Anna Marsh Talks Talent Development, Franchises, M&A

STUDIOCANAL CEO Anna Marsh discussed attracting and nurturing talent and navigating a challenging media ecosystem in her Media Mastermind keynote conversation with World Screen’s Anna Carugati today, using the session to unveil How to Stop Time with Benedict Cumberbatch and the company’s investment in the U.K.’s Strong Film & Television.

STUDIOCANAL’s heritage is in film, a sector of the media business that remains crucial to the company, but it has dramatically expanded its television output over the last decade. “We’ve been investing quite heavily in building a network of production companies across Europe,” said Marsh, who also serves as deputy CEO of CANAL+ Group. “I do feel like the bubble somewhat has burst; we were enjoying a really wonderful time of productions that were greenlit after very short development periods. It seems like some of those development periods are stretching out; a lot of developments aren’t necessarily getting over the hump and aren’t necessarily getting greenlit as easily as they were in the past. Returning series, getting that second, third season, is harder than it used to be. There are challenges, and we’re going through upheaval. But I would say definitely one of the themes of today’s keynote is to say, as my favorite TV hero, Ted Lasso, would say, Believe! I certainly believe in this industry, for many reasons.”

Carugati then asked Marsh about finding and nurturing talent. “This industry is riddled with talent, whether that’s in front of the camera or behind the camera. What’s really important for our strategy is ensuring that talent feel like we’re a welcome place, we’re a home to create stories, to tell stories through whichever medium seems right, whether that’s short form, miniseries, returning series or feature films. So enabling that talent to circulate as well between film and television is something that gives STUDIOCANAL a unique position.”

Marsh then announced that STUDIOCANAL is working with its affiliated company SunnyMarch—founded by Cumberbatch with Adam Ackland—on How to Stop Time, a six-parter based on the best-selling Matt Haig novel. Cumberbatch will star in the production, to be penned by DC Moore and directed by Tomas Alfredson. It will shoot in London and Europe in 2024.

“We’ve been working with Matt Haig for a very long time. We made his book A Boy Called Christmas into a feature film that we co-produced with Netflix and released in our territories theatrically. We’re currently developing another one of Matt’s books, The Midnight Library, which is also destined to be a feature film.” How to Stop Time was first envisioned as a feature film, but “we figured that given the exciting and dense nature of the story, it was more episodic and therefore better suited to television,” Marsh said.

Known IP offers a range of advantages, Marsh noted, as does being part of the wider Vivendi-owned CANAL+ Group. “At a time when the industry is changing at a rapid rate, it’s great to have stability. Being part of CANAL+ Group, and in turn Vivendi, does provide us opportunities to lean into different ways of telling a story. We’ve talked about film and television, but gaming is part of the group, advertising, publishing, music. That global entertainment company born out of Europe gives us that unique position and a great playground to develop IP. There’s a lot of talk at the moment about franchises. It’s not just about finding an IP and building the next big franchise. It’s also about remaining authentic to the story that we’re telling. When we’re adapting a book like How to Stop Time, or when we were wrapping our arms around Paddington before the first film was made, it’s really important to think about the value of the IP and to respect the author. We pride ourselves in reviving some older stories or older IPs and refreshing them and giving them a modern look, like we did with Paddington. So above that stance of building the franchise of tomorrow comes story and authenticity. That pushes us into thinking about who is the audience and to whom we telling the story. With Paddington, we’ve got two movies, a third one in production, three seasons of the TV show. It allows baby Paddington fans to keep falling in love with our little bear as the years go on.”

Marsh then revealed STUDIOCANAL’s other breaking news of the day: its investment in U.K. indie Strong Film & Television, led by Broadchurch director James Strong as co-founder and joint creative director, along with executive producer Loretta Preece and executive Matt Tombs. Based in both Bristol and London, Strong Film & Television’s slate includes The Out (w.t.), which is being jointly developed with STUDIOCANAL. It is the debut project from George Kellock, a graduate of 2022 Talent Unlimited, and marks the first funded development project to emerge from Vivendi’s writers’ residence run by Amandine Maudet in partnership with STUDIOCANAL.

The company’s M&A approach is opportunistic, Marsh said. “Our strategy is not to go out and buy as many companies as we can just to add and increase that number. We’re really looking for strategic alliances, to work with like-minded producers, like-minded talent. We’re out there looking for partnerships. We’re out there looking for people who want to be building European content with international potential and who love what they do, and who are able to understand the audience and connect with the audience emotionally.”

Strong Film & Television, she said, has “great projects in development that really strike a chord with STUDIOCANAL and the Canal+ Group.”

On responding to the broader shifts happening in the media economy and strategy changes at the streamers, Marsh noted, “It’s important for me to look at the streamers as partners, not as a threat. Dealmaking has evolved in complexity. It does require a lot more teamwork with financiers, with legal and business affairs teams, sales teams, the production team. That’s really our approach with the streamers. It’s certainly not a simple standard approach. It’s not like a cookie cutter where every deal is exactly the same. When we’re trying to put these shows together, it’s a prototype, whether it’s a TV show or a feature film. Every deal is different. If you’re motivated enough and both partners want that show or to tell that story enough, then there’s always a way. It involves a lot of risk as well; thinking, we’re going to break the mold a little bit. We’re going to try something different. It might not work. You really have to be convinced in order to convince as well. It really comes back to the story. I think my team is receiving something between 500 movie scripts a year and 200 or 300 more in the TV space. That’s a lot of content to read, going through different committees and actually finding that needle in the haystack. For the streamers, it’s the same thing. They’re also looking for that unique show or film that’s going to draw subscribers but also keep those that have signed up loyal to the service. We should only do a deal if we really feel it in the gut. When it gets difficult, that’s when you’re really testing your belief in the project and talent. Whether you are working with a streamer, a free-TV channel or a pay-TV station, or even co-productions between the studios, it really comes down to one another’s belief and conviction that the project is worthy. Also being brave enough to let go of it if it’s not.”

Marsh then addressed the challenges facing producers today amid rising costs. “We’re really being asked to do more with a lot less. It’s exciting in some ways because in times of difficulty, it does push us to be more creative.”

On what makes STUDIOCANAL unique in the landscape today, Marsh noted: “Our European positioning and the breadth of our talent in both film and television make us unique. We directly distribute as well as being a producer. It’s a matter of being agile and flexible in both the production and the distribution space without forgetting that while we’re speaking a lot about globally facing shows, it’s also really important sometimes to consider what’s on our doorstep and address the local market and embrace our local talents.”