Despite the growing caution among German investors, Paramount Pictures is set to access private German equity for the financing of biopic Against The Ropes and the high school comedy The Perfect Score.

After collaborating with the German financing companies SachsenFonds and EastMerchant last year on a Euros 52.7m fund for the financing of romantic comedy How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (Screen Daily, 27 November 2001), Paramount Pictures is now likely to be the beneficiary of a new Euros 92.4m fund which will invite individuals to invest a minimum Euros 15,000 by 20 December 2002.

Produced by Runaway Bride producers Robert Corts and David Madden, Against The Ropes stars Meg Ryan as the real life boxing manager Jackie Kallen and marks the feature directorial debut of actor-director Charles S. Dutton.

Meanwhile, comedy specialist Brian Robbins' The Perfect Score focuses on a group of high school students who develop a plan to rig their SAT college entrance tests. The Gary Birnbaum production stars Erika Christensen (Traffic), Scarlett Johansson (Home Alone 3) and Chris Evans (Not Another Teen Movie).

As with the first SachsenFonds placement in 2001, this fund is being advised on for project selection and contractual issues by veteran US-based German producer Willi Baer and media lawyer Winfried Hammacher through their Essen-based company W2 Filmproduktion Und Vertriebs GmbH.