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Merging film and finance

Big screen can result in big losses

By Farnoosh Torabi | Special to amNew York

October 15, 2007

The business of film is not always as lucrative as, say, the $20 million dollar salaries we hear are bestowed upon Hollywood's young stars.

And just because a film boasts a multi-million-dollar budget, there's no guarantee it will be profitable. Remember "Waterworld"? But 35-year-old Sanjay Sanghoee is trying to defy those odds. After years of working in mergers and acquisitions on Wall Street, he is dedicating most of his time now to writing and film.

His upcoming feature-length film "Merger," is based on a fiction novel he wrote in 2005 by the same name, depicting the glamour, corruption and power in the fast-paced financial world. "This is a [film about] modern day Wall Street. The only other movie you have is 'Boiler Room,' a small-scale film. It didn't capture the expansive field of Wall Street," Sanghoee said.

Currently Sanghoee is reaching out to investors to score another $7.5 million or 50 percent of the film's budget. He already received $7.5 million from one investor. "We're hoping to wrap up financing by the end of this year and start shooting in March [of next year]," he says. Films, however, are risky ventures. If getting accepted into the Sundance Film Festival can serve as an early metric of a film's financial promise, consider this: Out of the 7,700 entries, fewer than 200 got screened, and only a tiny fraction scored deals, according to a festival spokesperson.

What's more, for several years, film projects received significant funding from hedge funds, but amid the market's recent turbulence, that money is no longer as accessible. "The hedge funds are closing up," says Sanghoee, who still keeps a foot in finance, working for a hedge fund in New York.

To that point, Sanghoee is going after privately wealthy investors, instead. The film is slated for release late next year or early 2009. His ideal cast would have Jake Gyllenhaal or Christian Bale in the male lead and Diane Kruger or Jennifer Connelly in the main female role. Sanghoee is confident in his grade-A crew. His casting director has worked on such films as "United 93" and "The Insider."

His book, adds Sanghoee, also works to the movie's advantage and with Michael Douglas' "Wall Street 2" currently in production, there's considerable buzz growing that may generate interest for Sanghoee's film. "That whole publicity wave is about to start, so we're ahead of the curve in some degree," he says.

Farnoosh Torabi's book "You're So Money: Live Rich Even When You're Not" is slated for release on April 15, 2008. Contact her at amSmallBusiness@gmail.com.