Bislang hatte Mark Reynolds nur interimsweise den globalen Doku-Bereich bei Fremantle übernommen. Jetzt ist er auch offiziell und dauerhaft Global Head of Documentaries.
Der Herr der Dokus: Mark Reynolds arbeitete früher für BBC Studios (Credit: Fremantle)
Das Produktions-Powerhouse Fremantle hat am heutigen Mittwoch Mark Reynolds zum neuen Global Head of Documentaries bestimmt, der fortan direkt an Group COO und CEO Continental Europe, Andrea Scrosati, berichtet.
Reynolds war bereits interimsweise auf dieser Position sei Januar tätig. Jetzt wird es eine dauerhafte Position an der Spitze. Er soll weiteres Wachstum anschieben und die Zusammenarbeit der einzelnen Fremantle-Firmen noch verbessern. Vor seinem Job bei Fremantle arbeitete er bereits als Consultant Advising Producer und war für BBC Studios tätig.
Andrea Scrosati, Group COO und CEO Continental Europe, kommentiert: „Mark ist ein wichtiges Mitglied der Fremantle-Familie, seit er Anfang des Jahres zu uns gestoßen ist, und ich freue mich, dass er diese Aufgabe übernommen hat.
Der Herr der Dokus: Mark Reynolds arbeitete früher für BBC Studios (Credit: Fremantle)
Das Produktions-Powerhouse Fremantle hat am heutigen Mittwoch Mark Reynolds zum neuen Global Head of Documentaries bestimmt, der fortan direkt an Group COO und CEO Continental Europe, Andrea Scrosati, berichtet.
Reynolds war bereits interimsweise auf dieser Position sei Januar tätig. Jetzt wird es eine dauerhafte Position an der Spitze. Er soll weiteres Wachstum anschieben und die Zusammenarbeit der einzelnen Fremantle-Firmen noch verbessern. Vor seinem Job bei Fremantle arbeitete er bereits als Consultant Advising Producer und war für BBC Studios tätig.
Andrea Scrosati, Group COO und CEO Continental Europe, kommentiert: „Mark ist ein wichtiges Mitglied der Fremantle-Familie, seit er Anfang des Jahres zu uns gestoßen ist, und ich freue mich, dass er diese Aufgabe übernommen hat.
- 5/29/2024
- by Michael Müller
- Spot - Media & Film
Bollywood Stars Shine Brightly
Deepika Padukone, who made her Bollywood debut with “Om Shanti Om” (2007), has topped IMDb’s list of the top 100 most viewed Indian stars of the last decade. Shah Rukh Khan, her co-star in that and several other films, is in second place. The list is determined by the page views of the 250 million monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Alia Bhatt place third and fourth on the list while the late Irrfan Khan is in fifth position, Aamir Khan in sixth, the late Sushant Singh Rajput in seventh and Salman Khan in eighth.
Notably, most of the stars in the top 20 are from the Hindi-language Bollywood, while the highest placed actors from India’s southern film industries are all women – Samantha Ruth Prabhu at 13, followed by Tamannaah Bhatia at 16 and Nayanthara at 18. The highest placed male actors from the southern industries are Prabhas,...
Deepika Padukone, who made her Bollywood debut with “Om Shanti Om” (2007), has topped IMDb’s list of the top 100 most viewed Indian stars of the last decade. Shah Rukh Khan, her co-star in that and several other films, is in second place. The list is determined by the page views of the 250 million monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Alia Bhatt place third and fourth on the list while the late Irrfan Khan is in fifth position, Aamir Khan in sixth, the late Sushant Singh Rajput in seventh and Salman Khan in eighth.
Notably, most of the stars in the top 20 are from the Hindi-language Bollywood, while the highest placed actors from India’s southern film industries are all women – Samantha Ruth Prabhu at 13, followed by Tamannaah Bhatia at 16 and Nayanthara at 18. The highest placed male actors from the southern industries are Prabhas,...
- 5/29/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Fremantle has made Mark Reynolds its permanent Global Head of Documentaries.
Deadline revealed that the former BBC Studios Unscripted Portfolio Director was taking on the role on an interim basis when Mandy Chang stepped back to run Fremantle label Undeniable earlier this year.
Reynolds will now oversee the unit after several months spent “positioning strategy,” according to the Mrs. America and Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar super-indie. He previously had a long career at BBC Worldwide, delivering the commercial and content strategy for factual for global distribution. He was consulting before moving to Fremantle.
“Mark has been a key member of the Fremantle family since he joined earlier this year, and I am delighted he has taken this role,” said Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s Group COO and CEO Continental Europe. “With his extensive commercial expertise in the unscripted genre on a global scale, Mark will continue to spearhead our activity in the premium Documentary space.
Deadline revealed that the former BBC Studios Unscripted Portfolio Director was taking on the role on an interim basis when Mandy Chang stepped back to run Fremantle label Undeniable earlier this year.
Reynolds will now oversee the unit after several months spent “positioning strategy,” according to the Mrs. America and Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar super-indie. He previously had a long career at BBC Worldwide, delivering the commercial and content strategy for factual for global distribution. He was consulting before moving to Fremantle.
“Mark has been a key member of the Fremantle family since he joined earlier this year, and I am delighted he has taken this role,” said Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s Group COO and CEO Continental Europe. “With his extensive commercial expertise in the unscripted genre on a global scale, Mark will continue to spearhead our activity in the premium Documentary space.
- 5/29/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Production powerhouse Fremantle has appointed Mark Reynolds as its global head of documentaries, reporting to Andrea Scrosati, group COO and CEO, Continental Europe.
The executive had joined the company as interim global head of documentaries in January. “In his role Mark will continue to support the growth of the Fremantle Global Documentaries business, driving collaboration across production companies and labels around the world,” the firm said.
Prior to his work at Fremantle, a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, he was a consultant advising producers and distribution platforms on programming, co-production and distribution strategies. Before that, he served as unscripted portfolio director at BBC Studios. Reynolds also worked at BBC Worldwide, focusing on the commercial and content strategy for factual programming for global distribution.
“With his extensive commercial expertise in the unscripted genre on a global scale, Mark will continue to spearhead our activity in the premium documentary space, working...
The executive had joined the company as interim global head of documentaries in January. “In his role Mark will continue to support the growth of the Fremantle Global Documentaries business, driving collaboration across production companies and labels around the world,” the firm said.
Prior to his work at Fremantle, a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, he was a consultant advising producers and distribution platforms on programming, co-production and distribution strategies. Before that, he served as unscripted portfolio director at BBC Studios. Reynolds also worked at BBC Worldwide, focusing on the commercial and content strategy for factual programming for global distribution.
“With his extensive commercial expertise in the unscripted genre on a global scale, Mark will continue to spearhead our activity in the premium documentary space, working...
- 5/29/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Fremantle has confirmed Mark Reynolds as its global head of documentaries.
Reynolds joined the Rtl-owned production and distribution group as interim global head of documentaries in January 2024, replacing Mandy Chang who stepped back to run Fremantle’s premium documentary label Undeniable.
Before joining Fremantle, Reynolds was a consultant advising producers and platforms on programming, co-production and distribution strategies. Prior to that, he was unscripted portfolio director at BBC Studios and also had a long career in factual at BBC Worldwide.
Reynolds reports to Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s group COO and CEO of Continental Europe, and will work with Fremantle...
Reynolds joined the Rtl-owned production and distribution group as interim global head of documentaries in January 2024, replacing Mandy Chang who stepped back to run Fremantle’s premium documentary label Undeniable.
Before joining Fremantle, Reynolds was a consultant advising producers and platforms on programming, co-production and distribution strategies. Prior to that, he was unscripted portfolio director at BBC Studios and also had a long career in factual at BBC Worldwide.
Reynolds reports to Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s group COO and CEO of Continental Europe, and will work with Fremantle...
- 5/29/2024
- ScreenDaily
Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s group COO and CEO for continental Europe, is understandably proud that the company has landed five titles in the Cannes official selection, three of which – “Kinds of Kindness,” by Yorgos Lanthimos, Paolo Sorrentino’s “Parthenope” and Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Limonov” — are in competition.
The other two are Rungano Nyoni’s “On becoming a Guinea Fowl” and Ariane Labed’s “September Says,” both in Un Certain Regard.
“The incredible diversity of these titles – even in terms of the geographies and cultures they’re based on – is exactly the result of our strategy,” he tells Variety.
Scrosati, who is the architect of Fremantle’s expansion under a business model comprising a cluster of companies across Europe and beyond, discussed how he’s navigating a changing marketplace ahead of Cannes.
It looks like you’re scaling up on the film side. Why?
I think this comes from...
The other two are Rungano Nyoni’s “On becoming a Guinea Fowl” and Ariane Labed’s “September Says,” both in Un Certain Regard.
“The incredible diversity of these titles – even in terms of the geographies and cultures they’re based on – is exactly the result of our strategy,” he tells Variety.
Scrosati, who is the architect of Fremantle’s expansion under a business model comprising a cluster of companies across Europe and beyond, discussed how he’s navigating a changing marketplace ahead of Cannes.
It looks like you’re scaling up on the film side. Why?
I think this comes from...
- 5/16/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Fremantle has completed its acquisition of global production studio Asacha Media Group, the company confirmed today.
Fremantle acquired the group from founding partners, managers and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management
Fremantle’s group COO and CEO for continental Europe Andrea Scrosati spearheaded the acquisition. Asacha co-founder and group CEO Gaspard de Chavagnac will continue to run the company, reporting to Scrosati. Marina Williams will continue in her role as chief content officer.
Asacha boasts a portfolio of eight labels across France, Italy and the U.K: Kabo Family, Mintee, Srab Films, Picomedia, Stand By Me, Arrow Media, Red Planet Pictures and Wag. They will continue to report to de Chavagnac.
Fremantle’s existing European businssess – including Talkback, 72 Films, Kwaï and Lux Vide – will not be affected by the acquisition. Those companies will continue in their previous reporting structure.
Lazard, Mayer Brown, Duroc partners and and Arsene advised Asacha Media Group and Oaktree.
Fremantle acquired the group from founding partners, managers and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management
Fremantle’s group COO and CEO for continental Europe Andrea Scrosati spearheaded the acquisition. Asacha co-founder and group CEO Gaspard de Chavagnac will continue to run the company, reporting to Scrosati. Marina Williams will continue in her role as chief content officer.
Asacha boasts a portfolio of eight labels across France, Italy and the U.K: Kabo Family, Mintee, Srab Films, Picomedia, Stand By Me, Arrow Media, Red Planet Pictures and Wag. They will continue to report to de Chavagnac.
Fremantle’s existing European businssess – including Talkback, 72 Films, Kwaï and Lux Vide – will not be affected by the acquisition. Those companies will continue in their previous reporting structure.
Lazard, Mayer Brown, Duroc partners and and Arsene advised Asacha Media Group and Oaktree.
- 3/25/2024
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Fremantle Completes Asacha Deal
Fremantle has completed its big-money acquisition of Death in Paradise producer Asacha Media Group. The super-indie notified this morning that the deal, which was revealed several weeks ago, has gone through, and will see the Poor Things maker acquire the group from Asacha’s founding partners, managers and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management. Fremantle hasn’t revealed how much Asacha cost but has said it has spent more than €200M ($216M) on both Asacha and 80% of Singapore’s Beach House Pictures since the start of this year. Fremantle takes hold of an eight-label group including Death in Paradise producer Red Planet, Arrow Media and Italy’s Stand By Me. Headquartered in Paris, France, Asacha will continue to be run by Co-Founder and Group CEO Gaspard de Chavagnac who will report to Fremantle’s Andrea Scrosati. De Chavagnac will continue to be supported by Marina Williams...
Fremantle has completed its big-money acquisition of Death in Paradise producer Asacha Media Group. The super-indie notified this morning that the deal, which was revealed several weeks ago, has gone through, and will see the Poor Things maker acquire the group from Asacha’s founding partners, managers and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management. Fremantle hasn’t revealed how much Asacha cost but has said it has spent more than €200M ($216M) on both Asacha and 80% of Singapore’s Beach House Pictures since the start of this year. Fremantle takes hold of an eight-label group including Death in Paradise producer Red Planet, Arrow Media and Italy’s Stand By Me. Headquartered in Paris, France, Asacha will continue to be run by Co-Founder and Group CEO Gaspard de Chavagnac who will report to Fremantle’s Andrea Scrosati. De Chavagnac will continue to be supported by Marina Williams...
- 3/25/2024
- by Max Goldbart and Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Fremantle has completed the acquisition of Asacha Media Group, the private-equity-backed operation that owns eight TV and film production companies across France, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Asacha’s subsidiaries include Death in Paradise producers Red Planet Pictures; Italian scripted groups Picomedia (Beyond the Sea, La Storia) and Stand by Me (Diaries); and France’s Srab Films (Saint Omer, Happening) and Mintee Studios (Cimetiere Indien). On the non-scripted and factual side, Asacha controls France’s Kabo Family (Scènes de Ménages) and Wag (Don’t Pick Up the Phone) and Arrow Media (See no Evil) in the U.K..
The deal sees Fremantle acquire the Asacha from the founding partners, managers and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management.
Headquartered in Paris, Asacha will continue to be run by co-founder and group CEO Gaspard de Chavagnac who will report to Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s Group COO and CEO Continental Europe, who spearheaded the acquisition.
Asacha’s subsidiaries include Death in Paradise producers Red Planet Pictures; Italian scripted groups Picomedia (Beyond the Sea, La Storia) and Stand by Me (Diaries); and France’s Srab Films (Saint Omer, Happening) and Mintee Studios (Cimetiere Indien). On the non-scripted and factual side, Asacha controls France’s Kabo Family (Scènes de Ménages) and Wag (Don’t Pick Up the Phone) and Arrow Media (See no Evil) in the U.K..
The deal sees Fremantle acquire the Asacha from the founding partners, managers and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management.
Headquartered in Paris, Asacha will continue to be run by co-founder and group CEO Gaspard de Chavagnac who will report to Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s Group COO and CEO Continental Europe, who spearheaded the acquisition.
- 3/25/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sonia Rovai and Annamaria Morelli have been named as the new bosses of Wildside and The Apartment, respectively.
Former Sky Italia exec Rovai has become CEO of Wildside and Morelli CEO of the Apartment, following the exits of Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli, who today unveiled co-production deal with Fremantle through their new business.
The two companies will “continue to have editorial autonomy and to coordinate – from an organizational point of view – with Fremantle,” according to the super-indie.
Rovai has been MD of Wildside since October last year. Prior to that she was at Sky, where she had risen through the ranks to lead original productions during a 17-year stint at the Comcast-owned pay-tv broadcaster.
Morelli is a film and TV producer who since 2019 as been founder and CEO of Elsinore Film. Her previous roles include story editor posts at Rai and Mediaset.
Andrea Scrosati, Group COO and CEO,...
Former Sky Italia exec Rovai has become CEO of Wildside and Morelli CEO of the Apartment, following the exits of Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli, who today unveiled co-production deal with Fremantle through their new business.
The two companies will “continue to have editorial autonomy and to coordinate – from an organizational point of view – with Fremantle,” according to the super-indie.
Rovai has been MD of Wildside since October last year. Prior to that she was at Sky, where she had risen through the ranks to lead original productions during a 17-year stint at the Comcast-owned pay-tv broadcaster.
Morelli is a film and TV producer who since 2019 as been founder and CEO of Elsinore Film. Her previous roles include story editor posts at Rai and Mediaset.
Andrea Scrosati, Group COO and CEO,...
- 2/29/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Fremantle has appointed new bosses for its Italian production subsidiaries The Apartment and Wildside but will continue to work with outgoing CEOs Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani.
Fremantle on Thursday announced that Annamaria Morelli will be taking over as CEO of The Apartment and Sonia Rovai as CEO of Wildside. Fremantle said both companies will continue to have editorial autonomy while coordinating with Fremantle on an organizational basis, and will continue to work with the same talents, Italian and international, going forward.
“Annamaria Morelli and Sonia Rovai have vision, experience and passion. I am so happy to welcome them to The Apartment and Wildside, two labels that have attracted some of the best talent, both Italian and international,” said Andrea Scrosati, group COO and CEO, continental Europe at Fremantle. “We are and will continue to be the place creatives want to call home. A place where you can express your...
Fremantle on Thursday announced that Annamaria Morelli will be taking over as CEO of The Apartment and Sonia Rovai as CEO of Wildside. Fremantle said both companies will continue to have editorial autonomy while coordinating with Fremantle on an organizational basis, and will continue to work with the same talents, Italian and international, going forward.
“Annamaria Morelli and Sonia Rovai have vision, experience and passion. I am so happy to welcome them to The Apartment and Wildside, two labels that have attracted some of the best talent, both Italian and international,” said Andrea Scrosati, group COO and CEO, continental Europe at Fremantle. “We are and will continue to be the place creatives want to call home. A place where you can express your...
- 2/29/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Well-established Italian producers Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli — who left their Fremantle-owned banners, Wildside and The Apartment, respectively, earlier this year — are returning to the growing TV and film powerhouse with their new scripted outfit.
The duo — who co-founded “The Young Pope” and “My Brilliant Friend” production house Wildside in 2009 before Mieli exited to set up The Apartment, which was behind the recent hit “Priscilla” — are yet to reveal details of their new company. But the pair have now signed a co-production deal with Fremantle that will see them collaborate on several projects.
Among those in production and post-production from the two producers are Paolo Sorrentino’s latest film, Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Limonov -The Ballad,” “Queer” by Luca Guadagnino starring Daniel Craig, the new film by Gabriele Mainetti, “Maria” by Pablo Larraín starring Angelina Jolie, plus the TV series “M. The Son of the Century” by Joe Wright and “Il Mostro” by Stefano Sollima.
The duo — who co-founded “The Young Pope” and “My Brilliant Friend” production house Wildside in 2009 before Mieli exited to set up The Apartment, which was behind the recent hit “Priscilla” — are yet to reveal details of their new company. But the pair have now signed a co-production deal with Fremantle that will see them collaborate on several projects.
Among those in production and post-production from the two producers are Paolo Sorrentino’s latest film, Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Limonov -The Ballad,” “Queer” by Luca Guadagnino starring Daniel Craig, the new film by Gabriele Mainetti, “Maria” by Pablo Larraín starring Angelina Jolie, plus the TV series “M. The Son of the Century” by Joe Wright and “Il Mostro” by Stefano Sollima.
- 2/29/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Following their departures as CEOs of Fremantle’s Wildside and The Apartment, Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli have struck a co-production deal with their old employer Fremantle on several projects as they unveil their new company.
More details about the new company, whose name was not revealed today, will be “announced in the near future.”
Gianani and Mieli departed Fremantle in mid-January.
The Fremantle pact will lead to a new film from Paolo Sorrentino, Limonov – The Ballad, by Kirill Serebrennikov; Queer from Luca Guadagnino and starring Daniel Craig; a new film by Gabriele Mainetti, Maria by Pablo Larraín starring Angelina Jolie; and the TV series M. The Son of the Century by Joe Wright and Il Mostro by Stefano Sollima.
Fremantle continues to operate Wildside and The Apartment with new leadership in place.
Andrea Scrosati, Group COO and CEO, Continental Europe, Fremantle said: “I am really happy to continue collaborating...
More details about the new company, whose name was not revealed today, will be “announced in the near future.”
Gianani and Mieli departed Fremantle in mid-January.
The Fremantle pact will lead to a new film from Paolo Sorrentino, Limonov – The Ballad, by Kirill Serebrennikov; Queer from Luca Guadagnino and starring Daniel Craig; a new film by Gabriele Mainetti, Maria by Pablo Larraín starring Angelina Jolie; and the TV series M. The Son of the Century by Joe Wright and Il Mostro by Stefano Sollima.
Fremantle continues to operate Wildside and The Apartment with new leadership in place.
Andrea Scrosati, Group COO and CEO, Continental Europe, Fremantle said: “I am really happy to continue collaborating...
- 2/29/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Fremantle is poised to acquire the Paris-based Asacha Media Group in the latest ambitious expansion move by German parent company, Rtl Group.
Asacha owns a portfolio of European production companies, mostly TV. Its film interests are concentrated in Toufik Ayadi and Christophe Barral’s French production outfit Srab Films. Ayadi and Barral’s credits include Alice Diop’s Saint Omer and Ladj Ly’s Les Indésirables.
The companies have entered into a conditional purchase agreement, subject to customary closing conditions. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024.
Asacha co-founders Gaspard de Chavagnac and Marina Williams will...
Asacha owns a portfolio of European production companies, mostly TV. Its film interests are concentrated in Toufik Ayadi and Christophe Barral’s French production outfit Srab Films. Ayadi and Barral’s credits include Alice Diop’s Saint Omer and Ladj Ly’s Les Indésirables.
The companies have entered into a conditional purchase agreement, subject to customary closing conditions. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024.
Asacha co-founders Gaspard de Chavagnac and Marina Williams will...
- 2/20/2024
- ScreenDaily
Global production giant Fremantle is still hungry. On Tuesday the Bertelsmann-controlled group signed a deal for another major acquisition, entering into a conditional purchase agreement to take control of Asacha Media Group, a private-equity-backed company that owns several high-profile production companies in the U.K., France, and Italy.
The acquisition of Asacha Media Group follows Fremantle’s recent deal to take an 80 percent stake in Singapore-based TV group Beach House Pictures. The investment in the two companies will cost Fremantle parent company Rtl Group $217 million (€200 million), Rtl Group said Tuesday.
Asacha’s production portfolio includes France’s Srab Films, producer of Venice winner Happening and official French Oscar contenders Les Misérables and Saint Omar; Picomedia, producer of hit Italian drama series The Sea Beyond; and British group Red Planet Pictures, known for such series as Death in Paradise and Life on Mars. Other Asacha-owned companies part of the Fremantle...
The acquisition of Asacha Media Group follows Fremantle’s recent deal to take an 80 percent stake in Singapore-based TV group Beach House Pictures. The investment in the two companies will cost Fremantle parent company Rtl Group $217 million (€200 million), Rtl Group said Tuesday.
Asacha’s production portfolio includes France’s Srab Films, producer of Venice winner Happening and official French Oscar contenders Les Misérables and Saint Omar; Picomedia, producer of hit Italian drama series The Sea Beyond; and British group Red Planet Pictures, known for such series as Death in Paradise and Life on Mars. Other Asacha-owned companies part of the Fremantle...
- 2/20/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Fremantle Buys Asacha Media Group In Major European M&a Deal & Has Now Spent More Than $216M In 2024
In the latest major M&a deal to hit Europe, Fremantle has acquired Asacha Media Group, the growing owner of Death in Paradise producer Red Planet, Arrow Media and Italy’s Stand By Me.
Fremantle owner Rtl said the super-indie has spent more than €200M ($216M) on Asacha plus 80% of Singapore’s Beach House Pictures since the start of this year and is now well on track to reach its lofty €3B ($3.2B) revenue target by 2025. Rtl didn’t break down how much Asacha and Beach House cost individually.
Asacha was only founded in 2020 but has since acquired eight labels and rapidly expanded its footprint across Europe.
The deal sees Fremantle acquire the group from Asacha’s founding partners, managers and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management.
Following the acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, Asacha will continue to be run by Co-Founder and Group CEO Gaspard de Chavagnac...
Fremantle owner Rtl said the super-indie has spent more than €200M ($216M) on Asacha plus 80% of Singapore’s Beach House Pictures since the start of this year and is now well on track to reach its lofty €3B ($3.2B) revenue target by 2025. Rtl didn’t break down how much Asacha and Beach House cost individually.
Asacha was only founded in 2020 but has since acquired eight labels and rapidly expanded its footprint across Europe.
The deal sees Fremantle acquire the group from Asacha’s founding partners, managers and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management.
Following the acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, Asacha will continue to be run by Co-Founder and Group CEO Gaspard de Chavagnac...
- 2/20/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Fremantle has inked a deal to acquire Asacha Media Group from Oaktree Capital Management L.P.
Paris-headquartered Asacha houses eight labels in the U.K., France and Italy. They are Kabo Family (France), Mintee (France), Srab Films (France), Picomedia (Italy), Stand By Me (Italy), Arrow Media (United Kingdom), Red Planet Pictures (U.K.) and Wag (U.K.).
Co-Founder and group CEO Gaspard de Chavagnac will continue to run the company, reporting to Fremantle’s group COO and CEO for continental Europe Andrea Scrosati. Scrosati spearheaded the acquisition (which is subject to closing conditions) as part of Fremantle’s investment strategy.
Asacha’s labels will report to de Chavagnac, who founded Asacha in 2020 alongside Marc-Antoine d’Halluin and Marina Williams.
In just a few years the company has become one of Europe’s leading television and film production groups. Its output includes “Death in Paradise,” “Mare Fuori,” “Saimt Omer” and “Magic of Disney‘s Animal Kingdom,...
Paris-headquartered Asacha houses eight labels in the U.K., France and Italy. They are Kabo Family (France), Mintee (France), Srab Films (France), Picomedia (Italy), Stand By Me (Italy), Arrow Media (United Kingdom), Red Planet Pictures (U.K.) and Wag (U.K.).
Co-Founder and group CEO Gaspard de Chavagnac will continue to run the company, reporting to Fremantle’s group COO and CEO for continental Europe Andrea Scrosati. Scrosati spearheaded the acquisition (which is subject to closing conditions) as part of Fremantle’s investment strategy.
Asacha’s labels will report to de Chavagnac, who founded Asacha in 2020 alongside Marc-Antoine d’Halluin and Marina Williams.
In just a few years the company has become one of Europe’s leading television and film production groups. Its output includes “Death in Paradise,” “Mare Fuori,” “Saimt Omer” and “Magic of Disney‘s Animal Kingdom,...
- 2/20/2024
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are emerging in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track. So we’re going to do the hard work for you.
This week we explore Italian movie hit There’s Still Tomorrow, which begins rolling out on cinema screens worldwide this spring with other key deals underway after a stellar release back home last fall, where it is now the ninth highest-grossing film in the history of the country’s box office.
Name: There’s Still Tomorrow
Country: Italy
Producer: Wildside
Seller: Vision Distribution
Where you can watch: In cinemas worldwide (see distributor list below)
For fans of: Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful, Ettore Scola’s A Special Day,...
This week we explore Italian movie hit There’s Still Tomorrow, which begins rolling out on cinema screens worldwide this spring with other key deals underway after a stellar release back home last fall, where it is now the ninth highest-grossing film in the history of the country’s box office.
Name: There’s Still Tomorrow
Country: Italy
Producer: Wildside
Seller: Vision Distribution
Where you can watch: In cinemas worldwide (see distributor list below)
For fans of: Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful, Ettore Scola’s A Special Day,...
- 1/24/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
‘There’s Still Tomorrow’: The Italian Box Office Success Sparking Discussion About Domestic Violence
There’s Still Tomorrow, the new film that has just passed Greta Gerwig’s Barbie to become the most-watched movie in Italy this year, opens on a domestic scene. Delia, played by actress-turned-director Paola Cortellesi, wakes up next to her husband, Ivano (Valerio Mastandrea). “Buongiorno!” she says, brightly. Without a word, he slaps her. Hard. Then, as the soundtrack swells with a 40s romantic tune, Delia gets up to start her day. Violent abuse, it appears, is as much a part of her routine as brushing her hair and getting dressed for work.
It’s a shocking scene. At first, it looks like There’s Still Tomorrow, shot in stark black-and-white, will be a tribute to Italian neo-realist classics like Bicycle Thieves and Rome Open City. But this is no kitchen sink social drama. First come the one-liners: “All the problems started when people stopped marrying their cousins!” Ivano’s father-in-law complains to Delia.
It’s a shocking scene. At first, it looks like There’s Still Tomorrow, shot in stark black-and-white, will be a tribute to Italian neo-realist classics like Bicycle Thieves and Rome Open City. But this is no kitchen sink social drama. First come the one-liners: “All the problems started when people stopped marrying their cousins!” Ivano’s father-in-law complains to Delia.
- 12/18/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: There’s some more change at Fremantle, this time in the documentary space.
Mandy Chang is stepping back from her role as Global Head of Documentaries, two and a half years after joining the Rtl-owned company.
However, she is staying in the Fremantle family as she will continue to run Undeniable, the documentary label that it launched earlier this year.
In response, Mark Reynolds, who previously worked at BBC Studios, will take over as Interim Global Head of Documentaries, starting in January.
Elaine Morris, who is head of production, and Bernie Kay will report to Reynolds when he starts on January 8. Reynolds himself will report to Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s Group COO and CEO of Continental Europe.
“Mark will continue to support the growth of our documentaries business and drive collaboration across our production companies and labels around the world,” Scrosati wrote in an internal email seen by Deadline.
Mandy Chang is stepping back from her role as Global Head of Documentaries, two and a half years after joining the Rtl-owned company.
However, she is staying in the Fremantle family as she will continue to run Undeniable, the documentary label that it launched earlier this year.
In response, Mark Reynolds, who previously worked at BBC Studios, will take over as Interim Global Head of Documentaries, starting in January.
Elaine Morris, who is head of production, and Bernie Kay will report to Reynolds when he starts on January 8. Reynolds himself will report to Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s Group COO and CEO of Continental Europe.
“Mark will continue to support the growth of our documentaries business and drive collaboration across our production companies and labels around the world,” Scrosati wrote in an internal email seen by Deadline.
- 12/15/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Major construction work along Cannes’ famed Croisette has turned this most glamorous of French seaside towns into a chaotic building site. Television executives, in town for the MIPCOM Cannes international TV confab, which runs through Thursday, Oct. 19, have been forced to run a gauntlet of concrete slabs and roped-off danger zones.
It’s an apt metaphor for the mood at MIPCOM this year. A conflagration of factors — the actors strike, rising inflation, a slump in the advertising market, and a pull-back in investment by the global streamers — have combined to weaken the foundations of the international TV business. Executives are treading carefully as if in fear the whole structure could collapse under their feet.
“There’s a lot of fear out there, a lot of companies are worried they might not be around in six, 12, 18 months,” said one MIPCOM veteran, the CEO of a mid-sized European production and distribution company.
It’s an apt metaphor for the mood at MIPCOM this year. A conflagration of factors — the actors strike, rising inflation, a slump in the advertising market, and a pull-back in investment by the global streamers — have combined to weaken the foundations of the international TV business. Executives are treading carefully as if in fear the whole structure could collapse under their feet.
“There’s a lot of fear out there, a lot of companies are worried they might not be around in six, 12, 18 months,” said one MIPCOM veteran, the CEO of a mid-sized European production and distribution company.
- 10/18/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film Preservation
India’s Film Heritage Foundation (Fhf), which enjoys the support of cinema greats Martin Scorsese and Amitabh Bachchan, is conducting the third edition of the Biennial Audio-Visual Archival Summer School in partnership with the International Federation of Film Archives. The global film preservation training workshop is coming to India for the first time and will be held at the India International Centre in Delhi Oct. 10–19.
Fhf founder Shivendra Singh Dungarpur said that the final selection of some 50 participants, from 13 African countries, Asia, Europe, Australia, South and North America reaffirms the organization’s goal to “create a worldwide network of film archivists who can work together to save their film heritage around the globe.”
Scorsese said: “The World Cinema Project is committed to locating, preserving and distributing films from all over the world. A program like Bavass benefits this mission enormously by educating future film preservationists who can share...
India’s Film Heritage Foundation (Fhf), which enjoys the support of cinema greats Martin Scorsese and Amitabh Bachchan, is conducting the third edition of the Biennial Audio-Visual Archival Summer School in partnership with the International Federation of Film Archives. The global film preservation training workshop is coming to India for the first time and will be held at the India International Centre in Delhi Oct. 10–19.
Fhf founder Shivendra Singh Dungarpur said that the final selection of some 50 participants, from 13 African countries, Asia, Europe, Australia, South and North America reaffirms the organization’s goal to “create a worldwide network of film archivists who can work together to save their film heritage around the globe.”
Scorsese said: “The World Cinema Project is committed to locating, preserving and distributing films from all over the world. A program like Bavass benefits this mission enormously by educating future film preservationists who can share...
- 9/19/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Sascha Schwingel has been named the new CEO of German TV production giant UFA, replacing Nico Hofmann, who will become chair of the Berlin-based company behind such series as Generation War, Deutschland ’83 and Ku’damm 56. UFA is part of global production giant Fremantle.
Hofmann, who has been CEO of UFA since 2017, joined the company in 1998, setting up UFA’s serial fiction group teamWorx (now UFA Fiction). He is largely credited with helping turn UFA into Germany’s leading television producer, with shows across all genres and on air on virtually every German channel and streaming service.
The group consists of four production units: UFA Fiction, which produces high-end drama such as Deutschland ’83, Charité and the recent Disney+ series Sam – A Saxon; soaps division UFA Serial Drama, whose long-running serials include Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten and Unter Uns; UFA Show & Factual, which produce shiny floor shows including the local versions...
Hofmann, who has been CEO of UFA since 2017, joined the company in 1998, setting up UFA’s serial fiction group teamWorx (now UFA Fiction). He is largely credited with helping turn UFA into Germany’s leading television producer, with shows across all genres and on air on virtually every German channel and streaming service.
The group consists of four production units: UFA Fiction, which produces high-end drama such as Deutschland ’83, Charité and the recent Disney+ series Sam – A Saxon; soaps division UFA Serial Drama, whose long-running serials include Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten and Unter Uns; UFA Show & Factual, which produce shiny floor shows including the local versions...
- 9/19/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hofman becomes chairman after 26 years with the company.
Fremantle has named Sascha Schwingel as the CEO of its German production label UFA, replacing Nico Hofman who becomes chairman.
Hofman has been chief executive of the Deutschland 83 and Generation War producer since 2017, but has had a long career with the group beginning in 1998 when he set up teamWorx which is now UFA Fiction.
Schwingel was most recently deputy chief content officer of Rtl Deutschland and before that was CEO of the Rtl Group-owned TV channel Vox Television. Schwingel started his career at teamWorx as a producer and in 2014 moved to...
Fremantle has named Sascha Schwingel as the CEO of its German production label UFA, replacing Nico Hofman who becomes chairman.
Hofman has been chief executive of the Deutschland 83 and Generation War producer since 2017, but has had a long career with the group beginning in 1998 when he set up teamWorx which is now UFA Fiction.
Schwingel was most recently deputy chief content officer of Rtl Deutschland and before that was CEO of the Rtl Group-owned TV channel Vox Television. Schwingel started his career at teamWorx as a producer and in 2014 moved to...
- 9/19/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
UFA’s long-serving CEO Nico Hofmann is stepping down from his post and becoming Chairman of Fremantle’s German powerhouse, with former Rtl and exec Sascha Schwingel replacing him.
Hofmann has been chief exec of the Deutschland 83 and Generation War maker since 2017 but has been with the company for more than a quarter of a century. In that sense, his exit from the CEO post marks the end of an era.
Hofmann had joined in 1998 to set up TeamWorx, which is now UFA Fiction, and went on to produce many of Germany’s best-travelling drama series. Notably Deutschland 83 was the first from the country to air on a U.S. network.
His replacement, Schwingel, was most recently Deputy Chief Content Officer of Rtl Deutschland, overseeing the likes of Rtl Television, Rtl+ and Vox, where he was previously CEO. He is well known to Hofman having started his career at TeamWorx.
Hofmann has been chief exec of the Deutschland 83 and Generation War maker since 2017 but has been with the company for more than a quarter of a century. In that sense, his exit from the CEO post marks the end of an era.
Hofmann had joined in 1998 to set up TeamWorx, which is now UFA Fiction, and went on to produce many of Germany’s best-travelling drama series. Notably Deutschland 83 was the first from the country to air on a U.S. network.
His replacement, Schwingel, was most recently Deputy Chief Content Officer of Rtl Deutschland, overseeing the likes of Rtl Television, Rtl+ and Vox, where he was previously CEO. He is well known to Hofman having started his career at TeamWorx.
- 9/19/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
The company has also unveiled an Israel-based €150m fund for film and scripted TV projects.
With five films playing in competition, European production and distribution group Fremantle is enjoying a strong presence at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
Fremantle’s Ireland-uk label Element Pictures is behind one of the hottest films on the Lido this year, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, while Italian label Wildside produced Saverio Costanzo’s big budget Finally Dawn.
Another Fremantle Italian production label The Apartment, meanwhile, is involved in three films in competition – Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla , Stefano Sollima’s Adagio and Piero Castellito’s Enea.
With five films playing in competition, European production and distribution group Fremantle is enjoying a strong presence at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
Fremantle’s Ireland-uk label Element Pictures is behind one of the hottest films on the Lido this year, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, while Italian label Wildside produced Saverio Costanzo’s big budget Finally Dawn.
Another Fremantle Italian production label The Apartment, meanwhile, is involved in three films in competition – Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla , Stefano Sollima’s Adagio and Piero Castellito’s Enea.
- 9/8/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Fremantle kicked off its presence at the Venice Film Festival with a bang this year with the announcement of its new €150M ($162.7M) Scripted Fund forged in partnership with Israel-based Ibi Investment House.
The fund is reserved exclusively for select projects being developed by Fremantle’s stable of scripted drama companies, which include UK’s Dancing Ledge and Element Pictures, Italy’s The Apartment, Wildside and Lux Vide, as well as The Immigrant, specialized in Latin America and Spanish content.
First projects backed by the fund include previously announced feature Maria, the high-profile Maria Callas biopic, starring Angelina Jolie and directed by Pablo Larraín, who is at Venice this year with Augusto Pinochet dark comedy/horror El Conde.
Two newly unveiled series will also benefit: the four-part thriller Generation Loss, written by Bridgerton’s Sarah Dollard, and six-part revenge thriller Shelter, to which Jeremy Webb is attached to direct.
Fremantle is not involved in Larrain’s Netflix-backed El Conde but is present instead with five other Golden Lion contenders, including Yorgos Lanthimos’ buzzed about Poor Things, Stefano Sollima’s well-reviewed Adagio, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Salvatore Costanzo’s 1950s Cinecittà drama Finally Dawn, and Pietro Castellitto’s Enea
In a sign of a growing presence in the film world, the company is basing itself out of a vast beachfront villa just down the road from the festival’s main hub for the first time this year.
Deadline sat down with top Fremantle execs, Group COO and CEO Continental Europe Andrea Scrosati and CEO Global Drama Christian Vesper, in the peace of its lawned garden to discuss the genesis and implications of the new scripted fund.
Deadline: How did Fremantle connect with Ibi Investment House?
Scrosati: It came to us through our CEO in Israel Guy Hameiri, who is also going to be the CEO of the fund. He runs our company there [Abot Hameiri), which we initially invested in and then bought out two years ago.
He came to me around like nine months ago, saying that the leadership in Ibi was interested in finding a way to invest in scripted content. Together, we developed this model that I think is pretty new.
Deadline: What do you mean by new? There are other funds in existence investing in scripted content.
Andrea Scrosati: I think the interesting component here is that it’s a financial institution partnering with a content production company. The projects can only come from Fremantle. So that’s the intriguing component, for us. Then, this fund will fully finance those projects, which is also rare, especially for TV. To have a self-funded studio kind of model on drama is slightly rare. And then Fremantle will go out and sell.
Deadline: What encouraged you to go down this route?
Scrosati: It’s coherent with our strategic positioning. Talent has a lot of opportunity choices… but to super simplify, there are two key potential choices. One, talent signs a deal with a big direct-to-consumer operation. It’s an absolutely a fine choice. But obviously, what happens is that the talent then has to deliver results that are coherent with the platform that needs to sell the subscriptions.
Our approach to talent is different. We say, ‘We’re going to focus on your project, we’re going to support your project, we’re going to potentially finance or risk on your project, and then we’re going to find the right home for your project, because not every project is okay for every place.’ This new device helps us with this strategic positioning.
There is a tactical component because of where the market is today. Big traditional buyers didn’t stop buying but are for sure on a slower kind of pace. We strongly believe that good content has a future. I’m very positive about where the market is going to be in three or four years from today. In every market there’s growth, and then an adjustment.
The problem with where the market is today is that there are great opportunities, sometimes that involve great talent, but they have a time component and you risk not doing those projects if you’re waiting for the green light from Apple, Disney, Netflix, or Amazon.
Deadline: If the commissioning contraction hadn’t happened would you still have gone down this route?
Scrosati: Yes, for the strategic reason I mentioned.
Christian Vesper: Not Maria, because Maria is a film and starts very soon. And that was a different calculation. But for the two TV shows that we discuss in the [press] release, part of the consideration there was we believe in the projects. We know there’s a market for them but the talent attached has a discrete window, and so much of our business model has been based on how we bring in talent. How do we service our talent? Our job is to help them get their shows made and on the air. And this gives us one more powerful tool for doing that.
Deadline: Will the new fund change the way you deal with the broadcasters and streamers ?
Scrosati: The buyers are our partners. These shows will go to a client or a streamer. The fund is simply a way to accelerate the production time schedule. The buyer will be able to access a product when it is actually already in production or is already produced.
Vesper: One of our best clients in the UK is struggling now with some of their bigger shows. Even if they’ve greenlit them, they can’t find the financing for the rest of the budget. This is partly to step into that void. The networks, the linears and the public broadcasters, they’re struggling to fulfill all their programming needs with the resources they have and this provides yet one more avenue to do that.
Deadline: Can the fund be accessed by all the companies producing scripted content under the Fremantle umbrella?
Scrosati: Yes, as you can see with the first three projects. One of them is taking place in Israel, one in in UK, and one is a Chilean-Italian co-production, shot in Hungary. It’s going to be fantastically global.
Deadline: You have set yourselves the target of a €3B turnover by 2025. Do you think that’s realistic? And why have you set yourself this goal?
Scrosati: The goal was set by our shareholders… I’ve worked for a few different shareholders over the course of my career. The thing I’ve found incredibly strong is that Bertelsmann and Rtl have set a goal but have also given us all the support and instruments to reach that goal. It is a very ambitious goal because obviously the company was doing a very different number three years ago, but again they have given us all the support.
One thing, which is really important to say, is that the growth we have done in the last few years has been a been a mix of M&a and organic growth. This growth is not simply because we are acquiring companies, but rather because we are diversifying and creating a business portfolio. An example of this, is that five years ago, we were delivering two movies a year, and last year, we delivered 17, and with the exception of Element, which is an acquisition, all these movies come from companies that were already part of Fremantle.
Vesper: When I joined the company, Wildside was already a crucial part of the company, and I’ve been here six years now and the growth there is all organic and extraordinary.
Scrosati: The M&a we’ve done is all part of strategic plans. It’s been about acquiring companies that were best in class in a sector where we were not present. Element is a fantastic example of that. We did not have an English language, movie production company. Or, best in class in potentially growing regions where we were not present. We invested in Latin American company The Immigrant a few years ago when it was a start-up. It now has three productions on the go and its first movie Adolfo won the Generation 14 Plus prize in Berlin.
Vesper: One of our companies in England, Dancing Ledge, is hitting it out of the park in terms of the number of series they have on BBC and all the platforms. Like The Immigrant, we invested in them when they had done nothing. It’s not like we’re buying revenue. A lot of the M&a is investment in the future.
Deadline: Do you plan to keep up the pace of scripted company acquisitions of the last three years, or is that calming down?
Scrosati: In line with what we were just saying, If there is something that is coherent with our growth, in areas where we’re still not present, or there is a company or creative team that we really think has potential, we will still invest. The other component is the cultural element. We are a big company but we’re very lean. The scripted management team is basically in front of you. The only way it can work is if we see can see an element where it will work intellectually and culturally.
Deadline: Do you have further growth plans for scripted in the U.S.?
Scrosati: It’s our first territory. The company’s core business is still the entertainment and unscripted business and the U.S. is a massive territory for us for that. In addition, Dante di Loreto is leading the scripted team and has a lot going on.
Vesper: We have a show, Fellow Travellers, coming out on Paramount+ at the end of September. It’s a big mini-series with Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey and Allison Williams, that was developed with Showtime and that we produced for them. Six-part, gorgeous, about the gay panic in the CIA in the 50s. We also produced two seasons of Mosquito Coast for Apple.
We have a number of big shows that we’re about to announce. What’s interesting is that we have a couple of projects that the U.S. have set up to shoot here (Europe), and vice versa. We’re trying to make sure that our European producers have the resources in the U.S., and the other way round. We’re constantly strategizing about this, it’s important for us to continue to build that business in the U.S..
The fund is reserved exclusively for select projects being developed by Fremantle’s stable of scripted drama companies, which include UK’s Dancing Ledge and Element Pictures, Italy’s The Apartment, Wildside and Lux Vide, as well as The Immigrant, specialized in Latin America and Spanish content.
First projects backed by the fund include previously announced feature Maria, the high-profile Maria Callas biopic, starring Angelina Jolie and directed by Pablo Larraín, who is at Venice this year with Augusto Pinochet dark comedy/horror El Conde.
Two newly unveiled series will also benefit: the four-part thriller Generation Loss, written by Bridgerton’s Sarah Dollard, and six-part revenge thriller Shelter, to which Jeremy Webb is attached to direct.
Fremantle is not involved in Larrain’s Netflix-backed El Conde but is present instead with five other Golden Lion contenders, including Yorgos Lanthimos’ buzzed about Poor Things, Stefano Sollima’s well-reviewed Adagio, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Salvatore Costanzo’s 1950s Cinecittà drama Finally Dawn, and Pietro Castellitto’s Enea
In a sign of a growing presence in the film world, the company is basing itself out of a vast beachfront villa just down the road from the festival’s main hub for the first time this year.
Deadline sat down with top Fremantle execs, Group COO and CEO Continental Europe Andrea Scrosati and CEO Global Drama Christian Vesper, in the peace of its lawned garden to discuss the genesis and implications of the new scripted fund.
Deadline: How did Fremantle connect with Ibi Investment House?
Scrosati: It came to us through our CEO in Israel Guy Hameiri, who is also going to be the CEO of the fund. He runs our company there [Abot Hameiri), which we initially invested in and then bought out two years ago.
He came to me around like nine months ago, saying that the leadership in Ibi was interested in finding a way to invest in scripted content. Together, we developed this model that I think is pretty new.
Deadline: What do you mean by new? There are other funds in existence investing in scripted content.
Andrea Scrosati: I think the interesting component here is that it’s a financial institution partnering with a content production company. The projects can only come from Fremantle. So that’s the intriguing component, for us. Then, this fund will fully finance those projects, which is also rare, especially for TV. To have a self-funded studio kind of model on drama is slightly rare. And then Fremantle will go out and sell.
Deadline: What encouraged you to go down this route?
Scrosati: It’s coherent with our strategic positioning. Talent has a lot of opportunity choices… but to super simplify, there are two key potential choices. One, talent signs a deal with a big direct-to-consumer operation. It’s an absolutely a fine choice. But obviously, what happens is that the talent then has to deliver results that are coherent with the platform that needs to sell the subscriptions.
Our approach to talent is different. We say, ‘We’re going to focus on your project, we’re going to support your project, we’re going to potentially finance or risk on your project, and then we’re going to find the right home for your project, because not every project is okay for every place.’ This new device helps us with this strategic positioning.
There is a tactical component because of where the market is today. Big traditional buyers didn’t stop buying but are for sure on a slower kind of pace. We strongly believe that good content has a future. I’m very positive about where the market is going to be in three or four years from today. In every market there’s growth, and then an adjustment.
The problem with where the market is today is that there are great opportunities, sometimes that involve great talent, but they have a time component and you risk not doing those projects if you’re waiting for the green light from Apple, Disney, Netflix, or Amazon.
Deadline: If the commissioning contraction hadn’t happened would you still have gone down this route?
Scrosati: Yes, for the strategic reason I mentioned.
Christian Vesper: Not Maria, because Maria is a film and starts very soon. And that was a different calculation. But for the two TV shows that we discuss in the [press] release, part of the consideration there was we believe in the projects. We know there’s a market for them but the talent attached has a discrete window, and so much of our business model has been based on how we bring in talent. How do we service our talent? Our job is to help them get their shows made and on the air. And this gives us one more powerful tool for doing that.
Deadline: Will the new fund change the way you deal with the broadcasters and streamers ?
Scrosati: The buyers are our partners. These shows will go to a client or a streamer. The fund is simply a way to accelerate the production time schedule. The buyer will be able to access a product when it is actually already in production or is already produced.
Vesper: One of our best clients in the UK is struggling now with some of their bigger shows. Even if they’ve greenlit them, they can’t find the financing for the rest of the budget. This is partly to step into that void. The networks, the linears and the public broadcasters, they’re struggling to fulfill all their programming needs with the resources they have and this provides yet one more avenue to do that.
Deadline: Can the fund be accessed by all the companies producing scripted content under the Fremantle umbrella?
Scrosati: Yes, as you can see with the first three projects. One of them is taking place in Israel, one in in UK, and one is a Chilean-Italian co-production, shot in Hungary. It’s going to be fantastically global.
Deadline: You have set yourselves the target of a €3B turnover by 2025. Do you think that’s realistic? And why have you set yourself this goal?
Scrosati: The goal was set by our shareholders… I’ve worked for a few different shareholders over the course of my career. The thing I’ve found incredibly strong is that Bertelsmann and Rtl have set a goal but have also given us all the support and instruments to reach that goal. It is a very ambitious goal because obviously the company was doing a very different number three years ago, but again they have given us all the support.
One thing, which is really important to say, is that the growth we have done in the last few years has been a been a mix of M&a and organic growth. This growth is not simply because we are acquiring companies, but rather because we are diversifying and creating a business portfolio. An example of this, is that five years ago, we were delivering two movies a year, and last year, we delivered 17, and with the exception of Element, which is an acquisition, all these movies come from companies that were already part of Fremantle.
Vesper: When I joined the company, Wildside was already a crucial part of the company, and I’ve been here six years now and the growth there is all organic and extraordinary.
Scrosati: The M&a we’ve done is all part of strategic plans. It’s been about acquiring companies that were best in class in a sector where we were not present. Element is a fantastic example of that. We did not have an English language, movie production company. Or, best in class in potentially growing regions where we were not present. We invested in Latin American company The Immigrant a few years ago when it was a start-up. It now has three productions on the go and its first movie Adolfo won the Generation 14 Plus prize in Berlin.
Vesper: One of our companies in England, Dancing Ledge, is hitting it out of the park in terms of the number of series they have on BBC and all the platforms. Like The Immigrant, we invested in them when they had done nothing. It’s not like we’re buying revenue. A lot of the M&a is investment in the future.
Deadline: Do you plan to keep up the pace of scripted company acquisitions of the last three years, or is that calming down?
Scrosati: In line with what we were just saying, If there is something that is coherent with our growth, in areas where we’re still not present, or there is a company or creative team that we really think has potential, we will still invest. The other component is the cultural element. We are a big company but we’re very lean. The scripted management team is basically in front of you. The only way it can work is if we see can see an element where it will work intellectually and culturally.
Deadline: Do you have further growth plans for scripted in the U.S.?
Scrosati: It’s our first territory. The company’s core business is still the entertainment and unscripted business and the U.S. is a massive territory for us for that. In addition, Dante di Loreto is leading the scripted team and has a lot going on.
Vesper: We have a show, Fellow Travellers, coming out on Paramount+ at the end of September. It’s a big mini-series with Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey and Allison Williams, that was developed with Showtime and that we produced for them. Six-part, gorgeous, about the gay panic in the CIA in the 50s. We also produced two seasons of Mosquito Coast for Apple.
We have a number of big shows that we’re about to announce. What’s interesting is that we have a couple of projects that the U.S. have set up to shoot here (Europe), and vice versa. We’re trying to make sure that our European producers have the resources in the U.S., and the other way round. We’re constantly strategizing about this, it’s important for us to continue to build that business in the U.S..
- 9/4/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
It might be too early to call it, but The Hollywood Reporter Roma may have given the best party of the 80th Venice Film Festival.
THR Roma, the first European edition of The Hollywood Reporter, threw a starry and glam but also surprisingly chill bash Sunday night at their festival villa, a stone’s throw from The Excelsior Hotel on the Lido. THR Roma had its official launch, in Rome, in April but the Venice bash marked its international coming out, and the group used the occasion to present its first stand-alone print edition (more on that later).
There were shades of Pablo Sorrentino’s famed party sequence in The Great Beauty as a who’s who of the Italian film and fashion industries — among them the cast of Venice festival opener Comandante, including Italian superstar Pierfrancesco Favino and director Edoardo De Angelis, Adagio filmmaker Stefano Sollima, and Valentino’s...
THR Roma, the first European edition of The Hollywood Reporter, threw a starry and glam but also surprisingly chill bash Sunday night at their festival villa, a stone’s throw from The Excelsior Hotel on the Lido. THR Roma had its official launch, in Rome, in April but the Venice bash marked its international coming out, and the group used the occasion to present its first stand-alone print edition (more on that later).
There were shades of Pablo Sorrentino’s famed party sequence in The Great Beauty as a who’s who of the Italian film and fashion industries — among them the cast of Venice festival opener Comandante, including Italian superstar Pierfrancesco Favino and director Edoardo De Angelis, Adagio filmmaker Stefano Sollima, and Valentino’s...
- 9/4/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Global production and distribution powerhouse Fremantle has revealed a strategic alliance at the Venice Film Festival with Israeli-based Ibi Investment House, which involves the launch of a 150 million euro ($163 million) fund to bankroll a portfolio of premium scripted TV and film projects.
Under the deal, which will last four years, Fremantle will bring a diverse range of projects from its network of studio companies to the Ibi fund, fast-tracking the production of each title. The partners say the projects will also benefit from the creative oversight of Fremantle’s global drama team, led by its CEO Christian Vesper, who will work with the fund throughout the lifecycle of each production. All TV projects approved through the fund will be distributed by Fremantle International.
“At Fremantle, we are always focused on innovation and this alliance with Ibi is a perfect example of this ethos and approach,” said Fremantle Group CEO Jennifer Mullin.
Under the deal, which will last four years, Fremantle will bring a diverse range of projects from its network of studio companies to the Ibi fund, fast-tracking the production of each title. The partners say the projects will also benefit from the creative oversight of Fremantle’s global drama team, led by its CEO Christian Vesper, who will work with the fund throughout the lifecycle of each production. All TV projects approved through the fund will be distributed by Fremantle International.
“At Fremantle, we are always focused on innovation and this alliance with Ibi is a perfect example of this ethos and approach,” said Fremantle Group CEO Jennifer Mullin.
- 9/1/2023
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
One of first projects put forward for funding is a biopic of Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie
Producer and distributor Fremantle has formed a strategic alliance with Israeli based Ibi Investment House, which is launching a new €150m fund to finance a portfolio of scripted television and film projects
Under an initial four-year deal, Fremantle will bring projects from its network of production companies to the Ibi fund. They include previously announced feature film Maria, a biopic of Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie to be directed by Pablo Larrain.
The Ibi Fund will work with Fremantle and its labels, producers...
Producer and distributor Fremantle has formed a strategic alliance with Israeli based Ibi Investment House, which is launching a new €150m fund to finance a portfolio of scripted television and film projects
Under an initial four-year deal, Fremantle will bring projects from its network of production companies to the Ibi fund. They include previously announced feature film Maria, a biopic of Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie to be directed by Pablo Larrain.
The Ibi Fund will work with Fremantle and its labels, producers...
- 8/31/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Pablo Larraín’s Maria Callas biopic starring Angelina Jolie, a mystery thriller penned by Bridgerton’s Sarah Dollard and a revenge drama created by Jim Keeble and Dudi Appleton are the first projects to emerge from Fremantle and Ibi Investment House’s €150M ($162.7M) Scripted Fund.
Unveiled today, the fund will see Fremantle label’s high-end TV and film projects funded via a bespoke model by the Israeli investor, which will “fast-track the production of each project,” according to the pair. Ibi, which is making its first foray into international film and TV production, will work closely with Fremantle and talent to greenlight each project and find the best route to market.
As CEO of the fund, Fremantle-owned Abot Hameiri boss Guy Hameiri will oversee the pot. He spearheaded the deal with Fremantle Group COO and Continental Europe CEO Andrea Scrosati, who has been the driving force behind the super-indie’s much-publicized investment splurge.
Unveiled today, the fund will see Fremantle label’s high-end TV and film projects funded via a bespoke model by the Israeli investor, which will “fast-track the production of each project,” according to the pair. Ibi, which is making its first foray into international film and TV production, will work closely with Fremantle and talent to greenlight each project and find the best route to market.
As CEO of the fund, Fremantle-owned Abot Hameiri boss Guy Hameiri will oversee the pot. He spearheaded the deal with Fremantle Group COO and Continental Europe CEO Andrea Scrosati, who has been the driving force behind the super-indie’s much-publicized investment splurge.
- 8/31/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Eleonora Andreatta, Netflix’s VP of Italian originals who oversees the streaming giant’s local output of series, movies, and non-scripted shows, will receive the Ittv International Award during the Venice Film Festival from the Los-Angeles based Italian Television Festival.
Affectionately known as Tinny, Eleonora Andreatta has long been a fundamental figure in Italian scripted content production. As head of drama at pubcaster Rai, she ushered in a new era by commissioning and carefully shepherding global hits such as the Elena Ferrante adaptation “My Brilliant Friend.” At Netflix, which she joined in mid-2020, Andreatta recently shepherded another well-received series based on Ferrante’s novel, “The Lying Life of Adults” directed by Edoardo De Angelis, who happens to also be the helmer of Venice’s opening film “Comandante.”
Netflix’s next high-profile show out of Italy is “The Leopard,” based on the classic Sicily-set novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, which...
Affectionately known as Tinny, Eleonora Andreatta has long been a fundamental figure in Italian scripted content production. As head of drama at pubcaster Rai, she ushered in a new era by commissioning and carefully shepherding global hits such as the Elena Ferrante adaptation “My Brilliant Friend.” At Netflix, which she joined in mid-2020, Andreatta recently shepherded another well-received series based on Ferrante’s novel, “The Lying Life of Adults” directed by Edoardo De Angelis, who happens to also be the helmer of Venice’s opening film “Comandante.”
Netflix’s next high-profile show out of Italy is “The Leopard,” based on the classic Sicily-set novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, which...
- 8/25/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Being an independent producer was never easy. But these days, it’s near impossible. Even before the dual writers and actors strikes, changes in the international film and TV market had made life tough for the indies. Old models of art house moviemaking have been ravaged by a combination of decline in the specialty box office, the collapse of ancillary revenue for home entertainment and TV licensing, and the more recent pullback by streaming companies, who have begun to back fewer, and more mainstream, movies.
But one indie production company has gone from making just a handful of movies a year to dozens, finding a way to turn the turbulent new reality into a business model for making cutting-edge art house cinema that, shockingly, can actually turn a profit. It’s the company behind five of the most hotly anticipated titles at the Venice Film Festival this year: Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things,...
But one indie production company has gone from making just a handful of movies a year to dozens, finding a way to turn the turbulent new reality into a business model for making cutting-edge art house cinema that, shockingly, can actually turn a profit. It’s the company behind five of the most hotly anticipated titles at the Venice Film Festival this year: Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things,...
- 8/25/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Hollywood Reporter has picked Fremantle as the winner of the inaugural International Producer of the Year award.
The award will be presented annually to an independent producer from outside the U.S. that THR judges to be the most exciting and innovative company of the year.
THR will present the 2023 Producer of the Year award to Andrea Scrosati, Group COO and CEO of Continental Europe, and Christian Vesper, CEO of Global Drama, at a gala event at the Venice Film Festival on September 3.
With a global network of nearly 50 companies — ranging from German giant UFA (Deutschland ’83) and Italian TV group Lux Vide (Netflix’s Medici) to Israel’s Abot Hameiri (Shtisel) and Richard Brown’s Passenger (True Detective) — and revenues of more than $2.5 billion (€2.3 billion) last year, Fremantle is clearly one of the biggest international indies out there.
But what put it over the top as International Producer of...
The award will be presented annually to an independent producer from outside the U.S. that THR judges to be the most exciting and innovative company of the year.
THR will present the 2023 Producer of the Year award to Andrea Scrosati, Group COO and CEO of Continental Europe, and Christian Vesper, CEO of Global Drama, at a gala event at the Venice Film Festival on September 3.
With a global network of nearly 50 companies — ranging from German giant UFA (Deutschland ’83) and Italian TV group Lux Vide (Netflix’s Medici) to Israel’s Abot Hameiri (Shtisel) and Richard Brown’s Passenger (True Detective) — and revenues of more than $2.5 billion (€2.3 billion) last year, Fremantle is clearly one of the biggest international indies out there.
But what put it over the top as International Producer of...
- 8/23/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
‘Lost’ Is Found
Specialty distributor, Trinity CineAsia is releasing China’s summer blockbuster “Lost in the Stars” in the U.K and Ireland on some 30 screens from Friday.
“I was fortunate to watch the film when it opened in China and once I saw it I just knew we had to have it,” said Cedric Behrel of Trinity CineAsia. “‘Lost In The Stars’ is a very clever, uncanny thrill of a ride that harks back to classic Hitchcock and any noteworthy thriller since – the master himself had in fact once optioned the rights to the same story. We organized the fastest turnaround premiere known to man and we’ve been delighted by the reactions to the early previews. It epitomizes the best of what new Chinese cinema can bring to audiences.”
The film – a suspense drama about a man who believes that his wife is an imposter – has been the...
Specialty distributor, Trinity CineAsia is releasing China’s summer blockbuster “Lost in the Stars” in the U.K and Ireland on some 30 screens from Friday.
“I was fortunate to watch the film when it opened in China and once I saw it I just knew we had to have it,” said Cedric Behrel of Trinity CineAsia. “‘Lost In The Stars’ is a very clever, uncanny thrill of a ride that harks back to classic Hitchcock and any noteworthy thriller since – the master himself had in fact once optioned the rights to the same story. We organized the fastest turnaround premiere known to man and we’ve been delighted by the reactions to the early previews. It epitomizes the best of what new Chinese cinema can bring to audiences.”
The film – a suspense drama about a man who believes that his wife is an imposter – has been the...
- 7/14/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The Filming Italy Sardegna Festival that kicks off Italy’s summer moviegoing season will play a prominent role in the ongoing push to lure Italians back into movie theaters, just as the country’s box office is starting to gain traction.
A robust roster of talents from Hollywood and Italy and a solid lineup of premieres are booked for this event, which combines film and TV and unspools June 22-25 in the Forte Village resort near Cagliari, capital of Sardegna (Sardinia in English). The fest is set to take place just as the Italian government starts to invest €20 million ($22 million) to promote moviegoing through a campaign called Cinema Revolution, under which cinema tickets will be half-price for a limited time.
“While in past years I struggled to find films, this time around I have 50 titles,” notes Tiziana Rocca, the marketing guru and former Taormina Film Festival chief who launched the Sardinia event six years ago.
A robust roster of talents from Hollywood and Italy and a solid lineup of premieres are booked for this event, which combines film and TV and unspools June 22-25 in the Forte Village resort near Cagliari, capital of Sardegna (Sardinia in English). The fest is set to take place just as the Italian government starts to invest €20 million ($22 million) to promote moviegoing through a campaign called Cinema Revolution, under which cinema tickets will be half-price for a limited time.
“While in past years I struggled to find films, this time around I have 50 titles,” notes Tiziana Rocca, the marketing guru and former Taormina Film Festival chief who launched the Sardinia event six years ago.
- 6/22/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italy’s Fremantle-owned Lux Vide production powerhouse is expanding its in-house studio capacity, unveiling a large new soundstage on Monday at its facilities in Formello outside Rome which will become a major new European physical production hub.
Plans are underway for a total of seven state-of-the-art stages, plus a new post-production facility to be in place at Formello by year’s end creating a sprawling Lux Video studio area on more than 6,500 square meters of space including the backlot.
Lux Vide’s new Teatro 5 measuring more than 1150 square meters was inaugurated with Italy’s deputy culture minister Lucia Bergonzoni and other local authorities on hand alongside Lux CEO Luca Bernabei, Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s group COO and CEO continental Europe, and Lux’s honorary president Matilde Bernabei.
The studios will be used mainly by Lux Vide and Fremantle sister companies, which comprise Wildside and The Apartment in Italy. But...
Plans are underway for a total of seven state-of-the-art stages, plus a new post-production facility to be in place at Formello by year’s end creating a sprawling Lux Video studio area on more than 6,500 square meters of space including the backlot.
Lux Vide’s new Teatro 5 measuring more than 1150 square meters was inaugurated with Italy’s deputy culture minister Lucia Bergonzoni and other local authorities on hand alongside Lux CEO Luca Bernabei, Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s group COO and CEO continental Europe, and Lux’s honorary president Matilde Bernabei.
The studios will be used mainly by Lux Vide and Fremantle sister companies, which comprise Wildside and The Apartment in Italy. But...
- 6/12/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Fremantle Hr boss Nicky Gray has exited the Got Talent and Normal People super-indie after more than two decades.
In a note to staff, seen by Deadline, Fremantle Group CEO Jennifer Mullin said Gray, who was Chief People and Culture Officer, “leaves the business in terrific shape and her contributions have made our culture what it is today.”
London-based Gray was part of Fremantle’s Executive Committee that includes Mullin, Group COO & CEO Continental Europe Andrea Scrosati, Group CFO Andrew Bott and Group General Counsel Matthew Wilson. She joined Fremantle in the late-1990s and worked her way up during a lengthy tenure, while past employers include Express Newspapers and food manufacturer Tate & Lyle. Succession plans will be announced in due course.
“After an incredible 21 years of service, I am writing to let you know that Nicky Gray is stepping down from her role as Chief People and Culture Officer,...
In a note to staff, seen by Deadline, Fremantle Group CEO Jennifer Mullin said Gray, who was Chief People and Culture Officer, “leaves the business in terrific shape and her contributions have made our culture what it is today.”
London-based Gray was part of Fremantle’s Executive Committee that includes Mullin, Group COO & CEO Continental Europe Andrea Scrosati, Group CFO Andrew Bott and Group General Counsel Matthew Wilson. She joined Fremantle in the late-1990s and worked her way up during a lengthy tenure, while past employers include Express Newspapers and food manufacturer Tate & Lyle. Succession plans will be announced in due course.
“After an incredible 21 years of service, I am writing to let you know that Nicky Gray is stepping down from her role as Chief People and Culture Officer,...
- 4/3/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Andrea Scrosati, who is group COO and continental Europe CEO of Fremantle, isn’t too worried about various types of turbulence that are currently creating anxiety in the U.S. media market such as draconian cost cuts being made by juggernaut groups and the impending prospect of a Writers Guild of America strike.
Speaking in Italy at a film and TV conference organized by the Idm-Film Commission Südtirol titled “Less is More – What to Do When the Streaming Boom is Over” Scrosati noted that the effect of market consolidation in the U.S. and fear due to plunging stock market results that is prompting cost cuts at Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery certainly means that “some of the big buyers are in a conflict.”
Which, in turn, “makes it more complicated sometimes to have discussions.”
But, he said, “The amount of content that is required by consumers across the world is not going to change.
Speaking in Italy at a film and TV conference organized by the Idm-Film Commission Südtirol titled “Less is More – What to Do When the Streaming Boom is Over” Scrosati noted that the effect of market consolidation in the U.S. and fear due to plunging stock market results that is prompting cost cuts at Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery certainly means that “some of the big buyers are in a conflict.”
Which, in turn, “makes it more complicated sometimes to have discussions.”
But, he said, “The amount of content that is required by consumers across the world is not going to change.
- 3/31/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Label launched at Cph:dox in Copenhagen.
UK-based production and distribution house Fremantle has launched Undeniable, a new label for feature and series documentaries.
Sitting within Fremantle’s Documentaries division, Undeniable will develop and produce ‘premium’ projects according to the company. It will make high end international projects that come to Fremantle directly without going through their local territories.
Fremantle’s first-look deal with US filmmaker Amy Berg, announced last week, will fall under the Undeniable banner; Berg is currently in Copenhagen shooting for a film under the partnership.
The brand was announced at Cph:dox today (March 21) in Copenhagen by Mandy Chang,...
UK-based production and distribution house Fremantle has launched Undeniable, a new label for feature and series documentaries.
Sitting within Fremantle’s Documentaries division, Undeniable will develop and produce ‘premium’ projects according to the company. It will make high end international projects that come to Fremantle directly without going through their local territories.
Fremantle’s first-look deal with US filmmaker Amy Berg, announced last week, will fall under the Undeniable banner; Berg is currently in Copenhagen shooting for a film under the partnership.
The brand was announced at Cph:dox today (March 21) in Copenhagen by Mandy Chang,...
- 3/21/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Super indie Fremantle has unveiled plans to further expand into the documentary space with the launch of a new label, Undeniable, focused on the production of premium feature documentaries and series.
Mandy Chang, Fremantle’s Global Head of Documentaries, announced the move at documentary festival Cph:dox in Copenhagen on Tuesday. The new label will sit within Fremantle’s Documentaries division and appears designed to distinguish high-end feature docs and series produced in the group from Fremantle’s more conventional reality TV and non-scripted fare.
“The launch of Undeniable further underlines our commitment and ambition to build Fremantle’s documentary output on the premium side,” said Chang. “Working with the very best filmmakers and emerging talent, the label will provide editorial and production expertise and support in multiple genres. Importantly, it will provide a platform and freedom for creative talent to unlock and explore important issues and stories to be told.
Mandy Chang, Fremantle’s Global Head of Documentaries, announced the move at documentary festival Cph:dox in Copenhagen on Tuesday. The new label will sit within Fremantle’s Documentaries division and appears designed to distinguish high-end feature docs and series produced in the group from Fremantle’s more conventional reality TV and non-scripted fare.
“The launch of Undeniable further underlines our commitment and ambition to build Fremantle’s documentary output on the premium side,” said Chang. “Working with the very best filmmakers and emerging talent, the label will provide editorial and production expertise and support in multiple genres. Importantly, it will provide a platform and freedom for creative talent to unlock and explore important issues and stories to be told.
- 3/21/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Fremantle has launched a premium documentaries label helmed by Mandy Chang.
The super-indie’s Head of Documentaries will oversee Undeniable, which she has just unveiled on stage at Copenhagen’s Cph:Dox.
Helming “provocative, entertaining, diverse, and influential” premium documentaries with high-profile talent, Undeniable’s launch comes amidst a Fremantle docs push. The outfit has recently acquired One Day In America indie 72 Films, natural history producer Wildstar Films and Israel’s Silvio Productions.
Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s Group COO and Continental CEO, said the launch “forms part of Fremantle’s growth strategy to boost our capabilities in documentaries as we have successfully achieved in film and drama over recent years.”
He added that Fremantle and its labels delivered 52 documentaries last year, including Kingdom of Dreams and Mrs. America.
“Working with the very best filmmakers and emerging talent, the label will provide editorial and production expertise and support in multiple genres,...
The super-indie’s Head of Documentaries will oversee Undeniable, which she has just unveiled on stage at Copenhagen’s Cph:Dox.
Helming “provocative, entertaining, diverse, and influential” premium documentaries with high-profile talent, Undeniable’s launch comes amidst a Fremantle docs push. The outfit has recently acquired One Day In America indie 72 Films, natural history producer Wildstar Films and Israel’s Silvio Productions.
Andrea Scrosati, Fremantle’s Group COO and Continental CEO, said the launch “forms part of Fremantle’s growth strategy to boost our capabilities in documentaries as we have successfully achieved in film and drama over recent years.”
He added that Fremantle and its labels delivered 52 documentaries last year, including Kingdom of Dreams and Mrs. America.
“Working with the very best filmmakers and emerging talent, the label will provide editorial and production expertise and support in multiple genres,...
- 3/21/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Fremantle’s Documentaries division has launched Undeniable, a label dedicated to producing premium feature documentaries and series, in partnership with high-profile talent and international commissioners, Mandy Chang, Fremantle’s global head of documentaries, revealed Tuesday at Cph:dox in Copenhagen.
The label is already developing several international projects and partnerships with high-profile filmmakers, including Amy Berg, Chris Smith, and Penny Lane and Gabriel Sedgwick.
Chang said: “The launch of Undeniable further underlines our commitment and ambition to build Fremantle’s documentary output on the premium side. Working with the very best filmmakers and emerging talent, the label will provide editorial and production expertise and support in multiple genres. Importantly, it will provide a platform and freedom for creative talent to unlock and explore important issues and stories to be told.”
Undeniable’s ambition is to make “provocative, entertaining, diverse, and influential films and series that push the boundaries of storytelling and...
The label is already developing several international projects and partnerships with high-profile filmmakers, including Amy Berg, Chris Smith, and Penny Lane and Gabriel Sedgwick.
Chang said: “The launch of Undeniable further underlines our commitment and ambition to build Fremantle’s documentary output on the premium side. Working with the very best filmmakers and emerging talent, the label will provide editorial and production expertise and support in multiple genres. Importantly, it will provide a platform and freedom for creative talent to unlock and explore important issues and stories to be told.”
Undeniable’s ambition is to make “provocative, entertaining, diverse, and influential films and series that push the boundaries of storytelling and...
- 3/21/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Fremantle has deepened its relationship with Artists, Writers & Artisans, Inc. (Awa) by making a minority investment in the company.
Fremantle had struck a strategic development deal with Awa Studios, the film and television division of Awa, last year.
Awa is backed by James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, Sister, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. In 2021, the company established Awa Studios, helmed by Hollywood veteran Zach Studin as president. Marvel alum Axel Alonso serves as co-founder and chief creative officer overseeing editorial output. Matthew Anderson, co-chair and president and Jon Miller, co-founder and co-chair, lead Awa’s executive team.
The two companies have revealed that the first project on the joint development slate after Fremantle taking a stake in Awa is “Devil’s Highway,” a thriller based on the comic series by Benjamin Percy and Brent Schoonover in which a young woman seeks to unravel a sinister mystery hidden in the dark underbelly of the long-haul trucking industry.
Fremantle had struck a strategic development deal with Awa Studios, the film and television division of Awa, last year.
Awa is backed by James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, Sister, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. In 2021, the company established Awa Studios, helmed by Hollywood veteran Zach Studin as president. Marvel alum Axel Alonso serves as co-founder and chief creative officer overseeing editorial output. Matthew Anderson, co-chair and president and Jon Miller, co-founder and co-chair, lead Awa’s executive team.
The two companies have revealed that the first project on the joint development slate after Fremantle taking a stake in Awa is “Devil’s Highway,” a thriller based on the comic series by Benjamin Percy and Brent Schoonover in which a young woman seeks to unravel a sinister mystery hidden in the dark underbelly of the long-haul trucking industry.
- 2/14/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Fremantle has taken a minority stake in independent developer Artists, Writers & Artisans Inc.
The company co-led an investment round with James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems alongside new capital from long-term backers of Awa and a “number of strategic individual investors with expertise in production, finance, sports, human rights and technology.” In addition to Lupa Systems, other Awa backers include Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sister.
Awa Studios, Awa’s film and TV arm helmed by Hollywood veteran Zach Studin, will benefit from Fremantle’s strategic input and investment, while also “unlocking the specialist expertise of the global content powerhouse, its infrastructure and its renowned international distribution footprint,” the companies said in a joint release on Tuesday.
The size of Fremantle’s stake was not disclosed.
Also Read:
‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ Filmmaker Edward Berger Sets First-Look Deal With Fremantle
The investment builds upon Fremantle and Awa’s partnership forged...
The company co-led an investment round with James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems alongside new capital from long-term backers of Awa and a “number of strategic individual investors with expertise in production, finance, sports, human rights and technology.” In addition to Lupa Systems, other Awa backers include Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sister.
Awa Studios, Awa’s film and TV arm helmed by Hollywood veteran Zach Studin, will benefit from Fremantle’s strategic input and investment, while also “unlocking the specialist expertise of the global content powerhouse, its infrastructure and its renowned international distribution footprint,” the companies said in a joint release on Tuesday.
The size of Fremantle’s stake was not disclosed.
Also Read:
‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ Filmmaker Edward Berger Sets First-Look Deal With Fremantle
The investment builds upon Fremantle and Awa’s partnership forged...
- 2/14/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Fremantle, the production unit of Bertelsmann-owned TV giant Rtl Group, has made a strategic minority investment in Artists, Writers & Artisans (Awa), an independent developer of stories from creative talent working across graphic fiction, film and television.
James Murdoch’s investment firm Lupa Systems, an existing Awa backer, co-led the new financial injection, which also included new capital from long-term Awa backers and “a number of strategic individual investors with expertise in production, finance, sports, human rights and technology,” the company said. Financial details and the size of the stake weren’t disclosed.
“This investment signifies a deepening of the initial partnership made between Fremantle and Awa in April 2022, which saw the companies come together to collaborate on co-developing a slate of TV projects based on Awa’s rapidly expanding IP library,” the partners said. “Awa Studios, Awa’s film and TV arm, will benefit from Fremantle’s strategic input and investment,...
James Murdoch’s investment firm Lupa Systems, an existing Awa backer, co-led the new financial injection, which also included new capital from long-term Awa backers and “a number of strategic individual investors with expertise in production, finance, sports, human rights and technology,” the company said. Financial details and the size of the stake weren’t disclosed.
“This investment signifies a deepening of the initial partnership made between Fremantle and Awa in April 2022, which saw the companies come together to collaborate on co-developing a slate of TV projects based on Awa’s rapidly expanding IP library,” the partners said. “Awa Studios, Awa’s film and TV arm, will benefit from Fremantle’s strategic input and investment,...
- 2/14/2023
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Fremantle has acquired a minority stake in Artists, Writers & Artisans (Awa), the U.S.-based indie backed by Liz Murdoch’s Chernobyl producer Sister and James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems.
Awa works across film, TV and graphic novels and Devil’s Highway – based on the comic series by Benjamin Percy and Brent Schoonover – is the first fruits of its collaboration with Fremantle, which kicked off last year with a partnership to co-develop a TV slate. Fremantle and Lupa co-led that investment round alongside new capital from long-term backers of Awa and a number of strategic investors.
The Fremantle investment revealed today will aid Awa’s film and TV arm Awa Studios with strategic input.
“We are delighted to extend our successful partnership with Awa. The collaboration is a perfect strategic fit, giving Awa access to our global footprint, distribution infrastructure and production expertise and putting Fremantle at the very forefront of graphic fiction innovation,...
Awa works across film, TV and graphic novels and Devil’s Highway – based on the comic series by Benjamin Percy and Brent Schoonover – is the first fruits of its collaboration with Fremantle, which kicked off last year with a partnership to co-develop a TV slate. Fremantle and Lupa co-led that investment round alongside new capital from long-term backers of Awa and a number of strategic investors.
The Fremantle investment revealed today will aid Awa’s film and TV arm Awa Studios with strategic input.
“We are delighted to extend our successful partnership with Awa. The collaboration is a perfect strategic fit, giving Awa access to our global footprint, distribution infrastructure and production expertise and putting Fremantle at the very forefront of graphic fiction innovation,...
- 2/14/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Fremantle is planning to once again merge Britain’s Got Talent producer Thames with Talkback under a restructure that will be unveiled in the coming months.
Deadline understands plans are being drawn up to consolidate Fremantle’s UK entertainment labels, with the coming together of the two stalwart British production houses a strong possibility. The Apprentice producer Naked, which was merged with Fremantle stablemate Boundless in 2020, could also be brought within the newly-merged entity.
If rubberstamped, Deadline understands a label boss will be hired to oversee the new Talkback Thames shingle and a redundancy process will likely take place. We revealed late last month that Thames MD Amelia Brown is exiting after two decades to set up her own production company, while Naked MD Fatima Salaria is also departing shortly.
If the plans are pushed through, the move will be the third time Thames has been combined with Talkback. They...
Deadline understands plans are being drawn up to consolidate Fremantle’s UK entertainment labels, with the coming together of the two stalwart British production houses a strong possibility. The Apprentice producer Naked, which was merged with Fremantle stablemate Boundless in 2020, could also be brought within the newly-merged entity.
If rubberstamped, Deadline understands a label boss will be hired to oversee the new Talkback Thames shingle and a redundancy process will likely take place. We revealed late last month that Thames MD Amelia Brown is exiting after two decades to set up her own production company, while Naked MD Fatima Salaria is also departing shortly.
If the plans are pushed through, the move will be the third time Thames has been combined with Talkback. They...
- 2/7/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Fremantle’s “Got Talent” has moved from pay-tv operator Sky to Disney+ in Italy, marking the first instance in which the hit show will play on a streaming platform in Europe.
The show, which is adapted in 72 countries, has been a longtime staple on Sky Italia where it’s been running for 12 seasons clocking more than 1,270 contestants, including illusionists, acrobats, animal trainers, and ventriloquists all seeking the judges’ coveted “Golden Buzzer.” “Italia’s Got Talent” has launched the careers of local talents such as Max Angioni, Aurora Leone, Francesco Arienzo, Mary Sarnataro, Andrea Paris, Federico Martelli and Urban Theory.
The next edition of “Italia’s Got Talent” will be produced by Fremantle for Disney+.
“I am thrilled to be able to announce the arrival on Disney+ of a well-established and beloved format like ‘Italia’s Got Talent,’ an addition to our collaboration with Fremantle,” said Daniel Frigo, country manager, The Walt Disney Company Italia,...
The show, which is adapted in 72 countries, has been a longtime staple on Sky Italia where it’s been running for 12 seasons clocking more than 1,270 contestants, including illusionists, acrobats, animal trainers, and ventriloquists all seeking the judges’ coveted “Golden Buzzer.” “Italia’s Got Talent” has launched the careers of local talents such as Max Angioni, Aurora Leone, Francesco Arienzo, Mary Sarnataro, Andrea Paris, Federico Martelli and Urban Theory.
The next edition of “Italia’s Got Talent” will be produced by Fremantle for Disney+.
“I am thrilled to be able to announce the arrival on Disney+ of a well-established and beloved format like ‘Italia’s Got Talent,’ an addition to our collaboration with Fremantle,” said Daniel Frigo, country manager, The Walt Disney Company Italia,...
- 1/11/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Fremantle has restructured its European operations by appointing Northern and Southern Europe CEOs, bringing in a Paramount Global exec for the latter.
Jaime Ondarza takes on the Southern Europe CEO role and Georgette Schlick has been promoted to Northern Europe CEO.
Rome-based Ondarza, who was most recently Paramount Global’s EVP Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa and Head of Streaming Southern Emea and Latin America, will oversee Fremantle’s production businesses in France, Israel, Italy, Portugal and Spain, including the likes of Abot Hameiri. The experienced exec had a long spell at Warner before Paramount.
Schlick will continue overseeing Belgium and the Netherlands and add Scandinavia to her portfolio.
The pair will not oversee drama companies looked after by Christian Vesper, who was recently promoted to Global Drama CEO and has now taken on responsibility for the likes of Italy’s Lux Vide, Richard Brown’s Passenger and Scandinavia’s Miso Film.
Jaime Ondarza takes on the Southern Europe CEO role and Georgette Schlick has been promoted to Northern Europe CEO.
Rome-based Ondarza, who was most recently Paramount Global’s EVP Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa and Head of Streaming Southern Emea and Latin America, will oversee Fremantle’s production businesses in France, Israel, Italy, Portugal and Spain, including the likes of Abot Hameiri. The experienced exec had a long spell at Warner before Paramount.
Schlick will continue overseeing Belgium and the Netherlands and add Scandinavia to her portfolio.
The pair will not oversee drama companies looked after by Christian Vesper, who was recently promoted to Global Drama CEO and has now taken on responsibility for the likes of Italy’s Lux Vide, Richard Brown’s Passenger and Scandinavia’s Miso Film.
- 1/10/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
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