Q & A with Andy Heyward, DIC Entertainment

Andy Heyward has held only two jobs in his life. The 51-year-old was with Hanna-Barbera for five years, but since 1982 he has been chairman and CEO of DIC Entertainment.

After graduating from UCLA in 1975 with a BA in philosophy, Heyward joined Hanna-Barbera Productions. He worked there as a writer and story editor under Joe Barbera. He started as a gofer, parking cars and cleaning the warehouse, all the while working at the foot of the master.

Barbera taught Heyward, then a young writer, all of the essentials, such as developing storylines, making gags play and fixing timing. Heyward sat with Barbera in the booth when shows were being recorded, going over storyboards and learning how to clean them. The unusual oportunity allowed Heyward to write and direct many classic series, including The Flintstones and Scooby Doo.

In 1980, Heyward moved to France, where he joined DIC Entertainment's predecessor, DIC Audiovisual, S.A.R.L., a production company that specialized in children's animated programming. There, Heyward helped create what was to become DIC's signature property, Inspector Gadget. In 1982, Heyward returned to Los Angeles to establish DIC's U.S. office. Over time DIC developed a library of more than 2,500 half-hour episodes, including Madeline, Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Back in 1987 Heyward led a leveraged buyout of DIC from Radio-Television Luxembourg and Frenchman Jean Chalopin. Subsequently, Capital Cities, which owned ABC, bought control of DIC. When Disney acquired Capital Cities/ABC Inc., the acquisition included DIC. In November 2000, Heyward partnered with Bain Capital Inc. to acquire the assets of DIC from The Walt Disney Co.

Q: Now that DIC is independent again, what is your biggest challenge?

A: The biggest challenge is always to come up with good, creative, commercial properties that audiences want to see. Some things are timeless... in entertainment you always come back to telling good stories with characters that are interesting. Those are the first things I always look for. In today's environment [in] which [there] is a lot of vertical integration [such as] studios [owning] networks... you fall back to the basics. If you've got a strong property there always will be a place for it.

Q: Is that mandate even greater now that you are an independent?

A: I think there's probably a little more opportunity for us today because being part of Disney [put] certain contraints upon us. International [development] is so important. Buena Vista International generally did not sell to Nickelodeon, did not sell to Cartoon Network or Fox Kids because they were competitors to The Disney Channel. Those are now outlets that are open for us and we look forward to working with them, as well as [with] The Walt Disney Company.

Q: Boston-based Bain Capital Inc. is probably a new name to our readers. How would you describe the company?

A: Bain is a venture capital firm. It is certainly one of... the most high regarded companies in that area. They are known as the Tiffany player in the venture capital field. They have been putting more and more attention in the media sector. We're very fortunate to have gotten involved with them.

Q: Will DIC continue to have a relationship with Disney?

A: Absolutely. We have many things going on with them. We value them as an important client. I have a lot of wonderful, close friendships there. We work with the home video problem. We have a significant amount of programming done. We work with The Disney Channel and Toon Disney. We have Sabrina, The Animated Series on ABC. [Shortly] we're going to announce another series on ABC. Inspector Gadget is going to be made into a direct-to-video movie.

Q: Which of the many animated characters created at DIC do you think is the studio's signature?

A: I would say probably Inspector Gadget. There are several other characters that are very important to us that are evergreens and international, like Madeline, Carmen Sandiego, Dennis the Menace, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario Brothers, Sabrina, The Animated Series.

Q: How does Inspector Gadget maintain its popularity?

A: I think it's a wonderful character and [it has] good storytelling. It's something that has resonated with kids. We've had it since... 1983. It has never been off the air. In 1983 we had it licensed in first-run syndication. We're now producing a spin-off called Gadget and the Gadgetinis, which is going to be on Fox Family this year.

Q: Earlier this year, you reunited after nearly 20 years with Jean Chalopin and Bruno Bianchi for Gadget and the Gadgetinis for Fox Kids Europe. What was that like?

A: Jean [Chalopin] is an extremely creative individual. It was a pleasure and a thrill to work with him in every way. It always has been. Jean, as you know, actually began DIC [DIC Audiovisuel of Paris, a subsidiary of Radio Television Luxembourg] and really didn't want to be in the producing area; he wanted to stay in writing. We were producing this for European content and we needed to have a European writer. I called Jean and asked, 'How would you like ot be involved in a new version of Inspector Gadget?' He said, 'That's great. Can we get Bruno [Bianchi], who was the director?' [Bianchi was -- and still is -- running the creative of Saban Europe.]

So we contacted Bruno and talked to him about the idea. He said, 'I'm under contract to Saban.' I called Haim Saban [chairman, Saban Entertainment] and said, 'We have an idea we want to show you.' ... We went through the concept [and sold him on it]. This was a reunion of not only Bruno, Jean and myself, but Haim, who with his partnership with Shuki Levy, did the music [for the original Inspector Gadget].

Q: To what do you attribute the low ratings of the English-language version of Sailor Moon?

A: The original syndication of Sailor Moon had terrible time periods. As you know the syndication marketplace in the U.S. for cartoons is virtually non-existent today. It was going in that direction when we took Sailor Moon into syndication [1995-96]. We had 5, 5:30, and 6 a.m. We thought the series was over.

General Mills was interested in acquiring it and trying to syndicate it in better time periods. We made a deal with them and they did the following season. As a result of that, Cartoon Network took notice of Sailor Moon and came to us and said, 'We want to license this. We think this will fit perfectly in an animé block we're developing.' We were able, with General mills, to make a deal with Cartoon Network; ...it's now going into its third year and it's doing gangbusters -- it has just been renewed for another three years. We're producing an all-new package of Sailor Moon. The merchandising is doing terrific. The videos have been doing terrific. So this was really serendipity.

Q: In the fall of 1998, one trade publication claimed DIC had 21 different children's series o nthe air -- 13 in syndication and 18 on cable networks ranging from Nickelodeon to The History Channel. Was that the high-point for the studios in terms of output?

A: I can't tell you exactly, but I think we have more shows on the air today than in any other time in the history of the company. We have Inspector Gadget on Nickelodeon, Sailor Moon on Cartoon Network, Madeline on The Disney Channel, Sabrina the Animated Series on ABC and UPN, Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century on Fox, the upcoming Gadget and the Gadgetinis on Fox, Mummies Alive and The Incredible Dennis the Menace in syndication (through General Mills), The Wacky World of Tex Avery in syndication (also through General Mills). We have coming up shortly Poor Richards Almanac on PBS, Captain Planet on Cartoon Network, probably a dozen series on Toon Disney -- suppling about one-third of their output today, ranging from Sonic the Hedgehog to Wizard of Oz to Super Dave. We're in a very unusual spot with the diversity of client base that we have.

Q: What has DIC's experience been with the Internet?

A: I think we were the only company that did not jump into the Internet. I'm saying 'Thank God,' and pinching myself every day now. Over the last three years we probably had a couple of proposals a week for something to do on the Internet -- a cartoon network on the Internet, this project here, that project there. It was like being in a chandelier store [not knowing] which way to turn. We thought, let's just sit on it and wait and see what happens, let the smoke clear.

Q: But do you have a website?

A: No; we've participated in a few other parties' websites at various times. We're really kind of going slowly with the whole Internet thing. We're going to put together a strategy that we see is connected to a business model that makes sense. What we don't want to do is say, 'Yeah, we're here at the party, too,' and throw up some stuff and not really have it have any effect, except for the bragging rights and the honor to lose a lot of money very quickly.

Q: In general, do you think the appetite in the marketplace for children's programming is diminishing or increasing?

A: The appetite is very strong for American product. We're fortunate; we have a very good (and very faithful) client base. We've worked with many of the same ones for years and years. We have a co-production deal with Media Assets in Italy. We have a long-standing relationship with Super RTL in Germany. In France we work with TF1 and M6 very closely and we do French-content productions through our studio in France every year. We do a lot of work in the U.K. We have programs under license with the BBC, GMTV, all of the cable networks there. The international marketplace is a very important one for us. We began as a European company. Twenty years ago we were a subsidiary of RTL. We maintained very close relationships there. I speak six languages. I'm in Europe and Asia all the time.

Q: With the Disney buyout under your belt, what have you done to reestablish DIC as an independent company?

A: We brought on a lot of new people, but we also kept a lot of core people. I'm vrey proud that DIC has had a very modest turnover over the years. Many of the people have been with me from the very beginning [such as] Mike Maliani, who oversees our creative department [as chief creative officer]. He's been with me since 1983. He was a storyboard cleanup artist at Hanna-Barbera when I found him. Marsha Good man is [Sr. VP] of talent. She started as a secretary working for me in 1983. ...At the same time
we have brought in some wonderful new people [such as] Melissa Bomes [exec VP of worldwide consumer products]. Pat Ryan, who oversaw our international business before we were part of Disney, has come back [as exec VP of international sales]. We have a wonderful executive who has been shoulder-to-shoulder with me in the trenches through the process of acquiring the company back from Disney, Brad Brooks, who came out of investment banking.

Q: Tell the readers of Animation Magazine about your new slate of animated programming.

A: We are going to be producing a minimum of 26, possibly 52 episodes of Action Girls [now tentatively titled Mary-Kate and Ashley: Movie Toons]. It will be on either a broadcast or a cable network. We're producing 52 episodes of Gadget and the Gadgetinis. Poor Richard's Almanac will be 40 episodes on PBS. We're producing 26 episodes of Salem (we're still pitching it domestically but have a number of international partners who have signed on). Super Duper Sumos [is in the same position] domesticaly; it may wind up on Nickelodeon. We have three direct-to-videos o the books: Sabrina, Madeline and Inspector Gadget. Also, we're producing a series called Evolution for Fox, based on the Ivan Reitman/DreamWorks film coming out in the summer of the same title; it's sort of in the spirit of Ghostbusters. We're doing 26 episodes in animation.

Q: What do you think is the responsibility of a producer of children's programming?

A: We havea unique constituency to serve. Children are very impressionable. We need to havea higher degree of responsibility for what we impose upon them. I'm very sensitive to this myself. I have three children. I'm careful about the influences that are around them. We who make children's television have to be sensitive to our audience, whether it comes to the images we put in our shows [or] to the how characters are stereotyped; whether it has to do with the environment. Without getting too crazy and becoming subject to an overly done pro-social mandate, we have to be sensitive to what we're putting forth. It's an area I will always consider has to be part of our business. DIC has taken a proactive role, always.

Reprinted without permission of Animation Magazine

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