Bauer, Halkin Ride in Tandem
By John Hopewell
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) –
Executive managing director, Studiocanal TV; managing director, Tandem Productions
“I simply wanted to continue creating great stories,” Bauer says about why she resigned as exec VP of international fiction at Germany’s ProSieben and founded Tandem. The Canadian had worked at Alliance Intl. in Paris before moving to ProSieben. “I loved doing it from a network POV — that gave me a faster position of making things happen. But I thought: ‘We believe in these stories. We’ll convince someone to join our stories.’”
That basic premise — great stories attract great partners — has remained with her for the past 20 years, whether as a partner at Tandem Communications and Tandem Productions, or now as Studiocanal TV executive managing director as well.
Testimonials for Tandem 20th anniversary reiterate at least three points: Her near unrivaled knowledge of the art of international co-production; her passion; her energy. Both producer Robert Lantos and director Alex Kurtzman call her “a force of nature.” Writer Harlan Coben may put it best: “She is the consummate producer — professional, creative, engaged and most of all, passionate. Rola will fight hard for you and your vision, and that’s the biggest rave I can pay a producer.”
TIM HALKIN
Managing director, Tandem Productions; managing director, Studiocanal TV
When launching Tandem, Bauer and Halkin wrote down on a piece of paper the first production they’d really like to make. “We both wrote ‘Ring of the Nibelungs,’” Halkin says.
Born in Brooklyn, an opera fan from an early age, Halkin worked at the Metropolitan Opera before studying at its Ludwig-Maxilimilians U. in Munich. After stints at Buena Vista Home Entertainment and ProSieben’s international fiction division, where he worked with Bauer, Halkin partnered with her on Tandem Productions since its inception with Bauer focusing on . His greatest joy as a producer: “The point when the financing comes together, and you know that the narrative you’ve worked on so long with your creatives will actually come to life.”
“Tandem is a bicycle with Rola in the front steering and me in the back pedaling and sometimes braking!” Halkin jokes.
