The World Producers Organization held its 12th Annual Summit in Cannes under the organization of the AICP, APA and CFP-E. During their get-together, more than 100 production company owners and executives from 33 countries discussed pressing issues facing the global production industry. As a group, there was absolute resolve that in order to deliver the highest quality product to marketers in the most efficient fashion, bidding procedures must be fully transparent.
Major factors for transparency include marketer expectations such as disclosure for budget range, and complete knowledge of other bidding entities.
The concern that advertising agency-owned production entities could be involved as competitors continues to be of paramount concern to the industry, and is part of an ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice in the United States.
Several countries have issued industry-wide statements regarding anti-competitive bidding practices and the reluctance to engage in business under these conditions.
The open market–where production companies compete for work based on expertise and price–is the guarantor of value for advertisers. Anything that distorts that competitive balance, such as agency-owned entities engaged in multi-bidding for work, where they have access to insider information regarding independent production companies’ bids, is contrary to the interests of advertisers–as well as being unfair to the production companies also bidding.
Yorick Le Saux Connects With Writer-Director Steve McQueen On “Blitz”
When opportunity knocked, cinematographer Yorick Le Saux, AFC couldn’t answer in the affirmative--though he desperately wanted to. Scheduling conflicts forced him to turn down overtures from director Steve McQueen on a couple of occasions--the first being for a commercial, followed several years later by a query as to the DP’s availability for what turned out to be the acclaimed Small Axe anthology. Thankfully, though, the third time proved to be the charm as McQueen once again reached out to Le Saux and the two wound up collaborating together on Blitz (Apple Original Films). McQueen, a Best Picture Oscar winner for 12 Years a Slave, wrote and directed Blitz, which makes its streaming debut today (11/22) on Apple TV+ after a wide theatrical release. Blitz, short for the Germans’ blitzkrieg bombing of London during World War II, is told largely through the eyes of a nine-year-old boy, George (portrayed by Elliott Heffernan), whose single mom, Rita (Saoirse Ronan), had made the heartaching decision to send him to the countryside with thousands of other schoolchildren to flee the devastating aerial attacks. The prospect of being separated from his mother and grandfather is traumatic for George who at his young age has also felt the sting of prejudice, having been ridiculed about his mixed-race heritage. Le Saux shared that going into Blitz, his only connection to World War II was what he heard about it from his parents and grandparents. But he was eager to work with McQueen and found that upon delving deeper into the subject matter he felt a profound bond to the story, which carries relevance to today. Le Saux said this gave him a sense of purpose to help realize the writer-director’s vision for the... Read More