Village Roadshow Can't Meet Financing Promises

One of the most prolific and best-known film-production companies, Village Roadshow Pictures, became so strapped by constricted credit markets that it was ultimately unable to co-finance at least four films for partner Warner Bros. last year, the studio said in an earnings report.

Alhough Warner Bros. played down the seriousness of the production company’s bind in a statement, the news still turned many heads, especially since the Village Roadshow banner preceded such iconic successes as Ocean’s Eleven and The Matrix trilogy. Variety reported that the four affected films were Get Smart, Gran Torino, Nights in Rodanthe and Yes Man.

Warner Bros. added that it was unclear if Roadshow would be able to meet its commitments this year, which include the tentpoles Sherlock Holmes and Where the Wild Things Are. (Variety says a source within Roadshow said he company is close to a new credit deal.) Last year, Roadshow's woes cost Warner an estimated $120 million.

Despite major cautionary measures, the film unit at Warner Bros. has had a stellar couple of years, and the studio insisted that its difficulties were minimal. But the disclosure about Village Roadshow highlights the fiscal vulnerabilities faced, however quietly, by some of Hollywood’s biggest players.

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