Ed Snider Goes To Hollywood Spectacor Plans To Make It Big In Tinseltown

LOS ANGELES — Outside are the bright Southern California sun and the sparkling Pacific Ocean. But on this recent afternoon, the action is inside, at the Loews Hotel in Santa Monica.

Here, packs of well-moussed, silk-clad foreign film buyers prowl the hotel's carpeted suites, searching for American movies that will fill the theaters in Italy, Japan and Australia. Of all the Hollywood vendors at this glitzy cinema auction, few will do better than the fledgling Spectacor Films.

Before the day is out, the company will have sold the overseas rights to its recently shot Wedlock, a sci-fi thriller starring Rutger Hauer, Mimi

Rogers and Joan Chen.

"That's over $5 million for the non-U.S. rights," said Michael Jaffe, the company's chief executive. "That's a very, very big number - twice what some credible estimates thought it might be."

But then again, maybe no one should be surprised. For behind Spectacor Films is the same fellow who brought you the Philadelphia Flyers, the Spectrum and the Prism cable channel.

Yes, Ed Snider has gone Hollywood.

Well-known to most Philadelphians, Edward M. Snider is the founder of Spectacor Inc., the sports, entertainment and arena-management firm. His empire spans three continents and generates about $160 million in annual

revenues.

Snider, 58, is attempting to transfer his Midas touch to the ingrown, ephemeral world of moviemaking. As yet, no one has confused his operation with Columbia Pictures or Paramount. But, given his track record, no one is betting against him, either.

"We are not a competitor for the big studios, but in terms of the small independents, we have already established ourselves as a solid entity,"

Snider said in a recent interview. "We're a small company, but we're growing."

To a visitor, Spectacor Films is an intriguing blend of Tinseltown and Philadelphia. Snider's Sunset Boulevard office has a breathtaking view of the palm-lined L.A. skyline. But his Philadelphia roots are on prominent display with photos of the 1973-1974 Stanley Cup Flyers team and the Rocky statue at the Spectrum.

Spectacor Films also displays another hallmark of a Snider company: performance. Since its inception in 1988, the company has issued 16 made-for- television movies, including The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro, On Thin Ice: The Tai Babilonia Story and, most recently, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?