Beacon commits to Sony Pictures
pact with Sony Pictures, ending a three-year deal at 20th Century Fox.
The deal, which starts with Alan Parker's upcoming $ 25 million outing "The Road to Wellville," positions Beacon as one of SonyPictures' biggest single suppliers. Beacon toppers expect to produce up to five pix a year.
The 3-year-old, L.A.-based indie will have full creative autonomy over its productions and will retain the copyright. Beacon and Sony Pictures will share the P&A costs and jointly decide whether each film's distribution is handled by Columbia, Sony Classics or TriStar.
Beacon topper Armyan Bernstein and film division prexy Marc Abraham said the new deal is more flexible financially and artistically.
"The big difference here is that I can greenlight movies," Bernstein said. Beacon's deal with Fox was based on a close relationship with then-chairman Joe Roth, whose exit last fall cut into the indie's planned nine-pic slate.
"We feel like we have formed the state-of-the-art alliance between an independent studio and a major," Bernstein said. "This allows us to operate as a mini-studio in the Sony orbit."
"There are two things you want as an indie," Abraham said. "You need to be independently financed and you need to be able to make movies. Sony is giving us that autonomy." He added that the 25 scripts in active development would probably be funneled into the new slate.
SPE chairman Peter Guber said the deal is structured to ensure that Beacon can be "prolific, productive and successful. We share (Bernstein's) enthusiasm for his own autonomy because he's putting his own money, creativity and enthusiasm on the line."
Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group prexy Jonathan Dolgen said he did not expect Beacon to crank out product right away.
"We expect them to be fairly active, and we will live with their rhythms, even if it takes some time," he said.
Columbia Pictures chairman Mark Canton said Beacon will be Sony's No. 1 priority when it comes to the production and distribution of their movies.
Beacon retains the right to route made-for-TV films via other companies. Its latest made-for, "A Life in the Theater," based on the David Mamet play and starring Jack Lemmon and Matthew Broderick, started shooting in L.A. Wednesday.
Under the deal, Beacon has a put with Sony on any picture budgeted up to $ 25 million.
