Winchester closes tentpole co-fi deal

Winchester Capital has closed a more than $100 million deal to co-finance three tentpoles, including Sony's "The Smurfs" and "Men in Black 3" and "The Adventures of Tintin," which the studio is co-financing with distributor Paramount. Variety first reported June 2 that Winchester was in talks to finance those three titles through its Hemisphere fund. The funding is an "ultimates" deal, whereby Winchester is betting on the long-haul performance of the movies across all platforms. In such a structure, the amount of Winchester's investment will depend on the pics' early box office perfs -- if all goes well, funding could reach $150 million. Winchester launched its Hemisphere fund last year to co-finance several blockbusters, including as much as $400 million for up to 10 pics over four years at various studios. Thursday's deal came under a tight deadline, as "Smurfs" opens today. Contact Rachel Abrams at Rachel.Abrams@variety.com

Going By the Book

Jeong Do-man is a low-ranking traffic cop whose tendency to do things "by the book" sometimes gets him in trouble, such as when he pulls over his new boss, newly instated police chief Lee Seung-man, and issues him with a traffic ticket. Though surprised and annoyed by the unexpected fine, the police chief has bigger problems; the town of Sampo has been hit by a string of bank robberies, and to reassure the public he decides to carry out a realistic drill which will demonstrate the police force's capability. Do-man is chosen to act out the part of the bank robber, but with his usual fastidious attention to detail he sets out to commit the perfect crime.