Paul Johnson

World Screen Weekly, March 13, 2008

Director of the Television Division

Reed MIDEM

Reed MIDEM has assembled a diverse array of keynotes for MIPDOC and MIPTV featuring MILIA this year, drawn from all corners of the TV business. From April 5 to 11, executives from across the industry will address issues like the popularity of feature-length documentaries, eco-friendly content, creative and production models, advertising and product sponsorship/integration/ placement and new-media opportunities.

Among the speakers on the conference schedule is filmmaker Alex Gibney, whose film Taxi to the Dark Side picked up an Academy Award this year for best feature-length documentary. “Everyone loves what he is doing right now,” says Paul Johnson, the director of the television division at Reed MIDEM, noting Gibney’s previous success with Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. “The [chance] to have the opportunity to even be in the same room and listen to what Alex has to say is going to very exciting for a lot of people in the doc world.” Gibney delivers his speech, “The Power of Documentary,” on April 6. He will also be the master of ceremony at the 2008 Trailblazers Awards, where he will award up-and-coming documentary filmmakers from Greece, South Korea, Japan, Canada and South Africa.

Johnson notes that the Trailblazers initiative, held in partnership with the Sundance Channel, the National Film Board of Canada and the Korean Broadcasting Institute, allows MIPDOC to “highlight people who have made incredibly innovative and creative strides in their productions over the years. To have our MIPDOC audience discover their talents is just one of the ways our shows and screening events are committed to raising the creative bar. And many of our Trailblazers have had tremendous success with their careers since being highlighted at past MIPDOCs. I think that’s our gift to the entertainment community—uncovering new talent and helping them get a solid footing in the industry.”

Johnson also highlights MIPTV’s contributions to raising the profile of environmentally conscious programming. The market will be hosting a Green Day on April 7, featuring keynotes from David de Rothschild, who will discuss his show Nick’s Big Green Thing, and Kevin Wall, the founder and CEO of Live Earth. In addition, the day will see the presentation of the Green World Award to the Japanese public broadcaster NHK. “They were doing environmental programming long before it was trendy,” says Johnson. “I would be hard pressed to find anyone in the world in the entertainment industry today who is more passionate about green than NHK.”

The Japan market in general will be under the spotlight in Cannes next month, after being named the Country of Honor for MIPTV. “Japan is the second-largest entertainment market in the world after the U.S.,” Johnson says. “It’s the second-largest market for mobile TV broadcast services after the U.S. and ahead of Italy. It has a powerhouse of Asian television production and technological innovation and that can be explained by Japan having more high-definition television viewers than any other nation on earth. HD along with IPTV and mobile represent a huge source of digital sales revenue for every single content owner. Finding out how and why at the Japan Day conference will be a must for many.”

Exploiting content on new-media platforms is a key component on the conference schedule. Jason Kilar, the CEO of Hulu, and Jeremy Allaire, the chairman and CEO of Brightcove, will deliver the keynote speeches to open the Online Video/Advertising & Media day on April 8. Closing the day, meanwhile, will be Richard Dickson, the senior VP of worldwide marketing, media and entertainment at Mattel Brands. “He just announced that Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles is developing television productions for [Mattel’s] brands. I think this is going to be one of the biggest trends in the industry going forward and it is one of the reasons why I think our market is going to grow just a little bit more this year as a result of the branded-entertainment executives who are participating.

“We are experiencing an encouraging number of players from ad agencies,” Johnson continues. “They are here to start negotiating, developing financial solutions and building bridges with the television channels and content owners.”

Rounding out the highlights for MIPTV this year are Elisabeth Murdoch, the chairman of Shine, the British media group that recently acquired Reveille; and Didier Lombard, the CEO of France Telecom. “France Telecom and Shine represent the future but also the here and now of just how content will be produced and distributed. We are delighted to have Elisabeth and Didier playing a key role this MIPTV.”