By Scott Rosenberg Nov 9, 2006, 6:27 GMT
Last month at the Rome Film Festival, Martin Scorsese said to a packed press conference, the type movies he wanted to make were not what the major studios wanted to make.
US director Martin Scorsese gestures as he attends the presentation of his new film 'The Departed', during the first International Film Festival in Rome, Italy on Sunday 15 October 2006. EPA/CLAUDIO ONORATI
About face, a month later as Paramount Pictures announced November 7 a $2 million a year, four-year first-look deal with Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions shingle to direct and produce films, TV, direct-to-DVD pics and digital content. Paramount also has the option to own half of any film Scorsese directs elsewhere, as well as to co-distribute.
Based in New York, Scorsese has not had an official working alliance with a studio in several years.
Paramount which recently went through a very public breakup with Tom Cruise and his production partner Paula Wagner maybe trying to gain back a bit of “face” as Cruise and Wagner take control of MGM’s United Artists, the historic production company started by Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford.
At the time, Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom, Paramount’s parent company said Cruise’s behavior had cost the studio as much as $150 million in lost tickets sales from ‘Mission: Impossible: III.’
“He was embarrassing the studio and he was costing us a lot of money,” Redstone recently told “Vanity Fair.”
Scorsese is also well known for his expensive epics like ‘The Aviator’ and ‘Gangs of New York’ (both starring Leonardo DiCaprio) which had mixed box-office returns. His most recent pic ‘The Departed’ however, cost an estimated $90 million and in five weeks has taken in over $152 million worldwide.
“Departed” was distributed by Warner Brothers with Brad Grey, now chairman of Paramount, co-producing.
Grey, said from the outset of his tenure at Paramount that he would use his existing relationships to bring in a stable of what he deems to be the best directors and talent, commented on the Scorsese deal: "I wanted to create a home here for Marty. I believe that talent attracts talent, and we're honored to have him here. For the last year and a half, my priority has been to attract the best talent we can, both in front of and behind the camera."
Since Grey has come on board, Paramount has bought Dreamworks, and signed deals with Brad Pitt’s Plan B, Cameron Crowe and helmer LL Abrams, among others.
"I have had a great personal relationship with Brad Grey for several years now and am looking forward to working with him at Paramount, a studio rich in cinematic history and responsible for making some of my favorite films -- 'Sunset Boulevard,' 'Shane' and 'The Heiress,' among others," Scorsese is reported as saying.
Scorsese already has several projects in the works for Paramount.
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