Screen Capital International (SCI) and William Morris Agency have launched Incentive Filmed Entertainment, a $100m production and financing vehicle that will fully fund up to ten features a year budgeted up to $15m.
William Morris Independent's Cassian Elwes and Rena Ronson will represent worldwide sales on the slate on behalf of Incentive and the first title to go this summer will be Griffin Dunne's The Position, a Family Stone-style comedy produced by Nick Wechsler.
Incentive hopes to trade on its independence to by-pass the studio-wide hiatus on production starts caused by uncertainty over the potential SAG strike this summer.
Incentive will be managed by a team of industry professionals under the guidance of managing director Noel Lohr, the former Intermedia general counsel and chief operating officer.
Lohr will join SCI managing director and Aramid Capital Partners chairman David Molner and producer Robert F Simonds on the Incentive board.
JP MorganChase arranged the senior credit facility, with Aramid Entertainment Fund Limited and private investors providing the balance of the capitalisation.
Screen Capital, which designed the structure and sourced the investment capital, has also entered into a master agreement to monetise tax incentives and other soft money benefits for the new vehicle.
'We are proud to have brought two incredible financing companies together, and we look forward to working on the independent films that come out of their collaboration,' WMA chairman and CEO Jim Wiatt said.
'The opportunities in independent film today are all being driven out of the marketplace of 'incentives' - an area in which SCI has excelled since its inception and one where we are now taking big strides with important partners,' Molner said.
'The launch of this company is a milestone in a challenging capital market - and an important achievement for us as we extend our suite of financial services into fully funding motion pictures in this budget category.'
'This deal continues Aramid's strategy of both competing in the one-off market for strong projects and putting capital to work in sensible, film portfolio transactions of the sort that has been structured here,' Aramid chief executive Simon Fawcett said.
Incentive is located in Beverly Hills and officially opened for business on May 15.
William Morris Independent's Cassian Elwes and Rena Ronson will represent worldwide sales on the slate on behalf of Incentive and the first title to go this summer will be Griffin Dunne's The Position, a Family Stone-style comedy produced by Nick Wechsler.
Incentive hopes to trade on its independence to by-pass the studio-wide hiatus on production starts caused by uncertainty over the potential SAG strike this summer.
Incentive will be managed by a team of industry professionals under the guidance of managing director Noel Lohr, the former Intermedia general counsel and chief operating officer.
Lohr will join SCI managing director and Aramid Capital Partners chairman David Molner and producer Robert F Simonds on the Incentive board.
JP MorganChase arranged the senior credit facility, with Aramid Entertainment Fund Limited and private investors providing the balance of the capitalisation.
Screen Capital, which designed the structure and sourced the investment capital, has also entered into a master agreement to monetise tax incentives and other soft money benefits for the new vehicle.
'We are proud to have brought two incredible financing companies together, and we look forward to working on the independent films that come out of their collaboration,' WMA chairman and CEO Jim Wiatt said.
'The opportunities in independent film today are all being driven out of the marketplace of 'incentives' - an area in which SCI has excelled since its inception and one where we are now taking big strides with important partners,' Molner said.
'The launch of this company is a milestone in a challenging capital market - and an important achievement for us as we extend our suite of financial services into fully funding motion pictures in this budget category.'
'This deal continues Aramid's strategy of both competing in the one-off market for strong projects and putting capital to work in sensible, film portfolio transactions of the sort that has been structured here,' Aramid chief executive Simon Fawcett said.
Incentive is located in Beverly Hills and officially opened for business on May 15.
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