August 27 – September 2: Crave Weekly Streaming Overview
This Just In: MAJOR FILM INDUSTRY PARTNERS TO SUPPORT EMERGING BLACK, INDIGENOUS AND PEOPLE OF COLOUR FILMMAKERS — $100K TOTAL FOR DISTRIBUTION ADVANCES, PLUS $100K OF IN-KIND SERVICES
- Woods Entertainment, Jobro Productions, Comweb Foundation, William F. White International Inc, Crave, Urban Post, Entertainment Partners and MARZ all make commitments to the new Game Theory Films initiative –
Toronto, ON – August 26, 2020 – To augment and extend other initiatives focused on the advancement of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour creative communities, Game Theory Films is pleased to announce their new distribution fund, aligning major industry partners to make financial and in-kind contributions in support of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour feature filmmakers. The resources will be allocated on a quarterly basis by a committee made up of contributors to the initiative and members from the Black, Indigenous and People of Colour filmmaker communities with a goal of supporting eight projects in the first two years of the initiative.
For the first time, Game Theory will be offering recoupable Minimum Guarantees, committing $100K for the Canadian distribution rights of Feature Films and also allocating an additional $100K of non-recoupable in-kind services for filmmakers. The MGs will be funded by companies Woods Entertainment, JoBro Productions, Comweb Foundation and William F. White. Canadian streamer Crave has come onboard as a partner to support the first title selected by the committee with a broadcast and SVOD license. William F. White will also contribute in-kind services along with VFX studio and tech company MARZ, URBAN POST, the Toronto-based full service post-production facility, and Entertainment Partners who will provide accounting, scheduling and budgeting software and training as well as tax credit expertise to the emerging filmmaker team.
Non-Recoupable In-Kind Services:
1 x Grip and Electric package from William F. White (up to $20,000)
1 x Full post-production for a feature film from Urban Post (up to $40,000)
2 x VFX packages for feature films from MARZ (up to $10,000 each)
8 x Scheduling, Budgeting and Accounting software and training from Entertainment Partners
Recoupable Advances against Canadian Rights:
– Cash advances will be between $10,000 – $50,000 and will be recoupable from Gross Revenue from the exploitation of the Canadian Rights of the film
– Any funds recouped from the advances will be re-committed to Black, Indigenous and People of Colour producers in the future, similarly in the form of advances for Canadian distribution rights
– Producers will retain full control of their films
– Advances paid 50% on start of Pre-Production and confirmation of closing of financing and 50% on Delivery
“Our hope is that this initiative will exist indefinitely and will continue to collect resources to nurture new voices, support emerging talent, and bring more Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour producers into the Canadian feature film space, an arena that has historically been populated by those who benefit from privileged backgrounds. Working together as a group, we are able to enhance our individual financial commitments and also pool our time, share knowledge and truly support talented emerging producers.” said William Woods, Producer & President, Woods Entertainment.
“Although our contributions can only be a small piece of a film’s financial structure, we hope to work with Black, Indigenous and People of Colour filmmakers to help them strategically close their financing and will always be available to connect them with other industry partners when needed. It’s an exciting new opportunity for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour filmmakers and for Game Theory and I’m excited to get started! Hopefully we’ll be able to meet in person at festivals and industry events soon, but until then we’ll also be receiving pitches and taking meetings digitally.” said Hilary Hart, Director of Distribution & Acquisitions, Game Theory Films
“Our goal is to ensure inclusive and equitable opportunities for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour filmmakers, and this is a logical first step. We are committed to long-term and lasting change in the industry and our communities,” said Jonathan Bronfman, President, JoBro Productions, Co-President of MARZ
Open call for pitch submissions will commence on August 31st; submissions will be accepted on the Game Theory Films website.
About Game Theory Films
Game Theory Films is a boutique feature film distribution company based in Toronto, Ontario, established in 2018. Game Theory is committed to the strategic release of theatrical feature films within the Canadian marketplace. Our aim is to partner with diverse emerging new voices to ensure their work receives a targeted and dynamic release strategy. With a small passionate staff, we offer a personal touch, and are available to our partners throughout the life of their films from development through release. Notable releases include RESISTANCE starring Jesse Eisenberg and Ed Harris, and SPINSTER starring Chelsea Peretti.
About Woods Entertainment
Woods Entertainment is a Toronto based production company that has a focus on fiction film with both commercial and philosophical merit. The prodco’s second feature, MEAN DREAMS starring Sophie Nélisse, Josh Wiggins, Colm Feore & Bill Paxton made it’s premiere in the 2016 edition of the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes and had it’s North American premiere at TIFF. The Prodco has just completed three feature films, CASTLE IN THE GROUND (2020), starring Alex Wolff, Imogen Poots, Neve Campbell, Keir Gilchrist, and Tom Cullen, which recently premiered at TIFF and SXSW; SPINSTER (2019) starring Chelsea Peretti; HAMMER (2019) starring Will Patton and Mark O’Brien. As well, the company is in post-production on LIKE A HOUSE ON FIRE starring Sarah Sutherland and Jared Abrahamson, and THE KID DETECTIVE the debut feature from Evan Morgan starring Adam Brody and Sophie Nélisse.
About Jobro
JoBro Productions is a Canadian film and television production company founded by Jonathan Bronfman in 2012. JoBro specializes in structuring, financing and producing domestic and international co-productions. Premiering at festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Tribeca, TIFF, Sundance and SXSW, their films have been released globally by renowned distribution companies, being met with critical and commercial success.
About Crave
Delivering more Oscar®-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning programming than any other service, Crave is Canada’s prestige entertainment offering, with HBO, SHOWTIME®, Starz, Hollywood-hit movies, a superior collection of kid’s movies and programs, and thousands of hours of acclaimed television series, specials, factual programming, and originals that can’t be found anywhere else.
Crave is the exclusive home of HBO in Canada, delivering HBO’s current slate of signature dramatic and comedic programs, documentaries, films, and live specials, as well as titles from HBO’s extensive off-air library. Crave is also home to current SHOWTIME series and specials, and past SHOWTIME hits. Crave Original hit series include comedies LETTERKENNY and NEW EDEN; CRAVINGS: THE AFTERSHOW with Lainey Lui; HEALTHY IS HOT with Chloe Wilde; candid interview series MUCH STUDIOS PRESENTS: MIKE ON MUCH IN CONVERSATION WITH…; a series of original stand-up specials; and competition series CANADA’S DRAG RACE.
Crave is a major supporter of Canada’s production industry, helping to fund and develop numerous film and documentary projects including feature films THE SONG OF NAMES, WHITE LIE, and THE GRIZZLIES among others, as well as Crave Original Documentaries ONCE WERE BROTHERS: ROBBIE ROBERTSON AND THE BAND, SHARKWATER: EXTINCTION, YOU ARE HERE: A COME FROM AWAY STORY, and ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH. Crave also includes acclaimed selections from the Toronto International Film Festival which are featured in two exclusive collections: Best of TIFF and TIFF Selects.
Crave is a bilingual TV and streaming service with more than 6,000 hours of exclusive French-language content included with the Super Écran add-on. Crave is available directly to all Canadians with access to the Internet at Crave.ca, via iOS and Android, and other platforms. It’s also available in English through participating television providers across six 24-hour High Definition linear and on demand channels. Crave is from Bell Media, Canada’s leading content company, providing Canada’s most-watched and most-acclaimed television programming on network, specialty, pay and digital platforms. Visit our website at Crave.ca.
William F. White International Inc. (Website) Founded in 1963, William F. White International Inc. is Canada’s most iconic provider of production equipment to the entertainment industry. With offices across the country, the company services productions of all sizes from coast to coast and houses an extensive state-of-the-art inventory, including camera, lighting, grip, specialty equipment, location support and studio properties.
About Entertainment Partners
Entertainment Partners (EP) is the leading provider of payroll services to the entertainment industry in Canada. The depth and breadth of our services encompass every facet of entertainment, including the Motion Picture, Television and Commercial industries along with production management and accounting software.
As a leading provider of Canadian tax incentive administration and financing to foreign studios and independent producers, EP has provided turn-key solutions to over 1,700 productions, with more than $4.5 billion in tax incentives under its administration.
With offices across the U.S., Canada and the U.K., we deliver integrated, cloud-based digital solutions with military-grade security supporting every phase of production. EP recently elevated its production management solutions by acquiring two disruptive companies: SyncOnSet, with Emmy-winning technology to digitize physical production and manage creative content; and We Got POP, with the UK production industry’s leading workforce and production management solution.
Comweb Foundation (www.comwebgroup.com) was founded by Paul Bronfman in 1988. The company’s first foray was a partnership with famed writer/producer Stephen J. Cannell in 1988 to build and manage Canada’s first Hollywood-style studio complex, North Shore Studios in Vancouver. The studio was the home of original smash TV series hit, The X-Files. Comweb Corporation is a founding shareholder of Pinewood Toronto Studios (www.pinewoodgroup.com/studios/pinewood-toronto-studios), a 12-stage production lot with over 300,000 square feet of space. Comweb Group Members include Comweb Aviation, Comweb Foundation, Comweb Hungary, Comweb Real Estate and Comweb Studio Holdings. Comweb Corporation was the parent company of William F. White International Inc. since 1989. In 2019, William F. White was sold to Ashtead Group/Sunbelt Rentals of Canada Inc.
About MARZ
Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies (MARZ) is a VFX studio and tech company that focuses exclusively on premium TV. Through proprietary AI solutions, GPU rendering and world-class talent, MARZ delivers innovative, feature-film quality VFX on TV timelines and helps studios scale their content at a pace previously not possible. Founded in 2018 by Jonathan Bronfman and Lon Molnar, MARZ’s work history includes HBO’s Watchmen, Amazon’s The Boys and Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy.
About Urban Post
Urban Post Production is an Emmy, MPSE, DGC, and CSA award winning post production facility. Located in the heart of Toronto’s studio district, Urban Post offers 5.1, 7.1, and Dolby Atmos mix environments, 4K Christie projection and HDR colour correction suites, Foley, ADR recording, dailies processing, offline suites and the full spectrum of feature film and television deliverables. For over 20 years we have provided creative and technical post production services to more than 3000 titles ranging from feature films, television series, documentaries, animation, lifestyle programming, and short subjects.
With over 20,000 square ft of post-production studio space and decades of experience and extensive knowledge, be assured that your project will be treated with the care and creative expertise that it deserves.
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