Marc du Pontavice.

All eyes were on Marc du Pontavice when he spun Xilam out of the former Gaumont Multimedia in 1998. But then having been the head of one of the most successful animation companies in France, he's used to the limelight. The company had enjoyed a successful run from 1985 to 1998 but troubled times for parent Gaumont wrote its obituary. Gaumont, the parent company, diverted funds from Gaumont Multimedia into its troubled French multiplex theatres and for this signaled the end of the growth of his division.

It was time to move on. He left Gaumont in December 1998 as CEO, but remained at the studio as a freelance executive producer for the second season of Oggy and the Cockroaches. While doing so, he was developing his own shows (including Lucky Luke) for his new company, Xilam. He says: "During the year 1999, from that position, I could clearly understand that Gaumont was no longer very committed to the development of the animation business. As a result of which my proposal to take over the studio and the library came for them as a relief. And we closed this take over deal in December 1999."

Oggy and the Cockroaches, the story of a trio of cockroaches who pester and drive Oggy to points of madness. © 2001 Xilam.

A Diversified Studio
Now firmly ensconced in his old studio, but at the helm of his own company, du Pontavice is putting into play a different form of economic model than that of most studios. He's looking beyond TV to film and games and expects to have a third of the business TV, a third games and a third films within two years. The TV distribution business is partnered by IGEL. It's a 50/50 deal for the catalogue but IGEL is not a shareholder in Xilam, or vice versa. It's a structure he's happy with now as it means he's free to develop and produce shows, which is what he likes to do.

The growth of the telly animation industry and particularly its rapid acceleration has been startling. He casts a weathered eye over the current state of play: "This business invested massive growth between 1993 and 1998. It was supposed to fall in 1999 but because of an increase in the stock market, continued to grow." After years of following the stock market, people are now becoming more real and realizing that the future is still in the business of buying and selling programs -- the TV market, not the hyped and exaggerated business of the stock market. And so, he says, there's been a consolidation of the animation business: "less crazy, but definitely healthier. It's good for those committed to the market."

Xilam's The New Adventures of Lucky Lukeseries tells the story of the cult cowboy who can shoot faster than his shadow. © 2001 Xilam.

TV Strategies
One of the downsides of the European stock-fuelled boom is the library's full of product currently stagnating in companies throughout Europe, but notably Germany. "A lot of these companies have not had their costs amortized at all," he notes. Some of these shows have not been seen internationally. Playing the stock market card is a risky business and more suited to the film industry than TV, says du Pontavice. The upside can be huge, but so can the outlay, and the damage if it goes wrong. "Apart from being a gamble, it's also an inappropriate strategy for TV," he says. "You can't speculate on TV like you can in film. You can't dream of making a fortune out of one show. You can make a nice business, but not massive wealth." He advises caution to would be producers: "No one should start production without 75% of the market financing in place," meaning the key economic countries to bring in the funding.

At Xilam, he's concerned about delivering shows that are better than the ones before, but then he says he always has been. At the new place, he's embarked on a strategy of alternating a classic property with an original one. So far the former is Lucky Luke and the later is Rapido. He wanted to do Rapido because it smacked of the cartoony Oggy and the Cockroaches, but with talking. Meanwhile, another classic property is already lined up, though du Pontavice is coy to reveal it just yet. Gaumont Multimedia was known for its success in the U.S. so no surprise that du Pontavice is gearing up his shows to sell there. Rapido has been developed with the U.S. market in mind and with his track record at Gaumont Multimedia, this is a man who knows all about how to do that. He elaborates on some key points: "There's a pacing issue in the story, which is a very important element." And unwritten censorship is a bugbear: "There's a very complex, non-written censorship system which has to be navigated."