Filmmaker to Look at Racy Magazine for Ideas
By DAVID CARR, NY TIMES

In search of synergy between print and film — and maybe a touch of sex appeal — New Line Cinema, a division of AOL Time Warner, has turned to Maxim magazine, the bawdy runaway newsstand success from Dennis Publishing US.

The so-called first-look deal means that New Line will have the option of turning content from Maxim into a film project. The films would be produced under a "Maxim Presents" banner as a way of branding a project and perhaps gaining access to Maxim's 2.5 million readers. The deal marries a racy young men's magazine and the studio that produced the Austin Powers movies, among many other films.

Films under the banners of magazine titles have not been huge hits since the heyday of "National Lampoon presents" comedies like "Vacation" and "Animal House," but both organizations think the relationship has significant possibilities.

"They know what kind of things interest their customers," Toby Emmerich, president of production at New Line Cinema, said. "They have a sense of what celebrities, what subjects and what fashions will interest their readers. And I'm interested in their readers."

Earlier this year, Dennis Publishing extended its brand by licensing the Maxim name to hair care products. Read more (free regis. needed)