LOS ANGELES, Apr 07, 2010– Belltower Entertainment (OTC: BTOW) announced today that it has been approved for a $1,000,000 credit facility from First Niagara Bank in Pittsburgh, PA. The interest rate has been set at prime plus one (4.25%) on a one-year term.
Belltower will take advantage of Mogul Mind Studios’ newly constructed 330,000 square foot production facility, located two miles from downtown Pittsburgh in the Strip District, as well as the 25% Pennsylvania State Film Tax Credit/Incentive that is currently being offered by the state to attract Hollywood productions. Jared Leland, partner at Keevican, Weiss, Bauerle & Hirsch LLC is the company’s East coast counsel and a board member of Mogul Mind Studios.
Belltower sees the combination of both the state tax credit and the newly constructed movie studio as an opportunity to reduce production costs while building a banking and financing relationship with First Niagara Bank and the city of Pittsburgh for future productions.
Pre-production is currently underway on the film project entitled Little Treasure to be filmed on location in China starring Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland). Whitaker is also attached to Executive Produce. Principal photography has been re-scheduled to begin on May 3rd, 2010. The company has replaced Taiwan-based Rouge Entertainment for co-financing and co-production participation with Atlanta-based Amalgamation Entertainment headed up by company CEO Johnathan Adair. Details will be announced as soon as terms are finalized. Whitaker is repped at William Morris Endeavor (WME).
Belltower is very pleased to announce that it has formally engaged legendary Hollywood screenwriter Ronald Bass (Rain Man, Entrapment, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Joy Luck Club) for writing services related to the final shooting script for Little Treasure. Mr. Bass brings a wealth of experience and success that will further enhance the production. Belltower’s Nina Yang and Donald Bell will produce, alongside Josh Goldstein who originally penned the screenplay.
WME is in place to represent the project for North American distribution with final negotiations coming to a close for international sales. The company will begin worldwide sales at The Cannes Film Festival in May.
Little Treasure, which will be filmed on location in China, is an inspiring story about a bi-racial American couple who return to the wife’s homeland of China to rekindle their love and reignite their marriage, only to encounter prejudices, humor, cultural differences, and ultimately self-discovery…and along the way meeting a Shanghai street kid who changes their lives. Michael D. Olmos (Splinter) is attached to direct with cinematography by renowned Director of Photography, Reynaldo Villalobos, of Risky Business, A Bronx Tale, Urban Cowboy.
Belltower has two more feature films, which are currently in various stages of development and pre-production, and are on the company’s production slate for 2010:
Dance the Green is written by Academy Award winner Barry Morrow (Rainman) and starring Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar, Gone in 60 Seconds, Boiler Room) with a budget of US$10 million. It’s set to start production late summer on location in Pittsburgh and Florida. Belltower’s CEO Nina Yang will produce with Claire Kupchak and Barry Morrow. The company is currently in the final stages of negotiations with a major Hollywood actor to co-star. Giovanni Ribisi is repped by CAA and Management 360.
The Times’ bestselling novel, “Smokescreen,” about the true life adventure of Allen Long, a documentary film maker who began smuggling pot out of Colombia in the 70’s to finance his movie, has been adapted by Paul Cuschieri and will commence pre-production later this year.
Belltower will retain copyright ownership in all three films slated for production this year with majority control over production, financing and distribution.
Belltower Entertainment Corp. is a fully integrated film entertainment company based in Los Angeles with a satellite office in Shanghai, China complemented by strategic production and finance partners throughout the world. Our goal and focus is in securing ownership of film projects to be developed and packaged in-house, which attract premier talent from both behind the camera and in front of it, while keeping costs down through tax friendly production territories and other soft money avenues. Belltower creates favorable studio participation for distribution and P&A funding with critically acclaimed screenwriters and top talent attachments.
With a focus on Asia and Latin America, Belltower is strategically positioned to produce high quality content at cost-effective budgets while maximizing profit margins and upside potential for both the company and its shareholders by retaining control and ownership of its feature film projects.