Intermedia Seeks Film Opportunities the Majors Miss

Guy East and Nigel Sinclair enjoy a reputation as two of the smartest players in the international film business.

Whether that and their conviction that worldwide audiences want to see quality movies will combine to make a strong film company is being tested in their 2-year-old venture, Intermedia.

Their ambitions are considerable. They want to become a powerhouse in the independent film world, and the companies they regard as their competitors are such outfits as Miramax and October, both large independents with established track records and that are backed by giant entertainment conglomerates.

Intermedia has played a high-profile role during the Cannes International Film Festival, which ended Sunday, among other things announcing plans to finance a project produced by Mick Jagger based on a Tom Stoppard screenplay, and handling international distribution for Woody Allen’s next film. Intermedia sold Allen’s most recent film, “Deconstructing Harry,” in global markets.

There’s no doubt about the pedigree of the Intermedia principals.

East, 46, is the former chief executive of Majestic Films, a company that delivered “Dances With Wolves,” “Driving Miss Daisy” and “The Piano” to international markets.

Sinclair, 50, is a longtime top entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles who helped structure the deals that led to such films as “ ‘Crocodile’ Dundee” and “Braveheart.”

Intermedia, backed by London investors, is primarily a film finance and, through foreign sales, distribution company. The company is split between London, where there are about 30 employees, and Los Angeles, with about 10.

As a marketing strategy, East and Sinclair want Intermedia’s films to be entered in film festivals and to win awards. The company screened five films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, including the premiere of “Sliding Doors” with Gwyneth Paltrow.

“We’re looking for clever, intelligent movies that have a potential to break out,” East said in an interview here.

He and Sinclair believe that by becoming heavily involved with the development of movies at an early stage and working with talented people, they can find opportunities the major studios miss.

“We try to find material that isn’t necessarily appealing to studio executives,” East said.

Intermedia’s activity in development in part reflects the latest trends in the international film markets. Producers can’t afford to give away a quarter of their international take to sales companies, which increasingly have to become producers to get access to worthwhile products.

Over the next five years, Sinclair would like to push Intermedia toward direct distribution in key international markets, but the company has no plans to become a U.S. distributor.

“After five years, we’ll own a library of rights,” Sinclair said, noting that Intermedia is particularly trying to keep hold of international television rights, which have become one of the fast-growing parts of the business.

Intermedia plans to finance six to eight films a year and to acquire two or three more for sales only. Most of its films will cost in the $10-million-to-$30-million range; more than $50 million “is a bit dodgy for us,” East said.

How does a young company such as Intermedia compete in a bidding war with Miramax, which is owned by Walt Disney Co., or October, which is backed by Universal?

“It’s a relationship war, not a bidding war,” East said.

In that war, the partners believe they can compete. The company has relationships with, among others, Sydney Pollack’s Mirage Productions, Ridley and Tony Scott’s Scott Free Productions and Kevin Costner’s Tig Productions.

“I’ve delivered a huge number of Oscar-nominated films internationally,” East said. “We kind of know how to do that.”

Sinclair said Intermedia wants to distinguish itself by focusing on the development of strong screenplays and on global marketing.

“The story is our niche,” East said.

Sinclair said, “You can make all sorts of great output deals, but the point is that if you have scripts, they’ll buy it, and if you don’t, you’re [in trouble].”

Another benefit of strong scripts is that they attract strong actors. Paul Newman has signed on for an Intermedia-financed Scott Free production of “Where the Money Is.”

“If you can attract talent like that, the deals fall in place,” Sinclair said.

Sinclair said Intermedia has a unique focus on marketing and on staying with each project as it is released around the world. “We supervise the dubbing of voices in all the major territories”--France, Germany, Italy and Spain, he said.

While East concentrates on development and sales, Sinclair is the financial architect, a job that is increasingly difficult as the market for advance sales of films has dried up in recent years. “I have to cover the gap,” he said, “which is what I did for clients for 20 years.”

Sinclair recognizes that the world is littered with independent-film companies that have risen and collapsed over the last decade, and he believes Intermedia can survive only by staying focused on what it does well.

“The story of the film business,” he said, “is people wanting to be what they’re not.”