hoc opus

Mixed amidst Viacom's first release of financial data ― net earnings of $130 million, down nearly 70% due to a $94 million loss in the studio driven by a 42% drop in worldwide theatrical revenues ― was more detail on its impending sale of the DreamWorks 61-title library. Executives indicated that the expect at least $900 million for the library, up from earlier estimates of $800 million-$850 million.

While Paramount is still in talks with George Soros' Soros Capital Management, according to Variety, other possible buyers include "Goldman Sachs, led by banker Joseph Ravitch, [who] is said to be readying an offering worth about $930 million. Ravitch helped put together financing for the Weinstein Co. and the sale of MGM to Sony and a group of investors. And another possible offer is said to be coming from Dresdner Bank representing some Russian investors." Should Soros prove successful, it is reported that he might be joined by Dune Capital Management the film co-financing entity, which is a spinoff from Soros Capital.

Whichever way it falls out, this puts the value of the rights to these films at an average of approximately $15 million.

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Boosting his available war chest to over $250 million, Ashok Amritraj has secured an additional $100 million in financing for Hyde Park Entertainment from Swiss investment banks (per Variety). This will allow Hyde Park to fully finance three movies a year, upping their co-financing deal with Fox.

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Barely a week after announcing the launch of Artisan founder Bill Block's QED International, "a Beverly Hills-based financing, sales and production company backed by an initial round of nearly $10 million in private equity" (per Variety), the company has just announced at the Berlin Film Festival that it will will jointly co-finance and co-produce four movies with InterMedia.

Demonstrating its desire to do more than "fill[ing] what it sees as the ever-growing need for a place where a variety of indie and studio producers can go to secure money and packaging aid," the deal is the first of several that QED is contemplating.

With so much new money in Hollywood tunnelling directly to the studios in the form of co-financed slates, QED has a mission:

"We are launching QED at this time because we see an opportunity in the landscape for a focused sales agency that fully services studio and independent producers that extends beyond just the deal to marketing, delivery and distribution to our territorial partners," Block said.

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Summit Entertainment has formalized its history with Constantin Film by closing a first-look distribution deal to sell rights "to all countries excluding North America, which Constantin will continue to handle itself, and German-speaking territories, where Constantin has its own distribution." As noted by Variety, "Summit's pact with Constantin formalizes a long-standing relationship between the two companies."

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