In a surprise move last November, studio veteran and CAA co-founder Ron Meyer and former beIN Media Group CEO Sophie Jordan were named CEO and co-CEO of independent European powerhouse Wild Bunch AG. Together, an outstanding leadership team will help lead the pan-European film, television and media society into the post-expansion era.
This is an exciting event for Wild Bunch, originally founded by former StudioCanal executives in 1999 and formed as an independent organization in 2002. It has consistently been at the forefront of the global independent film movement, with strong ties to skin cinema. A festival that has supported at least six winners of the Rama de Palma de Oro.
In 2015 it became a subsidiary of the German senator, which was later renamed Wild Bunch AG. In 2019 he formed an independent sales division, Wild Bunch International, overseen by Wild Bunch co-founder Vincent Marawal, a man the company has long been synonymous with (but we also heard he was considering rebranding). Wild Bunch manages over 2,500 library titles and positions itself as a major player in live streaming through its FilmoTV VOD / SVOD service.
The company has had a turbulent landscape in recent years, with numerous refinancing, including a € 35 million credit line from Commerzbank in 2020. Today, Meyer says, “We have the funds to do what we need to do, part of the world. Investment House Tennor Group and other “outside sources.” The company is not expected to go public at this time.
During his 25 years at NBCUniversal, Meyer led the media conglomerate through six different ownership transitions. Jordan’s international experience includes being both an executive and a board member of leading companies such as Canal Plus, beIN Media Group, Digiturk, Miramax, Paris Saint Germain and Qatar Sports Investments.
Deadline: Can you describe how this partnership and the takeover of Wild Bunch came about?
rum meyer: For the past year and a half I have spoken to the Qatari royal family about the possibility of entering the world of cinema, and I will speak on behalf of Sophie, who has really supervised me for the past 19 years. beIN Sports, which included the football teams Miramax and Paris Saint-Germain. In my many meetings with Qataris, Sophie has been present in many of them. I think we got along well and have always been very impressed with her knowledge and skills. He is a lawyer, even though he wasn’t a lawyer at all, but he always impressed me a lot and we had a good relationship.
We were approached by a man, Lars Windhorst [CEO of investment house Tennor Group], who was the majority owner of Wild Bunch at the time and truly offered us an irresistible opportunity to take over the company and grow it. So Sophie and I spent a lot of time talking about the company, what we could do and how we were going to do it, and we both decided to do it together.
Timeline: What are you going to do in terms of production, distribution, possible acquisitions and expansion?
sofia jordan: Overall, we have the ambition to position Wild Bunch as an independent international producer of local content, using the strengths of our historic subsidiaries in Spain, France, Germany and Italy; And also expansion into other territories, notably the UK and the US.
Mayer: We see the opportunity to be the first independent manufacturer / distributor in the world. We already have a base in these areas. We have funding to make purchases and investments in companies that will help us get there. But now we meet people and converse and actually try to reach the companies we want to run and the companies that want our business.
Deadline: Vincent Marawi has been an integral part of the Wild Bunch since its inception; How does your Wild Bunch International fit into your plans?
Jordan: We have entered the current situation. The idea is that Vincent Marawal is clearly an important element in the history of Wild Bunch and still is today at Wild Bunch International, and we will take that into account. I mean, we love Vincent, we love working with him and we want to keep doing it anyway.
Mayer: One thing that is clear is that everything we do will stay at home. Of course we plan to continue our relationship with Vincent Marawal, but whatever we do will stay with Wild Bunch. We do not know if Vincent Marawi will change the name of the company, but we will continue the relationship with him; It might just change.
Deadline: Wild Bunch was a maverick company in its early days and has become a cult name in the film industry, particularly the French industry. It is rare for an American to be the title of such a problem. What was the reaction?
Jordan: There is nothing but benevolence in the French media or the film industry. Everyone wants to see Wild Bunch’s success because it is such a favorite brand. And, on the contrary, the influx of knowledge and relationships from the Rum industry is considered a big plus.
Mayer: If Sophie hadn’t been my partner, it would have been impossible for her to do that. You work in France, you really run the business on a daily basis. I am here in the US, although I visit Paris at least once a month, but my goal is to really grow the company in the US and eventually everything we do will become one company. In my experience, my knowledge is more US focused than international, so I think Sophie and I, a lot of the things that make us work and become active, is that we share this knowledge with each other. on different regions.
Deadline: Are you planning major structural changes within the company?
Jordan: I think it’s a little early to answer. There are always changes when new people arrive, but we do not consider instant big changes in either the staff or the structure.
Rather, we should really trust the historic Wild Bunch. And back to your edition of Disruptors, this is what I really think is an interesting part of what we’re trying to build here: a synergy between what we can use on real European talent and then the US and UK united in production. and distribution. Part of it.
Also, the company has been stagnant for the past three or four years, so it hasn’t done much in terms of production. In fact, they didn’t make that plank eight or ten years ago when they probably should have. Changes in this area are not really feasible as this area does not yet have a strong presence. There is a lot more to it than just making changes.
Deadline: Sophie mentioned local content. Do you mean that you will make German films for Germany, French films for France, etc.?
Mayer: For a company to grow, we need to go beyond local production. You know, we still want to continue with local production, but we have to be in films that really travel the world and we’re new kids in this neighborhood, so a lot of people come to us with a lot of ideas. . We have not decided what, when and how to move forward, but we have many opportunities, we just have to decide what we want to do and when we want to do it.
Deadline: when do you expect your first big steps?
Mayer: We are looking for the right strategic acquisitions or investments and we have these opportunities. Let’s just decide which one makes the most sense to us and, to be honest, those of us who want to do it want to do it with us … there are probably a few months left to make any major statements. We don’t want to make too many small one-sided statements. When we have a complete image to announce, we want to do it.
Timeframe: You are entering a self-employed business at a time when a certain level of the film model of cinema, pandemic or not, is having difficulty. What are the biggest challenges and benefits of traveling in the context of the current landscape?
Mayer: It’s not a secret. I think traditional distribution has changed a lot and a lot of movies are mainly streamed or become streamers. So I think you need to pay attention to what’s going on there. For content providers, which we obviously will be, I think this is a wonderful time, it’s a better time than ever, it’s kind of a gold rush. So, if you’re creating content and it’s in good condition, the question is where do you sell it? Are you spreading the traditional theatrical form? Are you selling a streamer? Do you go to the cinema for a short time and then go to Streamer?
There are so many options and every movie should be judged on its own merits and what you decide to do, but I think there are more opportunities than ever.
I am optimistic and optimistic about the future of the world of cinema, where some people paint pessimism. I don’t think people return to the cinema in the more traditional way, but they do return so that the right films can make money in theaters; otherwise making movies for streamers and TVs is a big deal. .
Source: Deadline
