Bob Johnson, Weinsteins form film studio to target black audiences

By Reuters
(July 13, 2006) BET television network founder Robert Johnson and film industry veterans, brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, on Thursday unveiled a new company to make movies aimed exclusively at black audiences.

Their firm, Our Stories Films, bucks standard practice in Hollywood, where producers mostly make films for mainstream audiences. If they do target blacks, their hope is movies will cross over to become mainstream hits. Such was the case with 2002's "Barbershop."

Billionaire Johnson similarly flaunted tradition with TV network Black Entertainment Television, which targeted African American viewers. In 2000, he sold BET to media giant Viacom Inc. in a deal then valued at $2.5 billion.

In 2002, Johnson became the first black majority owner of a major U.S. sports team when he led investors who acquired professional basketball's Charlotte Bobcats for $300 million.

Johnson told Reuters that for years his associates have asked him why there were no black-owned film companies making movies exclusively for black audiences.

"The answer was that no one black individual has been willing or able to attract additional financing and investors. It's not because the theaters won't take the movies and not because audiences aren't there," Johnson said.

Indeed, black audiences turn out in droves when movies aimed at them are good. Comedy "Barbershop," about day-to-day life in an urban U.S. neighborhood, was tailored to black audiences and made on a low budget of $12 million.

When critics got behind it and fans told friends it was a good movie, it became a hit, raking in $75 million. More recently, black comedian Tyler Perry's "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and "Madea's Family Reunion" were made on low budgets and took in $50 million and $63 million, respectively.

Similarly, Johnson said, Our Stories Films will initially make two low-budget comedies a year. Eventually, he hopes to increase that number to four or five films annually. 

Pairing with the Weinsteins gives Our Stories Films instant industry credibility and access to wide distribution -- a key factor in making films profitable.

The Weinsteins founded independent moviemaker Miramax Films and won Oscars with movies like "Chicago." Their "Scary Movie" franchise has been hugely successful. This past April's "Scary Movie 4" took in $173 million at worldwide box offices.

"If anybody understands the business, it is Harvey and Bob, and I think working together mitigates risk," Johnson said.

He declined to disclose financial details, but said The Weinstein Co. will hold a small, minority stake. The company will have financing of $175 million from JP Morgan Chase.


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