Media Outlaw

By MICHAEL CIEPLY
Published: November 14, 2010

LOS ANGELES —
By MICHAEL CIEPLY
Published: November 14, 2010
When Timmy Thompson, who made a lot of his money in oil field services, took a close look at the movie business a couple of years ago, he saw companies folding, credit collapsing and talent knocked down a peg in the aftermath of a labor war.

A flood of new investors, cautions Mr. Kosove, might easily expand the number of films being made, once again pushing up costs and making it difficult to find distributors. For the moment, however, “it’s a great time” for those with ready capital, said Rick Schwartz, a producer who has been aligned with Alan Bernon, a Texas dairy executive and investor.Among their projects is “Machete,” an over-the-top action caper that was directed by Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis, and took in about $26.6 million at the domestic box office after 20th Century Fox released it in September.Mr. Schwartz reckons that the film cost $10.5 million, after some help from a Texas subsidy program. Domestic rights went to Fox for about $9 million, and foreign rights, he said, brought nearly $12 million — so the film’s revenue to the producer and partners was roughly double its cost.And that, he said, “is a pretty good model.”

via With Studios Wary, Investors Come to Hollywood – NYTimes.com.