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Samsung will join hands with a U.S. film distributor and invest some US$250,000 annually in making movies. The group launched Samsung Entertainment Group for its film business in 1995 with staff from Samsung Electronics, Samsung Corp., and Cheil Communications but liquidated the company in 1998 and since then has not invested directly in the film industry except for supervising product placement.
¡ß Investment in American independent films
Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it formed a partnership with the independent film distributor Landmark Theaters and will sponsor independent films. Director and actor Sean Penn's ¡°Into the Wild¡± will be the first movie sponsored by Samsung, a staffer said. ¡°We will decide a steady stream of other films to invest in." Samsung Electronics plans to select one or two independent films a year after consultation with Landmark Theaters and to sponsor them with US$250,000 or W230 million annually. Samsung will also carry out related marketing activities with landmark. Separately, Samsung will advertise TVs, cell phones and other products on 229 Landmark screens across the U.S. before selected movies.
¡ß Marketing, not business
Samsung hopes the decision will help improve its name recognition and sales. "Many independent film viewers are intellectuals and opinion leaders, who are our target customers," said Oh Dong-jin, the CEO of Samsung Electronics America. Samsung stressed the investment is part of marketing and not a bridgehead to penetrate the film industry.
However, some industry watchers have pricked up their ears since Samsung has kept its hands off the movie industry for a decade. A Samsung staffer said the group ¡°will not start the film business immediately, but this may be an opportunity to improve our understanding of the closed U.S. film industry via small independent films." One-time product placements in U.S. films are limited, so Samsung hopes to establish itself in the contents sector, which has greater growth potential.
¡ß Samsung and Sony, different moves
Sony has for some time been strengthening its contents business. Samsung's last investment in a film was ¡°Shiri¡±, the first Korean blockbuster, in 1997. But Sony purchased Columbia Pictures in 1989 and MGM in 2004. Sony Pictures, Sony's film unit, wobbled in the 2000s but has been on the mend since the end of 2006. From January to March this year, Sony generated more than $8.2 billion in sales, the highest since 2000. Min Hoo-sik at Tempis Capital Management said, "The contents business is one of the sectors companies around the world have an eye on for future growth besides the bio and solar energy industry. So sooner or later, the contents business will emerge."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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