FRIDAY UPDATE: I just heard from a knowledgeable source that the Mark Burnett-IMG deal may be as rich as $500 million -- $250M upfront, the rest earned out...
EXCLUSIVE: I chased a rumor from a month ago that Mark Burnett might be starting his own network. Now I've learned what the already rich reality TV czar (Survivor, The Apprentice, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?) is really up to: making even more moolah. An insider tells me Burnett is negotiating to sell his company to the entertainment and sports management and production behemoth IMG and come on board. I understand Burnett is "in very serious conversation" with IMG chairman Teddy Forstmann, 
whose Wall Street private equity firm Forstmann Little back in 2004 acquired IMG which was founded by his legendary friend Mark McCormack. Forstmann keeps looking for Tinseltown deals so when the LBO prince was spotted having lunch in as public a venue as NYC's Michael's a month ago, it sparked that rumor about Burnett starting his own network. 
Plus, remember that last September Teddy brought HBO's fired Chris Albrecht to IMG as the president of global media and IMG entertainment, made him a special limited partner in Forstmann Little, and gave him a $250 million fund for showbiz content investments. It'll be interesting to see how much bigger Burnett's deal will be. And here's why IMG considers him so valuable: I'm told that, at a Beverly Hills entertainment conference just ... Read More »
I give TV and movie fans a lot of credit: when they get mad, they scare the crap out of the moguls. That's happening at Lionsgate where the studio's phones and email accounts are jammed with angry fans for the past week. They're making a stink because new Lionsgate topper Joe Drake appears to be dumping all of ex-prez Peter Block's movies. That includes Midnight Meat Train, the adaptation of the Barker short story that's a fan fave. Supposedly the trailer tested higher than any film in Lionsgate history. But when Drake took over, he promptly bumped Midnight Meat Train from its May 16th release date. The result was that Rogue Pictures' The Strangers (which was skedded two weekends later) had zero competition in the hard-R category. And guess who was exec producer of The Strangers? Joe Drake.
Then, the websites, Shock Til You Drop and Fangoria found out Lionsgate is planning only a 100 theater run on August 1st to merely fulfill the contractual obligation with Lakeshore Entertainment. The plan is to release the DVD immediately after. So fans are asking if Drake is such a dummy that he'd intentionally sink what to them is a sure-thing hit. And they want to know if the studio that was built on horror gross (both the gory and cash kinds) is going to bite the hand that's fed it so well in favor of four Tyler Perry movies a year.
The result is a lot of anti-Lionsgate blogging in Horrorville by fans, by self-appointed horror flick experts, and also by Barker himself. "I would passionately encourage everybody who cares about my work ... Read More »
You know how there's no fool like an old fool? Well, how about a vengeful fool? So fired New Line founder Bob Shaye told his close pals the following story: 
Years ago, as everyone knows, New Line had Iron Man in development. But then Shaye and Avi Arad, the longtime chairman and CEO of Marvel Studios, got into an argument over whether Iron Man should fly. (This is what grown men debate in the movie biz...) Bob contended that Iron Man would look goofy soaring in an iron suit. But Avi was adamant that the pic had to stay true to the comic book so the character should take to the sky. Eventually the option ran out, and Marvel announced a deal with Merrill Lynch to self-finance future films. Now, most men would have left the argument there. Not Bob. He told his friends that he was so convinced Marvel would run into trouble on its Iron Man movie that he took out a big short on Marvel stock. 
But, as we all know, the pic not only made gobs of money, but Marvel shares shot skyward to an all-time high. And then the stock was recently listed on the S&P's midcap index so it went up another 4%. Now, most men would have given up there and then. Not Bob. He told his friends he was still shorting the stock because he believed Marvel would give it back when The Incredible Hulk failed. That ... Read More »
So now we know with whom David Geffen has been negotiating all these many months. And the newest Hollywood mogul names to put on speed dial are Rajesh Sawhney and Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (one of the world's Top 10 richest men). I can confirm that DreamWorks has secured $500 million to $600 million from India's media and entertainment conglomerate Reliance ADA, specifically its Reliance Big Entertainment, and then will add $500 million to $600 million in debt for what will be a total $1.2 billion financing for its new independent film company. I'm told that DreamWorks 2.0 (yes, the principals get back the name) will make about 6 movies a year when it liberates Steven Spielberg from Viacom Inc's Paramount and all the acrimony of that relationship of the past few years. There's no need for DreamWorks to negotiate a distribution deal for a while, but I'm told that Fox, Universal and Disney would be in the running. Because of Spielberg's long history with Universal and the fact his office never moved off the lot, I've always assumed DreamWorks would return there. But DreamWorks has a lot of ties to Fox, including Geffen's close relationship with Rupert Murdoch and Spielberg's with Fox Filmed Entertainment chairman Tom Rothman.
Meanwhile, DreamWorks and Paramount will battle over Spielberg's exit and all that joint development. Unentangling could really cost Viacom Inc's movie studio. Here's why: Spielberg has the right to terminate his contract as soon as October (because of a key man clause ... Read More »
SUNDAY AM: While No. 1 The Incredible Hulk and 
No. 3 The Happening had better-than-expected debuts overall, they experienced fall-offs from Friday to Saturday: -15% and -21% respectively. The Green Guy, self-financed by Marvel and distributed by Universal, made $21.7 million Friday and $18.4M Saturday for a $54.5 million weekend (vs $62M for the first Hulk). Though The Incredible Hulk is Marvel's 2nd best-known character, the reboot is only the 5th biggest pic for a top Marvel character in a non-sequel opening. Exit polling gave The Incredible Hulk a Cinemascore of A- with male making up 60% of the audince and females 40%; 48% under age 25%; 25 yrs and older 52%; an ethnically diverse audience of slightly less than half Caucasian (46%), followed by Hispanic (28%), African American (13%), Asian (7%), and other(6%). But most interesting of all tThe vast majority of the audience (82%) had seen the 2003 movie. M Night Shyamalan's The Happening from 20th Century Fox started out No. 2 Friday but fell to No. 3 behind DreamWorks Animation / Paramount's Kung Fu Panda. Yet Shyamalan's first R-rated horror thriller still managed a substantial $30.5M weekend from 2,986 venues with $13M Friday and $10.2M Saturday. It earned only a Cinemascore of "D".
For my complete numbers and analysis, see here.
SUNDAY AM: North American numbers are fulfilling what promises to be one of the most interesting box office weekends of the summer movie season. That's because the two films opening -- a comic book reboot, and an M Night Shyamalan horror thriller -- have received really bad buzz for months ahead of time because of their troubled pedigrees. While No. 1 The Incredible Hulk and No. 3 The Happening had better-than-expected debuts overall, they experienced fall-offs from Friday to Saturday (-15% and -21% respectively).
Let's face it, most film analysts thought Marvel and Universal were nuts to go back to the drawing board for Friday's No. 1 The Incredible Hulk after the 2003 Ang Lee/Eric Bana version was beaten up so badly both by critics and the box office. "When Marvel and Universal announced they were making a Hulk film again, there were big whoops this would be the first flop of the summer," a studio insider recalled to me. "But now something good is going to happen." But this was another huge risk for Marvel Studios which self-financed its PG-13 comic book caper for around $160 million. 
Then the studio manhandled both director Louis Leterrier and star Edward Norton, who rewrote the script, then fought Marvel's deep cuts to the final pic which nevertheless was well reviewed (67% positive). So it's miraculous that The Incredible Hulk, which opened in 3,505 theaters, made $21.7 million ... Read More »
I'm told Sunday's New York Times will publish a long-in-the-works takeout examining whether MGM studios is on the brink. Harry Sloan was interviewed extensively for it...
The 2008 Film Financing Conference will be held on June 21st as part of the upcoming Los Angeles Film Festival (June 19th-29th). This very worthwhile day of panels, presentations, and workshops are a must-attend for any first-time or even experienced indie filmmaker because it will address the current (sorry) state of independent film financing. This year’s conference will take place at The Landmark West Los Angeles Theaters adjacent to the Westside Pavilion. On a personal note, I won't be able to moderate the panel Film Financing 2008: Money in the Time of Crisis addressing the current economic climate and its effects on film financing and production, and featuring panelists include Cathy Schulman (Mandalay Pictures), James Stern (Endgame Entertainment), and Hal Sadoff (ICM). Here's a schedule of the upcoming activities so you can plan accordingly:
8 a.m. Check-in
9 a.m. Introduction to the Conference
9:15 a.m. Keynote Speech:
Mark Gill, The Film Department
10:15 a.m. Film Financing 101: Getting the Basics
If you are a newbie, this in-depth presentation on the different ways films are financed is for you. This introductory overview includes an explanation of basic film-financing structures and terminology. All questions welcome.
OR Film Financing 2008: Money in the Time of Crisis
Slow sales at Sundance, a mortgage industry meltdown, a long writers strike, an imminent actors walkout, a looming recession… What’s a producer to do now? Seasoned producers and financiers analyze the current economic climate and its effects on film financing and production.
12 p.m. Domestic and Foreign Incentives: Money Without Borders
Government subsidies, tax credits, rebates and much more… How ... Read More »
SEE UPDATES AND TRAILER BELOW...
I am both amused and appalled to watch from the sidelines this spectacle of Hollywood movie execs trying to figure out how to cash in on the Sex And The City female frenzy. 
(Well, at least until the chick flick dropped 34% from Friday to Saturday, thus easing their initial panic. But the pic did a better than expected Sunday to end up with a final $56.8 million for the weekend.) At least Warner Bros quickly decided to embrace a Sex sequel. But that same studio is sitting on a potential successor, maybe even a reproducible event, about to come out September 12th. Yet WB is giving The Women the cold shoulder. Especially after this weekend, you'd think that Warner Bros would be jumping all over Picturehouse's long awaited Diane English low-budgeted $16.5 million remake of the famed Clare Booth Luce play and 1939 George Cukor film. Forget about the merits of the movie: I'm talking about the potential for box office moolah stirred up by some savvy Sex-exploiting. Instead, I've just been told that Warner Bros is still going to let Picturehouse market and distribute the movie in very limited release even though Picturehouse is in the process of shutting down. Here is Warner Bros able to control the PG-13 comedy -- just like it did Sex And The City from HBO Films and New Line, the studios that created Picturehouse -- but isn't interested.
I'm told Warner Bros execs including movie boss and charter member of the he-man women-haters club ... Read More »
A lawsuit was filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court by Boston-based Allied Advertising Ltd alleging breach of contract, fraud and deceit, and unfair business practices against David Bergstein and his ThinkFilm movie distribution company. 
It seeks more than $4.1 million in unpaid bills and contracts, plus damages, interest and a 5% penalty for all sums not paid in full within 30 days of a demand for payment. It is yet the latest twist and turn in what is obviously becoming a financial meltdown in Bergstein's film production and distribution empire which includes ThinkFilm and Capitol Films. (See my previous, Capitol Films Cash Crunch: SAG Demands Meeting With Owner David Bergstein).
The lawsuit follows Bergstein's reported yacht trip to the Cannes Film Festival , included in the complaint: "Between January and May 2008, while most of the ThinkFilm debt to Allied was outstanding, defendants have gone on a lavish film licensing buying spree at various film festivals around the world, including a film about director Roman Polanski scheduled for release on the Home Box Office cable channel later in 2008."
The facts claimed in the lawsuit point to a business deal gone sour for Allied Advertising, which is in the business of placing advertising and promotion for feature motion pictures owned, licensed or distributed by client production companies or distributors. On June 21st, 2004, Allied ... Read More »
EXCLUSIVE: The following email was sent this month by the Screen Actors Guild to David Bergstein, the owner of Capitol Films, whose financial meltdown has been crushing indie after indie while he reportedly was lounging on a yacht during the Cannes Film Festival. It confirms all my recent reporting:
To: David Bergstein
Screen Actors Guild
Subject: Request for Meeting
Dear Mr. Bergstein:
We understand that Capitol Films and Capco Group are intending to start principal photography on a film entitled Labor Pains on June 2, 2008, utilizing the services of Screen Actors Guild-covered performers. Capitol recently encountered difficulties meeting its contractual obligations to the Screen Actors Guild in connection with projects entitled Nailed, and Love Ranch. Screen Actors Guild performers have also been adversely affected on a Canadian production connected to your companies entitled Bad Meat. Our New York office advised that preparations for your film entitled An Invisible Sign of My Own have ceased. This appears to be a repeated and snowballing problem. It would be in the interest of all parties to meet as soon as possible regarding the financial assurances that Screen Actors Guild will require from Capitol and its related companies on future productions. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, Labor Pains. We would like to discuss these issues with you directly, along with any representatives you may want to include in the meeting. Please advise when you are available to meet with us at our national offices in Los Angeles. I look forward to hearing from you.
Susan Lowry
National Director,
... Read More »
Either this indie is horribly cursed, or Capitol Films is completedly busted, or both. I'm told that IATSE today ordered its members off the political comedy Nailed because the crew haven't been paid. There are no plans to resume filming until next Thursday at the earliest. This is the 2nd time IATSE has moved to protect its union members, but only after the Screen Actors Guild first sounded the alarm bell over Capitol Films' cash crunch and instructed its actors to leave the set earlier this month. "Many of the crew are pissed-off at the IA for waiting so long to get involved. And, now that shooting is 1/2 completed, the question is why, since the IA refused to get involved sooner, are they flexing their muscles now?" one insider asked. True, it's been start and stop, start and stop, again and again. Isn't the saying that after three strikes, you're out? But people still believe in the pic. Amazingly, both co-stars Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal are hanging in even though these shutdowns are a major pain in the ass for them and Russell and everyone else connected with the movie. I'm told the production is officially one week behind schedule, and this latest debacle will push it back two weeks. What a mess. (That is, unless the Academy Awards or at least the Spirit Awards start a new category for Best Tortured Indie Pic...)
... Read More »
EXCLUSIVE: I'm told that, this time around, it's IATSE who has put the screws to the Capitol Films indie film Nailed because its crew members weren't being paid. The pic's union members had been begging IATSE for weeks to get involved over all the payroll irregularities. Friday was supposed to be the deadline set for the crew to get paid since there was a promise of a loan being made by then. But IATSE apparently lost its patience with all the smoke-and-mirror promises so today the union ordered its crew to walk off the production. (Most have lost three weeks' worth of pay.) This also means director David O. Russell and stars Jake Gyllenhal and Jessica Biel are sidelined yet again since this is the second shutdown since the pic began shooting April 15th and was halfway through principal photography in Columbia, South Carolina. The first time was when the Screen Actors Guild told the actors to walk off the film because cash-crunched Capitol Films had made insufficient deposits with the thesp union. This also doesn't bode well for other Capitol Films currently shooting or about to start shooting. What a mess... Since I have to take a personal day today, I will have much more coverage of Capitol Films tomorrow...
IS THIS A MELTDOWN? More Big Actors And Directors Caught In Capitol Crunch
... Read More »
EXCLUSIVE: Is this another wave of bad news? Now a prominent Hollywood film director just emailed me the following allegations about a heretofore unknown battle brewing between the Directors Guild and The Weinstein Co over residual payments for 20 to 30 films that may lead to arbitration or worse. (See below for the emails, which I condensed with his permission.) UPDATE: Tonight I spoke to Harvey Weinstein and his CFO Larry Madden, who both contend they know nothing about this and have not been personally contacted by the DGA. 2ND UPDATE: Harvey called again to say he's "just discovered" that The Weinstein Co uses a third party service to calculate and pay residuals. "Whatever the problem is, we're looking into it immediately." (See his full statement below.)
First, here's a condensed version of the director's emails to me:
"As you know, directors and writers rely on their residuals to survive during hard times. Well, with the past WGA strike and the impending SAG strike, times are a little rocky. I personally have been expecting my Weinstein Co residual check for six figures now since February from when it was due for the 4th quarter 2007. I had the DGA get into it and what I was just told was shocking: For the first time in the history of the company, the Weinsteins haven't paid ANY residuals for last quarter to any of the 20 to 30 films they owe on. The person I spoke to at the DGA thinks the Weinsteins may be having problems.
... Read More »
It sounds like this is the guy who'll know where MGM's money is gonna come from. MGM today announced Bedi A. Singh, most recently the exec VP/CFO of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc, has been named President, Finance and Administration & Chief Financial Officer of MGM, reporting directly to chairman/CEO Harry Sloan. In this newly created position, Singh takes on the overall responsibility for the company's financial activities. This includes oversight of the studio’s relationship with the banking and finance community as well as overseeing MGM’s strategic financial planning, plus other duties.
MONDAY 11:30 PM: Tonight I've just been informed by a reliable source that "Capitol Films just had another movie shut down" -- identified as An Invisible Sign Of My Own featuring America Ferrera, the star of ABC's hit show Ugly Betty. It looks increasingly like a Capitol-sparked meltdown is happening in the indie film market, just as my sources feared. I'll continue to follow this breaking story... So add her name to the star actors and directors like John Cusack, Helen Mirren, Gina Gershon, Joe Pesci, Jan de Bont, and Taylor Hackford whom I've learned have been, and Jennifer Lopez with writer-helmer Don Roos may be soon, affected by this cash crunch surrounding Capitol Films. So it wasn't just Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal and David O. Russell. "This is a big story that involves many projects," one of my sources informs. All the details are here in my post that explains what's really going on...
5TH UPDATE: 'Nailed' Tip Of The Iceberg: Capitol's Money Woes On More Films
4TH UPDATE: 'Nailed' Production Resumed; More Capitol Films Suffered
3RD UPDATE: David O. Russell Film Drama
... Read More »
MONDAY 11:30 PM: Tonight I've been informed by a reliable source that "Capitol Films just had another movie shut down" -- identified as An Invisible Sign Of My Own starring America Ferrera, the star of ABC's Ugly Betty.
So add her name to the star actors and directors like John Cusack, Helen Mirren, Gina Gershon, Joe Pesci, Jan de Bont, and Taylor Hackford whom I've learned have been, and Jennifer Lopez with writer-helmer Don Roos, may soon be, impacted by Capitol Films' cash crunch. "This is a big story that involves many projects," one of my sources informs. All weekend I reported on the on-set drama surrounding Friday's shutdown of the David O. Russell film Nailed shooting in South Carolina, sidelining stars Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal. SAG ordered the actors to leave because insufficient funds were on deposit with the guild. Other unions are looking into the situation. For instance, some Teamsters and IATSE union members left the production because of payroll problems. The film is back shooting today after a Friday-Saturday-Sunday hiatus. But other media sources are now reporting what I revealed on Saturday: that the South Carolina Film Commission may withhold its incentive monies. (A decision will be made when an audit is completed by the panel within 30 days of the end of production.) Now I've learned that Nailed was not the only indie film shut down Friday because of Capitol Films' financing problems: other indie movies have been affected as well. I'm told that "a shitload of people are owed a lot of money," in the words of one film financing expert. ... Read More »
Talk about a Maalox moment: this is the sort of major news that, coming as it does right before this week's upfront presentatioins by the networks, can give CW co-bosses Les Moonves (CBS) and Barry Meyer (Warner Bros) heartburn. According to the business wires, Pappas Telecasting Inc, the largest privately-held commercial broadcast operator in the U.S. filed for Chapter 11 Saturday with plans to sell its 30 TV stations under bankruptcy court protection. 
Pappas cited "the extremely difficult business climate for television stations across the country" in papers filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The Fresno, Calif.-based company's TV stations are affiliated with a number of broadcasters, and include two big Fox affiliates in Fresno and Omaha. But Pappas specifically blamed the "poor ratings of the CW Network" for some of the financial trouble that forced it into bankruptcy. Also cites as problems are the economic downturn, plunging advertising and the cost of converting from analog to digital TV broadcasting.
I'm told the Directors Guild is getting involved same as the Screen Actors Guild vis a vis the indie Nailed and Capitol Films' financing woes. (Previous, ON SET DRAMA UPDATE: SAG Orders Actors On David O. Russell Film To Leave)
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