Coppola, Henson companies get loans for winery, puppetry

LOS ANGELES » From a godfather of cinema to Kermit the Frog, the U.S. government’s small-business lending program sent money into unexpected corners of the entertainment industry.

While legendary names like Francis Ford Coppola and Jim Henson hardly evoke the image of “small” business, the leaders of modestly sized companies that bear their names say the funds have been essential to keeping ordinary workers afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

Francis Ford Coppola Presents, the broader brand of the director of “The Godfather” films and “Apocalypse Now,” received a loan of between $5 million and $10 million to help keep 469 people employed, according to data released Monday by Treasury Department on the Payroll Protection Program.

The money went to pay workers for 24 weeks at Coppola’s winery, including some 200 hospitality employees who staff its restaurant, pools, movie gallery and bocce court, which spent months shut down, though the vineyard kept producing wine.

“I do feel very strongly about this program,” the winery’s CEO Corey Beck said. “For us, our first and main focus was to make sure that we could keep them on the payroll with benefits even though we were closed. Here’s something that’s available to us, potentially a 1% loan, let’s take advantage of it.”

Beck said leaders have been encouraging employees to get creative in the downtime.

“Like our bartenders, we’re telling them, ‘Come up with some fun new drinks,’ trying to help our business rethink how we do things.”

Beck did not give a specific figure but said the loan was about halfway between the $5 million to $10 million range in the released data.

The business was one of several dozen California wineries approved for loans under the program, according to Treasury data, including one partly owned by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The Jim Henson Co., founded by the late creator of the Muppets, director of “The Dark Crystal and “Labyrinth,” and puppeteer of Kermit the Frog, also received funding from the program to stay afloat.

While its brand has been wildly famous for decades, the company said its shop is more small and artisanal than its big name.

The Jim Henson Co. employs about 75 people, company spokeswoman Nicole Goldman said in a statement. “Thanks to the approximate $2 million dollar PPP loan we received, we have been

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS From left, Khloe Kardashian, Channing Tatum, Kanye West and Reese Witherspoon are among the celebrities who received small business assistance loans from the government. Witherspoon’s clothing brand Draper James, along with those of other celebrities including Kanye West and Khloe Kardashian, was approved for between $350,000 and $1 million under the fund, helping it to keep 44 people employed. Tatum’s New Orleans restaurant, Saints and Sinners, was approved for between $150,000 and $350,000 toward its 27 workers.