LPWire: NRG Founders Sign an Overall Motion Picture Deal With The Disney Studios

NRG Founders Joseph Farrell and Catherine Paura Sign an Overall Motion Picture Deal With The Walt Disney Studios

Joseph Farrell and Catherine Paura of the National Research Group have entered into a multi-year motion picture producing deal with The Walt Disney Studios, it was announced today (3/18) by Dick Cook, Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, and Nina Jacobson, President of the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group. Farrell and Paura will head their own movie production company, FP Ventures, housed at The Walt Disney Studios. They will also counsel Cook as well as other key Disney executives on matters of market planning worldwide.

In making the announcement, Cook said, "I can't think of a more dynamic duo than Farrell and Paura. Their years at NRG have certainly given them a head start -- they know as well as anyone what makes movies work. They are creative and have their fingers on the pulse on the marketplace; that experience will be invaluable to us. In addition, they have been incredible friends throughout the years and we are lucky to have them on board."

Jacobson added, "Farrell and Paura have always had a great movie sense, and now, we're thrilled to be putting them in the producer's seat. Their vast experience puts them immediately at the top of the game; they will be extremely valuable members of the team."

"We are delighted that Disney has given us the opportunity to make movies," remarked Farrell and Paura. "With NRG in the capable hands of three key executives -- Howard Ballon, Angela Paura, and Kevin Yoder, whom we worked closest with at NRG for more than a decade -- we are ready to move from working mostly with the left side of the brain to working mostly with the right. From the time we got a taste of filmmaking in the mid-80s, we knew that one day, we would be producing again. Of course, we are not forgetting all we learned about the marketplace or the people in distribution we have had the pleasure of befriending over the years."

Farrell and Paura, who stepped down at the end of 2002 from their chairmanships at NRG, will continue to serve as consultants to NRG's studio clients as the company transitions to be part of the Nielsen Entertainment Group. NRG continues to be the powerhouse market research service to the studios, which Farrell and Paura built from scratch 25 years ago.

Skip Brittenham represented Farrell and Paura in making the deal.

--Posted March 18, 2003
Source: Walt Disney Studios