Greene Light

UA hits Street with deal

By DAN COX

CANNES -- United Artists Films, the recently revamped specialty division at MGM, has inked a two-year co-production and distribution deal with GreeneStreet Films that will foster a certain number of put pics and a broadly expanded digital division.

GreeneStreet is a New York-based indie production and finance company run by John Penotti, Fisher Stevens and Brad Yonover.

UA will take a first look at all films that are developed and/or packaged by GreeneStreet. But GreeneStreet will be given full autonomy for how and when they present pics to UA to consider.

Additionally, UA will provide guaranteed distribution on a select number of pictures. That number will depend on the number of submissions that are rejected and accepted.

"You both have to demonstrate that you're working toward the deal," said GreeneStreet's Penotti.

Penotti added that GreeneStreet will be able to put together financing for some pics through its $30 million rotating production fund, although the percentage of financing that GreeneStreet will provide for the picture and P&A will vary from project to project, depending on a number of variables spelled out in the contract and on each individual pic.

MGM/UA prexy of production Larry Gleason and marketing prexy Gerry Rich made the announcement for the studio.

"This agreement is clearly indicative not only of the quality alliances UA is establishing, but the creative ways we are structuring deals in order to give the filmmakers as much autonomy to see their vision through," Gleason said.

UA was also keen on GreeneStreet's digital division under exec Dolly Hall. The arm has finished three complete films and has another set to shoot in June. Company has Griffin Dunne's "Famous" in Un Certain Regard. Pic preemed Monday night.

"We believe that GreeneStreet has cultivated a very unique community of independent filmmakers at the forefront of digital production and other creative innovations," Rich said.

GreeneStreet has produced such pics as "Company Man" and is currently in production on "Still a Kiss," directed by Fisher Stevens and starring Ron Eldard, Kyra Sedgwick and Marisa Tomei. Others have included "Illuminata," "A Price Above Rubies," "I'm Not Rappaport" and the upcoming "What About Donna?"

Penotti noted he and the other partners at GreeneStreet had avoided making first-look deals in the past because they didn't believe in them.

"We defer to MGM/UA's power. We feel like real partners with them," he said.