Basil Iwanyk’s Thunder Road Pictures will receive $200 million in annual production equity from PalmStar Media Capital.
The deal allows the company to finance five to six filmmaker- and star-driven indies in the $20-50 million budget range per year and the ability to co-finance the development and production of larger studio projects. The deal also gives Thunder Road more than $5 million in annual development capital.
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PalmStar, and its partner Merced Capital, will team with Thunder Road on developing projects both in and outside of the studio and in conjunction with other financiers. The companies have already unveiled their first film, “The Civilian” starring Jackie Chan, and will announce several more in the coming months for production in 2015. The partnership between PalmStar and Thunder Road began with Keanu Reeves‘ “John Wick,” which hits theaters this weekend.
“Thunder Road has a long track record of success with both mid-size indie films and larger studio tentpoles,” Iwanyk said. “This collaboration gives us tremendous flexibility in growing both sides of the business. We now have the resources to greenlight our independent movies, as well as having a development war chest that will allow us to compete for any big studio project.”
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CAA’s Micah Green represents Thunder Road and was instrumental in the transaction. The deal was negotiated by Thunder Road’s EVP of Business Affairs, Jonathan Fuhrman, and by PalmStar’s attorney Jonathan Gardner of Cohen Gardner, LLP. Thunder Road is also repped by P.J. Shapiro and Eric Sherman at Ziffren.