Rainmaker had a good day on the market today and we're almost back up to $4.00. Does anyone know the reason?
I received my annual report yesterday - one of three that came in the mail for me. Also, I received this news release yesterday by e-mail:
NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CANADIAN CORPORATE NEWS
FOR: RAINMAKER DIGITAL PICTURES CORP.
TSE SYMBOL: RNK
APRIL 28, 1998
Rainmaker Digital Pictures Announces Second Quarter Operations Update
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--Rainmaker Digital Pictures Corp. ("Rainmaker" or the "Company") would like to update its shareholders on developments to date in 1998.
The Company is currently completing digital visual effects and editing on "Future Sport", starring Wesley Snipes and Vanessa Williams, a television pilot/movie-of-the-week to be aired on ABC. The effects portion of "Future Sport" includes work on more than 120 shots, including visual effects design and supervision, and has continued since production began in late February. Rainmaker also provided both film lab and digital post & transfer services for "Future Sport". "Future Sport" is to date the largest budget single project completed in full at the Vancouver facility.
Rainmaker has also recently entered into an exclusive contract with Vancouver-based Sugar Entertainment/Vidatron Entertainment Group (TSE: VE). Rainmaker will provide all post production services, including digital visual effects, for all of Sugar Entertainment's upcoming production slate. Currently, Sugar Entertainment's episodic television series' scheduled for production in 1998 are "First Wave", which began shooting in early April, "Dead Man's Gun", which will go into production on May 20, and a pilot "Too Weird", a Disney co-production currently in post production at Rainmaker. The series "Too Weird" is confirmed to begin shooting in August. Rainmaker will also provide on-set digital effects supervisors for all three series', which will be in production and post production until early 1999.
After relatively slow production activity in Vancouver and Los Angeles during the first two months of 1998, the current slate is rapidly expanding as 10 television series have already committed their post production to Rainmaker's Vancouver facility. In addition, Rainmaker has 18 television movies and feature films either currently in house or scheduled to begin production before November 15, 1998. Not included in these totals are a number of television series whose pilots have been completed but not yet picked up by a television network. In addition, Rainmaker's digital visual effects facility in Los Angeles is currently working on Disney's "My Favorite Martian", Warner Brothers
"Soldier", and Touchstone's "Armaggedon".
The outlook for the BC motion picture and television industry is promising. A recent study by the Vancouver chartered accounting firm Ellis Foster (commissioned by the BC Government) states that BC's motion picture and television industry could double in size within 10 years to become a $1.5 billion-a-year industry. April 21, 1998 marked the passing of the new provincial legislation, Film Incentive BC ("FIBC"), which is a new package of economic incentives developed to encourage growth in the BC film and television production/post production industry. In addition, BC Premier Glen Clark met last week in Los Angeles with executives from major Hollywood studios (20th Century Fox, MGM, Warner Brothers, Paramount, & Dreamworks) to explore opportunities to expand BC's market share of production business. Premier Clark has made it clear that he intends to introduce foreign production tax credits in the immediate future to match or exceed credits currently available to foreign producers in Ontario.
Despite the recently announced move of FOX's "The X-Files" from Vancouver to Los Angeles, it has become evident that any capacity at Rainmaker created by the departure of "The X-Files" has already been filled with a number of new projects and incremental customers. Rainmaker continues to carry on an excellent working relationship with FOX, most recently completing post production work on the FOX television pilots "Strange Days" and "Ghost Cop".
Pursuant to the Company's normal course issuer bid, a total of 118,300 of Rainmaker's common shares have been repurchased as at April 27, 1998. The repurchased shares will be cancelled and
returned to treasury. The Company will continue to repurchase its shares through the normal course issuer bid until management believes the stock is either fairly valued or the maximum number of shares allowable is purchased.
Rainmaker Digital Pictures is an internationally recognized, industry leading image processing company providing film, television and new media producers with an array of services. The Company's services range from film processing to digital editing, digital visual effects to DVD authoring, and computer animation to fibre optic video transmission. Rainmaker operates leading edge digital facilities in two of North America's most vibrant filmmaking centres: Vancouver, British Columbia and Los Angeles, California.
-30-
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Rainmaker Digital Pictures Corp.
Malcolm Earle
Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
(604) 874-8700 or 1-800-616-4433
(604) 874-1719 (FAX)
rainmaker.com
e-mail: malcolm@rainmaker.com
The contents of this press release have neither been approved nor disapproved by any regulatory authority.
INDUSTRY: RES
SUBJECT: NWS |
