Babelsberg with an English Accent
February 9, 2003By ED MEZA
Variety
BERLIN - Studio Babelsberg is gearing up for Jackie Chan starrer Around the World in 80 Days, the first of several English-language productions planned at the studio. Pic is set to start shooting there in March.
The Jules Verne adaptation, helmed by Frank Coraci (The Wedding Planner) and produced by Philip Anschutz's Walden Media, also will shoot on location in Berlin and Thailand.
Babelsberg and Cinerenta, a German film fund firm, are in negotiations to bring four more international English-language productions to the studio as part of a cooperative agreement inked last year.
Cinerenta will back the Babelsberg projects with part of the €39 million ($42 million) it raised last year. Investment capital from German media funds was an estimated $1.6 billion in 2002, 30% less than in 2001.
Industry players warn that moviemaking know-how among the plethora of German media funds must be strengthened if the funds are to survive as viable producers.
"The trust of investors can only be won if films produced by media funds are high-quality and financially successful," says Cinerenta topper Eberhard Kayser.
