“Well-known actors cost more”

After Omar Sy in “Lupin”, Gaumont has called on another film star, Daniel Brühl, for his new series “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld” which will be released in June on Disney+.

Isabelle Degeorges, president of Gaumont Télévision France for 11 years, will present a new episode of “The Art of Crime”, France 2’s flagship series during the Séries Mania Festival, which takes place in Lille, until March 22. This festival is a forum that brings together 4,000 professionals from 60 countries, producers, channels and platforms from around the world. The opportunity for her to take stock of the constantly changing world of series.

Series “Lupine”born at Gaumont in 2017, was developed with Netflix, and not with historic broadcasters, such as TF1 or France Télévisions. “It wasn’t a simple franchise, explains Isabelle Degeorges. We had to succeed in twisting it to modernize it. We decided that it was perhaps more interesting, and that it would give us more freedom, for the character not to be Arsène Lupin, but to be a fan of Arsène Lupin.

A different way of working

Isabelle Degeorges collaborates with all the traditional channels, and notes that the work is not quite the same with the platforms, even if this is evolving. It rather evokes discussions instead of impositions. “We are all trying to make the most beautiful series there is”, she says. For example, it is Gaumont who for “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld”a series for Disney+, has chosen actor Daniel Brühl, “It was our initial desire, which we shared with Disney and they supported us in this desire.”

A desire that can cost much more since now, well-known actors no longer say no to a tailor-made role. “Today, the quality of French series and their writing mean that leading actors like Omar Sy come, and want to lend their name to the characters we created for them, notes Isabelle Degeorges. “We are able, through our stories, to inspire and interest them.”

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