William Morris to Set Up Film Finance Firm

The William Morris Agency said Friday that it is forming an alliance to set up El Camino Pictures, a new film finance company named after the Beverly Hills street where the agency is headquartered.

But Morris executives insisted they weren’t edging toward owning a direct stake in film production -- a move that was long barred by the Hollywood agencies’ now-lapsed agreement with the Screen Actors Guild.

Morris said it would join financier Bob Yari in establishing the company to give the agency’s clients access to funds for at least 10 films with budgets of $5 million to $10 million in the next two years.

Morris would represent the entity and receive a fee to help raise money for the venture through private equity, U.S. or international tax incentives and bank-backed gap financing. Morris agents would be the exclusive packagers of films for the firm but would not own equity. El Camino’s projects would not be exclusive to Morris’ clients.

The setup appears to keep the agency from crossing the line into production, thus avoiding conflict with the actors guild guidelines. Those rules expired in the middle of a long-running dispute over how far talent agents should be allowed to expand their businesses.

“We are no closer to being producers today than we were yesterday,� said Morris President Jim Wiatt, who said the agency continues to honor the SAG financial interest rule. “We’re not interested in being producers, and the concept for doing this is not unique.�

Wiatt said the venture’s formation was more a matter of “self-protection for our agency and clients� in today’s unpredictable industry where at least one major studio -- Universal Pictures -- is about to be sold.

Who would manage the venture and how much money would be contributed by Yari, the company’s sole owner, remains unclear. A onetime Hollywood assistant who directed a low-budget 1989 film, “Mind Games,� Yari made his fortune in real estate, most recently in Texas. El Camino is the third film company he has set up over the last year, and he has yet another bearing his name.

A Yari spokesman said a “significant bank deal� is expected in the coming weeks.

Morris agents Cassian Elwes and Rena Ronson, who head the agency’s independent film division, would package projects for El Camino. The venture’s first film is expected to be “A Love Song for Bobby Long.� The drama, which has a budget under $10 million, stars John Travolta and Scarlett Johansson and will be directed by Shainee Gabel. All three are Morris clients.

El Camino could potentially give Morris access to one-stop financing, saving agents the difficulty of patching together financing and distribution deals. The agency “can now access funds for an entire slate of films with one consistent equity partner,� Ronson said.

Hollywood’s major agencies have become active in lining up financing and distribution for films made outside the big studios. In fact, talent powerhouse Creative Artists Agency represents two of Yari’s other recently formed entities, Stratus Film Co. and Bull’s Eye Entertainment.

“We have a very close relationship with Bob Yari and intend to continue doing a lot of business with him,� said CAA senior agent John Ptak, a pioneer in independent film financing.