Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment group is setting up a multimillion-dollar fund to complement company’s new Hyde Park Asia division.
Fund is based in Singapore and is being opened to investors. It aims to raise $55 million-$73 million and is expected to be operational by the fall.
Hyde Park Asia, which is also based in Singapore, will produce or co-produce three to four films per year, consisting of a mixture of English-language titles aimed at a global crossover audience and a slate of local-language titles targeting a national or regional market. Company expects to establish long-term producing partnerships with local outfits in Japan, South Korea and India.
Fund has active support, though no financial participation, from Singapore’s Media Development Authority, the country’s entertainment industry regulator and financier.
“Hyde Park Asia’s presence further strengthens Singapore’s position as a media business exchange where ‘new Asia media’ projects are created, financed and distributed,” said Christopher Chia, MDA CEO.
Singapore is fast becoming a nexus of content funds for the entertainment industry in Asia. “There is now some S$500 million ($385 million) available for film, TV and games development across 13 funds based in Singapore,” he said.
Although HPA has not yet identified new projects to tap into the fund, Hyde Park has a three-picture deal with Adlabs Films, the movie arm of India’s most powerful entertainment conglom, Reliance Entertainment, and a separate deal for animation pictures with Kerala-based Toonz. That is expected to yield “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” for Christmas 2009.
Group is now shooting Capcom vidgame adaptation “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li,” which will be released by 20th Century Fox, and recently wrapped “The Other End of the Line,” a romantic comedy about a call center operative that will be released by MGM.
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