Posted: Wed., Feb. 22, 2006, 9:00pm PT

Partners pact at Millennium

Emmett/Furla reups, intends to team on eight pix a year

By Pamela McClintock

Emmett

Furla

The upcoming '16 Blocks,' starring Bruce Willis and Mos Def, is among the pix Emmett/Furla and Millennium have made together.

Randall Emmett and George Furla's production shingle has reupped its production, financing and distribution deal with Avi Lerner and Danny Dimbort's Millennium Films, pacting to turn out 25 pics over the next three years.

Under the nonexclusive arrangement, Emmett/Furla Films and Millennium intend to team on at least eight pics a year budgeted in the $25 million-$65 million range.

Emmett/Furla will continue to produce three to four films a year outside of its deal with Millennium.

Since first pacting five years ago, Emmett/Furla and Millennium have produced more than 25 pics together. Partners said the deal's renewal will allow them to continue to focus on bigger-budget, high-concept pics appealing to a wide aud.

Projects completed under the previous deal include Richard Donner's upcoming "16 Blocks," starring Bruce Willis; Neil LaBute's "The Wicker Man," starring Nicolas Cage; and Jon Avnet's "88 Minutes," starring Al Pacino. Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros. Will release "16 Blocks" on March 3.

Pics falling under the new pact include "Rambo IV," which is budgeted at $50 million; Michael Douglas starrer "The King of California"; and helmer Irwin Winkler's Iraqi wartime drama "The Home of the Brave," starring Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, Christina Ricci and Brian Presley.

Millennium and Emmett/Furla also are partnering on helmer Steve Miner's "Day of the Dead" remake.

"Our relationship with Avi and Millennium is truly multidimensional. Not only are we able to cash-flow pre-production and development costs, we can also fully fund the negative costs of entire projects. By doing this, we are able to spread the risk and can thus produce more projects together," Furla said.

Emmett/Furla also announced the promotion of two key execs in order to keep pace with the Millennium renewal and outside projects.

M. Dal Walton III has been upped to exec VP, while Nick Reimond has been named to the newly created position of development executive.

Walton, who reports directly to Emmett and Furla, will oversee day-to-day operation of film development and production.

Reimond, who will be the company's point man on development, reports directly to Walton.

Emmett/Furla, which is backed by private equity and has packaged more than 40 films since its launch eight years ago, has provided key financing components for films including "Narc" and "A Love Song for Bobby Long."

In connection with its deal with Millennium, Emmett/Furla has provided both development and production coin, including development funds, for "The Amityville Horror," which Dimension produced with MGM.

Emmett/Furla also provides production funding in exchange for an equity position in a film. It is co-financing "King of California" with Millennium and Lone Star Pictures as well as fully funding "The Tenants" and horror pic "Borderland" for Lionsgate Films.