Ok,
In the wake of RED TAILS/G LUCAS and some here complaining how hollywood is shunning black films, i thought why cant these top black media billionaires set up a PRIVATE EQUITY/VENTURE CAPITAL firm that will made,market and distribute films (NOT FILMS AIMED AT THE US BLACK AUDIENCE) but films that can be seen globally those that tacKle everyday issues
Good example is PARTICIPANT PICTURES/MEDIA.
These guys only started in 2004 and from my understanding — Participant took 11 Oscar nominations in 2006, and films like “The Cove” and “An Inconvenient Truth” later became winners — nothing from the company has approached blockbuster status. The biggest ticket-seller among its films — it has produced about 30 — was “Charlie Wilson’s War”.
Personally I subscribe to their updates on film, books and documentaries with social message.....yes its not gonna be easy I remember one of the founders in an interview here in London, said they learned their lesson in 04 by making a mistake of relying piecemeal on the major studios for film distribution — an arrangement that almost always meant unfavorable terms.
So after being screwed by big shots in Hollywood they bought a stake in Summit, and remains its second-largest shareholder...and gets more interesting....it also made an agreement under which Summit would distribute as many films for Participant under terms they termed as more favorable.
And I know some of you will hate my International outlook but the truth is the world is biiger than America, people have access to news and info PLUS new films...be it in India, Africa, Latin America or Europe so OPRAH and Co if they are thinking GLOBAL should find partners outside US. Spike Lee i think was trying to do something with DUBAI Govt. Few Years ago Participant formed a joint venture with Imagenation Abu Dhabi, a division of the government-owned Abu Dhabi Media Company, to finance its films.
About time they set up something that will tell our stories while make money at the same time
anyway check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participant_Media
Last edited: