Teutonic teammate for Zoetrope
VCL inks to handle o'seas releases
Under the terms of the Zoetrope/MGM/UA production-distribution deal, MGM covers 25% of the budgets in exchange for domestic rights on the titles, which are all budgeted at $10 million and less. The remaining 75% will come from Zoetrope’s foreign partners.
Private German fund company Cinerenta will handle international rights on the first title to come out of the deal, “Jeepers Creepers.”
Selling foreign on all Zoetrope titles for VCL is producer-financier Willi Baer, who has come aboard VCL to head the company’s expanding foreign sales division. VCL chief operating officer Stefan Radtke will team on the sales end with Baer, who will continue to work as a consultant outside the company.
For VCL, the Zoetrope deal is part of a major company revamp. Television expert Bodo Scriba has joined the company to head its newly created TV distribution division arm as part of VCL’s aggressive push into the licensing business. The company also has acquired a 337-title library. And last week, VCL concluded a major capital increase that raised $52 million euros ($46 million).
Coppola’s initial deal for Zoetrope came after more than a year of on-again, off-again negotiations. The three-year arrangement gives Coppola greenlight authority over 10 films produced through San Francisco-based Zoetrope.
After the thriller “Jeepers Creepers,” Zoetrope is slated to produce the drama “Taking on the Neighborhood” and “CQ,” which will be helmed by Coppola’s vid director son Roman.
Majority owned in the early ‘90s by Carolco, VCL has previously committed to all future “Terminator” projects from producer Mario Kassar’s C2. VCL also has rights in the U.K., Benelux and Germany for Crystal Sky’s 10-project slate at Paramount Pictures.
Baer represented VCL in the deal, with Zoetrope represented by ICM, and attorneys Barry Hirsch and George Hayum.
