Oz producers forums to have global accent

SPAA's 14th annual confab an intl. networking event

By PHILLIPPE CAHILL

SYDNEY, Australia -- Against a backdrop of rising concern about the impact of increasing offshore production on the struggling Oz film and TV industry, the Screen Producers Assn. of Australia (SPAA) is staging its 14th annual conference in Sydney next month with a formidable lineup of key international players.

Billed as Australia's "largest and most comprehensive" trade gathering, keynote speakers confirmed for the Nov. 10-13 conference include Fox Filmed Entertainment chairman-CEO Bill Mechanic, Working Title Films co-chairman Eric Fellner and screenwriter Andrew Davies.

Conference discussion panels, featuring speakers from organizations including the BBC, Fine Line Features, Miramax, Canal Plus, Universal, United Artists and Paramount, will address a range of timely industry issues. Topics will include "The New Financing Players," "Digital TV," "The Marketing Process," "Film Festivals" and "Pay TV -- Is Anything Australian On?"

With the conference skedded just days after the opening of the multimillion-dollar Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, attendees are being urged to take advantage of the conference's opportunities to informally "meet, pitch and network" on a global scale.

Presumably, many of the conference's overseas guests also will want to take time out to look over the city's film studio complex, which is already home to offshore productions such as "Mission: Impossible 2" and the next two "Star Wars" prequels.