already produced, and very occasionally they are competitors as well because they are developing relationships directly with some of the talent that we are working with. The world isn’t as simple as it used to be.

Not that long ago everybody thought Netflix was just a film business when it was a DVD service. Nowadays, we deal with Netflix for film, for TV and for Peppa Pig in America. We deal with Amazon for film, TV and music.

We’re dealing with Hulu both as a licensing client and a distribution partner. I’m confident that the list of global players is going to expand; you will see Google and YouTube in the content business. Apple’s recent hiring of Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht from Sony Pictures Television shows they are going to be in the premium content business. You look at the ambitions of what is referred to as BAT in China—Baidu, Alibaba

and Tencent—and between those three, I think you’re going to see a local player becoming a regional player and then a global player in due course.

WS: How do eOne’s partnerships and first-look deals with producers help feed the pipeline that is available for international distribution?

BAXTER: Our business five-plus years ago was very much dependent on distributing third-party product. What we are doing now is investing in companies like Mark Gordon’s, where we’re the majority shareholder, and Brad Weston’s MAKEREADY studio. We have also taken a stake in Amblin Partners and several other businesses. We’re investing in these companies so we can bring their product to market. We’re not just a distributor for hire, if you like; because we own parts of those businesses, we actually have a share in their upside. It transforms you from being just a P&L player, dependent on the success of the movie, to having a bigger balance sheet in owning part of the success of those shows and movies.

WS: What appetite do you see for factual and entertainment programming and how are you meeting that demand?

BAXTER: Our perspective is that this industry is incredibly cyclical. While it’s true that today there is less demand than historically for factual and light entertainment, it will come back at some stage. Will it be in the exact same shape and form? Probably not. But there is a market, and we really believe in it, so we’ve been investing quite a lot. We’ve built our own U.S. light-entertainment business; we have over five new factual shows on the air.

We invested in Paperny and Force Four in Canada. Last year we bought Renegade 83, and we’ve been doing 9/17 WORLD SCREEN 25

Designated Survivor, which is returning for a second season on ABC, was licensed to Netflix for all markets outside the U.S. and Canada.

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eOne is bringing the Australian comedy The Other Guy to MIPCOM. first-look deals in that space as well. In Europe, we are actively looking for partnerships and content relationships with the same sort of models, whether equity investments or first-look deals because we think that space is a good market.

WS: eOne has been increasing its productions in the U.K. and Australia. Is the strategy to own the content that is produced in those countries when possible?

BAXTER: Very much so. It’s really about owning the underlying IP and some of the upside of those shows and not just renting third-party content. We’ve got development operations in the U.K. and Australia.

The U.K. is looking after Europe, not just the U.K. We did a show last year in France called Ransom. We have a show in development in Italy called Gaddafi. In each of these eOne may not own all of the show, but we will co-fund and co-produce and co-own these titles.

WS: What have been some of the top-selling shows in the last year?

BAXTER: The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead are doing extremely well for us. With Designated Survivor, not only did we do the ABC deal in the U.S., but we’re also working with ABC on a second window. We’ve sold it very successfully in Canada to Bell Media.

We did a Netflix deal internationally, and now we have free-to-air and linear broadcasters looking for second windows. Private Eyes has been sold to over 110 territories. We did another show with AMC called Into the Badlands. It’s very high-end, martial arts meets Western, and that has sold incredibly well. Our other recent show Cardinal, which is very stylistic with high-end production values, has had some great sales—BBC and Canal+—to premium broadcasters all around the world. This series had such an incredible breakthrough premiere that it was immediately recommissioned for seasons two and three.

Ransom, which we launched last year, started life as a relatively provincial French-Canadian procedural but eOne did such a good job improving its quality that we ended up making it as a coproduction with France (TF1), Germany (RTL), the U.S. (CBS) and Canada (Corus). That sold really well, again, for the same reason Private Eyes did. A lot of channels don’t just want very serialized lean-forward fare; they need to mix it up with more accessible programming.

WS: What new shows will you have at MIPCOM? BAXTER: We have three shows that are in production at the moment. The first is Burden of Truth, a legal drama that’s quite serialized, starring Kristin Kreuk from Smallville. We’ve got a show called The Detail, a crime procedural with two female leads.

Caught is a limited-episode, high-end crime caper, quite serialized.

In addition, we’ve got a show we just co-produced in Australia called The Other Guy, which is a quirky comedy. I see it being a late-night niche piece that will have a lot of people coming home from the pub to watch it!

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IN THE NEWS

By Mansha Daswani

When Sky Vision was launched in 2012 following Sky’s acquisition of Parthenon Media Group, the distribution outfit was still largely known for its factual catalog. In the years since, under the leadership of Jane Millichip as managing director, Sky Vision has emerged as a major player in the premium-drama space. As its parent company has ramped up its scripted investments, Sky Vision has become a key part of the financing puzzle, bringing on co-pro partners and selling high-end shows like Riviera and Fortitude across the globe. Millichip tells World Screen about the company’s approach to drama and its enduring commitment to factual and formats, as well as shares her perspective on the complexities of windowing today.

WS: Drama has been a major focus for Sky Vision over the last few years. Tell us about your scripted strategy.

MILLICHIP: Drama wasn’t a part of Parthenon, the company that preceded Sky Vision. So we’re a relatively new business in terms of drama. But we have embraced it fully. Our first priority was to set up a successful international strategy for the Sky commissioned dramas. That has been ramped up considerably, both from a broadcast and distribution perspective.

Fortitude, at the time the biggest show we’d ever launched, has run to two very successful seasons. At MIPTV we launched Riviera, which was the World Premiere TV Screening.

Archery Pictures produced the show. Riviera brought back a style of glamorous drama that has been lacking in the international market in recent years. As a thriller it doesn’t pull its punches, but it is also unashamedly glamorous. It was important to us that we filmed on the Riviera, rather than in a

lookalike location. It’s done well internationally, but it struck a particular chord with European broadcasters.

It also marks our first co-production with Altice in France, a relationship we intend to foster.

At MIPCOM we will be launching Britannia—also a World Premiere TV Screening—produced by Vertigo Films and Neal Street Productions. It’s an epic tale of Celts and Druids in Roman Britain. The color palette and the scale will surprise people. It’s a fantastic cinematic experience that once again sets a new bar.

There’s also Tin Star, the brilliant Tim Roth-fronted drama that we co-distribute with Endemol Shine Group. We have high expectations for Tin Star. It’s got great provenance—Kudos is a brilliant production company—and it’s a modern take on a Western.

We don’t have the biggest slate in the market, but all Sky Vision dramas feel handpicked, and the portfolio is very much curated. The Sky dramas have a real premium pay feel that is attuned to the U.S. What you expect of U.K. drama in terrestrial is shorter runs, a single writer, a very British style. In the six years we’ve been in the drama market, we’ve introduced a new style of British drama that is much more akin to the premium pay American market.

No subject matter is out of bounds for us. We can do period, we can do contemporary; what binds all of these shows is the look, feel and tone of them, and the quality.

In the last year we’ve been more active with our thirdparty slate (i.e., the dramas not commissioned by Sky).

We’ve launched two seasons of the successful Netflix sci-fi drama Travelers, produced by Peacock Alley; and a brilliant Mafia piece, Bad Blood, from New Metric Media in Canada. At MIPCOM we will be launching Fighting Season from Goalpost Pictures in Australia.

And we’re also now engaging in our first slate of non-English-language dramas, which we’re really excited about. There’s a real market for this at the moment. La Peste is Telefónica’s biggest drama investment to date. It’s a period thriller set against the backdrop of the plague in 16th-century Seville. It’s a great thriller, but it also has a really rich visual texture to it. From our own Sky Deutschland we have Acht Tage (Eight Days), an eight-part end-of-the-world family saga.

Comedy can be tougher to sell internationally, but it’s an area that is very important to us, not least because of the importance to Sky 1 and Sky Arts.

WS: How much more complicated is it to come up with a windowing strategy for each title today?

MILLICHIP: It’s ever more complicated.

And I don’t believe in precedents anymore. The world is changing on an almost daily basis. I’m a perpetual negotiator. You have to be adaptable

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Sky Atlantic and Amazon joined forces to commission the historical epic Britannia. in this marketplace, where commercial deal structures are driven by technological advances, and we just have to keep pace. One of the challenges for all content producers and distributors in the coming years will be the fact that there has been a fragmentation of platforms, so there appear to be more buyers than ever, but more of those buyers need more rights than ever. Whereas you could do quite complex windowing previously, more of our buyers now are asking for a broader package of rights. Sometimes they don’t need to use them but they’re trying to hold the exclusivity against their competition. And we’re seeing a blurring of lines between the traditional OTT players and linear. So more of the buyers need more of the rights, and that’s a challenge for a content creator and licensor. And we just need to keep adapting, keep talking to our buyers. Ultimately, the one thing that allows me to sleep at night is that I know the world will always need good storytelling. And if you work with good storytellers, you’re halfway there. If you stay nimble then you’ve got a much better chance of dealing with the challenges.

series in factual without a broadcast commission. The producers at Infinity have a really interesting business model where they are deficit funding with the help of Sky Vision, but they are very much building brands. That is resonating with broadcasters. I think we might be seeing more of that kind of television that is financed outside of a normal broadcast route. Natural history still does very well for us. We’re launching Savage Kingdom from Icon Films. Six episodes, produced alongside the Natural History Film Unit Botswana, hosted by Charles Dance, shot in 4K, which it needs to be if it’s natural history nowadays.

WS: What trends are you seeing in your factual business?

MILLICHIP: We are always keen to secure a sufficient [supply] of what we would call evergreen genres—big history, big science, natural history. There’s an appetite for factual entertainment, lifestyle, upbeat formats.

The factual market has had a challenging time, spurred by the downturn in the character-driven docs from the States. There was a glut of them and oversupply killed that market for a while. It led to a period of risk-averse commissioning. If the commissioning is sufficiently risk-averse, then the ideas get smaller. But I think we’re digging our way out of that now.

At MIPCOM we’re launching some returning series as well as some new shows. Be Your Own Doctor is from Love Productions and is in an area that we’re quite keen on seeing more of—quasi-medical-health fact-ent shows. One of the series that we’re pleased to say is coming back is The Wine Show, from Infinity Creative Media. Years ago there was no way that a producer and distributor would feel brave enough to deficit fund a

WS: In a crowded distribution landscape, to what do you attribute Sky Vision’s success?

MILLICHIP: When I joined, our revenue was just under £10 million, and we’re over £130 million now, in six years. That includes the production revenues we generate from our production company investments.

We’ve seen massive growth in distribution this year, which is really satisfying, since it is all organic growth, as opposed to acquired revenue from corporate investments.

So yes, we’ve gone from a minnow to a moderately-sized business in six short years. Bespoke scale is what you’ll get from Sky Vision. We have no interest in having a catalog that looks like a telephone directory. What we invest in is big and we’re serious, but if we want to take on a single doc we will do it if we feel it’s right for us.

Because we don’t have a glut of programs in the catalog, every program gets the oxygen of publicity. We specialize in giving both producers and broadcasters a tailored service with scale, ambition and style in the shows we handle.

WS: How important are format sales?

MILLICHIP: Formats are more and more important to us.

We recently announced our biggest entertainment show to date, Revolution, which is produced by our own company, Znak & Co.—Sky Vision has invested in the production company with Natalka Znak. That is going onto Sky 1. It’s co-produced with GroupM. That will be our biggest format launch to date.

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FOCUS ON

By Kristin Brzoznowski

Empowering creativity has long been the mantra at Eccho Rights. The company has been connecting with producers early on in the development process, offering advice, market insight and business know-how to help get projects off the ground—and then licensing the shows to as many platforms as possible. While Eccho Rights is still riding high on the success of Turkish dramas, it is also scouting for new scripted concepts further afield, with India and Korea emerging as two key creative hubs. Fredrik af Malmborg, the managing director of Eccho Rights, talks to World Screen about the changing nature of the international drama business.

WS: What has been the strategy for building out the company’s global footprint?

AF MALMBORG: Turkey is very important for us, as we have tremendous success with Turkish drama. We are a Swedish company, so we are doing more and more dramas from Western Europe. We also see two growth areas. One is Korea, where we are adapting some scripts in the country and from the country. We did Ice Adonis a few years ago in Ukraine and now we have a few different Korean adaptations, including in Turkey. Last year we had two Turkish adaptations of Korean scripts. We think that Korea and Turkey have a lot of similarities in terms of the structure of their programs, so we see lots of opportunities. We hired Deborah Youn, based in Seoul, to oversee the Asian office. We are looking at adapting and selling our titles there, as well as building our business in distributing Korean dramas. We also hired Laura Miñarro in the Madrid office to oversee coproduction and scripted projects. She will work with Deborah, and we will look more at developing co-productions, at being more involved to go deeper into projects and serving producers better. This is key, as the financing for drama is changing from the traditional linear broadcasters to more co-productions and more VOD deals.

So, we are growing! To become a bigger part of the global drama market, it’s important to develop our business in each region.

India is also interesting for us, even though we haven’t hired someone there yet.

We have two scripted adaptations currently in India. A remake of Fatmagül went on air a few months ago on Star Plus, 30 WORLD SCREEN 9/17

and Forbidden Love, which is a big hit from Turkey, is also in production for the same channel right now.

WS: Are you also looking for more partnerships with producers in new markets?

AF MALMBORG: We have been working with Ay Yapim in Turkey for a long time. We work with Zebra in Spain.

They are adapting the Belgium format The Clinic. We work with Sreda in Russia. Their series Silver Spoon has done well for us. The approach of working closely with producers and empowering them is important for us, and we have been very fortunate to work with a number of them in exciting and developing markets.

Of course, as the business grows we will continue to look for projects and partners in further markets. One of the key lessons we have learned as independent, international distributors is that great content can come from anywhere.

WS: What sort of expertise can Eccho Rights offer in terms of facilitating co-productions?

AF MALMBORG: We work with producers to help them finance their productions and then to sell them all over the world. I believe in having one main producer who is the creative lead. If you go in as a client to share the risk early, then it makes sense that you get a bit of equity. The model of sharing the equity and finding different investment partners, together with the local broadcaster, is something that we will see more of.

There are a number of investment funds being set up.

We are doing a big Canadian project right now that a number of pure investors are involved in, as well as one VOD channel and one broadcaster. Some of them are also getting equity in the project. Getting the financing together to make a production happen, then figuring out the share of equity according to the risk that is involved is actually not that different from just distributing a title, which is why we feel that Eccho Rights is perfectly placed to develop this business.

That is an area that we will develop quite a lot in the coming years.

WS: Is drama what’s driving the business at present?

AF MALMBORG: Oh yes! It makes up the vast majority of our business. It is in an interesting phase right now, though. There are so many different platforms and broadcasters that are investing in drama that the output is pretty massive. People have very high expectations for the dramas on the international stage. If there are that many dramas being produced, it will be harder and harder to reach the high standards of the international tastemakers: the viewers. Also, we see broadcasters spending huge amounts of money on their own productions, but they also need successful acquisitions. So, the output is big at the moment, but that also drains the international market a little bit and puts pressure on the sale of ready-mades.

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WS: Is Turkish drama still performing quite well and selling into new markets?

AF MALMBORG: Latin America is very strong for Turkish drama at the moment. Insider is airing in Chile with very good ratings. Brave and Beautiful premiered in Mexico this summer. Elif, which is an incredible success across the region, premiered in Argentina, attracting 4 million viewers in a 3 p.m. slot! Italy is catching up, and Eastern Europe has also done well. Indonesia is buying Turkish dramas, too, and we recently announced two new sales in Malaysia, which is an exciting market.

WS: Are you seeing more interest in Korean dramas?

What about Indian drama series?

AF MALMBORG: Both of those markets are super interesting to scout from; they are very creative hubs. They have a style and length of production that is appealing to worldwide audiences, or at least to those outside of Western Europe and the U.S. We are representing a number of scripts from both Korea and India. Turkey, Korea and India are three markets that are seeing a lot of growth in their drama businesses.

We also have a number of great projects from Scandinavia at the moment. We have an amazing project with the Swedish production company Mountain Dog called Heder, which means “honor” in Swedish. That is going into production in January. It has an A-plus cast and very strong concept. We have a number of other projects in development from the region that are also very exciting.

Scandinavia has been and continues to be quite trend setting with its style of storytelling. It’s very international.

WS: Has the proliferation of niche SVOD services come as a boon to the international drama business?

AF MALMBORG: Looking at Korea or Russia, for example, there is very strong growth in the number of VOD

services. Many of them have a revenue-sharing model.

In Western Europe, you have SVODs and platforms like YouTube. I think we will see more and more SVOD services being launched in the coming years, and that means they will probably put series on a number of different platforms more exclusively. In turn, this means a number of different revenue sources, but over a longer period of time. Korea already has six or seven fiercely competing VOD services. I think that will spread to other countries as well.

On the creative side, we saw in Turkey this year that the series Phi—the first original production for the VOD platform Puhu TV—was somewhat more edgy than the traditional content produced for linear TV. Producers, directors, writers and actors are really liberated by the opportunities presented by making a series for an online audience, so I think we will continue to see more creative risks taken moving forward.

WS: How is the demand for scripted formats?

AF MALMBORG: Scripted is more popular than ever! We have done 25 scripted remakes in the last two years. That is a big area for us. We are looking for good scripts and are launching new versions all the time. It is hard to develop a good script, and more producers are realizing that. They see the value of adapting a script. With all the production going on, it’s very hard to find strong scriptwriters.

For The End, which is originally from Turkey, we have a Spanish version coming up this fall, a Dutch version that was a great success last year, and a Russian version also in production. We did Nurses, which is from Finland, in Sweden last year and have a second season coming up this fall. The Swedish version is also airing in both Denmark and Norway.

We have another adaptation of a Korean script, Tears of Heaven, from CJ E&M, launching in Turkey.

It will be one of our major launches for MIPCOM. 9/17 WORLD SCREEN 31

Eccho Rights has amassed a strong slate of Turkish dramas, among them Phi, which was produced for the VOD platform Puhu TV.

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Red Arrow’s The Last Cop.

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As budgets soar and competition intensifies, Jay Stuart explores how distributors are piecing together the financing for high-end drama series.

The business of producing highend television drama is feeling the knock-on effects of digital disruption in a big way. As broadcasters, cable companies and traditional pay-TV providers around the world continue to adjust to the impact of streaming services, the companies making the big shows needed to drive ratings and subscribers are having to explore new ways to put the financial pieces together.

You could call it the “Netflix Effect,” referencing the SVOD player most often cited by producers and distributors enmeshed in this brave new world of financing. It’s really about adjusting to a new market reality covering the

whole spectrum of OTT, broadcast, premium pay and cable and even mobile.

“There are more high-end shows, and the financing ask has become a lot bigger,” says Louise Pedersen, the CEO of all3media international, which will be marketing the new thriller series Liar and Rellik at MIPCOM. “On the other hand, the market is more buoyant. There are more sources willing to come in, so I would say the cost inflation is being balanced against more appetite for investing.”

Atar Dekel, the head of global co-productions at Keshet International, observes that because of the new level of competition, “budgets have exploded and distributors need to take bigger risks.

The upside is that there is the potential for worldwide success.”

Drama is going more global. This has been driven in part by the SVOD platforms, but also by the major TV players that have been introducing SVOD alongside their main channels where they can often experiment with more niche fare.

“Over the past five or six years, the global growth of OTT really

has brought the re-emergence of drama,” says David Ellender, the president of global distribution and co-productions at Sonar Entertainment. “There are enormous opportunities. The market is more complex and competitive.

The bar is higher. There is not always a correlation between the size of the budget and quality, but budgets have soared. And the market is much more global. It’s not just the OTT players. Look at Sky or STUDIOCANAL or Telefónica. They are multinational.”

But it’s SVOD that has torn up the old rulebook. Netflix has brought in a new model: 100-percent financing in return for all the rights. This has very serious implications for distributors.

NEW RULES “In the old days, an American broadcaster would come in for 50 percent to 80 percent of the budget, and the international distributor would make up the difference from world sales,” says Vanessa Shapiro, the president of worldwide TV distribution and co-production at Gaumont, which makes Narcos

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and F is for Family for Netflix.

“Now, if Netflix finances a show, we have to wait for their holdbacks to run out before we can exploit the secondary linear market. We produced the big Netflix hit Narcos but to date can only sell DVD rights internationally. It makes sense, of course. They are operating globally, and they need to have exclusivity.

The model also allows shows of very high quality to be produced.

Amazon is also trying to follow the same model. It’s a disruptive trend. Broadcasters will very rarely finance series. The same with basic cable.”

Today, there are basically four distinct types of drama, according to Sonar’s Ellender: nationally funded shows purely aimed at a domestic audience; nationally funded shows with cross-border potential such as The Bridge or The Killing from Scandinavia; international co-productions with creative control more or less with one originating country, such as the BBC’s Sherlock; and transnationally financed programs with multiple partners involved creatively, such as Sonar’s own Das Boot.

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To help complete the financing on the ambitious new crime drama McMafia, a BBC One commission, BBC Worldwide signed AMC in the U.S. as a co-production partner.

“When we view the kaleidoscope of IP, we are always looking through one of those lenses,” Ellender notes. “The determining factor is relevance. The creative fit can’t be forced. Once upon a time, financing often drove the show.

You had the Europudding phenomenon. Those days are gone.

Strategically, we look at the market in terms of needing to be open to multiple funding methods.”

Financing timelines are less predictable today. “With more and more global and multiplatform players entering the market, you can do one-stop-shop deals and things can move very fast,” says Henrik Pabst, the managing director of Red Arrow International.

“However, if you involve various partners and the structure becomes more complex, it can take much longer, sometimes years. There are also instances where projects look like they are not going to fly and suddenly they get revived and financed years later, as the time had not been right before.”

Even with the new OTT players coming to the fore, the role of the broadcasters remains fundamental.

“The key thing for us as a coproduction or sales house is to have a primary commitment from a broadcaster,” says all3media’s Pedersen. “We have pulled together a lot of co-productions over the past six months or so, and all of them

have a primary broadcaster. Once you have that piece in place, the rest of the financing can come together quickly, in three months or so, sometimes longer. It all depends on the size of the ask.”

The problem is that broadcasters can support less and less of the cost burden.

SHIFTING THE BURDEN Anke Stoll, Keshet International’s director of acquisitions and coproductions, says even two or three years ago in the U.K., a broadcaster would finance 90 percent of a drama, with the distributor covering 10 percent. “Now the market for high-end drama has exploded.

Budgets of £2 million per hour are not unusual anymore and not even considered very costly. No broadcaster can finance 90 percent anymore,” Stoll observes.

“Big broadcasters aren’t guaranteed 20 percent market shares anymore,” adds Sonar’s Ellender. “The new market reality has encouraged them to open up to partnerships that they might not have accepted a few years ago when they assumed most of the cost and wanted to be in the driver’s seat. So now you see Netflix working with BBC or Sky with HBO.” The traditional process is to look to get a big domestic piece in place to drive the international distribution, but there are some companies

that will take the reverse approach, selling a lot of foreign and leaving the domestic until later, says Kenneth Christmas, the head of business affairs and legal at MarVista Entertainment. “The risk profile is different. The latter could leave more upside if a show is a success internationally because when you put the domestic piece in place first your pricing power is limited. The bottom line is that it’s more and more difficult to have 100 percent of your shows.”

For Pedersen at all3media, “the basic model has not changed that much. What has changed, the complicating factor, is cash flow.

Because the budgets are bigger, the cash flow is more difficult to manage. Distributors used to give an advance on sales on delivery of a completed program. This part of the model is evolving.”

BREAKING THE BANK “The changes in high-end drama financing apply not only to new productions directly, but also to back catalog, and this, in turn, has an impact on new output,” explains Lorraine Ruckstuhl, the head of media for Barclays Corporate Banking, which has introduced new production finance products to meet changing needs. “The key factor is the delay in collecting from SVOD players, meaning Netflix, Amazon and Hulu as the big three.”

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Typically, a broadcaster will pay on delivery with a 30-day collection window. In the case of Netflix, for back catalog, the wait could be three years and up to even five.

“We stay close to our customers, and we realized about two years ago that there was an issue developing in this area,” Ruckstuhl says. “A lot of it was happening in the States first, but it has become important elsewhere now as well. We felt that there was a financing gap in the market, and we created our new products to enable companies to manage their relationships with Netflix and other SVOD companies.

The new products have been helping smaller independent producers as well as the larger companies. We can help smaller companies punch above their weight.”

There are two basic products.

The first, launched about a year ago, is a long-term loan over the period that it takes for the producer to see the back end from SVOD. The second, begun in May 2017, is an SVOD financing fund through which Barclays actually takes over the contract for the receivables.

The liability is no longer between the producer and Netflix but Barclays and Netflix. The fund’s big appeal is that it makes income available up front.

The new fund made its first deal in support of Roughcut TV. This involved the bank purchasing

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Gaumont is employing a range of methods to fund its drama series, including relying largely on local financing for French dramas like Glacé (The Frozen Dead) for M6.

Roughcut’s Netflix receivable, giving the company the upfront cash benefit of a multiyear contract for the streaming of the comedy series Cuckoo. A handful of deals with other companies are signed but have not been unveiled as yet.

The SVOD fund is a U.K. initiative and requires a U.K. production company to be involved, and that means a “real” producer, not a shell. However, the actual counter party in the deal can be a global company, and to date, that has sometimes been the case.

“It’s hard to generalize about production,” Ruckstuhl says. “Some shows are one-on-one deals with SVOD, but co-productions between SVOD and broadcasters are becoming more common. More SVOD players will probably enter the market, and major broadcasters are already coming into the space. It will be interesting to see if the shift away from traditional broadcaster financing will be accelerated.”

As the difficulty of funding shows has pushed companies to broaden their financing horizons, a positive trend has been the opening up of the market to multi-language shows. The success of Narcos, which is in Spanish and English, has helped push the trend. “Even the Netflix people were surprised by how successful the show was in two

languages, and they will want to repeat that success,” Gaumont’s Shapiro says.

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE In Germany, a channel like ZDF is now subtitling some imported drama, observes Stoll at Keshet International. “When even hardcore dubbing markets start to subtitle, you know that there is a big change under way.”

Sonar’s Das Boot will feature dialogue in German, French and English. “Acceptance of subtitling has grown enormously,” Ellender says. “Much of the thanks needs to go to Netflix and Amazon. They are taking a global view, and that has meant subtitling. But it’s not only about OTT. Three years ago I never would have thought that HBO would greenlight a show in Hebrew and Arabic like their new project with Keshet.”

Tentatively titled Flesh of Our Flesh, that new production is steered by Hagai Levi.

“Creative partnerships have become a necessity,” Ellender continues. “Financing comes down to, How do you create partnerships?

Every show is completely different. There is no cookie-cutter solution. Anomalies have become the norm. Every project is different. Story comes first. The challenge is marrying the deal and the creative. Everybody has to be on

the same page. It’s not always easy. There are a lot of voices in the room.”

But first, you need to come up with the financing package. And covering bigger budgets is a challenge, not least because the needs of potential partners are not always compatible.

MANAGING RIGHTS “The big issue for us remains the co-production requirements the networks put on us in terms of what they want,” says MarVista’s Christmas. “The challenge is figuring out how the digital rights are apportioned; questions like, When is the SVOD exclusive? Or, What will be available to bingewatch? Netflix has very clear ideas about what rights it needs to have. Cable companies also try to have their own hold on certain rights. We find we are unable to put together some shows because we can’t get the potential partners on the same page. Sometimes it’s not even close. You would think cable companies and OTT platforms, for example, would have more understanding of each other, but they are still in very different places. We find ourselves telling cable partners that they have to take all of the show because the rights they are leaving us are not enough to monetize the deficit we are facing.”

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Benchmark Television, established by BBC Worldwide, Access (headed by ex-BBC exec Danny Cohen) and Lookout Point, aims to address the challenge of securing funding from broadcasters by working outside of the traditional commissioning structure. “The aim is to get more high-end drama into the market,” says Liam Keelan, the director of scripted at BBC Worldwide. “We will be able to greenlight projects without a broadcaster in place. This allows things to happen more quickly.”

BBC Worldwide has also set up The Drama Investment Partnership, a fifty-fifty venture with Anton that plans to invest at least £150 million over three years in the production of high-end drama.

These new funds are just taking flight, so there are no projects going ahead yet.

“We’re in a key position,” Keelan says. “We have extremely strong relationships with broadcasters and other companies around the world.

Being well-connected enables us to know what’s out there, and evaluate and identify the best projects.”

BBC Worldwide, of course, has long been in the business of lining up partners on U.K. commissions, including Good Omens, based on the novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, which will be on Amazon Prime, and McMafia, a thriller that will air on AMC.

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all3media international is handling sales on the ITV commission Liar, clinching a U.S. partner in SundanceTV on the thriller.

“Five years ago, BBC Worldwide was a traditional distribution business,” Keelan says. “You would wait for productions to turn up. But the market has changed massively, and we have responded. Digital has speeded things up. The idea is, if you know what the market wants, go for it. We want to be able to take a shortcut to get projects into the pipeline more quickly.”

Keelan adds, “The moment you think you are on top of the dealmaking landscape, it all changes again. Very rarely do you see one partner or even two partners making programs. You need a number of partners.”

Red Arrow’s Pabst observes that “nowadays, all sorts of funds exist that we as a co-production partner, and the producers themselves, can access when financing high-end drama. Recently there is a trend for equity funds being set up, and there are local funds and tax incentives that relate to local production spend; and pan-regional funds like MEDIA, which focuses on supporting trans-European coproductions. For our new thriller Embassy Down, which is set in Copenhagen, part of the funding comes from the Copenhagen Film Fund, which invested €1.75 million in the project. This made it economically possible to actually shoot the entire series where it is set, thus adding to its authenticity.”

Gaumont’s Shapiro points to tax credits as a good way to work through the new financing reality.

“Canada offers tax credits for 100-percent Canadian shows. We can co-produce with the Canadian producer and access the credits.

With a Canadian broadcaster in

place, we take the rest of the world and cover the financial gap.

In effect, we make Canadian shows instead of American ones.

We are looking at two of these productions rights now.”

FRENCH CONNECTION In principle, this could be done in other countries too. In France, Gaumont’s home country, it has long operated this way, with broadcaster deals and tax credits covering most of the finances with a small gap for shows like The Frozen Dead (M6) and The Art of Crime (France 2).

“Building incentives into a budget is essential,” says all3media’s Pedersen. “I haven’t seen a single drama project without at least a U.K. tax incentive as part of the budget. When it comes to interna-

tional incentives, the producer needs to feel the country is right for delivering the creative elements and is right to work in.”

Sonar’s Das Boot was able to access incentives in France, the Czech Republic and Malta.

“There are incentives and credits to access in all those places, but I stress that is not the main reason we are shooting there,” Ellender notes. “It’s driven by the creative.”

For veterans of the indie film business, these new TV financing formulas should sound familiar.

“With the market becoming more fragmented, the scripted world is becoming increasingly like the independent film world,” says Red Arrow’s Pabst. “The financing is often based on a combination of

several partners, co-producers, funds, presales and the clever use of tax incentives. Also, more and more equity money is entering the TV world, which is very common in the independent film world.”

Pedersen at all3media, however, says the parallel with movies only goes so far. “As tax incentives are built in as an important element, I would say that, yes, high-end drama production has become more like that. The big difference with television is that you have the ability to bring that anchor broadcaster in, which films don’t have.”

But how long will those anchors remain?

“Ten years ago, you had a network show on a Sunday evening and maybe it pulled 2 million viewers,” says MarVista’s Christmas.

“Now you could have the same show on a digital streamer like Netflix, Amazon or Hulu and it gets 500,000. The difference is that those 2 million viewers came in and out of the network show, while for the 500,000 on digital, it’s their show. They’re dedicated viewers.

Brands are starting to see the marketing possibilities. You could argue that those dedicated viewers are three or four times more valuable than the broadcast viewers. The show almost becomes a channel—a channel to the consumer.”

MarVista is tapping into its film experience as it expands into the series space, recently launching Rebel, which began as a TV movie for BET. 38 WORLD SCREEN 9/17

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its involvement in jointly financed and produced projith a catalog of more ects and focusing on high-end drama. Recent titles have than 20,000 hours of included Deutschland 83, The Young Pope and drama, factual and factualAmerican Gods. entertainment programming, While there is great demand for drama, talent competition FremantleMedia International shows and factual programming continue to be mainstays of (FMI) sells product to some 200 FMI’s offering. The finished version of American Idol sold territories worldwide. FMI feeds its pipeline with finished around the world, and there is shows and formats from parent much enthusiasm for the show’s company FremantleMedia’s global new iteration that will premiere network, which has operations in 31 countries. It then supple- FREMANTLEMEDIA INTERNATIONAL on ABC next year. Also, lifestyle and cooking shows, and their ments that output with programhybrids, consistently deliver audiences for channels and servming it co-finances, co-produces or represents from ices, big and small. third parties.

As Richter tells World Screen, he and his teams in ten Jens Richter, FMI’s CEO, has been growing the company’s regional offices around the world are focused not only on roster of content by taking advantage of FremantleMedia’s selling programming but also on building brands. investments in talent and production companies, increasing

JENS RICHTER

By Anna Carugati

WS: There is a lot of drama in the market. Are you focusing on high-concept projects with A-list talent?

RICHTER: We all agree there is a lot of drama out there, so you have to aim high to be able to make an impact with your show and to do that you need several elements. It’s about the story that hasn’t been told before.

It’s about the piece of IP that has a great fan base, like Neil Gaiman’s American Gods or Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels. It’s about the creative talent involved, the writers and the producers. And as the projects become more ambitious, that means greater in scale, so you want to be authentic in your productions. If you do something like The Young Pope, you rebuild the Vatican to the point that people believe you shot there. That does come at a cost, and it means that everyone needs to have real trust in the production— the production company, the entity that helps finance the project and the broadcaster or platform that prebuys projects like that. The track record of the producer is also important, as is how unique the writing talent is. The Young Pope was the first time Paolo Sorrentino did a TV series. It’s also about the onscreen talent. An actor with recognition that fits the role 150 percent, as Jude Law did, does make an impact as well. And in American Gods, Mr. Wednesday is Ian McShane—it’s just him. For the character Shadow Moon, they saw a lot of people, and they were looking for something very specific: the man of no color as described in the book. And Ricky Whittle did a fantastic job; this is going to be his breakthrough.

This comes back to the point that there is a lot of drama out there. There is quite a spread between shows that can make an impact in the market or just another show that gets lost among a lot of others. It’s the middle ground that becomes more and more challenging, because not only is there a lot of drama, there is also fragmentation in the market. There are so many platforms—[traditional] TV channels, pay TV, SVOD and AVOD—that for an individual platform to break through it needs shows that make a difference. Drama is widely seen as the high-quality piece of television that can have the impact in the market that can help to break through. If you’re really lucky, you get the double whammy of critical reviews and audience. That is 40 WORLD SCREEN 9/17

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Made for Starz by FremantleMedia North America, American Gods—based on the Neil Gaiman novel—has an international window on Amazon and has been renewed for a second season. beautiful. Coming back to American Gods, the reviews we got in the weeks before and surrounding the launch were unbelievably positive. That was because of a huge fan base. There was a lot of anticipation for a series based on a Neil Gaiman book. The fans of the book are almost fanatic. And the current political and social landscape, the themes of [religion] and immigration, make a book written in 2001 almost more relevant today than it was back then.

Also, it was the most successful launch for Starz in a long time.

Amazon is the global partner.

They tell us it’s the number one show across the world. They have been able to activate more subscribers with American Gods.

WS: Was The Young Pope well received by international buyers?

RICHTER: The Young Pope was the most unusual piece of drama I have worked on in a long, long time. First, it was a lot about Paolo Sorrentino, who creates, writes, produces and directs amazing theatrical films and is now doing television. There was high anticipation and curiosity surrounding what the series would be about. Then there was Jude Law and the whole cast, which was mega impressive. It was screened at the Venice Film Festival. Everyone was very nervous because at the Venice Film Festival you get a direct

response from the audience in the theater. There was a standing ovation at the end of the screening; everybody loved what they had seen.

What was critical for us was the feedback from the U.S. The New York Times and other publications loved it. Then we went out to market and we had some very interesting conversations with clients. Some clients were seriously concerned about what the show was really about. Was it a criticism of the Catholic Church?

At one platform, the acquisition team loved it, but the head of the channel is a practicing Catholic and wanted to know how the show deals with the Catholic Church. So we set up a call with the head of the channel, the acquisition team and the producers, and we openly discussed the show. There were very direct questions to Lorenzo [Mieli, an executive producer of The Young Pope]: Are you a believer? After a one-and-a-half-hour conversation, we all agreed the show is about one character who hadn’t received his calling yet, and it follows his search and journey. The show was not going after the Catholic Church in any way. The acquisition team and channel head were very grateful for the call and said, Let us discuss internally and we’ll get back to you

tomorrow. The next day they came back and said, We want the show. The Young Pope went on air and did phenomenally well for them, both critical reviews and audience. When the news came out about The New Pope [Sorrentino’s upcoming limited series], they immediately said, We want to be on board again. The Young Pope is one of our best-selling drama series ever. It sold in every market around the world to a mix of premium pay TV, public broadcasters and VOD platforms.

WS: At what point do you invest in a drama project?

RICHTER: We come on very early.

The way we work at Fremantle is unique. First, over the last two or three years, we went heavily into drama. We invested in drama talent.

We acquired production companies like Miso Film in Scandinavia, Kwaï in France and Wildside in Italy. We brought production talent into the group. Kate Harwood is reviving Euston Films, an established drama label in the U.K. She’s doing Hard Sun for the BBC, set it up as a coproduction with Hulu. We also invested in start-ups like Dancing Ledge and Corona TV, two U.K.based production companies. We attract production talent that helps us create a wonderful pipeline.

Second, we have our global drama department, headed by Sarah

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Doole and Christian Vesper. They nurture our development pipeline and give a lot of advice to our producers. A beautiful case study is what we did in Australia with Picnic at Hanging Rock, which is a Foxtel commission based on the novel by Joan Lindsay. You know about the 1975 Peter Weir movie.

What we have working for us is the book IP, and the movie, which is known to quite a lot of movie buffs and quite a lot of buyers. We looked at the property, and our addition was to create something that did not bring the movie to television in a six-hour version but created a new interpretation that fits into today’s world.

One of the discussion points was this is a show with a lot of female protagonists. We have this unmarried woman who comes from the U.K. with a lot of money and sets up a boarding school for women in Australia. On Valentine’s Day, 1900, they go on an excursion and all the girls but one goes missing. What happened? What’s the secret of the lady who opened the boarding school? It’s a show with women for women. The 1975 movie had a male perspective. We decided we’d like to have a female director who can bring a visual language that fits a global audience. That’s where our drama department came in, and Christian hired Larysa Kondracki, who had

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Got Talent online, your fan base knows what’s going on in America on the show live. Now, we bring these shows all out day and date, so if you are a pay-TV platform in Asia and you want America’s Got Talent, you will air it the same day as in the U.S. or the next day, depending on the time difference.

Entertainment shows, among them Britain’s Got Talent, remain a huge piece of the FremantleMedia International distribution catalog. worked on Legion and Better Call Saul. Larysa is the director of the first three episodes and the showrunner for all six episodes. She will also oversee the post-production.

Then the casting component came in. Who could be the boarding school headmistress?

The ambition was to find a cast that fits on a billboard, taking into consideration the marketing and communications elements.

When Natalie Dormer of Game of Thrones came in, she fit the part wonderfully. We certainly don’t produce average drama anymore. We are now at an international level, and that means we have to spend more money.

WS: Have distribution and financing changed in this age of highend drama?

RICHTER: We are not a studio, but very few indies have a structure like ours. We have ten regional offices, so once we have a drama we believe in we can heavily market it and we can place it. We can have The Young Pope on Fox in Latin America or SBS in Australia because we have salespeople on the ground who understand our shows really well and they sit with the broadcasters.

The way we support the marketing has also changed because of piracy. If you have a big show, it’s about day-and-date airings and global launches. You have to put a lot more energy and thought into the marketing assets. An interesting experience was American Gods.

Starz needs different assets than Amazon. The moment you have a lot of SVOD platforms involved, you deliver not only different marketing assets, but you also deliver different materials for the show.

And the way you support the financing of shows is also changing because the moment you’re talking about these big, ambitious, impactful shows, you do end up spending money. And the budgets surely are not covered by the commissioning broadcasters alone, so you need financial resources to do this kind of drama.

It’s an orchestrated process, and you need a lot of people working hand in hand. You compare that to ten years ago when a show might have been financed mainly by the commissioning broadcaster. You dealt only with traditional linear broadcasters. Piracy wasn’t an issue. So people were pretty relaxed about when you would deliver a show. Everybody got the same set of materials because they weren’t specific to the platform. It’s all completely changed, and at the same time, there is a lot more opportunity in the market because there are so many platforms and broadcasters. And broadcasters that still have a mainly live audience require different shows and different storytelling—the characters may not be as complicated. There might be the story-of-the-week element. While if you work with platforms or broadcasters that

have a high level of catch-up or on-demand, you can do different types of storytelling.

Because we talk to broadcasters and platforms all the time, we know what they have in development and on their slate. That is very valuable insight. You don’t want to put a lot of time and energy and money into developing and creating a show and then finding out, oops, there are three others in this space. Then you won’t have the impact anymore.

Then you are number four in line behind others. So, what is the USP of your show? And you have to be fairly sure there is a USP. WS: Factual is still quite important for you, isn’t it?

RICHTER: Yes, and in the unscripted space, there is factual, factual reality and our talent shows. In the talent show space, the week before the L.A. Screenings was the most beautiful week of the year. We had American Idol coming back and the renewal of American Gods in the same week.

It couldn’t have been better! With American Idol coming back, we are excited about ABC in the U.S., and we’re also excited about having the tape for the rest of the world because the tape is very valuable for us.

American Idol, America’s Got Talent, Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor are all global shows. We sell them around the world. Ten years ago, it didn’t make much difference when these shows would go out.

Now the world is connected, so if you have a fan base for America’s

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WS: What have been some of your recent factual reality shows?

RICHTER: We are very proud of some of our big brands, like Grand Designs. That’s a great property, and it works well in pay and free TV. It has closed-ended episodes. It’s high quality and aspirational, and we are always telling the story of a homeowner’s emotional journey. The closed-ended episodes allow for a lot of repeats and very flexible scheduling for the broadcasters. We have Grand Designs U.K., Grand Designs Australia and now one from Denmark, and the tape value of all these versions is incredibly high and they travel very well.

For more than ten years we have been working together with Jamie Oliver. Jamie Oliver is a brand, and there again the way we work has changed completely. It’s not us only selling the tape. We talk with Jamie Oliver and his production company and ask, what are your key markets? Where are you active with merchandise, with your restaurant business? How can we help create synergies between all these different businesses to help you grow the Jamie Oliver brand?

Then we bring him together with the broadcaster. We have sessions with books, broadcaster, restaurant and merchandising in the same room. That’s way beyond selling tape; that’s building brands, and FremantleMedia is very different from everybody else. I don’t think there is any other company out there that is so conscious about brands. And the journey with American Idol and the big talent shows really helped because it created experience and awareness for the company about building brands and running the business around these brands. And we are more than happy to share that with thirdparty producers.

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Paget

Brewster For 12 seasons, Criminal Minds has been following a dedicated group of FBI profilers who are part of the BAU, the Behavioral Analysis Unit. These agents track the most heinous criminals, trying to anticipate their next moves in an effort to stop them from killing again. Paget Brewster plays Special Agent Emily Prentiss, who rejoined the unit last season after having been away for four years. Brewster talks about the responsibility she and the rest of the cast feel toward real-life FBI agents, many of whom are consultants on the show, and the

By Anna Carugati reasons for the series’ success in the U.S. and around the world.

WS: What is it about the show that resonates with viewers in so many countries?

BREWSTER: I think part of it is human nature. People want to know what’s going on in the mind of someone who could hurt them, and Criminal Minds provides that. We show: what is the damage of this person? How did they get this way? What do they want? And how do they take advantage of people? It’s human nature to want to learn that in any way possible. I think the key to the success of the show is that it’s satisfying to see these characters that you know—that have relationships with each other, care about each other, protect each other—stopping the bad guy.

I think it’s appealing in every country because this is just human nature; we’re really all the same.

WS: Tell us about your return to the show last season. Your character, Emily, had been running Interpol in Europe but was called back because of the serial killers that had escaped prison at the end of the previous season.

BREWSTER: Correct. In real life I left four years ago and did comedy, and Emily went to Europe and was running Interpol.

When I rejoined last year Hotch [Aaron Hotchner, played by Thomas Gibson] was no longer the unit chief and Emily was asked if she would come in and accept that position. So Emily decides to come back, because she’s missed these people she cares about, but not in the position she was in before. She wants to come back in an equal position to what she was doing in Europe. I think that’s important and empowering to women—that Emily is the unit chief. She runs the team a little bit differently than Hotch did, in the way that people are different, and men and women are different. I was really honored to be able to do that. I think Emily’s a really good boss.

There is something feminine, maternal and caring, and [she talks] to people using their first names—it’s different from Hotch. It doesn’t mean that one is better than the other; they’re just different. I was just really pleased that she returned as unit chief. As for me, they didn’t ask me to come back full-time and give up the things that I wanted to do. CBS is allowing me to do a show on Comedy Central because I fought for it. I said I would love to come back, but I want to [do it] in a way that I feel good and empowered and positive about. We were all able to make that work, and that was important to me.

WS: Emily shows so many different emotions. She’s a professional, she can be cold when necessary, but she has such a heart, too. As an actor, is it great to have that range?

BREWSTER: Oh yes, I hope I have that range! You get that material and just want to do a good job. Part of it is great writing, part of it is absolutely trusting the people that I’m with, who I’ve known for years now, so it definitely lightens the load. You could drive yourself crazy worrying, Am I going to pull this off? Am I going to be empathetic? Am I going to make sense of this material? Am I going to be as strong as I need to be, because I need to honor the men and women of the FBI who actually do this for a living, who see and feel and go through horrible, painful, scary things, that I, personally, couldn’t do? It is a balancing act of being caring [and tough], but these people do dangerous, scary things, and they have to be great at it—especially the women. We have to be equal to men because that’s who those real women in the FBI are. It is really important to maintain that. When you do a show for a long time, it’s easy to just walk through it and think, Oh, I’ve said this line pretty much the same way, but we all have to remind ourselves: this is actually important. It’s important to our fans; it’s important to us as actors. We have to care, pay attention, and not think of it as, Oh, it’s my job. We all feel that way, we support each other and help each other and keep each other on our toes, and that’s a rare environment. There are a lot of shows where people are just walking through it, because they can, and they cash their checks. Our show is not that, and I hope it shows. Maybe that’s one of the reasons [it’s so successful around the world]—our writers don’t slack off, the prop department doesn’t slack off, everyone is working to the best of their ability to make this series. It’s important to us that the fans like it. It’s important to us what they feel. I don’t want to sound corny or self-important. I know we’re all acting, but there’s a responsibility to it that I think we all feel.

WS: Have you been able to meet any women agents?

BREWSTER: Yes, my character was based on an agent named Emily, who was an FBI agent at the time and was a consultant on the show. She was exceptional, and really everything I wanted to be! She was feminine, sexy, funny. She was great at her job, powerful, self-aware and strong, and had to face horrible stuff. I’ve also met a couple of female agents from the L.A. office. We’ve had a lot of [FBI] visitors to the set because they’re always welcome. They all seem to like the show. What they’ve said to us is, OK, this we wouldn’t do.

But we say, It’s TV, we’ve got to do this one! But they’ve all been very supportive.

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market trends

content especially for our OTT platform, BluTV. We are also planning new worldwide investments through BluTV. Ws: What’s driving the success of Kanal D in Turkey? I know dramas are significant to your schedule, but what are your other programming strengths?

BULUt maraŞLI: Our strengths in programming come from our experience of over 20 years. We know what our audience wants. The most important thing is we are the trendsetter of the media sector. We are courageous when it comes to trendsetting. Our audience likes to see the old and the new together. Therefore, we are combining the values coming from the past and future programming. We get positive feedback on this, so we continue.

Özge BuLut MArAşLi

KANAL D

By Mansha Daswani

Ws: In such a crowded environment, how are you maintaining innovation within the Kanal D programming team?

BULUt maraŞLI: This is inevitable. I want you to picture a highway where all the cars are driving extremely fast. You have to drive fast too, and if you want to be the leader, you have to drive even faster than everyone else. This is indispensable for us. To make this possible, our teams work 36 hours a day, not 24. This requires a lot of self-sacrifices and hard work. Innovation needs investment. We will keep investing in innovation.

Ws: Tell us about Dogan’s international business.

What growth opportunities are you seeing?

BULUt maraŞLI: We have high-quality content.

We believe that our content can be aired on thematic channels on different platforms. Also, we are looking for co-production opportunities. Coproduction is not a quick process. When you check the international examples, you see that it takes a minimum of a year. We are cooperating with several companies for co-pros. Meanwhile, we will stay open to any other opportunities.

The Turkish drama sector is teeming with new players today as the genre continues to gain popularity around the globe. The success of the country’s scripted export business has its roots in Gümüs, a Turkish drama hit that was licensed to the Middle East and sparked a viewing phenomenon. That show, along with subsequent breakouts like Fatmagül, War of the roses and Wounded Love, hails from Turkey’s leading broadcaster, Kanal D, a division of Dogan TV Holding. Özge Bulut Maraşli, the CEO of Kanal D and deputy CEO of Dogan TV, shares with World screen her strategy for strengthening the company’s operations locally and abroad.

Ws: As consumption habits change, how are you serving your audiences on multiple platforms?

BULUt maraŞLI: Every day we monitor our audience’s reactions. We seriously invest in research, not just data but also sociological research. There are two dimensions to our research: what is going on in the world and what is going on in Turkey. To see what goes on around the world is crucial to us for setting our vision. And to know Turkey better helps us to set our works to the right platform.

Ws: Tell us about the overall strategy you are putting into place as the new CEO of Kanal D and deputy CEO at Dogan TV Holding.

BULUt maraŞLI: One of the main strategies is using our expertise in producing content, broadcasting and channel management on international platforms. Also, digitalization is on our agenda. In this area, we made significant progress in producing

Ws: What are some of your other priorities for Dogan’s businesses locally and abroad in the next 12 to 18 months?

BULUt maraŞLI: In the next 12 months, our priority is to make new investments for our content production. This is a major issue for us. Locally we have two channels, Kanal D and teve2, and are planning to strengthen both channels and protect their leading positions.

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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 Simon Cowell insult me?

Every day, papers, magazines and websites 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 occasionally prove pro phetic.

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

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

Anna Faris

Simon Cowell

Milo Ventimiglia

Nick Jonas

ANNA FARIS

MILO VENTIMIGLIA

Global distinction: Sitcom star.

Sign: Sagittarius (b. November 29, 1976) Significant date: August 8, 2017 Noteworthy activity: The bubbly blonde, who co-stars

Global distinction: On-screen patriarch.

Sign: Cancer (b. July 8, 1977) Significant date: August 8, 2017 Noteworthy activity: During an appearance on Jimmy

on the hit comedy Mom, and husband Chris Pratt issue a joint statement that they are legally separating. Just two days after the announcement hits social media, Faris is featured on the cover of Live Happy magazine.

Though the interview was conducted months before, the actress does allude to struggles with confrontation and vulnerability in long-term relationships.

Horoscope: “Don’t agree to anything before you have a chance to check out what’s entailed. Play it safe and avoid regret.” (theoaklandpress.com)

Kimmel Live!, the This Is Us co-star admits that his father was less than impressed by his Emmy nod for the hit NBC drama series. “God bless my mom and dad for always keeping me in the world of creativity and being supportive. But [for] my dad...that wasn’t the news of the day,” Ventimiglia tells the host. “On the day of the nomination, it also happened to be National French Fry Day.” Horoscope: “Instead of worrying about what others think, affirm for yourself that you are a beautiful person who has a lot to offer.” (dailyom.com)

SIMON COWELL

NICK JONAS

Global distinction: Sharp-tongued TV mogul.

Sign: Libra (b. October 7, 1959) Significant date: August 22, 2017 Noteworthy activity: After an act on America’s Got

Global distinction: Music & TV stud.

Sign: Virgo (b. September 16, 1992) Significant date: August 24, 2017 Noteworthy activity: After posing with the 5’7” musician

Talent goes awry, Cowell jokes to the fellow judges, “I kind of imagined this would be like Mel B’s wedding night; a lot of anticipation, not much promise or delivery.”

The former Spice Girl, who is just two seats away, unscrews the lid of her cup and hurls its contents at him, leaving his shirt drenched, before storming off the stage.

Horoscope: “Watch what you say over the next 48 hours, especially when dealing with employers and senior colleagues.” (theglobeandmail.com)

and actor, a much taller Instagram user posts the pic and tags the Kingdom co-star with the message “@nickjonas u need a few more inches bruhh” alongside a laughing emoji, to which the former Jonas Brother responds: “You need some manners ‘bruh’ I didn’t need to stop to take that picture with you. Just rude. Very rude.” The height ridiculer later revises his caption to read: “One of the most humble superstars...MY MAN @nickjonas.”

Horoscope: “Don’t let someone’s undermining words make you feel unworthy.... Chances are they’re just jealous of you.” (lifeandstylemag.com)

JAMES CAMERON Global distinction: Oscar-winning director.

Sign: Leo (b. August 16, 1954) Significant date: August 24, 2017 Noteworthy activity: The Titanic and Terminator filmmaker takes aim at the new Wonder Woman movie, which has been praised by feminists for its portrayal of the female hero and became the highestgrossing live-action film directed by a woman. “All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided,” he says in an interview with The Guardian. “She’s an objectified icon…it’s a step backwards.” The internet erupts with backlash to the comments.

Horoscope: “Try to keep your opinions to yourself, even if someone asks for feedback.” (guelphmercury.com) 50 WORLD SCREEN 9/17

PENN JILLETTE Global distinction: Magician/comedian.

Sign: Pisces (b. March 5, 1955) Significant date: August 18, 2017 Noteworthy activity: The chatty half of entertainment duo Penn & Teller ruffles some feathers after an interview on Real Time with Bill Maher, during which he joked: “I’m probably from Newfoundland, which is just a euphemism for stupid. All of those people up in the frozen North that club seals, those are my people.” The 62-year-old tweets an apology the next day to residents of the Canadian island.

Horoscope: “Something you said…was at best wrong and at worst rather rude. Apologize the first chance you get.” (theglobeandmail.com)

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