Breaking news from Hollywood suggests that producer Marc Shmuger (previously covered on this blog) has started a new production company to be known as Global Produce. Sources also report that Shmuger and Global Produce have hired Tim McNulty, a seasoned Hollywood veteran, as production executive.
This is great news for the Universal Studios Wikileaks movie, as it is more evidence that Universal is taking the project seriously and committing a full budget behind it. Many observers were surprised when the Univerasl project was first announced at Sundance 2011, especially because itw as being produced by main Universal (rather than by Focus Features). The creation of a new production wing and the hire of Tim McNulty shows that Universal is serious about this movie and it won't jsut be swept under the rug.
At the same time, Marc Shmuger personally said that the Wikileaks movie is a "labor of love" for him.
All of these signs suggest that the big studioes are taking their Wikileaks projects seriously, even after the capture of Osama Bin Laden gave them plenty of excuses to change focus and concentrate on the newest insta-movie phenomenon. The result is that this fall (2011) or next year (2012), there will be a series of mainstream big-budget movies about Wikileaks. And, if Mr. Shmuger is serious that the Wikileaks project is a "labor of love" to him, it looks like they might be positive too.
Previously: Why the Wikileaks movies matter.
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