24 Jan 2006: NATPE NEWS – Launching a new Canadian-produced scripted comedy here in Vegas, Greg Phillips of ContentFilm-owned Fireworks International said the company is back on track and aims to secure distribution rights to new programming worldwide. Last April, UK-based ContentFilm acquired international rights to the Fireworks library, effectively transferring the company, formerly a Canadian outfit under CanWest Global, to a wholly owned British entity. The deal saw ContentFilm pick up over 2,000 hours of Fireworks’ programming, including Canadian-produced titles such as Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda and Relic Hunter.
It has been a relatively quiet time for the foreign distribution house as it settled into the transfer from CanWest to ContentFilm, but Phillips (left), longtime head of Fireworks, is ready to make another play on the worldwide distribution scene. “We are back in business, and have a library, but we are looking to ramp up on new shows over the next 12 to 18 months as well,” Phillips told C21.
“We want to specialise in materials we have been known for, that is, kids’ live-action, prime-time access drama, straight drama and, if the opportunity arises, action-adventure drama,” he added, noting that scripted comedy and specials like the Prime Time Emmys, which it now reps, are also on the menu. “The only things we will not seek are documentaries, non-fiction material,” noted Phillips. According to Phillips, opportunities for selling scripted programming internationally have picked up considerably. “The climate is good, obviously far better than two or three years ago, and improving from a year ago,” he said. “For the right thing, funded in the right way, it will work, but you’ve got to be less speculative about it. It is not possible to bridge big deficits and stay in business; the old models don’t really work now.” He noted that depending on the project, Fireworks would put up advances against distribution.
Despite the fact Fireworks is British-owned, Phillips has been again looking to the Canuck market to bolster the distribution library. He recently picked up Canadian comedy drama The Jane Show (right, aka The Diary of Jane). Produced by former CanWest/Fireworks production boss Adam Haight, the 22×30′ series will roll out in Canada on Global Television this winter.
Starring Second City’s Teresa Pavlinek, the series examines the life of a “typical” 33-year-old woman living the single life in Toronto, and is set in the world of advertising. Phillips is also intent on ramping up acquisitions in the US. He told C21 that in the coming months the outfit’s LA office, headed by sales exec Saralo MacGregor, will probably add a dedicated acquisitions executive to source American programming.
Australia will be another key territory. Fireworks is now repping StreetSmartz, from Australian indie Great Western Entertainment. The 26×30 series targets kids and youth with a ‘day-in-the-life’ format that blurs the lines between scripted drama and reality. The dialogue is scripted but the action takes place out of a studio, on the street, surrounded by real events.
