FilmNation Entertainment, launched by Glen Basner as a foreign sales company, has established a new production arm and set Aaron Ryder to run it, according to Variety.

Ryder, a production exec for Newmarket Films before he formed Raygun Prods., has producing credits that include Memento, Donnie Darko, Whale Rider, Monster, The Prestige, Hamlet 2 and the recently completed Renee Zellweger starrer My One and Only.

Basner formed FilmNation last month with independent financing, after leaving his post as the Weinstein Co. prexy of international last summer.

FilmNation gets started with two projects Ryder has brought with him: The Raven, a Hannah Shakespeare/Ben Livingston-penned thriller set in the last days of Edgar Allan Poe's life, when he gets wrapped up in a serial killer investigation. Ryder originated the project at Endgame, which will co-produce and split the development costs with FilmNation, with Endgame financing production.

The second project is the Matt O'Neil-scripted Bull Rush, which is being co-produced with Newmarket. Newmarket founders Chris Ball and Will Tyrer plan to do several films with FilmNation.

Ryder will open an office in L.A., while Basner opens a permanent headquarters next month in Manhattan's Chelsea area, where he'll run the international side of the business.