Fremantle made a significant entrance at this year’s Venice Film Festival, unveiling its new €150M ($162.7M) Scripted Fund in collaboration with Israel’s IBI Investment House. This fund is exclusively allocated to selected projects from Fremantle’s diverse array of scripted drama companies, which include UK-based Dancing Ledge and Element Pictures, as well as Italy’s The Apartment, Wildside, and Lux Vide, along with The Immigrant, which focuses on Latin American and Spanish content. The initial projects supported by this fund include the previously announced film "Maria," a high-profile biopic about Maria Callas featuring Angelina Jolie, directed by Pablo Larraín, who is also present at the festival with his dark comedy/horror film "El Conde." Additionally, two newly introduced series will be funded: the four-part thriller "Generation Loss," scripted by Sarah Dollard of "Bridgerton," and the six-part revenge thriller "Shelter," directed by Jeremy Webb, known for "The Last Of Us" and "The Umbrella Academy."
Fremantle has distanced itself from Larrain’s Netflix-funded "El Conde" but is showcasing its presence with five other contenders for the Golden Lion, including Yorgos Lanthimos’ highly anticipated "Poor Things," Stefano Sollima’s well-received "Adagio," Sofia Coppola’s "Priscilla," Salvatore Costanzo’s drama set in 1950s Cinecittà titled "Finally Dawn," and Pietro Castellitto’s "Enea." To further emphasize its growing influence in the film industry, the company has chosen to base itself this year in a spacious beachfront villa near the festival’s main activities.
Insights from Fremantle Executives
In an exclusive interview, Deadline spoke with Fremantle’s Group COO and CEO for Continental Europe, Andrea Scrosati, along with CEO Global Drama, Christian Vesper, who shared insights about the new scripted fund from the tranquility of their garden venue.
DEADLINE: What led Fremantle to collaborate with IBI Investment House?
SCROSATI: This partnership was initiated by our CEO in Israel, Guy Hameiri, who will also lead the fund. He approaches us about nine months ago, mentioning IBI’s interest in investing in scripted content. We worked together to create this innovative model.
DEADLINE: What makes this model unique?
ANDREA SCROSATI: The distinctive feature here is the collaboration between a financial institution and a content production company, with projects exclusively sourced from Fremantle. The fund will finance these projects completely, which is rare, especially in television. This self-funding model for drama is quite unusual, and Fremantle will subsequently handle the sales.
DEADLINE: What motivated you to pursue this initiative?
SCROSATI: This aligns with our strategic vision. Talent has numerous options today; they might choose to partner with major direct-to-consumer platforms. However, this often means they must deliver results that align with subscription goals. Our approach is to prioritize the project, support its development, and seek the most suitable platform for it, as not every project fits every outlet. This fund aids in our strategic positioning. The current market conditions are also a factor; while traditional buyers haven’t stopped purchasing, they are operating at a slower pace. We firmly believe that quality content has a sustainable future, and I am optimistic about the market’s trajectory over the next few years. Every market experiences growth followed by adjustments, and while there are great opportunities now, they often come with time constraints that could jeopardize projects if we wait for approval from major players like Apple, Disney, Netflix, or Amazon.
DEADLINE: Would you have pursued this funding route without the recent commissioning slowdown?
SCROSATI: Yes, for the strategic reasons mentioned earlier.
CHRISTIAN VESPER: While "Maria" is a film that is starting soon and involved different considerations, our commitment to the two television shows mentioned in the press release is driven by our belief in their market viability and the limited availability of the attached talent. Our business model centers on facilitating the creation of shows for our talent, and this fund enhances our ability to do just that.
DEADLINE: How will this new fund affect your relationships with broadcasters and streaming services?
SCROSATI: We view buyers as partners. These shows will be offered to clients or streaming services, with the fund serving as a mechanism to expedite production timelines. Buyers will have access to content that is either in production or already completed.
VESPER: A key client in the UK is currently facing challenges with some of their major shows. Even after greenlighting, they struggle to secure full financing. This fund aims to help fill that gap, as networks and public broadcasters find it increasingly difficult to meet programming demands with their existing resources.
DEADLINE: Can all scripted content producers under the Fremantle umbrella access the fund?
SCROSATI: Absolutely, as demonstrated by our first three projects, which span locations from Israel to the UK, and include a Chilean-Italian co-production filmed in Hungary. This initiative is set to have a truly global reach.
Ambitious Growth Targets
DEADLINE: You aim for a turnover of €3B by 2025. Is this a realistic target, and what motivates this goal?
SCROSATI: This target was established by our shareholders. Throughout my career, I’ve worked with various shareholders, but the support and resources provided by Bertelsmann and RTL have been exceptional. Achieving this ambitious target is challenging, especially considering the company’s different performance three years ago, but their backing has been critical. It’s important to note that our growth over the past few years has been a combination of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and organic development. This growth is not solely about acquiring new companies but also about diversifying and expanding our business portfolio. For instance, five years ago, we produced just two films annually; last year, we delivered 17, with most originating from companies already part of Fremantle, except for Element, which was acquired.
VESPER: When I joined, Wildside was already integral to our operations, and the growth we’ve seen there has been remarkable and organic.
SCROSATI: Our M&A strategy has focused on acquiring top-tier companies in sectors where we previously had no presence. Element is a prime example, as we lacked an English-language film production company. We also invested in a Latin American startup, The Immigrant, which has since launched three productions, including the award-winning "Adolfo," which won the Generation 14 Plus prize in Berlin.
VESPER: In England, our company Dancing Ledge has been incredibly successful with series like "The Responder," "Wedding Season," and "Crossfire." We invested in them at a very early stage when they had little to show, demonstrating that our approach is not about buying immediate revenue but rather investing in future potential.
DEADLINE: Will you continue the pace of acquiring scripted companies as seen in the past three years?
SCROSATI: Our future acquisitions will align with our growth strategy, focusing on areas where we still need to establish a presence, or identifying creative teams with potential. The cultural aspect is also vital; while we are a large company, we maintain a streamlined structure. Collaboration within the scripted management team is essential for successful integration.
DEADLINE: Are there plans for further growth in scripted content in the U.S.?
SCROSATI: The U.S. remains our primary market. Our core business is still in entertainment and unscripted content, and the U.S. presents significant opportunities for us. Dante di Loreto leads our scripted team, which has several projects underway.
VESPER: We have an upcoming mini-series, "Fellow Travellers," debuting on Paramount+ at the end of September, featuring Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey, developed with Showtime. It’s a six-part series exploring the CIA’s historical context during the 1950s. Additionally, we produced two seasons of "Mosquito Coast" for Apple and have several major announcements on the horizon. Interestingly, we have projects set to film in both Europe and the U.S., highlighting our commitment to ensuring that our European producers have access to resources in the U.S. and vice versa. We continuously strategize to bolster our presence in the U.S. market.
