Los Angeles-based producer and world gross sales veteran Pia Patatian is seeking to soar even larger with the launch of her new manufacturing, gross sales and financing firm Cloud9 Studios. Patatian debuted the corporate as Harmony Studios on the eve of AFM final 12 months however has since rebranded to the extra optimistic-sounding Cloud9 (avoiding a potential copyright infringement case alongside the way in which), and is primed, on the European Movie Market in Berlin, to carry some much-needed hope to the battered indie theatrical business.
A Lebanese-Armenian who grew up in Spain and studied in Denmark earlier than getting into the worldwide movie enterprise — “I’ve been touring my complete life,” she notes. “I’ve lived in possibly 4 or 5 totally different nations in two continents” — Patatian has been a fixture on the worldwide movie scene for near twenty years. She started her profession at Common Photos in Madrid, labored as director of worldwide gross sales at Blue Field Worldwide, and director of gross sales and advertising and marketing at Kathy Morgan Worldwide earlier than shifting to Capstone Photos, the place she was senior vp gross sales, after which to Arclight Movies, the place she served as president of worldwide gross sales by mid-2024.
Cloud9’s Berlin slate consists of a few Arclight tasks — the romantic comedy Underneath the Stars starring Toni Collette and Andy Garcia, which Patatian produced, and the real-life JFK conspiracy thriller Assassination, starring Jessica Chastain, Brendan Fraser and Al Pacino, which Barry Levinson is directing — in addition to new fare together with the erotic thriller Blurred with Man Pearce and Alex Pettyfer.
“The primary movies we’re bringing to market are very star-driven, with very large names, however we’re additionally seeking to construct up new expertise,” she says, pointing to Spanish actress María Pedraza, who co-stars in Blurred. “These are the sort of new abilities I wish to carry to the market and to construct.”
Patatian additionally talked to THR about Cloud9’s technique, new approaches, and
Why the title change, and what’s Cloud9 presupposed to convey about your imaginative and prescient for the corporate?
We needed to rebrand the corporate as a result of we couldn’t use Harmony Studios, the title was already taken by Common Music. We don’t wish to get into any authorized factor, so we selected a reputation meaning one thing to everybody. Cloud9, that feeling of optimism, of happiness, is the aim of our firm — we wish to convey that feeling to our patrons and to our viewers with the films we do.
The place does that optimism come from? As a result of just about each time I communicate to somebody within the business as of late, the speak is of how the field workplace hasn’t recovered since COVID and how one can’t get indie movies financed as of late. The place do you see causes for optimism?
It’s true, there’s been a giant change within the impartial movie enterprise just lately, however — and I’m sorry, however we have been overdue — there was a giant want for change on this business for years, and all of us knew it. Audiences had grow to be bored with watching, again and again, the identical tales, the sequels, the franchises, the remakes. They’re seeking to us, the producers, to wager on new tales, on new abilities, and on tales with good messages in order that we are able to carry again audiences to the film theaters. That’s the aim of Cloud9: to carry motion pictures with good messages to the viewers. Have a look at what Angel Studios did with Sound of Freedom. I’m not speaking in regards to the content material of the film [the film has been criticized as supporting the extremist QAnon conspiracy theory] however their enterprise technique, their advertising and marketing. That was fully new. In case you went on-line to purchase tickets, you would [using Angel Studios’ Pay It Forward scheme] purchase tickets for individuals who couldn’t afford them. And have a look at the success they’d! [Sound of Freedom grossed more than $184 million domestically]. That’s what this business wants: A change from how issues have at all times been finished.
So what’s Cloud9 planning on doing otherwise?
In financing, for instance, we have now a small fund, which we’re planning to develop, and that we wish to use to have the ability to finance our personal movies and people from exterior producers. In fact, we’re going to do presales, that’s the bottom of our firm, however I don’t wish to do presales if I don’t have to. The business could be very centered on presales, and that’s positive, but when I’m actually assured in a venture and I can finance it myself, why ought to I am going and presell it? The best way we function is by mixing presales and fairness, that’s how we’re financing our personal movies. However the distinction is we’re solely going to provide, or purchase, movies that I’m enthusiastic about, the sort of movies the place I’m assured they’ll make distributors and audiences completely happy. I’m not going to take motion pictures from exterior producers that I wouldn’t be completely happy watching myself within the cinemas. The aim of this firm is to be a theatrical firm. We wish to carry out 12 to fifteen motion pictures a 12 months and possibly half of them ought to be theatrical. That’s our aim.
How is that technique expressed within the lineup you’re bringing to Berlin? You’re bringing a few attention-grabbing tasks to the market, together with a Toni Collette rom-com, and Assassination, which you guys only in the near past acquired.
Underneath the Stars, the romantic comedy with Toni Collette and Andy Garcia and Alex Pettyferand Eva De Dominici, is a brilliant, enjoyable film. It’s a romantic comedy that was shot in Italy final 12 months, and it’s filled with hope and love and happiness and friendship for the viewers.
Assassination is a thriller centered on a brand new concept in regards to the assassination of JFK, it’s based mostly on a real story of this very well-known journalist [Dorothy Mae Kilgallen] performed by Jessica Chastain, who didn’t consider what she was seeing on the information in regards to the assassination and began investigating on her personal. I’m not going to reveal the top of the movie, but it surely’s a very thrilling, theatrical expertise, the sort of film that can appeal to the viewers again to the theater. Al Pacino, Brendan Fraser and Bryan Cranston are co-starring with Barry Levinson from a script by David Mamet.
It’s true that the primary movies we’re bringing to market are very star-driven, with very large names, however we’re additionally seeking to construct up new expertise. Blurred is an effective instance. That is an erotic thriller starring Man Pearce and Alex Pettyfer, that are large names, but additionally María Pedraza, the Spanish actress who is understood for Elite and Cash Heist, two enormous Netflix reveals, however she’s nonetheless a brand new title within the film business. That is her first large worldwide movie.
Assassination has been hit with a lawsuit, with Nicholas Celozzi, one of many screenwriters, accusing the manufacturing firm, 308, of breach of contract. Is that this going to impression your potential to promote the movie?
No. In the intervening time we don’t see any impression from the lawsuit on us.
We at the moment are virtually a month into the brand new Trump presidency. What impression have you ever seen on the business underneath this new administration, and what impression do you count on to see?
What I count on is what I count on from whoever runs the presidency, which is that they’ll assist producers [in the United States] with the incentives we have to proceed to make motion pictures on this nation. I haven’t seen any shift but. However the movies that I’m producing, most of them have been shot within the U.S. and Europe, and I’m going to proceed doing that. We’re going to shoot Assassination in Kentucky and, as a result of we wish to do three to 5 motion pictures a 12 months that we produce in-house, we’re already scouting in Kentucky for a second movie. If it makes extra sense to shoot a movie in Canada, Mexico or Asia, I’m completely happy to do this.
Is there any concern about tariffs, about new commerce obstacles making it tougher to promote into sure territories sooner or later?
It’s one thing I’ll be discussing with my patrons in Berlin, but it surely’s true that — and we’ve seen this for the previous few years — that there are points, with China for instance. Asian patrons aren’t shopping for like they used to, they aren’t so lively, and it’s been a couple of years now since China imposed their new quotas [on U.S. films], so we should be a bit extra artistic. If we have now a giant movie and we are able to do a very good sale to China, possibly as an alternative of taking pictures the movie within the U.S., we’ll go and shoot it in Europe, so the movie is assessed as European, giving us extra prospects to promote it into China. This isn’t new, it’s been occurring for the previous 4 or 5 years.
Issues have grow to be extra difficult throughout Asia. Korea shouldn’t be in a very good place proper now. Many of the Asian distributors aren’t pre-buying early, they should see one thing, a promo, or the completed movie, earlier than they decide. But it surely at all times relies on the content material. In case you carry an enormous motion movie, or one thing actually attention-grabbing for them, to market, they’ll nonetheless pre-buy. And I see numerous positivity elsewhere: Europe is ok. Latin America is ok. Once more, relying on the sort of tasks it’s important to promote.
Are there sure genres, or funds ranges, which can be notably powerful out there in the mean time?
In case you have a look at my slate, we’re doing movies with smaller budgets, underneath $10 million, to over $30 million. I don’t see an issue with budgets. For the actually big-budget motion pictures, the over $50 million ones, I do know patrons are anxious in regards to the costs and complain about the price of these tasks, however ultimately, the patrons complain however they nonetheless purchase. All the things sells, relying on the standard of the venture. It’s not the funds, it’s not the expertise, it’s the standard of the venture. With out a good script, you possibly can neglect it.
There’s numerous disruption out there calendar as of late. AFM has shifted round, from L.A. to Las Vegas, now again to L.A.; Toronto is gearing as much as launch a market subsequent 12 months. What’s your sense of how issues will play out? Which markets will survive?
I’ve to say, I actually like Berlin. I just like the European markets, Cannes and Berlin as a result of they collect all of the European patrons collectively. I like AFM as effectively, now that it’s going again to L.A. AFM was my first market with this new firm, and numerous my patrons weren’t there as a result of they couldn’t come to Vegas. If the patrons are completely happy, I’m completely happy. With Toronto, it will likely be attention-grabbing, as a result of Toronto is originally of September, which is when the varsity 12 months stars in Europe, so it’s laborious for these patrons to go away residence to go to Toronto. September additionally has so many festivals: Venice, San Sebastian, Zurich.
I do know there are numerous patrons who can’t afford to do each Toronto after which AFM, particularly Europeans and a few Asians. So we’ll must see if we are able to preserve each markets or if one goes to vanish. However there are such a lot of questions that also should be answered. Let’s wait and see how this 12 months’s AFM in Century Metropolis goes.