VIP Medienfonds, the financier of such hits as Monster, Black Book and Perfume, is back in the film production business, says Thierry Potok, who took over as CEO of the German private media fund at the beginning of this month.
VIP has more than $31m (20m Euros) in funding from VIP Medienfonds 3 and VIP Medienfonds 4 still available, both of which are still running.
The German media fund raised around $1.1bn (700m Euros) but ran into trouble in spectacular fashion at the end of 2005, when the founder and owner Andreas Schmid was jailed for tax evasion.
Ex-Studio Babelsberg boss Potok is aiming 'to bring back VIP' into the film business. The money, he stated, 'is already there and available and I'd like to invest (it) in movies, which was the primary goal of all of the VIP limited partnerships.'
Potok has insisted that he will 'not do anything that won't be discussed and approved by investors.' He has already started discussions with the 'Anleger Beirat,' the body that represents the investors' interests.
The new VIP boss will try to invest in 'good movies with commercial potential movies that will generate not only recoupment but also overages - movies that will bring cash flow back into the company above the costs that will be incurred to finance them.'
VIP will 'privilege' English-language, cast-driven movies. 'Not necessarily American movies, not necessarily non-European movies,' he said of the movies the financier was looking at.
Potok acknowledged that VIP has suffered its share 'bad publicity' as a result of the many court cases the company has faced, but insisted that 'this has not affected in any shape or form the productions and the industrial partners we've been working with.' He emphasized that VIP was not trying to raise new financing but was investing the cash still available from the old schemes.
VIP has more than $31m (20m Euros) in funding from VIP Medienfonds 3 and VIP Medienfonds 4 still available, both of which are still running.
The German media fund raised around $1.1bn (700m Euros) but ran into trouble in spectacular fashion at the end of 2005, when the founder and owner Andreas Schmid was jailed for tax evasion.
Ex-Studio Babelsberg boss Potok is aiming 'to bring back VIP' into the film business. The money, he stated, 'is already there and available and I'd like to invest (it) in movies, which was the primary goal of all of the VIP limited partnerships.'
Potok has insisted that he will 'not do anything that won't be discussed and approved by investors.' He has already started discussions with the 'Anleger Beirat,' the body that represents the investors' interests.
The new VIP boss will try to invest in 'good movies with commercial potential movies that will generate not only recoupment but also overages - movies that will bring cash flow back into the company above the costs that will be incurred to finance them.'
VIP will 'privilege' English-language, cast-driven movies. 'Not necessarily American movies, not necessarily non-European movies,' he said of the movies the financier was looking at.
Potok acknowledged that VIP has suffered its share 'bad publicity' as a result of the many court cases the company has faced, but insisted that 'this has not affected in any shape or form the productions and the industrial partners we've been working with.' He emphasized that VIP was not trying to raise new financing but was investing the cash still available from the old schemes.
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