V I D E O • A G E AP R I L 2 0 1 0 42 Craig Cegielski never rushes into anything. The former evp of Lionsgate, now presiding over the creation of GK Films’ TV division, likes to ponder every option, every question and every move. Take this feature, for example. It took three weeks to get his answers to our queries, but they were ultimately sharp and to the point. Upon taking the new position, where he reports directly to Graham King, president and CEO of GK Films, Cegielski was quoted as saying: “We’re not looking to make TV shows on a whim. We’ll maximize our efforts by targeting specific broadcasters early in the process.” GK-TV plans to develop, produce and distribute television programming worldwide. For Cegielski, who moved only a few blocks west of his old Lionsgate office in Santa Monica, the new job represented an opportunity to work with a company that doesn’t depend on outside financing for producing its movies and, at the same time, has an astonishing yearly output of A-titles. Currently, GK Films has 19 movies in development, an additional five films due to be released this year, and four more for 2011. Graham King, 49, is a British-born producer and financier who moved to Hollywood from London in 1982. Soon after arriving in the U.S. he joined the international distribution department at 20th Century Fox under Bill Saunders. In 1987 hemoved toCori Films and, in1995, founded Initial Entertainment Group (in which Splendid Medien had a 49 percent stake), before starting GK Films in 2007. Almost from the beginning he has worked with directors such as Michael Mann and Martin Scorsese, and with A-list stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp and Nicole Kidman. He’s been credited as a producer since 2004, and executive producer and co-producer since 2000. At the 2007 Academy Awards, King won a Best Picture Oscar as the producer of The Departed. King called the expansion into TV “the next logical step” for his company, which has become a major player in the film business with a savvy approach to financing and foreign pre-sales. Cegielski commented that GK-TV will follow the model that has worked for King on the film side, partnering with top creatives who bring a strong vision to a project. The division will focus on programming with strong international appeal. The U.S. networks are starting to open up to airing series produced outside the U.S. Cegielski worked at Lionsgate for nearly five years. Before that he spent six years working in production and developmentforParamountInternational Television and working on format sales and production for the studios’ CBS/ King World International division. Upon paying a few visits to Cegielski in his new offices, VideoAge had an opportunity to fire several questions at him in order to better understand his strategy. VideoAge International: GK Films has one of the greatest film outputs in Hollywood. Why is the company not well-known? Craig Cegielski: Oftentimes independent filmmakers partner with major studios to handle the complex domestic and international theatrical campaign, and therefore the one-to-one association between the creative force behind the film’s origins and the film distributor can be diluted. Graham King formed GK Films in May of 2007 as a way to divest himself from his prior company and to ensure his brand was something he had absolute control over. You’re right to point out that he has one of the greatest film outputs in Hollywood, and his appetite to expand this reputation into television couldn’t come at a better time. VAI: You have been tasked with creating a new TV division for GK Films, GK-TV. What are your production and distribution plans? CC: In creating the television unit, GK Films has cemented its place as an alternative studio. We get the best from our theatrical group which continues to produce amazing films with such creative partners like [Martin] Scorsese, [Johnny] Depp, [Leonardo] DiCaprio and [Mel] Gibson; producing films like The Tourist, The Rum Diary, Edge of Darkness and The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Applying this level of quality to television is a significant part of our business plan. While it’s true we’re invested in breaking new talent, we’re committed to offering a home to A-level talent looking to exercise their creative muscle. We’re remaining a hands-on production studio and will be an advocate for our creative partners. Our mission is to offer a one-stop shop to showrunners as they look to explore their creative independence with a partner that can provide the infrastructure, financing and distribution to fully realize their work. An area of expertise that is also proven is our ability to connect with the international community and place quality programming with the right international broadcaster. This company’s origins start in international distribution, and it makes perfect sense to us that this track record will continue. We’re open to international co-production, pre-sales and traditional program sales. The goal will always be to maximize the revenue potential of every title we’re affiliated with, while ensuring that the title is placed with the appropriate network where it will thrive. Our job won’t be done until we have the series sold, on the air, and properly promoted. VAI: How are you going to finance that kind of expansion? CC: We continue to be a wellcapitalized company, able to take on numerous films and television series through independent financing. You can say Graham has bet on himself and it’s certainly paid off. VAI: How big is your MIP-TV presence going to be? What product are you taking? CC: This is going to be a “walk, don’t run” market for us. We announced the formation of the television unit in November and have spent the better part of the early year setting up productions. Needless to say, this market will be a bit of a balance between corporate messaging and discussions directly regarding our productions. We can service a myriad of opportunities and will be providing the international marketplace with another premium content supplier — which in these economic times is quite unique. To begin, we’re proud to have announced the 10-episode series Camelot. The combination of an Academy Award-winning producer in Graham King, coupled with the Emmy awardwinning talent of the production team of The Tudors, makes for an exciting opportunity to reinvest in this universal legend and bring it to Starz [network]. We’re incredibly excited and believe it delivers on our initial promise to produce programs in the U.S. that have an international perspective and appeal. VAI: Are you preparing for the L.A. Screenings? What new product will you be screening? CC: L.A. Screenings will provide an excellent opportunity for GK-TV to connect with the buyers who are looking to secure premium primetime series for their programming schedule. Camelot, as I mentioned before, will be moving forward in Ireland and therefore we hope to have elements of the series to showcase for the buyers. The point of L.A. Screenings will be to carry the momentum with which we’ve started this venture, and to bring the buyers closer to the process as we develop and announce future series. The GK-TV model has been designed to blend powerful creative with transparent business, all while being an accessible partner to our international buyers. We have incredibly high expectations and we aim to deliver this year in Los Angeles and beyond. CC Creating GK’s TV From Scratch With Cash C o m p a n y P r o f i l e Craig Cegielski, GK-TV president Graham King, GK Films president and CEO
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