Enlightened Monarchs

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Francis Ford Coppola announced that he is at work on a decade-spanning epic set in New York between the 1920s and 1960s. Though his production offices are on the Paramount lot, they are not footing the bill. So where is the money coming from you ask? Coppola will only say, "I have a secret investor that has infinite money." This story is not unique.

This year alone will see four major films (Lawless, The Master, Killing Them Softly and Zero Dark Thirty) financed by heiress Megan Ellison through her company Annapurna Pictures. She was even able to outbid Lionsgate Films for the rights to the Terminator franchise. Her older brother David is no slouch either. Through his company Skydance, he has helped finance several films including the recent Tom Cruise vehicles Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and Jack Reacher. It's almost too perfect: a Marie Antoinette and Emperor Joseph for our new post-studio age.

Welcome to the new era of patronage. Is your vision is larger than your bank account? Time to find an enlightened monarch to dazzle. Or perhaps the Pope will take a liking to your latest photoplay!