Movies In The World

So Cannes is upon us again and we’re not there. And not because of the volcanic ash or the mini-tsunami that hit the Med last week, but we generally don’t do a lot of hob-nobbing at festivals. We’re always working with investors and we do get along from time to time to support movies we have a particular interest in. However, we do have plans to take a particular feature of ours to Cannes next year.

Last year at Cannes we had the pleasure of sponsoring the launch of a partner company, Studio Beyond, with a big party at the Majestic Barriere, right on the Croisette. The Movie Portfolio Fund logo was emblazoned electronically across the building into the night and it was a grand Cannes occasion. Nice to meet a few good old friends and some new ones as well, and we believe strongly in the partnership going forward.

Walking the dogs around Marina del Rey is normally an altogether more peaceful affair than the Croisette at Cannes, but this morning we discovered that the quiet little park we like to amble around had been taken over for a movie shoot. It turns out that Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman are shooting their new movie around here, just one of what seems like hundreds of movies going on around town at present. Things are still buzzing in the production business and the word is that Cannes is going to be a much busier forum this year as mainstream buyers are hungry for new product again after a few years of over-supply. Great news for movie makers.

We always like to maintain an international perspective and lately it’s been disturbing to read about the anti-government protests going on in Bangkok right now. Regardless of politics, which can be a little nutty, Thailand is a beautiful country with wonderful people and it’s sad to see things get out of hand again. Previously we had an office in the heart of the Silom district, right where the Red camp is, and we experienced enough strange goings-on then, including tanks in the street. But it’s very sad to see people dying and we wish them a peaceful resolution. Ironically, right now we’re working on financing a couple of movies being shot in Thailand, co-produced by producer friends of ours here in Hollywood, and we’re looking forward to getting back out to Asia before too long. We also have a couple of intriguing fundraising opportunities in the works at the moment out of Thailand, so perhaps the stars are aligning that way once more.

The Out Of Obscurity team.