EXCLUSIVE: Veteran producers and entertainment executives Howard Baldwin, Karen Baldwin and Todd Slater have launched new media and content company HKT Entertainment & Sports Group with backing from Thessalon First Nation in a landmark partnership.
The transaction marks a first investment in a film fund and media-based content company for Thessalon First Nation, gathering the members of the Ojibwe First Nation community located in the Algoma District of Ontario.
It is among 21 First Nations included in an historic 2023 CAD$10 billion ($7B) settlement with Canada and Ontario which backdated annual annuity payments promised under the 1850 Robinson Huron Treaty, but never fully honored for 150 years.
The partners say that at the heart of the partnership is a straightforward mandate to “make great commercial movies that entertain audiences, and celebrate the unconditional power of the human spirit.”
Alongside a broad slate of projects, HKT will also develop content related to First Nation stories and culture, with one its first projects being an ambitious Roots–style epic series, exploring the history and origins of the First Nations.
The partnership is structured around a portfolio of projects, with the broader HKT strategy extending beyond film and television to include digital, podcasts, Broadway and live entertainment, sports-related programming and other emerging forms of media.
In other inaugural projects HKT is involved as a co-producer in the Broadway revival of the musical, Damn Yankees, being spearheaded by George Steinbrenner’s granddaughter Haley Swindal, with Neil Patrick Harris, Austin Scott and Julianne Hough recently announced to star.
The new reimagining of the classic show most recently played a sold-out engagement at Washington’s Arena Stage and earned 13 Helen Hayes Award nominations, winning 8 awards including Best Musical.
Howard and Karen Baldwin have spent decades working across entertainment and professional sports, with producing credits including the Academy Award Nominated film Ray, Sahara, Mystery, Alaska, Sudden Death, Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story, Swimming Upstream and The Game of Their Lives among others.
Slater brings more than two decades of experience across film financing, producing, content rights, and worldwide distribution, with his 150 motion picture credits including recent productions The Optimist, Bella, and Lunar Colony.
“Collectively we have made films in all genres and budget ranges for the major studios and independently, and been nominated and won top awards,” said Howard Baldwin.
“Independent filmmaking has traditionally required producers to reinvent the wheel every time they make a movie. This fund gives us an opportunity to build something more sustainable: a home for commercial projects we believe in and a pipeline for getting those stories made.”
Slater emphasized that the partnership is intended to be more than a financing vehicle.
“The objective isn’t simply to finance and develop movies and television series. It’s to build a disciplined investment platform and content focused multimedia company around an experienced producing operation,” he said.
“A slate provides diversification, while HKT provides the development, packaging and production infrastructure necessary to turn that capital into finished entertainment be it movies, television, digital, podcast or some other form of entertainment.”
Thessalon First Nation said in a statement that it sees the partnership as an opportunity to participate directly in the global entertainment business alongside an experienced Hollywood producing and financing team.
“Just as importantly, the values behind HKT’s projects – perseverance, opportunity and the triumph of the human spirit, resonate strongly with us,” it said.
Karen Baldwin added. “We’ve always believed that the best partnerships begin with shared values… Our partners aren’t simply investing in a collection of films and television, or new media. We’re building a business together. And we want that business to stand for something.”