Hi Stockcracker,
Yes, I've been following this company with great interest for a while, but it is largely on my own gut feeling, along with the little education I have from working in the visual effects industry which allows me to hear and see some things about how movies get made and distributed. But please don't give my thoughts on it too much weight, I'm speculating here. Some of what you mention is stuff we're just not going to hear all the details on, especially with a non reporting company. But here's my take in some of those areas for what it's worth.
While the company mentioned they are talking to theatrical entities, we don't know really how much self distribution they will be handling just yet. I was mainly just surprised that they were getting into it at all, since it's a lot of work and a tough racket. However I'd be surprised if they handled all of it themselves, especially where major advertising dollars are needed. With Burt Reynolds' face (and others) on the poster, I'm not too worried where the advertising dollars are coming from; if they need a distributor to exploit the film in a certain market, one will come forward given the name recognition of all the stars in the film (imo). Just the fact that they are starting to handle some of it themselves says to me that they must be somewhat savvy and cost conscious, which I like. An update on their site today mentioned the FAI website will be up in about a week, so we can start watching there soon for indications on the handling of that film.
As far as the management team, I know there are many people in entertainment who are great at what they do, with very successful careers, and you never hear their names. So it's possible I might invest in a film company even without recognized names on the board, depending on what they were doing. Kimberly Kates happens to be a name some people have heard, so that's just gravy to me. I suspect she's also surrounded by many other people with skill and experience or BSEG would not have names like Reynolds, Larry Gross, or Gus van Sant doing business. I think Lightfield Lewis is also Juliette Lewis' brother and I believe he's joined the board. Seems that family grew up in the biz, so that's good news for us.
In terms of economics, I know that a movie can make enough in DVDs and foreign markets to recoup that kind of budget and turn a profit, and that I have seen firsthand. So it "can" happen...doesn't mean it "will" happen, but you buys your ticket and you takes your chance.
Where did you first hear of the company? I found it while I was specifically looking for film companies since that's my area of interest, but I'm wondering how many others out there got into it through that angle, versus purely as a stock play? Cheers.
AI
