Legendary Pictures Announces over $1 Billion in New Film Financing and Unveils a Selection of Upcoming Titles

Legendary Pictures has acquired over $1 billion in new financing, it was announced today by Legendary Pictures Chairman and CEO, Thomas Tull. The deal is in support of a five-year extension on Legendary's film co-producing and co-financing partnership with Warner Bros. The current partnership, established in 2005, has already yielded the hit films 300, Batman Begins and Superman Returns. The extension will enable Legendary and Warner Bros. to co-finance up to 45 new films over a five-year term, including the much-anticipated, and currently in production, Batman sequel The Dark Knight.

Dresdner Kleinwort, a leading investment bank in arranging partner financing for the film industry, is Advisor and Sole Lead Arranger for the deal. Dresdner Kleinwort anticipates that the partnership will co-finance, through a mixture of new equity, junior equity and debt line, likely in excess of $2.5 billion in production costs. Participating in the junior equity portion is Columbus Nova, a leading investment management firm based in New York.

Legendary has simultaneously unveiled a select list of upcoming projects that will, in addition to the previously announced 10,000 B.C., Trick 'r Treat and Where the Wild Things Are, comprise the next phase of production under the deal. The newest activity will continue the company's practice of both nurturing homegrown development efforts and supporting Warner Bros. partner projects. These films, of wide-ranging style and content, include the recently-announced adaptation of DC-Vertigo's gritty comic book, The Losers; a feature adaptation of the cult favorite series, Kung Fu; a feature based on the phenomenally successful, online Blizzard Entertainment game franchise, World of Warcraft;and the event film Clash of the Titans.

"We are extremely pleased with our relationship with Alan Horn, Jeff Robinov and everyone at Warner Bros. Pictures. The spirit of cooperation has been highly productive," said Legendary Pictures' Thomas Tull. "We recognize that this is a challenging and constantly evolving business. We believe in our particular approach, in our partner Warner Bros. and in the long term prospects of the industry and content ownership. It is our mission to build a large and significant film library over time by making great movies with the best filmmakers."

"We couldn't be happier with the way our partnership with Legendary Pictures has evolved. Thomas Tull and his team have become great collaborators and we are impressed by the way they operate their company - from both a business and a creative standpoint," said Alan Horn, President and COO of Warner Bros. "We're delighted that Legendary will continue to be a major presence on the Lot for another five years and we're looking forward to continuing our relationship."

"We're proud to have Thomas and the guys at Legendary as partners on some of our most promising and exciting titles - from tentpole to genre films," added Jeff Robinov, President of Production, Warner Bros. Pictures. "It's been a great experience sharing the success with them on our big DC titles and 300. We're excited to continue our alliance."

"We are delighted to have joined forces with Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.," said Laura Fazio, Head of Media and Entertainment for the Americas, Dresdner Kleinwort. "This transaction is a stepping stone toward further developing a longstanding relationship between institutional investors and proven professionals of the film industry."