Cannes: Surely unprecedented in Canadian production history, Toronto-based Alliance Communications has 30 television movies and eight series in development with American end users, including major networks and cable networks. According to Alliance’s chairman and ceo Robert Lantos, it’s more than double the level of activity a year ago.

Alliance has quickened its development pace with close to $8 million in spending in fiscal 1997, in line with the $7.7 million spent in ’96, but considerably ahead of the $4.3 million invested in ’95.

The company made a major commitment to development in the 1992/93 period, the impact of which took hold in rather spectacular fashion in 1995 when revenues jumped 114% to $233.8 million from $108.9 million in ’94.

Alliance went into the business of tying up talent with ‘exclusive or housekeeping deals’ at least six years ago with writers like Barbara Samuels, Wayne Grigsby and Jeff King.

‘At first our focus was completely on Canadian-born writers and producers we felt were exportable to the u.s.,’ says Lantos. ‘We’ve simply expanded on that philosophy and we now have similar arrangements with talent that is not Canadian.’

Talent deals

The deals extend to actors, producers and writers prominent in both the u.s. theatrical and tv businesses.

Included are John Woo, Diane Keaton and Luke Perry, the latter two in both performing and coproducing roles; Francine Lefrak, an Emmy-winning producer on Miss Rose White; Lewis Chesler, producer on The Hitchhiker and Model By Day; Stanley Margolies, producer on the acclaimed Roots miniseries; Glenn Davis and William Lauren, the writing team on Woo’s Once a Thief; producer/writer/director John Kent Harrison; and Dan Petrie, writer on one of the Beverly Hills Cop feature film installments.

‘We have deals like this with some 15 to 20 people,’ says Lantos. ‘At the end of the day what you are judged by – and ultimately your success – flows not from dealmaking, although that is a very important skill, not from infrastructure, but from the quality and success of the programs you make.

‘Our deal with Diane Keaton, like with John Woo, is exclusive to television. She is a directora terrific actress and major star who has had very little exposure in television. We think that in taking a theatrical talent of that order they become very marketable (in television), and so it’s worth our while to tie them up on an exclusive basis.’

Keaton will both star and coproduce, and while Lantos says there’s no announcement, there is an advanced script in hand and production start slated for ’97.

In the mix

Lantos says the ability to do business, especially to presell to American and international networks and distributors as diverse as TriStar and New Line in the u.s., and TF1, Canal +, ard, rtl, the bbc, and Pro Sieben in Europe and the u.k., stems from past successes and a track record.

‘Ultimately that is the most important thing you can have in this business.’

When asked what percentage of the eight tv series in development will be Canadian, Lantos replies: ‘What I’m saying is these (projects) all have u.s. end users; some of them don’t have Canadian end users, some of them do.’

He says a project’s national status is properly defined by ownership and the control and flow of economic benefits.

‘But if you are talking about culturally specific Canadian, there is a difference, and I’ll accept that difference.’

Alliance ‘remains active in culturally specific programming as part of the mix’ and has several new projects in development with cbc, says Lantos.

The library

‘We are in the business of owning that which we make, of building our library and assets. We don’t do service work and we don’t latch on to projects that others own. And that’s a more labor-intensive, time-consuming, long-term investment, because in order to own usually we have to develop.

‘That means the payoff comes usually several (two or three) years after.

‘In (fiscal) ’95, the growth was much more moderate (15%) because we did not make a further leap in terms of the level of investment. In ’96, we doubled the amount of money we’re spending in development and the payoff on that will only gently surface this year (late in ’97) and will really start to hit in ’98 and ’99.’

Revenue from Alliance’s library is growing at a compounded 50% a year rate, and was close to $11 million in fiscal ’96.

As for production actually spawned from development activity, the success rate varies considerably from company to company, but Lantos says even for Alliance, a 50% success rate represents ‘a best-case scenario.’

‘That’s the nature of development, it’s risky.’

At mipcom, the big news for Alliance was the confirmation of vital presales for the tv series Once a Thief, says Jean-Michel Ciszewski, senior vp.

In short, it means the financing on the $26 million, 22-hour action series is in place for a January ’97 startup in Canada.

‘Since we didn’t have a pickup from the networks we’ve managed to finance it through the international sales,’ says Ciszewski.

Alliance had hoped for a deal with a u.s. network following the l.a. screenings, but stayed cool and financed the production with a coproduction deal with Germany’s Pro Sieben and presales to Mediaset in Italy, Tele 5 in Spain and TF1 in France.

Ciszewski says Once a Thief will be seen in primetime with lots of ‘action but not violence.’

Children’s sales were up at mipcom, with new seasons for ReBoot, Mirror, Mirror and Beast Wars. Alliance also has world rights on the new Samuels/Grigsby drama series Black Harbour.

Paris-based Ciszewski says this year’s mipcom was ‘the biggest market in Alliance history,’ due in large part to business generated by Once a Thief.