8-23-06 Charles Gradante Nightly Business News With Reporter Darren Gersh on August 23, 2006

Charles Gradante is one of Wall Street's most sought after opinion leaders on matters of the stock market, the global economy, hedge fund strategy and asset allocation. He is the Co-Founder of Hennessee Group (www.HennesseeGroup.com) and he is shown on Public
Broadcasting Service's "Nightly Business News" program discussing film finance and the bankrolling of films in Hollywood.

Noteworthy highlights from this particular interview
include comments about: Sumner Redstone, Tom Cruise

SandDollar LLC, a film hedge fund that brings "A" list stars
to the big screen with less risk and lower budgets that with tradition big budget film finance

- Big studios have pulled back from making blockbusters because of budgetary constraints

- Low Budget films and big budget films are targets for hedge fund film investing

-Investing in Hollywood films, including independent films is to be considered yet another alternative asset class

- Hedge funds have $1 billion invested in film deals

- Steven Spielberg's "War of the Worlds" was financed by hedge funds

- Hollywood facing its biggest challenges in decades,
including piracy, Internet downloads, plethora of entertainment options

- Tom Cruise goes to WAll Street for financing of his future films

- Brad Grey of Brillstien Gray

- Paramount Pictures / Viacom

- Hedge funds are not changing the landscape of the film industry's old practice. Investment banks were investors in films for 80 years

- Hedge funds are filling the void in filmmaking left by the retreat of investment banks and commercial banks from film finance

Hennessee Group LLC is a Registered Investment Adviser that consults direct investors in hedge funds on asset allocation, manager selection, and ongoing monitoring of hedge fund managers. In addition, in 1987 the company created the Hennessee Hedge Fund Index, the hedge fund industry's completely independent manager index. The Index has been in continuous use since 1987 and monitors a diverse community of 1,000 hedge fund managers representing essentially every existing hedge fund management style and strategy.

The firm, Hennessee Group (www.HennesseeGroup.com) is located at 500 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10110 (212) 857-4400

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• film finance
• stocks
• bonds
• hedge funds
• sec
• bank regulation
• bernard maqdoff
• options
• stock market performance
• dow jones
• hedge fund index
• cds
• credit default swaps
• investment performance