The US hosts represented a potent range of motion picture and television executives in programming, development, acquisition, production (and physical production) at senior vice president level - both independent and those with deals with the major studios. The group also met with the industry dealmakers: top entertainment lawyers who package talent and effect co-production deals.
“The US hosts were open to meeting with the group and since there is a more agile approach to international production now, introductions to SA were welcome. South Africa may be generically represented at festivals and trade events, but most often US entertainment executives at senior vice president level aren't accessible at this proximity at festivals,” says Rorich.
“The Exchange Programme isn't a series of hit and misses; it's very strategic and systematic. Even before the week's meetings commenced, the delegation received a thorough briefing of current activity/trends in Hollywood by seasoned US producer Rob Green - it's important that we were well-equipped.”
In television, the group met with the producers of Monk, CSI, Boston Legal, The Starter Wife, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, Brothers & Sisters, Samantha Who?, and Scrubs, ABC Entertainment, ABC Studios, NBC Entertainment, and Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions, as well as the television arm of Mandalay (Seven Years in Tibet), USA Networks and the Sci-Fi Channel.
Among the US hosts in Film were Silver Pictures/Dark Castle (lower budget arm) Joel Silver's company. Silver is known as one of the most prolific producers in the world. His pictures, including the Matrix trilogy, the Lethal Weapon and Die Hard series, and Predator, have earned a combined gross of over US$5 billion worldwide. Other meetings were with Legendary Pictures (300, Superman, Batman Begins), Myriad Pictures, (The Good Girl), United Artists Entertainment, a partnership between Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner, and MGM Studios.
Also in the schedule were The Weinstein Company's Head of Production and Post Production, Overture Films, which is fully financed to produce, distribute and acquire feature films (average 8-12 films a year), Mel Gibson's company Icon Productions, and Warner Independent.
The feedback from both US and SA sides has been very encouraging - indicating the endeavour was successful. “From the SA aspect it was valuable to get insight into market development, and make heavy weight contacts, and for the US execs to learn first-hand the detail of our subsidies, funding mechanisms and production capacity.”
“The programme was professionally delivered and opened up a number of avenues for us with some of the biggest players in the US market. We were particularly pleased with the strong showing of Gauteng and Johannesburg, as well as the enthusiasm with which the SA delegation was received.” says Terry Tselane, chief executive, Gauteng Film Commission.
“It was a great pleasure and a wonderful learning curve being part of the exchange. The meetings were of good quality and we all got to hear firsthand what the issues are in Hollywood and how we can gain access to these very important individuals.” says Jackie Motsepe, NFVF.
“I think we got the message across that SA is now more than a ‘pretty face' (doubling for Malibu or Miami),” says Rorich. “It was exciting to sum up the resources of South Africa as an industry that has matured in the last decade and notched up a track record of world class production delivery. In all totality, lower production costs, exchange rate, subsidy, co-production gives us an economic advantage. Unless the project is very idiosyncratic, overall it is clear that subsidy is the tipping point for runaway production, so the participation of the DTI raised the import of the programme this year.
“Not only was it manifestation of Government's support of the media sector, I don't doubt it was valuable for our incentive bosses to hear from such senior level producers (not only in Hollywood, but the world) the most optimum funding structures in their production experience in competing territories.”
She continues, “Perhaps more significant, is the US interest in developing projects with SA. Vertical integration has challenged the business on every level so there are seismic shifts in ‘systems', notably marked flexibility in working with new countries, looking at original content from ‘outside', and producers are looking for different formats to tell stories... The words: ‘South Africa must have such interesting stories, we'd be interested to hear them, receive projects' - had to be the prevailing highlight of the trip!
“Hollywood has the production clout and is obviously a very tough market to penetrate, but if you only get 18 meetings in Hollywood, they had better be strategic and with executives in the Top 50. It's a town where news spreads in 24 frames per second.”
Exchange Programmes for the balance of 2008 include an Animation Exchange, an Inbound Exchange (similar to our Inaugural South African Exchange Event in SA in 1995) - a national exercise. “We hope to continue to have such hands-on participation with government and industry organisations on these projects,” says Rorich, “This proved to be the most positive exchange we've produced, and they can reinforce these efforts on a much wider scale. But, also, it's a new world now.”
