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Joe Roth has always loved big-budget films. Now, he has a deal to make him smile. Roth, 49, has signed an agreement worth $3 billion to work with two studios and a major pay-TV operator, ending months of speculation in Hollywood about where the former Disney studio chief would land (see BW Online, "The Mad Dash to Do a Deal with Joe Roth").
Roth will link with Sony and Fox studios along with Starz Encore, the pay-TV arm of John Malone's Liberty Media empire. Sony, Fox, and Encore will become equity partners in his newly created Revolution Studios, which will make 36 films over the next six years. As part of his deal, Roth will own the films outright, a rarity among film companies that usually have to hand over film rights to the companies that distribute them.
Under this deal, Sony will handle the theatrical and home-video distribution for the films that Roth makes, while Fox gets the TV rights for its cable and broadcast properties in the U.S. and abroad. Encore will put the movies on pay-TV outlets, which now include 12 separate channels, and will be able to offer Revolution movies on pay-per-view. To handle Internet distribution of comedy shows, Roth also bought controlling interest in Mediatrip.com, an Internet content provider that will also provide him with online promotion for his films.
PLETHORA OF CHOICES.
The Roth deal shows the immense power that so-called content providers have in Hollywood these days, where a big-drawing movie or popular production is crucial to companies trying to fill the pipeline in a digital world. Suddenly, consumers have a plethora of choices, so content matters. Roth, who headed Fox studios before joining Disney in 1984, is considered among the industry's top dealmakers.
At Fox, he was credited with movies like Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire. At Disney, he brought stars like Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson to the studio for the first time, as well as filmmakers like Ron Howard. Among his top hits at Disney were Ransom and Armageddon, although he also suffered through a series of big-budget bombs such as Mission to Mars.
Roth has been putting together his company since leaving Disney earlier this year. It had been rumored that both DreamWorks and Universal would offer him money to locate his company on their lots, although in the end Roth decided to create his own studio. To help him run the operation, Roth will bring two top executives from Disney with him -- former studio CFO Rob Moore and Disney production head Todd Garner. Both will own equity in the new company as well.
DOZENS OF FLICKS.
The first film that Roth intends to make is a relatively low-budget drama called Tomcats, with actors Jake Busey and Shannon Elizabeth in the lead roles. He says he has 25 other productions ready to go right behind it. You can bet some of them will be big-budget, and have bigger stars.
Hollywood scuttlebutt has him already lining up deals with long-time friends such as Julia Roberts and tough-guy Willis. Hey, with $3 billion in equity and seed money, you can line up just about anyone you want.
By Ronald Grover in Los Angeles
EDITED BY DOUGLAS HARBRECHT
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