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EARTHSHAKER
Chris Gardner in Variety reports today that producer Michael London has launched a new financing and production company, Groundswell Productions. Starting with a capitalization of $55 million, the company plans to raise a total of $100 million and produce five films a year with budgets under $20 million.
From the piece:
“Groundswell’s business strategy will be a mix of foreign pre-sales for projects with established stars or pure equity investments in filmmaker-driven projects. The company’s slate will mix films from established directors and emerging talent alongside comedies and genre films.
London said with Groundswell he will be looking for projects from outside producers as well as shepherding a few of his personal projects as well.
‘I’m excited to bring the experience and the personal passion of a producer to a financing company,” he told Daily Variety. ‘There are obviously many indie financing options out there, but not a lot of companies where the creative decisions and the greenlight decisions are made by a filmmaker. We’re going to be an exciting place to work, and we plan on making Groundswell the first stop for top talent and top projects that can be made for a reasonable price…. The indie marketplace is attracting a lot of outside investors right now. These quality smaller movies have a lot of traction at the box office, and they also carry a lot of value in terms of ancillary markets. I was fortunate enough to find investors who believe in the indie business model but who also believe in keeping creative freedom with the filmmakers.'”
