Anna Marsh, CEO of StudioCanal, says Gen Z audiences are becoming increasingly difficult to reach with original films and TV series.
“This business is the prototype business. It is harder and harder to pick the bullseye. Audiences are becoming more and more difficult, and their standards are constantly raised,” Marsh told the MIA Market in Rome on Wednesday.” That’s especially in reaching the younger generation. “You know, there’s just no room for error, she added.
Marsh insisted content creators have to offer authentic and original stories in an ever-changing business challenged by industry consolidation, social media platforms and generative artificial intelligence tools. “It’s really important to have a fresh perspective, because the business is moving so fast, the audience is so tough, that we constantly need to be looking at ourselves in the mirror,” she said.
Marsh, originally from New Zealand, came to Rome after spending two decades in film and television sales, distribution and production, having risen from international sales at Tele Images and TF1 International to taking a top job at the French major in 2019.
“There’s a great thing to be said about the culture, the languages, that Europe has been blessed with,” Marsh said in explaining why, at age 17, she first came to France, and especially Paris, with an eye to becoming a storyteller. She is now the CEO and chief content officer for StudioCanal, having moved beyond TV to awards-worthy cinema, including this year with Elsinore with Andrew Scott, and Danny Boyle’s Ink with Jack O’Connell.
She pointed to the group currently being at work on a movie about French film pioneer Alice Guy-Blaché, who is regarded as the first female director. Under Marsh, StudioCanal, owned by the Canal Plus group, has expanded its European production and distribution footprint, taking a controlling stake in Italian distributor/producer Lucky Red and Nordic outfit SAM Production.
And at the Canal+ level, Marsh oversaw the signing of a new three-year partnership with British pay TV giant Sky that will see the companies develop and co-finance at least two premium English-language dramas a year. Canal+ has also announced a French version of Saturday Night Live set to launch this year.
Marsh argued conquering the global market means knowing differences between international markets. ”Content can travel and should travel. But the way we sell and market to every territory has to be tailored in a very specific way,” she told the MIA Market audience.
Marquee projects from Marsh and StudioCanal include Gucci: End Games, a Gucci family series based on Allegra Gucci’s memoir, and produced by Lucky Red for Sky Italy. Studio Canal is distributing internationally the project that is created and directed by Gabriele Muccino.
“We’re not making a one-hit wonder. We’re not making a series just for today. We’re making films and series that will long the distance,” Marsh said. She also touted Elsinore, a biographical drama film from director Simon Stone and starring Andrew Scott as Scottish actor Ian Charleson.
“(Elsinore) really moved us profoundly. So emotions, obviously, when we’re telling films, we’re talking about the math, we’re talking about the rights ownership. But ultimately we want to be telling stories that are going to move the audience,” Marsh said.
StudioCanal also acquired the rights to develop Peter Cameron’s novel What Happens At Night, and attached Martin Scorsese to produce the feature film, with Patrick Marber set to adapt the screenplay. “This is a tough adaptation. We had a few insider guesses that Martin Scorsese might be interested in the book for various reasons, and it turned out to be true,” Marsh recalled.