The Weinstein Company Launches $285 Million Asian Film Fund

NEW YORK, August 7: The Weinstein Company (TWC) has launched
a $285 million fund that will fully finance the development, production,
acquisition, marketing and distribution of a large slate of Asian-themed films
over the next six years.

TWC anticipates producing or acquiring a total of 21
theatrical titles and 10 direct-to-video titles during the term of the fund.
Worldwide distribution for all films under the deal will be controlled by The
Weinstein Company and will include DVD distribution in the United States under
TWC's agreement with Genius Products.

The fund will include a diverse mix of theatrical and
direct-to-video titles, which will mostly be filmed in Asia and will explore
the region's culture, as well as showcase the talents of leading Asian
filmmakers. Some of the titles that will be included in the fund include a
live-action version of Mulan, which
depicts the epic journey of the Chinese legend Hua Mulan; The Seven
Samurai, a contemporary remake of the 1956
Academy Award-nominated story about a poor village besieged by bandits and
defended by seven samurai; the action movie Shanghai about an American who returns to Japanese-occupied
Shanghai during the Second World War to discover his friend's death and attempt
to unravel the mysteries behind it; and an untitled Tony Jaa project. The fund
will also be used for TWC's recently announced deal with 24 producer Tony Krantz and Infernal Affairs (the inspiration for The Departed) co-director Andrew Lau for a trio of Hong Kong
action films, to be shot in English; and Forbidden Kingdom which marks the first onscreen pairing of Jackie
Chan and Jet Li and is directed by Rob Minkoff. TWC is co-releasing Forbidden
Kingdom with Lionsgate in the U.S., U.K.,
Spain, France and Latin America.

TWC intends to focus on delivering Asian films that offer
significant production value with a Western sensibility, and are aimed both at
performing well in the Asian territories of their origin and appealing to
Western audiences. TWC has been responsible for releasing four of the top eight
highest grossing Asian foreign language films in North America, including Hero, Iron Monkey, The Protector and Shall
We Dance? The company, which already has an
office in Hong Kong, plans to ramp up its Asian business and increase its
profile in Asia. TWC recently hired David Lee as the executive VP of Asian
operations to oversee the creative aspects of the Asian Film Fund, reporting to
co-president of production Michael Cole and the company’s two founders, Bob and
Harvey Weinstein.

"Bob and I are thrilled to share the immense talent and
beautiful stories of Asian cinema with audiences around the world,” said Harvey
Weinstein. “We have been planning to launch an Asian Film Fund and increase our
Asian film business since the early planning stages of The Weinstein Company
and are really excited to be able to start working on all the exciting projects
we have planned. The film world has become increasingly global and through this
fund, we will be able to work on daring projects with the region's most
creative filmmakers and movie stars and partner with some of Asia's most
dynamic talent – both behind and in front of the camera."

A team of investors will manage the fund, with TWC serving
as the managing member with authority over all film-related activities
including development, creative, marketing, and distribution. The fund comes a
year after TWC created a new label, Dragon Dynasty, showcasing classic and
contemporary Asian cinema on DVD.