Fosun Group is the primary backer behind Jeff Robinov‘s new media company Studio 8, but the Chinese firm is ruling out any additional investments in Hollywood film studios.
“In the studio format, in Hollywood, this is the only investment that we are making,” said Fosun chairman Guo Guangchang in a press briefing on the Sony Pictures lot Tuesday night. “In terms of other broader entertainment and the culture industry like shows or even sports, we probably will make more.”
It was Robinov’s track record that convinced Guo to take the plunge after the two met three months ago — particularly a certain twisty Christopher Nolan thriller from his days heading Warner Bros.’ film division.
“I just realized that all the movies he produces are all my favorite movies,” Guo said.
Pressed about what those films were, the Fosun chair cited “Inception” with one caveat.
“That’s really hard to understand,” he said.
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Robinov said he plans to make 24 films over five years in a range of budgets and genres. He plans to announce his first project in in four to six weeks.
“We’ll try to make global films with global appeal,” said Robinov.
Central to that will be the talent behind the camera, something Robinov was renowned for fostering at Warner Bros. through his collaborations with Nolan, Ben Affleck and Alfonso Cuaron. These relationships pay off at the box office, he said.
“The goal is for us to take what individual filmmakers have in terms of, call it the visual tone, that gives a movie a look and feel,” said Robinov. “That in a way is a form of marketing. So when you see those images for the first time and they’re fresh, I think that goes a long way towards cutting through the clutter.”
Staffing for Studio 8 will be a lean 15 people comprised of three development executives, including Robinov, in-house legal and business affairs teams and a finance group.
As for the practical elements of marketing and distribution, those will be handled by Sony, where Robinov announced earlier this month Studio 8 will be headquartered. The distribution deal with Studio 8, in addition to Sony’s new pact with Tom Rothman’s TriStar Pictures, means the studio could distribute 18 to 22 films annually between its various divisions and partnerships.
Sony Entertainment Inc. CEO Michael Lynton said that despite the number of players and personalities, everyone can be well served in terms of finding the right release date for major films.
“As long as everybody behaves in a collaborative fashion…you can always find the right date for the right movie,” he said.
“We’re all in this together,” said Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal, noting the company invested in Studio 8. “All the movies we’re going to make are Sony movies and they are equally Sony movies.”
The greenlight will rest with Robinov, but that spirit of collaboration will infuse the decisions he makes. He said he plans to make films that complement Sony’s release calendar and ones that may shoot in China or welcome Chinese co-production partners in order to “take advantage of Fosun’s relationships and Fosun’s knowledge of the Chinese market.”
China, with its burgeoning population of moviegoers, is a tantalizing opportunity for Hollywood, but its quotas on foreign films and strict censorship laws make it difficult to penetrate. That could change.
“It’s a new time,” said Guo. “The door opens a lot and it’s going to open more and more.”
