With its poor history concerning results of returns for its investors, there is a more concerted focus on working with existant cash-rich hedge funds to see if there can be a long-term relationship that can emerge. The past history of insurance and German money has been dismal at best; which is why it pretty much dried up as a source of investment.
Last year's "Poseidon" was a good lesson for all concerned to see the potential pitfalls that can happen in the movie business. The good thing that resulted from the fiasco was the funds are now looking much more closely at making sure that the deals are profitable for both participants.
Even though the so-called 'creatives' have been whining about this, they have to face reality. How many people are going to endlessly fuel their 'vision' and pour through money like it was in the dotcom bomb, along with past movie deals? Those 
days should be over.
The deal which was done between Virtual Studios and Warner Bros. (TWX), which included "Poseidon," "Blood Diamond" and "The Good German," revealed a lot of the risk that is inherent in the business. The deal with poorly structured and performed poorly.
With the learning curve of last year amidst the enormous amount of deals that were inked, hoopla and finally experimentation, deals are now being hammered out that can result in studios and investors building long-term relationships.
The one thing I've found strange about all of this is how long it has taken investors to move upon this. The one-sided relationship that favored Hollywood goes against almost all business sense and building of partnerships there are. Still, it's better late then never.
More on "Hollywood Investors Getting Smarter" in next post.
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