movie financing

8 Stories

Fox Sitting Pretty With Avatar—Even if It Flops

Studio—and Cameron—hedged bets on $500M megapicture

(Newser) - James Cameron’s 3D game-changer Avatar may end up costing upwards of $500 million to produce and market, but, strangely, no one at the studio is losing sleep over the possibility of a flop. The business just isn’t the same as it used to be, when the collapse of...

Weinstein Co. in Trouble, Despite Success of Basterds

Company needs more hits to pull itself out of debt

(Newser) - Inglourious Basterds’ success has provided a stay of execution for Weinstein Co., but the firm needs several more blockbusters like it to stay afloat, sources tell the Wall Street Journal reports. The 4-year-old company hasn’t released as many films as it thought it would, but it’s burned through...

Stars Bomb at the Box Office
 Stars Bomb at the Box Office 
Aug 21, 2009 3:29 AM CDT

Stars Bomb at the Box Office

(Newser) - Hollywood executives are scratching their heads over why so many mega-wattage stars are failing to fill movie houses. A record number of usual box-office successes like Denzel Washington, Will Ferrell, Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks came up short, in some cases not even attracting enough viewers for producers to break...

Credit Crunch Saps Funding for Indie Films

Drop-off in foreign rights sales leaves producers looking for cash

(Newser) - Independent film producers are losing a once-reliable source of funding, the sale of foreign-distribution rights. Traditionally, the demand for American movies has been so high that producers can sell the rights to distribute the film—in many cases, even before it’s finished—in order to cover costs. But the...

DreamWorks Nails Down Disney Deal
DreamWorks Nails Down
Disney Deal
Feb 9, 2009 3:10 PM CST

DreamWorks Nails Down Disney Deal

Spielberg's studio to get financing, distribution for six films a year

(Newser) - Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks has secured a distribution deal with Disney, the Wall Street Journal reports. Under the agreement, Disney will handle marketing and distribution for six live-action DreamWorks films per year and give Spielberg’s studio access to $150 million in financing.

Spurned Spielberg Seeks Disney Deal

Universal scraps Dreamworks plan after demand for more cash

(Newser) - Hollywood's own financial crisis has left Steven Spielberg searching for a home for DreamWorks, the Wall Street Journal reports. Talks over a distribution deal with Universal collapsed yesterday after the studio balked at DreamWorks' request to double its financing commitment to $200 million. DreamWorks is now in talks with Disney,...

Paramount Loses $450M Funding Deal

The failure is part of a larger trend as liquidity dries up

(Newser) - A $450-million deal with Deutsche Bank that would have financed up to 30 films for Paramount is off the table, the Financial Times  reports. Perhaps an unlikely casualty of the credit crunch, Paramount walked after a lack of enthusiasm in the market led to terms that were unattractive, persons familiar...

Striking Writers Want to Launch Online Video Company

'Virtual Artists' will negotiate its own deals

(Newser) - A group of striking WGA writers are planning to launch their own online content distribution service named Virtual Artists, NewTeeVee reports. The company will offer less money to film creators upfront, but will provide them with more substantial ownership rights to their own work. Members of the WGA will be...

8 Stories