Press release from Wingman Pictures
International award winning director/producer Matt Norman (CEO of WINGMAN PICTURES PTY LTD) has been opening up business relationships with leading financiers and executives across the United States.
Norman announced last month that a new partnership with "Super Size Me" producer Dave Pederson in New York was the first step in bringing about big changes inside the new company "Wingman Pictures". With a stable and dedicated partnership, Norman and Pederson brought in Financier and Executive Producer Alexandra Townsend from Los Angeles, who has been working on raising finance for several projects within Wingman Pictures Melbourne and New York.
Last week in a bold move toward a bigger and better outcome, Norman and Pederson signed Townsend to run the Los Angeles branch of Wingman Pictures. Alexandra brings a brilliant energy and a hard working passion for making big budget feature films but is as comfortable with smaller $5M-$10M projects as well. "We all seem to get along really well and have the same drive" Norman explains.
To cap off the perfect week, today saw Norman also open up Wingman Pictures Mexico with newly appointed Cannes Film Festival winner (Camera D'or) and Ballarat ex-pat Michael Rowe to the team. "Rowe is a smart writer, director. He makes films based on real World conflict and drama, not superficial non-reality with over the top special effects. He fits perfectly as a partner and we see Mexico as the perfect place to open another office for non-english speaking films". Michael has already started writing his next masterpiece that can only be discribed as Golden after his latest Canne Winner "Leap Year" took out the top prize.
We wanted Michael to keep writing but have also got him looking at a Steven Soderbergh film being Produced in conjuction with Wingman Pictures and Soderbergh's team.
Add to this new team, associate and award winning post production studio head; Craig Jansson who will head Wingman Pictures Studio 1 in Melbourne, a multimillion dollar sound post production studio close to docklands, which will give Wingman Pictures a full inhouse Production, Post Production, Finance, Sales and Distribution company to compliment the projects being slated.
Wingman Pictures has built the perfect team and is set to start work on a slate of films fully financed, with A-List star power in both cast and crew with an estimated full slate budget of $100MillionU.S.
Norman says "Although I still want to make Australian films, I don't see much enthusiasm in our funding bodies to get involved, so Instead I will continue to follow the great incentives from Canada, United States and Mexico to shoot films there and then bring Post Production back to Australia into Wingman Pictures Studio 1. If the opportunity arises that Screen Australia funding could work in with our American partners then we will cross that bridge at that time.
I love Australian talent and know that what we have in this country is a whirl pool of amazing people, which I will use in all aspects of production and post as each project comes up. Using ex-pat Aussies overseas is also something that I will focus on.
My next and more than likely last "Australian" film for a while (Scab Girl Asylum – to be shot in Queensland) in early 2011 will consist of new undiscovered talent and some International cast and crew all born and raised in Australia but who have found that the support outside of Australia to be more giving of their individual talent.
Wingman Pictures prides itself as being forged from Australia but will now compete on a truly epic and International stage.
11 films have been slated in the coming 12 months ranging from $5Million U.S to $50Million U.S. Announcements will be made shortly on the first few films shooting in Mexico, Canada, Scotland and Australia. For all updates please check www.wingmanpictures.com or follow www.twitter.com/wingmanpictures