AGC Studios’ Stuart Ford Honored as Variety’s Billion Dollar Producer in Cannes

variety.com:

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Stuart Ford may have been named Variety’s Billion Dollar Producer, but the AGC Studios founder is already looking ahead to his next big milestone. “We’ve raised more than $1.5 billion in production financing and, the way our cinema business is evolving, who knows, in three or four years from now, I might be standing in front of you having achieved $1.05 billion at the box office,” said Ford.

The executive was feted by Variety at a May 19 cocktail reception in Cannes. Many of the super-producer’s business associates and partners, as well as industry friends, dropped by the Croisette villa to toast Ford, who was given the honor by Variety’s co-editor in chief Ramin Setoodeh. “Variety invented words such as boffo, legit, sitcom, sex appeal and striptease.

It’s my recollection that your colleagues have used [most] of these words to describe me and my companies over the years, but I will tell you I’ve never produced a sitcom or a legit sitcom,” joked Ford as he accepted the honor. “This is an award in my name but it’s really about the tremendous achievements of my colleagues at AGC Studios and, before that, at IM Global.

We all know that film and television production is an immense collective team effort, and I wouldn’t have been privileged enough to have my name on 70-plus films without the tremendous enthusiasm, intelligence, good humor, patience and hard work of my colleagues.” Ford gave a special shout-out to his colleague of 17 years and business partner, Miguel Palos, who serves as COO of AGC Studios. “Typically, he’s not here this evening.