
Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are showing Hollywood how the business needs to be run.
While not household names, especially in the U.S. (they operate out of London), they have had a string of critical and financial successes based upon solid business principals while creating great products. Another reason they are not as well known is that a huge portion of
their revenue is generated outside the U.S. Their breakthrough came with the hugely popular "Four Weddings and a Funeral" in 1994.
The secret to their success has been keeping a tight control over their budgets. They don't do that "loss of creativity" garbage you hear pampered people in the industry whine about every time investors start asking why they aren't making any money.
On good example of that was their work on "United 93." The brought it to pass on a budget of $15 million and had a worldwide take of $75 million. Overall this is the way that Hollywood must embrace if it wants to wants to be considered a viable business any longer.
"They are unique because they do everything so well," says Universal chairman Marc Shmuger: "how they work with the talent, and the incredible responsibility with which they manage productions and costs. What's unusual, even unprecedented, is how consummately capable and responsible they are.
"They are not in the business of scooping vanilla onto the cone," Shmuger adds. "That's not the flavor of where the world is going. Their taste is so eclectic, you end up with really interesting movies."
Besides "Four Weddings" and "United 93," they also produced "Pride & Prejudice," "Notting Hill," "Bridget Jones," "Billy Elliot: The Musical," and "Catch a Fire," among many others.








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