Mediapro woos Woody Allen
Pair likely to extend business relationship
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Mediapro is in talks with Gravier Prods., the shingle of Allen's sister Letty Aronson.
Speaking at a packed press dinner at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Mediapro topper Jaume Roures said he and Allen have "a verbal agreement" to jointly make one film in Europe, outside Spain, and another "a little bit further away."
No deal had been signed with Allen, he said. Nor had he seen anything from Allen's Spanish shoot, and wouldn't until Easter. By that time, a deal could be tied down for the future projects.
Allen's Barcelona project, now in post and toplining Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, had begun with a verbal agreement, Roures said.
Money should be no problem for Mediapro, which has recently picked up multi-year TV rights to Spanish soccer clubs, including Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Roures declined to detail the future projects' subjects: That's hardly surprising since little is known about Allen's Barcelona pic, save for its fall 2008 release date, despite the fact it has been one of the most paparazzied productions in Spanish history.
The Allen projects underscore the emergence of Mediapro as one of the most ambitious production houses in Spain.
"Mediapro intends to make three to four films a year. The problem we have in Spain is a lack of ambition. The solution is to make bigger films and lower-budget, new talent-driven projects," Roures said.
