Media Res, Cattleya & Others Debate Financing Challenges As Streamers Pivot From All-Rights Deals — AVP Summit

deadline.com:

Innovative methods of getting projects into production was the subject of discussion for a group of top U.S. and European producers, networks and streamers during a debate at the AVP Summit in Trieste.

The panel brought together the likes of Amplify Pictures CCO Rachel Eggebeen, Media Res International head Lars Blomgren, Cattleya Co-CEO Marco Chimenz, Nicola Serra from Palomar, Prime Video’s Davide Nardini and France Télévisions’ Head of International Scripted Series Morad Koufane, who each outlined how their operations could help projects get financed and into production.

Kicking off the session, Eggebeen talked up Amplify’s model of “enhanced acquisitions.” This means independently financing, developing and green light a project for production before selling it to a buyer, who will still be able to “have their fingerprints on it and be involved.” To date, Amplify, which former Amazon Studios boss Joe Lewis founded last year as an indie, has made two seasons of HBO doc series 100 Foot Wave using the model.

Former Netflix EMEA exec Eggebeen, who joined Amplify recently as Chief Content Officer, said: “Our next hurdle is to apply this model in scripted.” She revealed Amplify is working on a project that will shoot in Italy about “two young American girls who love” the country. “Our plans is to fully indie finance using our model or use some combination of pre-sales to get the show made,” she added. “The goal is to get things made quickly, innovatively and in a way, we have agency of how they get made.” Chimenz, whose company Cattleya is behind shows such as ZeroZeroZero and Gomorrah, said streamers are becoming more flexible in their rights approach as they are “retrenching and in some cases more cautious about what