Australian casino entrepreneur James Packer has united with the Hollywood filmmaker and is personally bankrolling the film finance, development and production outfit. Separately, Los Angeles-based Esperanza Films and Thailand’s Angel Bear Productions have started a production parternship.

RatPac Entertainment aim to build a slate and co-finance studio product. The company has identified the first two co-finance opportunities but its representatives did not go into details.

  • Esperanza Films and Angel Bear will jointly produce and finance a slate for 2013, kicking off with the serial killer thriller Devil May Call from writer-director Jason Cuadrado.

Angel Bear Productions is rolling out its presence in the US after producing rom-com Bitter/Sweet and supernatural thriller Hellgate starring William Hurt and Cary Elwes.

Its most recent Thai film She: Their Love Story is a lesbian drama that is distributed in the US by Ariztical Entertainment.

Esperanza Productions is developing the Celestina, which Motorcycle Diaries writer Jose Rivera will direct from his screenplay.