Arundel Partners Investment Analysis
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Background
The proposed business venture, Arundel Partners, is an investment group which would purchase the sequels rights associated with all films produced by 1 or more selected U.S. movie production studios for a specified period of time, or a specified number of films. As your investment analysts, our goal is to assess the value of the sequel rights to allow a determination of the value of the overall investment as well as a reasonable price-per-film for the sequel rights.
Arundel Partners plans to pay to obtain a guarantee to the ownership of sequel rights for a set of films prior to production. It is assumed that only a small percentage of the films produced by a studio will be sequel candidates, based on the profitability of the initial film release. It is also recognized that the profitability of a sequel is typically lower than the initial release. This estimated profit will determine the proposed contract offer by Arundel Partners to the selected studio.
Sequence of Events
**Note: The diagram in Figure 1.1 outlines the timeline as it applies to the Arundel investment described.
Prior to proposal, Arundel will need to determine which studio they feel offers the best potential success, and propose the contract prior to knowledge of films to be produced during the contract period. Arundel will then own the sequels rights as defined in the contract. History suggests that a studio would entertain an offer around $2 million per film for the rights to the sequels of each move it produces that year.
FIGURE 1: SUM...
... middle of paper ...
... 3) performance rights; 4) public display rights; and, 5) the right to prepare derivative works. It is important that Arundel understand how this may impact long term profitability of their investment, and any criteria required as part of the transaction should be incorporated into the proposal contract.
Major studios might place restrictions on transfer of copyright ownership on highly profitable movies. Arundel partners should insist on a contract where by purchasing the sequel rights transfers the copyright as well. Such a clause included in the contract would protect the rights of Arundel from being diminished or impaired and avoid litigation over the literary property.
By optioning to acquire the sequel rights, Arundel Partners should be free to transfer the rights to third party to make a profitable deal and such clause should be included in the contract.
If upper management cannot promote the roll out of new movies or TV shows on their own time, then he or she might decide to decline the position for another firm that does not limit the venues to advertise feature productions. Another hindrance Disney can face when, onboarding senior executives, are not allowed to create partnerships or agency between parties under this agreement outlined in the miscellaneous section (“Non-Disclosure, Non-Circumvention And Non-Competition Agreement,” n.d.). If top level employees are not permitted to forge relationships outside of the Disney family, then the candidate can change their mind and seek employment elsewhere that does not put constraints on them because of the employer’s name and reputation. Even though Disney take liberties to ensure sensitive data is protected, there are benefits and consequences for the high-potentials signing confidential
Courtney Solomon, one of the majority shareholders of Sweetpea, has wanted to turn D&D into a feature film since he experienced the role-playing game. When he discovered that no one has acquired for the motion picture rights to D&D, he contacted TSR and submitted a proposal. After two years of proposal after proposal, and extensive negotiations, TSR and Sweetpea entered into an Option Agreement dated May 3, 1991 (the “Option Agreement”). Sweetpea exercised the option and arrived at an Exclusive Irrevocable License ...
Walt Disney Co.’s China division and Marvel Studios chose to partner with Beijing-based DMG Entertainment as the latter maintains close working ties with the state-run China Film Group. By doing so, the producers were able to bypass China’s rigid foreign film quota system of 34 films a year. This quota will be increased to 44 films in the next few years and that is good news for aspiring filmmakers from Singapore who is considering a join venture with China. By partnering with a Chinese company, the Singapore producer will gain leverage in obtaining a spot in the quota, as state media will view the co-production as a domestic film as opposed to a 100% foreign film.
George Lucas is a proclaimed god in the film industry. His experience spans decades and his movies span generations. He is one of the most known celebrities in the world. With a flashy net worth of over $4.2 billion, one wonders how a mere writer could acquire such wealth. To understand this, one must delve deep into Lucas’ past and analyze his first success and his early failures.
Identify specific elements of a motion picture that film studios look for in a successful movie.
Before any discussion on the actions of MPAA can be broached, it is necessary to deliver a brief historical primer on the intellectual property laws, in particular copyrights. To begin with, a copyright is used to protect creative rather than industrial forms. No formal registration is required to gain protection of a creation. The only requirement is that creation must be expressed, that is, an idea or knowledge in and of itself is not copyrightable, only the expression of the idea.[2]
Movies today are extremely expensive to make and are typically financed through either film studio contracts or from investors willing to take a risk. In order to be successful, movies need to be marketed and distributed either under contract by the film studios or by companies that specialize in such services. The aspects of financing, marketing and distribution of films have changed between the studio and independent systems over the years as the evolution of the film industry took place.
The result of LucasArts being a subsidiary company of LucasFilm has meant, for LucasArts, the exclusive rights to the most successful franchise of all time, the Star Wars series. According to Anita Frazier, industry analyst for toys and games at NPD Group, "Star Wars games generally sell very well, and the Star Wars franchise is one of the top 10 video-game franchises of all time."( Lane F, 2008) Another franchise of LucasArts the hugely popular ‘Indiana Jones’ series has an eagerly anticipated game in production.
An example in the film that highlights the demise of the studio system is when Joe pitches a script idea to a producer of Paramount. Joe is quick to say that the film only needs one main character, has many outdoor locations and can be made ‘for under a million dollars’ (Joe Gillis, Sunset Boulevard, 1950), which highlights the idea of saving money on a s...
In this essay I will look at the Film Company and distributer Universal Studios, also known as Universal Pictures. I will analyse the logo, branding, and marketing within the corporate company.
the film have been cast as parts. It worked well for the film, but I
film can make or break a movie. Marketing a film takes up a great deal of the money that is
My previous two columns have focused on the story of my short-lived involvement with a group of investors seeking to purchase Marvel Comics in January, 1998. As I related last time, my role in examining the Marvel documents was to analyze the licensing division with an eye as to how much potential revenue we could anticipate from this area. In the end, I had to tell my fellow investors that there really wasn't a whole lot of licensing potential left. Either the rights were hopelessly entangled due to bungling on the part of Marvel's legal staff, or that most of the decent licensing properties had already been sold for many years forward, in exchange for upfront cash payments in previous years.
With a big history in the film making industry, Universal Studios is the largest film studio in the world, with 9000 employee’s. The company produced ‘ET: The Extra Terrestrial’ and ‘Jurassic Park’ which are two of the highest grossing movies in all of time. The company is quite regular in introducing new films into the consumer market, outputting between 15 – 18 per year.
amounts of equity (Disney and Government) as well as with subordinated debt (Government), Disney had