Imagenation Strikes $250 Million Deal With Ashok Amritraj

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Hyde Park Entertainment will also establish its regional headquarters at Two Four 54, the recently unveiled free media zone in Abu Dhabi.

Ashok Amritraj, chairman and CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment and producer of star-driven features including 'Bringing Down the House', 'Raising Helen' and 'Walking Tall' said, "We intend to produce wonderful films that stretch from Hollywood to Asia, enabling us to foster a better understanding between the West, the Middle East and Asia. What better way to accomplish this than through global cinema and the exchange of talent and great stories."

Mohamed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei, chairman of Imagenation Abu Dhabi, said, "Abu Dhabi's investment with international media partners is putting the emirate in the global spotlight at a critical time for the movie industry. Through partnerships like this one with Hyde Park, we can create feature films which open a window on Middle Eastern and Asian culture, enabling audiences around the world to look in and appreciate the region's rich and increasingly dynamic heritage."

Edward Borgerding, CEO of Imagenation Abu Dhabi said, "Hyde Park Entertainment brings us not only creative and commercial prowess but also distribution strength, so we're pleased with this latest partnership that will focus on both western and Asian themes. We are also delighted that Hyde Park Entertainment will set up a local office here in Abu Dhabi, which will reinforce the region's credentials as an emerging centre for content creation and professional development."

In addition to its Two Four 54 headquarters, Hyde Park's LA base will provide a front office function. Patrick Aiello, Hyde Park's Executive Vice President, will supervise creative affairs for the partnership, while Mimi Steinbauer, newly named President of Hyde Park International, will handle foreign sales for pictures produced by the company. Stefan Brunner, CFO of Imagenation Abu Dhabi, will oversee the financial aspects of the joint venture.

Formed in 1999 by Ashok Amritraj, Hyde Park Entertainment has become one of the leading entertainment companies in Hollywood today. Amritraj has grown Hyde Park Entertainment into a cutting-edge option to the traditional Hollywood studio system for filmmakers by making it one of the few progressive independent companies that encompasses most elements of a full-fledged studio. The company is capable of developing, producing and co-financing projects as well as handling their international sales and marketing.

Hyde Park recently released the Don Cheadle starrer 'Traitor' through Overture Films and 'The Other End of the Line' through MGM. Coming up next is the Hyde Park-Capcom co-production 'Street Fighter', which goes out through Fox on February 27, and 'The Dark Country' through Sony. Hyde Park is also in pre-production with Platinum Studios on 'Dead of Night', which will star Brandon Routh, and has various projects in development such as 'The Persuaders', based off the hit BBC series, and a remake of Dudley Moore starrer '10'.

Imagenation Abu Dhabi will develop, finance and produce full-length feature films and digital content for Arabic and global markets. From its base in Abu Dhabi, the company is establishing partnerships with high-profile, internationally based producers to develop and produce content for distribution internationally, in addition to supporting Middle East filmmakers and Arabian film production.

On September 10, 2008, Imagenation Abu Dhabi and Participant Media formed a $250 million fund to finance a slate of feature films. On October 11, 2008, the company announced a $100 million joint venture with National Geographic Films.

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