Editor's Notes
The view from here
ITV Studios NY signs deal with Joseph Livecchi
Screen Australia's Indigenous Department head leaves
Screen Australia revises documentary programs
September Films returns to the 'Exterminators' for A&E
Outright sells U.S. 'Who Do You Think You Are' to eight territories
Babelgum Online Film Festival open for entries
BBC4 taps Icon Films to mark 50th anniversary of 'Born Free'
'Rainbow Nation 2010' doc comes to MIPTV
Bravo bumping up original programming by 20% this year
Darlow Smithson brings Underwear Bomber to Discovery
OWN adds to its executive team
Passing up cable TV to watch online
Documentary maker analyses ethics in edit suite
Actor and 'Two Coreys' star Corey Haim dies
Mayor of Taiji, Japan protests 'The Cove' Oscar win
Oscar nod doesn't guarantee increased audiences for docs
Huffington Post talks Oscar docs
Founder of Babelgum and Fastweb arrested
BBC to make major cuts: report
Wildlife filmmaker Chris Palmer says to look, but not touch after SeaWorld deathThe view from here
Random musings on the non-fiction biz
Our take on current and past film and TV projects
Industry experts offer their take
| by: | Mar 1, 2009 |
After months of polling our readers for their input, realscreen emerges, for the fourth year in a row, with its Global 100 - our listing of the most influential production companies in the world for 2008.
In terms of international scope, this list is probably more similar to our Global 100 from the year before last. That's because this time around, when we solicited input from you, dear readers, we asked you to tell us what shows and films made you think to yourselves, "Damn, I wish my company made that!" Sometimes you'd tell us the prodcos behind the work, sometimes we'd have to do a little digging. As a result, you'll see a larger international contingent in this year's list as opposed to last year's, when the list was based solely on ratings. Broadcasters also let us know which shows were pulling in the numbers for them over the course of 2008, and more often than not they were the shows that were cited in the votes.
A couple of other notes worth mentioning: as in previous years, we're continuing to exclude companies whose main business is broadcasting and identifying the companies that have ties to larger entities. Also, as with previous years, enduring franchises that are several seasons deep were recognized in the voting (if they didn't have particular "Jump the shark" moments, then they still warranted attention for many of you), as well as work from the previous year that saw wider release in '08. But amongst the familiar names, you'll see some new companies that made their mark this year, either through great docs or shows that kept you away from the remote.
We hope the Global 100 list serves to illuminate the efforts of the companies behind the work that you enjoyed the most last year. Congrats to those who made this year's model.
US
ORIGINAL PRODUCTIONS/Burbank
www.origprod.com
Thom Beers and Original Productions have been making waves in factual cable since the company's inception in 1999. This past year, the prodco brought in record ratings for History with the second episode of season two of Ice Road Truckers. The series drew an audience of 311,000 in its regular timeslot, was 313% up on the channel's slot average and became the highest rated show ever on the channel. The prodco also received five Primetime Emmy nominations for Deadliest Catch (topping the list of nominated shows for Discovery and winning the award for cinematography for non-fiction programming over Ice Road Truckers), won a Fox Reality Channel Really Award for the same show (favorite non-competition program) and got one of its first scripted cable pilot orders from A&E in 2008.
But perhaps the biggest news for Original came in February 2009 with the announcement that UK-based FremantleMedia (also on this year's Global 100 list) bought a 75% stake in the prodco. "In my world, I'm always trying to stay one step ahead of the competition and create genres, not just good shows," Beers told realscreen in September 2008. So far, so good.
Employees: 45
Hours this year: 150 Hours
Recent titles: Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers, Ax Men
Upcoming titles: Pitchmen: Gadgets to Glory; Extreme Trucking; The Colony; Black Gold 2; Deadliest Sea: Event TV Movie
PARTICIPANT PRODUCTIONS/Los Angeles
www.participantmedia.com
The team that quietly hammered home the dangers behind global warming with An Inconvenient Truth returns to the Global 100 this year via another documentary that exposed a darkness needing to be revealed. Director Errol Morris refers to Standard Operating Procedure as a "non-fiction horror movie," telling the story behind the infamous, ugly photos of torture and degradation taken at Abu Ghraib through Morris' interviews with some of the soldiers that participated in the horror. The doc sent chills up the spines of its international viewing audience, and garnered an Oscar nomination.
Meanwhile, 2007's partially-animated doc, Chicago 10, saw limited cinema release in 2008 and was shown on PBS' Independent Lens. This year looks like another winner, with its exposé on the food production industry, Food Inc., gaining buzz.
Employees: 50
Recent titles: Standard Operating Procedure, Chicago 10, Angels in the Dust
Upcoming: Food Inc.; Casino Jack: The United States of Money
FIGURE 8 FILMS/Carrboro
www.figure8films.tv
Judging by the responses from this year's pool of Global 100 respondents, people love Jon & Kate Plus 8. The series has been a big success for Carrboro, North Carolina-based Figure 8 Films, since it debuted on Discovery Health in 2007. "One of the better compliments paid to our company was in the New York Times," says president and founder Bill Hayes. "It was an article about reality television and it cites us and our shows... it says basically [that] we don't exploit our subjects but we exploit the differences in our audience."
The company, best known for its personal life and family stories such as 17 Kids and Counting which debuted on Discovery Health in October 2008 (now 18 Kids and Counting on TLC), likes to emphasize that they see themselves as "caretakers" of people's stories, taking care not to misuse the trust their subjects put in them.
Employees: 10
Hours this year: 17 hours and 68 half-hours
Recent titles: Jon & Kate Plus 8; 17 Kids and Counting; Wallendas: Life on the Wire; Two Sisters, One Heart; Autism x 6; Six for the Road; Then Came Six
Now in its second year, The Factual Entertainment Forum: The Real Deal brings stakeholders in the reality TV/factual entertainment industry together for a day and half of inspiration, discussion about the current state of reality/factual TV and where it’s going, and of course, networking.
Register today for the Factual Entertainment Forum for only US$450* (includes admission to conference and the Factual Entertainment Awards presentation).
Register online or by calling Joel Pinto at 1-416-408-2300 ext. 650.
Early Bird offer expires on Friday, March 26, 2010.
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