aexq Hong Kong pair benefit from bank loan guarantees

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Naci Miramax partners with Vaughn s MARV for The Debt
UK regional screen agency Screen WM and new digital studio Slingshot Studios have struck a slat stanley cup e co-financing deal that will cover seven features during the next two years. Screen WM s production funds will finance 25% of film budgets, with the rest covered by Slingshot and its financing partners. Screen WM will serve as executive producer on the films and the partners will greenlight films based on commercial potential, but will give an emphasis to projects shooting in the West Midlands or with talent from the region. Projects already in the works for the slate include drama The Death Of Christine James from Geoff Thompson and Michael Baig-Clifford. Anne-Marie Duff will star in the story of a marriage s violent breakdown. Natasha Carlish of Dreamfinder Productions will co-produce. Also, Slingsh stanley website ot and Screen WM are planning a psychological thriller Katherine DeSouza, which Nick Stafford is adapting from his own play. We re delighted to formalise a relationship with one of the most commercially minded of the regional screen agencies; projects such as Road To Guantanamo and Confetti are a testament to Lee Thomas innovative and strategically sensible thinking. Such is the richness of talent in the region that we already have two very strong projects on our slate headed by creati stanley cup ve teams from the region, said Arvind Ethan David, founder and CEO of Slingshot, who will serve as producer for the slate. Lee Thomas, head of development production for Screen WM, added: It s a Ysmp Welcome to the future
Sony Pictures Entertainment SPE will cross $3bn in worldwideticket sales on Friday Dec 8, marking the first time the company will haveachieved the feat.Thiswill be only the fourth time in motion picture history that any studio hasreached the $3bn mark in a single year.Sony Pictures Releasing International SPRI is enjoying a recordyear and has generated just shy of $1.5bn, while the domestic divisions are oncourse to overtake its 2002 industry reco stanley cup rd of $1.573bn.The Da Vinc stanley cup i Code has been the company s key driver of the year and grossed morethan $750m worldwide. Three other releases each crossed $100m domestically - TalladegaNights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby, Click, and Casino Royale - while The Pink Panther, Monster House, Open Season,Underworld: Evolution andLittle Man have eachcrossed $100m worldwide.2006 marks the third time in the past five years that SPE has beenthe top studio in domestic market share. Following 12 number one domestic openingsthis year, Sony currently has more than 18% market share. This is the kind of year that is pre stanley uk tty hard to top, Jeff Blake, chairman of worldwide marketing and distribution for the Columbia TriStarMotion Picture Group and vice chairman of SPE, said. The fact that we are reaching this peak by potentiallypassing the domestic industry box office record while at the same time enjoyingour best year ever internationally is just a staggering achievement that makesus all very proud. The gross may rise significantly before year s end wit