Paramount to launch micro-budget movie division (Los Angeles Times)
The as-yet-unnamed division plans to finance as many as 20 “micro-budget” movies annually starting in 2010, according to people familiar with the studio’s plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because the formal announcement has not been made. A current Paramount executive will run the business, but the selection has not yet been revealed publicly. Funds for the movies — no more than $2 million total annually — will be part of Paramount’s existing production budget. The division does not plan to acquire completed movies at film festivals and markets.
Not all of the micro-budgeted movies Paramount intends to make will be released theatrically.
Instead, the division will operate much like a studio’s development slate, where screenplays are purchased, rewritten and (in some cases) turned into movies.
Source: davidseger
