Independent movie producer Odyssey Entertainment and industry...

Independent movie producer Odyssey Entertainment and industry major Universal Pictures agreed to co-finance production and marketing costs of up to nine films in a three-year period. Universal, a unit of MCA Inc., is to handle all domestic distribution of the pictures, which are to be produced for $4 million to $8 million each--well below the industry average. Odyssey last year made one picture, “Memories of Me,” financed and distributed by MGM/UA Communications. MGM/UA recently took a writeoff on the film’s poor box-office performance. The picture starred Alan King, a founder and director of publicly traded Odyssey, which also distributes films in foreign markets and makes television ads.