TILL FIRM, GORDON,
INK MULTI-YEAR DEAL
Copyright 2002 www.variety.com
[ February 21st 2002 ]
Producer
Lawrence Gordon has signed an overall production
pact with Stewart Till's Signpost Films. Under
the terms of the deal, Gordon, who most recently
produced "K-Pax" for Universal Pictures and Intermedia,
will produce at least one film a year for the
company, which in return will handle worldwide
distribution on the projects.
Under
the multi-year deal, Gordon also will receive
some overhead coin and development funds, with
Signpost arranging full financing for the pics,
which Miramax Films will have a first look at
distributing in the U.S. under Signpost's recently
inked distribution deal with the company.
Certain
pictures will be excluded under the Gordon/Signpost
deal, including an in-the-works sequel to the
Gordon-produced "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" for
Paramount Pictures. "This is the one producer
that I've been chasing since we started planning
Signpost Films," Till said. "I am both honored
and thrilled that Signpost now has this agreement
with truly one of the world's top producers, not
least because 'Field of Dreams' and 'Die Hard'
are two of my top five films of all time."
The new
deal with Gordon bolsters the London and L.A.-based
company's roster of production deals. Till also
has deals with two divisions of Mosaic: Charles
Roven's Atlas Entertainment and the Gold/Miller
Co., both of whom have financing arrangements
with MGM. Concerning whether he will be looking
to ink similar deals with other top-level Hollywood
producers, Till added: "There are no other producer
deals in our sights at the moment. Our strategy
is quality rather than quantity."
Gordon,
who was formally housed at Universal Pictures
for more than a decade, has produced such films
as "48 Hrs.," "Predator," "Die Hard," "Field of
Dreams" and "Boogie Nights." Signpost, headed
by prexy and CEO Till, has been steadily building
its executive roster and unveiling its business
strategy over the past few months.
The deal
with Miramax gives the distributor a first look
in the U.S. to all of Signpost's projects, including
a commitment to pick up a minimum number of movies
per year and a minority stake in Till's company.
Signpost was launched by Till, the former international
president of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, in
partnership with L.A.-based Mosaic Media Group
and Canadian financier CDP Capital Communications.
Till
has raised about $300 million in equity and debt,
which will be used to finance six pics a year,
and to launch local distribution operations in
the major international territories. New venture
plans to expand its output to up to 40 films in
the first five years with an estimated production
and distribution spend of over $2 billion.
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