The International Film Business: A Market Guide Beyond Hollywood

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of illustrations
Introduction
Acknowledgements
Part I: The film value chain
	Chapter 1: The winds of change
		Changing gears
		The three-legged chair: creativity, technology and leadership
		Technology: changing winds
		Leadership out in front
		References
	Chapter 2: The film value chain
		The value chain model: An introduction
		The shape and structure of the independent film industry
			The previous vertical perspective
			The new value chain model
		The pressure and speed of change
			What do these changes mean for the international film business?
		Developing business models
		Opportunities: the new battleground
		Note
		References
	Chapter 3: Development and the producer’s roles
		Introduction to film development
		The early stages of feature film development
		Development as a high-risk activity
		The Studio model
		The writers’ place in film development
		Script editing
		The varying roles of the film producer
		The creative producer
		The financial producer
		References
	Chapter 4: Development: The writer and the agent
		The agent’s perspective
			The mystery of storytelling, a TedX Talk by literary agent Julian Friedmann (November 2012, Ealing, London)
	Chapter 5: Green lighting films
		An introduction to green lighting
		Case study: green lighting film productions at Renaissance Films
			Previous green lighting decisions
		Morality Play
			Percentage
			The green light meeting
			The film value chain
		Ramifications of the Renaissance green light decision
	Chapter 6: Sales and markets
		The territorial picture
		The sales sector
		The specific activities within a sales company
			Acquisition of product
			The sales department
			Marketing and publicity
			Business affairs
			Technical and servicing
		Sales strategy
		The producer’s needs
		The business-to-business marketing stage
		Markets
		Case study: The Mother
			The background
			Pre-selling The Mother
			The festival challenge
	Chapter 7: The festival circuit
		The history behind the major festivals
		Strategies needed to negotiate festival opportunities
		Moving forwards
		References
	Chapter 8: Film finance
		Introduction
		Finance versus investment
		Rights-based financiers and licensors within the value chain: sellers, distributors, streamers and broadcasters
		The streaming conundrum
		The market’s precarious characteristics
		Risk management and alignment of interests
		Studio risk transference: hedge fund slate investment
		The Monte Carlo ‘track’ scenarios
		Film recoupment
		Case study: the financial packaging of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
			The financial package
			Percentages of the $30m budget
			North American deal
			What should Renaissance have done to close the film’s financing?
			What actually happened?
	Chapter 9: Financing: The $20m investment exercise
		The challenge
		Step one
			Project selection: the package
			Step two: the finance plan
		Step three: moving to green light (or reasons for passing on some of the projects)
			Passing criteria
			Larkhall’s commercial terms
			Green light
				Scenario projections
				The $20m finance plan (non-streaming commission)
			Summary
				3.2.3 The commercial assumptions behind collection
				Cash break-even – net profits
				Repayments
				Further sales
				Interim assessment
				Overages
		Note
		References
	Chapter 10: Risk management: The role of the completion guarantor
	Chapter 11: Co-production and co-financing
		The co-production approach to filmmaking
		Co-production – practical headlines
			Key co-production questions to address
			Applications – the typical three-step procedure
			The film value chain
		The co-financing and multilateral routes available
		Eurimages – the pan-European multilateral approach
	Chapter 12: Exhibition and the changing cinema experience
		Exhibition’s role in the film value chain
		The COVID-19 hit
		Why we go to the cinema
		Terms of trade
		Exhibition economics
			Income
				Percentage
			Costs
				Percentage
		Digitalizing the exhibition experience
		Embracing real change
			Implement flexible pricing
			Experiment with programming
			Embrace streaming
		References
	Chapter 13: Production: Global challenges and change
		Note
		References
Part II: Users and the changing digital market
	Chapter 14: Users, changing behaviour and market knowledge
		Time, space and the marketplace
		Market research
			Marketability
			Playability
		Understanding cinema audiences and consumer behaviour
			The blockbuster approach
		The independent approach
		Segmentation analysis: how does the cinema industry (e.g. theatrical) deal with different audiences?
		Establishing a theatre’s catchment area
		Demographic and lifestyle data (United Kingdom)
		Audience development
		References
	Chapter 15: Marketing: From traditional to digital
		The scope of feature film marketing
		Defining the role of marketing
		The player value chain
		Business-to-business marketing
			The screenwriter
			The producer
			The director
			The distributor
		Film marketing to the theatrical audience
			The poster
		Digital film marketing and the use of online opportunities
		The macro and the micro impact
		The viral approach to marketing
		References
	Chapter 16: The streaming wars
		Rising costs and rising competition
		A different model
		The day and date conundrum
		The challenge for traditional distributors
		Imitation as a form of flattery
		A Nordic challenge
		The war chests: a free-for-all spending spree?
		Back to the future
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 17: “Catch me if you can”: The rise and rise of Netflix
		The abdication of rules
		The breakthrough moment
		The emphasis on research and development
		Commissioning and handling the creative process
		The Hastings approach to management and organisation
		The programming and curating challenge
		The worldwide approach to local content
		Working with Netflix
		Back to the future
		References
	Chapter 18: “Fandom land”: The Chinese star system
		The star making routes to fame
		The background to the agency training
		Child stars
		Star packaging and the issue of trust
		Stream boys and girls
		A different star system
		The “fan economy”
		The big change
		The Beijing Film Academy’s role in leading the moral purge
		Case study
		References
	Chapter 19: “Winter is coming”: The Game of Thrones case study
		The power of historical allusions
		The critic’s perspective
		Pricing an expansive universe
		How could HBO spend so much on this series?
		The rise of a global fanbase … and a backlash in the making
		The future: more fun and games
		What happened in that last and final series eight, and how did the fans cope?
		References
	Chapter 20: The “metaverse”: Generation Z and the Ticking Tok
		The arrival of TikTok
		What makes TikTok tic?
		What’s up with YouTube?
		So where is TikTok going?
		References
Part III: Business, leadership and management strategies
	Chapter 21: The legal masterclass
		Why legal advice is critical
		Reference
	Chapter 22: Project management and cognitive bias
		The industry setting and context
		Project management
		Project management in the film industry
		Managing film projects as a process
		Knowledge and the challenge of learning through projects
		References
	Chapter 23: Business strategy
		Business planning for film enterprises
		The utility of capital in business
		Business plan approaches
		Essential business plan elements
			The business strategy
			The marketing strategy
			The financials
			Assumptions
			Time period run-out
		The key three financial statements
		Capital expenditure and revenue (operating) expenditure
		Sensitive areas
	Chapter 24: Entrepreneurs and investors in the film industry
		Film investor definitions
		Definitions of entrepreneurship in the film industry
		Management of film businesses
		Barriers and challenges to different types of film businesses
			The production company
			The sales company
			The distributor
		The relationships that matter to the entrepreneur
		The entrepreneur facing the investor (or manager)
		The entrepreneur and the management team
		Selling up and how to cope with failure
		Issues around the notion and fact of failure
	Chapter 25: Business models 2.0
		New media business models
		The changing scene
		Developing business models
		The long tail model and debate
		The 360-degree approach and integrated opportunities
		The new way forward
	Chapter 26: The challenge of creative management
		Creative careers
		Sources of creativity
		Obstructing creativity
		What attracts creative people?
		Creative team management from a film producer’s perspective
		The role of ‘growth mindset’
		Take-aways from leading producers [Ibid.]
		Creative management case study 1: Neil LaBute’s Vapor [8]
			The development package
			Writing delays
			Market pressure on the development process
				What should Renaissance do?
				What actually happened?
				What should have happened?
			The packaging stage
			The initial cast
			Shortlisting
			Suitability
			Cannes
			The distributors’ reaction
				Post-Cannes, what should Renaissance do?
				What actually happened?
				What should have happened?
			The financing stage
			Cast
			The budget
			Finance plan(s)
				Finance plan 1 – Paramount
				Finance plan 2 – Warners
				Finance plan 3 – equity
				What happened next?
				What should have happened?
		Underestimating uncertainty: the search for a studio deal for Terry Gilliam’s Good Omens
			Introduction
			The initial ‘pitch’
			The development deal
		Competing interests: project management behaviour in relation to the different Good Omens producers within the value chain
			‘Controlling’ the tipping point: North America
			Screenplay development
			Early concept marketing
			Screenplay drafts and the casting process
			A fluctuating budget and rising costs
			Pre-selling Good Omens
			Lessons from a painful post-mortem
		References
	Chapter 27: “To infinity and beyond”: The Pixar case study
		Learning from failure
		The Toy Story 2 crisis
		The necessity of failure and the learning process
		A flexible, rather than controlling approach to talent
		Pixar’s ‘vision’ and leadership principles
		Life-long learning: mantras and action that is believable
		Is it because of animation?
		Awards box [10]
		Note
		References
	Chapter 28: The entrepreneur: Interview with Simon Franks, Redbus Group
		Switching from a production fund to a distribution plan
		The early acquisition strategy
		The challenge of cash flow
		Marketing and handling the United Kingdom's exhibition circuit
		The German deal that closed and then opened again
		Redbus distribution titles (all media unless stated)
	Chapter 29: Case study: Squid Game ’s fame
		A hit of all hits?
		Inspiration from debt and despair
		The dark side of children’s toys and games
		Branding and marketing in a time of COVID-19
		References
	Chapter 30: Conclusions
		The academic failure
		The three-legged chair
		References
Appendix 1: The international sales agents
	UK
		Altitude
		Bankside
		Cornerstone Films
		Dogwoof sales
		HanWay films
		SC Films International (Simon Crowe)
		Protagonist Pictures
		Westend films
	North America
		Film Nation
		XYZ
	France
		EuropaCorp
		SND Groupe M6
		Kinology
		Playtime Group
	France/Germany
		Wild Bunch
	Germany
		The Match Factory
	Denmark
		REinvent Studios
	Notes
Appendix 2: International TV distributors
	Fremantle Media
	All3 Media
	Banijay
	BBC Studios
	Entertainment One
	ITV Studios Global Entertainment
	Sony Pictures Television
	Cineflix
	Passion Distribution
	TVF International
		Distributors – the new producers?
	International market events
		Rise of distributor showcases
			The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE)
			The London TV screenings
			MipTV (Marché International des Programmes de Télévision. Founded 1963 and based in Cannes (April)
			Mipcom – Marché International des Programmes de Communication
			LA screenings
		MipTV vs Mipcom
		The rise of London screenings
			C21 London
		Other smaller market events…
	Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index