YORK FILMS - News and Views
Gestation of a Co-Production:
7 WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Stillborn or bouncing baby?
by David Taylor, exec producer/writer
Who could resist? A call from National Geographic Channel in Washington enthused: “We’ve a great idea.” On the line was development exec Mike Mavretic. “How about 7 WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM? A one-hour special. It’ll go around the world.”
Well, yes... But, with 40 years and more in TV, I was trying to retire – or at least semi-retire. No more shoots up the Amazon or hunting impact craters across the Australian Outback. No more pitching to networks or rounding up co-producers. No more cajoling animators, fretting in edit suites, working to inadequate budgets and chasing late payers.
But hang on. This was a network pitching to me! Couldn’t I postpone for year or so? Make one last show, bid farewell to production on a prime-time high note – “high” being the operative word, because NatGeo must have the project in High Definition. We’ve never done HD at York Films. Tempting.
“Well, yes Mike, but it’ll be costly – 90 per cent computer generated images (CGI) and all that rendering time. HD CGI takes forever.” NatGeo was undeterred.
So we do a budget – and it is expensive.
Then, reality… National Geographic Channel can offer just a third of the budget requirement, since they only want North American rights. And there’s the problem of the dollar’s weakness against the pound. Slippage during production would devalue NatGeo’s contribution.
The irksome prospect is that York Films must find the remaining two thirds of the budget – a lot of money. This is sweet and sour - great to be offered a good idea, daunting to have to raise the lion’s share. Sure, that’s what York Films has been doing for the past 25 years – putting together expensive specials and series with money gleaned from several networks and distributors. But it gets tougher and tougher. In one case we had a dozen co-producers. A nightmare. Shouldn’t I just pass?
I don’t. Instead, we “develop” the project.
So, what are the 7 WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYTEM? Science editor John Mason and I knock around ideas. “Doctor John”, as he’s known in the company, is a former academic, a physicist and astronomer with a huge talent for communication - and he runs a planetarium, his very own focus group. I’ve done TV for over four decades – from farming and nature, medicine and science to politics and current affairs. Doctor John and I work well together.
These are our WONDERS:
1. THE RINGS OF SATURN – everyone’s choice
2. OLYMPUSMONS– the Martian volcano to beat all volcanoes
3. KUIPER & OORT – birthplace of comets
4. TITAN – early Earth in deep-freeze
5. THE SUN – star on our doorstep
6. THE GREAT MOONS OF JUPITER – where life may lurk
7. EARTH – the luckiest planet
NatGeo green-lights the treatment. And they OK the budget. But where do we find the rest of the money?
HD is coming – slowly. Enthusiasts believe HD is at the tipping point. But trawl the networks of Germany, France, Italy and Spain and few have immediate or even medium-term plans for HD. Europe is most likely to yield major co-producers – i.e. those with money. But if they don’t want HD, where to go?
Japan, of course. NHK has been airing in HD for years.
November, 2006. At the World Congress of Science Producers, held conveniently this time in the UK, I meet Masaru Ikeo, former head of science at NHK and now with the network’s commercial arm of MICO.
Masaru is interested in 7 WONDERS and suggests we consider producing all the CGI in-house at NHK in Tokyo. With NHK short of money, a contribution in kind – i.e. CGI – rather than cash would be a neat way for NHK to co-produce. Brilliant notion, given NHK’s vast experience of HD. And what fun to work in Tokyo!
Via our Japanese agent, Alex Korenori, the 7 WONDERS proposal is translated into impeccable Japanese and forwarded to Masaru. NatGeo follows up with a letter of support. Masaru is to offer the project to the new head of science. Alas, things go quiet. A shame - because, if we’d landed NHK, we’d have caught a big fish.
January – March, 2007. Doctor John and I update the treatment and review the budget. We meet with animators and keep NatGeo, ever-supportive, abreast of developments. From DR TV in Copenhagen comes enthusiasm from veteran science producer Jan Haugaard. He feels it’s time Danish TV co-produced some more space and astronomy with York Films. Jan loves 7 WONDERS and recommends it to the powers-that-be.
April, 2007. In Cannes at MIP TV, the greatest programme market in the world, I meet Daniel Renouf, president of System TV, one of France’s most successful independents with whom we have co-produced many times. Daniel likes 7 WONDERS and we shake hands on “one last show together!” As usual, in return for certain rights, including all French territories, Daniel would secure a French network to take 7 WONDERS.
Still in Cannes, at dinner with Aud Helene Arnkværn of NRK, Norway, we discuss 7 WONDERS. She’s interested and calls for documentation – treatment, budget and NRK’s expected contribution. NRK is a trusted co-producer with whom we have worked for years. Their contribution is modest but valued.
May, 2007. A rainy weekend in Switzerland for a European Broadcasting Union “summit” in lovely Lucerne where York Films and 7 WONDERS are short-listed for a pitching session.
Before science, educational and acquisition executives from public broadcasters around Europe, I’m first on with ten minutes to pitch 7 WONDERS. We register four official expressions of interest – not bad!
One is from SVT, Sweden - from head of science programmes Anna Schytt. We’ve worked before with Anna and she’s great. Together with DR (Denmark) and NRK (Norway), SVT’s participation would secure a worthwhile Scandinavian budget contribution.
The other interested parties are Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR TV), Munich, VRT, the Flemish broadcaster in Belgium, and Channel 1, Russia. But, as so often is the case, initial interest evaporates with unanswered emails.
June 2007. Summertime – and a notoriously bad season for decisions from networks and their vacationing executives. Excluding Japan, if all the potential partners come aboard at our asking price, we have enough money to make 7 WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. The reality, however, is that by mid-June not a single network has committed other than National Geographic Channel (USA). We have a mountain to climb.
June 13. NatGeo sends a draft co-production agreement for review. They want us to start production on August 1 for delivery during the first week of August, 2008. We dare not sign. And, if we are to meet that schedule, I must push like mad to secure the other major players – especially France, Germany, Spain and the Scandinavians.
June 20. The first commitment! Aud Helene Arnkværn emails from Trondheim to confirm the participation of NRK, subject to contract. It’s the day before solstice! Great news from that land of the midnight sun! Tusen takk, Norway.
June 22. NatGeo wants to set August 15 as the deadline for getting the finance together.
June 25. The second commitment! Despite their worst financial crisis in years, Søren Mikael Rasmussen, DR’s head of science, emails his agreement to come aboard. He writes: “We’ve had great programmes from you. We look forward to this one as well.” Mange tak, Denmark!
June 26. The third commitment! Anna Schytt of SVT, emails her intention to proceed, subject to contract. Scandinavia is solid – and first! Tack själv mycket, Sweden.
July 6. Having offered 7 WONDERS to the BBC, we’re turned down by “Documentary” and “Specialist Factual”. Martin Davidson of the latter says: “It’s just what I’m looking for but too similar to ‘Cosmos: A Beginner’s Guide’, coming this summer on BBC2.” But it’s not. On viewing the BBC series, the projects are as different as chalk and cheese.
Then Horizon’s commissioning editor Andrew Cohen declares that 7 WONDERS is not the direction he hopes to take the BBC’s flagship science strand. But he wishes is luck elsewhere.
July 20. News from Mike Mavretic that Steve Burns has quit Discovery to join National Geographic Channel USA as executive vice president for content. For well over a decade Steve has been a good friend of York Films overseeing our Emmy-winning 3 MINUTES TO IMPACT (2 x 52’) and ECLIPSE (1 x 52’). If anyone can push 7 WONDERS, it is Steve – and he’s such a nice guy.
On the downside, the dollar has slipped badly against the pound to worse than £1 = $2.05. That further devalues NatGeo’s contribution to the budget.
August 15. Today’s the day. I email NatGeo with a frank appraisal. “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink’, I write. “I have the feeling this project is just too expensive. CGI in HD is so very, very costly.With most potential co-producers not interested in HD, it's a very hard sell”.
Gallant NatGeo is supportive. We agree to talk on Friday, August 17.
August 17. Appreciating the holiday hiatus, NatGeo extends the deadline to October 31.
September 19. BBC and Channel 4 announce their intention to launch HD channels. Exciting. At long last, a major territory, other than Japan and the US, will be broadcasting HDTV. What luck it’s the UK. But not so fast – for the past 20 years York Films has operated largely overseas, eschewing the crowded domestic market. HD or not, we’ve no profile in the UK. Anybody who knew us at BBC or Channel 4 has long since moved on.
September 21. Krishan Arora, the BBC’s liaison for independents, emails to confirm my reservations: “The HD Channel doesn't commission, and doesn't have a channel head - because it's just a trial service for now
September 25. UnabIe to raise anybody at Channel 4, I email the specialist factual department to ask advice. To whom do I pitch an HD co-production? But let’s be realistic. Other than selling them programmes, York Films has never worked with C4. With no track record, it’s unlikely there’ll be a response.
September 28. A month to go. Will 7 WONDERS see the light of day? It’s anyone’s guess. Putting together co-production finance is always a cliff-hanger. You never know. But by October 31, we may.
October 2. After a reminder email, a response from Channel 4. But it’s “thanks but no thanks” from Nicola Evans, assistant to Hamish Mykura, head of specialist factual. “Hamish will not be taking up this offer of being a co-pro producer
October 18. Post MIPCOM and Daniel Renouf is in touch from System TV in Paris. He’s drawn a blank with French networks. France is out.
October 29. Time’s up! I email the team at NatGeo: “We must acknowledge what's been apparent for the past six months - no other major network is interested in the project.”
November 1. Steve Burns rings – but I miss the call. Later, Mike Mavretic phones to suggest we keep 7 WONDERS alive by slashing costs and working within the money already offered by NatGeo.
His formula would mean using lots of existing GCI, albeit non-HD, from the York Films archives. New material, just a soupçon, would be in HD. But fearing a “dog’s dinner”, I suggest we investigate the costs of re-rendering the archive CGI in HD.
NatGeo’s business department emails a formal withdrawal of its offer for the original project but “looks forward” to making a new less expensive programme “a reality”.
Steve Burns emails me, Mike and the rest of the NatGeo team: “I’m so sorry that I couldn’t join the later phone call. It sounds as if David and Michael have some alternate plans. That’s good because I’d love to keep working with you David.”
November 17. Back to the drawing board. Doctor John, Raili and I agree to meet at John’s planetarium to hatch a plan. It’s the last shot to save the show. By making the programme in standard definition (SD) rather than High Definition (HD), we could dramatically slash the budget – in two ways. Firstly, we would need light years less CGI rendering time. Secondly, we could plunder our existing CGI archives.
But how to satisfy NatGeo’s HD requirement? The other co-producers – DR (Denmark), NRK (Norway) and SVT (Sweden) - are happy to take delivery in SD. Not so, NatGeo – everything has to be rendered in HD, both new CGI and archive.
Our new scheme is to make the show in SD, deliver it to the Scandinavians, then re-render the whole programme – whether new CGI or archive – in HD. This would be delivered four to six months later to NatGeo – and, vitally, at no extra cost to York Films.
How? A London CGI outfit, specialising in space animation – let’s call them Planet X - suggests re-rendering York’s CGI archive into HD. The idea is that Planet X would re-render at their cost. In return, York Films and Planet X would share profits when the new HD material is marketed worldwide as an HD CGI library.
But key to the deal would that Planet X would first re-render 7 WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM into HD. Ingenious.
December 9. We submit the idea to NatGeo together with the sawn-down budget.
December 13. Mike Mavretic calls from Washington to say he’ll talk to colleagues about the scheme. He’s keen and clearly intrigued by the cost-cutting formula, but warns that we’ll probably have to slip the production schedule to accommodate budget availability at NatGeo. I get the impression NatGeo is in choppy financial waters.
December 18. But Sweden is so keen to get started that we sign a contract. At Stockholm’s insistence, we invoice SVT for the first installment of their budget contribution which they want to pay before the end of the year. SVT is as good as its word.
2008.
January 24. Out of the blue – an email from ORF, Austria’s pubcaster. Ivo Filatsch, who works in Walter Köhler’s highly successful natural history unit, asks about the status of 7 WONDERS. “Paused”, I reply, “but you’re welcome to come aboard.”
February 29. Another email from Ivo in Vienna - ORF would like to join the show. He makes an offer.
March 10. I thank Ivo and suggest ORF ups its budget contribution as we’re so tight on our cut-to-the-bone budget.
BUT just as I’m about to pass on the ORF development to NatGeo, Mike Mavretic calls with jaw-dropping news – BBC is offering a co-production called “Seven Wonders of the Solar System”! The executive producer is Andrew Cohen, of Horizon, the very man who’d dismissed our pitch last July.
March 11. Ivo ups the offer from ORF. Great. Mike and I confer over the BBC affair. I check chapter and verse. Yes, we had a registered offer to BBC. And yes, it was turned down.
April 1. I write to Andrew Cohen:
Despite the date, this is not an April Fool.
Last summer, in confidence and on behalf of York Films, our agent Catch International submitted a detailed six-page co-production proposal - ref 00004722 - entitled 7 Wonders of the Solar System. You replied on July 4, 2007, rejecting the proposal.
In view of that, and together with other rejections from BBC departments, we were shocked to learn that BBC is now apparently offering a series of the same name. The information comes from National Geographic Channel (USA) with whom we have developed 7 Wonders of the Solar System. I understand you are executive producer of the BBC version.
If our information is correct, your project has all the hallmarks of wrongful appropriation by the BBC.
We seek, therefore, an urgent resolution to this unfortunate affair. If we are unable to clear up matters, we will be forced to seek appropriate redress through legal channels.
April 25. The BBC’s Litigation Department replies to say it is handling the complaint and will be in touch. I furnish the BBC with our original proposal and copies of the BBC emails rejecting it.
June 20. Almost two most months the BBC responds:
The BBC’s “Seven Wonders of the Solar System” was conceived in April 2007 by a researcher in the BBC’s Science and History Development department. The idea arose from an article titled “Patrick Moore’s Guide to the Universe” published in the April 2007 edition of Focus magazine. That article featured the “top 50 things everyone needs to know about our cosmos” and was comprised of computer generated images and a brief summary of interesting sites across the Universe. The researcher saw the article and noted that an abbreviated version would be of interest for television, not least because there was a large amount of space related programming being considered and developed at that time in light of the impending 50th anniversary of Sir Patrick Moore’s “Sky at Night” programme.
The BBC’s initial proposal was for seven one-hour long episodes each focussing on a separate wonder. From the very outset the title was set to be “Seven Wonders of the Solar System”. The programme was intended to feature CGI representations of the planets together with images taken by space probes and also other ‘live action’ footage.
The BBC “Seven Wonders of the Solar System” project has been in development since April 2007 but is yet to be commissioned. The BBC programme will now most likely be made up of 5 hour long episodes covering the seven wonders and has been described as a landmark look at our Solar System. The BBC programme will be presenter lead (sic) and will continue to feature live action footage together with CGI.
In light of the above we believe that there is no case for the BBC to answer in respect of you allegation of “wrongful appropriation”. The BBC’s programme was conceived before your submission was made and so copying cannot possibly have occurred. Furthermore, your submission has not formed a basis for the BBC programme. Finally, the BBC’s programme is substantially different in any event, most notably in that your programme is exclusively in CGI whereas the BBC’s will be presenter lead (sic) and featuring live action; your programme is also a one off whereas the BBC’s will be in multiple parts. In fact the only similarities that are apparent based on the information you have provided are the title – at which no copyright can exist in any event – and the idea of a tour around interesting sites in the Solar – an idea of such generality that it cannot be protected by copyright.
We trust the above deals with your concerns.
July 28. I reply:
Thank you for your reply of June 20, 2008. I have been abroad, hence my delay in responding.
Alas, your “investigation” does not deal with my chief concerns. Firstly, if Andrew Cohen is executive producer of the BBC series “Seven Wonders of the Solar System”, as we understand is the case, why did he reject our proposal without a hint that he was proceeding with the same idea? At best, it would have been a courtesy. At worst, it smacks of someone perhaps engaged in wrongful appropriation.
As Mr Cohen wrote: “I read your idea with great interest, but unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be able to tackle (sic) at present as I think that the subject matter isn’t suitable for the direction I’d like to take HORIZON.” For Horizon, maybe not. But elsewhere in BBC, Mr Cohen obviously embraced the idea with such enthusiasm that it is to spawn, according to your letter, “a landmark look at the Solar System”.
Secondly, single or series, presenter-led or otherwise, is not the point. 7 Wonders of the Solar System is an inspired idea, conceived by National Geographic Channel USA and developed by York Films. In an industry such as ours, the York Films proposal was easy enough to access. It was pitched in Manchester in November 2006 at the World Congress of Science Producers and again in Lucerne in May 2007 at an EBU co-production session. BBC attended both events. Our offer was in currency for at least a year before April 2007 when your researcher, apparently, read Patrick Moore’s article in Focus.
Quite how Dr Moore’s “top 50 things everyone needs to know about our cosmos” became “Seven Wonders of the Solar System” escapes me. It also eludes our science editor Dr John Mason who was largely responsible for developing 7 Wonders of the Solar System. Dr Mason, no doubt, will be musing on the topic with Dr Moore at the planetarium they jointly run at Chichester.
Of course we are not claiming copyright to the title. That would be impossible and absurd. What we are claiming is wrongful appropriation.
August 5. BBC Legal replies, refuting any suggestion that it “appropriated” our idea.
Andrew Cohen was not engaged in the development of the BBC’s “Seven Wonders…” until some time after your submission was received and rejected. There was therefore no possibility of either “discourtesy” in not notifying you of the BBC’s programme or of him being “engaged in wrongful appropriation”. He had no knowledge of the BBC project at that time.
Mr Cohen became involved in the production of the BBC programme in about October 2007, by which time it was already essentially a fully formed treatment. Mr Cohen has had some creative input as Executive Producer since October 2007 but this has merely built upon the treatment presented to him. In any event, Mr Cohen has informed us that he has no recollection of your submission until this correspondence arose and that it has had no bearing on the BBC programme. He receives numerous treatments and those that are rejected are returned without copies being retained and it is entirely reasonable that he should have forgotten your submission in the 4 months between your submission and the BBC programme reaching him. Mr Cohen did not appropriate any copyright protected elements from your submission for use in the BBC programme.
As stated previously we do not accept that your idea of a tour around the Solar System is sufficiently original to be protectable. Notwithstanding that there has not in fact been any copying, as we have set out previously, the formats of the programmes are very different and this demonstrates that no copyright protectable elements of your programme have been infringed (insofar as copyright exists in your submissions). The differences between the programmes are therefore relevant.
We have made our position clear on the genesis and development of the BBC’s idea and do not intend to repeat these points here.
We did not claim that the article was adapted to form the television programme, merely that as a result of seeing a list of interested objects in the cosmos in that edition of Focus Magazine the researcher was inspired to develop a treatment with a list on a similar theme. The fact that your idea was pitched at various events which may have been attended by BBC staff is irrelevant as we have set out the actual development process of the programme. We do not consider that this matter relates to Sir Patrick Moore in any way.
We believe our position has been made clear.We refute any allegations of what you term “wrongful appropriation” which is not in any event a legal cause of action. We hope that this will resolve this matter and no further correspondence will be necessary.
Yours faithfully,
BBC
BBC Litigation Department
August 28. With summer almost gone and execs returning to their desks, we review our options.
To us, the BBC position remains unconvincing. That Andrew Cohen “has no recollection” of our submission suggests that he either didn’t read it or is suffering from amnesia. But come on, our proposal was an eye-catcher – a clever idea (courtesy of National Geographic) and well written (to quote our Danish co-producer). A competent commissioner, however inundated, is unlikely to forget it within four months of becoming executive producer of a project with an identical title – 7 Wonders of the Solar System.
And what of Martin Davidson of BBC Specialist Factual? Remember, on July 6 2007, he wrote of our proposal: “It’s just what I’m looking for but too similar to ‘Cosmos: A Beginner’s Guide’, coming this summer on BBC2.” As mentioned above, the BBC series and our proposal proved as different as chalk and cheese. It will be interesting to see if Mr Davidson or his department are involved in the BBC project.
No doubt our lawyers – who have won so many disputes for York Films - would urge us on and run eagerly with the case. But that’s a costly and time-consuming hassle. Life is too short. And since we developed the project, so much else vies for attention.
Crucially though, a decision by National Geographic Channel has coloured our thinking.
Shortly after word of the projected BBC series, NatGeo withdrew from the York Films project. The problem for NatGeo – and I believe them given the state of the US economy – had become financial. NatGeo were certainly not joining the BBC venture.
August 29. Alack and alas, we inform our good friends in DR, ORF, NRK and SVT that we are shelving 7 Wonders of the Solar System. They respond with support and understanding. As for York Films, we’d still love to realise 7 Wonders as a super-dooper stand-alone HD special. It’s always a possibility in our unpredictable industry. But with York Films in better shape than for the past 25 years, we would never proceed without copper-bottomed financing – absolutely no deficit funding.
As for myself, the prospect of hanging up my production boots looks more enticing than ever…