Oliver: No trust in talent-led indies
- Published: 22 August 2008 17:39
- Author: Chris Curtis
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- Last Updated: 23 August 2008 13:00
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Edinburgh 08: Jamie Oliver has said talent-led production find it difficult to convince commissioners to take them seriously.
He said his indie, Fresh One, had now managed to shake off the stigma of being a talent-led indie through attracting the right staff.
Oliver said: "No-one trusts talent-led production companies. You need key people that channels trust. [At first] all the good people get snapped up by channels and other production companies, and you're left with freelancers."
He added that Fresh One was now able to pitch more ideas that did not feature him on-screen. Its non-Oliver commissions include To the Manor Bowen for Living and Morrissey's Perfect Pint for Channel 4.
"It has been a problem and we've only just broken the back of it. For the first six years they [commissioners] wouldn't trust anything without me in it."
Oliver also revealed some details of the reason he split from Optomen to form Fresh One. He stressed he had no personal problem with Pat Llewelyn but said he had wanted more control.
"If you want talent to stay, it's important they're involved in everything. I was told I was, but I wasn't.
"It was about undoubtedly about money – but not directly. It was about rights, about copyrights. It was about feeling incentivised."
