Victory topper hands over the reins

Landerer to focus on project scouting for company

By ED MEZA

BERLIN -- Victory Media CEO Franz Landerer has ankled the investment fund and production company, which he founded in 1991, to concentrate on project scouting as a consultant for Victory.

Andreas Straub, Victory's legal adviser since 1997, replaces him.

Using its private investment funds to finance big-event European miniseries, usually with Italian partner DeAngelis Media Group, Victory produced "Musica Cubana," "The Good Pope," "Julius Caesar" and "The Magnificent Ambersons."

Company is set to produce a $25 million film adaptation of Noah Gordon's bestselling novel "The Physician" as well as a bigscreen version of Melissa Panarello's Italo bestseller "One Hundred Strokes of the Hairbrush Before Going to Sleep."