Another merger between a Hollywood movie production company and a Chinese entertainment firm took place recently. Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, the finance and production company behind “Hell or High Water,” an Oscar Best Picture nominee, merged with Ivanhoe Pictures, a movie producer based in Hong Kong.
New Company Setup
The merger created SK Global which would jointly produce and finance movie and TV content. The new company would be run by Sidney Kimmel, chairman and CEO of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, and Robert Friedland, chairman of Ivanhoe Pictures, as co-chairmen. China Cultural and Entertainment Fund, a private equity fund and investment management company which is focused on China, took a substantial equity position in the newly created company, Deadline Hollywood reported.
Their merger created a bigger library with more than 75 movie titles which includes “The Place Beyond the Pines,” “A Prairie Home Companion” “In The Bedroom,” “The Age of Adaline” and “Lars and the Real Girl.” SK Global is considering some films in the expanded library to be translated into local language and to be made into TV remakes for other audiences.
John Penotti, co-founder of Ivanhoe Pictures, was the bridge between Friedland and Kimmel when he introduced them in 2015. After their introduction, the two filmmakers started to collaborate on local-language productions. Although the two companies merged, it would continue to release movies and TV shows under their respective labels, while SK Global would be the parent company.
Oscar Snub
“Hell or High Water” had four Academy Award nominations, but the movie went home empty handed, failing to get any Oscar trophy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Oscar snub also hit “Lion,” “Jackie,” “Deepwater Horizon,” Florence Foster Jenkins,” “Kubo and the Two Strings,” “Moana,” “Passengers” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”