Five Directors Make Unprecedented Proposal

A week after director Peter Jackson's unusual $65 million deal with DreamWorks for his adaptation of Lovely Bones comes another mutation on business as usual in Hollywood. This time, it's five Mexican directors who are trying their hand at collective bargaining as a way to secure a studio deal worth as much as $100 million, the LA Times reports today. Three well-known helmers--Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth), Alfonso Cuaron (Little Children) and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel)--and two up-and-comers--Alfonso's brother Carlos (who co-wrote Y Tu Mama Tambien) and Rodrigo Garcia (son of novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez who made Sony's upcoming drama Passengers)--are shopping themselves around town for "an all-or-nothing, five-picture deal." The trend that's emerging here seems to be that directors are starting to figure out how to leverage their clout by making increasingly creative deals, trading upfront money for more control on projects. What makes this potential package so unique is that studios usually only greenlight one picture at a time--not multiple pictures from multiple directors. So in a sense, it's another example of a subtle shift of power that's taking place--the directors are auditioning the studios, not the other way around. For the Five-Pack, their movies will be budgeted between $10-$40 million, and two will reportedly be in Spanish. Here's more from the LA Times:

Over the last several weeks, the directors' respective agents have been talking up the "five-pack" proposal to a select group of equity funds and studios where the directors have strong ties, including Universal Pictures, Paramount Vantage and Warner Bros.

As of last weekend, Universal was the front-runner; the other studios had concluded that the asking price was too onerous.

Studio executives and agents involved in the deal, who declined to comment for confidentiality reasons, cautioned that the proposed transaction was complex, with a lot of moving parts that were still being coordinated.

The deal highlights the tight relationship among the three better-known filmmakers, who have been friends for years, often work together and actively promote one another's movies. Cuaron and Del Toro have produced each other's films. During this year's Oscar season, the directors hosted parties and screenings for one another's nominated films.

Another unusual characteristic of the deal is the temporary alliance of three powerful rival talent agencies, Endeavor, William Morris Agency and Creative Artists Agency, which regularly fight for business and poach one another's clients. Gonzalez Inarritu recently defected from Endeavor to CAA.

The deal was conceived by the directors themselves, rather than their agents, and driven in large part by their focus on the international marketplace.

That philosophy fits well with Universal's strategy of expanding its business internationally. Typically, foreign markets account for more than half of a movie's theatrical revenue.

One advantage for Universal in making the deal would be its ability to finance a large portion of the movies by preselling the foreign distribution rights through its well-established Focus Features International.

The studio also operates Universal Pictures International, which is ramping up its overseas production and distribution activities. In addition, Universal would have access to the deep pockets of its parent company, General Electric Co., which owns the major financing organization GE Capital.

[Photo: from left to right--Cuaron, Inarritu, Del Toro. By Vince Bucci/Getty Images]