qed international
starring jesse eisenberg and jason segel makes the cut — fortitude international is the international sales agent .
with the cannes film festival kicking off next month, qed international has tapped nadine debarros and the sales team from fortitude international to handle key - market sales for qed at the 2015 market .
as part of the agreement, block will produce two movies that qed is expected to invest in and for which qed will handle international sales .
media content capital has taken a substantial stake in qed international, setting the stage for expansion of bill block’s 6 - year - old production, finance and international sales company .
writer - director david ayer and qed international are joining forces for fury, a world war ii battlefield tale .
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qed international is committing to spend serious coin on scripts and pitches that it hopes will translate into features with global appeal .
qed international (oil & gas) nigeria limited is an engineering company incorporated in september 2003 in the federal republic of nigeria .
veteran financier bill block is in negotiations to exit from qed international, the production - sales - financing company he founded in 2002 .
qed international (oil & gas) nigeria limited provides contract and permanent recruitment staff personnel for the oil & gas industry in africa .
the co - founder and former coo of qed international has teamed up with media content capital on the production, financing and distribution company .
block recently closed a multi - year agreement with red granite international to act as the exclusive international sales agent for the company’s upcoming production slate outside of the warner bros. deal .
media content capital has taken a substantial stake in qed international, setting the stage for expansion of bill block’s 6 - year - old production, finance and international sales company. the mid - eight - figure investment, announced wednesday at cannes, will be used to grow qed’s development, production sales and financing operations and enable qed to build out its infrastructure. it plans [ … ]
qed also has deals to handle international sales for other titles including term life, starring vince vaughn; and the family fang, starring jason bateman and nicole kidman .
the only top level employee remaining at qed from the block era is john friedberg, executive vp international sales. he was most recently at the berlin market sellling qed titles. shapiro said qed sales there were “soft, ” which he blamed on the lack of new titles and an overall weak market. it is unclear if friedberg, who declined to comment, will continue with qed .
french director pierre morel is in talks to direct warner bros.' alien invasion actioner earth defense force, set up with sam raimi and bill block' s qed international .
“fury is not your father’s world war ii movie - - it digs deep into the complexities of battlefield heroism, ” qed international ceo bill block said. “this is the biggest acquisition in qed’s history, and we cannot wait for david to bring this amazing story to audiences worldwide. ”
fred wolf is directing the fortitude international and bron studios comedy. alec baldwin and salma hayek have signed on to star in comedy
kelley, judith. data on international election monitoring: three global datasets on election quality, election events and international election observation. ann arbor, mi: inter - university consortium for political and social research [ distributor ], 2014 - 08 - 29. urltoken
* the qed group, llc, uses this information to identify potential partners for contracting and subcontractingopportunities. the qed group, llc, does not share this information with any third party .
media content is led by financiers sasha shapiro and anton lessine. hanson is the former co - founder and chief operating officer of qed international and served as chief operating officer of megan ellison’s annapurna pictures for the past two years .
covert will service and support the library and upcoming projects for qed, although details about sales personnel were not forthcoming at time of writing. shapiro and lessine engaged fortitude international to oversee the slate prior to cannes in a temporary arragement .
qed has pre - emptively bought ayer’s spec script and will finance the project, produce it with john lesher ’s le grisbi prods. , and handle international sales for the film, which is expected to begin production later this year .
kelley, judith. data on international election monitoring: three global datasets on election quality, election events and international election observation. icpsr31461 - v2. ann arbor, mi: inter - university consortium for political and social research [ distributor ], 2014 - 08 - 29. urltoken
block will continue to work on two other qed productions, birth of the dragon and yellowstone falls .
veteran financier bill block is in negotiations to exit from qed international, the production - sales - financing company he founded in 2002. he is working out an agreement to leave qed with media content capital, which took a controlling interest in the company three years ago. block and media content capital toppers sasha shapiro and anton lessine were [ … ]
international sales and financing company fortitude launched last month headed by sales veteran nadine de barros [ pictured ] and producers daniel wagner and robert ogden barnum .
media content capital bought a majority interest in qed in 2012, and block departed earlier this year. qed holdings then sued block for trademark infringement and unfair competition, alleging he illegally used qed’s assets for personal gain — an allegation that block’s attorney strongly denied. the federal judge handling the case ordered arbitration in july .
if you are not already registered, please call orasure at 800 - orasure (800 - 672 - 7873) in the us. for international, please call
backer media content capital will continue qed as a production and sales company with several movies in production and new projects .
shapiro and lessine tell the hollywood reporter in an interview that they plan to personally take over operation of qed. they said they will have a presence at cannes in may and will announce new movie projects. “qed is in discussions on a number of projects - both domestic and international - and is developing new ip and building relationships with upcoming and established talent, ” they said in a joint statement .
the company also has international sales rights to franny, starring dakota fanning, richard gere and theo james, which shapiro said is likely to get a premiere at the tribeca film festival. it is not a qed movie and there is no domestic deal in place for distribution as yet .
alice eve, maggie q and stephen fry also have signed on to join uma thurman in the film, which fortitude international will be selling at the toronto film festival .
qed’s major recent success has been the brad pitt action film “fury, ” which grossed more than $ 210 million worldwide .
joshua grode and zach smith of liner grode stein llp represented media content capital in the transaction and chris corrabi represented qed .
the mid - eight - figure investment, announced wednesday at cannes, will be used to grow qed ’s development, production sales and financing operations and enable qed to build out its infrastructure. it plans to produce and / or finance four to seven features annually, expand operations to handle additional third - party titles for sales and distribution and provide minimum guarantees when acquiring international rights for third - party completed feature films .
media content capital has made an 8 - figure investment and will become a shareholder of qed international, the financing and sales company run by bill block. the funds will be used to ramp up development, sales and financing operations as qed produces and or acquires four to seven films a year and grows to handle third party productions. the investment will allow block to pay minimum guarantees to acquire offshore rights to completed film .
said media content capital’s sasha shapiro: “we believe content is increasing in value around the world. qed’s risk mitigation approach to financing new films is appealing to us. we look forward to working with bill and the qed team in growing the business. ”
the qed group llc 1820 north. ft myer drive, # 700 arlington, va 22209 + 1 - 703 - 678 - 4700
qed: cosmo' s casebook is a fun, educational game set in ancient rome during the final decades of the mighty republic .
veteran film executive paul hanson has partnered with media content capital to launch covert media, a new feature production, financing and distribution company based in los angeles. hanson, formerly coo of qed international and, later, of annapurna pictures, will serve as ceo. media content capital has pledged to fund the new company .
he is working out an agreement to leave qed with media content capital, which took a controlling interest in the company three years ago .
money laundering is like electricity, which follows the path of least resistance ,
the hill aide said .
without robust sanctions from the u. s. and the international community, putin' s cronies will continue to stash their plundered loot beyond the scope of u. s. jurisdiction. time will tell whether the crisis in ukraine will stir the international community into substantive action .
“with the capital, qed will be able to further assist filmmakers and companies in financing their projects, ” the company said. “qed will continue its strategy of committing capital and resources to top filmmakers to enable them to produce commercial films that are competitive in the global market. ”
we have some game play tips and a set of qed teaching resources to help you and your students get the most out of the game .
this data collection focuses on elections and election monitoring throughout the world. dataset 1, data on international election monitoring (diem), codes the assessement and activities of international election monitoring organizations to national - level legislative and presidential elections in 108 countries from 1980 - 2004. dataset 2, quality of elections data (qed), codes the quality of national - level legislative and presidential elections in 172 countries from 1978 to 2004. dataset 3, supplementary election data, includes supplementary information on all direct presidential and legislative elections in 182 countries from 1975 - 2004 .
qed is always on the lookout for authors and artists with creative ideas that enhance and broaden our publishing list of children' s books. see our
sony pictures worldwide acquisitions has taken all rights in international english - speaking territories, latin america and other european markets to “the end of the tour, ” starring jason segel and jesse eisenberg and directed by james ponsoldt .
if you are interested in partnering with qed, please register in our database by filling out our form below with your organization' s services and expertise .
it is with pleasure to announce that thor koeppl is the winner of the 2017 qed research prize. he is the sixteenth recipient of this illustrious award. thanks to the qed research prize committee which was made up of the last two recipients, amy sun (2015) and chris cotton (2016) .
ceo bill block is officially leaving qed international as his exit strategy clearly came last fall when he and palmstar media capital ceo kevin frakes joined with raj singh’s merced capital l. p. to launch merced media, a new development, production and financing vehicle they said will invest $ 500 million in a three - to - five - year program of pictures that focus on wide releases .
lessine said on thursday that “any money [ he, his family or others ] put into qed is not the subject of a u. s. investigation. ”
mcc, run by sasha shapiro and anton lessine who also operate qed holdings, is fully funding the los angeles - based venture and hanson will serve as ceo .
in a competitive situation, qed and financier / producer norton herrick have committed to fund
ten
, a drama that will begin shooting in december with bruce willis starring. patrick allesandrin is directing a script by skip woods. roth and palak patel will produce with qed principals bill block and paul hanson, herrick ...
block has been the ceo of qed. besides “fury, ” he’s a producer on bill murray starrer “rock the kasbah”; prior credits include “elysium” and “district 9. ”
the question remains about what kind of going concern qed will be, as deadline has previously speculated. there are now only two or three employees left in the actual offices of qed, which will be relocating out of their 1800 hollywood blvd digs. sources say block actually took up new offices in december under the merced media moniker. qed began laying people off last april, three weeks after the disappointing box office bow of the arnold schwarzenegger - starrer sabotage, ($ 17. 5m global box office) .
, qed is billed as
a leading independent motion picture production, financing, and sales distribution company .
business insider reached out to qed ceo bill block, who was also credited as a producer for
haunt ,
and he referred us to a spokesperson who did not respond to our request for comment. after
haunt ,
lessine
media content capital’s sasha shapiro said, “we believe content is increasing in value around the world. qed’s risk - mitigation approach to financing new films is appealing to us. ”
qed is a global leader in evidence based programming. for 20 years, we have worked with our partners in nearly 100 countries to provide' end to end' solutions .
you will find this imprint' s titles under the qed publishing brand throughout most of the world. in north america, the titles are found under the qeb publishing brand .
newman added that movies made outside the studio system are more likely to involve questionable financing. specifically, he pointed to larger independent films produced by companies like qed and then distributed by other studios .
qed’s most successful film was “district 9. ” other titles have included oliver stone’s “w, ” “the hunting party, ” “ texas killing fields, ” “a perfect getaway” and smart people. ”
bill block is in final negotiations to end his role as ceo of qed, the production company he founded in 2002, which has been behind movies including fury, district 9, w and sabotage .
qed also had the movie fading gigolo, directed by john turturro and starring turturro, woody allen, live schreiber and sharon stone. it was shown at toronto in 2013 and then opened in limited release in the u. s. in april 2014 to mixed reviews and poor box office. shapiro says it was a prestigious and profitable project for qed although it has grossed less than $ 13 million worldwide .
as an executive producer on three qed films: 2013' s
fading gigolo
;
sabotage ,
which opened in march; and
fury ,
which is set to be released in october .
qed also is in post - production on dirty grandpa, starring zac efron, robert deniro and dermot mulroney, which lionsgate has scheduled for a domestic release in 2016. it is expected to get a new title .
. pic is being co - financed by bron studios and fortitude international along with creative wealth media finance. friend, who will also star, wrote the script and will produce alongside aaron l. gilbert of bron studios and margot hand. both friend and blunt previously starred together as prince albert and queen victoria in
block is working out a separation agreement with sasha shapiro and anton lessine, the son of russia' s former press minister, who together run media content capital, which acquired a controlling interest in qed in may 2012 .
working with acclaimed authors and consultants, qed publishing is going from strength to strength. its mission is simple – to create fresh, informative, high - quality books that will appeal to children, parents and teachers alike .
there were rumors that qed ran into money problems late last year after funding from russia dried up in the wake of the plunge in the price of oil and economic sanctions imposed on russia after war broke out in the ukraine .
nadine de barros, in town with her new sales and finance shop fortitude international, is doing a soft launch in berlin ahead of a wider push on the riviera in may. “there are more and more sales companies, so we all have a need for product, so we’re all making offers to similar actors. ”
the qed group frequently partners with small and large businesses, non - profits, ngos, foundations, and educational institutions to subcontract on upcoming opportunities. we collaborate with both u. s. and non - u. s. institutions .
the new ppe (politics - philosophy - economics) undergraduate degree plan has been approved and will be accepting students for the 2017 - 18 academic year. more details can be found on the qed undergraduate studies web page, or at: urltoken
at qed, we are committed to making meaningful and lasting change through monitoring and evaluation, knowledge management and learning, and technical delivery. our work serves to enable better - quality development design, planning, implementation, and evaluation across all sectors .
qed burst on the scene several years ago with the sleeper hit district 9 and the oliver stone - directed w. among the films qed is currently financing and producing are the action thriller ten, starring arnold schwarzenegger, which open road recently acquired for u. s. release; the neil blomkamp directed elysium, starring matt damon and jodie foster for columbia pictures; and the crime thriller i, alex cross, starring tyler perry, matthew fox, rachel nichols and ed burns for a lionsgate / summit release this october .
fury was released in the u. s. and much of the rest of the world by sony pictures entertainment, and is still opening in some territories around the globe. qed has a first dollar gross deal and the payoff continues to flow into the company .
the biggest flop for qed since media content capital got involved was sabotage, which stars arnold schwarzenegger, sam worthington and terrence howard. it reportedly cost about $ 35 million to make and since it opened in march 2014 has grossed less than $ 13 million worldwide .
just ahead of berlin’s european film market, foreign sales veteran nadine de barros, financier daniel wagner and producer robert ogden barnum have come together to create fortitude international. with equity, bridge and senior debt capabilities at its disposal, the new sales and financing venture will fully finance projects andis looking to produce strong, commercial and director driven material immediately for a slate of 10 - 15 movies a year .
the second film is yellowstone falls, based on a script by daniel kunka that qed acquired under block. the story of a mother wolf that has to defend her cubs against human predators after an apocalyptic event. it will be directed by new zealand director gerard johnstone (housebound) .
the qed roster includes barry levinson’s comedy rock the kasbah starring bill murray, jason bateman’s the family fang with nicole kidman and christopher walken, franny starring richard gere, dakota fanning and theo james, time out of mind also with gere and the thriller strange but true starring imogen poots .
hanson co - founded qed in 2002 with bill block and oversaw all aspects of the company, including film financing, production and distribution activities. notable projects during his tenure included neill blomkamp’s “district 9, ” oliver stone’s “w. , ” john turturro’s “fading gigolo” and david ayer’s “sabotage. ”
three of the four major films produced by lessine —
fading gigolo ,
haunt ,
and
fury
— followed this model. they were produced by qed and distributed by a studio .
sabotage
was produced and distributed by qed. sony pictures entertainment, which is the worldwide distributor for
fury ,
did not respond to a request for comment on this article. millennium entertainment, which distributed
fading gigolo
in the u. s. , and ifc midnight, the american distributor for
haunt ,
also did not respond to requests for comment .
“i am excited to be in business with media content capital, ” block said in a statement. “its investment in qed gives us the balance sheet to support filmmakers in getting their movies made and allows us to expand our business and platform to better serve our clients and the creative community. ”
qed is currently financing and producing the arnold schwarzenegger action thriller “ten, which open road recently acquired for u. s. release; neil blomkamp’s “elysium, ” starring matt damon and jodie foster, for columbia; and crime thriller “alex cross, ” starring tyler perry, for a lionsgate release in october .
shapiro and lessine say media content capital has other investments besides qed. among those they say is an investment in sonifi solutions (successor to lodgenet), which delivers entertainment content to about 1. 4 million hotel rooms and to healthcare facilities. the principal investor in sonoifi is colony capital, the entity behind miramax .
according to wicker' s letter, the elder lesin was
russia' s minister for communications and mass media from 1999 - 2004 .
radio free europe reported that lesin
played an instrumental role in solidifying state control
over an independent television network and subsequently was
seen as the mastermind
behind putin' s launch of the international news network rt, which u. s. officials have described as a
propaganda bullhorn
for moscow .
qed has several movies in various stages from development to post production. the next scheduled release is rock the kasbah, directed by barry levinson and starring zooey deschanel, bruce willis, bill murray and kate hudson, which is due out this november. shapiro said it will get a wide release domestically through open road films .
set in the shadowy world of high - risk corporate warfare, soldiers of fortune stars martinez as vincent corbo, a battle - scarred black - ops specialist hired by visionary high - tech mogul peter swann to fight the ruthless business rivals, corrupt governments and violent crime syndicates laying siege to swann’s global empire. michael colleary (lara croft: tom raider, face / off) will serve as showrunner and oversee an international team of writers, primarily from europe .
ever since qed’s inception in 2003, each book has been specifically designed to make learning exciting, stimulating and fun for children. our diverse range of titles covers everything from entertaining, innovative facts for the classroom to beautifully illustrated fiction that kids will want to take home. get inspired and get learning – the fun starts here !
“this is a great time for my partner jared underwood, our two incredibly talented executives kearie peak and chris taylor and myself as we launch solar pictures, ” said paunescu. “for my part, i’ve been preparing for this day for many years by first learning the business and then the craft with the films i produced, wrote or directed. now it’s time for the next step — making great independent films with strong appeal to the u. s. and international markets. ”
update, 4: 53 p. m. — block’s attorney martin singer responded to the comments from shapiro and lessine by issuing a statement: “qed has no news without using media to attempt their ad hominem strategy against mr block. we look forward to the depositions of anton lessine and sasha shapiro when their statements will be taken under oath. ”
as the afm kicks off, and fortitude international nears its 2nd birthday, the company has built a slate of elevated genre, thrillers and comedies with the latest addition, android, a space - set sci - fier that will star olga kurylenko. keeping mum’s niall johnson is directing from a script he co - wrote with matt o’reilly that taps into the current a. i. zeitgeist. trademark films’ ivan mactaggart is producing with infinite studios singapore’s mike wiluan and lindsey martin and magnet management’s jennie frankel frisbie .
ayer, who wrote training day and wrote and directed end of watch, also is teaming with qed on the action thriller ten, starring arnold schwarzenegger, sam worthington and mireilles enos, which open road films will release in january 2014. he also will be re - uniting with lesher, one of the producers of end of watch. fury will be produced by block, lesher and ethan smith .
covert media also will service and support the library, and upcoming projects, for mcc - owned qed. among these projects are the bill murray comedy rock the kasbah; the jason bateman - directed the family fang; franny, starring richard gere, dakota fanning and theo james; time out of mind, from writer - director oren moverman and starring richard gere; and the thriller strange but true, starring imogen poots, bill paxton and melissa leo .
covert will also service and support the library and upcoming projects for qed, which has been owned by media content for the past three years. those titles include the bill murray comedy “rock the kasbah”; “the family fang, ” directed by jason bateman, who co - stars with nicole kidman and christopher walken; “franny, ” starring richard gere, dakota fanning and theo james; “time out of mind, ” starring gere; and the thriller “strange but true, ” starring imogen poots, bill paxton and melissa leo .
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the family of former kremlin media chief mikhail lesin is apparently living quite large in los angeles .
their lavish hollywood lifestyle, which has provided an entré into the movie business and has brought them into the orbit of the industry' s biggest a - list stars, has some wondering where the family' s money came from .
according to u. s. sen. roger wicker (r - mississippi), after leaving the russian government in 2009, lesin
moved his immediate family to los angeles, california, where he acquired multiple residences at a cost of over $ 28 million .
in a letter sent to attorney general eric holder last month, wicker requested a department of justice investigation into whether lesin' s real estate purchases were part of violations of the foreign corrupt practices act or anti - money laundering statutes .
that a russian public servant could have amassed the considerable funds required to acquire and maintain these assets … raises serious questions ,
wicker wrote .
real estate purchases are just one aspect of lesin' s family' s business interests in los angeles. since last year, lesin' s son, anton lessine, has produced four major hollywood movies with stars including arnold schwarzenegger, brad pitt, shia labeouf, and woody allen .
on aug. 1, radio free europe' s luke johnson and carl schreck published a report on wicker' s request for a probe into lesin' s finances. citing documents provided by the senator' s office, the report noted evidence that lesin and his son had linked business interests. according to radio free europe, lesin bought three properties in the los angeles area. one of these was a 13, 000 - square - foot beverly hills home purchased by dastel corporation for $ 13. 8 million in august 2011. records show lessine was a corporate officer of the company. radio free europe also identified a corporation in which lesin' s daughter, ekaterina lesina, was an officer, which purchased a $ 5. 6 million beverly hills home in 2012. (despite the different surnames, business insider has confirmed these family relationships. )
critics say the lesin family fortune is troubling because putin and his cronies have a reputation for corruption — illegally enriching themselves and spiriting their wealth out of russia .
putin and his inner circle have enriched themselves through the seizure of private assets, using dubious legal maneuvers, coercion, and intimidation ,
said a senior capitol hill aide who spoke to business insider about lesin .
ironically, even putin' s cronies know that they too may fall out of favor. as such, tens of billions of dollars are cloistered and concealed in banks and investments throughout the world .
the modus operandi of putin' s corrupt inner circle has been to siphon the money out of russia and into their foreign accounts and foreign assets ,
noted vladimir kara - murza, a member of the federal council of the people' s freedom party, an opposition party in russia. that way, he added, the funds were
completely closed from any scrutiny
inside russia. he says these tactics are the reason the u. s. government has attempted to sanction top members of putin' s regime and their business associates .
despite the concerns about russian officials' getting their money into the u. s. , lesin' s son, anton lessine, has managed to invest in some very high - profile projects .
arnold schwarzenegger at the los angeles premiere of
sabotage
on march 19 .
these projects boasted some serious star power .
fading gigolo
starred john turturro and woody allen .
sabotage
featured arnold schwarzenegger as an elite dea agent. brad pitt starred in
fury
and also executive produced the movie along with lessine .
lessine could not be reached for comment for this article. ilya tsipis, who has a linkedin page describing him as the president of dastel corporation and is listed in records as the company' s registered agent, did not respond to a request for comment. business insider also attempted to call lessine' s sister, without success. lessine' s father, putin' s former media czar, could not be reached for comment .
lessine is hardly the first person with controversial foreign connections to be drawn to the movie business in hollywood. saadi qaddafi, the son of the late former libyan dictator muammar qaddafi, enjoyed a short - lived stint as a movie producer before his father was deposed in a bloody revolution. earlier this year, la weekly published a lengthy report documenting the backgrounds of producers remington chase and stefan martirosian, which included
convictions for cocaine trafficking; ties to the russian oil business, the armenian government, and the african diamond trade... stints as federal informants ,
and alleged links to a contract killing in moscow .
peter newman, who heads the joint mba / mfa graduate program at the tisch school of the arts at nyu and has produced more than 30 films including 2005' s
the squid and the whale ,
told business insider that
dumb money ,
or financing from inexperienced investors who are new to the industry, has a long and colorful history in hollywood. given the difficult economic climate, newman said, the industry' s appetite for such financing had only increased in recent years .
the major studios at present really would rather not develop, produce, or finance motion pictures ,
he said .
they' d rather do it off balance sheets, because the economics of making movies, especially big movies, just are very, very dicey .
the studio is basically saying,' deliver the movie with such and such, and such and such, and we' ll pay this much to promote it in the united states.' but they' re not really getting their hands dirty ,
newman said .
liana liberato, who starred in
haunt ,
which was produced by anton lessine .
for larger movies made outside the studio system, newman said, it is especially important to have cash up front to secure an a - lister .
the agencies basically say,' if you want a brad pitt, or a bruce willis, or whatever... there has to be $ 20 million in the bank ,
newman said .
this star power is critical because these movies need to guarantee foreign box office to secure further financing. a proven, marquee name is the best way to do this .
these projects you' re talking about are really large independent films that the studios handle the u. s. distribution of, and the equation is usually, there is a foreign sales agent selling territories ,
newman said .
given this system, it' s not hard to see why people with cash to burn — whatever their backgrounds — are so popular with movie production companies. and the financiers benefit as well: in addition to the chance to clean up their money, an association with a global celebrity can help otherwise controversial figures add some shine to their reputations .
the economics of filmmaking itself are so dicey, and then you add in the vanity factor of people wanting to be around famous people and attractive people ,
newman said .
it' s sort of a deadly chemical mix that has been around for a long time and will continue to happen as long as there' s a film business .
furthermore, in his decades of making movies, newman says he has seen few checks and balances that are likely to keep hollywood' s hands off dirty money .
observationally, i really have seen very little vetting going on ,
newman said .
you know, the only vetting that goes on in hollywood is, does the check clear ?
there is no evidence that lesin' s money came from corruption. but the suggestion that putin' s inner circle has a reputation for making money through less - than - legal means and getting that cash out of the country is well established. furthermore, as wicker said in his letter requesting the investigation, the
considerable
sums used by lesin for his real estate transactions seem questionable for a
public servant .
lesin' s son' s filmmaking activities would seem to raise similar issues. that the two have linked business dealings is already clear in the case of one real estate property. additionally, lessine does not seem to have any history of involvement in film financing or other major business deals in the u. s. prior to his father' s departure from the kremlin and subsequent spending spree in la' s real estate market .
lesin' s critics in washington say that without forceful government intervention, corrupt money spirited out of putin' s russia will continue to be laundered in the u. s .
meanwhile, lessine' s forthcoming production ,
fury ,
opens oct. 17 .
three weeks before the opening of the toronto film festival, media content capital and veteran film exec paul hanson are launching covert media to produce, finance and distribute three to four films a year .
the films will carry budgets in the $ 10 million to $ 50 million range, which is less popular with the six major studios, given their focus on tentpoles and franchises .
he will serve as co - founder and ceo of the new company. the company said wednesday that it will expand into a broader spectrum of budget sizes and into other media such as episodic content .
the company said it selected the covert media name from hanson’s “quiet, effective, behind - the - scenes approach. ”
“paul has always been known as an extremely smart, hard - working professional who gets things done while fostering great relationships with talent, ” said shapiro and lessine in a joint statement .
“we are restricted from commenting in detail by the confidentiality rules of arbitration where the case is still pending, ” shapiro and lessine said. “we continue to vigorously prosecute our claims and we are quite confident that we will win. ”
three weeks before the opening of the toronto film festival, media content capital and veteran film exec paul hanson are launching covert media to produce, finance and distribute three to four films a year. the films will carry budgets in the $ 10 million to $ 50 million range, which is less popular with the six major [ … ]
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block and media content capital toppers sasha shapiro and anton lessine were not immediately available for comment, but people familiar with the situation indicate that block’s departure has been in the works for several months .
block joined with kevin frakes in october to form merced media, with $ 500 million raised from palmstar media capital .
variety reported on feb. 6 that merced media had launched development of teen thriller “need, ” based on the upcoming novel by “the testing trilogy” author joelle charbonneau .
frakes is the ceo of palmstar media capital and has been a film financing adviser to merced capital since 2012 with producing credits on “term life”; the upcoming “the whole truth, ” with keanu reeves; nima nourizadeh’s upcoming “american ultra, ” with jesse eisenberg and kristen stewart; and lynn shelton’s “laggies, ” with keira knightly and chloe grace moretz .
shapiro and lessine had originally said they paid “eight figures” for their interest. sources estimate that was around $ 25 million .
one reason for his exit is that block has shifted his primary focus to working on movies and deals for merced media, which was created in october. block and kevin frakes formed the company with $ 500 million raised from palmstar media capital, where frakes is ceo .
the movies are birth of the dragon, which will star donny yen (ip man) in a story about bruce lee before he became famous. in the movie, lee uses his kung fu skills when he gets into a big battle with a famous chinese martial artist that changes the history of martial arts in america. it is to be directed by george nolfi (the adjustment bureau), with block and michael london among the producers, and shaprio and lessine as executive producers. it is written by christopher wilkinson and stephen rivele .
on both movies, merced media will also have an option to participate in the financing and production .
block and media content capital have been heading for a split since late last year. despite the success of fury, starring brad pitt, which has grossed about $ 214 million worldwide since it was released this past october, block and media content capital have been heading in different directions .
however, shapiro and lessine insist that was not the case. they say their money came primarily from european sources and was not impacted by the situation in russia .
questions have been raised about where the investment in the movie business originated because lessine is the son of mikhail lesin, the former press minister of russia under vladimir putin. until december, lesin was the head of gazprom - media, the largest tv and media company in russia (which is in part owned by the russian government). gazprom operates ntv television and ekho moskvy radio, among other properties .
when he resigned, lessin told russian media it was for “family reasons. ”
lesin reportedly moved his family to the u. s. around 2011 and soon acquired over $ 30 million worth of residential real estate, mostly in california .
in july 2014, u. s. senator roger wicker (r - mississippi) wrote to the u. s. attorney general asking that lesin be investigated for possible violations of the foreign corrupt practices act and money - laundering. the justice department in december acknowledged it (and the fbi) received the request but would not comment on whether there is any investigation .
his father also previously denied the allegations of wrongdoing when he spoke to forbes russia .
shapiro said they still expect to make back their money on sabotage which he said has been cleared for release in china. it is expected to open there in april .
the company also made haunt, a modestly budgeted horror thriller released in 2013 by ifc midnight starring ione skye, harrison gilberson and others. it got its primary initial release on vod and then went on to the home entertainment market. . shapiro predicted it will eventually earn back their investment .
block is a hollywood veteran who started his career as a high profile talent agent for icm and intertalent. he later became president of artisan entertainment, which had a hit with blair witch project before being sold to lionsgate in 2003 .
correction 2 / 24 12: 07 pm the spelling of the name of yellowstone falls d irector gerard johnstone was incorrect in an earlier version .
covert media will kick off with an initial mandate to make three to four films a year, budgeted at $ 10 million - $ 50 million. substantial capital backing for these films will come from mcc directly, with covert media focusing on “high - quality, commercial content for worldwide audiences. ” over time, the company plans to expand into broader budgets sizes and into other mediums including episodic content for television or streaming .
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on the investment, block said it “gives us the balance sheet to support filmmakers in getting their movies made and allows us to expand our business and platform to better serve our clients and the creative community. ”
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covert media’s initial mandate is to make three or four films a year in the $ 10 - 50m range before broadening the parameters and exploring episodic content .
hanson, who most recently served as annapurna coo, said: “i appreciate the support of anton, sasha and mcc and look forward to building this new company into a respected entertainment brand in the years ahead. ”
“paul has always been known as an extremely smart, hard - working professional who gets things done while fostering great relationships with talent, ” said shapiro and lessine. “we’re pleased to help launch covert media and are excited about how paul will shape the company down the road. ”
new boss warns staff of challenges ahead as cable channel looks to boost viewers’ ’hours of engagement’ .
the event confirmed on twitter that it will take place from tuesday 14 to saturday 25 may 2019 .
the three - day weekend gross (excluding previews) of july 6 - 8 was £6. 2m
efa, the rotterdam film festival and french srf directors guild step up campaign .
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qed international is an american-based film production studio , financier and international distributor , best known for financing and producing 2014 films sabotage and fury . 
qed international is an american-based film production studio, financier and international distributor, best known for financing and producing 2014 films sabotage and fury.
qed international is an american-based film production studio, financier and international distributor, best known for financing and producing 2014 films sabotage and fury.