Mike Medavoy, the longtime film producer and former chairman of Tri-Star Pictures, says he plans to form a new entertainment company with Sony Pictures and two other backers.
Medavoy, who resigned under pressure from Sony's Tri-Star unit early last year, said his new company, Phoenix Pictures, would eventually produce eight feature films a year. He said he already had 15 movie projects in various stages of development.The company's other backers are Pearson Television, a British television production and distribution company owned by Pearson PLC, and Onex Corp., a Canadian company whose holdings include Sky Chefs Inc. and Dura Automotive Inc.
Medavoy would not disclose how much his backers planned to invest in Phoenix. But his partner, Arnold Messer, said the company would have a total of $500 million available to produce films. That sum represents a combination of production financing and equity investment, according to another executive familiar with the venture.
Medavoy said he hoped his new company would replicate the creative environment that existed during the 1970s at United Artists, where he served as a senior executive. In 20 years as a producer, Medavoy has been involved with critically acclaimed films like "Rocky," "Silence of the Lambs," "Dances With Wolves" and "Philadelphia."
"We're all a sum total of our experiences," he said. "One of the things people characterize me for is making good films."
Independent studios have struggled in recent years, with even well-financed companies like Savoy Pictures running into financial trouble. But Messer, who was head of home-video distribution for Columbia Pictures and who will be the president of Phoenix, said the new company was closer to the model of a record label than an independent film studio.
Although Phoenix will develop its own slate of films, it will be able to draw on the resources of Sony Pictures for theatrical and home distribution. In addition, Phoenix has signed licensing and distribution deals with Westinghouse Electric's CBS in the United States and Canal Plus in Europe.
David Londoner, a media analyst at Schroder Wertheim, said he was cautiously optimistic about Phoenix because of the involvement of Medavoy. "There's a filmmaker running this company who's got a sense of the balance between the creative process and fiscal responsibility," he said.