Stan Lee's new superpower: film financing Magic Storm Entertainment targets Asian markets By Dave McNary, Marc Graser
Stan Lee's superheroes are making the leap to Asia, with the comicbook vet launching Magic Storm Entertainment as a way to turn his characters into films in territories including China.
Lee's Pow! Entertainment is launching the venture with Ricco Capital Holdings, a Hong-Kong-based merger and acquisition boutique, and Panda Media Partners, a joint venture of Fidelis Entertainment.
The new Los Angeles-based company, to be run by Fidelis' Eric Mika as CEO, will develop and finance a slate of superhero fare designed to appeal to Asian markets that can also cross over to others. Details of the first project will be revealed later this summer.
Lee has been eager to get his newer creations onto screens through Pow! Company has a deal with Disney, but none of the projects in development at the studio is close to greenlight. Magic Storm is seen as a way for him to produce pics potentially at a more rapid rate.
"I have been eagerly awaiting this great opportunity, a chance to combine the best of American superhero epics with the best of Chinese and Asian classical filmmaking for a motion picture that would be excitedly received worldwide," said Lee, who serves as chief creative officer of Pow! and was the co-creator of Spider-Man, Iron Man, X-Men and the Incredible Hulk.
Mika will also oversee all future entertainment business development opportunities for Ricco Capital, which taps into private and state-owned Chinese enterprises to identify business opportunities for clients.
Fidelis was formed last year to develop entertainment financing opportunities that focus on Asian properties that have global appeal. Partners include Mika, former publisher of the Hollywood Reporter and VP of Nielsen Entertainment Group; Gerry Byrne, managing partner of Black Ocean and founder and partner of Fidelis Global Enterprises; and Beijing-based entertainment exec and thesp Shi Lan.
Mika said Magic Storm will enable Lee's stories to reach Stan's global fanbase but also provide "a market entry platform for global brands into China and Chinese brands to the West."
Ricco gravitated to the $6 billion that Lee's characters and brands have generated from the global box office plus toy, videogame and merchandise sales.
For now, Lee continues to launch new characters through comicbooks. His latest is "Blood Red Dragon," a collaboration with Japanese rock star Yoshiki and comicbook artist Todd McFarlane. Book will be introduced at San Diego's Comic-Con on July 21.
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