The series production “bubble” has burst, said Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh in a MipTV keynote address in Canes today (April 17).
“I do feel the bubble has burst. We were enjoying a really wonderful time of endless green lights after short development periods,” said Marsh, who is also deputy CEO of Canal+.
Marsh said that now “development periods are stretching out and productions aren’t getting greenlit as easily as they were in the past.” Plus, she added, “getting that second or third season isn’t as easy.”
Despite the challenges and the fact that “we’re going through upheaval,” Marsh said that Studiocanal’s position as a producer in both the feature film and TV markets, and its access to talent in Europe, meant she was optimistic about the current challenges facing the industry.
“Here on European soil, we’re lucky to have so much talent at our doorstep. Directors, actors, showrunners, you name it, the talent is there.”
She added: “We want the talent to feel like we are a welcome place to tell stories whether that is short form, mini series, TV or feature films and also enable talent to circle between film and television.”
Addressing the crossover between feature film and series production, Marsh said: “Whilst bridges and circulating through both mediums is very exciting, making features and TV are two very different disciplines and its very important to appreciate each discipline as the art that it is.”
Marsh also announced that scriptwriter DC Moore (Mary & George) and director Tomas Alfredson (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) have boarded long-gestating Benedict Cumberbatch series How To Stop Time. The project is adapted from Matt Haig’s novel and is produced by Sunnymarch alongside Cumberbatch, Tomas Alfredson and Robyn Slovo.
The series will shoot in London and Europe in 2024. The genre-bending, globe-trotting time travel narrative follows Hazard, a 15th century man suffering from a rare condition who is still alive 600 years later and finds himself caught in the middle of a secret war.
Studiocanal has also invested in UK scripted indie production house Strong Film & Television. Vigil, Liar and Broadchurch director James Strong co-founded the indie, along with executive producer Loretta Preece and leading UK executive Matt Tombs.
Studiocanal is a subsidiary of Canal+ Group, and operates in France, the UK Germany, Poland, Spain, Denmark and Benelux as well as in Australia and New Zealand. It finances and produces around 30 films per year and distributes around 80 films per year, and also produces almost 20 series each year.
No comments yet