Word: carolco
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...director and producer demurred, saying the changes would "undermine the strength of the original material, weaken the characters and lessen the integrity of the picture itself." Executives at Carolco and Tri-Star Pictures likewise took a strong stand against what could be a Hollywood nightmare: the vetting of entertainment by special-interest groups. "Censorship by street action will not be tolerated," they said. Queer Nation members replied that they are tired of Hollywood's "censorship" of their lives. Said one gay leader: "Hollywood has once again decided to sacrifice the lives of gay men and lesbians in order to make...
...Wall Street investors are losing patience with Carolco (estimated 1990 revenues: $300 million), which comprises a web of subsidiaries and global interconnections that are too perplexing for even stock analysts to follow. The arcane structure is the work of Carolco's president, Peter Hoffman, a brilliant tax attorney. By keeping almost half the company's profits in the Netherlands Antilles, Hoffman holds Carolco's total tax rate on movie earnings to 22%, vs. the typical 34% corporate tax rate. Even so, Carolco's profits in 1990 stalled at an estimated $15 million, barely an increase from...
Beirut-born Kassar and his partner Andrew Vajna were successful foreign distributors when they launched Carolco in 1976. They hit pay dirt with Rambo's debut in 1982 and eventually took the studio public at $9 a share. In 1989 Vajna sold most of his 36% stake to Kassar in a complex deal involving shell companies in Panama and the Netherlands Antilles. Last October Kassar resold some of his shares to Carolco for $13 each, or 60% higher than the market price. That brought him $11 million, or 80% of the studio's 1989 net income, which prompted angry shareholders...
Shareholders also attack Kassar for taking interest-free loans from Carolco to supplement his $1.25 million salary. In 1988 he and Vajna borrowed $8 million. The terms: if the stock topped $11 by August 1989, the loan would be forgiven. Presto! The stock nipped $11 in June before tubing again (it now trades at $8). "The stock was manipulated," charges shareholder lawyer William Lerach. Carolco disputes the allegation...
...Carolco's worst problem may be a dwindling public appetite for its stock-in- trade, violent action films. And the studio's failure to reform its free- spending ways has sparked rumors that it may soon be forced into a merger or even bankruptcy. The budget for Carolco's Terminator II is reputed to be an eyeball-gouging $70 million. Since the company presold the lucrative distribution rights, to break even the film will have to be one of the few to gross $200 million. Shooting began in October, not long after Carolco's Hoffman was quoted as saying...