Mediabiz international established itself by raising international investment for movies and now it's producing its own projects. by Brendan Kelly
Karine Martin, president of Mediabiz International, isn't shy about saying that her focus is on films and TV shows that make money. The company's projects include the horror film The Moth Diaries, a 13-episode action thriller and six family films.
Karine Martin, president of Mediabiz International, isn't shy about saying that her focus is on films and TV shows that make money. The company's projects include the horror film The Moth Diaries, a 13-episode action thriller and six family films.
There's a good chance you've never heard of Mediabiz International. This Montreal-based film and TV financing and production company has a low profile even inside the entertainment milieu, and has virtually no public profile here.
But that may soon change. On a recent afternoon, Mediabiz president Karine Martin spent an hour at the company's homey offices on Bernard Ave. in Outremont, chatting about her ambitious plans for the company she runs with her husband, Jean-Francois Doray.
Mediabiz has been in business for 10 years, but the outfit managed to fly well below the radar for much of that time because it was focused exclusively on the little-understood world of international film financing. Martin, who started her career as an entertainment lawyer, and her colleagues used their considerable expertise to help raise cash for Hollywood productions, tapping into the financial resources of investors across Europe and, later, in Asia.
They'd work for foreign banks and groups of investors, setting up deals, often for pricey film series. You want to know the scoop on Belgian tax shelters or German international distribution companies? The folks at Mediabiz are the ones to ask.
But a couple of years ago, Martin decided it was time for them to get into directly producing themselves.
"Financing movies, you do make interesting money, but it's really on a deal-by-deal basis," said Martin. "It's like being pregnant for nine months and then you give birth and someone else takes the baby away. We wanted to own a part of the assets we were creating."
With that in mind, Mediabiz hired local production veteran Ronald Gilbert to become head of production and began actively looking for film and TV properties to develop in-house. Their first major film production was The Moth Diaries, the gothichorror movie based on the cult novel of the same name by Rachel Klein that was shot in Montreal this fall. The film is written and directed by Mary Harron of American Psycho fame and stars Lily Cole, Sarah Gadon, Sarah Bolger and Scott Speedman. Set at an elite girls' boarding school, this supernatural tale centres around Rebecca (Bolger), a girl who is infatuated with a dashing (and mysterious) teacher played by Speedman.
"(Harron) has a very different take on the vampire movie and a much more subtle approach to the content," said Martin.
Mediabiz is also developing a 13-episode action thriller TV series via its subsidiary Mediamax. That company was originally set up two years ago as a joint venture with seasoned Quebec film producer Roger Frappier, but Mediabiz amicably parted ways with Frappier a year ago, buying back his half of the company.
What sets Martin apart from the vast majority of filmmakers chez nous is that she's not in the least bit shy about saying that her focus is generating action at the cash register, period.
"The focus of the company is to be involved in projects that have commercial appeal," said Martin.
Mediabiz is also developing six family films with upbeat messages, with Martin saying that international buyers are looking for cheerier projects to offset the gloomy times we live in.
Family entertainment is also the raison d'etre of Toonz Entertainment Global, a joint venture company set up last month by Mediabiz and the Indian animation company Toonz. This Montreal-based entity is already producing two animated series, Speed Racer and HTDT, and there are plans to make nine TV movies based on a series of youth-oriented books. Typical of Mediabiz's international-first approach, the two series are in production without sales to Canadian broadcasters.
"We're able to co-finance projects that have zero financing from Canada," said Martin. "We can raise 100 per cent of the financing from around the world."
Martin and Doray were living in Los Angeles in 2000 when they founded the company, but a couple of years later they decided to return to Montreal, in part because they wanted to raise a family -they now have two boys, age 5 and 7.
"Montreal is a great location to have access to North American culture and also have a foot in Europe," said Martin.
Just how international is Mediabiz? Only two per cent of its revenue comes from Canada.
There is one downside, however.
"It just means that we're always on planes," said Martin, mentioning that she is just back from a jaunt that included meetings in Qatar, India, the United Arab Emirates, Germany and England.
