Ted Leonsis Takes a Sharp Turn

Ted Leonsis, center, worked with Hollywood veterans Bill Guttentag, left, and Buddy Squires on his first film. Leonsis compares his project to the movie "Schindler's List." (Courtesy Of Ted Leonsis)

Such recent documentary hits as "March of the Penguins," "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Super Size Me" and the current "An Inconvenient Truth," meanwhile, were able to tap audiences attuned to the subjects.

Leonsis calls such films "nichebusters" because they generate intense interest among disparate segments of society, adding up to a big audience. He and his team believe their film has crossover appeal among several "niches," including Chinese, Germans, Christians and even Japanese.

Case in point: There are 500 million television households in China, and the Chinese national television network, CCTV, paid what Leonsis said was a "significant" advance for broadcast rights for the film. In addition, an estimated 65 million Chinese live outside the country, and they may pay to see the movie in a theater or buy a DVD or watch on the Internet.

Because one of the chief heroes in the story is a German businessman named John Rabe, who headed the Nazi Party in Nanking, there could be interest in Germany. Chang refers to Rabe in her book as the "Oskar Schindler of China."

"The viewing public . . . want something when they leave the theater that they can talk about and feel good about," Leonsis said. "For all the horror in Nanking, this is ultimately a story about 12 heroes who saved 250,000 people from death. "

Because several of the heroes are American missionaries, Leonsis's team think Christians around the world will also embrace the film.

"This is ripped-from-the-headline stuff," Leonsis said.

The Chinese initially discussed owning an interest in the film, but Leonsis said its credibility would be enhanced if a third party told the story.

"They felt comfortable with our crew and they liked our motives," Leonsis said. "They want this story to be told by a Westerner."

Leonsis has not yet signed a distribution deal but will look for one when he premieres the film. He hopes to show it at the Sundance Film Festival in January and the Cannes festival in May.

Most documentaries are made with relatively little money and bring in less than $1 million, according to Box Office Mojo, a Web site that follows movie revenue.

"To break even would be extraordinary," said Michael Jacobs, the executive producer for the film and a former screenwriter.

Leonsis said any profit from the film will go toward creating a foundation for the victims and their offspring.

Photos, letters and other historical evidence he assembled for the film will be donated to Georgetown University, where Leonsis studied.

The film's crew included Bill Guttentag, the director who earned an Academy Award in 2003 for "Twin Towers." Guttentag brought along several associates that he worked with on his other movies, including director of photography Buddy Squires, known for his work on Ken Burns's documentaries on public television.

Grammy Award winner Lou Reed has been signed to write music for the film.

Creative Artists Associates, one of the preeminent film dealmakers in Los Angeles, helped guide Leonsis through the moviemaking process. CAA set a budget, helped him find actors to narrate (including Ashley Judd) and advised him that his best shot at financial success was making a great movie.

Leonsis has formed his own production company, called Agape (Greek for "higher love"). If the project is successful, he plans more films. One plan is for Agape to become a media platform for telling other big human rights stories.

"This story is so rich, so life-altering with human rights, political, religion, ordinary people as heroes, I know there are other big stories out there that have these same qualities," he said.