Tropic Thunder Wallpaper, #12056

Cutting Edge Group and Basil Iwanyk’s Thunder Road have reached slate financing deal under which CEG will advance funds for Thunder Road to develop upcoming projects. Deal was announced Friday at Cannes. The CEG funds will be secured against Thunder Road’s forthcoming film music slate. First project covered under the pact is action-thriller “John Wick,”... Read more »

London and LA-based Cutting Edge Group invests cash in film music budgets and provides or brokers services for scoring, clearances and music supervision. In exchange, it acquires the music rights and recoups from performance royalties and secondary exploitation sources. Under a new deal with Basil Iwanyk’s Thunder Road, they’re putting a twist on slate financing. Rather than guaranteeing funds as part of a bank closing or acquiring the music rights after a film is complete, CEG is advancing development funds upfront to Thunder Road. Those funds will be secured against the producer’s forthcoming film music slate. The first film that’s part of the deal is Keanu Reeves action-thriller John Wick, which shoots in September. The slate also includes the Daniel Espinosa-directed Gang Story starring Liam Neeson. CEG has previously invested in such films as The King’s Speech, Drive, Looper and End Of Watch. At the beginning of this year, CEG entered a partnership with Wood Creek Capital Management to launch its second film music investment fund. Wood Creek’s commitment, together with CEG’s existing investment partners, brings CEG’s capital access to $100M.