Mid-range fund would make decisions easier: Universal

Mike Baard, director of Universal Pictures Australia, says the $60m production fund for mid-range films would make distributors’ decisions to invest in Australian films – such as Sanctum and Dracula: Year Zero – “easier”

Will this fund really encourage distributors to invest in local films?

Talking for Universal Pictures, we’re announcing one film today, Alex Proyas’ Dracula: Year Zero today. Any fund that makes the decision easier for the distributor to either invest or come on board purely on a minimum guarantee basis is to be welcomed. It’s a very risky business and it’s a very expensive business to be operating in; once you’ve taken the production budget out of play, you always have to consider the P&A, which can exceed the production budget.

This fund will definitely help distributors come on board in a more positive way, in particular those studios that are not looking at the Australian market from an investment perspective; it will definitely make the decision easier.