Senator raises coin to boost production
Company preps for significant boost in investments
By Ed Meza
Senator Entertainment, which inked an exclusive output deal with
Relativity Media in December, is looking to raise more than €10
million ($13.3 million) via a share increase later this year to
prepare for a significant boost in investments.
In addition to its slate of upcoming Hollywood titles, the
Berlin-based company is also maintaining a focus on German and
European productions.
Senator is partnering with producer Christoph Mueller on an
adaptation of Hermann Hesse's medieval tale "Narcissus and
Goldmund."
Senator CEO Helge Sasse said the film will be a big-budgeted,
English-language international production with a British-American
cast.
Senator has yet to announce a director for the project, although
industry insiders are betting on Florian Gallenberger, director of
the 2009 historical Nanking drama "John Rabe," taking the
reigns.
Gallenberger has previously expressed keen interest in adapting the
novel, which is set against turbulent historical events and follows
the lives of two friends whose lives take very different paths as
one becomes a wanderer and artist, the other a scholarly and
controlled monk.
Local and European productions make up one of two main pillars at
Senator, the other being U.S. content -- the company is celebrating
the success of French comedy "Intouchables," which has grossed a
jaw-dropping $33 million, making it the most successful Gallic pic
ever in Germany. Last year, "King's Speech" took in more than $22
million, becoming one of the most successful releases in Germany in
2011.
Sasse also has high expectations for Daniel Cohen's upcoming "Comme
un chef" (The Chef), starring Jean Reno, which unspools in Berlin's
Culinary Cinema sidebar.
Looking forward, Senator is planning to spend considerably more as
part of the Relativity deal, which will increase its releases from
20 to about 30 pics a year.
"About half of our films come from the U.S. and they are very
successful," said Sasse. "We wanted to have a more predictable
situation and greater product security."
The Relativity agreement will give Senator German rights to such
films as "Safe Haven," "Hunter Killer" and "Afterburn."
The upcoming capital increase follows another $13.3 million the
company raised last year through a bond issue.
Senator's other U.S. titles include Curtis Hanson's surfer pic "Of
Men and Mavericks," starring Gerard Butler; "Our Idiot Brother,"
"Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D," "W.E." and "2 Days in
New York," which Senator co-produced.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118049995