TITLES

• “The telenovela is an incomparable vehicle of
communication and entertainment”

• “Americans built up their TV talking to us about themselves”

• The challenge of writing for
the US Hispanic market

• Stella De La Rosa Writing for the European industry


  


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Contents

 • Editorial

• Telenovelas Giants

• Telenovela Stars

• Taking a look at the world of telenovelas

Telenovelas, Fiction and Formats

• Europe
 • Asia
• Latin America

• Only CEO's

• Global Bussines

• Latin America Writers Seedbed

• Marketing & Promotion

•TVMASNOVELAS
2006 Fourth World Summit of the Telenovela and Fiction Industry
  “The telenovela is an incomparable vehicle of communication and entertainment”
Writer, scriptwriter and author, Jorge Maestro, who has worked non stop for decades creating telenovelas, TV movies, series and sitcoms for television worldwide, analyzes the success of formats as one of the phenomena produced in the industry.
Facing the success of formats, Jorge Maestro states that he feels no pressure knowing that the play he is writing must not only be for the local public but also adapt to different global markets. “The format that is bought is the one that worked in the country of origin – the same happened with canned products,” says the Argentine writer.
“Still, it is a trend that will change when businesspeople discover another way to make money with TV contents. But it has nothing to do with creating stories, with cultural expressions. It is a business.” What he states, determined, is that fiction is the genre that most cultivates the loyalty of the audience: “Undoubtedly, it appeals to emotions, entertainment, catharsis; it makes the viewer become a co-protagonist in the story, and does not feed him with pre-digested information.”
The rights dilemma
This recognized Argentine creator participated in countless telenovelas and TV programs in Argentina, and he is a myth in the Latin American fiction industry. He states that series have never left the screen, that it is simply a matter of cycles, and adds that telenovelas “are an incomparable communication and entertainment vehicle. They evolve, grow and do not age the opposite to a bonsai tree,” he defines with his particular sense of humor.

In connection with rights and formats, he assures that it is still not clear how it should be managed. “Producers who work in countries where copyright follows the Berne Convention have no clue what this is about. They assume the ownership of an idea when ideas are not protected by copyright laws. And, on the one hand, the only thing they have are the seeds of an undeveloped idea, and for this actually the scriptwriter or author exist. They create a copyright that does not exist, except in the United States and the United Kingdom. On the other hand, as I said before, it is a business. But, with the same amount of work for technicians and actors, local contents could be developed in each country and, in this way, make each culture be enriched showing different stories and lifestyles,” points out the creator.

Argentine formats premiered in Chile
Currently, Maestro is working in Chile as Script Department Director for Canal 13 Universidad Católica. There, he supports the creation and development processes of the scripts of two telenovelas for the prime time, a youth telenovela and the two series they develop each year. At the same time he receives and selects projects for future evaluation. He is currently leading a team of writers developing the script for the second television series of the year. He is also developing a screenplay and one of his most ambitious projects is to open the first scriptwriting school in Argentina, only specialized in this field. He says that in Chile the local versions of the Argentine formats Floricienta and Montecristo will be shown soon, and that last year Argentine scriptwriter Maria Laura Gargarella developed a very good adaptation of Los simuladores also an Argentine format – that was very well received by the public. “When it is not only a company’s quick business, formats can work. But due to cultural reasons, I support original contents. It is a way to exchange cultures.”