CREDIT: COURTESY OF THE EXCHANGE/FOREST ROAD
In a pre-Cannes Film Festival move, production-financing-sales company the Exchangeand specialty finance company Forest Road are launching their $50 million fund, Roadrunner Capital.
The fund has already provided capital for the SXSW project “Shotgun,” helmed by Hannah Marks and Joey Power. Roadrunner will be co-managed by the Exchange and Forest Road executives, with offices in New York and Los Angeles.
The sole purpose of the joint venture fund is to lend capital to responsible production companies at below-market rates in a seamless manner. As a sales-distribution outfit, the Exchange will sell some of the fund’s projects, but not all.
Forest Road offers low-cost financing options for tax-related collateral among various industries and subsectors, and this partnership is aimed at accelerating its expansion into independent film and television financing.
“Even at its infancy, we’re already seeing how Roadrunner has a competitive advantage in the marketplace. We’re very excited for the many opportunities we can participate in with Roadrunner and believe it will grow to be a valuable partner to independent film and TV productions,” said Brian O’Shea, CEO of the Exchange.
Zachary Tarica, founder of Forest Road Company, said, “We are providing solutions to the independent film and television community-at-large, and the preliminary meetings we’ve had prior to launch have demonstrated to us just how much demand there is for this type of fund and service.”
The Exchange is currently in pre-production for “The Stand-In,” starring Drew Barrymore, who is also a producer on the project. It recently wrapped principal photography on “The Corrupted,” starring Sam Claflin.
O’Shea and Caddy Vanasirikul from the Exchange and Tarica from Forest Road negotiated the deal.
