When the credits go way over budget

When I called up Beau St. Claire to ask why she was one of 16 producers involved with the new romantic comedy “Laws of Attraction,” she groaned, unable to disguise her frustration. “If you promised to sell a foreign territory right away, you could probably get a producer credit on the movie too,” said St. Claire, whose producing partner, actor Pierce Brosnan, is the star of the film -- and another one of the movie’s producers. In Hollywood, a producer credit is easier to get than a screening invite at the mall. People have so little conscience about grabbing credits that Hollywood insiders nearly went into shock last month when film financier Steve Bing invested $80 million in the coming Tom Hanks film “The Polar Express” -- and announced he wouldn’t take a producer credit.

Some producer credit scrolls last almost as long as the Boston Marathon. “The Punisher,” the recent Tom Jane-starring action film, had a platoon of 14 producers. “Agent Cody Banks 2” had 14 producers too, including Madonna and “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander. “Alien vs. Predator,” a 20th Century Fox thriller due in August, has 12 producers; “Around the World in 80 Days,” the Jackie Chan adventure film due in June, has 11.

Why so many? In a word: money. Movies cost more than ever. And when a film is made outside the studio system, like “Laws of Attraction,” it is difficult to get off the ground without a scrum of investors, all of whom extract a producer credit as a perk for their financial support. In fact, only a well-connected insider can tell the difference between who made a creative contribution to the film and who simply wrote a check. The Producers Guild of America -- which has tried to rein in producer inflation, with little success -- is steaming. “We couldn’t be more upset to see 14 or 16 producer credits on a movie,” says PGA Executive Director Vance Van Petten. “It’s a lie to the consumer, a lie to the audience and a lie to our industry. In a very short period of time, we’re going to announce a new system to fight it, because it’s got to stop.”

Van Petten has his work cut out. One of the many producers on “Laws” is Mark Gordon, a member of the Guild’s Credit Advisory Committee, the very committee charged with finding a solution to credit inflation. Gordon, producer of the end-of-the-world thriller, “The Day After Tomorrow,” received an executive producer credit for being a partner in Stratus Films, a company that promised $10 million in financing for the film. However Stratus was bought out of its investment before the film started shooting and Gordon never went to the set. “This is obviously a complicated issue,” he said. “But being an executive producer is an appropriate credit for someone who puts up money to help get a film made.”

Getting “Laws of Attraction” made certainly was complicated. The script was developed by the producer team of David Friendly and Marc Turtletaub. They took the project to Intermedia, which bought the script and provided foreign financing for the film. Intermedia brought in Stratus Films, run by real estate developer Bob Yari and Gordon, which promised $10 million in initial financing for the film.

Veteran screenwriter Robert Harling (“The First Wives Club”) did a script rewrite that attracted the attention of Brosnan, who agreed to star opposite Julianne Moore. Even with two top names attached, the project was turned down by every studio in town, including MGM, where Brosnan has starred in the studio’s last four James Bond films. The studio that pursued the project was New Line, which agreed to put up roughly $10 million in return for domestic distribution rights. Unlike most major studios, New Line executives often take executive producer credits on films, though it is unusual to see a studio executive take a credit on a film he or she didn’t develop.

“I felt it was reasonable that we take a credit because we were involved in creative decisions before the film started shooting,” said New Line production chief Toby Emmerich, who took an executive producer credit. “We also paid the costs of shooting a new ending when the original one didn’t test well. Maybe we should have taken the high ground, but when there’s already 14 producers, we thought New Line should be represented too.”

Even with New Line on board, the movie wasn’t out of the woods. Before shooting started, with the budget rising slightly, Intermedia and Stratus had a disagreement over who would handle the excess costs. This led to Stratus pulling out of the film.

Looking for a new investor, Intermedia brought in Mobius Pictures, a company run by David Bergstein, a former real estate developer with a history of investing in distressed companies. Not long before investing in “Laws,” Bergstein teamed up with construction magnate Ron Tutor to buy 45% of Elie Samaha’s troubled Franchise Pictures, which has endured a string of flops. In return for providing a piece of the budget not covered by New Line or Intermedia, Bergstein became a producer and his company will eventually own the “Laws” copyright.

The film, initially set in New York and the Caribbean, moved to Ireland for production. By spending 70% of its budget in Ireland or the United Kingdom -- a maneuver enhanced by the hiring of Brosnan, who is Irish, and director Peter Howitt, who is British -- the film saved nearly $4 million in tax rebates, allowing it to be made for an eventual budget of $28 million.

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Anatomy of a scroll

To help movie fans sort out this unusual credit sprawl, here’s an annotated look at “Laws of Attraction’s” 16 producers, with a brief description of their background, film duties and how they managed to snare a credit.

Producers: 5

David Friendly is a producer who worked on such films as “Courage Under Fire,” “Dr. Dolittle” and “Big Momma’s House” before forming Deep River Productions with Marc Turtletaub. He developed the film from an original idea.

Marc Turtletaub is the former head of the Money Store who provided the financial backing to start Deep River Productions with Friendly. He has a cameo in the film playing a judge.

Beau St. Claire is Pierce Brosnan’s producing partner in Irish Dreamtime Productions, and became one of the film’s producers after Brosnan agreed to star in the picture.

Julie Durk, who previously ran Dick Donner’s production company, is now head of development at Deep River Productions and worked on the film’s script development.

David Bergstein is a former real estate developer who now heads Mobius Pictures and helped finance the movie when a previous backer dropped out.

Executive producers: 10

Pierce Brosnan became one of the film’s producers in return for agreeing to star in the picture at a reduced fee.

Basil Iwanyk was head of production at Intermedia and oversaw the film’s development when the movie was set up there. During production he left to start his own production company at Warner Bros.

Bob Yari is a real estate developer who is now an active film financier. One of his companies, Stratus Films, initially promised financing for the film, but was bought out before production began.

Mark Gordon, who is partnered with Yari in Stratus Films, is a veteran producer of such films as “The Patriot” and “Saving Private Ryan.”

Mark Gill is a former Miramax marketing executive who joined Stratus Films, where he helped broker the deal with New Line to pick up domestic distribution on the film. He is now head of Warner Independent Films.

Arthur Lappin is Jim Sheridan’s Ireland-based producing partner. He helped negotiate a complex deal that enabled the project to qualify for tax breaks that resulted in saving nearly $4 million.

Elie Samaha is the head of Franchise Pictures, which is now part-owned by Bergstein and Ron Tutor.

Toby Emmerich is head of production at New Line Cinema, which provided the domestic distribution for the film.

Guy Stodel is an acquisitions executive at New Line who lobbied to have New Line distribute the film in the U.S.

Oliver Hengst heads MHF Zweite Academy Film, a German tax fund that provided additional financing for the film.

Co-producers: 1

Paul Myler served as the film’s line producer, making him responsible for the movie’s day-to-day logistics, budgeting and scheduling.