Montreal: London-based Signpost Films has put its Canadian operations on indefinite hold with no plans to open any international territorial offices before spring of next year. In an interview from Los Angeles, Signpost chairman Henry Winterstern said, ‘The timing is such that we will roll the opcos [territorial company operations] in time for the release of our product, and we feel we will not have product to release in Canada before the spring of 2003.’

The dramatic reversal undoes a widely reported Feb. 20 announcement the company had opened its first international offices in Montreal and Toronto under co-presidents Yves Dion and Andy Myers, respectively. Dion’s and Myers’s future status with Signpost is also on hold, says Winterstern. ‘There will be no definitive decisions made on Signpost Canada or the future of Signpost Canada until 2003.’

During last month’s AFM, Dion and Myers asked Playback to suspend publishing any story on Signpost operations in Canada. ‘These were all informal discussions [with Dion and Myers] which were unfortunately released prematurely,’ says Winterstern. Neither Dion nor Myers was available for comment at press time.

Other Signpost executives attending AFM with president and CEO Stewart Till were Darryl Iwai, president, worldwide distribution; Nicole Mackey, president, international sales; and Julia Short, senior VP, worldwide marketing.

Signpost Films investors include Till, former president of Universal Pictures International and before that international president of Polygram Filmed Entertainment; CDP Capital Communications; Miramax Films, reported to be in for around 10%, with Miramax holding U.S. distribution rights to Signpost product; and Mosaic Media Group, which includes Charles Roven’s Atlas Entertainment and Eric Gold’s and Jimmy Miller’s Gold/Miller Co.

Under varying terms, Signpost has output deals with heavyweight movie producer Larry Gordon (Waterworld, Die Hard), the former 20th Century Fox production chief; Roven’s Atlas, which has a first-look agreement with MGM; and Miramax.

‘As well as our agreement with Miramax as a shareholder and a distributor, they will also supply some product to Signpost,’ says Winterstern. ‘So the actual movies that we are getting at this point, that Signpost will be producing, financing and distributing internationally, will be from three sources – Atlas Entertainment, Larry Gordon and Miramax, which we feel is extremely strong deal-flow.’

Roven and Cub Five Productions (producers John Woo and Terence Chang) are in Toronto shooting the US$55-million action movie Bulletproof Monk, starring Chow Yun-Fat. Signpost has international rights (excluding Canadian and U.S. which MGM holds) for Monk, one of the few hot properties at this year’s AFM. Earlier, Roven produced the MGM sci-fi actioner Rollerball in the Montreal region.

Signpost plans to produce four to six films a year, expanding its pipeline to up to 40 films in the first five years with an estimated production/distribution investment in the order of US$2 billion.

CDPCE in L.A.

A long-established investment banker based in Montreal and active in major real-estate transactions, Winterstern is the managing partner of CDP Capital Entertainment, which sources and manages entertainment and media-sector investments on a joint-venture basis on behalf of CDP Capital Communications, a subsidiary of Quebec pension fund manager Caisse de Depot. He is a member of the board of MGM, Signpost Films, Mosaic Media and Mosaic Media Publishing.

CDPCE keys on the production and distribution of properties in music, TV and film. ‘Our main focus is Hollywood or American content and the worldwide distribution of American content,’ says Winterstern.

Winterstern’s CDPCE offices are located on Sunset Boulevard in L.A., in the same commercial property housing the Mosaic and Signpost offices.

CDPCE is managing a US$300-million ‘platform’ portfolio investment in five companies: MGM, Signpost, Dick Clark Productions, Mosaic Media and Mosaic Music Publishing, the latter an equal joint venture between Mosaic and CDPCC. The partners recently acquired the rights to the ZZ Top catalogue, including new releases. Mosiac, CDPCC and industry veteran Jules Haimovitz have also purchased U.S. TV producer Dick Clark Productions, at a reported cost of US$140 million. The investors plan to take the company private.

Canadian investments

CDP Capital Communications develops partnerships in telco, media and entertainment industries, and has a portfolio valued at about $3 billion, including investments in several Quebec-based companies, among them, Quebecor Media, which majority controls Groupe Videotron and Groupe TVA; drama producers Cite-Amerique, Melenny Productions, Zone3 and Cinemaginaire; and special effects and software producers Groupe Image Buzz, Toon Boom Technologies, Hybride Technologies and Tube Studios.

-www.signpostfilms.com

-www.cdp.ca/cdpworld