Hollywood goes to Abu Dhabi

Must be more of that cultural penetration deal...

Warner Bros Entertainment is setting up a film and video game production firm with UAE-based Aldar Properties and Abu Dhabi Media Company, the firms said on Wednesday.The companies will also develop a theme park, hotel and cinemas in the Gulf Arab emirate, Aldar said in a statement.

Warner Bros Entertainment and its partners will invest $500 million in a joint venture fund to develop films, and another $500 million in a video game fund, a Warner spokesman said."This is a region of the world we have looked at, thought about, but never participated in in any meaningful way," Warner Bros Chairman and Chief Executive Barry Meyer told Reuters in an interview in New York."In some ways it's really only the beginning of what could be an even deeper relationship encompassing film and video distribution, both in the Gulf region and regionally," he said.