New film follows Middle East most elusive person Osama Bin Laden

By Robin Rowe

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 4/19/08 – “If I’ve learned anything from big-budget action movies, it’s that complicated global problems are best solved by one lonely guy,” says ‘Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden’ director Morgan Spurlock. “I was looking for someone who’s supposedly a hero of the people of the Muslim world. I wanted to talk to people directly. What do they really think of this guy? Do they put him on a pedestal? What do they think of America?”

“It was a massive undertaking,” says ‘Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden’ producer Stacey Offman. “At one point there were over 200 individuals overseas working on the project.” The producers worked with local filmmakers who strongly advised Spurlock not to come during Ramadan, when Muslims fast each day. In a reversal of his McDonald’s documentary ‘Super Size Me’, Spurlock fasted during Ramadan, and gained access to people by observing local customs. “So many people are afraid to go into these regions, and ask questions,” says Spurlock. “And honestly, I definitely had a lot of trepidation. I think I was scared every other day.”

Venture capitalist Adam Dell helped finance the film.

“Super Size Me did something that none of us anticipated, which is play in about 75 countries around the world,” says Spurlock. “It went so beyond our borders. That made me realize that my next movie I wanted to cover something that was more of a global issue. I live in New York City. I was there on 9/11. Bush had been elected to a second term and Osama released this tape that asked the question…where in the world is Osama Bin Laden. And I said that’s a good question. I’d like to know that, too. We raised a little money for pre-production from [New York venture capitalist] Adam Dell, the brother of Michael Dell of computer fame. About two months into that process we found out [my wife] Alex was pregnant. At that point the film took a real shift for me personally…to what kind of world am I about to bring a kid into.”

“Somebody once said to me that if the documentary you end up with is the same idea you started with, then you didn’t listen to anybody along the way,” says Offman. “Going along with Morgan to places that most people haven’t been to, we go beyond the banter of politics and pundits, and get closer to understanding what needs to happen to really affect change.”

The director said he was beaten in various locations for asking his controversial questions. “There’s a little Israeli town called Sderot where Hamas militants are firing rockets from the Gaza Strip every day,” says Spurlock. “In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem there are bomb squads that are responding to potential IED’s (improvised explosive devices) every day. Whatever country we were in, suddenly there’d be a rocket attack, or a car bomb or an explosion, and we’d be taken in a new direction.”

“When somebody is talking to you about how terrible your country is, you start to wonder, ‘Am I going to become a scapegoat for someone’s anger at U.S foreign policy?’,” says Spurlock. “You don’t know if a guy riding up beside you on a bicycle is a suicide bomber. I personally also thought that I was going to be met with a lot more hostility, that there would be more resentment, that people wouldn’t want to talk to me because I’m an American. It was completely the opposite. People were eager to sit down and share their feelings.”

Distributor: Weinstein Company

Release Date: April 18, 2008

Genre: Documentary

Running Time: 1 hrs. 33 min.

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some strong language

Robin Rowe is a co-founder of ScreenPlayLab (www.screenplaylab.com).

NOTE: THIS FILM WAS FUNDED BY: http://www.impactvp.com/index.html

Independent Producers Alliance Announces Partnership for $60,000,000 Film Fund

Charlotte-based Independent Producers Alliance, LLC (“IPA”) has entered into partnership with Structured Capital Group, Inc.

Charlotte, NC (PRWEB) October 11, 2007 — The Charlotte-based Independent Producers Alliance, LLC (“IPA”), which represents a growing number of award-winning independent producers similar to the original United Artists venture, has entered into partnership with Structured Capital Group, Inc., a New York City financing firm, to provide financing for a slate of family-friendly, independently-produced films.

IPA Chief Executive Jim Van Eerden confirms that the studio’s recent partnership with Structured Capital Group (“SCG”) will infuse IPA with the production financing required to produce an anticipated 5-6 films, each in the $8-$10 million range, and that it will be a revolving fund designed to roll forward into subsequent film slates as well. “

SCG was the right partner for this strategic effort,” Van Eerden noted, “because they created a model for the financing structure that was the best we have seen from an investment point of view.”

SCG’s participation complements the role of Stanford Financial Group in the first IPA Film Fund, which led to the recent productions of ”The Ultimate Gift,” “ Running the Sahara, ” and “ The Perfect Game ” (see summaries following).

Veteran media executive and IPA President Rick Eldridge noted that the funding of this second slate of films provides the studio, which includes state-of-the-art post-production facilities and a developing distribution and marketing arm, with point-to-point capacity for top producers. “We’ve created a unique and supportive environment for some of the industry’s best producers to do great films that merge the independent filmmakers approach to storytelling with a studio model of distribution and support for film projects,” noted Eldridge.

“We were impressed with the quality and financial potential of the projects hand-picked by IPA and their partnering producers,” said SCG CEO Basem Zakariya.

“We recognized the unique leverage that IPA represents in facilitating and supporting the entire scope of film production capacity — from financing, production and post-production to marketing and distribution services,” added Structured Capital Group Executive Vice President Michael Clarner.

The IPA – SCG partnership was arranged and negotiated by IPA Board member Marcia Allen, CEO of Allen & Associates, LLC (“A&A”) an LA-based corporate finance advisory firm. Ms. Allen formed The Movie Group with Frank Giustra and Peter Straus, which was the predecessor company to LionsGate. A&A has subsequently been an investor and advisor for many notable film and television properties.“This combination is a natural,” Allen said, “and will help establish IPA as one of the leading independent film-making brands in the world.”

ABOUT INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS ALLIANCE, LLC (“IPA”) IPA (IPAfilms.com), based in Charlotte, NC, with offices in Los Angeles, operates a state-of-the-art production and post-production facility, as well as administrative and distribution/marketing service units. IPA helps to fund, produce and champion the work of award-winning independent producers who make films that ”inspire people to good things.”

ABOUT STRUCTURED CAPITAL GROUP. INC. (“SCG”) SCG, based in New York City, is an investment advisory and equity participation firm that specializes in creative financial engineering techniques to raise capital for its clients. SCG’s worldwide industry activities are focused in the real estate, motion picture, manufacturing, technology, energy, and distribution industries. SCG’s innovative financing involves structural funds, risk syndication, creative financing and traditional banking and insurance elements that are implemented through replicable strategies for its investment ventures.

ABOUT ALLEN & ASSOCIATES, LLC (“A&A”) A&A (www.allen-assoc.net) is a Los Angeles-based corporate finance advisory firm which has broad-based experience in funding entertainment and media projects, as well as private equity initiatives in other sectors. A&A has established a network of experienced partners who build long-term strategic relationships for their clients and partners.

Recent Release:In the Spring of 2007, IPA released the award-winning feature film ” The Ultimate Gift, ” starring 10-year old Oscar-award nominee Abigail Breslin and TV and film veteran James Garner. On August 21, the film was released on DVD by 20th Century Fox, with a great reception.

Next Scheduled Release:IPA is in post production with its next project, with Executive Producer and Narrator Matt Damon and production companies LivePlanet and Allentown. ” Running the Sahara ” is a documentary feature film directed by Oscar-winner James Moll. The film debuted during the Toronto International Film Festival in September and will be released in theatres in early 2008. Now in Post Production.

Also due for release in 2008 is ”The Perfect Game” starring Clifton Collins, Jr., Cheech Marin and other names of note. The film is based on the true story of a group of Mexican boys who, fifty years ago, became the first non-US team to win the Little League World Series. William Dear, who also directed the popular “Angels in the Outfield,” directs the film.

For information regarding Structured Capital Group contact Michael Clarner or Basem Zakariya at 212-935-3041 or 230 Park Avenue, Suite 810, New York, NY 10169

mclarner@scgionline.com

bzakariya@scgionline.com

The Film Department Is An Independent Movie Finance

Hello Film Makers,

There is a new company on the block seeking film projects for their company:

The Film Department (http://www.filmdept.com) an independent movie finance, production and international sales company founded in June 2007 by former Warner Independent and Miramax president Mark Gill and former Yari Film Group COO and Miramax executive vice president Neil Sacker.

A $200 million capitalization (led by GE Capital) allows the company to fully finance and produce up to six films per year budgeted between $10 and $45 million. TFD makes star-driven, commercial pictures at the high end of every genre aimed at a worldwide audience (notably thrillers, romantic comedies, dramas, psychological thrillers and action films).

Gill is CEO of The Film Department, and Sacker is President & Chief Operating Officer, but the two are running the company as a partnership. They first worked together at Miramax in 1995.

The company has 21 employees and is based in West Hollywood.Allen & Company, a leading investment bank in the entertainment industry, helped close TFD's financing and is assisting the company in identifying and establishing financial, corporate and strategic partnerships designed to maximize the company's opportunities for growth.

International Film Financing

IIFF's Film Financing Workshop (April 2008) on Domestic & Foreign Financing for Indies with IFP Founder & Film Financier Sandra Schulberg

Sunday, April 20, 2008 9:00 am PT - 6:00 pm PTLos Angeles, CA

Following the sold-out success of her previous L.A. Workshop, this intensive, hands-on seminar brings veteran film financier Sandra Schulberg back for more!

It is an integral part of IIFF's unrivaled series of in-depth Workshops featuring such iconic instructors as Hollywood film financing legend Lew Horwitz (April '08 in San Francisco) and Silicon Valley venture capitalist Dr. Frank Greene (March '08 in San Francisco & Los Angeles).

The seminar builds upon the exceptional popularity of IIFF's widely acclaimed monthly Townhall Meetings, first introduced in L.A. during the summer of 2007, and features a highly topical program taught by a leading, world-class expert with extensive practical experience in film finance.

Our goal for this and future events is not only to provide unbiased insight & education about the business of film but also to foster & inform productive relationships between attending professionals.

Over the past years, the landscape of film financing has changed considerably and continues to be in flux. The ongoing democratization of the means of film production has loosed an avalanche of competition in independent film, making it more difficult for even the most talented filmmakers to stand out. On the other hand, film is attracting a wider range of financing sources than ever, including a large and diverse group of private equity investors (e.g., angels).

IF YOU ARE RAISING CAPITAL FOR A FEATURE FILM... DONT MISS THIS INFORMATION!

This company focuses on the structure, layout, research, and presentation of your business plan, as well as the key elements that must be in place prior to creating a plan. You'll also gain insight on the ethics and psychology of selling high - risk investments, tools for making your deal more attractive, tips for identifying prospects, and suggestions for maintaining successful relationships with investors.

Real world strategy for writing a coherent, thoughtful, and powerful business plan:

Contact:

http://www.pollardfilm.com/our-vision/

Filmmaker Stu Pollard — whose producing credits include Ira & Abby, Dirty Country, Keep Your Distance, and Nice Guys Sleep Alone — can give you a hand on raising money. His business plans have raised more than $6 million in production funds.

Footprint Film fund

Footprint Film fund offered to investors - 3 August 2007

Footprint Films and The Route Groups have joined forces to launch a vehicle that provides budgeting for production companies making films, targeting an annualised return of 21% for investors.

Film investments have traditionally been used for the tax relief but after legislations were abolished, interest waned. Lisa Lambert, founder, business development and executive producer of Footprint Films said the idea for the fund came as a result of wanting to make film an asset class in its own right.

The answer was to create what Lambert and managing director of The Route Group, Mark Worrall, have dubbed as a one-stop shop where top-end producers could get the majority of their budget.

The Footprint Film fund is a five-year closed ended vehicle that is seeking to raise $22m before the offer period ends on 15 September and a further $21m during its first year. This will allow Footprint to invest up to $150m in global film projects.

Martin McCourt, former head of TeleMedia at the Bank of Ireland, will also work on the fund committee.

At about 21 months into the fund's cycle, investors will begin to recoup their investment and will continue to do so until the end of year five.

She said: "I was working in the US looking for UK investors to help finance films. It seemed like an arduous way of doing it and I realised a lot of the time films were getting interest because of the tax relief and not because of the good films. With The Route Group, we decided we wanted to use film as an investment class itself and modernise a fund so investors get a good rate of return."

The answer was to create what Lambert and managing director of The Route Group, Mark Worrall, have dubbed as a one-stop shop where top-end producers could get the majority of their budget.

The Footprint Film fund is a five-year closed ended vehicle that is seeking to raise $22m before the offer period ends on 15 September and a further $21m during its first year. This will allow Footprint to invest up to $150m in global film projects.
Martin McCourt, former head of TeleMedia at the Bank of Ireland, will also work on the fund committee.

At about 21 months into the fund's cycle, investors will begin to recoup their investment and will continue to do so until the end of year five.

Minimum investment is £50,000 and can be made in Sterling or US Dollar. Commission to intermediaries is available at 2%.

Westwood Capital Film Finance

Recently film studios have changed the way they operate. The sweet housekeeping deals of the 60's and 70's where film producers had their expenses and overhead paid… are gone.

The major studios are financing less and less films without co financing arrangements. They love big budget films that can bring big returns like Pirates of the Caribbean and Spiderman.

Now experienced film producers are financing their films without the studios. They are now turning to wall street. Hedge funds and investment banks are teaming up with producers like Joel Silver and Ivan Reitman.
They raised money for film slates. Multiple picture deals.

Marty Bregman known in Hollywood circles as a film legend, has produced such films as Scarface, Sea of love, Carlito's Way, Serpico, The Bone Collector and Dog Day Afternoon. Bregman's films have made over $1.3 billion in sales not counting merchandising on production budgets of just over $480mil.

Taylor has raised from Wall Street $200 million in a combination of senior debt and mezzanine/ subordinated debt and equity.

To do this, Marty Bregman engaged the services of Adrian Taylor and Westwood Capital. Taylor a former agent had previously worked with Stan Gold, former Disney board member to help sell the Anaheim Angels baseball club. Taylor also had previously worked with former Tri Star pictures chairman Mike Medavoy to raise money for his company distributed by Sony, Phoenix Pictures.

Taylor took his finance model to Marty Bregman. The model calls for a series of ten films made over five years at modest budgets but financed without any studio money.

Taylor then introduced Bregman to Westwood Capital. Merryl Lynch was also considered. Bregman chose Westwood Capital because of the attention from senior management, their experience in their real estate division raising large sums of cash. Westwood Capital advised on the finance model, shopped the deal to institutional investors and negotiated with the equity players. They helped write the business plan.

The Taylor finance model calls for the producer to bring a domestic distribution agreement. Foreign sales can be free and clear. The institutional investors require this to insure that a min number of screens are guaranteed. A first look deal will work. Very few producers have put deals with distributors.

Film Distributors jumped for a chance to work with Marty Bregman.
The model also includes a deal for cable and DVD sales. Additional revenue can be obtained from soundtrack, and now even ringtones. A trustee is assigned to keep fiscal responsibility and report to the investors.

The model is a film fund where the risk is spread over 10 pictures. The producer takes a salary and a modest fee when each film is completed. His real money comes when the profits roll in on the backend.

The fund pays for all overhead to operate film production offices, including staff salaries.

Key man insurance is required plus ironclad contracts with the star producer… this is important to investors because the last thing that they want to see is to fund a 200 million dollar fund and then see the boss go out to produce a blockbuster film for a year just because they were offered a lot of cash.

A key point to the institutional money is that the investment is nonrecourse to the producer. Once they are paid their agreed upon returns they are out of the deal and then the equity investors share profits for as long as the movie is making money.

Take the example of Marty Bregman's Scarface, made in 1983 the film is still making money. Universal plans a new DVD version with a hip hop sounndtrack. Bregman will supervise. The movie has made hundreds of millions in merchandising including board games, posters, board games and toys.

The producer once financed can focus on the creative aspects of filmmaking.

The Bregman film slate will be distributed by Universal Studios. Marty Bregman has enjoyed a long relationship with them.

Wall Street funds big indie deals

It has been a year of frenetic activity within the independent sphere as Wall Street money that helped fund much studio moviemaking has turned to the indies. Among the biggest deals:

Summit Entertainment

After months of speculation, Robert Friedman, the former vice chairman of Paramount Pictures, made it official just before May's Festival de Cannes: He was teaming with Summit International CEO Patrick Wachsberger to form a domestic production and distribution entity named Summit Entertainment. The venture was funded by Merrill Lynch and a consortium of other investors, with $1 billion to make movies and other forms of entertainment. Summit expects to release eight to 12 pictures annually (with four of those coming in the form of acquisitions), budgeted from $15 million-$60 million, as well as handling foreign sales for its old clients.

Overture Films

Pay TV and DVD distributor Starz, a division of Liberty Media Corp., leaped into the movie business late last year with the creation of Overture Films, a company headed by former MGM vice chairman Chris McGurk that will produce and distribute films. Overture will have $400 million-$500 million to cover production, P&A and overhead for five years. The studio will release eight to 12 new movies a year, generally budgeted at less than $30 million, with Paramount Vantage handling their international release.

Lionsgate

A weaker-than-expected first quarter didn't get in the way of Lionsgate raising about $200 million from Wall Street in a deal brokered by Goldman Sachs. In May, the New York bankers helped it create a new umbrella company, LG Film Finance I Llc., to make and release 23 films during the next three years. True, the first film under the deal, May's "Bug," was something of a disappointment at the boxoffice, but hopes are high for upcoming movies under the deal, including the Dane Cook-Jessica Alba comedy "Good Luck Chuck"; the Jet Li actioner "War"; and the much-anticipated Russell Crowe starrer from director James Mangold, "3:10 to Yuma."

Continental Entertainment Capital

Producer Graham King's longtime partner, Colin Cotter, closed a deal in April with Citigroup that provided him with $500 million for a new company, Continental Entertainment Capital, that will invest in and/or lend to a range of other entertainment entities. CEC will provide gap financing and P&A money and also will refinance companies that want to grow their activities. At the same time, Cotter -- who remains partnered with King in Initial Entertainment Group -- has launched a sales company, Continental Pictures, with a separate $150 million revolving credit facility from Citigroup. Continental Pictures will benefit from a "second-look" deal with Initial, giving it access to all of King and Cotter's movies after Warner Bros. Pictures has taken a first look at them.

Focus Features

The directors known as the three amigos (Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Alfonso Cuaron) made headlines this year when they struck an eye-popping $100 million deal to make five movies for Focus Features. But that deal would never have taken place if Focus hadn't entered into a bigger pact with Wall Street in January. That's when investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort helped create Twins Financing Llc., a fund that will split the cost of 20-25 of Focus' films (though the deal does not include genre product from Focus' sister division, Rogue Pictures). While no dollar amount was announced, sources said that they expect it to be in excess of $200 million. The fund was Wall Street's biggest commitment yet to pure art house films and was followed almost immediately by news of a similar fund created by Morgan Stanley to invest $150 million in Paramount Vantage films.

The Film Department

A year after leaving his post as president of Warner Independent Pictures, Mark Gill cobbled together $200 million for a slate of specialty films to be made through the Film Department, the company he has created with former Yari Film Group executive Neil Sacker. With financing from Wall Street and the Middle East's Sheikh Waleed al Ibrahim, Gill and Sacker plan to use their capital to generate more funds that will help them make six movies a year during the next five years, with budgets of $10 million-$35 million. But don't look for Gill and Sacker (both Miramax Films veterans) to make pure art house movies. Their company, which will have a sales division but no distribution deal, will focus on more mainstream, star-driven material.

Mediaset to buy Medusa from Fininvest for 152 mln eur

http://www.medusa.it/

Published : Tue, 03 Jul 2007 18:58

MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Mediaset SpA, the Italian television company, said it will buy the film producer and distributor Medusa from Fininvest for 152 mln eur.

Fininvest has a 35.8 pct stake in Mediaset and fully owns Medusa.
The operation is expected to be closed by July 16, it added.

Mediaset has agreed to pay a balance of up 18 mln eur for Medusa based on the company's box office receipts in 2007 and 2008.

The company added that the investment bank Lehman Brothers International has estimated that the transaction price is in line with market values.

Medusa had sales of 196 mln eur in 2006 and posted a net profit of 7 mln eur. Its net asset value totaled 152 mln eur end-2006.

NEW INDIE MOVIE CO. HAS $200M

By PETER LAURIA

June 28, 2007 -- Former Miramax executives Mark Gill and Neil Sacker raised $200 million from General Electric and a handful of independent investors to launch a new movie finance and production company called The Film Department.

Expected to be up and running in two weeks, The Film Department plans to finance and produce six films a year with budgets of between $10 million and $35 million.

The company's design is reminiscent of the early days of Miramax, with a focus on producing movies that have wide appeal and enough Oscar potential to generate outsize box office grosses relative to their production budgets.

Such a setup dovetails perfectly with Gill's and Sacker's pedigrees.
Since 2000, the duo has been involved with films such as "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "In the Bedroom" and "City of God."

The films have cost an average of $17 million but have earned around $77 million at the box office in part because of the Oscar attention, which includes 43 nominations and six wins, including best original screenplay in 2005 for "Crash."

"There's a perfect storm of favorable conditions for our new business: strong international demand for star-driven, lower-cost, high-quality films; a decrease in North American studio in-house production combined with a substantial increase in distribution capacity and greater star willingness than ever before to make independent films," Gill said in a statement.

Gill and Sacker received advice and assistance in completing the financing from Allen & Co., Loeb & Loeb and The Salter Group.

In addition to GE, other equity investors include Sheik Waleed Al Ibrahim, CRG Movie Partners and Michael Singer.