Motion Pictures
December 6, 2005
Warner Bros. Pictures Announces Co-Financing Agreement With Virtual Studios
(December 6, 2005 - Burbank, CA) – Warner Bros. Pictures has announced a co-financing agreement with Virtual Studios, LLC that will see them partnered on six upcoming films. The announcement was made today by Jeff Robinov, President of Production, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Benjamin Waisbren, Managing Director of Virtual Studios.
The films include "The Good German," starring George Clooney, Cate Blanchett and Tobey Maguire, and directed by Steven Soderbergh; "Blood Diamond," starring Leonardo diCaprio, Djimon Honsou and Jennifer Connelly, and directed by Ed Zwick; "300," starring Gerard Butler and directed by Zack Snyder; "The Assassination of Jesse James," starring Brad Pitt and Sam Shepard, and directed by Andrew Dominik; "Poseidon," starring Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas, Richard Dreyfuss and Emmy Rossum, and directed by Wolfgang Petersen; and "V For Vendetta," starring Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving and Stephen Rea, directed by James McTeigue and written by Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. All but 300 are slated for release in 2006.
“As moviemaking gets more complex, it’s increasingly helpful to find partners who appreciate our intention to deliver the highest quality entertainment and are willing to join us in assuming the challenges of making that possible,” said Robinov. “Virtual Studios is a terrific partner that shares our goals and believes in our methods. We look forward to an outstanding collaboration.”
Responded Waisbren, “Virtual Studios is proud to join Warner Bros. Pictures in financing these six movies, which combine major stars, A-list filmmakers, and the finest production values. Alan Horn and Jeff’s track record in choosing projects with both commercial and artistic merit has been remarkable, particularly in the current industry environment. And Warner’s exceptional performance demonstrates that its global marketing and distribution capabilities are second to none. This investment is an important part of our strategy to create and manage a diversified portfolio of high-quality assets in the global motion picture industry, and the first step in building a long-term partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures.”
Virtual Studios, which is based in Los Angeles, invests equity capital in the production and distribution of major motion pictures, as well as in operating companies engaged in those activities. In addition to the Warner Bros. Pictures co-financing transaction, Virtual Studios is a joint venture partner in the production and acquisition of films, with Initial Entertainment Group, in IEG Virtual Studios, based in Santa Monica, and is a private equity investor and joint venture partner in the acquisition and distribution of films with Exception Wild Bunch, based in Paris. Further, through VS Financial, based in Beverly Hills, a joint venture with Relativity Media, Virtual Studios provides single picture financing and other forms of debt capital for the production of independent films.
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