There is no kind of a tried and true formula
of this works. This doesn't. It really is on a case by case basis. Or do you have certain genres that work? I mean,
we know all of your success stories. What are some things that haven't worked? And I guess what
what have you learned from them and why? Well, first of all, we do analyze like every success or every failure. We do want to learn from the mistakes
or learn what's working, because it's really important
to know what went wrong. If it's linke
d to the nature of the genre. Like The Wire in French language
didn't really translate or couldn't. Like, French audiences
don't really connect to it. Or is it because
of the execution of the movie? So we're joking about it with Sara the other day
because like the ROM COM genre is a difficult genre to crack
even in theaters like scenes of "20 ans d'écart" or "L'Arnaqueur" we have not really seen
a successful ROM COM proposition. So it's a genre that we would love
to crack, but we are not that pr
oactively looking for one because it's
tough to find a strong concept. Local projects,
it doesn't necessarily mean local language always. Should projects that are coming to
you always be in French? - Kind of. Yeah. Really? Yeah. No, no. We're here really to build
an offer for French audience. So whatever will make the movie connect
with the French audience. So even if it's like a foreign actor
in it, it needs to have a resonance
for the French audience. It's interesting
for some of the people to
know here,
you know, producers from across the world, oh, I have a I have a script and it takes place in France,
so we should contact you. So they shouldn't, they should write it
in French and then contact you. Yeah. Because the thing is
that it really needs to be French, feel French, have some kind
of like an authenticity to it because I mean, we have great example of like foreign eyes
put on France. So these are cool films, but I guess it's
not exactly what we're looking for. But this being
said, again,
we never know like a French director wants to direct
like, I don't know, a movie with two American actors in Paris,
but the script is written in French. The actor is French.
I don't know. You know, it's why not? But no it's like a foreign producer foreign team
that wants to shoot in France. No, not really, for us, The important thing I would like to mention as an introduction especially for those who are asking how is it really working with Netflix - realistically and concretely it'
s that when they arrived some 5 years ago for us it has been an exceptional opportunity in a sense that it allowed us to challenge our own methods of producing our own stories referring to a situation which was quite rough, kind of solidified, with financing and development processes being practically the same for each film, we have perceived the arrival of Netflix as a way of renewal and challenging our vision, our development and our manner of producing. And it has been very positive and it ha
s very well functioned for us as we faced people who were young with fresh ideas, who themselves faced a big challenge to install Netflix Netflix's place in French cinema with a vision and ambition on subjects that were new and that brough freshness, also a workstyle which was very fast with this approach where once the decision is made and once there is a shared interest to contribute and to put in place all the tools for improving the process and not just act as an observer. And this exchange
is absolutely fundamental for the relation that has been established between Netflix and us. "The Takedown" (2022) is an incredible exemple as the project has been submitted to Netflix on Day 1 and I think we ... - On Christmas Eve, we can say... Yeah, on Christmas Eve and I think So it was the Christmas miracle, they got the project the night before Christmas. Yeah. And we got the green light
maybe two weeks after. So and for a project which has already
budgeted more around $20 million. So it w
as a bit exceptional,
especially because of the presence of Omar Sy
and the big success of "Arsène Lupin" and because also we had the same director
of "Arsène Lupin" Louis Leterrier. So all the elements
where in the right direction. But it went very fast. Now if we speak about development, the idea going to development,
the decision to go to development comes fast, but then the development
is upon the availability of the authors. And it may take the time
of development. (You can switch to Frenc
h.) (Oh yeah, switch to French.) - And then, how did it go? Once it started, the budget, the casting... You know, how it works: give us some insider's perspective. It is a permanent communication, a permanent exchange. And then later at the shooting stage, we have much and regularly been
discussing the drafts. Back then we still had the COVID issue, during shootings and Netflix has been very supportive and has much helped us in that phase. During that week when the shootings were stopped. What
is really important for us is that we respect the entrepreneurship which is in the heart of a producer's work. We know that it is difficult. We are in the same boat when we jump in the project. And for us it's really - how can we... we know that it's the producers that are controlling. So how can we all face an unprecedented situation and by the way, any other incident or claims as long as there are no mistakes, how can we be there so that in the end it is the best film that we wouldn't make twi
ce. This collaboration, this follow up during the whole post-production phase and all the mixings, the music, etc, have been very constructive and pleasant. I need to say that later I mean it went all well but we kinda fully left the marketing phase as we realy felt that there was a knowledge on the audience, the sales methodes to its subscribers. My self, I tried in the beginning to make my afforts regarding the classical theatrical release and at some point we understaood that in this field we
should rather let Netflix manage it all who know exactly how to sell the film to its good target audience. One needs to also accept when working with Netflix that that they possess an editorial research tool a little program that interests them a lot, and other films that interest them much less. One needs to accept that among the projects that we develop, there will be some that won't interest Netflix.
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