MUMBAI: Film financier David Bergstein has sued the owners of Miramax alleging that they haven’t paid him money and an equity stake owed for his role in the acquisition of the film label from Walt Disney Co. in 2010.
The suit, filed by law firm Weingarten Brown, claimed that Bergstein played a crucial role in the deal to acquire Miramax. It further reiterates that Santa Monica private equity firm Colony Capital, one of Miramax‘s new owners and its principal Richard Nanula, conspired to deny Bergstein a $6.1-million fee and 3.3 per cent stake in the company that they agreed to provide him as part of the purchase.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by the law firm, has named Filmyard Holdings, the entity which owns Miramax, as well as Colony Capital and its principal Richard Nanula. While Colony and Nanula are named as defendants as is Filmyard Holdings, others who also have stakes in Filmyard are the Qatari government‘s Qatar Holdings and Ron Tutor, the chief executive of construction firm Tutor-Perini Corp.
It was not clear exactly what role Bergstein played in the acquisition, except that he was working with Tutor before Colony joined the acquisition team in July 2010. In the suit, Bergstein says that he initiated talks with Disney which had already put Miramax up for sale and negotiated the structure of the deal.
He claims that for his work, he was promised two separate $6.1-million fees, one at closing and another when certain conditions were met, plus a 5 per cent equity stake in Filmyard. Later Bergstein agreed to reduce his stake to 3.33 per cent on the insistence of Tutor and Colony chief Tom Barrack.
Colony declined to provide Bergstein with any documentation as part of his stake or a share of profits when the company was recapitalized last fall, the complaint alleges. Bergstein also said that he was not paid his second $6.1-million fee when conditions were met though he did receive the initial payment.
The troubled film financer claims he was cut out because he has been the subject of negative press coverage related to his legal troubles from a string of troubled companies and business deals in which he has been involved. His controversial past would have put off Qatar Holdings and a lender, the complaint says.
Advisory firm Duff and Phelps pegged Miramax‘s value at $813 million when the company refinanced in December. According to Bergstein‘s suit, his 3.33 per cent ownership stake would entitle him to somewhere around $27 million of that valutation, plus whatever moneys investors earned during the transaction.
Tag: Miramax
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Troubled film financer David Bergstein sues Miramax owners
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MGM president receives Variety’s Humanitarian Award
MUMBAI: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. (MGM ) President, Domestic Distribution Clark Woods was chosen to receive the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens’ 2007 Humanitarian Award for his contribution both as a role model and mentor to children, fostering strong self-esteem and confidence in young boys and girls during critical periods of their development.
The Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens’ is a non profit recreational and educational facility for children in the Queens area of New York
The award will be presented to Woods at the 56th Annual Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens’ Humanitarian Award Dinner, a fundraising event held on Wednesday, 13 June at The Copacabana in New York City. All funds raised from the affair, organized under the auspices of Variety – The Children’s Charity of New York, will benefit the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens.
While making the announcement Variety president The Children’s Charity of New York Bill Briendel noted, “We are honored to recognize the contributions of Clark Woods as one of the entertainment industry’s caring and dedicated role models for children. Clark is a true friend and mentor who deserves our respect and admiration for his selflessness and contributions to the healthy development of our nation’s children.”
A 28-year veteran of theatrical distribution, Clark Woods joined MGM as President Domestic Theatrical Distribution in March 2006, overseeing all aspects of the company’s revitalized theatrical distribution operations in North America. Among his most recent professional accomplishments was the successful release of Rocky Balboa the sixth and final film in the popular Rocky feature film franchise.
Woods’ career began at Sun Classic Pictures in 1978. Later that same year, he transitioned to Paramount Pictures, working first in the studio’s Washington, D.C. branch and holding numerous positions over the next 26 years. While at Paramount, Mr. Woods served as a vital part of the studio’s distribution team, spearheading award-winning films like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Titanic and War of the Worlds. Until joining MGM in 2006, Woods held the title of Executive Vice President, General Sales Manager at Paramount, a post he assumed in 2000.
Woods is also past president of the Variety Club of Southern California, Tent 25 and currently sits on their advisory board. He is also the current Treasurer of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers, Vice President of Variety Club International, board member of Variety Lifeline and a member of the advisory board of his alma mater, the American University’s School of Communications.
The past awardees include Focus Features’ President of Theatrical Distribution Jack Foley (2006), Buena Vista Distribution President Chuck Viane (2005), New Line Domestic Theatrical Distribution President David Tuckerman (2004), MGM COO Rick Sands (honored while Miramax Chief Operating Officer in 2003), and the late Albert “Cubby” Broccoli (1968), among others.
The Variety Boys & Girls Clubs of Queens is a not-for-profit corporation serving youth ages 6 to 17 since 1955. Promoting the social, educational, health, leadership, and character development of boys and girls during critical periods of their growth, the Club programs and services promote and enhance the development of boys and girls by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence. In addition to instilling each child with a sense of hope and opportunity, Variety Boys & Girls Clubs of Queens also offers ongoing relationships with caring, adult professionals, life-enhancing programs and character development experiences. The Club’s Performing Arts Program offers youth an opportunity to learn acting and singing, theater prop preparation, lighting and other components essential to staging a play.
Variety-The Children’s Charity of New York raises funds for hospitals, agencies and programs in the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut).
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FremantleMedia takes ‘Project Runway’ to Canada
MUMBAI: Television format cerator and distributor FremantleMedia has signed a deal with Canadian firm Alliance Atlantis Communications and Insight Production.
The deal is for the fashion based reality show Project Runway Canada will premiere on the newly-branded network Slice.
The Canadian version format of the US series which was developed by Miramax and The Weinstein Company will find Canadian fashion designers competing in a number of head-to-head challenges for the chance to be discovered as the next ‘It’ Canadian designer, and is set to debutlater this year.
Slice also airs the US and UK versions of the series. In addition to Project Runway Canada, Slice will debut the second season of Project Catwalk, the UK version of the show from March 2007.Alliance Atlantis Communications senior VP, content, lifestyle channels Karen Gelbart says, “Our viewers have become addicted to the U.S. and U.K versions of the Project Runway series, and it’s truly a thrill to partner with Insight and FremantleMedia Enterprises to welcome Project Runway Canada to Slice.
“We see this as a tremendous opportunity to shine a spotlight on the wealth of talented designers working in Canada’s unique and successful fashion industry. And, given that the world of fashion is competitive, catty and amazingly glamorous, we have no doubt the series will create memorable personalities that will have people talking week after week.”
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Buena Vista intl TV inks Vod, IPTV deal with Anytime
SINGAPORE: Buena Vista International Television-Asia Pacific (BVITV-AP), the international television distribution arm of US media conglomerate Disney has concluded a multi-year movie video-on-demand (VOD) IPTV agreement with Asia Pacific’s leading Video on-Demand Channel Anytime.
This agreement will make available a range of current and library features on the Anytime channel in Australia through TransACT and Regional Internet Australia (RIA), Buddy Broadband in Thailand and TDMC in Taiwan. This agreement is in line with Disney’s focus on the application of technology to enhance its content and expand its distribution to deliver anytime, anywhere.
Through this agreement, IPTV customers in Australia, Taiwan and Thailand will be able to enjoy a films from Disney, Touchstone and Miramax. Titles include Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Cinderella Man, Eight Below and Flightplan. The selection also includes the thriller Face/Off and family comedies Herbie: Fully Loaded and Freaky Friday.
The agreement also includes provisions for cooperation against piracy of BVITV’s content, while at the same time safeguarding the privacy of end users and remaining consistent with local law and industry practice.
BVITV-AP senior VP, MD Steve Macallister says, “We are very pleased to have concluded this pan-regional VOD deal with Anytime to offer our top movie titles ‘on-demand’ to IPTV subscribers across the region. As flexibility and choice of viewing become increasingly important, our focus will continue to be on finding innovative and convenient ways for consumers to access our content.”
Anytime president and CEO Craig Zimbulis said, “We are delighted to be able to add BVITV to existing Anytime deployments. The appeal of BVITV content is indisputable and its inclusion for us greatly enhances Anytime’s ability to present the very best in entertainment to all age groups. BVITV’s award-winning line-up of entertainment further establishes ANYTIME as the pre-eminent Video on-Demand channel in Asia Pacific.”
Anytime provides video content owners, such as BVITV, with a streamlined process for getting product to market, giving fast access to new audiences and revenue streams. It provides carriers with a complete programming solution covering content and metadata, data encoding and encryption, interface development and marketing support.
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Dish TV inks deal with BVITV for MoD service
MUMBAI: The direct-to-home Dish TV has added Walt Disney movies to its movie-on-demand (Mod) offering besides providing Bollywood movies.
For this, DishTV has entered into an agreement with the international television distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company -Buena Vista International Television-Asia Pacific (BVITV-AP) to air the latest blockbuster movies on its value added service.
Subscribers of the Mod pay-per-view service will have access to a slate of box office hit features from Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Miramax and Jerry Bruckheimer Films including The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Disney’s highest grossing film to date, Casanova, Cinderella Man, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Dark Water, and Flight Plan, informs an official release.
Speaking about the tie-up, Dish TV CEO Sunil Khanna said, “Strategic alliances of this magnitude and nature are very important for any operator in any market. We are happy to tie up with BVITV at a juncture when the Mod services for Hindi movies has already been launched and now Dish TV is all set to launch the same service for English movies as well. With this move, we will be able to offer this service to more than 1.2 million subscribers of Dish TV spread across the country”.
The movie can be ordered through SMS, phone or by logging on to www.dishtvindia.in. The consumer can watch the movie for 24 hours at his/her own convenience at a cost of Rs. 50 per movie.
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Disney set to cut down on costs with fewer films
MUMBAI: Despite the fact that the Pirates of The Carribean sequel set a record by crossing the $100 million mark in the first three days of release, US media conglomerate Disney is set to cut the number of films made each year from 18 to eight.
Media reports indicate that the trend among Hollywood studuios is to reduce their overall costs, whether it is in production, marketing, distribution or legal costs. Disney’s plan is to make less films under both Touchstone and Miramax. It will focus on making films under its own brand name.
The number of people employed in its film division will be reduced by upto 25 per cent. Disney is said to be looking to focus more on family films as there is more revenue potential there in terms of merchandising opportunities.
Apart from the Pirates sequel, The Chronicles of Narnia did really well last year. At the same time, there were failures with Alamo bing the biggest. Media reports indicate that studio revenue is being affected by production and marketing costs. The DVD market is also slowing down.