Where are they now?

Each year at Banff a number of producers are chosen to bring their projects-in-development to the attention of the international television industry in the hopes of securing coproduction partners and/or broadcaster interest. Playback went back to the 1999 pitchers to find out whether any of their projects have been greenlit for production since last year’s Banff Market Simulation. Stories continue to p. B23.

Last year’s market simulation at the Banff Television Festival included Alyse Rosenberg’s latest big idea, Ruby’s Hat. The original property, the story of a young woman’s quest for her birth parents and the roots of her family tree, was pitched by Rosenberg and partner Red Apple Entertainment (formerly Deer Park Entertainment) as a series for television.

The project, which started as a movie idea, already had a commitment for 50% of the financing (before Banff) through an agreement struck by Deer Park and France’s Marathon International. The effort at Banff was designed to attract a Canadian broadcast partner.

However, despite a good pitch, Rosenberg and Deer Park did not come away from Banff in 1999 with any new partners.

According to Rosenberg, last year’s Market Simulation was poorly timed for Canadian broadcasters. ‘Nobody was moving on much, at that moment,’ she begins. ‘Who knows, maybe if we came back, this week, it would be okay.’

Still, Rosenberg has her doubts. ‘I think [Banff is] also very entertaining and I’m not sure, to be honest, if the audience is really coming there to buy. I think they’re coming there as a curiosity.’

With a soft spot for the Ruby project, Rosenberg has not stopped looking for a North American broadcast partner. In fact, on a recent trip to Los Angeles, Rosenberg says she ‘kept pulling it out of [her] back pocket’ when talking to potential partners. Currently, abc is perusing the proposal.

Red Apple, whose official 18-month option on the property has already expired, maintains its relationship with Alyse & Her Big Ideas, Rosenberg’s company.

‘The arrangement that Red Apple and I have is, whenever the opportunity is right, we’re both pitching it – whether they have a formal option or not,’ Rosenberg explains.

Only when a North American broadcaster is found will Rosenberg and Red Apple re-approach their partner in France. ‘If we need it,’ Rosenberg says. ‘We might not.’

Curiously, Rosenberg’s history at the Banff festival goes back further than last year’s pitch session. In fact, while skiing in Banff, Rosenberg got her first job in the industry making signs for the festival’s art department.

Although Rosenberg praises the ‘very supportive and encouraging environment’ at Banff, she says she will never take part in the Market Simulation again.

‘It was personally one of the most challenging and gut-wrenching things I’ve ever done. Years earlier, when I would go to the festival as a delegate and watch it, I would say, ‘I will never be up on that stage. Never.’ I couldn’t imagine doing that, because it looks so scary,’ Rosenberg says with a shiver.

However, she is quick to point out the value of the experience to her future projects. ‘It was a fantastic exercise in dissecting, analyzing and polishing a pitch. Would I do that again? No. But I hope to carry those skills into my [future] pitching.’

The harrowing simulation experience didn’t turn Rosenberg off Banff and the ‘energy in the mountains.’ Although she will not be attending this year’s festival, Rosenberg plans to one day make a triumphant return.

‘I gotta tell you – my biggest dream would be to come back and win a Rockie there one day, because I feel like it all started [for me] at the Banff Television Festival.’

In the meantime, Rosenberg is keeping Ruby’s Hat under her wing. ‘What I’m looking to do with it right now is really change gears and redevelop it more for the Internet, and package it as an interactive program. My gut [instinct] is, it’s not a wrong idea. It just hasn’t found its home yet.’