Three PR firms are handling the launch of a Hollywood studio venture backed by China's Hony Capital, private equity firm TPG, and veteran producers Robert Simonds and Gigi Pritzker.
The group said it will finance, produce and distribute from eight to 10 "star-driven" theatrical films globally per year. The partners said they plan to pour more than $1B into production over the next five years.
"Star-driven, mid-budget films are an underserved market," said Simonds, who sees the group's experience in that niche providing leverage to partner with traditional distributors in North America, expand in a vast Chinese market, and capitalize on still-developing digital channels. He produced "Cheaper By the Dozen," "The Pink Panther," and "The Waterboy," among others.
Abernathy MacGregor Group reps Simonds. Owen Blicksilver PR is firm for TPG Growth, while Pritzker relies on Paul Pflug's Principal Communications Group.
Pritzker's credits include "Ender's Game," "Drive," and the Jon Stewart-directed "Rosewater."
Beijing-based Hony Capital, a unit of China's largest private equity firm by assets, Legend Holdings, is the "anchor" investor and has aligned with Chinese film and TV production giant SMG Pictures. Hony said it is the first investment a Chinese company has made into a Hollywood studio.
Former Viacom Entertainment COO takes that same title with the new venture, while ex-Crest Animation CEO Noah Fogelson is EVP of corporate development and general counsel.
The new studio has inked agreements with theater chains AMC Theaters, Regal Entertainment Group, Cinemark and Carmike.
Trump Media & Technology Group today reported a $58.2M net loss on $4.1M in 2023 revenues, a disclosure that drove its stock price down 22.6 percent to $47.96.
Barry Pollack, an attorney at Wall Street’s Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler, has registered Julian Assange as a client with the Justice Dept. “out of an abundance of caution.”
Paramount Global to slash 800 jobs in what chief executive Bob Bakish calls part of an effort to “return the company to earnings growth"... Rolling Stone editor-in-chief Noah Shachtman is exiting at the end of the month due to disagreements with chief executive Gus Wenner over the direction the magazine is taking... The New York Times broke the $1 billion barrier in annual revenue from digital subscriptions in 2023... Press Forward is investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms.
The majority of news articles are read within the first three days of publication, according to a recent report.
The Los Angeles Times gives pink slips to 115 people or 20 percent of its newsroom staff... TIME is also laying off about 30 employees, which is approximately 15 percent of its editorial staff... The Baltimore Banner, which was launched by Stewart Bainum in 2022 after he failed to buy the Baltimore Sun, added 500 subscribers per day in the three days following Sinclair Broadcast Group's deal to purchase the Sun.
Have a comment? Send it to 
No comments have been submitted for this story yet.