EXCLUSIVE: France‘s Elevate Management is making some serious moves as the Venice Film Festival gets underway today.
The Paris-based company is rebranding as Elev8on Management and has signed Lovecraft Country and Dexter: New Blood actress Jamie Chung for European representation at the same time. Perhaps most intriguingly, though, it has also launched an AI-powered talent assessment tool that will look to redefine how American talent is likely to fare in Europe.
The rebrand to Elev8on is a “transformation towards sharper, more global and visionary positioning at the intersection of talent management, packaging, and strategic innovation,” according to company CEO Florence Lamy and President Daniel Blanc. They told us the ‘8’ stands for “continuous growth, the transatlantic bridge we operate on, and the infinite potential of the talents we represent.”
Chung, meanwhile, has joined Elev8on’s roster, which represents the likes of Megan Fox, Djimon Hounsou, Clara McGregor, Evangeline Lilly, Holt McCallany, Stephen Manas and Avani Gregg in Europe.
The actress – who starred in HBO’s Lovecraft Country, won a SXSW Special Jury Award for her role in indie pic Eden back in 2012 and appeared Disney animated hit Big Hero 6 among other roles – is represented in the U.S. by Gersh, 3 Arts Entertainment and and Morris Yorn Barnes Levine. Elev8on plans to build her Europe profile across film, TV and fashion.
Pulse By Elev8on debuts in Venice
Chung’s signing comes at a hugely significant juncture for Elev8on, which last year opened a New York office to sit alongside its sport-focused base in Miami and a London office. The company’s principals believes negotiations are too often based on U.S. references or subjective impressions. Furthermore, they say an actor’s success at U.S. box office and in American TV shows, along with their cultural impact in the States, “doesn’t automatically translate into Europe.”
This, they argue, means some stars are overvalued and others undervalued, and European projects are then “weakened from the start.” They add that when the “benchmarks, perceptions, and expectations are different,” talks between U.S. talent and European producers are harmed and often stop “balanced agreements from ever taking shape.”
As such, Lamy and Blanc are introducing Pulse By Elev8on, an AI tool that will deliver an ‘Impact Score’ that “measures the true influence of American talent in the European market.”
The tool will aggregate and weigh multiple factors such as digital presence, European media visibility, search trends, industry recognition and cultural territory resonance to find the “clear, objective and actionable Impact Score.”
Lamy and Blanc say Pulse will help their talent, as they can present influence as a tangible value during negotiations, and use it to shape strategic direction. They believe U.S. agents and managers will benefit from a “precise, objective reading of the European market,” which should improve their hand when negotiating transatlantic deals, and will aid European TV and film producers and financiers by offering validation on casting decisions and investment plans, and creating a common language.
“With Pulse AI, we translate influence into concrete, readable, and actionable data,” they told Deadline. “Our goal is to provide talents, as well as their U.S. agents and managers, with a reliable map to navigate the complexity of the European market — aligning ambition with local reality, and giving our partners the keys to decode, translate, and activate a talent’s true potential in Europe.”
Lamy and Blanc say the launch of Pulse means Elev8on becomes the first European management agency to combine representation with a data-driven approach. With the film world descending on the Venice Film Festival today, Elev8on will be in Italy persuading potential partners about the virtues of their tech. We hear they plan to meet with a high volume of U.S. agents and managers.
The post Elevate Management Rebrands As Elev8on, Signs Jamie Chung & Creates AI Tool That Assesses American Talent’s Chances In Europe appeared first on Deadline.
