New Sky resurfaces with
new movie in works

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Like the mythical phoenix rising from its ashes, New Sky Communications Inc. has recreated itself and hopes to emerge from years of obscurity.
Nine years after New Sky’s release of the critically praised box-office flop “Lady in White,” the company is returning to the film business with a feature production titled “Syracuse Muse.”
President Carl Reynolds said New Sky is co-producing the film with Syracuse Productions LLP of Auburn.
“We completed principal photography of “Syracuse Muse’ in July and plan to finish postproduction by December,” Reynolds said.
Plans call for entering the film in several festivals in 1998 in an effort to find a distributor.
Since New Sky went public in 1985, the local movie production company has been the subject of criticism from disgruntled investors who have written off the penny stock. The firm’s stock went on the market at 10 cents a share and lately has been trading at 0.6 cents and 0.9 cents a share.
In May 1996, the stock reached 15 cents a share.
“They’re not dead yet; they may be comatose or on life support, but New Sky is not dead,” said Lawrence Burrows, a principal of Brighton Securities Corp.
He noted the company has been filing 10-Q and 10-K forms on a quarterly and annual basis with the Securities and Exchange Commission to detail its financial status. Burrows said that indicates New Sky has future plans since it requires time and money to keep up with SEC filings.
Investors, however, remain skeptical.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize they haven’t done what they promised to do,” said Michael May, a Pittsford investor with approximately 10,000 shares of New Sky. “It surprises me they’re still around.”
May said he has long forgotten about his investment in the stock and considers it a loss.
Another shareholder who did not want to be identified also expressed surprise at the company’s resurgence. This shareholder believes New Sky failed in its duty to investors.
“They made enough money from “Lady in White’ to return the investment, but instead they decided to pay themselves large salaries,” the investor said.
Reynolds received a salary of $73,750 in 1989, the year after “Lady in White” was released. Reynolds also is a practicing attorney in Rochester.
The same year, former New Sky chairman and president Charles LaLoggia was paid $69,160. LaLoggia remains active in the company and is working as a consultant on “Syracuse Muse” in exchange for 20,000 shares of New Sky stock.
Calls to LaLoggia’s office in Rochester were not returned.
Reynolds is putting the past behind New Sky and is looking ahead to new projects. He believes “Syracuse Muse” will do well critically and financially.
The movie stars Steve Zahn (“That Thing You Do,” “Reality Bites”) and Josh Hamilton (“Alive,” “With Honors”). The film’s co-producer, James Daddabbo of Syracuse Productions, describes it as an “American Graffiti” for the 1990s.
Because the movie is dialogue-oriented, Daddabbo said production costs were low by Hollywood standards, running roughly $1 million to date. Like Reynolds, Daddabbo hopes to find a distributor when “Syracuse Muse” is showcased at film festivals.
“We may have only spent $1 million on it, but it looks like we spent five times the money,” Daddabbo said.
If Reynolds has his way, “Syracuse Muse” will be only the first of many films to come. Reynolds said he is still working with Frank LaLoggia, director of “Lady in White” and Charles LaLoggia’s cousin, who was one of the main forces behind New Sky when it went public.
Reynolds said Frank LaLoggia is working on “The Giant,” a biography of Michelangelo. The movie has been in development since 1988 and has faced difficulties in raising funds.
The original cost estimate for “The Giant” was $18 million. Calls to Frank LaLoggia’s office in Agoura, Calif., were not returned.
In its most recent filing with the SEC, New Sky indicated it has interest in other feature films being developed. They are: “The Godmother”; “Somewhere is Calling”; “Cheap Trick”; and “Arrivederci, Venice.”
As of June 30, New Sky showed current cash assets at $1,150. The firm received $5,946 from the Samuel Goldwyn Co. during the quarter for foreign film distribution of “Lady in White.”
According to the report, the company did not receive other funds from its other film investments.
With just a few thousand dollars in the bank, some observers wonder how the latest New Sky production is being financed. Daddabbo said that as executive producers, Reynolds and Charles LaLoggia found financial backers for the project.
In most film production, he said, ideas typically are taken to investors who in turn put up the money for a share of the profits.
What does the new activity at New Sky mean for some 7,500 shareholders who thought their money was gone forever? Thomas Combs, director of over- the-counter trading at Brighton Securities, believes any news on the company is good news for investors.
“It’s hard to predict what the stock will do,” he said. “News of new activity should enhance the stock value.”
Combs added that since there are more than 186 million shares of New Sky, the company might opt to reverse split the shares.