VICE & 20th Century Fox Align in Film Deal

NEW YORK: VICE and 20th Century Fox have come together to launch VICE Films, through which the two will finance, produce, market and distribute movies globally.

VICE Films is being positioned as a place for "visionary filmmakers who want to tell unique stories outside of the mainstream," and who want to "connect to and capture the hearts and minds of an entire generation of Millennial film lovers," who are focused on new-media technologies. Fox will support the venture through its global film development, production and distribution capabilities in all media, while VICE will lead creative development and leverage its global marketing and online activation expertise. VICE also will utilize its global network of digital channels to reach as wide an audience as possible. Vice Films intends to produce at least two movies internally a year, targeted for theatrical and digital distribution.

As part of this joint venture, VICE will have a first-look production deal with 20th Century Fox, giving VICE the opportunity to develop films with larger budgets as well. Fox will have an opportunity to develop material based on VICE’s library for potential feature films.

Eddy Moretti, the chief creative officer at VICE, will serve as the head of VICE Films. Danny Gabai, VICE's executive creative director, will head up development and oversee creative on production and marketing. Sanford Panitch, the president of Fox International Productions, and Salil Mehta, president of content management, will oversee VICE Films for 20th Century Fox.

Moretti said: “VICE Films is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for VICE. The success of Fishing Without Nets, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night and All This Mayhem showed us that we can play a vital role supporting exciting, bold, and visionary filmmaking. In partnership with Jim and his excellent team at Fox, we will build a new global home for cinematic creativity, supporting filmmakers from development to distribution, and creating a new business model for the industry along the way. But at the heart of this partnership is our love of cinema; VICE is committed to the enduring artistic and cultural relevance of the two-hour narrative.”

“VICE is a bold, groundbreaking new media company that allows us to reach an audience that is focused online and consumes its news and entertainment across many media platforms,” said Jim Gianopulos, 20th Century Fox's chairman and CEO. “VICE not only knows how to reach that audience but markets to them better than anyone else out there. We’re very proud to embark on this exciting venture with our new partners.”