*Will Smith and Swiss director Marc Forster (“World War Z”) have joined forces to purchase a German licensing giant Telepool to repurpose it as a vehicle for their own projects.
Elysian Fields, a group of investors associated with Forster, together with The Smith Family Circle and Will and Jada Smith’s Family Office, groups that manage the assets and business dealings of the Smith family, acquired Telepool’s assets from a consortium of German and Swiss regional public broadcasters, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Financial details of the deal, announced Tuesday, were kept under wraps.
Telepool, founded in 1963, focused mainly on licensing U.S. films and TV series for distribution in German-speaking Europe. Recently acquired titles include Jessica Chastain’s “Molly’s Game” and action film “Olympus Has Fallen.”
In addition to maintaining and expanding that business, Smith and Forster said they plan to repurpose Telepool as a development, financing and distribution partner for their own projects.
As a part of the deal, Smith’s and James Lassiter’s Overbrook Entertainment will have the option to develop and distribute film and television projects through Telepool. Forster and Renee Wolfe’s independent production entity 2dux² will have a similar option to develop and distribution projects through Telepool. Both Overbrook and 2dux² will remain independent of the German group, however.
“Marc and I took a close look at Telepool and discovered a company that has an incredible reputation and a lot of potential,” Smith said in a statement Tuesday announcing the deal. “We look forward to working together and with the Telepool team to create unique opportunities and content to strategically growing the business.”
