看板 ott
作者 標題 Troubled visual-effects company Rhythm & Hues gets $20 million Studio Infusion
時間 2013年02月12日 Tue. AM 06:09:51
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/troubled-visual-effects-company-rhythm-hues-gets-20-012304598.html
Troubled visual-effects company Rhythm & Hues gets $20 million Studio Infusion
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Rhythm & Hues Studios, the Oscar-nominated visual-effects company behind "Life of Pi," is in dire financial straits and will take an emergency $20 million capital infusion from three major Hollywood studios in order to keep its doors open through April, three individuals with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap.
After April, the company is expected to be sold to an Indian company, Prime Focus, two of those individuals said. If Rhythm & Hues, which employs roughly 1,400 people, cannot find a buyer and is forced to close, it would be the latest blow to a struggling visual-effects industry, hit hard by the vagaries of tax credits offered by governments around the world.
According to two knowledgeable individuals, the company hit an unexpected cash crunch when movies it expected to work on were delayed.
Universal, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. have stepped in to float cash to the company so it can finish up work on a half-dozen major projects, including the Warner disaster film "Category 6," Fox's "Percy Jackson" sequel and Universal's "R.I.P.D.," the individuals said.
Spokespeople for the three studios declined to comment.
"Rhythm & Hues is not going out of business in April, and we are continuing to bid for new work," Lee Berger, president of the company's feature film division, told TheWrap. "We are a sustainable entity. In terms of financial difficulties, we are in the visual effects business, and we are always seeking outside investment. Much of the rest of the stuff is inaccurate and incorrect."
When asked to confirm or deny that Rhythm & Hues was having financial difficulties, Berger would only say, "I think I've been clear that I've said everything that I can say at this time."
One knowledgeable insider said Prime Focus already has a deal in place to buy Rhythm & Hues, with any credit left from the work being done this spring rolling over to the new owner.
"We're going to run into overages on our contracts, which will help Rhythm & Hues through a cash flow crunch," the individual said. "The overages will be credit with Prime, assuming they own the company."
The cash infusion is being structured as a "bridge loan," another knowledgeable individual said, until the company can secure new ownership.
There is also a Chinese company that is interested in buying Rhythm & Hues if the deal with Prime Focus fails, one individual with knowledge of the possible deal said.
A spokeswoman for Prime Focus did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The company's cash crunch comes as it received two Academy Award nominations for Achievement in Visual Effects for "Life of Pi" and "Snow White and the Huntsman." It is widely expected to earn the statue for its effects on "Pi."
It has previously won Oscars for 2007's "The Golden Compass" and 1995's "Babe."The Los Angeles-based company has been acclaimed for the quality of its effects but has had trouble competing with generous tax subsidies that have sent much visual-effects work in cities like London and Montreal.
Chris DeFaria, executive vice president for digital production at Warner Bros., agreed that the crisis at Rhythm & Hues is symptomatic of turmoil that technology and tax credits has wrought in the industry.
"All the industry is having a difficult time adjusting to a rapidly changing landscape for visual effects," DeFaria told TheWrap. "It's unbelievable how fast things are changing. On one hand, governments are stepping up with various incentives. On the other hand, increased decentralization of artistry and technology is happening. Guys in garages can do an awful lot. We're doing far more of our work in small groups, in-house."
Rhythm & Hues has tried to keep up with this change, opening a branch in Vancouver, which offers subsidies, in an effort to lure filmmakers looking to economize. But it has been unable to compete with other players in the space who are able to underbid the company.
Rhythm & Hues also has branches in Mumbai and Hyderabad, India; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Another issue for Rhythm & Hues is that the visual-effects business is an increasingly low margin one, the individuals say. One canceled or delayed project can make it nearly impossible for an effects house to meet its payroll.
Should Rhythm & Hues falter, it will join a list of more than a half-dozen effects houses that have been forced to shut their doors because of increased global competition. Among the companies that have closed down in recent years are Asylum Visual Effects, CafeFX and Illusion Effects.
Others have bowed to financial pressures and put themselves up for sale, such as Digital Domain, which was acquired by Galloping Horse America and Reliance Mediaworks for $30.2 million last September. It had filed for bankruptcy protections by that time.
Figures in the visual-effects industry said they were saddened to hear that Rhythm & Hues might be sold or could close, even as they hailed company founder John Hughes as a giant in the visual effects industry.
"I'd be very sad if it happened," Robert Coleman, president of Digital Artists Agency, a visual-effects talent agency, said. "If in fact the people at Rhythm & Hues see this as a way to save the company - if John feels this is what he feels he has to do, then he's entitled to it, because he's been such a beacon in the visual effects industry over the last 25 years. I just hope that the company can be maintained."
In October, Rhythm & Hues said it was looking for new capital and was willing to sell a minority stake to attract about $20 million in new investment.
http://ideas.org.tw/magazine_article.php?f=584
R&H投資60億 來台設立好萊塢視覺特效中心
在國際名導演李安穿針引線下，全球前五大電影視覺特效公司Rhythm & Hues Studios（R&H）日前與經濟部簽訂合作意向書，宣布將投資新台幣60億元，在台灣設立好萊塢視覺特效中心，並與中華電信和廣達電腦合資成立視覺特效運算中心，結合台廠進軍好萊塢，帶動台灣數位文創邁向黃金10年。行政院副院長陳盛讚R&H：在台灣投資，是明智的選擇。
趕在2011年的尾巴，要送給台灣產業一個大禮，經濟部於12月30日舉辦R&H來台投資啟動儀式，包括行政院副院長陳、經濟部長施顏祥、經建會主委劉憶如、文建會主委曾志朗、高雄市長陳菊、中華電信董事長呂學錦及廣達技術長張嘉淵均到場。R&H創辦人休斯（John Hughes）特別親自來台，與經濟部、廣達和中華電信進行簽約。
施顏祥在致詞時表示，數位內容產值已從2002年新台幣1,537億元，成長至2010年達5,225億元，年複合成長率達16.53%，其中主要產業（遊戲、動畫、影音、學習及數位出版等）達到1,675億元，平均年成長率高達34%。2011年整體產值更可望突破6,000億元，完全不受全球金融風暴與歐債危機影響。
他強調，R&H看好台灣資通訊（ICT）產業實力、通訊基礎環境、雲端發展潛力及優秀人才。R&H對台投資與技術合作，將有助台灣數位內容產業與國際影視產業價值鏈結合，帶動台灣相關雲端技術應用與發展。
來不及從美國趕回來觀禮的李安說，全球電影工業快速發展，台灣不應被孤立於世界電影工業體系外，也需視覺效果培訓，「我一定要幫忙促成，所有一切都是為台灣好。」未來R&H在台設廠後，將可協助培訓視覺效果人才，為台灣電影工業注入新血。
R&H的投資將包含3項合作計畫，包括成立好萊塢視覺特效中心、全球視覺特效運算中心以及規畫和好萊塢電影業者合資合製等。值得注意的是，R&H規畫在台灣建立視覺特效與研發及雲端運算中心，是全球首創視覺雲端中心，估計可增加300個直接就業機會，並培訓千位好萊塢等級的視覺特效人員，雲端中心將由中華電信負責建置。
此外，John Hughes也承諾，5年內帶領台灣投資者，共同投資好萊塢電影合資製作10部電影，透過培育200多位藝術家，協助台灣專業人才的訓練。
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※ 作者: ott 時間: 2013-02-12 06:09:51
※ 編輯: ott 時間: 2013-02-12 06:14:38
※ 看板: ott 文章推薦值: 0 目前人氣: 0 累積人氣: 148
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