"There were some projects I wanted that I didn't get and some projects they wanted me to take that I didn't," said Berman.
As a 12-year veteran of Warner, Berman is familiar with the studio's inventory. Berman said, "We like to take a proactive position and tell Warner ahead of time what we're interested in rather than having them come to us with what they think we might be interested in."
Another avenue of getting movies on the slate is Roadshow's own development pipeline. Berman said in the next month he expects to announce three movies that could be ripe for the co-financing arrangement.
"What I try to do is develop as much as possible with Warner Bros. so that when we do get to the point of making a decision, they're invested creatively and financially," he explained.
If, by chance, there's a project Berman is passionate about but Warner is not, he said he will develop it anyway with the hope that when the screenplay is completed and the movie is packaged the studio will change its mind.
"Maybe the studio will see something they didn't see when I brought it to them in the first place," he said.
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Semel added that not only has Warner had an "extraordinarily successful relationship" with Village Roadshow over the past 25 years, being partners in exhibition and distribution, but also "the addition of Bruce Berman as a graduate of our company" has proved beneficial for both companies.
Despite having been ousted from his position at Warner, Berman said time has healed all wounds, and "I've never felt better than I do now personally and professionally--it could have easily not worked out."
Berman, who started in the movie business working for Motion Picture Assn. of America President Jack Valenti in Washington while attending law school, was halfway through his three-year production deal at Warner when he was approached by Graham Burke, managing director of Village Roadshow Ltd., about taking the chairmanship. Under Berman's direction, Village Roadshow Pictures has become a financier of major studio movies. Before Berman took over, the company had financed only low-budget independent movies.
