Lee Seung-jae, CEO of Korean production company LJFilm, has confirmed that he will oversee film production at rising Koreanstudio Prime Entertainment, formerly known as Innotz.

Lee brings with him CJ Entertainment's former head offilm business Shin Sang-han who will head up distribution and exhibition.

Prime will produce 15 films a year starting in 2007,said Lee, with half coming from in-house production and half from outsourcing.

Inntoz, an IT-based company owned by conglomeratePrime Industrial, said the namechange reflected its "entry into the totalentertainment business, covering film production, investment, distribution,exhibition and talent management."

The company also announced that it will operate acinema in the $200m Shanghai Technomart being built by Prime Industrial andscheduled for completion by 2010.

Innotz signaled its entry into the entertainmentsector in January by acquiring LJ Film and announcing plans to create a $50minvestment fund. The company also plans to make use of Prime Industrial'sbuildings for expansion into Korean exhibition.

Lee says that Prime Entertainment will be playing inthe big league with major Korean studios such as CJ Entertainment and Showbox- but it will be the only one to also have production and talentmanagement capabilities.

The company is also developing what may become Korea'slargest budget film at $20m, the English-language Julia Project, based on thetrue story of the American wife of the last crown prince of Joseon, which willbe co-produced with a US company.

"LJ Film will continue to produce films under the samebrand name," says Lee.

The LJ Film/Innotz merger came on the heels of the LJFilm/CJ Entertainment break-up in late 2005 which left a legacy of first-lookdeals with CJ.