Top Universal and USA Networks execs began a series of meetings Friday to discuss how Universal will consolidate its U.S. film assets. The talks come in anticipation that Vivendi U’s plans to acquire the film and TV operations of USA will close in the coming months.
Under the deal with USA, U will be in possession of three overlapping specialty film divisions: USA Films, Universal Focus and StudioCanal. The studio is now in advance talks to merge those units.
Although rumors about the shake-up have been widely circulating at the AFM, U execs have remained tight-lipped about their plans because of legal inhibitions.
But a deal is likely to emerge early next week that will see USA Films survive, perhaps under a different name and with a broader mandate. Current USA topper Scott Greenstein will run the division, reporting to U Pictures chair Stacey Snider. Universal Focus and StudioCanal will be folded into it.
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USA Films is a lean operation with a small staff of production and acquisitions execs. But in just three years, thanks to pics like “Being John Malkovich” and “Traffic,” it has managed to establish itself as one of the key specialty distributors in the business. USA films garnered nine Oscar noms this year, including seven for “Gosford Park.”
Company has plans to distribute the slate of the directors’ company being formed by David Fincher, Steven Soderbergh, Spike Jonze and Alexander Payne. Former DreamWorks senior production exec Glenn Williamson, who played a key role in the development of “American Beauty” at DreamWorks, now runs USA Films production, reporting to Greenstein. Company is already seeking to recruit at least one more exec, and it is likely to expand under U’s jurisdiction.
But it’s not clear yet how the staff and reporting structures at Universal Focus and StudioCanal will be merged into those of USA Films.
U created Focus in June 2000 as a specialty arm to develop and distribute niche titles, beginning with “Billy Elliot.” Under the direction of Mark Kristol and Claudia Gray, it recently released “Mullholland Drive” and “Brotherhood of the Wolf,” the French box office hit that’s grossed more than $10 million Stateside.
StudioCanal, the production, development and acquisitions arm of Canal Plus, is run by Stephane Sperry and Richard Garzilli. It has ongoing relationships with American filmmakers such as David Lynch and Jim Jarmusch, as well as production and distribution deals with Artists Production Group, Spyglass, Bel-Air Entertainment and Mandalay Entertainment. Insiders say it’s now likely several of those deals will not be renewed.
Karletti Grabowski, a Canal Plus spokeswoman in Paris, recently told Daily Variety she doesn’t expect StudioCanal U.S. — which retains a staff of 20 in its Beverly Hills headquarters — to close. “We’d rather say they are many reasons for StudioCanal U.S. and USA Networks to work together,” she said.
But in a move that could be the first step in the consolidation of Vivendi U’s French and American film units, StudioCanal reorganized its sales force earlier this month, sending L.A.-based senior VP of international sales Pierre Weisbein to Paris, where he’ll oversee sales for all pics produced by Vivendi U’s French motion picture studio.
(Cathy Dunkley in Los Angeles contributed to this report.)