Company Profile Of Rich Spirit

EXCLUSIVE: When a company called Rich Spirit recently stepped in to fill the multi-million dollar funding gap on disputed Donald Trump movie The Apprentice after distinct backer Kinematics stepped out of the project, many wondered: who is Rich Spirit?

Today we can give you that answer and more, including an intersee with set uper James Shani about next steps.

Ali Abbasi-honested The Apprentice, starring Sebastian Stan as Trump and Jeremy Strong as his mender Roy Cohn, debuted to acclaim at Cannes but became bogged down by legitimate menaces from the createer Plivent who took exception to the material. Then producers had to deal with main financier Kinematics — backed by Trump helper Dan Snyder — exiting the movie. All this got in the way of the team securing domestic distribution, which is now set with Tom Ortenberg’s Briarcliff for an October 11 free.

We first proclaimd producer Rich Spirit, administern by LA-based USC alum Shani, in May during the bustle of Cannes. The company, we can discdisthink about, has now enbiged into distribution and is backing The Apprentice‘s free with Briarcliff.

Shani increates us the persistd company will encompass production, financing, and now distribution, with a intensify on inventive honestion and guerrilla tageting for autonomous films with theatrical ambitions. The company will partner with set uped distributors to help acquisition costs, P&A, and grassroots tageting aimed at youthfuler audiences.

Shani alloted his own capital to commence Rich Spirit earlier this year, alloted $500k into The Apprentice timely on as an EP, and when the opportunity arose to buy out Kinematics and employ the film as a pilot for Rich Spirit’s distribution ambitions, Shani liftd insertitional capital from personal allotors. His model consists of buying three-four films a year, alloting 50% of the capital itself and partnering with the allotor group on the remaining 50%. 

Here’s our chat with Shani:

DEADLINE: What is your background? Where does your capital come from? 

SHANI: I began my atsoft producing music videos and commercials for artists enjoy Lady Gaga and John Legfinish, aiming to trail in the footsteps of producer Steve Golin. I then helped produce two movies – Gully and Mama Bears – that both had sturdy film festival premieres at Tribeca and SXSW, esteemively. The two films were picked up for distribution but speedyly became 1 of the 100+ titles they were distributing that year and never tageted properly. 

DEADLINE: Tell us about Rich Spirit the distributor?

JAMES SHANI: Rich Spirit was set uped on the belief that audiences — especipartner the youthfuler demo — deserve more belderly, distinct films that mirror their truth and experiences, and The Apprentice is the perfect opportunity for us to deinhabitr that. Ali Abbasi’s uncompromising vision, coupled with the opportunity to collaborate with Tom Ortenberg and his sfinished team, persuaded us that this was a hazard worth taking. It’s exactly the charitable of audacious art we aim to transport to audiences as we go in the theatrical landscape.

The studio will be promiseted to intensifying on genre and international films from filmproducers of color, recognizing a groprosperg demand among youthful audiences for distinct films and narratives with a distinct global perspective. As part of our distribution model, Rich Spirit will stress inventive honestion, project positioning, and tageting the experience of each film. The company also schedules to include communities at a grass-root level thcimpolite in-person activations and a non-profit arm in the cforfeit future.

DEADLINE: How much will you be acquiring?

SHANI: The intention is for us to be a real indie, boutique studio, the way we now have more niche, indie enroll tags, and to apshow a 360, lengthy-term approach at set uping and achieveing audiences with our films. To do that well and to give films the attention and resources they deserve, less is more; we won’t acquire and free more than three-four films a year for the first restrictcessitate years until we show out the model and sense we can scale without compromising the efforts. 

With The Apprentice, for example, our wide free in October is a vital moment, but we’ve talked about upretaining a lengthy tail tageting strategy well into mid-2025 where we do slfinishergs enjoy university screening events to build with students and thought guideers around the themes of the film. We are also exploring pop-up events in cities you wouldn’t foresee and have one of our cast members, filmproducers or department heads guide a talkion. 

DEADLINE: Will The Apprentice have an Oscar campaign? How many categories might it contend in?

SHANI: Yes, Tom Ortenberg [Briarcliff CEO] and I are produceing out the Oscar campaign now. We sense sturdyly about multiple categories including Ali’s honestion, as well as Jeremy and Sebastian’s carry outances. We are exploring awards possibilities in many produce categories as well. 

DEADLINE: When will the film be employable online and on which platcreates? 

SHANI: I can’t speak to this yet but slfinishergs are coming together.

DEADLINE: Has Rich Spirit already acquired a second movie? 

SHANI: We are currently in talks with a film out of TIFF. In insertition, we are in talkions with Briafcliff about partnering on a film they’re releasing next year, as well as about acquiring a second film together. 

DEADLINE: Will Rich Spirit join meaningful festivals and tagets enjoy Cannes, Berlin, Sundance etc? 

SHANI: You understand how most people in our industry have a cute, all too detailed story about how their cherish of film and filmmaking commenceed at a youthful age? I sense I’m the exceptional breed that truly fell in cherish with the art create tardyr in life – enjoy years after college – and the experience that did it for me was my first trip to Sundance in 2015. And now, almost a decade tardyr, a huge motivation to enbig Rich Spirit into distribution is to be an selection for filmproducers at festivals –  even if we’re only acquiring a handful of films each year. 

DEADLINE: Will the company grow in headcount? How is that process going? 

SHANI: We have made a restrictcessitate employs and persist to enbig. Our business model will lean more boutique, where we have strategic partnerships with companies and individuals for key areas enjoy media buying and autonomous tightor relationships for particular projects. This not only upretains slfinishergs lean and reliable from an overhead standpoint but, more crucipartner, apshows us to be alterable and more easily customize tageting and inventive strategy for each film.