Toronto Film Festival Dailies

GOLDEN ISLANDS FILMWORKS SETS UP UNPRECEDENTED $125 MILLION EQUITY FINANCING AGREEMENT WITH GOVERNMENT OF ANTIGUA

Arrangement Will Cover Five Films That Include “Rebels” (the story of four rebel icons who discovered and supported the rise of legendary musician Bob Marley) and “Nick Carter: Killmaster” Espionage Thriller

Esteemed producer Rudy Langlais (“The Hurricane,” “Sugar Hill”) and his partners, Caribbean social entrepreneur Valmiki Kempadoo, Toronto-based producer Don Allan and veteran multidisciplined film executive Neil Sacker have closed an unprecedented equity financing agreement with the government of the Caribbean island nation of Antigua that will see $125 million committed to an initial slate of five feature films and launch Antigua’s long-range commitment to film production. The agreement was announced today in Toronto by Golden Islands’ principals.

The deal comes through the newly created venture, Golden Island Filmworks, an independent feature film finance and production entity run by Rudy Langlais, who was born in the West Indies, and his partners Sacker, Kempadoo and Allan. The first five feature films, individually budgeted between $20 million and $85 million, against a cumulative budget of $250 million, will be produced through Golden Islands Filmworks in collaboration with the government of Antigua and Barbuda, headed by Prime Minister, the Honorable Gaston A. Browne.

The dynamic arrangement serves as a first-of-its-kind film financing model that uses funds generated by the Antigua Citizenship Investment Program. Funds collected from the highly sought after citizenship will be invested into the $125 million film slate.

Antigua and Barbuda Ambassador at Large His Excellency Dr. Joseph (Joey) John, who for eight years had been enticing Rudy Langlais to make films in the Caribbean, was instrumental in structuring the Antigua-based venture and will continue to work on all components and phases of development and production associated with the film slate. Ambassador John is currently Special Consultant to the Prime Minister on the Citizenship by Investment Program and Investment.

Through this venture, Antigua aims to establish itself as the center for film production in the Caribbean. A portion of all films on this slate will be shot in Antigua, which will inject tens of millions of dollars back into the local economy and foster employment and growth.

The films that will be produced through this arrangement range from “Rebels”, a story of four unique individuals from tough upbringings in the 70’s who come together as friends to discover and contribute to the rise of iconic musician, Bob Marley, to the launch of the “Nick Carter: Killmaster” espionage franchise, based on the longest-running franchise in U.S. book publishing history, producing 261 books over 30 years and selling more than 30 million copies.

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne enthusiastically introduced the new venture.  Said Browne:  “Welcome to the start of this new day in the history of my nation, the Caribbean and worldwide cinema - the further transformation of Antigua and Barbuda as the economic powerhouse of the Caribbean through the power and art of film. We are welcoming the leading directors, actors and filmmaking technicians of the world to Antigua and they are coming to create exciting films that capture the beauty, mystery, history and complexity of our country, our history, our people.”

Rudy Langlais said, “My partners and I had a dream more than 10 years ago, that the Caribbean, which has produced brilliant statesmen like Alexander Hamilton, Nobel Prize-winning poets and novelists, Walcott and Naipaul, legendary athletes like Sobers and Richards and Bolt, and perhaps the world’s greatest cultural icon in Bob Marley, should add its “voice” now to filmmaking.  We have wanted to join our colleagues around the world to share our stories and join in telling stories together. Now that time is here. Exciting films will come of this collaboration.”

Commented John, “Of all the projects that I have had the privilege of bringing to Antigua, this project has the potential to create the biggest impact on both the economy and the social transformation of Antigua. It brings a whole new industry into Antigua that will affect tourism and culture.”

Said Sacker, “It is an honor for me to be partnered with Rudy, for whom I have tremendous respect and friendship, and with Val and Don who were instrumental in putting this groundbreaking deal together.  We are looking forward to making this venture a success for the government of Antigua and are committed to the highest creative and business standards for this incredible slate of films - each of which are distinctive and iconic stories that, at the same time, are marketable to the largest possible audience from Gen Z to Millennials to Baby-boomers to the older generations."

The agreement was facilitated by industry legal veteran Eric Weissmann and Lizbeth Hasse and Erin Harrison of Creative Industry Law Group and producer/financier Karen Longley Gordy, who will serve as a principal in the company.  Joseph Cohen of American Entertainment Investors and Larry Becksey of Intellectual Property Group served as Golden Islands’ advisors in the closing.

About the Films:

“Rebels” is a journey through the life and musical times of Bob Marley, prospecting the early career of the musical icon and unearthing an unknown side of the man and his music. First signed to JAD records, founded by Johnny Nash (“I Can See Clearly Now”) and mob associate Danny Sims, Bob Marley is taken on an adventure on which he built his career. Never before revealed stories and music will show a side of the legend that few would ever imagine.

Golden Island Filmworks has assembled a rich tapestry through its acquisition of the life stories of the men who signed, developed and produced Bob Marley's music as he struggled to become the voice of his and a timeless generation. The company has also secured the rights to the never-before-released JAD Records catalogue of Marley music to tell this story of the unknown Bob Marley. 

The “Nick Carter: Killmaster” book series was the longest-running franchise in U.S. book publishing history, producing 261 books over 26 years and selling more than 30 million copies.

The books developed a fan base of millions and launched the careers of a generation of thriller writers, including Martin Cruz Smith, who went on to write Gorky Park and Havana Bay becoming one of the top thriller writers of the past 30 years.

“Nick Carter: The Judas Conspiracy” is set between Bond and Bourne -- and firmly in the world of contemporary, cutting-edge cyber-espionage, being fought out in cyberspace with viruses that destroy nuclear centrifuges and bring down banking and energy systems.

An international adventure that catapults the viewer around the world at a breakneck pace, “The Judas Conspiracy” will utilize the latest technologies in both the filmmaking and within the story to create a state of the art adventure.

About Golden Island Filmworks Principals:

Born in the West Indies and educated at Fordham University, Rudy Langlais began his career as a journalist and newspaper and magazine editor at THE STAR-LEDGER, the largest newspaper in New Jersey, where he was a sports editor and reporter, covering New York professional and college teams. 

Recruited by the monthly journal BLACK SPORTS to replace Bryant Gumbel, Langlais transformed the magazine into an award-winning journal, featuring leading sportswriters, journalists and novelists, including several Pulitzer Prize winners. 

In 1978, THE VILLAGE VOICE hired Langlais as the paper’s City Editor/Senior Editor. As the lead features/political editor, he edited the paper’s leading political and feature writers, including Nat Hentoff, Jack Newfield and Joe Conason, as well as feature writers Clayton Riley, Ishmael Reed, Norman Mailer, and Pete Hamill. 

In 1985, Langlais was hired to create and run, as Executive Editor, the monthly youth-culture and music magazine SPIN, guiding the magazine to become a spirited competitor to the long-dominant Rolling Stone. 

In 1990, Langlais began his career in film with VOICE founder Norman Mailer adapting writer Henry Miller’s trilogy THE ROSY CRUCIFIXION, for 20^th Century Fox and director Milos Forman (AMADEUS, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST). This was followed by Mailer adapting a story written by Langlais about American gangsters in Cuba in the 1950s, for Universal Pictures. 

Shortly after, Langlais began developing film a film about Russian poet/revolutionary Alexander Pushkin, with Quincy Jones, written by Dennis Potter, and a film about Napoleon and the Pope, written by Jack Briley, the Oscar-winning writer of GANDHI.  He went on to produce for Miramax LOVE CRIMES, directed by Lizzie Borden, and, in 1996, the drama SUGAR HILL, starring Wesley Snipes for Beacon Pictures and 20^th Century Fox. 

In 2000, Langlais produced THE HURRICANE, the story of the wrongful imprisonment and freeing of boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, starring Denzel Washington, directed by Norman Jewison, for Beacon Pictures and Universal Studios, and, for Showtime, WHO KILLED ATLANTA’S CHILDREN?, recounting his own investigation for SPIN of the series of brutal slayings in Atlanta in the late 1970s. The film starred Jim Belushi and Gregory Hines playing Langlais.

In 2006, Langlais produced REDEMPTION for 20^th Century Fox and the FX Network, starring Jamie Foxx as Stanley Tookie Williams, the founder of the Crips gang, who was nominated seven times for Nobel Prizes in literature and Peace for writing children’s books. The film would earn the highest ratings of the season and become the first cable film invited to both the Sundance and Cannes film festivals and earn numerous awards and nominations for its cast and crew.

Presently, Langlais is producing MILES AND ME, based on the final six years in the life of the great jazz musician and the fantasy epic ALOSHA, in partnership with Peter Jackson’s Weta Worskshops and Alcon Entertainment.

Valmiki Kempadoo, Founder of the landmark Caribbean resort Kittitian Hill, was born in Trinidad and raised in Barbados, the UK, Jamaica and ​Guyana. Kempadoo’s heritage is a reflection of the Caribbean cultural melting pot, with​ East Indian, African, European and South American Indian ancestors. In 2004 Kempadoo founded Belmont Resorts Ltd the development company for Kittitian Hill with regional private sector partners. In 2008 he wrote the founding philosophy for Kittitian Hill and purchased the land of Kittitian Hill, which was formerly a sugar cane plantation, from the Government of St. Kitts. In 2014 Kempadoo opened Kittitian Hill for business to world-wide acclaim. Kempadoo co-founded Gayelle, the first television station in the Caribbean to broadcast 100% local programming and is the past Chairman of the Caribbean Contemporary Art Association.

Don Allan is a filmmaker with over 30 years of experience working as a producer and director on film, television, commercials and video projects for the company he founded, Revolver Films. Revolver has produced hundreds of groundbreaking music videos for a long and diverse list of international icons including David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, The White Stripes, Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg, Michael Bublé, Björk, Lenny Kravitz, Drake, Arcade Fire, The Rolling Stones, Feist, Katy Perry, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Ashante, Kelly Clarkson, Sean Paul and Rihanna. Revolver videos have received honors at the U.K. Music Video Awards, the MTV Europe and U.S. MTV Awards.

Allan has directed/produced commercials for the likes of Pepsi, Coke, Molson, Labatts, Budweiser, McDonalds, Toyota, Ford, GM, Reebok and Nike. In addition, Revolver’s production portfolio spans films, documentaries, live concert videos and the award winning BANG BANG BABY. 

Neil Sacker is a senior executive in the entertainment business with broad and deep experience across all disciplines---legal/business affairs, development/production, finance, operations and acquisitions.

Sacker was the co-Chairman of The Film Department where, together with Mark Gill, he oversaw all areas of the business---development, production, business & legal affairs, finance and international sales.

The Film Department financed and produced the hit film, “Law Abiding Citizen,” starring Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx, “The Rebound” starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and “A Little Bit of Heaven” starring Kate Hudson. All three films were profitable.

For the four years prior to his tenure at The Film Department, Sacker was Chief Operating Officer of the Yari Film Group, the producer/financier of the Best Picture Academy Award- winner CRASH, the critically acclaimed and commercially successful film, THEI ILLUSIONIST and many other successful films featuring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Bruce Willis et al. Sacker was instrumental in building the organization from inception. Over 4 years, Sacker was responsible for all of the Company’s business & legal affairs, finance and operations. Creatively, he was a critical player in making all green-light decisions and casting of the company’s films.

Sacker also ran the business and legal affairs department including a staff of 10 attorneys for both Miramax and Dimension, reporting to Bob and Harvey Weinstein. He oversaw all aspects of business and legal affairs from 1995 to 1998 including development, production, acquisitions and litigation. During his tenure, Mr. Sacker worked on more than 75 films, including “Scream”, “Good Will Hunting”, and “The English Patient”.

Prior to Miramax, Sacker was a senior theatrical counsel at Warner Bros Studio from 1991 to 1995. Sacker received a BA from Cornell University and a JD from Yale Law School.