A new TV production company, Ventura Entertainment Group, entered the bidding Thursday for De Laurentiis Entertainment Group Inc., a movie-maker operating under the protection of federal bankruptcy court. Ventura Entertainment announced it had offered $35 million in cash and equity for De Laurentiis, which was founded by Italian filmmaker Dino De Laurentiis. Ventura Entertainment Chairman Harvey Bibicoff refused to disclose how much of the offer was in cash. At least three other entertainment companies have expressed interest in buying the assets of De Laurentiis, whose productions have included a remake of ``King Kong.'' A De Laurentiis spokesman referred questions about the bid to the company's investment banker, Oppenheimer & Co., whose Los Angeles office did not respond to requests for comment Thursday afternoon. Any transaction would require the approval of De Laurentiis creditors and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. De Laurentiis, which lost $478,000 in the second quarter, filed for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal Bankruptcy Code in mid-August. Ventura, an Encino-based public company, was formed six months ago by producer Irwin Meyer, former Columbia Pictures executive Stephen Girard and Bibicoff. Its only finished project is ``International Celebration of the Piano,'' a concert film for television. De Laurentiis' assets include North Carolina Film Studios in Wilmington, N.C., which is rented out for various productions; Onyx Entertainment, which holds the rights to various scripts, and United States rights to show the studio's library of 350 movies, including ``The Graduate'' and ``Carnal Knowledge.'' Other bidders divulged by the company are troubled moviemaker Cannon Group Inc., videodisk producer Image Entertainment Inc. and Atlantic Entertainment Group.
