Hello. My name is Kathryn Arnold, and I am an award winning film producer and executive with over 20 years experience in the entertainment industry, specializing in film production, acquisition, distribution, international sales and gap financing. In addition to producing, I consult with lawyers, financiers and other producers on both film development and production, as well as serve as an expert witness on cases involving entertainment industry related issues. As a producer and Head of Production of MonteCristo Entertainment, I am involved with the vast array of elements necessary to develop and produce a variety of forms of media, including film, television, live events and documentary specials. I also serve as a consultant and expert witness to lawyers and litigation specialists on entertainment related cases involving loss of wages, economic damages, economic forecasting, chain of title and intellectual property rights issues.
In Part I, we talked about Hedge funds and what they are looking for in terms of financing films. They prefer slates, which create a portfolio effect with which they can amortize the risk across a variety of film, genres and budgets. If that’s the game Hedges funds are playing, what are equity/wealthy individuals looking for?
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Michael Mendelsohn is the Chairman and CEO of Patriot Pictures, and currently manages senior and mezzanine debt portfolios for banks and financial institutions specializing in entertainment. Michael has arranged production financing for over 258 films, including “Lord of War,” starring Nicolas Cage and Ethan Hawke; “Material Girls,” starring Hilary Duff, and “Holy Cross,” executive produced by George Romero. Mr. Mendelsohn has also arranged financing for such films as Beacon Pictures and Wolfgang Peterson’s ”Air Force One;” Lakeshore Entertainment produced...
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In the first installment of our interview with Michele Taverna of MonteCristo Entertainment, “The New Core of the Film Industry,” we discussed your position as sales agent being the “natural first stop” on the road to producing films. Let’s take a look at how you go about making the all important decisions on which films to produce and how to get them financed. KA: Is there a sweet spot for you in terms of budget? MT: We do primarily...
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The film financing and distribution arena is constantly changing, and with that so does the epicenter of action. It is a well-known fact that talent drives movie making. If a producer can attract a Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt or Jennifer Aniston to their project, the movie will be green lit. (Depending on budget of course.) Since the advent of CAA in the late 80’s the gatekeeper to those stars has been the agent, and still is. However a...
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