HBO punching up pix
Cabler combines Pictures, NYC arms into new unit
The reconfigured movie division will produce a broad slate of low-budget to high-profile films, expanding its current niches to broaden its audience base. It will also establish several financing and co-financing ventures. In addition, the new banner is set to enter into a variety of first-look deals with players including Barry Levinson, Tribeca and Brillstein-Grey.
"Filmmakers who work at HBO don't have to worry about opening-weekend grosses and overnight ratings," said Colin Callender, prexy of the new division. "We offer a very protected environment in which creative talent can take risks and make the sort of movies that wouldn't be possible in either the theatrical world or on television."
The cabler previously has used HBO Pictures for its larger, bigger-budget projects and HBO NYC as a boutique film production unit in Gotham. Last April, HBO CEO Jeff Bewkes upped Chris Albrecht to prexy of original programming, putting him in charge of HBO's increasingly large slate of original production.
"We simply looked at the movie area and decided it was time for a new way of thinking," Albrecht said. "It may get to the point where we will be making as many movies as the studios."
Leading the charge will be fresh development and production deals with a variety of producers, including Brillstein-Grey; Nelson George ("The Chris Rock Show"); indie producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler of Killer Films ("Velvet Goldmine"); Ridley Scott and Tony Scott; Tribeca Prods. partners Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Brad Epstein; Paula Weinstein ("Analyze This"); and the "Oz" team of Tom Fontana and Levinson.
"We feel that we have assembled an impressive range of creative talent," Albrecht said. "We have enjoyed a track record of great success with many of these producers, and look forward to continuing that success, as well as expanding upon it with our new alliances."
One new strategy under the umbrella will be telepic co-productions, something HBO typically had avoided in order to claim full ownership rights. Now, execs said they figured that as long as domestic broadcast distribution went to the cabler, it was unnecessary to claim a full stake in a production, allowing the company to increase budgets.
"Although we could definitely afford to fully finance a project if we found it necessary, we are no longer pursuing full ownership of a picture," Albrecht said. "Hopefully, this will allow us to develop more opportunities under the new model."
The exec team announced three projects under the HBO Films banner: the Levinson-helmed "Path to War" (Daily Variety, Oct. 18), the Judi Dench starrer "The Last of the Blonde Bombshells" and "Disappearing Acts," starring and exec produced by Wesley Snipes.
Also acquired for movies are Margaret Edson's Pulitzer-winning play "Wit," about a respected English professor forced to reassess her life when she is diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer, and "Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man," by feminist writer Susan Faludi.
