Veteran sales agent Jacques Le Glou of Mercure Distribution is enjoying good sales on Albert Dupontel's cult movie Bernie, jointly handled with Le Studio Canal +. Following its success in France, where it will end up with 800,000 admissions, the black comedy has been sold to the French speaking territories (including Canada) and Spain. Le Glou has had two offers from the UK and is expecting to close deals with Italy and Germany in the very near future. Le Glou is also optimistic about Jose Laplaine's Macadam Tribu, the story of two brothers with different points of view who hang around the bars and boxing rooms in an African city.
Otherwise, for him as for the majority of independent sales agents in France, things are just getting tougher and tougher. 'Ten years ago we were 45 companies; today we're only five and in a few years there will be nobody left,' warned Le Glou. 'The fact is that the big players like PolyGram, UGC and those affiliated to TV channels like Le Studio Canal + or TF1 International are now buying all rights for France and abroad, even for small original films, so there is nothing left for us,' he lamented. 'As our overheads are increasing but our sales commission stays at the same level, it's very hard to break even!'
What keeps him going is the success at the local box office of first feature films such as Bernie and Pascal Bonitzer's Encore (in Mercure's line-up), which should make 400,000 admissions. For Le Glou, the best way to build on his relationships as a sales agent and keep afloat is produce. He is currently developing two projects: a comedy called Tranche de Cake for which Stephane Audran has given her approval, and Hammam with Lio. Another project should follow from a script by Jean-Claude Carriere. Thanks to his good relations with some independent producers such as Jean-Michel Rey (Rezo Films), Mercure will have four new titles ready for Cannes. Annika Pham
[Home ] [Content ] [The Sponsors ] [The Team ] [Comments ] [Help ]
