The Knowledge - Paul Wiegard
The Knowledge is a series of interviews with leading screen industry figures, conducted by experienced film journalist Andrew Urban and published via the CSB blog.
Paul Wiegard - biography
Paul Wiegard is the Co-Founder and Co-Managing Director of Madman Entertainment. Madman specialises in wholesale distribution of DVD movies into retail and rental stores throughout Australia and New Zealand. Other rights management activities undertaken by Madman include licensing for Television, VOD, Hotel, Airline and Merchandise. Madman’s operations include one of Australia’s leading DVD production studios and a commercial printing operation. Madman is Australia’s leading distributor of anime, Asian cinema, Australian and global independent film. Madman is owned by Funtastic Limited, and managed by founders and directors Tim Anderson and Paul Wiegard. They have recently been jointly selected as winners for Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year - Southern Region.
Audio download
Chapter 1 - The beginnings of Madman - 10 minutes
- Naming Madman, starting in a bedroom, pop culture junkies
- First buy: Neon Genesis
- Minimal working capital
- Lots of quick, intuitive decisions - built the business organically
- Invested in software for DVD authoring
- Every small decision is a considered decision
- Madman now employs 130 staff - need to look ahead
Video downloads
Chapter 2 - Development and growth - 16 minutes
- Managing relationship with partner, Tim Anderson
- Different skill sets
- Acquisition process & specialist staff for various strands
- Why and how Madman was acquired by Funtastic (in 2006)
- Valuation of Madman
- Grew organically, had no debt
- Challenge 1: the emotional connection
- Challenge 2: cultural fit
- Major changes to warehousing and accounting
- Strong intranet
Video downloads
Chapter 3 - Coping with change - 10 minutes
- Post-acquisition benefits, changes, evolution
- Rights management: ‘leading edge v bleeding edge’
- Change keeps the distribution business alive
- Online distribution - multiple options
- Growth: bigger is not necessarily better
- Turnover (2007/8): $50 - $60 million
Video downloads
Chapter 4 - Investing in projects and personnel - 14 minutes
- Beginning to invest in scripts and projects
- Madman has released around 50% of Australian feature titles in past 3 years
- Sense of pride in Australian content
- Getting involved in 2/3 features per year
- Producer offset - no direct impact on Madman, because we’re not producers
- Decisions based upon cultural significance and business potential
- HR - the challenges of communication and goal-setting
- Low staff turnover at Madman
- Managing the workforce - balancing control and autonomy
Video downloads
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