Legendary rocker and Kiss co-founder Gene Simmons and Gary Hamilton, Chairman of leading sales and production company Arclight Films, have launched Simmons/Hamilton Productions (w/t), a far-reaching partnership to develop, finance and produce feature films, it was announced by Simmons and Hamilton. The standalone banner will produce 25 movies over an initial five-year period, with a focus on action, thriller and genre titles with global franchise potential.
A multi-billion dollar fund manager is providing slate financing for the new company, through a revolving finance facility. Arclight Films’ CFO Brian Beckmann was responsible for closing the slate funding deal. All films created under the new company will be produced by Simmons and Hamilton.
The extensive collaboration will merge Arclight Films’ expertise in the independent production, finance and sales space while leveraging Simmons’ deep relationships in the entertainment industry as a key member of rock-n-roll’s most iconic and successful bands – Kiss has released 44 albums and sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, backed by a robust licensing campaign.
Arclight Films will handle worldwide sales for films produced by Simmons/Hamilton Productions.
Gene, Gary and Ying Ye rekindled their relationship last year after first discussing this partnership five years ago. During Kiss’ tour of Australia in July, the three sat down many times to create the foundation of the Simmons/Hamilton company. The focus is to build a feature film production company, targeting original theatrical product that can be developed into franchise properties.
The first film greenlit under the new company is Deep Water, an epic survival thriller directed by the acclaimed Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, Deep Blue Sea). Scheduled to go into production later this year, Deep Water tells the adventurous tale of an eclectic group of international passengers whose plane, en route from LA to Shanghai, is forced to make an emergency landing in shark infested waters. The terrified group is forced to work together and overcome their differences if they hope to escape their sinking plane and the frenzy of sharks drawn to the wreckage. The film is produced by Simmons, Hamilton, Arclight Films’ Ying Ye and Rob Van Norden (Martin Campbell’s The Protégé).
Arclight Films is launching worldwide sales on Deep Water at the Marché du Film and expects this action epic to create a feeding frenzy among the international buyers.
“I’ve had my greatest success when working with planes or sharks. Getting to combine those two of my favourite thriller elements in a character driven action adventure is a dream come true. I can’t wait to take the audience on the scariest plane ride of their lives. Gene and Gary both are my old friends and I’m excited to rock n roll through the friendly skies with them,” said director Renny Harlin.
“Throughout my storied history in the music business, I’ve met all sorts of characters, but Gary Hamilton is the real deal! He’s a remarkable film executive and a great collaborator who, along with the fantastic team at Arclight Films, brings his expertise and outstanding knowledge of the film industry to this partnership. I am pumped and excited to be launching Deep Water as our first project together with the action maven Renny Harlin at the helm,” commented Gene Simmons.
“This exciting new partnership is a beautiful marriage of outstanding production and sales might, coupled with a colourful history of showmanship and shrewd business acumen. Gene is not only a talented musician and performer, but he’s also a very savvy businessman and one of the most formidable cinephiles I’ve ever met – he’s the perfect partner as we introduce Deep Water to our buyers in Cannes,” added Arclight Films Chairman Gary Hamilton.
Already a force in the feature film production landscape, Gene Simmons’ producing credits include Armed Response starring Wesley Snipes and Anne Heche and New Line Cinema’s cult classic Detroit Rock City starring Edward Furlong and Natasha Lyonne. He also served as a creator and executive producer on A&E’s long running reality series “Gene Simmons: Family Jewels” as well as Nickelodeon’s animated series “My Dad the Rockstar.” Simmons was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Kiss and has appeared in a number of films and TV shows. Kiss recently announced their farewell tour culminating with two back-to-back shows at Madison Square Garden later this year.
In business for over 20 years, Arclight Films’ current slate of films also includes David Mamet’s Assassination starring Viggo Mortensen, Al Pacino, Shia LaBeouf and John Travolta; the comedy Arthur’s Whisky starring Academy Award-winner Diane Keaton, Patricia Hodge and the legendary Scottish singer/actress Lulu; the celebrated Sundance title Fairyland starring Scoot McNairy and Emilia Jones and produced by Sofia Coppola; John Curran’s psychological thriller Mercy Road starring Luke Bracey; the thriller Poker Face, directed by Academy Award-winner Russell Crowe who also stars alongside Liam Hemsworth, Elsa Pataky and Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and The Portable Door starring Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz and Sam Neill.
