Disney plans to build major production facility near Santa Clarita

Old news as of October but wanted to pass it on ..
Jean-Luc


Bucking a trend toward 'runaway production,' the company proposes creating a 56-acre complex that would include soundstages and other facilities for film and TV projects.

The Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday that it would build a 56-acre production facility in northern Los Angeles County, casting a ray of light on an otherwise gloomy film economy that has hemorrhaged thousands of jobs in the last decade.

The Burbank company said the proposed Disney/ABC Studios at the Ranch would occupy a corner of the Golden Oak Ranch, a sprawling 890-acre parcel off California 14 that has been the setting of such classic films as "Old Yeller." Plans call for 12 soundstages, production offices, a commissary and other facilities that could be used for film, television, commercial and new media projects.

Hollywood back from the brink Entertainment dealmaking poised for a comeback

What a difference a year makes.

When Variety ran its Dealmakers Impact Report last September, the financial world was on the brink of collapse. This time around, it seems to be on the verge of recovery.

But although dealmaking has slowed down, it has hardly ground to a halt, as shown by the activity chronicled in this report.

Nevertheless, "The volume of deal flow is off," says an entertainment financier, "and several banks have left the market, especially satellites of foreign banks."

One casualty has been the coin available for pre-sales, which over the years has been a major source of funding for indie films. "A chasm has opened up between pre-sales proceeds and film budgets," says this financier.

On a broader level, a dealmaking environment that was once awash in money and easy credit is now seeing its economic underpinnings shrink. Talent that had grown accustomed to lucrative remuneration is finding it more difficult to command the multifigure fees of the recent past.

"Look at the amount of money that came into the film industry from private equity and hedge funds," says Jay Cohen, head of film financing and packaging at the Gersh Agency. "When the stock market crashed and the economy took a hit, they pulled out from the film business and focused more on core investments. That affected the domestic product supply because the studios didn't have all that outside money. It shrank the market."

Talent agencies have been caught in the middle. "The cost structure of the business has decreased, but producers are telling us that the agencies still haven't gotten with the program with respect to their clients," says another financier.

Last year, Variety's Dealmakers issue focused on how agencies -- in the face of the WGA and SAG strikes, de facto and otherwise -- were diversifying into such strike-resistant areas as music, publishing, reality TV and digital. This year their story is not one of diversification but of consolidation.

It now looks like the market will improve, but it won't return to its profligate ways anytime soon. "There was more liquidity from 2004 to 2007 than probably at any other time in the history of our country," says Stephen Prough of investment bank Salem Partners. "In the future, standards will be higher. Investors are demanding a greater return on their money."

But one thing Hollywood has always had going for it -- in both good times and bad -- is its glamour. For years it has attracted outside investors who enjoy rubbing shoulders with showbiz types. And while any investment or acquisition is based on certain financial expectations, companies will sometimes pay something extra to make a deal.

"When buyers become desperate to buy something for competitive reasons, it creates a premium in the bidding process," says Mark Patricof, co-founder of Mesa, a merchant bank. "In the entertainment business, that transaction … is more emotional. (There's) a level of passion (that can lead to) an incremental price for the deal."

Patricof believes things are about to pick up. "You're going to see a lot of big deals happen in the next 12 months," he says. "There will be cable deals, … digital deals, and the IPO market will really open up."

And now Comcast is making the game-changing acquisition of 51% of NBC Universal.

Any business recovery, however, will occur against a backdrop of permanent technical change. There is no going back to the predigital era, when physically distributed films drew patrons to theaters and appointment TV viewing lured advertisers into auds' living rooms without challenge or question.

"Traditional media are in a state of dire retrenchment as a prelude to complete collapse," says Bob Garfield in his new book "The Chaos Scenario." He backs this up with shocking examples of shortfalls and fiascos among media companies failing to understand the impact of new technology not just on the means of production and distribution but -- more significantly -- on consumer behavior.

But the good news is that those consumers will always want to be entertained and the creative community will always fill that need. And where there's entertainment, there are deals.

`Princess and the Frog' hops to No. 1 with $25M

Hello all,

Take note towards the end of this article .... With nearly three weeks left in the year, 2009 domestic revenues already have set a new record of $9.79 billion, surpassing the previous high of $9.68 billion in 2007,......... etc



Jean-Luc Martin

By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer David Germain,

LOS ANGELES – "The Princess and the Frog" earned a big wet kiss from family audiences as the animated musical leaped to No. 1 with $25 million in its first weekend of nationwide release, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Disney musical is the studio's first hand-drawn animated tale in five years, a contrast to the computer-animated films that now dominate the cartoon world.

"I've always believed that when you start with great storytelling, then the format aside doesn't mean anything," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney.

The movie also is a return to Disney's reinvention of classic fairy tales, offering a 1920s New Orleans twist on the Brothers Grimm story "The Frog Prince," following the adventures of a young woman turned into a frog by a kiss from an amphibian.

Despite its No. 1 finish, "The Princess and the Frog" drew modest crowds compared to many big animated tales, which can open with two or three times as much business. Those films typically open during the busy summer season, though, and Disney is counting on the long shelf life that many films manage during the holidays.

"The Princess and the Frog" took over at No. 1 from the inspiring sports tale "The Blind Side," which slipped to second-place with $15.5 million. Released by Warner Bros., "The Blind Side" raised its total to $150.2 million.

A surprise box-office sensation, "The Blind Side" is on its way to a domestic total of about $230 million, said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. head of distribution.

"The Blind Side" chronicles the real-life story of Baltimore Ravens rookie lineman Michael Oher, who had been a homeless teen taken in by a wealthy couple (Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw).

"It's the heartland that's pulling the strings of the movie," Fellman said. "While it's performing well everywhere, the response in smaller marketplaces and Christian communities has been outstanding."

The film opened the same weekend as "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," but with only a fraction of that movie's blockbuster business. Audience word-of-mouth has kept crowds coming for "The Blind Side," while "New Moon" has waned to the No. 4 spot with an $8 million weekend, raising its domestic haul to $267.4 million.

Warner Bros. also had the No. 3 film with a $9.1 million debut for another inspirational sports drama, Clint Eastwood's Nelson Mandela saga "Invictus," featuring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. Freeman stars as the South African leader, who uses an underdog World Cup run by the country's rugby team to help unite the racially divided nation.

Though it had a modest start, "Invictus" debuted in the range of Eastwood's sober drama's "Mystic River" and "Million Dollar Baby" in their first weekends of wide release. Eastwood's films draw older audiences and tend to have a long life at the box office, Fellman said.

"The Lord of the Rings" creator Peter Jackson had a strong opening in limited release for "The Lovely Bones," which pulled in $116,000 in three theaters.

The Paramount Pictures release features Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Stanley Tucci in an adaptation of Alice Sebold's best-seller about a murdered girl looking back on her grieving family from the afterlife.

The Weinstein Co. drama "A Single Man" also started well with $216,328 in nine theaters. The film stars Colin Firth as a gay academic in the early 1960s who's planning to end his life amid grief over his lover's death.

Hollywood is poised for a big finish to its record box-office year, with James Cameron's science-fiction epic "Avatar" opening Friday, followed Christmas week by the family comedy "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," Robert Downey Jr.'s action tale "Sherlock Holmes" and the nationwide expansion of George Clooney's comedy "Up in the Air."

With nearly three weeks left in the year, 2009 domestic revenues already have set a new record of $9.79 billion, surpassing the previous high of $9.68 billion in 2007, according to Paul Dergarabedian, Hollywood.com box-office analyst.

Domestic grosses should top $10 billion for the first time within the next 10 days or so. Dergarabedian estimates that Hollywood will finish the year with $10.5 billion domestically.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Princess and the Frog," $25 million.

2. "The Blind Side," $15.5 million.

3. "Invictus," $9.1 million.

4. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," $8 million.

5. "Disney's a Christmas Carol," $6.9 million.

6. "Brothers," $5 million.

7. "2012," $4.4 million.

8. "Old Dogs," $4.39 million.

9. "Armored," $3.5 million.

10. "Ninja Assassin," $2.7 million.

Hollywood back from the brink

Entertainment dealmaking poised for a comeback
By PETER CARANICAS

What a difference a year makes.

When Variety ran its Dealmakers Impact Report last September, the financial world was on the brink of collapse. This time around, it seems to be on the verge of recovery.

But although dealmaking has slowed down, it has hardly ground to a halt, as shown by the activity chronicled in this report.

Nevertheless, "The volume of deal flow is off," says an entertainment financier, "and several banks have left the market, especially satellites of foreign banks."

One casualty has been the coin available for pre-sales, which over the years has been a major source of funding for indie films. "A chasm has opened up between pre-sales proceeds and film budgets," says this financier.

On a broader level, a dealmaking environment that was once awash in money and easy credit is now seeing its economic underpinnings shrink. Talent that had grown accustomed to lucrative remuneration is finding it more difficult to command the multifigure fees of the recent past.

"Look at the amount of money that came into the film industry from private equity and hedge funds," says Jay Cohen, head of film financing and packaging at the Gersh Agency. "When the stock market crashed and the economy took a hit, they pulled out from the film business and focused more on core investments. That affected the domestic product supply because the studios didn't have all that outside money. It shrank the market."

Talent agencies have been caught in the middle. "The cost structure of the business has decreased, but producers are telling us that the agencies still haven't gotten with the program with respect to their clients," says another financier.

Last year, Variety's Dealmakers issue focused on how agencies -- in the face of the WGA and SAG strikes, de facto and otherwise -- were diversifying into such strike-resistant areas as music, publishing, reality TV and digital. This year their story is not one of diversification but of consolidation.

It now looks like the market will improve, but it won't return to its profligate ways anytime soon. "There was more liquidity from 2004 to 2007 than probably at any other time in the history of our country," says Stephen Prough of investment bank Salem Partners. "In the future, standards will be higher. Investors are demanding a greater return on their money."

But one thing Hollywood has always had going for it -- in both good times and bad -- is its glamour. For years it has attracted outside investors who enjoy rubbing shoulders with showbiz types. And while any investment or acquisition is based on certain financial expectations, companies will sometimes pay something extra to make a deal.

"When buyers become desperate to buy something for competitive reasons, it creates a premium in the bidding process," says Mark Patricof, founder of Mesa, a merchant bank. "In the entertainment business, that transaction … is more emotional. (There's) a level of passion (that can lead to) an incremental price for the deal."

Patricof believes things are about to pick up. "You're going to see a lot of big deals happen in the next 12 months," he says. "There will be cable deals, … digital deals, and the IPO market will really open up."

And now Comcast is making the game-changing acquisition of 51% of NBC Universal.

Any business recovery, however, will occur against a backdrop of permanent technical change. There is no going back to the predigital era, when physically distributed films drew patrons to theaters and appointment TV viewing lured advertisers into auds' living rooms without challenge or question.

"Traditional media are in a state of dire retrenchment as a prelude to complete collapse," says Bob Garfield in his new book "The Chaos Scenario." He backs this up with shocking examples of shortfalls and fiascos among media companies failing to understand the impact of new technology not just on the means of production and distribution but -- more significantly -- on consumer behavior.

But the good news is that those consumers will always want to be entertained and the creative community will always fill that need. And where there's entertainment, there are deals.

The costs of H’w’d spending ---- Who benefits when filmmakers raise the tentpole?

Peter Bart speaks again!
Jean-Luc Martin

Who benefits when filmmakers raise the tentpole?

James Cameron was quoted in the Wall Street Journal not long ago arguing that "when a studio goes crazy and spends a lot of money, it's the consumer who benefits."

Translated, that means that if Jim Cameron decides to reinvent the lexicon of filmmaking in a mind-bogglingly expensive movie like "Avatar," the filmgoer will enjoy the thrill ride -- and won't pay more for it. Much more, anyway.

With the world awaiting "Avatar's" release, we shall soon see if Cameron has performed that re-invention. In any case, having poured $300 million into the movie (or $400 million if you run the numbers differently), it's Fox that's waiting nervously to find out whether "the King of the world" again will earn all the ka-ching in the world.

Whatever the outcome, I would argue that the move to ever bigger and more extravagant movies will hurt the filmgoer long-term, not benefit him. Here's why:

Fueled by burgeoning foreign grosses, the studios are intent on making fewer movies at more grandiose budgets and at the same time diminishing their investment in "risky" low and mid-range dramas. The result: A numbing succession of tentpoles that may all but drive indie-style films out of the multiplexes.

Further, the era of the "big spend" will increasingly contaminate the few dramatic movies being made. "Lovely Bones," the Paramount-DreamWorks Christmas release from Peter Jackson, is an intimate film that cost almost $100 million to produce. Will the massive special effects improve or diminish the impact of the basic narrative? One key reason for the setbacks suffered by both Miramax and Paramount's Vantage division was the impulse to pump up spending both in production and marketing.

I remember the off-the-cuff commentary of Mike Nichols some years ago in describing the budget crunch on arguably his best picture, "The Graduate." When a young director finds his budget shrinking, recalled Nichols, he is compelled to not spend more, but invent more. The result often is a better movie.

In an economy where the big companies are under pressure to cut costs, filmmakers paradoxically feel the pressure to amp up their budgets. Audiences overseas want big-canvas action pictures that offer more effects and less dialogue. Simultaneous releases around the world may diminish piracy, but they expand marketing costs. The distributors demand instant gratification and are willing to pay for it.

I hope "Avatar" is a big hit and that the always modest and understated Cameron once again proves his techno-smarts. Even if that happens, however, the average filmgoer will still emerge the long-term loser.

Is Tom Cruise overpaid?

Like most people, I've always been intrigued by Forbes' lists of the "wealthiest" and "most powerful," but I've never figured out quite how they line up with their numbers.

Now, however, Forbes has a list I can relate to -- the most overpaid stars in Hollywood. The individual rankings, Forbes says, are based on a return-on-investment formula involving each star's compensation and each movie's gross. Forbes, of course, believes it has reliable data on star paydays, even though those numbers remain obscure to the rest of us.

The upshot: Will Ferrell, Eddie Murphy, Ewan McGregor and Tom Cruise are on the top of the "overpaid" list. Inclusion of Murphy and Ferrell is understandable, but Cruise apparently is vulnerable due to "Lions for Lambs." As for poor McGregor, he's apparently made too many classy movies like "Trainspotting" and thus represents a bad buy compared with, of all people, Shia LaBeouf, who by Forbes standard is the best buy for the buck among actors. Go figure.

Hollywood rethinks use of A-list actors --- Films are showing that a good concept trumps star power

A producing partner on a film we are working together on (thanks Bill Rogin) brought this article to my attention. Although Condemned (horror) and many other projects don't have the budgets that this article is addressing - the issue still remains .. "talent quotes" and are they really as much a factor as the market requires for a positive ROI? Logic would say .. good script and amazing director and strong actors (focused production team .. lets not forget that FACT). There are so many talented actors out there .. but the market / audience dictates ticket sales! I could go on .... but it is time to get back to work!

 Have a great week everyone!!!

Best,
Jean-Luc 
Producer, Line-Producer, UPM (in no particular order)


Hollywood studios are now thinking twice about splurging on A-list movie stars and costly productions in reaction to the poor economy, but also because of the surprising success of recent films with unknown actors.

After buddy comedy "The Hangover," a movie with a little-known cast, made $459 million at the global boxooffice this past summer, several films have shown that a great concept or story can trump star appeal when it comes to luring fans.

"District 9," a low-budget movie in which the biggest stars were space aliens treated like refugees and the lead actor was South African Sharlto Copley, made $200 million. Thriller "Paranormal Activity," starring Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat, has cash registers ringing to the tune of $100 million.

Next up, on Nov. 20, comes Summit Entertainment's relatively low-budget ($50 million) franchise movie "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," a sequel to 2008 hit vampire romance "Twilight" which made global stars of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. Online ticket sellers report "New Moon" is one of their highest presale movies of all time, and boxoffice watchers expect the film to have a smash opening.

"Nobody says that a big wonderful movie needs to be expensive, it's just that that's been the trend, and perhaps the trend is misguided," said USC cinema professor Jason Squire.

Last weekend, "Disney's A Christmas Carol," featuring the voice of comic actor Jim Carrey, became the latest celebrity-driven movie to stumble at boxoffices, opening to a lower-than-expected $30 million.

Aside from Carrey and "Carol," which cost at least $175 million, A-listers who suffered boxoffice flops recently have included Bruce Willis ("Surrogates"), Adam Sandler ("Funny People"), Will Ferrell ("Land of the Lost"), Eddie Murphy ("Imagine That") and Julia Roberts ("Duplicity").

"The (major movie) machine didn't fly last summer, if you look at the movies and the names, they were not star-driven movies, they really weren't," said Peter Guber, chairman of Mandalay Entertainment and former head of Sony Pictures.

Hollywood insiders say A-listers are having trouble with salary demands in the $15 million range or participation approaching 20% of gross profits -- deals that were once somewhat common for top talent. Instead, they are being asked to take less money upfront and greater compensation only if a film breaks even.

In "New Moon," Pattinson and Stewart rekindle their romance between an immortal vampire and a high school girl that they brought to silver screens in last year's adaptation from Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" books.

At the time, Pattinson and Stewart were unknown stars but that did not hurt "Twilight," which made $384 million at global boxoffices and gave Summit a bona fide franchise.

It's not unusual for franchises like the "Harry Potter" movies to begin with unknown actors, but as the films' popularity takes root, production budgets relax and actor, producer and other salaries soar.

But in recent years, Hollywood has been racked by the recession, competition from video games and the Web, declining DVD sales and fewer licensing deals with television networks

This week, Disney chief Bob Iger said in a conference call that the sluggish DVD market is one reason the major studio has altered its moviemaking. "It causes us to really reconsider not only what we're investing in our films, but how we market them and how we distribute them," he said.

For its part, fledgling Summit has positioned "Twilight" as a franchise for the recession era by keeping the pressure on the costs for "New Moon," and Hollywood producers are praising them for it.

"Good for them, they are really keeping the costs down. It is unusual," said Lauren Shuler Donner, a producer on the "X-Men" films and 2008's "The Secret Life of Bees."

Summit, whose executives declined to be interviewed, took a page from the playbook of "The Lord of the Rings" by shooting the second and third films back-to-back this summer.

When director Peter Jackson made his three "Lord of the Rings" films simultaneously 10 years ago, it was a novel idea that reduced costs because actors, sets, costumes, locations and other items only had to be assembled and paid for once.

Similarly, by shooting the next two "Twilight" movies together, Summit kept the cost of the third film, "Eclipse," due June 30, around $60 million, one source said.

"What I like is they didn't have a long window (between films), they went in to make a franchise, they didn't go in to see if they had a franchise," said Warren Zide, producer on the "American Pie" and "Final Destination" movies.
Hollywood rethinks use of A-list actors
Films are showing that a good concept trumps star power

By Alex Dobuzinskis, Reuters

Nov 13, 2009, 09:20 PM ET
Hollywood studios are now thinking twice about splurging on A-list movie stars and costly productions in reaction to the poor economy, but also because of the surprising success of recent films with unknown actors.

After buddy comedy "The Hangover," a movie with a little-known cast, made $459 million at the global boxooffice this past summer, several films have shown that a great concept or story can trump star appeal when it comes to luring fans.

"District 9," a low-budget movie in which the biggest stars were space aliens treated like refugees and the lead actor was South African Sharlto Copley, made $200 million. Thriller "Paranormal Activity," starring Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat, has cash registers ringing to the tune of $100 million.

Next up, on Nov. 20, comes Summit Entertainment's relatively low-budget ($50 million) franchise movie "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," a sequel to 2008 hit vampire romance "Twilight" which made global stars of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. Online ticket sellers report "New Moon" is one of their highest presale movies of all time, and boxoffice watchers expect the film to have a smash opening.

"Nobody says that a big wonderful movie needs to be expensive, it's just that that's been the trend, and perhaps the trend is misguided," said USC cinema professor Jason Squire.

Last weekend, "Disney's A Christmas Carol," featuring the voice of comic actor Jim Carrey, became the latest celebrity-driven movie to stumble at boxoffices, opening to a lower-than-expected $30 million.

Aside from Carrey and "Carol," which cost at least $175 million, A-listers who suffered boxoffice flops recently have included Bruce Willis ("Surrogates"), Adam Sandler ("Funny People"), Will Ferrell ("Land of the Lost"), Eddie Murphy ("Imagine That") and Julia Roberts ("Duplicity").

"The (major movie) machine didn't fly last summer, if you look at the movies and the names, they were not star-driven movies, they really weren't," said Peter Guber, chairman of Mandalay Entertainment and former head of Sony Pictures.

Hollywood insiders say A-listers are having trouble with salary demands in the $15 million range or participation approaching 20% of gross profits -- deals that were once somewhat common for top talent. Instead, they are being asked to take less money upfront and greater compensation only if a film breaks even.

In "New Moon," Pattinson and Stewart rekindle their romance between an immortal vampire and a high school girl that they brought to silver screens in last year's adaptation from Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" books.

At the time, Pattinson and Stewart were unknown stars but that did not hurt "Twilight," which made $384 million at global boxoffices and gave Summit a bona fide franchise.

It's not unusual for franchises like the "Harry Potter" movies to begin with unknown actors, but as the films' popularity takes root, production budgets relax and actor, producer and other salaries soar.

But in recent years, Hollywood has been racked by the recession, competition from video games and the Web, declining DVD sales and fewer licensing deals with television networks

This week, Disney chief Bob Iger said in a conference call that the sluggish DVD market is one reason the major studio has altered its moviemaking. "It causes us to really reconsider not only what we're investing in our films, but how we market them and how we distribute them," he said.

For its part, fledgling Summit has positioned "Twilight" as a franchise for the recession era by keeping the pressure on the costs for "New Moon," and Hollywood producers are praising them for it.

"Good for them, they are really keeping the costs down. It is unusual," said Lauren Shuler Donner, a producer on the "X-Men" films and 2008's "The Secret Life of Bees."

Summit, whose executives declined to be interviewed, took a page from the playbook of "The Lord of the Rings" by shooting the second and third films back-to-back this summer.

When director Peter Jackson made his three "Lord of the Rings" films simultaneously 10 years ago, it was a novel idea that reduced costs because actors, sets, costumes, locations and other items only had to be assembled and paid for once.

Similarly, by shooting the next two "Twilight" movies together, Summit kept the cost of the third film, "Eclipse," due June 30, around $60 million, one source said.

"What I like is they didn't have a long window (between films), they went in to make a franchise, they didn't go in to see if they had a franchise," said Warren Zide, producer on the "American Pie" and "Final Destination" movies.

AFM News 2009: Better buzz on film funding: Lending universe will expand for industry

Hello All,

I have been keeping up with AFM and after reading several articles and speaking with more than a few distributors, I truly believe that our market will get better and so will the material. Investors in general are playing more of an active role in understanding their ROI.

Have a great week!

Jean-Luc Martin


While Hollywood's prospects for foreign financing is downbeat, the situation should slowly brighten, according to film biz honchos at the American Film Market on Friday.

"A year ago, lenders were sitting on their hands," said Jason Sklar, VP of the entertainment industries group at J.P. Morgan. "The lender universe will expand in the next year or two." But, he admitted, "It's going to take some time. There are other opportunities for investors that have a higher yield for less work."

Sklar made the remarks as part of a panel at the Fairmont Hotel on financial markets and liquidity issues, sources of equity investment, tax incentives and foreign investment. About 800 attended the session, sponsored by KPMG and moderated by KPMG managing director Benson R. Berro.

His fellow panelists said the $825 million investment by India's Reliance into DreamWorks is a strong signal of the direction of investments into the U.S. film business.

"For the time being, the equity will come from emerging markets," said Emmanuel (Manny) Nunez, motion picture agent at CAA.

Nunez also noted it's unlikely that any hedge fund money will return to Hollywood any time soon, pointing out that the "perfect storm" that attracted the funds -- huge amounts of money looking for investments in an industry hungry for funds -- won't take place again.

Instead, foreign investors will have far more strategic goals, according to Adam Leipzig, president of National Geographic Films. "Non-U.S. investment is smart money, not dumb money, that's looking for companies that have a track record," he added.

Hyde Park Entertainment topper Ashok Amritraj -- who signed a $250 million deal with Abu Dhabi's production banner Imagenation last year to develop and distrib up 20 feature films over seven years -- noted that Hollywood has a poor image in terms of how it treats investors. He urged attendees to be more attentive to those bringing the funding.

"If the first one works out, that's so important, because then there's more to come," Amritraj added.

Nunez also warned that more consolidation will likely come among the Hollywood majors, pointing to declines in DVD revenues. "That's a lot of dollars that have been taken away from the bottom line," he added.

The panelists agreed that use of government incentives remains essential in financing, with Leipzig saying that's the key reason he's shot only three of his 28 films in the Los Angeles area.

Amritraj noted that incentives in Louisiana, Michigan and North Carolina were a key reason why recent Hyde Park pics have been shot in those states. And he asserted that despite budgetary pressures on governments, it's unlikely incentive programs will disappear.

Industry slowly embracing new media --- Promising gizmos banking on being biz's next killer app

Hello all!
The Digital Revolution that is changing our landscape as producers.

Jean-Luc Martin



Hollywood seems stuck in first gear when it comes to the race to embrace the Digital Revolution.

After more than a decade of dithering over how to release film and TV content over the Internet and other new-media platforms -- and how aggressively to do so -- the industry remains tentative in its approach to digital distribution.

"Studios are feeling their way through," says Rick Bolton, CEO of digital downloads company Film Fresh. "On the one hand, they have the cautionary tale of the music industry before them, and on the other, they have the relatively positive example of the TV side's relationship with iTunes. But the consumer is going to decide where this all is going, not the corporate side."

With that in mind, the brave few continue to pop up with bright ideas they hope will capture public fancy and studio support.

Take Digiboo, a business startup by home entertainment veteran Richard Cohen. Digiboo would place digital touch-screen kiosks in airports and other heavily trafficked public spaces where consumers can plug in a flash drive and instantly download movies and other content.

Discussions are under way with studios and retailers ahead of a proposed market-by-market rollout nationwide. The concept's premise is simple: Downloading movies would be more popular if the downloads didn't take so long.

Digiboo gets around that problem by storing films onsite, so the transmission is almost instantaneous.

"Digiboo's technology has taken portability and convenience to another level entirely," Cohen says. "We think this is exactly what the consumer wants and exactly what's been missing from other models."

Indeed, horror stories abound of inordinate wait times on many film downloads, and the download time for season sets of TV series can be measured in days, not hours. Meanwhile, wireless remains the key means for connecting computers to television screens when viewing downloaded content, but studios remain squeamish about security concerns.

The combination of business challenges and wary consumers has exacerbated studio executives' natural hesitancy about pushing too hard for digital schemes that could undermine traditional distribution and existing revenue models.

"Digital sucks," one industryite says. "Of all the companies doing digital distribution, only Apple is making money. The volume of business is too low, and the main reason for it is that the consumer experience is so bad."

Consumers demand lower pricing on digital content, so studios make significantly less profit per consumer transaction despite higher cost efficiencies compared with packaged-goods releasing. "So whenever I switch to digital, I better get twice the volume to stay even," the digital skeptic says.

Bolton's Film Fresh shares the downloads terrain with Apple's iTunes and CinemaNow. Film Fresh uses a DivX, iTunes a proprietary player and CinemaNow the WindowsMedia platform, with a possible addition of DivX capabilities in the offing.

Then there is digital streaming.

Essentially the digital equivalent of traditional home entertainment's rental market, there are two approaches to offering films and TV shows online: subscription- and fee-based models offered by Blockbuster, Netflix, Vudu and others, and ad-supported sites including Hulu and YouTube. YouTube still offers mostly clips of films and shows but has been negotiating for a possible move into feature content.

"There are all sorts of buzz about digital and downloading and all these things, but it's still in reality a small portion of the overall business," says Bruce Anderson, the Los Angeles-based GM of Blockbuster On Demand, which incorporates the former Movielink service acquired by the DVD-rentals giant in 2007. "From our perspective, that's a great thing. It tells us there is a great opportunity for business growth."

Digital entertainment in all forms contributes $2 billion in industry revenue, according to consensus estimates. That compares with an estimated $22 billion in rental and sales revenue of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs.

A download-vs.-streaming debate has raged for years among content companies seeking a revenue sweet spot in the digital space. But a shakeout of optimum business applications for the two approaches continues.

How's this for an experimental gambit: Mobile entertainment startup mSpot has begun streaming movies through several cell phone carriers. Content deals at launch this fall included pacts with Paramount and the Weinstein Co., and mSpot says an agreement with Universal is "pending."

Underscoring the belief that consumers care about watching more than just clips on tiny phone screens, Showtime recently launched an iPhone application through which the cable network occasionally will offer entire episodes of shows. The move continues a trend in which select episodes and occasionally newly created webisodes are used to promote key TV series.

Qualcomm has introduced a handheld device dubbed a Personal Television that syncs with FLO TV to offer content similar to its offerings via mobile carriers' AT&T and Verizon's respective Mobile Television and V Cast subscription services.

Eventually, studios may give consumers the opportunity to purchase film-viewing rights spanning all home and mobile platforms.

Disney and Sony have launched separate, multi-studio efforts to develop related technology for a possible market rollout during the next couple of years. But it's unclear how studios would price such schemes and thus impossible to know whether mass consumers will be interested.

Meanwhile, the concept of TV pay-per-view seems almost old-school compared with watching movies on computers or TV shows on mobile devices. But PPV via cable and satellite providers, aka VOD, represents another still-evolving area of digital distribution.

Several studios allow their titles to be distributed via VOD simultaneously with release on DVD and Blu-ray. But don't expect the simultaneous release of major movies on VOD and in theaters for years to come as the fear of revenue cannibalization and content piracy have executives clinging to the status quo.

Theatrical revenue is a key consideration, but the packaged-goods side of the home entertainment business is another area where caution is the watchword.

Heck, "Titanic" isn't even available on Blu-ray yet. Executives deem the current installed base of Blu-ray players too small to warrant its HD debut until more consumers embrace the format.

The situation makes it worth recalling: Survivors of the music biz also know a thing or two about the perils of hidden icebergs.

5 Mind Blowing Web Stats:

Hello all ... this writeup today does not have anything to do with the business of making film or TV projects .. or does it. I have very much enjoyed having a web presence and sometimes 300 folks visit my website a day and other times only 15 but every day I try to give out interesting information. Take a read on this article - it is amazing what has happen in 15 years .. ha ha .. do you remember dial-up or floppy disks!

Have a great day ... Jean-Luc Martin

From Anthony (Tony) Tjan is CEO and founder of Cue Ball:

Mind-Blowing Web Stat #1:
40,000-fold increase in the number of websites in 15 short years. If the number of approximately 5000 websites in 1994 is correct and that we are now part of some 200 million plus websites today, then we’ve experienced a stunning 40,000-fold increase in number of websites. How’s that for a growth rate? It also helps explain why Kevin Ham, a Canadian Internet entrepreneur, is minting money from the domain names he owns. Mr. Ham owns some 100,000 domain names worth hundreds of millions and that generate estimated ad revenue of $70 million annually. Great foresight, on Ham’s part, to see that good domain names are like scarce waterfront property. This is the chart copied from Netcraft:

Mind-Blowing Web Stat #2:
It feels like it was only yesterday that Evan Williams coined the term, “blogger” as founder of Blogger.com before taking the head post at Twitter. Today, the blogosphere is doubling between once and twice a year and there are over one million blog posts daily.

Mind-Blowing Web Stat #3:
Speaking of Evan and Twitter, there have now been more than five billion tweets. I admit it: I was a pretty big Twitter skeptic, but now I’m a pretty big Twitter fan. My guess is that Mr. Ham and others are trying to find ways to squat on as many Twitter handles as possible as it will become increasingly difficult to get the twitter alias you want. I stumbled across this “gigatweet” counter on the web. I don’t know the accuracy of the source but this is a pretty cool real-time counter of the numbers of tweets — it is worth clicking through.

Mind-Blowing Web Stat #4:
Not to leave out some of the other obvious big web names of our day, here are two stunning stats on Google and Facebook. Google still owns the search market. Sources estimate that the search goliath receives about two billion queries per day. That said, I think I’m more impressed by InsideFacebook.com’s estimates that the social network is adding 700,000 new users per day.

Mind-Blowing Web Stat # 5:
Okay, this is as much of a predictive statement as a stat. For some time, I have periodically checked which sites are in the top ten, as task made much easier now with the likes of Alexa. What is amazing is that whether you look at the global top ten or US top ten websites, about half of the sites are five- to six-year-old companies (e.g. YouTube, Blogger, and Facebook). The implication is that we’ll continue to see a pretty high-rate of churn amongst the top ten. What other industry do you know where so many in the top ten market share positions are companies that are younger than a first grader? Big names that may be top of the world today are being bombarded by the threat of new Internet start-ups every day. Twitter was born in 2006 and has already hit #13 on Alexa’s top global list and #12 on its U.S. list. How long will it take to break into the top ten? The answer: not long at all. And this is what continues to make life interesting in the world wide web of disruptive change and unpredictable innovation.

Now consider this data and put it into perspective. The web has just begun and the advent of social technology will accelerate growth exponentially.  Are you behind or ahead of why the web is growing?

What do reality TV stars make, anyway?

Hello all,
I knew that our reality starts were making a good living and honestly this does not surprise me: supply and demand!
Jean-Luc

From the (The Frisky) -- After the premiere of VH1's "Sex Rehab," I found myself thinking one thing: How much did folks get paid to be on this show, because I certainly hope it's a whole heck of a lot.

Ask and ye shall receive -- a day later, I have my answer.

Comedian Artie Lange, a former heroin and cocaine addict, has revealed to the NY Post that he was offered $200K to go on "Celebrity Rehab." He turned the offer down. "They said it was about me getting better, but if I relapsed, they're not going to air that?" he said. "My mother knows I've done coke, but she's never seen me do it." Still, that is a lot of dough we're talking about. Let's see how that compares to what others get for starring in reality shows.

* European production company, Eyeworks, has supposedly agreed to pay the 14 children of OctoMom Nadya Suleman $125,000 for 36 days of shooting their forthcoming reality show.

* "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell allegedly banked $36 million last year. And this year he's said to be negotiating for an extensive raise.

* MTV reportedly paid Ozzy and family $5K each per episode for the first season of "The Osbournes." For the second, they each got a ginormous raise to $5 million per episode. Aw, I miss that show!

The Frisky: 10 celebrities and their cocktails of choice

* Kristin Cavallari supposedly gets $63K per episode of "The Hills." Meanwhile, Heidi Montag denies making $100,000 per episode.

* "The Real Housewives of New York City" stars were reportedly negotiating for six-figure salaries for the upcoming season. That just doesn't seem fair though, because they have all those fabulous New York sample sales that save them money already.

The Frisky: Match these celebs with their party invitations!

* The unit that is composed of Jon and Kate Gosselin earned about $75,000 per episode, for "John and Kate Plus 8," and I guess most of that should go to buying school shoes.

The Frisky: These biracial stars make us want to diversify!

* "Dancing With the Stars" contestant Shawn Johnson got $125,000 for signing on for the show. She seemed to think that the base pay, plus $50K bonuses, was worth her time, unlike Nick Lachey.

The Frisky: Rihanna talks to Glamour about Chris Brown assault

What do you think -- are they all getting what they're worth?

California is golden again --- 50 projects approved for production perks

Well .. this is good news and I hope this is not just a band-aid.
--Jean-Luc


Touting the state's new production incentives, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger confirmed Monday that 36 film and TV productions are set to shoot in Hollywood's home state during the current quarter as a direct result of the program.

The governor said Monday 50 projects have been approved for the program to date. The projects have a combined budget of at least $467 million.

"Productions that were slated to film outside the state have shifted gears and are now shooting in California because of our film and television incentive," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "This is not only great news for our production workers but for the thousands of small businesses that support film and television production in California and our state's economy as a whole."

The announcement noted that Sony Pictures Television's new drama for FX, "Lawman," will begin production shortly in Santa Clarita -- even though the show's set in Kentucky and the pilot episode was lensed in Pennsylvania.

Other incentive-backed projects slated to begin production this quarter include Screen Gems' "Burlesque," Sony's "Social Network," DreamWorks' "Dinner for Schmucks" plus indies "Beginners," "The Raise," "Answers to Nothing" and "Max Rose," starring Jerry Lewis.

The California Film Commission, which administers the program, said 50% of the approved projects are indie features, 22% are studio features, 8% are direct-to-DVD films, 14% are telepics and 6% are TV series. Fourteen projects have already begun lensing, and 22 more will begin shooting before the end of the year while the remainder will begin filming early next year.

The state's five-year, $500 million tax credit program covers 20% of below-the-line expenses for productions of up to $75 million. It can be sweetened to 25% of expenses for indie feature productions of up to $10 million -- and for all existing TV shows that relocate to California.

The state Legislature approved the production incentive program in February as part of a massive package of $12 billion in tax hikes.

New AFM buyers swarm, sellers drop off - More acquisitions execs to sift through less product

Hello all,

Personally I have always felt that there was/is to much sub-standard product in the market which drives the market value down for all products. Change is happening and we are all trying to keep up with that change.

Have a great week

Jean-Luc Martin

Line-Producer / UPM



The upcoming American Film Market could see a surprising spike in buyers, while sales stands and the number of films screening are on a downward trend.

In the run-up to the market, AFM managing director Jonathan Wolf reports that the number of accreditation requests for new buyer companies has doubled. "More than 80 new companies in the last three months have asked to come to the AFM for the first time," he reports. "We've never had that many companies asking to be accredited as new buyers. And it's from all over -- from more than 30 countries."

Normally, AFM sees about 40 new buying companies. (Last year, individual buyers reached 1,527 from about 671 companies.)

Wolf suspects that many of these acquisitions execs will be seeking product for TV and homevid platforms. "It's less likely for people to pop up on the scene for theatrical than homevideo."

AFM puts buyers through a strict vetting process before they're granted access to the mart. "If a company wants to get accredited as a buyer, it has to name IFTA member companies that it's done business with," the market topper ensures. "Then we confirm that."

Wolf also didn't expect the number of films screening to be as high as it is this year -- 445. "Next year, I think we'll see that number at 410 or 420," he predicts. When the market's supply and demand was in sync, Wolf says, AFM unspooled about 400 films.

On the sales side, AFM has seen a reduction of about 29 companies as of Oct. 20. That's a drop of 7% over last year. The dip was anticipated, says Wolf. "There was a bubble in filmmaking, and we're now contracting back to equilibrium.

"We were not excited about the AFM growth," Wolf admits, noting that it meant pricing went soft. "We are not going to build a business model around a bigger AFM. It was like a life raft -- someone had to be pushed out."

So this year, it means that the sales-floor creep into Le Merigot hotel will subside a tad. Market stands will be spread across Le Merigot's first floor and half of the second, in addition to the main AFM space at the Loews hotel. At the height of the boom years, in 2004, the Loews filled up and three full floors of Le Merigot were needed for sales stands.

"We're still above those levels of five to six years ago," Wolf adds. "The thing about the AFM is that we've never had huge tectonic shifts in one year. It's always been gradual."

Pros pick best places for filmmaking --- Industry insiders choose world's greatest locations

Hello Friends!

I was actually part of this survey and for the US & I chose California (Los Angeles) as #1 and  Louisiana (New Orleans) as #2. Texas (Austin) did not make the list but that was my third choice.

Work hard and follow through!

Jean-Luc Martin
Line-Producer / UPM


Variety recently conducted an online poll among several hundred location managers, unit production managers, cinematographers, directors and assistant directors asking them to rate their favorite locations according to visual appeal, incentives, film-office support, production resources, and ability to substitute for another location.

The top five North American locations and the top five international locations, ranked here by overall excellence, are regions or cities that scored high on most or all of the criteria. Following these top 10 locations is a list of places cited by the polled pros for excelling in specific categories.


TOP 5 NORTH AMERICAN LOCATIONS


#1 California

Los Angeles and environs, San Diego, San Francisco and spots throughout the state

While California reels from the double whammy of a lousy economy and continued runaway production, it's easy to forget just how much the state has to offer. It still has the deepest talent pool -- both in front of and behind the camera -- and the largest and most technologically advanced production infrastructure and equipment in the world.

Plus, the state offers varied outdoor locations, including snow-capped mountains, sandy beaches, rolling vineyards and misty forests -- not to mention the hilly streets of San Francisco and palm-fringed urban landscape of L.A. The state's coast has hosted such films as "Sideways" and "Pirates of the Caribbean 3," its arid stretches have doubled for Iraq and Afghanistan, and at the center of the action is Hollywood, the longtime center of the global entertainment industry, with its backlots and studios.

Now, for the first time, California has taken steps to stem runaway production. The state enacted a 20%-25% tax credit -- in a bill signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made his name in Hollywood -- that went into effect July 1.


#2 New York

Manhattan, the rest of New York City plus upstate locations

Filmmakers have flocked to the Big Apple since the early days of cinema, drawn by its restless energy, its world-famous skyscrapers and backdrops that range from the mansions of Fifth Avenue to the gritty back alleys of Hell's Kitchen. There's no more authentic place to capture a New York street scene, as Oliver Stone is currently doing in "Wall Street 2," or to create a mythical New York, as Woody Allen has done.

The city boasts an abundance of skilled crews and major studios like Silvercup, Kaufman-Astoria and Steiner -- plus the facilities of the TV networks headquartered there.

Outside the city, filmmakers have long explored locations ranging from Long Island, the Hudson Valley, the Catskills and other picturesque regions. Helping the state attract productions: a 30%-35% refundable state tax credit on qualified expenses.

#3 New Mexico

Albuquerque, other cities and remote areas

Known for scenery that ranges from white desert sands to forested mountains, New Mexico also offers a 25% tax rebate on all production costs and local labor payments. This aggressive incentive has spurred a heavy production slate, promoting growth in studio and stage space. This year alone has seen 15 major feature film productions as well as various TV series. The newest facility is the giant Albuquerque Studios complex, joining Albuquerque-based Rio Grande Studios. But while Albuquerque remains the center of gravity, production is also moving to remoter areas like Deming ("Indiana Jones 4"), Clovis ("Believe in Me") and Las Cruces ("Transformers"). The state claims the largest crew base outside the coasts -- more than 3,000. A new studio complex is being built in Santa Fe.


#4 Chicago

Prototypical urban America

With its iconic downtown skyline, mix of traditional and radical architecture, historic neighborhoods and modern city life -- all fronted by Lake Michigan -- the Windy City exerts a powerful pull over filmmakers. Add in the 30% transferable tax credit and it's clear why the Illinois Film Office has been successful. Since the late '80s, more than 800 feature films and television projects have made use of local soundstages (the Chicago Production Center, Chicago Studio Center, NBC Studio) and the city's cinematic locations, including "Public Enemies," "Traitor," frequent visitor "ER" and "The Dark Knight." Chicago, a center of advertising and TV commercial production, also boasts a deep crew base, high-end post facilities and multiple equipment-rental houses.


#5 Louisiana  (Jean-Luc's side note: If you need any help with brokering your incentives please go  to http://ransackfilms.com/ and email them.)


New Orleans, other cities and parishes

Louisiana isn't just the boisterous Big Easy, soggy bayous and graceful old plantations draped with Spanish moss. The northeast has pine forests, rolling hills and small towns that can double for many other places. But the state's main attraction may be its 25% transferable tax credit coupled with large studio and stage facilities. These include Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge, StageWorks in Shreveport and Louisiana Film Studios in Elmwood. Shreveport also boasts the Louisiana Wave Studio, with a 750,000-gallon tank originally built for Disney's "The Guardian." New Orleans has bounced back post-Katrina; Tony Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer got the ball rolling by shooting "Deja Vu" there soon after the disaster. Shreveport has positioned itself as a production center ("Mad Money," "True Blood," "Premonition"), and local locations doubled for Washington, D.C., in Oliver Stone's "W."

TOP 5 INTERNATIONAL LOCATIONS

#1 Morocco

Cities and landscapes

A short list of filmmakers who've shot in Morocco reads like a Who's Who of Old Hollywood: Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston, Henry Hathaway and David Lean. More recently, Morocco was the location for Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Kundun"; Oliver Stone's "Alexander"; and Ridley Scott's "Gladiator," "Black Hawk Down," "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Body of Lies." Other high-profile productions include "Babel," "Troy," "The Mummy" franchise and "Prince of Persia," currently filming. The country's locations range from Mediterranean coastline to mountains and desert, and uniquely Moroccan skylines in Casablanca, Tangiers, Marrakech, Fez and Rabat.

The country boasts a solid cinema infrastructure. Thanks to their long experience, Morocco's film companies have developed a full gamut of production services, including location scouting, equipment and office rental, crew hiring, shooting permits, transportation, catering and accommodations. Local crews are often bilingual and accustomed to working with foreign productions, and location fees are low. Film companies also coordinate the use of the Moroccan military for the use of tanks, helicopters and aircraft in battle scenes -- assets that might be prohibitively expensive elsewhere.

#2 France

Paris, Provence and the Dordogne region

For an atmosphere of romance, fine cuisine and visual splendors, it's hard to beat France. The iconic cityscapes of Paris -- the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, the Seine -- have long provided backdrops for films about love and food ("Julie & Julia" being the latest) as well as actioners ("Rush Hour 3"). And in the south and west, Provence and the Dordogne region offer filmmakers a different kind of beauty, with lavender fields, sleepy villages, ruined castles and the spectacular cliff-hugging roads of the Riviera where James Bond raced his Aston Martin.

France has a network of 40 film commissions, experienced crews, deep infrastructure and a long history of filmmaking expertise and foreign production ("G.I. Joe," "The Bourne Ultimatum," "The Da Vinci Code," "Ocean's 12" to name just a few recent examples). The nation's new tax rebate, which the French Parliament enacted last December, created a credit for foreign productions shot in France.

#3 Prague

Center of Central European filmmaking

Prague's long, rich tradition of filmmaking didn't begin with Milos Forman and Saul Zaentz's "Amadeus," but that production helped put the visually beautiful and culturally rich capital of the Czech Republic back on the international stage. Since then, such high-profile films as "Mission: Impossible," "Casino Royale" and "Hannibal Rising" have taken advantage of the city's locations and film-friendly atmosphere. Prague also boasts some of the largest stages in Europe in the Barrandov complex; recent productions include a Disney "Narnia" sequel and "The Illusionist." The latter also used local post/vfx house Universal Production Partners (UPP) for all the effects. Since its establishment in 1994, UPP has worked on shots for Tom Tykwer's "Perfume" and Ron Underwood's "The Year Without Santa Claus," among others.

#4 Spain

Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands

An extensive coastline, desert scenery, high mountains and a culturally rich and diverse architecture have long helped Spain's cinematic development. The country has doubled for the American West (Sergio Leone's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"), the Muslim Middle East and many other world locations. Helped by Spain's fledgling incentives, Madrid and Barcelona have attracted filmmakers such as Woody Allen and have also grown into major production centers, supported by homegrown talent including Pedro Almodovar. The cities of Zaragoza and Aragon formed the backdrop to Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth," Malaga is busy with features and commercials, and Alicante now boasts the Ciudad de la Luz studio complex. Spain's Canary Islands offer the rugged, volcanic locations seen in Stanley Kubrick's "2001."


#5 U.K.

London, Edinburgh and elsewhere

The U.K. has a deep pool of acting talent, extensive infrastructure and great crews and facilities -- including the Ealing and Pinewood studios -- that can handle all levels of production, from the biggest sets of the James Bond and Harry Potter franchises to the smallest indie pics. The U.K. also offers an aggressive rebate program. For films budgeted at less than £20 million ($31.8 million), filmmakers can earn up to a 25% tax credit. Add in the natural beauty of the countryside, a widely spoken world language and the architectural appeal of cultural hot spots such as Bath and Edinburgh -- and the advantages become apparent. Contributing to the industry's health today: a plethora of productions from overseas and the solidly booked post and vfx industry in London's Soho


HONORABLE MENTIONS, PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Best Visual Appeal

Croatia, Hawaii, Panama

Croatia boasts World Heritage sites (Dubrovnik's Old City, Split's Palace of Diocletian), the stunning Dalmatian coastline and Plitvice Lakes National Park with waterfalls and 16 azure lakes. Hawaii is U.S. soil and offers good infrastructure, plus jungle, rain forest, towering cliffs, waterfalls, beaches and sunsets -- and beautiful weather. With its relative proximity to the U.S. and more than 30,000 square miles of terrain, Panama presents filmmakers with a variety of locations, including tropical rain forest, Caribbean beaches, volcanic areas, islands and a cosmopolitan skyline.

Best Incentives

Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina

Michigan grabbed the tax-break spotlight with its pumped-up package of a refundable, assignable credit that ranges from 30% to a whopping 42% of a production's eligible expenses. And the required minimum in-state spend is only $50,000. Georgia offers a transferable tax credit of 20%, with a possible further 10% if a state promo logo is included in the finished production. Minimum spend is $500,000. North Carolina recently upped its incentive to the level of a 25% tax credit on a minimum $250,000 in-state spend.

Best Film-Office Support

Connecticut, Utah, Vancouver

Connecticut's film office offers an online production guide, location gallery and information on local crews, casting and infrastructure. It also serves as a clearinghouse for tax-break information and production services. Vancouver long ago earned the title "Hollywood North," and the British Columbia Film Commission recently celebrated its 30th anniversary of helping productions such as "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian" and "Watchmen" find locations, crews and post facilities. The Utah Film Commission helps filmmakers deal with permitting, local government agencies and locations that range from "John Ford country" backdrops to alpine meadows and woodlands.

Best Production Resources

Sydney, Montreal, Toronto

Sydney's Fox Studios Australia is a major world destination for film and TV production, and the city has experienced crews and deep infrastructure. Montreal offers expert vfx work, spurred by tax breaks. High-profile films including "The Golden Compass" and "Indiana Jones 4" might shoot elsewhere but still use Montreal's talent pool for effects. Toronto, long home to a strong film and TV production community, is known for facilities, crews and a range of post, animation and vfx services. The first phase of its ambitious FilmPort studio complex opened last year.

Best Doubles for Other Locations

Buenos Aires, Iceland, Arizona

With its handsome, Eurocentric architecture and ambiance, Buenos Aires has long been known as "The Paris of South America" and can also double for London, Berlin, Rome -- even Mumbai (taxis and the train station are virtually identical). Iceland is home to spectacular, almost otherworldly locations that are surprisingly versatile, which is why Clint Eastwood used it to double for the South Pacific's Iwo Jima in "Flags of Our Fathers." It's not just Arizona's famous canyons, deserts and lakes that can twin for foreign lands: Although set in the Middle East, Universal's "The Kingdom" was primarily filmed in the Phoenix area.

Some studios stop abiding by the laws, and are better for it (Indie Produced Films)

With this weekend seeing the “Paranormal Activity” train roll on and “Law Abiding Citizen” overperforming for Overture, a curious mini-trend is taking hold: studios are going into the finished-film rough and coming out with gems.

Or, put another way, studios are creating hits by doing exactly the opposite of what their machinery is designed to do: develop from within.

Both Paramount and Overture, the respective distributors behind those two weekend winners, acquired rights to their  films after the pics were pretty much through production by their indie producers (at a fraction of the price than it would have cost to make them). With “District 9,” the in-production diamond Sony unearthed last year and turned into $100+ million in boxoffice bling, that means three of the biggest sleepers of the year were all developed outside the studio system and only released within it.

That may not seem like a tectonic shift. But with every passing weekend at the box-office — a bargain acquisition breaks out here, a studio-developed pic flops there — the balance of power moves slightly away from the development world and toward acquisitions and marketing.

That balance will never move too far in the other direction; studios still have plenty of investment in and infrastructure for development. But with this hat trick, it’s now fair to ask if there’s at least a new model creeping in to rival the old one, a model in which development and production are, in essence, outsourced.

The move to acquire in-production and finished pics, after all, dovetails nicely with a few other studio trends. The biggies around town are already cutting back on development, as they slash budgets, producer deals, blind writer deals, etc.

There is, at the same time, a sudden abundance of available commercial pics, thanks to a shift on the independent financing side. Over the past year there have been a number of financiers willing to fund low-budget genre movies instead of what they once happily financed — star-driven dramatic ones.

In other words, there’s a lot more out there that might interest the studios than there was even a year ago.

Maybe most importantly, at a time when penny-pinching studios are trying, for better or worse, to stamp the risk out of the business (see under: The Remake Craze), the opportunity to watch a film before one decides to invest in it may be most appealing of all. And if that pic is a star-less one with a good concept — meaning it’s marketable but can be bought at a price — all the better.

There’s no guarantee that any of the other titles studios have bought or will buy will break out similarly; “Paranormal Activity,” with a low budget even by low-budget standards, is certainly an anomaly.

But if nothing else, the weekend shows that it may be the right time to start handicapping other prospects, whether it’s the dark superhero high-school tale “Kick-Ass” (acquired for a few million by Lionsgate several months ago, after it was finished), the deluded superhero tale “Defendor” (acquired by Sony, “District 9″ style, for a similarly low price out of Toronto), or the high-concept underwater adventure “Sanctum” (which Relativity and Universal teamed to buy for just above $10m, and which as a 3D pic with Jim Cameron’s imprimatur, has many of the right earmarks).

One consequence of all this is that the upcoming American Film Market, where Sony of course picked up “District 9″ last year, may have a different feel. The Santa Monica gathering usually conjures as much excitement as a trip to a used-car dealership. This year may up the intrigue level.

More broadly, with all the other changes creasing the movie business, you can add this wrinkle. Indies are now making commercial movies, and the commercial world is following an indie approach. Things truly are paranormal.

The upside of a DVD and VOD day-and-date release Strategy worked for 'Twilight,' more titles to follow

The upside of a DVD and VOD day-and-date release
Strategy worked for 'Twilight,' more titles to follow

Is "Twilight" the dawning of a new era for video-on-demand?

When Summit Entertainment released the vampire hit simultaneously on DVD and video-on-demand, it broke the oldest taboo in home entertainment: No other studio had released a pic grossing more than $100 million at the domestic B.O. that way, fearing VOD transactions would cannibalize disc sales.

As the entertainment biz inevitably moves toward a day when discs will give way to product delivered directly to TVs and computers, the business is poised somewhat uneasily on a tightrope. Summit and some majors like the day and date VOD and DVD release strategy; others are worried it will cut into DVD sales.

But that didn’t happen with "Twilight": The March release became -- and still is -- the year’s top home entertainment title. Almost 8.5 million copies have been sold on disc or via download on sites such as iTunes, while rentals have exceeded 14 million transactions on all formats, with VOD accounting for a healthy portion of that.

Summit Home Entertainment prexy Steve Nickerson is convinced the release strategy paid off in greater overall coin.

"We’re pleased with the approach of offering consumers different ways to watch movies," Nickerson says. "We were able to create a broader market and take advantage of marketing synergies."

Indie suppliers such as IFC use the even more radical strategy of releasing mostly foreign and arthouse pics simultaneously on VOD and in theaters, but some majors are reluctant to condense the DVD window further. The stakes are higher for the majors, which is why --"Twilight" and some other titles notwithstanding -- they are still hesitating to launch their biggest hits simultaneously on VOD and DVD during the all-important fourth quarter.

The day-and-date "Twilight" release fit Summit’s home entertainment strategy -- make it simple for consumers to watch movies however they want -- and served as a real eye-opener for rivals. Even Warner Bros., the most bullish studio proponent of simultaneous DVD and VOD releases, hadn’t tried it on a movie grossing more than $100 million before "Twilight."

But in the wake of Summit’s success, the majors have begun stepping up their relationship with VOD. Warners released "Gran Torino"; the June release edged out "Twilight" as the top cable VOD title for the year. The studio will release "Four Christmases" and "Terminator: Salvation" simultaneously on both formats this fourth quarter.

Sony will release "Angels and Demons" that way Nov. 24 as part of a four-title test that also includes "Julie and Julia" and "The Ugly Truth."

Universal, which began releasing smaller pics simultaneously in January, will bow "Bruno" on both platforms Nov. 17; Warners will also release "Orphan" simultaneously Oct. 27. The DVD-VOD windows of other major holiday titles range from one week to one month.

"Definitely, there are more studios experimenting with day-and-date releases than in the past," says Kristie Fortner, VP of syndication for Rentrak’s Advanced Media & Info division, which tracks cable and telco VOD transactions.

According to Rentrak, in 2007, 10 movies were released day-and-date on DVD and VOD, a figure that more than tripled in 2008. That number already has been exceeded this year, with months to go. The average VOD window between DVD release and VOD availability is 21 days and dropping. That’s a considerable decline from the 45-day windows of the past.

There’s a good reason for the compression: Studios are trying to maximize coin at a time when the home entertainment biz has grown more fragmented. DVD sales are on the decline, Blu-ray has yet to take off, and Internet downloads are still tiny.

Studios don’t want to hurt DVD sales, but they also recognize that VOD fits into the trend toward consumers renting rather than buying. Studios vastly prefer VOD to disc rentals because they get a bigger cut of each transaction.

Studios also would much rather consumers watch movies on VOD than pay $1 for a Redbox rental, for example. Part of the reason several studios tried to impose revenue-sharing deals with the kiosk company was to ensure they got a bigger piece of each transaction.

Another reason to pump up the VOD: to harness marketing across distribution platforms. In the past six months, cable companies have begun to step up their VOD marketing in a bid for Blockbuster’s business, and to take advantage of new cable boxes installed during the digital TV conversion.

According to Rentrak, cable and telco VOD transactions are up 14% year over year. The research org has begun to track the much smaller Internet biz but does not release that data yet.

"If you consolidate that spending in all those markets, now it’s only up to consumers to decide how they want to purchase it, or if they want to rent instead of buying," a studio exec points out.

To test how much this marketing might affect disc purchases, Warners recently tested pre-DVD releases of "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" and "Observe and Report" with Comcast in Atlanta last month, and is considering another "try before you buy" VOD test with "Four Christmases" next month.

Warner will release "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" on VOD Dec. 15, one week after its DVD debut, and "The Hangover" will go VOD Dec. 22, one week after its bow on disc.

Fox, which released "Bride Wars" simultaneously in April, will launch "Night at the Museum 2" on VOD 10 days after its early December DVD bow. The Mouse House maintained a 15-day window for "The Proposal." And Paramount slotted "Transformers 2" and "Star Trek" on VOD a month after their disc debuts.

However, companies like Summit question whether this old-fashioned window between DVD and VOD release does more harm than good in this fragmented media landscape, confusing consumers who want to see movies in myriad ways. Nickerson says his company believes in true content ubiquity.

This is why the studio continues to sell discs to Redbox and Netflix, and plans to stick with its day-and-date strategy -- happily pocketing growing VOD coin in return.

Paranormal movie succeeds with abnormal online marketing

Hello,
I am sure everyone has heard about the marketing behind Paranormal ...  Every project needs to find its strategy. 
Jean-Luc Martin



Cnet
I once asked a happy couple I knew why they loved horror movies. "It's exciting to be scared," the wife explained. So I suggested three large henchmen would be arriving shortly with all sorts of farming implements in order to slice them both into small, but even pieces. They didn't seem to find that exciting at all.

Still, people seem so able to divorce their fantasies from their realities that one should not be agog that "Paranormal Activity," a movie whose sole purpose seems to be to part your nervous system from the solar system, is a success.

However, one might offer a little agogness to the socially networked marketing methods that helped it along its way.



You see, the makers of this movie, which CNN reports cost around $11,000 to produce, didn't bother making something you might describe as a conventional trailer. Instead, they made a little clip largely about how defibrillators were inadequate during test screenings in college towns.

The initial victims seem to have enjoyed leaping out of their vintage Levi's so much that they began to Twitter about the experience. And that gave the movie studio some online marketing ideas.

Originally, the movie fell into the lap of Dreamworks (part of Paramount Pictures) after its success at the 2008 Slamdance Festival (which is, I believe, an event where a lot of people get drunk and frighten each other with fire extinguishers).

After seeing the startling amount of word-of-mouth buzz the movie was getting, it seems that Paramount's first inclination was to pat writer/director Oren Peli on his head and bottom and reshoot it with, you know, famous and expensive people. However, Steven Spielberg suggested this might not be necessary since the movie was already resonating with early viewers. Hence, after a little editing and the addition of a new and, guess what, scarier ending, they organized some midnight college town screenings.

Once the college town tweeters began to champion its cause, Paramount launched ParanormalMovie.com, a cheery little site that encouraged thrill-seekers to threaten their local movie theater owners with phantasms, limb severance, and immolation if they did not agree to screen "Paranormal Activity".

OK, I might be slightly exaggerating about the limb severance and immolation. But, with the same kind of dexterity employed by British Prime Minster Tony Blair when, upon the death of Princess Diana, he described her as "the People's Princess," this lovely little film became the People's Movie.

ParanormalMovie.com claims that it received more than 1 million demands from moviegoers, which is why "Paranormal Activity" is, according to the site, "the first-ever movie release demanded by you." (This is obvious nonsense as I and several of my friends and former amorous consorts demanded another idiotic Nicolas Cage "searching for treasure" movie and it appeared almost before we had finished speaking.)

Still, CNN reported that the online buzz created such a haunting atmosphere that "Paranormal Activity" frightened $7.1 million out of the public's pockets last weekend, while only gracing some 200 theaters.

So a movie that enjoys innovations such as inviting you to tweet your scream appears set to swamp your screens with its happy happenings. The Paranormal folks are equal opportunity social networkers, of course. You can also express your screams on Facebook at Facebook.com/paranormalacitivity.

Paramount's Josh Greenstein offered CNN some fun marketing speak to describe the online groundswell that was, well, very cheap: "When people saw the movie, they loved it so much and there is such a slow build of terror that you have to sit through to experience the full effect of the movie, so we changed the marketing techniques in advertising and online to make it more experiential."

Should you choose to partake of this slow build of terror, please be warned of the effect it might have on you. As Facebook screamer Phil Osher declared: "had to crawl into bed with my friend."

If the potential of this behavior doesn't put you off, please let me know how it was. As I would rather remove my body hair with a chisel than watch this no doubt highly enjoyable movie.

'Paranormal Activity' has not-so-normal rollout -- Studio is expanding horror pic while 'Saw VI' hits theaters

Hollywood Reporter
Paramount appears committed to an abnormally aggressive expansion of its suddenly hot "Paranormal Activity."

Betting heavily on fan fervor for the microbudgeted ghost story, the studio is expected to send "Paranormal Activity" into a boxoffice buzz saw on Oct. 23. That's when Lionsgate will release its horror sequel "Saw VI," and Par will broaden "Paranormal Activity" to 2,000 playdates.

Promoted largely via viral marketing, "Paranormal Activity" posted an otherworldly $7.9 million from 160 playdates last weekend. The inexpensive Slamdance film fest acquisition totes a $9.1 million cume including prior midnight-only engagements.

Par will expand the film to roughly 800 engagements on Friday and appears on track for the teen millions this weekend. But the distributor hopes to get "Paranormal Activity" more than 2,000 runs this month, and the early word has Par feverishly seeking exhib commitments for a week from Friday.

The situation has some recalling the out-of-nowhere theatrical surge of another Little Horror Pic That Could -- 1999's "The Blair Witch Project."

Whether Par can mimic Artisan Entertainment's $140 million-plus domestic success with "Blair Witch" remains to be seen. But as with that film, there is a wide array of opinion on the ideal distribution strategy for "Paranormal Activity."

Par is playing its cards close to the vest. But the studio appears to be splitting the baby by avoiding an immediate expansion into wide release, while committing to as wide an expansion as possible in two weeks.

An immediate wide release might have prevented the inevitable backlash from critics and others, though to date reviews have been largely positive. It also would avoid an overlap with the "Saw" sequel, whose prerelease tracking suggests the Lionsgate pic will bow as big as its franchise predecessors.

But even the coming weekend features an unfortunate audience overlap with Sony Screen Gems' horror thriller "The Stepfather," though "Paranormal Activity" carries an R rating and "Stepfather" is rated PG-13. The session will likely be topped by Warner Bros.' PG-rated fantasy "Where the Wild Things Are," and Overture also will unspool Jamie Foxx starrer "Law Abiding Citizen" in wide release.

"Everybody has an opinion on what they should be doing," a distribution exec at a rival studio said Tuesday. "But there's no question that it's a nice problem to have for Paramount."

The Brazilian city, host of the 2016 Olympics, is courting film productions to gain jobs and polish its image as a tourist destination. Hoping to be a star

Hello All,

A friend who is from Brazil and a partner with an insurance firm here in the US and Brazil has always asked why I have not considered shooting there (If you need international insurance let me know and I will make the introduction). Well here may be a reason as per a recent article in the LA Times.

Have a great week!

Jean-Luc Martin

Producer / Line-Producer / UPM

Rio de Janeiro woos Woody Allen movie project 

The Brazilian city, host of the 2016 Olympics, is courting film productions to gain jobs and polish its image as a tourist destination. Hoping to be a star

Rio de Janeiro will host the Olympics in 2016 and part of the World Cup in 2014, but many businesses -- including film production services -- have fled the city in recent years because of its crime rate.


The Brazilian city has formed a new film commission, hired a longtime movie industry pro to head it and set an ambitious first goal: landing the next Woody Allen flick.

Taking a cue from Barcelona, the Spanish city that was the principal setting for Allen's last film, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," Rio is dangling $2 million in subsidies to attract the director's as-yet-untitled next movie.

This month, Rio was named the site for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, and city fathers hope it's on a roll. It will also be one of several Brazilian cities hosting the 2014 World Cup soccer match.

Although nothing is signed, Allen's production company sent two top producers -- Stephen Tenenbaum and the director's sister Letty Aronson -- to Rio this month to scout locations. They made stops at landmarks including Sugar Loaf Mountain, the Botanical Garden and a park near the hilltop Christ the Redeemer statue.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes and Rio de Janeiro state governor Sergio Cabral agreed last month to merge the city and state film commissions. The new Rio Film Commission has been given a $45-million three-year budget that includes promotion and incentives.

The political allies see movies as a way of boosting tourism, creating jobs and polishing the city's image, which has been besmirched in recent years by rampant crime.

Steve Solot, the longtime Latin America chief for the Motion Picture Assn., was named to head the new commission. Although Solot said Rio is competing with "all the film commissions of the world" to attract Allen, he expressed confidence that the New York-based director's next movie would happen in Rio.

"It will be a postcard for the city and state and a step toward making Rio a real destination not just for filming but for tourists leading up to the World Cup and Olympics," Solot said.

Despite its exotic scenery and festive spirit, Rio's major film productions have been few and far between. They include Alfred Hitchcock's "Notorious" (1946); a James Bond film, "Moonraker" (1979); "Blame It on Rio" (1984), starring Michael Caine; "Moon Over Parador" (1988), with Richard Dreyfuss; and "The Expendables," a Sylvester Stallone vehicle slated to open next year.

Many businesses, including film production services, have fled Rio in recent years because of the crime rate. Although the city dominates in the production of soap operas, most commercial films and videos are shot in Sao Paulo, the country's business hub, said Bruno Barreto, an Oscar-nominated director and son of Brazilian producer Luiz Carlos Barreto.

Bruno Barreto said his native city had not been a "production-friendly town" and had done little to promote itself in recent years. That may be changing with the new political leadership and the increase in royalties that the city and state are receiving from offshore oil production.

Solot said Rio has adequate film production services to accommodate Allen and other filmmakers. One of the Rio-based production houses negotiating with Allen to help produce his next film is Conspiracy Productions.

In the U.S., most states decided long ago that hosting movie productions was good business. Forty-three states now offer subsidies covering up to 40% of a film's costs, with Michigan, New Mexico and Louisiana among the most generous.

Solot said studies have established that a typical U.S. film production pumps $200,000 a day into a local economy through spending on hotels, restaurants and technical and other services.

Spain gave Allen $2 million, or 10% of his budget, to attract "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." The movie's positive effect on tourism in Barcelona and Oviedo, the two primary cities used as locations, caught the attention of other cities in Europe and Latin America, Solot said.

"My job is to put the city and state of Rio on the map of the world of audiovisual communications," he said. "That includes film but is much, much more, from reality shows and video games to pay-per-view and video on demand. . . . Rio has been on the map for a few important films historically, but it's not on the map of the production community presently."

Kraul is a special correspondent.

Los Angeles takes baby steps to keep Hollywood at home

Is Los Angeles finally trying to become a film friendly city?

Don't hold your breath. But the city council this morning unanimously approved a series of modest recommendations aimed at slowing the disturbing migration rate of TV and film production to other cities and states.
The 17 recommendations include having the city evaluate a business tax credit for building owners that make their properties available for filming at "reasonable rate," and a sales tax refund for purchases made for filming when at least 75 percent of the shooting is done within the city. The council also agreed to offer city parking lots for free to film crews that shoot after hours or on weekends to increase the availability of power nodes downtown that film production companies could use in lieu of generators.

The steps come amid mounting evidence that LA is losing jobs in film and TV to other cheaper locales. More than 40 states offer tax credits and rebates. The city's wake-up came last year when ABC moved its sitcom "Ugly Betty" from LA to New York, to take advantage of tax credits there. Earlier this year, California adopted its first ever film tax credits, which have helped keep some productions from leaving but are considered too narrow in scope to compete with what other states offer.

Local sales tax credits for filmmakers could help make LA more competitive, but it's unclear whether and how much the city is willing to subsidize the local entertainment industry given the city's severe budget crunch.

Councilman Richard Alarcon, who chaired the jobs and business development committee that crafted the recommendations, said the steps are long overdue.

"We are in competition with locations throughout the country as well as Canada and if we do not fight to keep filming in LA it could have a devastating effect on our economy,'' he said. "Some argue that it already has. It's critical that we recognized filming as significant part of our economy and that we need to grow and protect it."