Meltdown may pull down film financing

September 15, 2008 The film-finance world may not feel an immediate pinch from the Chapter 11 filing by Lehman Bros. and the bailout of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America -- but longer term, there may be an ouch. "A financial market that's in a meltdown is not good for the industry in so many ways," is how film-finance attorney John Burke put it Monday. Admittedly, the studios and startups that have made use of funds from institutions like Merrill Lynch have locked in money and interest rates for the near-term.

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