Chris Ferguson, Ray Bitar Enter Hollywood Show Business

It was reported by writer Mike Fleming on the website Deadline.com on Thursday that Chris Ferguson and Ray Bitar had entered into a business deal with producer and former River Road Entertainment executive Robin Schorr to create RCR Pictures, a television and film venture. Fleming reports that Schorr spent five years building up funding for the company and spent the past 18 months convincing the former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion and the creator of Full Tilt Poker to enter into the venture. It seems as though her persistence paid off, as Ferguson and Bitar are listed as lead investors in the company.

Schorr has a track record in the Hollywood film industry that gives her credence to be the head of a movie production company. According to the IMDB.com, Schorr has producer credits dating back to 1998. She was the executive producer of the Academy Award nominated documentary “Food, Inc.” and has an announced project for this year called “Blackwell,” a film about investigative journalist Nellie Bly and her work infiltrating a women’s insane asylum.

While there are no reports of what Ferguson and Bitar are investing – Schorr mentions the numbers of “$5 or $10 million” – what is known about RCR Pictures is the planned first venture. Fleming reports that the first project for RCR Pictures will be a remake of an old Steve McQueen western, 1966’s “Nevada Smith.” According to the story at Deadline.com, the film will be updated to contemporary times and McQueen’s character will seek revenge against three criminal organizations that have wiped out his family instead of finding three men who killed his family. Writer Jamie Linden, who recently adapted Nicholas Sparks novel “Dear John” for the silver screen, is penning the film.

The Deadline article mentions that Schorr’s father, Len Kleinrock, is a former computer science professor at UCLA who had a hand in creating the first transmitted messages via computers over a telephone line. Kleinrock was the faculty advisor to the young Ferguson when he was in pursuit of his Ph.D. from UCLA, which he received the year prior to his WSOP Main Event victory.

Many in both the film world and the poker community have commented on the new venture for Ferguson and Bitar. At Deadline.com, a poster identified as “Martin Navis” commented, “I know Robin and have worked with her in the past. The absolute best. Smart, nurturing, and a straight shooter with great taste. I wish her all the best.”

TwoPlusTwo forum posters have been on top of the new business deal with biting reactions. “Can you produce movies from prison,” queried poster “Atropa Komarovii” in reference to the recent legal issues that have arisen around the members of Full Tilt Poker. Another poster named “idmtchris” had some venom in his keyboard when he wrote, “It will be at least 5 years before this thing gets to court, plenty of time to spend his money on making movies since he hardly plays poker. Well, to be fair, he sits at poker tables, just does not play any hands.”

Whether those in the film or poker worlds like it or not, the new business venture begs the question, with Ferguson and Bitar joining forces with the Hollywood establishment, could there be a poker film in the works? Deadline.com quotes Schorr as saying, “Yes, I would love to [make] a poker movie.”