Wayne Enterprises: MBC Studios boss Christina Wayne talks about empowering female voices, changing long-held perceptions and entering the “growth and maturity phase” – Mipcom Cannes Special

In a country where women’s freedoms have historically been sidelined (a nationwide ban on female executives was lifted just five years ago), Christina Wayne, the new boss of MBC Studios, is determined to harness the strongest female creative voices to discover what Saudi Arabia has to offer.

In her first major interview since replacing Peter Smith in February, American producer Wayne was the shepherd crazy men And Break bad For AMC Networks, Deadline reports how the Riyadh-based media giant is promoting work from “all genders” but also focusing on new female talent.

“We have many wonderful writers and directors in the region who tell us fantastic stories,” she says. “Here are book series with young and female fans who are surprisingly interested in fantasy and science fiction.”

Despite criticism over a series of human rights abuses and “sportwashing” claims, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been a leader in promoting opportunities and greater freedoms for women in Saudi Arabia since 2017, when major reforms under his Vision 2030 agenda took place. This year the country lifted its 35-year ban on films and has since sought to position itself as a major regional television and film center with the fast-growing Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah and the much-talked-about hotspots Neom and Film AlUla. . Hollywood executives are increasingly intrigued by what the country has to offer in terms of talent, filming locations and its generous 40% tax credit.

Since then, women have taken active creative and leadership roles in a field where, until recently, they were not allowed to manage or divorce. The West’s involvement is becoming more and more important and the country’s filmmakers are beginning to gain recognition on the international stage.

Katie Holmes is even mentoring three female filmmakers as part of a Film AlUla Creates program that debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Wayne doesn’t directly address the role LGBTQIA+ stories can play in a country where homosexuality remains illegal, but instead says the focus is on “telling stories that are culturally relevant to the region and relevant to the region.” to resonate with audiences. “

“We look at different points of view in every way we tell our stories. Our teams, like any other studio, look at books, formats, IP and everything in the world and then bring ideas to our buyers [the MBC networks and streaming service Shahid].”

Take MBC to the next level

Wayne’s role is fascinating. She runs a major studio organization affiliated with MBC, the Gulf region’s largest television network, in a country that wants to become the region’s content powerhouse after decades of refusing to play the game.

MBC Studios was established just over five years ago as Bin Salman’s reforms gained momentum. Under the leadership of the new crown prince (who is now also prime minister), promoting entertainment seemed like a surefire way to change the country’s image and attract investment, so MBC took the plunge into high-end television and film world taken.

The group, led by UK chief executive Sam Barnett, has tapped former NBCUniversal International and Antenna Group content chief Peter Smith – who was Wayne’s boss at Cineflix Studios in the 2010s – to lead a new studio operation. He focused on building the corporate structure, which led to big-budget fantasy series Rise of the Witches, The devil’s promise from British producer Tony Jordan and mega-budget star Anthony Mackie desert warriorwho filmed in Neom.

Notably, MBC moved its headquarters from Dubai to the Saudi capital Riyadh last year as the latest step in its multimillion-dollar strategy, a move that signaled continued massive investment in high-value manufacturing. Originally launched in London as a dongle satellite channel, MBC now operates over twenty linear channels, production operations and a training facility that has trained over 18,000 people.

Now an established player in the region, MBC Studios is the heart of content creation for MBC and Shahid’s linear networks, available across the region and in countries including the US, UK and Australia. That’s why it represents a new and unique challenge for Wayne, a veteran executive in the Hollywood industry who was instrumental in developing blockbuster hits at AMC Networks.

She started her career under the guidance of Chinatown As screenwriter Robert Evans, Wayne wrote and directed films in the United States and later moved to AMC, where she produced the ratings miniseries Broken track and developed some of the most popular titles. She later ran Cineflix Studios, which produced dramas for BBC America Copper and then moved into indie production at Assembly Entertainment, where she created Showtime’s underrated LA stand-up drama, among others I die here.

She most recently served as head of Canadian and Australian originals at Amazon Studios, but left last year after overseeing a local remake of an unscripted format. lol and dramas like Three pine trees, with Alfred Molina. She has now moved from North America to Riyadh and is experiencing a new culture at work, although most things still feel somewhat familiar.

“Saudi Arabia was an area I worked in during my time at Amazon, so it piqued my interest when MBC contacted me,” she recalls. “Pete built up all the different divisions, developed a strong roster and started some shows. That was the beginning phase and now it’s really the growth and maturation phase.”

Although she still largely oversees Smith’s plans as new ideas are hatched, Wayne says operationally her new venture “works much like any studio I’ve worked at — the relationship between MBC and MBC Studios is the same as the relationship between Prime Video and Amazon Studios. They tell us their mission, the genres they want and the demographics they have, and we try to fulfill that.”

This is reflected in stories designed specifically for Saudi audiences and others, attracting viewers from across the Middle East and North Africa. Most of the production is in Arabic, although there is a small focus on English-language projects, which are “still told from authentic perspectives from the region.”

International deals and co-productions are increasing. Wayne says she’s had “a high-profile top producer who’s delivered a big blockbuster for us in the last few weeks”, although she refuses to reveal her identity.

American stars, directors and studios have flocked to the country to film as more investment has been made, drawing comparisons to the sports sector, which has seen a similar boom. Just this year, the Cannes Film Festival announced two state-backed film funds worth a total of $180 million that will target local talent and attract more international projects.

Neom, the northern region of Saudi Arabia that is being developed into an industrial powerhouse and futuristic urban metropolis, has attracted numerous projects, including the Gerard Butler-starring project Kandahar, grave robbers the upcoming epic film from director Simon West Antara and Shah Ruhk Khan’s Bollywood film Dunk.

Nevertheless, there are rules for involvement with MBC Studios. “The things we’re involved in have to have an authentic local lead voice and that limits some of what we can do, but people are receptive and receptive to Arab main characters and storytelling,” says Wayne. “Then we can find writers and directors who can do it authentically, so it’s not a Western writer or director telling that story.”

Wayne says the US labor strikes have affected a “smaller number of global English-language projects that have WGA contracts”.

“We couldn’t work on it,” she says. “Most of our projects are local and therefore not affected as they use local writers and directors, but even when they try to work with people from abroad, for example from the UK, they have also been reluctant to work, if this is not the case. “WGA. When we worked on a WGA project, we complied with the strike.”