The Knowledge - Roger Le Mesurier
CSB has been working for months on an exciting project with film journalist Andrew Urban of Urbancinefile. We’re interviewing film and television practitioners about their business experiences.
Our aim is to develop a deeper understanding about the history of business decision-making in film and television and to share with our audience the wisdom from the accumulated mistakes, experiments and achievements of the contributors.
Roger Le Mesurier - biography
Roger Le Mesurier is an award-winning producer with over 30 years experience in the Australian film and TV industry.
He began as a script editor on classic Australian TV series including Homicide and The Sullivans, before going on to produce, in partnership with Roger Simpson, AFI and Logie award-winning shows such as Stingers, Good Guys Bad Guys and Halifax n.p.
Audio download
Chapter 1 - Starting out - 12 minutes
- Relationship with Roger Simpson began in 1971 and first production was the film Squizzy Taylor
- Established the company and framework for operations – two companies, one production company one holding company
- No working capital
- As producer you have to use your own money
- After getting first project, fell in a hole – had no time to get subsequent projects going
- Plan was to make both film and TV
- Sword of Honour, delayed by lawyer’s mistake but big success
- Developed relationship with networks
Video downloads
Chapter 2 - Working with networks and funding bodies - 8 minutes
- Ideas came from us, networks would suggest general direction
- Cashflow always a problem – both a bit naïve
- Sold TV series ‘Skirts’ to Seven – realised there were cashflow gaps, went to the bank
- Used funding bodies for development support
- Long term benefits of keeping rights
Video downloads
Chapter 3 - Working arrangements - 9 minutes
- Sometimes two or three shows shooting at once – expanded as needed
- Never grew core staff beyond five or six
- Purchased own premises in 1989 – a good base and tax deductible
- Almost all international revenue went back to investors
- The partnership worked well; Roger was predominantly the writer, I was the producer
- We could always deliver - that helped in a business sense, because networks would come to us confident of that
- You have to have vision as producer, to listen
Video downloads
Chapter 4 - Challenges - 11 minutes
- Dealing with networks got harder and harder
- Costs started to rise, and network presale levels had not gone up proportionally
- Foreign sales lagged behind
- Contracting series TV
- Networks no longer want to commit ahead
- Co productions are very hard creatively and legally
Video downloads
Chapter 5 - Reflections - 5 minutes
- Exit strategy - three-year plan
- No option to sell the business – but the company goes on managing the rights
- Sold off properties
- Achieved what we set out to
Video downloads
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