Lakeshore Entertainment plans to spend at least $51 million on ‘Game,’ starring Gerard Butler

A futuristic film about a wrongly imprisoned convict fighting his way to freedom by competing in a real-life video game would receive a no-interest, $15 million loan under a recommendation made Wednesday by a state panel.

The state Investment Council’s Private Equity Investment Advisory Committee unanimously recommended the three-year loan for Game, which stars Gerard Butler, who was featured in the 2006 blockbuster 300. In Game, Butler plays John Tillman, who is competing against other prisoners in what a script synopsis describes as “a combination of reality TV and a computer game.”

The movie will be shot from Nov. 5 to Feb. 5, with at least 95 percent of filming to occur in Albuquerque, according to the New Mexico Film Office. Producers expect to hire 246 crew members, including 183 New Mexicans, said Lisa Strout, director of the film office.

New Mexico would receive 8.75 percent of any profits the film makes after paying its production costs. The full investment council is scheduled to vote on the loan Sept. 27.

Lakeshore Entertainment is producing Game and is planning a nearly $51 million budget for the project, including spending roughly $18 million or $19 million in New Mexico. “For us, this represents one of the larger films we’re making this year,” said Eric Reid, Lakeshore’s chief operating officer.

But Assistant Attorney General Zachary Shandler noted New Mexico had never made a loan for such a big film project, and he wondered whether the large budget would eat up any profits the state might receive. “Is there going to be enough profits at the end of the day to pay back and the state to get money back?” Shandler asked.

Peter Dekom, a Beverly Hills, Calif., entertainment attorney who serves as the state’s film adviser, said New Mexico was fortunate to land a big-budget film with a loan program that is capped at $15 million a movie. Dekom also said larger movie studios likely would have even bigger budgets for the same film. “I think this is a very efficient spend on a special-effects motion picture,” Dekom said.

Game likely will receive an R rating, although it might get a PG-13, Strout said.

The committee also recommended Wednesday revising its loan policy to prohibit the state from making direct equity investments in films. State Investment Council spokesman Charles Wollmann said such investments are too risky, and the council never has made an equity investment in a film.

Committee members also instructed Dekom and Strout to end a ban on horror films shot in New Mexico, saying loan decisions should be made on their investment merits rather than the film’s content. “You should look at everything, and if you think it’s a reasonable investment, it should come along,” committee member Andrew Davis said.

The film office stopped recruiting horror films after loaning money to three such projects last year, Dekom said.

Contact David Miles at 986-3036 or dmiles@sfnewmexican.com.