4 weeks ago
AGC Studios CEO Stuart Ford has offered a stark appraisal of nan tv backing model, arguing that nan days of fat fees from networks and streamers are over.
AGC Studios has backed movie and tv projects, including Jude Law’s The Order and nan upcoming BBC Beatles biopic Hamburg Days, meaning LA-based Ford has worked crossed some worlds.
Speaking astatine nan Creative Cities Convention successful his location metropolis of Liverpool, Ford said: “There’s a flimsy nanny mentality to a batch of TV production, which is: Let’s hold for a broadcaster aliases streamer to springiness america nan money to make nan show, and past erstwhile they do, we will return a bully fee, and it’s their merchandise to do what they will with.”
He added that location is now much be aware successful nan market. This is being felt keenly by UK play producers, who tin unafraid a greenlight from a UK network, but request to raise money from different partners to get a bid into production. AGC is progressively progressive successful this space, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to bridging financing gaps successful nan U.S.
“I deliberation nan opportunity pinch america is we’re consenting to return risks against U.S. sales, which astir European companies are ace gun-shy about, possibly pinch bully reason,” Ford said. “I tin spell to slumber astatine nighttime whilst carrying tons of risk. That’s what we do. That’s wherever we fresh in. That’s why, you know, I’ve been really fortunate to activity pinch really awesome filmmakers.”
Ford, who joked that his woman refers to him arsenic an “intellectual spot arms dealer,” stressed that independent movie accumulation remains much challenging than television.
“Independent movie has ever had to beryllium overmuch much scrappy and entrepreneurial, which I deliberation makes for much imaginative opportunities economically. But frankly, it’s besides a brutally reliable business,” he continued.
“As personification who’s financed a batch of independent films and is regularly asked to speak astir them, I find it difficult to beryllium a immense optimist aliases a immense modular bearer, because location are a batch of systemic problems correct now that aren’t going to beryllium fixed soon.
“They whitethorn evolve. Cinema has ever evolved commercially, astatine immoderate watershed moment. And location are each sorts of reasons to beryllium optimistic creatively astir independent film, but if you’re talking astir nan business exemplary and nan business of financing movies — very tough.”
