INTERVIEW: Iván Díaz, Head of International at Filmax

I spoke with Iván Díaz, head of International at Barcelona-based Filmax, about the remake market, the sale of rights on Cesc Gay’s Sentimental (The People Upstairs)—now on its way to becoming one of Europe’s most-resold IPs—and his thoughts on Olivia Wilde’s US version, The Invite.

This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.

There have been 5 remakes already and 4 more in the works, is that right?

Yes… Sentimental, from the beginning was a movie that we all felt very proud of. It's a movie that worked very well. The fact that it was also initially a theater play I think contributed to having a much better script and sense of humor. Everything was tested in front of a live audience for many nights, so we have very good material.

But the problem is that the movie was ready during the pandemic, so we had to make the decision of whether to release it or to keep it. We were one of the few companies that were releasing films during the pandemic because we have many Spanish films and we didn't have to wait for any international holdback, so we could make that decision.

Of course, we would have made more money if we had waited, but we also wanted to support the cinemas in a way... At the time that we released Sentimental theatrically, the cinemas were open, but only partially. And in Catalonia [where Filmax is based], the restrictions were more severe than in Madrid, for instance, and this is relevant because normally when we release a film in Spain, Catalonia accounts for an average 25% of the box office, but for Cesc's films, he normally he makes a little bit more, 35-40% of the box office in Catalonia, so it's one of the main local markets for his films...

It was a movie that everybody liked, but its distribution was affected by the pandemic. But at the same time the pandemic had a positive effect, I think, in terms of the remake deals. Everybody liked the film. If the film wasn't that great, this wouldn't happen. And also at the same time, everybody realized that it was so easy to replicate because it's one location. So it's an easy production, and for a first project after the pandemic, it made total sense.

Were any of the remakes filmed during the pandemic? Because it also seems like a very simple film to make during isolation.

It was not designed or made on purpose [for the pandemic]. I think Cesc was developing both Truman and Sentimental at the same time. He sometimes writes two scripts at the same time. He decided to shoot Truman first and it was also very successful and very good for remakes that were also made from that film. But he decided that Sentimental (The People Upstairs, as we call it internationally) makes total sense also as a theater play, and he'd been doing a lot of things in theater, so he decided to set it as a theater play…

But in the end, I think the fact that it was so simple, so funny, so witty, so intelligent, and so easy to replicate has helped a lot with our remake deals.

Did anybody make the remake before the original was filmed, based only on the script?

No. The Italians had made a previous remake of Truman, so they moved very fast because there was a precedent. But they waited to see the whole film.

Since the box office wasn't great, I imagine that was somewhat compensated by selling the remake rights. Can you talk me through that and the market today for remakes?

...Remake deals have helped us compensate what we've lost in terms of the decrease of pricing in some countries. Of course this cannot apply to every project. Some projects are very difficult to replicate internationally, but for those that have that potential, including our TV series sales, we take that into account if it has great remake potential. When we make estimates, we consider that and we can see much more money there.

Since we thought it was going to have a lot of potential, we did the deal but it's very important to control that all those remakes are limited, that they can only be exploited in their domestic territories. Because if not, if you have four or five remakes traveling around without control, with no restrictions, then you can have legal problems and your business potential decreases. It’s a very bad situation if you cannot control what's going on with the IP.

So this is very, very important.

Of course, you cannot limit an American remake. An American remake has to be distributed worldwide. But with the other remakes, we were very clear from the beginning that the potential or the numbers have to make sense, taking into account only your domestic business. I mean, if there are other deals, if we can make something outside of your territories, we'll do that and we can share the profit, we can share the business, but we will only do that if there's no legal conflict, if there's not a previous deal.

Some countries are culturally very close, so it makes sense that if you make a remake in one country, it can travel to that other country. But for other remakes, it's very unrealistic to think that they are going to travel because we've made so many deals already. So it's important that the producers that are interested in these properties that have so many remake deals, you just make your calculations considering how much money you can make in your own territory.

And if any extra money comes from international distribution, it's just a plus. It's just an extra profit. But you cannot count on any money from international distribution for the operation to make sense because it’s unrealistic that's going to happen.

How does that work in Latin America? Do you sell remake rights per territory or across regions?

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Latin America is different. I mean, years ago we've done that. For instance, with Red Band Society [the series created originally in Spain that was adapted for TV in the US with stars Olivia Spencer and Dave Annabelle, as well as in other countries], we have different versions in some of the Latin American countries.

But Latin America has become much more a unified territory. So, let’s say when someone produces a remake in Latin America, especially if it's a big production, and they plan to release that remake all

the Latin American continent, we have a double market situation because you can do one in Portuguese and one in Spanish, but they have to have the ability to make a VOD deal with a platform for the whole territory. So that has changed. Years ago, we did it country by country. Right now, I think that makes less sense.

And, it may be obvious, but why can't you limit an American remake in this way?

Well, because we have to be realistic that it's the main market, it's the main industry, and it is very difficult or unrealistic that a remake is going to be produced in America if they can only have domestic distribution.

And at the beginning, we could, we thought, "Well, maybe if we have a big American remake and it's successful, that will kill the possibility of doing other deals." But the reality is that since The Invite has been a great hit, we're making more deals. It’s helping us. It's not an obstacle…

I don't know if you're aware, but The Invite was supposed to happen years ago, they were about to shoot, and then the [Hollywood] strike happened, so the project fell through. So, it’s been a few years—this project was affected by the pandemic first of all, and by the strike in LA with the actors. It was great because of this that the producers were able to eventually do it, but they needed some time because of the strike, so this also gave us time to make other deals. So, the property was slowly building its prestige and its portfolio… It's becoming one of the biggest European IPs, together with Perfect Strangers…

Have you seen many of the adaptations?

Not all of them, but I have seen a lot of them… I think the original material is very good, and it was a very good starting point for everybody to prepare their adaptation. Since we're talking about sex, relationships, you have to have a local point of view, because those are probably culturally different in how we deal with those subjects from one country to another. That’s why it is interesting to compare one movie to the other, because it says a lot about how we deal with relationships in different countries. Some adaptations are more similar.

Red Band Society was a great hit that was adapted in many countries, and it was a delicate show because it was about kids that were sick. It was good to compare, and you learn a lot of things about each country and how they deal with those sensitive issues.

I always find American remakes the most interesting because they have to universalize already universal themes, but they're not making them local for only an American audience.

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Yeah, audiences worldwide, we're used to American storytelling. We have another example, which was the REC remake [the horror film from Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza that also launched a franchise]. It was a surprise in the marketplace.

When we released the first REC, everybody liked it. It was of course a genre film, but it was very authentic and entertaining and funny in a way as well.

And then Quarantine was produced and was a great success in America, but internationally it didn't have legs in the end because the original film was such a great success. We did so many good sales with REC

and it worked very well in many territories, it was an example of a different situation.

Do you feel that comedies and horror are the genres that are most likely to be remade?

I think so, and thrillers also. You need a good premise, something original. With romantic comedies, there's this thing that people are used to American actors or their local actors, so it's more difficult that the original film, even if it's good and we like it, can travel because business-wise it makes more sense for a client to remake that in their own countries.

When we started to make remake deals, we were influenced by this rare Quarantine situation, but we thought that it was probably going to be easier to sell movies that have a good plot, but maybe the execution wasn't that great so it wasn’t a big success… But in the end, we've changed our opinion. Now, after all these years, we think that probably because our business is a risky business nowadays, people tend to replicate only things that have worked. You have to prove that you really had a success in your local market.

People are not willing to take risks. 'Yeah, I like the plot, the execution of the film wasn't that great, but I know where the mistakes were. I'm gonna go for it.' This is not happening as often as we thought years ago it would. It’s more: 'Okay, this has worked. I like it. It's great. I know how to make it. I will try to do the same in my own country.' This is what everybody's thinking right now when they're considering a remake.

Is the remake business relatively new for Filmax?

No, REC and Red Band Society were both years ago... At the beginning, it was something we’d try only when we had something really specific and interesting. Now, it's part of our daily work, it’s almost as if it was another territory, like we have clients from Germany, clients from France, and we have remake clients.

Can you talk about what the range of typical prices is for remakes right now?

Typically, you make an option deal because even if they like the project and they've done some work already, they still need to finance that production on their own. So typically, you give an option of 12 months, 18 months for a small figure, so it’s not a big risk for the client but big enough that it makes sense for us to make that deal. And then when they trigger the option, when they finance the project, we normally try to have a percentage of the budget as the price. The standard in the market, though it changes, can be from 3% to 5%.

That depends, of course, on the negotiation power of each part. It depends on the territory, but that's the average. And then of course, you can always add things depending on the negotiation. If you think the chances are high that the local remake is going to be a great hit in their country, you can have some bonus depending on box office or some other elements you can add to the deal… And then you can set a floor, you can set the ceiling. I mean, there are many specifics on those deals, but the main terms are those.

And is the US remake typically selling for significantly more than others?

Not necessarily. You always think, 'Oh, if there's a big American remake, it's a great success for me as a seller or for the company or for the project." So sometimes you prioritize that… But at the end of the day, sometimes you realize that you don’t necessarily get the biggest prize or the biggest return from America. Sometimes it can be from another country. This is very clear also with TV series, because a remake that is successful—of course, the remake that is successful is the remake that is produced—but when you are talking about TV series, if you have five seasons, of course you're going to get much more money than if only one season is produced.

When you sell a film for distribution, it's easier to go with the client that you prefer because you know the movies that they have been releasing, you know how much money they got recently on the box office. But a remake client is different. It’s someone who understands the project. It's someone that is in love with the project. It has to be someone that is able to move forward with it, and that doesn't necessarily have to be the biggest company. You want someone big enough in the marketplace, but that has good connections, that understands the project, but also that this project is a priority for them.

So deciding who to ‘marry’ is more difficult in a remake deal, I think… Normally you make more money in America, but in the past there have been other projects where we've made more money maybe in France or maybe in Italy.

Will Filmax benefit from the box office on The Invite?

This is a private negotiation that we can’t disclose, but yeah, the fact that the movie works well, we will see a little bit of that… The fact that a remake does well is not just what happens in America, but also the international sales, because sometimes, as I mentioned with the Quarantine example, you have a movie that works very well in America, but it doesn't necessarily travel overseas. We have a little bit of that, so we're happy that the movie does well.

Have you seen The Invite?

With other producers, other clients, they don't always share that much information, but David Permut and all the team, all the producers kept us informed. We read the script, so it’s more difficult to be surprised because we were really informed along the way. For me, the most relevant thing is that they are so in love with the project that in spite of the strike and in spite of all the hassles, they were able to produce it and to do a great job. And that says something, you know?

It's a fun movie, and I think it will inspire interest in audiences to seek out the original.

Yes, I like Seth Rogen a lot in the film. I mean, all of the actors, but I think what Cesc had in mind and what Javier Cámara did in the original film, I can see a lot of the original material in his performance, and then he elevates that, bringing something very specific from him. Also, the fact that Penélope Cruz is part of the cast, for Spain and for Europe, it adds a lot of interest and extra value, you know? It's a remake, yeah, but then there's a European element there too.