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Experienced Fellow

Christopher Meir

Christopher Meir

Doctorate from: 
University of Warwick, United Kingdom 

Department at UC3M: 
Department of Journalism and Audiovisual Communication

E-mail: cmeir@hum.uc3m.es

CONEX Fellow from 23/03/16 to 30/06/2019

Project

"StudioCanal and the Making of a European Major"

The rivalry between Hollywood and Europe for domination of the world film and television industries is one of the most storied battles in the history of the two media. It has also been one of the most one-sided, until recently. With films like Lucy, The Impossible and Paddington, European studios are producing hit films that are unprecedented in terms of global success, while Europe also produces global television phenomena like the Bron/Broen and The Killing. 
This project examines Studiocanal, the foremost European company in the contemporary film and television industries and chronicles its rise from the production subsidiary of French broadcaster Canal Plus to being the most important global challenger to Hollywood’s dominance. 
Equal parts historical study, industrial analysis and critical survey of some of the most important films and television programs in recent European history, the project provides overview of the development and output of this important company while also considering urgent questions of political economy for the future of European media production and consumption.

CV

Christopher Meir received his PHD in Film and Television Studies from the University of Warwick in 2008. His research has focused on the industrial aspects of film and television history. His thesis was concerned with the interrelationships between industrial factors, including governmental film policy, in Scottish cinema with larger questions of national identity. This research formed the basis for his book Scottish Cinema: Texts and Contexts (Manchester University Press, 2014). He was also co-editor of Beyond the Bottom Line: The Producer in Film and Television Studies (Bloomsbury, 2014), the first collection specifically devoted to critically examining the work of producers in the two media. Additionally, he has published a number of articles on industrial themes, including the work of important film producers, film marketing and transnational industrial practices.

Books and Works Edited

  • Mass Producing European Cinema: Studiocanal and its Works. New York: bloomsbury. Monograph. ISBN: 978-1501327100
  • Studies in European Cinema, vol. 16 no. 1. Special issue on Corporate Agency in European Cinema. Guest Editor.

Journal Articles

  • "Icarus in red: Understanding EuropaCorp's Failed American Experiment". Cahiers de Champs visuels (forthcoming, 2019).
  • "Becoming a Global Producer: Creative and Industrial Change at Post-Studiocanal RED". Journal of British cinema and Television, Volume 16 Issue 3, Page 305-326, ISSN 1743-4521.
  • "Euroepan Cinema in an Era of Studio-Building: Some Artistic and Industrial Tendencies in Studiocanal's Output. 2006-Present". Sudies in European Cinema (2018) https://doi.org/10.1080/17411548.2018.1471030
  • "The Danish producer in an Era of convergence and globalization: An interview with Meta Louise Foldager", Journal of Scandinavian Cinema, 6.1 (2016), pp.39-51. Doi: 10.1386/jsca.6.139_1 
  • "Studiocanal and the Changing Industrial Landscape of European Cinema and Television", Media Industries Journal, 3.1 (2016),pp.49-63.

Chapters in Edited Collections

  • "The Emergence of Pan-European Film Studios and its Implications for Co-Production Studies and Policy". In Julia Hammett-Jamart, Petar Mitric and Eva Novrup Redvall (eds.), European Film and Television Co-Production:Policy and Practice. London. Palgrave Macmillan 2018: pp. 121-136.
  • "From European to Hollywood and Back Again: Aardman and its Studio Partners". In Annabelle Honess Roe (ed.), Beyond Stop-Motion Film: Production, Style and Representation in Aardman Animations. London: IB Tauris ( forthcoming, 2018).

Invited Lectures

  • “Current Trends in European Film and Television Industrial Practice”. Institut national de l’audiovisuel de la France and Panthéon-Sorbonne Université. Paris, France. January 31, 2019.
  • “Researching Caribbean Cinema Beyond Cuba: Challenges and Methods”. Presented at the University of Zaragoza. Zaragoza, Spain January 22, 2019.
  • “Researching Film and Television Corporations: Why it’s Important and How We Should Do It” Saint Louis University Madrid. Madrid, Spain. November 6, 2018.
  • “European Screens in Era of Studio Building: Some Tendencies in Studiocanal’s Output, 2006-Present” Invited lecture at the Center for Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Queen Margaret University. Edinburgh, UK. November 8, 2017

Research Presentations

  • “Film in an Age of Content: Towards a Critical Agenda for Understanding Netflix Original Movies”. SCMS Annual Conference. Seattle, WA, USA, March 13-17, 2019
  • "Independent distributors and European Film Circulation: The Case of Spain's A Contracorriente Films". NECS Annual Conference. Amsterdam, Holland. June 28, 2018. 
  • "From "Rooted Regionalism" to Global Producer: Red Productions Before and After Studiocanal". Transnational Television Drama. Conference held at Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark. June 8, 2018.
  • "Two Tendencies in Studioncanal's Output, 2006-Present". Media Industry Studies: Current Debates and Future Directions. Conference held at King's College, London, April 19, 2018. 
  • "Distribution-Led Production in European Film and Television: Studiocanal's Output, 2006-Present". Elements of Success conference, Aalto University. 
  • "European Screens in Era of Studio Building: Some Tendencies in Studiocanal's Output, 2006-Present". Invited lecture at the Center of Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Uk. November 8, 2017. 
  • "Studiocanal and French Cinema: Local and Global Ambitions and Tensions in Canal+'s Production and Distribution Company". French Media Research Group Meeting on Canal Plus. University of Newcastle. Newcastle, UK. November 10, 2017.
  • "The Recent Rise of Integrated European Studios: Corporate Bodies and European Cinema". NECS Annual Conference, Paris, France. June 30, 2017. 
  • "Bambú Producciones and Contemporary Spanish Television Drama". Co-authored with Concepción Cascajosa. Researching Media Companies Producing Audiovisual Content conference. Inland University of Norway. Lillehammer, Norway. April 21, 2017.
  • "Conglomeration and Confederation in the European Film Industry: Contextualizing the Corporate Dimensions of EuropaCorp", EuropaCorp: A French Major? Symposium. Universitè Paris Diderot, Paris, France. January 13, 2017.
  • "De Facto Co-productions?: European Studios, Co-Production Studies and Policy", European Co-Production Symposium. University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. November 23, 2016.
  • "PolyGram and Studiocanal: Continuities and Discontinuities in European Studio Building", ECREA Annual Conference. Prague, CZ. November 3rd, 2016.
  • "Polygram Studiocanal and the Pursuit of a European Studio, 1991 - Present". Presented at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies conference, Atlanta, USA, April 3, 2016.

Other Dissemination Activities

  • "Feria Madrid por la Ciencia y la Innovación", March, 2019.
  • "Meet the Fellow", Abril 22,  2016.