IN FOCUS
The major sales companies reported sellouts as usual at this year’s market though US buyers were somewhat quiet The new deal
Market activity in Cannes was boosted by debut companies and the return of equity, but deals were less exuberant than in 2011. By Jeremy Kay
sense of anticipation heading into the market, but by the rain-soaked midway point a clearer sense of reality had set in. The cyclical nature of the business
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can paint a misleading picture. Last year’s market was an exuberant affair that bubbled and raged alongside a vin- tage festival as cash-rich buyers swirled around four must-have $100m projects, Annapurna Pictures founder Megan Ellison pulled off a sequence of dazzling plays that impacted on the US inde- pendent landscape and newcomer Red Granite International threw an extrava- gant launch party. The flamboyance was not so much in evidence this year as a more gentle ebb and flow replaced 2011’s surge. For 2012, the major sales agents reported sellouts as usual and there is no doubt that opportunity continues to flourish in an increasingly nuanced and compli- cated independent sector, despite the
n 4 Screen International June-July 2012
here were two deluges in Cannes. The torrent of scripts from new sales companies heightened the
variable quality of festival and market fare on the Croisette and relatively flat US buyer activity. Well-capitalised acquisitions execu-
‘Buyers said there is a lot out there and we have been getting them
to focus’ Nick Meyer, Sierra/Affinity
tives were aggressive and these included the Japanese, who were looking lively at the pre-buy stage. Buyers could be for- given for feeling overwhelmed by, and sceptical of, the embarrassment of riches resulting from the explosion of new sales companies on either side of the Atlantic. If this is the onset of a boom and bust
cycle, buyers (and sellers) should beware: not all these new sales compa- nies and the equity that backs them will be around in two years. Some of the new entities hit the ground running, notably the experienced David Garrett’s Mister Smith, which sold out on The Mortal Instruments and 3,096 Days. Panorama Media, the new company
backed by Ellison, is said to have licensed more than $80m in sales on a maiden slate of Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, and the untitled David O
Russell and Spike Jonze projects. It licensed multi-territory international rights for the Jonze and Russell films to Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. “It was an exciting and successful first market for Panorama,” president of international Kimberly Fox said. “Now the summer is about staffing up and pulling together the fall slate.” Patrick Wachsberger and Helen Lee
Kim reported a roaring trade across the board on the Lionsgate line-up. “It has been a strong market for us and the team has been seamless,” Wachsberger said of the infrastructure following the merger with Summit. Lionsgate’s powerhouse slate boasts
November release The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 and imminent production starts on The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire, Red 2 and hot seller Dirty Dancing. Exclusive Media enjoyed a big mar-
ket with the likes of Agent: Century 21, Still Of Night and Liam Neeson thriller A Walk Among The Tombstones, the first »
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