Moritz, Adelstein partner
Original players to focus on movies, tv, management
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The new company, unveiled Tuesday, will be both a management and a film/TV production outfit incorporating the assets of Moritz's Sony-based Original Film.
The partners will focus on three distinct businesses -- motion pictures, television and management -- and will attempt to package a wide array of projects for its clients.
Their partnership, they say, reflects the need for greater flexibility when facing the clout of vertically integrated media congloms.
Moritz characterized the pact as a union of "two owner-operators" wherein "neither overshadows the other."
Adelstein most recently made headlines for his abrupt departure from Endeavor, the tenpercentery he helped found 6½years ago. His client list included David E. Kelley, creator of "Ally McBeal" and "The Practice," and Bonnie & Terry Turner, creators of "3rd Rock From the Sun" and "That '70s Show" as well as WWF grappler Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and "Xena" topliner Lucy Lawless.Moritz is one of the busiest movie producers in Hollywood today, with a dozen theatrical movies, three telepics and two TV series since 2000. He has produced such hits as "The Fast and the Furious" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" as well as "The Skulls" and "Cruel Intentions."
Moritz noted that while it was his longtime goal to go beyond his forte in movie production to build a management company, he was reluctant to do so by "just going out and hiring a couple of junior managers to run it for me."
When Adelstein found himself at a crossroads in February, the two men -- friends for 20 years -- began conversations about a possible co-venture in which the organizing principle would be, as Adelstein put it, "bigger was not better."
"The 'bigger' model at Endeavor had become kind of an albatross for me," Adelstein explained, adding, "You discover that 10% of your clients pay for 90% of your business."
Mutual benefit
On paper, the deal seems to complement both partners.
Adelstein has the relationships with talent -- including a who's who of primetime writer-producers -- but on his own lacked an agency's packaging clout and production credibility. Prolific as a pic producer, Moritz needed backup in the tough world of TV, where his last two shows, "Shasta McNasty" and "Manchester Prep," fizzled.
More deals in the offing?
This pact is hardly the end of Original's plans for partnerships.
Moritz last year reupped with Sony's Columbia Pictures for at least another two years, but had been seeking an overall TV development deal with a network. His company has been taking meetings, with NBC and Fox the leading candidates for a deal.
Original may also be in discussions about a link-up with another management and production concern, Benderspink, which has exec produced its clients' movies like "Cats and Dogs" and the upcoming DreamWorks pic "The Ring."
Benderspink principal J.C. Spink would only acknowledge that "discussions" between Benderspink and Original have been taking place, but that similar talks are ongoing with other management companies as well.
