$700 dollars to rent a coffee machine?
There were many topics of conversation at this year’s AFM, not least the market’s seismic switch from Santa Monica to Las Vegas and the (slightly more) seismic matter of the U.S. presidential elections, which just so happened to coincide with the first day of the event (in the swing swate of Nevada) on Nov. 5.
But there was also the matter of the various costs involved, including the somewhat eye-watering amount companies were being asked to pay should they want to offer guests coffee in their already expensively rented office rooms in the Palms.
Few sales companies Variety spoke made the splurge. Several — which shall not be named here — snuck their own machines in. Others stuck to water (a small bottle of which was going for about $6.50 in one hotel lobby).
But hideously expensive beverages are all well and good if buyers are splashing out a fortune on films packages. And in that regard the mood from the trade show floor was … mixed.
By the halfway stage of previous market, the buzziest handful of films every distributor was clambering to get their hands on would be largely known about. But this year, despite an impressive influx of A-list projects announced just ahead of the AFM, few had risen to the surface — unless buyers were simply keeping them very close to their chests.
“We haven’t had buyers come in and talk about the same three projects that they’re going after,” said Mark Gooder of Cornerstone, which launched action-thriller “Wild World” and dance comedy “The Light Fantastic” at the market. ‘So that’s been quite unusual in this market. There hasn’t been the same sort of consistency, so that tells me that — maybe — some of the buyers are not buying, or the price is too high, or maybe they’re not as impressed as they thought they would be.”
Buyers not buying was a common thread among conversations in the Palms, especially with certain U.S. buyers now with their own originals in production and development. “All the noise and lights of Vegas feels like a distraction to what’s going on in the industry,” said one exec. “I see buyers out partying and gambling and enjoying the place but not, you know, actually buying.”
That said, and despite no major deals yet to be announced, Embankment’s Hugo Grumbar noted that said the company had done brisk business on the two projects it announced before the market — horror “Molepeople” starring Anthony Ramos and Ben Mendelsohn, and “The Housekeeper,” starring Uma Thurman, Phoebe Dynevor and Anthony Hopkins. “They’ve sold extensively and are still going,” he said.
Kim Fox at The Veterans, which launched the James Gray feature “Paper Tiger,” starring Adam Driver, Jeremy Strong and Anne Hathaway and continued sales on Theo James thriller “The Hole” and Brit comedy “Fackham Hall,” described it as a “healthy sales market,” adding that it was “always good to catch up our partners around the world.”
Other buzzy projects going into the market included A24’s Timothee Chalamet ping-pong drama “Marty Supreme,” Black Bear’s “Motor City” starring Alan Ritchson and Park Chan-wook’s comedy-thriller “No Other Choice.”
Genre movies have always had a welcome home at the AFM, but perhaps none more so than this year — especially with horror continuing its run of excellent form in the box office.
“Genre movies, and especially elevated genre with talent, are extremely strong, and, frankly, over-achieving in a lot of instances,” said Sarah Schweitzman from CAA Media Finance.
“The dynamic of genre has become more interesting in a lot of ways, because audiences have shown they want different graduations of genre and they want it theatrically. There is more room for genre to be different and surprising, which is why you’re seeing original movies like ‘Longlegs’ succeed in theaters.”
By contrast, drama was still struggling to find its feet, especially the projects that come without a huge cast and big name filmmakers.
“If you have that pedigree going into the marketplace, those movies are safe, they’ll do well,” said Schwietzman. “But for the smaller dramas they can be more difficult, especially on the international front, and to that end, the domestic piece as well becomes more challenging too.”
While studios have been banking on franchises, delivering prequels, sequels and reboots for many years, indie players are now also on the lookout for projects based on IP with have existing fanbase, for instance Jaume Collet-Serra’s “Cliffhanger,” the reboot of Sylvester Stallone’s action classic which was shopped at the AFM by Rocket Science (international); CAA Media Finance (North America and China).
“It’s a trend that we think is growing and continues to grow, both independently and from a studio perspective,” says Schweitzman. “It’s a way to reconfigure iconic pieces that everybody loved and do so in a different way, sometimes that reflects how society has changed.”
For Yohann Comte, co-founder of Charades, which launched sales on Tina Romero’ “Queen of the Dead,” the “turnout of buyers was good,” But as he noted: “The question to know is whether they’re coming here out of curiosity and if they’ll show up next year if it’s the same set up.”
The new-look Vegas set up — and whether people would return again — was indeed something that many attendees expressed their uncertainty over. Many had already stayed away, largely because of the added cost of Vegas, fears over the election, or both. But for those who made the journey, the experience navigating slot machines and roulette wheels to get to meetings and screenings was a novelty that soon wore off.
“The atmosphere was a bit weird in the lobby, and not exactly film friendly,” noted Comte. “But on the upside, some people were happy to have everything taking place in a single location.”
But that single location did not come cheap, and not just if you wanted a coffee.
“The Palms hotel or IFTA shot everyone down on costs. I was $500 to empty a minibar and no one could bring anything which really hit the sellers. They really squeezed the sellers,” said a key U.S. distributor. Some even smuggled furniture into their meeting rooms.
“When I heard that they wanted to charge me $800 to bring a couch into the room, I just went to IKEA and bought a pair of lounging chairs, which cost under $100 each,” said a sales agent, who added that he was already paying $20,000 for the room and accreditation, saying that “Vegas was a tipping point” in terms of how much they were being squeezed financially. “Some of our biggest buyers left the market early because they found it unmanageable with offices spread on multiple floors and elevators taking ages.”
Several sales agents are now plotting a comeback to Santa Monica next year without the AFM. “We figure we can do better business at a cheaper cost if we find a hotel and rent out all our rooms early enough,” said one. “The U.S. agents did their own virtual market during the pandemic, so maybe it’s time for the international sales agents to do their own as well!”
One promiment LA producer summed up the mood:
“It was brutal. I won’t come back. No space for spontaneous meetings and encounters, no parties, rotten environment, lines to take the elevators … we can’t even walk the stairs,” they said. “It makes no sense to come to Vegas, in the middle of nowhere, when the market in Santa Monica was much nicer and located in the world capital for entertainment.”
As Gooder noted: “Was the Loews the best hotel ever? It’s amazing how history gets rewritten when you come somewhere new!”
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