Arnon Milchan to Back Development of a Large Israeli Film Studio

Arnon Milchan and former Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Leiberman, swooped in to the Israeli desert city of Arad in Milchan's private helicopter to inspect the location for the proposed new studio, promoted as Israel's future 'Hollywood'.

 “If the studio would have been here, the movies would have been here,” Milchan told NJJN at the follow-up press conference. “If I pay Brad Pitt $20 million for a movie, I can tell him where I’m shooting it. You think Brad Pitt would rather shoot in Budapest than here? Brad will have a good time here.”

Milchan said that his new film Noah, a biblical blockbuster, would have been filmed in Israel and not Iceland had the Jewish state had a studio of the kind that he is proposing (Russell Crowe is to star in the movie, due next March.). Milchan also stated that Israel should have been the site of a forthcoming production by British director Ridley Scott based on the biblical Book of Exodus.

“There are zero worries about Israel,” he said. “Hollywood considers it the safest place in the world. And it’s no secret that Hollywood has many proud Jews and non-Jewish Zionists who make key decisions.” Milchan is clearly one of them.

An expert on how much movies cost to make and how much money they can earn, Milchan believes entering the movie-making industry could bring Israel a windfall of $5-10 billion if the state can offer tax breaks that can compete with what producers receive from other countries. Given that his good friend and protégé, Yair Lapid, is now Israeli Finance Minister, he will certainly find an open mind on that front.

“The money invested by countries comes back in jobs, hotels, restaurants, construction, tourism, etc.,” he said. “It’s also important public relations for the country. It is possible to build a first-class studio here in Arad. If we do, and there is cooperation from all sides, there is no reason why the biggest productions won’t come to Arad instead of Budapest.”

EXCLUSIVE: The Man Behind the Candidate: Arnon Milchan's Protégé, Yair Lapid, Scores Big in Israeli Election

As documented in the book Confidential: Years ago, Yair Lapid was hired by Arnon Milchan to run the television division of New Regency Films in Los Angeles. Milchan was friends with Yair's father Tommy Lapid. The show Malcolm in the Middle was produced by New Regency during that period. The two [Yair and Arnon] developed a close friendship that has lasted to this day. When Mr. Milchan was honored at Paramount Studios a few years ago, it was Yair Lapid who was asked to give a heart-warming key-note speech about his close  friend Arnon:

When Lapid needed help establishing his new political party, Yesh Atid, Milchan was there to help (financially and otherwise). In fact, even Arnon Milchan's daughter Elinor signed on as a founding member of the party.  Yesterday it all paid off when Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid Party won a whopping 19 seats in Israel's parliament (Knesset), making it the second largest political party in Israel. Lapid is now in a position to dictate terms for the establishment of the next Israeli government because Netanyahu does not have enough seats without Lapid to establish a government. Since Mr. Milchan is close friends with both Mr. Lapid and Mr. Netanyahu, once again, he is uniquely positioned to play the key role in brokering the establishment of the next Israeli government. While the media in the US, and the US administration rush to find out who Yair Lapid is, Arnon Milchan is a hundred miles ahead of them as usual.  

SIDENOTE: Yair Lapid was interviewed extensively for the book Confidential. And here's a little tip for the know-nothing media; Yair Lapid's son worked on Capital Hill for US Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) until the Senator was defeated in the 2010 midterm elections. Mark Mellman, Lapid's campaign manager also did work for Russ Fiengold. Connect the dots. Go to it... use the info without giving credit... we are use to it.

UPDATE: As predictable as the sun rising in the east, Israel's Ha'aretz, 48 hours after our post, picks up on our analysis:  "Now the two good friends of Hollywood film producer Arnon Milchan can make use of him to forge mutual trust and to create the strong axis around which the next government will be created." You are welcome Ha'aretz.

 

Yair Lapid On Arnon Milchan's Contributions to Israel's Nuclear Weapons Program

"There is another side to his creativity that is not that flamboyant, that is dead serious, that has to stay secretive, and we all know how hard that is for Arnon. And I know some of the people here are movie-makers, and therefore, by definition, story tellers, people of imagination. So if you have an imagination, think of the things you do know about Israel's capabilities that are not to be discussed, and then think of all the creative ways to get those abilities, and then take out your notebooks and laptops, and imagine what you like. Still, you won't begin to scrape the surface of the things that Arnon has done for Israel. So everybody came here to thank Arnon for the things that we do know; I came to thank Arnon for the things we don't."
    
Yair Lapid was a longtime news anchor on Israeli TV's channel 2, he worked for a short period for Arnon Milchan at New Regency's television division in Hollywood, and is currently a candidate for Israel's Knesset (Parliament), heading up a secular centrist party. As previously reported by this blog, Lapid has as sought the behind-the-scenes support of Arnon Milchan. UPDATE: Yair Lapid has announced that Arnon Milchan's daughter, Elinor Milchan, is a "strategic advisor" and one of the "founders" of his new political party "Atid" which means "Future" in Hebrew. Analysis: It is highly unlikely that Elinor would have involved herself in this kind of political endeavor in Israel without the knowledge and blessing of her politically active father.