Wednesday April 30, 2008
PROJECTS ANNOUNCED
-
United Artists and Lakeshore Entertainment have set “24″ co-creator-exec producer Joel Surnow to develop a contemporary spy thriller that will be directed by “Casino Royale” helmer Martin Campbell. Surnow will write the film with Michael Loceff, a “24″ co-exec producer. Lakeshore’s Gary Lucchesi and Tom Rosenberg will produce.
-
Paramount Pictures and Plan B have acquired pic rights to the David Sheff memoir “Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction” and the Nic Sheff memoir “Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines.” Studio and producer will use the recently published books to frame a movie about drug addiction from the perspective of a young meth addict and the father who finds himself helpless to stop his son’s downward spiral. Both Sheff books were published in February and became bestsellers. Houghton Mifflin’s “Beautiful Boy” is being sold in Starbucks locations around the country as part of the Starbucks Select book series. The movie will be produced in association with Starbucks.
-
Killer Films has struck a three-pic development deal with Arcady Bay Entertainment, the writing and producing trio behind Disney’s “Bridge to Terabithia.” First-look deal jumpstarts with an adaptation of “The Great Gilly Hopkins,” based on another award-winning young adult novel from “Terabithia” author Katherine Paterson. Story revolves around Gilly, an unruly 11-year-old girl bounced between foster families until she lands with the kooky Trotters, an experience that eventually allows Gilly to make peace with her past. The live-actioner was adapted by Paterson’s son, screenwriter David Paterson. Producers are in talks for funding, with shooting anticipated to begin in the fall. Budget expected to fall in the $8 million-$10 million range. Joining Killer will be exec producer John Wells. Founded this year, Arcady Bay Entertainment focuses on entertainment content for children and families and is headed by Katherine and David Paterson.
-
Lionsgate is launching development of crime thriller “Pencilneck,” setting up the indie comicbook miniseries with Chris Bender and JC Spink at their Benderspink shingle. “Pencilneck” centers on a mild-mannered banker who, in order to save his criminal brother, is forced by the mob to help them rob his employer. When the heist goes awry and the banker is taken hostage, he snaps and goes on a rampage. Benderspink recently acquired the rights to “Pencilneck,” created by Victor Carungi and published by his own Paper Street Comics. The shingle’s developing several comics-based projects, including “Y: The Last Man” at New Line. It most recently set up sci-fi thriller “Arena” at Summit.
PROJECT UPDATES
-
Demian Lichtenstein is set to direct 3-D action feature “Relentless” for Baldwin Entertainment, with London-based Velvet Octopus handling international sales. The $25 million movie will star Kiwi actor Karl Urban. It will shoot this September in Puerto Rico, produced by Eric Mitchell. It’s the story of four extreme sports professionals who survive a plane crash in the Amazon jungle, and must use all their survival instincts as they are hunted by a group of homicidal natives. Lichtenstein, best known for directing “3000 Miles to Graceland,” has been shadowing James Cameron on “Avatar,” and has been trained in 3-D techniques by James Mainard and Phil McNally of DreamWorks.
ACQUISITIONS/ FESTIVAL NEWS
-
IFC has picked up all North American rights to “La habitacion de Fermat” (Fermat’s Room) after its screening this week in the Tribeca Festival Discovery Section. The directorial debut from Spain’s Luis Piedrahita and Rodrigo Sopena is a shrinking-room thriller that has four mathematicians forced to solve number-crunching problems to save their lives. Pic’s cast includes Argentina’s Federico Luppi. The Spanish-language pic will be released this summer on IFC’s Festival Direct VOD platform, which cherry-picks fest titles. Preeming at last October’s Sitges Festival, “Room” took the Melies d’Argent at Portugal’s Fantasporto this year. Produced by Notro Films, part of Spain’s Vertice Group, it has now been sold to more than 20 territories.
BUSINESS NEWS
-
After a year of wooing the industry and the press with positive words and big predictions, Jeffrey Katzenberg let out his frustration with the slow pace of the digital cinema rollout for the first time during DreamWorks Animation’s earnings call Tuesday. Tensions are simmering on both sides of the issue, as the major studios and the top three circuits try to hammer out the size of the “virtual print fee” that studios will pay to distribute their pics digitally, which would be used to defray the costs of digital projector installations.
- A consortium formed by Regal, Cinemark and AMC to help with the digital transition is in the midst of trying to secure a $1.1 billion line of credit that theater owners can use to convert screens to digital. The virtual print fee agreement needs to be in place before the financing can be secured. Another round of talks is expected in the next two weeks. The DreamWorks Animation CEO said his goal has always been to have 5,000 screens deployed by March, so that his studio’s “Monsters vs. Aliens” can be released nationwide in digital 3-D, but that the chances of that happening are dimming. Several big films are counting on a broad digital 3-D rollout next year, including “Monsters,” James Cameron’s “Avatar” and toon “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” from Fox; Disney/Pixar’s “Up”; and the Mouse House’s “A Christmas Carol.” Currently, there are fewer than 1,000 digital screens in the U.S.
STRIKE NEWS/ LABOR ISSUES
-
In a development that will amp up strike fears, hopes for a SAG deal with the majors this week have nearly vanished. With a dozen days of negotiations in the book, progress remains negligible, although both sides have adhered to an unofficial news blackout with no public disclosure on the substance of talks on SAG’s feature-primetime deal. But privately, the congloms have been feeling increasingly frustrated over SAG’s refusal to budge significantly from its initial proposals — particularly after the companies asked for an extra week to close the “significant gaps” in positions before turning to AFTRA’s primetime deal on Monday for the next two weeks. SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers will resume talks at 10 a.m. today at the AMPTP’s headquarters in Encino. The current round of negotiations is set to conclude Friday. SAG’s contract expires June 30. It hasn’t yet asked its 120,000 members for a strike authorization.
INDUSTRY MOVES
-
Paramount has upped its top promo-partner wrangler, LeeAnne Stables, to exec VP of worldwide marketing partnerships. Stables will continue to oversee global marketing alliances for studio films released through Paramount, DreamWorks and the MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies banners. Stables was most recently senior VP, worldwide marketing partnerships, since 2005.
TECHNOLOGY/ MULT-PLATFORM CONTENT
-
Shochiku will bow Shochiku Online, a streaming service for its pics, on May 21. Users will be able to view one pic for seven days for ¥367 ($3.54) or take out a monthly subscription for $10.14. The site will be operated by Shochiku subsid Eisei Gekijo (Satellite Theater), with an initial target of 100,000 subscribers. Shochiku will launch the service with 100 pics, including classics from auteurs Yasujiro Ozu and Keisuke Kinoshita and its 48-episode “Tora-san” series, about a wandering peddler who is forever falling in love. It will add 10-20 titles monthly and will be streaming 200 titles by the end of its first year. Shochiku has been webcasting its contents on its Cinelier site in cooperation with Showtime and other partners since 2006.
- PR Firm Edelman unveiled the Edelman Studios at the Tribeca Film Festival yesterday, a virtual talent agency/studio designed to develop TV shows, shorts, web series and feature films. Edelman clients Burger King, Butterball, Expedia and Kraft’s Philadelphia Cream Cheese have signed on to sponsor an initial wave of “studio assignments” that may turn into multiplatform projects.
- Voom HD Networks struck a deal with Amazon.com to begin offering home video titles of its original series and programs on the site beginning this summer. Nearly 50 titles from Voom’s Rush HD, Treasure HD, Gallery HD, Ultra HD, WorldSport HD, Gameplay HD and Equator HD channels will be available.
WEBSITES TO WATCH
www.meevee.com
TV discovery site MeeVee is one of the most beautifully designed entertainment listings interfaces we’ve found, making it simple to search for, track and manage TV content on multiple platforms. It will reach a milestone of 2 million unique users this month (according to ComScore data). The Burlingame, CA start-up is getting traction with UGC, community features and “interest channels” around specific shows, as fans of a show tell others about the site, and so on and so on. MeeVee, rumored to be in acquisition talks with several suitors, has done a great job of adding these social networking features without overshadowing its core competency.
SOURCES:
Tuesday April 29, 2008
PROJECTS ANNOUNCED
- Steven Soderbergh will direct “The Girlfriend Experience,” a feature that focuses on the world of prostitution from the vantage point of a $10,000-a-night call girl. Brian Koppelman and David Levien will write; the pair hatched the project when they and Soderbergh were working on “Ocean’s Thirteen.” Pic will be financed by 2929 Entertainment partners Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner through their HDNet label. It will become the second film — after “Bubble” — in the six-picture pact they made for Soderbergh to direct low-budget films that get distributed simultaneously in theatrical, on cable TV and on DVD. Greg Jacobs (“The Good German”) will produce.
- Columbia Pictures has picked up Scott Rothman’s spec “Dumped” for low six figures. Michael DeLuca is producing through his Sony-based shingle. Story revolves around two lifelong friends who experience a difficult “breakup” after one suddenly embraces adulthood while the other refuses to let go of his careless bachelor lifestyle. Rothman previously sold the spec “Fratboy” to Warner Independent with David Dobkin and Mike Karz producing. He is repped by CAA and Benderspink
- Essential Entertainment is financing a bigscreen version of Tom Wolfe’s “I Am Charlotte Simmons,” with Liz Friedlander (“Take the Lead”) attached to direct from John Watson’s script. It’s the first time Wolfe has allowed one of his novels to be optioned for a feature since “The Bonfire of the Vanities” in 1987. The author also optioned “A Man in Full” to NBC. Trilogy Entertainment Group will produce in association with Syntax; Essential exec produces. Watson, Pen Densham and Neil Kaplan will produce, with Chris Law and Essential’s Jere Hausfater exec producing. “I Am Charlotte Simmons” centers on an Ivy League student who must undergo her first substantial disillusionment and betrayal after she lands in an unforgiving world. CAA repped the book rights
PROJECT UPDATES
- Mel Gibson has committed to star in “Edge of Darkness,” marking his first starring role in a feature film since he headlined “Signs” and “We Were Soldiers” in 2002. Martin Campbell will direct the feature adaptation of the six-hour 1985 BBC miniseries, which Campbell also helmed. William Monahan wrote the script, and Graham King is producing through his GK Films banner. Michael Wearing, who produced the original, will also produce, and the BBC will be involved in a producing capacity
- South Korean dance group the Gambler will star in Paramount’s dance movie “Hype Nation,” having teamed up with U.S. music producer and rapper Teddy Riley. In the $25 million picture being produced by Young Film, Riley plays a music director. Helmed by Alex Calzatti (“I Am Cuba”), pic follows dance battles between the American R&B group B2K and Korean group the Gambler. Production begins in the U.S. July 15 with some 40% lensing Stateside and 60% to be shot in South Korea
ACQUISITIONS/ FESTIVAL NEWS
- Magnolia Pictures has scooped up North American rights to Trygve Allister Diesen and Lucky McKee’s thriller “Red.” Screenplay by Stephen Susco is based on Jack Ketchum’s novel of the same name. A Sundance 2008 preem, revenge drama stars Brian Cox and Tom Sizemore and features Robert Englund and Amanda Plummer. Project was initiated by McKee (“The Woods”) and finished by Diesen.Tale of retribution begins with the search of an elderly man (Cox) for justice when his dog is murdered, ultimately leading to a series of unsavory and violent events. Magnolia plans exclusive HDNet Ultra VOD airings, with a late summer theatrical rollout to follow. Drama will screen in the Cannes market, with international rights still up for grabs
- “Shaolin Girl,” the actioner helmed by Katsuyuki Motohiro (“Bayside Shakedown” series), has sold to major Asian territories prior to its market bow at Cannes, producer Fuji TV said Monday. Gaga Communications, which is repping the pic worldwide, has closed deals with Edko Films for Hong Kong; San-Byte Hong Kong for Taiwan; Festive Films for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei; and Sahamongkol Film Intl. for Thailand. Exec produced by Chihiro Kameyama of Fuji TV and Stephen Chow, pic is a follow-up to Chow’s 2001 smash “Shaolin Soccer.” It stars Kou Shibasaki as a woman trained in Shaolin kung fu who returns to Japan to revive her beloved grandfather’s defunct martial arts school
BUSINESS NEWS
- Warner Bros. has set “Saas bahu aur Sensex” as its first Indian movie for local distribution. The urban comedy about housewife day traders (Sensex is a share index relating to the Bombay Stock Exchange) and other unlikely stock market investors is set for release Sept. 12. Warner last year announced production of big-budget pic “Chandni Chowk to China” (“Made in China” ) in a deal with Ramesh Sippy Prods. and Orion Pictures. That film will be released during the Diwali holiday period in October. “Saas bahu aur Sensex” is produced by PLA Entertainment and was helmed by Shona Urvashi (“Chupke se”). It stars vets Kirron Kher, Lillette Dubey and Farooq Shaikh alongside relative newcomers Ankur Khanna, Tanushree Dutta and Masumeh Makhija. Warner is expanding its range of approaches to India’s movie market. Earlier this month the U.S. studio announced that it had pacted with Chennai-based Ocher Studios to make films in regional languages (Ocher is a visual-effects company run by Tamil superstar Rajnikanth’s daughter that’s now expanding into production). Titles and schedules were not disclosed, but the companies said they will produce in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam
INDUSTRY MOVES
- Lionsgate named former CinemaNow CEO Curt Marvis as President of Digital Media, reports THR, a newly created position. He will oversee digital distribution for all Lionsgate divisions including home entertainment, TV, film and music as well as the company’s stakes in Break.com, FearNet and the new premium movie service announced last week with Viacom and MGM
STRIKE NEWS/ LABOR ISSUE
- With Hollywood still unnerved about an actors strike, progress has remained elusive as negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild and the majors move into their third week. Neither side has yet made a major move that would signal the start of the give-and-take bargaining that would break the logjam and result in a new feature-primetime deal this week. But some cautious optimism persists that SAG and the AMPTP can still reach an agreement over the next few sessions. The key problem that’s emerged is that negotiators have been devoting nearly all their time to slowly hammering out terms in new media — covering such areas as residual rates for ad-supported streaming, the length of promotional windows under which shows can be streamed without paying residuals and the rate paid for downloads. But that’s meant there’s been virtually no discussion about SAG’s proposals for a boost in DVD residuals – a non-starter for the AMPTP – along with the guild’s demand for increased pay rates for middle-income actors. Resolving those demands to SAG’s satisfaction may take more than just this week. Following a weekend recess, talks resumed at mid-day Monday at the headquarters of the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers in Encino with no official word as to specifics
TECHNOLOGY/ MULT-PLATFORM CONTEN
- Online video start-ups raised a healthy $461 million in financing in 2007, according DowJones VentureSource data sources by NewTeeVee. That’s up from $266.9 million invested in the category in 2006. Look for that benchmark to be surpassed this year as $217.3 million was raised by video start-ups during the first quarter of 2008 alone
- AOL acquired Fantasy Football site FleaFlicker.com for an undisclosed amount, one of the more popular independently owned fantasy sites which powers The Washington Post’s fantasy football leagues. Redesigned news, sports and health categories helped AOL grow its unique user base by 15% to 26.5 million visitors in March, according to comScore numbers sources by WSJ
WEBSITES TO WATCH
www.PluggedIn.com
In an era where music television networks’ airtime seems to be filled with more reality shows than music programming, it may seem that the music video is losing relevance. Fortunately, such is not the case, with the online world offering an all access network to an art form that’s actually more current than ever. This new site, backed by Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment, is positioning itself as the definitive portal for high-definition music videos. While videos are the main focus of the site, each artist’s page also pulls media from across the web, including Wikipedia, YouTube, MySpace, and blogs; and naturally, there is also a social network functionality making the site the ultimate fan forum.
www.Futurenatural.com
Earth Day may have been yesterday, but we’re trying to incorporate green practices into every day. Next time you pick up a bar of soap, bottle of lotion, or tube of lipstick, consider a more natural version instead. This new website offers natural and organic beauty and healthcare products from around the world. In addition to providing a vast and exotic selection of earth-friendly personal care items for men, women and children, the site also offers detailed information on each brand, including brand history, product ingredients and the reason (or reasons) why it’s legitimately deemed earth-friendly. Those with trouble deciphering eco-speak will appreciate the site’s extensive ingredient glossary.
SOURCES:
www.variety.com
www.hollywoodreporter.com
www.cynopsis.com
Monday April 28, 2008
BOX OFFICE
Weekend Estimate
April 25, 2008 - April 27, 2008 (*millions)
FILM
GROSS
1
Baby Mama
$18,271,455
2
Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanamo
$14,570,000
3
Forbidden Kingdom, The
$11,230,000
4
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
$11,014,065
5
Nim’s Island
$4,525,000
6
Prom Night
$4,400,000
7
21
$4,000,000
8
88 Minutes
$3,600,000
9
Horton Hears A Who
$2,410,000
10
Deception
$2,225,000
FILM
GROSS
1
Baby Mama
$18,271,455
2
Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanamo
$14,570,000
3
Forbidden Kingdom, The
$11,230,000
4
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
$11,014,065
5
Nim’s Island
$4,525,000
6
Prom Night
$4,400,000
7
21
$4,000,000
8
88 Minutes
$3,600,000
9
Horton Hears A Who
$2,410,000
10
Deception
$2,225,000
-
Universal’s Tina Fey-Amy Poehler comedy “Baby Mama” was easily the No. 1 movie of the weekend, grossing an estimated $18.3 million from 2,543 theaters and giving the studio its first top opener of the year. Chick flick had no problem reaching its intended demo; a whopping 68% of the aud was female. Comedy overall was the success story of the frame, fueling a box office rebound just as summer tentpoles prepare to open. Weekend grosses were up a sizable 17.2% over the same sesh last year. New Line/Warner Bros.’ R-rated stoner sequel “Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay” came in No. 2, grossing an estimated $14.6 million from 2,510 theaters on the strength of young men. U’s raunchy R-rated laffer “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” declined just 38% in its soph sesh to an estimated $11 million from 2,799; cume is $35 million. Lionsgate’s Jet Li-Jackie Chan adventure-fantasy “Forbidden Kingdom” remained a worthy contender in its second sesh, narrowly edging out “Sarah Marshall” to take the No. 3 spot for the weekend. “Kingdom,” produced by Casey Silver and financed by Relativity Media, declined 48% in its second sesh to an estimated $11.2 million from 3,151. Cume for the movie that marks the first appearance of Li and Chan together on the bigscreen is $38.2 million. “Forbidden Kingdom” and the Judd Apatow-produced “Sarah Marshall,” which placed No. 4, could switch places on the B.O. chart when final weekend numbers are posted today. The weekend’s other new wide release, “Deception,” fared dismally. Produced by Arnold Rifkin and distributed by 20th Century Fox, the Hugh Jackman-Ewan McGregor thriller grossed a meager $2.2 million from 2,001 runs to place No. 10. “Baby Mama,” rated PG-13 and also starring Greg Kinnear, scored the second-best opening for a romantic comedy in April after “13 Going on 30,” underscoring the popularity of Fey and Poehler, who worked together on “Saturday Night Live.” “Baby Mama,” about the politics of surrogate motherhood and the maternal urge, is only the second live-action studio pic that Fey has starred in, after “Mean Girls,” which she also penned. Michael McCullers wrote and directed “Baby Mama.” Both younger and older females turned out, with 45% of the audience under age 25. Pic cost $30 million to produce. “American Gangster,” released in November, was the last Universal movie to open at No. 1. It is unusual for a studio to open two comedies back to back. U said the drop of 38% for “Sarah Marshall” shows that it wasn’t hurt by the entry of “Baby Mama” or vice versa. “Sarah Marshall” appealed to men more than “Baby Mama.” Among Apatow’s raunchy romantic comedies, “Sarah Marshall” had a better hold than “Superbad,” which declined 45% in its second weekend last summer, and was down only slightly more than “Knocked Up,” which declined 36% in its soph sesh last summer. “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” declined only 24%. But studio execs elsewhere say it’s anyone’s guess as to how much more B.O. biz “Sarah Marshall” or “Baby Mama” might be doing if they were playing solo on the marquee. On May 2, Sony bows romantic comedy “Made for Honor” in a counter-programming move against Paramount summer tentpole “Iron Man,” creating even more competish for female eyeballs. While “Baby Mama” got the women, “Harold & Kumar” worked magic with younger males. Men 18-35 made up 65% of the pic’s aud. Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg wrote and directed, while John Cho and Kal Penn starred. Sequel is destined to outpace the domestic B.O. performance of “Harold & Kumar go to White Castle,” which cumed roughly $18 million. “White Castle,” however, went on to become a sleeper hit on DVD, prompting New Line to pursue a second installment. “Guantanamo Bay,” which cost $12 million to produce, is the first New Line title distributed by Warner Bros. since New Line was disbanded as a studio and made a label within the Warners empire. Twentieth Century Fox senior VP of distribution Bert Livingston said the studio was disappointed in the results for “Deception.” Pic also stars Michelle Williams. On the specialty side, Samuel Goldwyn Films’ French drama “Roman de gare” scored a per-screen average of $12,773, grossing an estimated $25,454 from two locations in Gotham and L.A. ThinkFilm’s dramedy “Then She Found Me,” directed by and starring Helen Hunt, posted a per-screen average of $8,226 in grossing an estimated $74,395 from nine theaters in L.A. and Gotham. Errol Morris’ docu “Standard Operating Procedure,” about the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, grossed an estimated $14,916 from two theaters for a per-screen average of $7,458. Overture holdover “The Visitor” continued to play strongly as it expanded to 76 theaters, grossing an estimated $508,000 for a per-screen average of $6,684. Pic showed a 100% Friday-to-Saturday increase.
PROJECTS ANNOUNCED
-
Summit Entertainment has snapped up sci-fi action thriller “Arena,” penned by tyro scribes Toby Wagstaff and Darren Howell. Benderspink, along with the writers’ manager, Jim Thompson, set up the project. Story centers on a group of modern-day soldiers who are mysteriously transported from the thick of battle to a terrain-shifting landscape where they must fight the best warriors of all different eras and histories in a gladiatorial fight to the death — or be killed by the all-powerful operators of the “Arena.” Project is the second set up by Benderspink at Summit, where the shingle’s also producing the comedy “Sensei.” Benderspink’s also set up several projects in the wake of the WGA strike’s end including “Shell Game,” “Leap Year,” “Emma,” “Cutlass Islands” and “Spydust.” Thompson most recently produced “War” and the hip-hop documentary “Diamonds in the Rough.”
-
Grosvenor Park has come on board to finance an untitled project from writer-director team Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (“Meet the Spartans”). Friedberg and Seltzer are directing from their script. The pic’s produced by Peter Safran, Friedberg and Seltzer with shooting starting today in Shreveport, La. Lionsgate will release the pic domestically Aug. 29. Cast includes Matt Lanter, Vanessa Minnillo, Carmen Electra, Kim Kardashian, G-Thang, Nicole Parker, Crista Flanagan and Ike Barinholtz. In addition to “Meet the Spartans,” Friedberg and Seltzer wrote and directed “Epic Movie” and “Date Movie” and co-wrote “Scary Movie.” Alliance Films will distribute in Canada, the U.K., Spain, Italy and Scandinavia. Grosvenor Park recently provided financing for the Ed Zwick film “Defiance,” with Par Vantage releasing domestically in the fall.
-
Mike Judge will direct and Jason Bateman will star in the comedy “Extract,” the first project to be produced under Judge’s new shingle, Ternion Prods., which he formed with writer-producers John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky. Ternion is fully financed to develop film, TV, digital and new-media projects through a finance and development deal with Media Rights Capital. The shingle will also produce films and TV projects through the traditional studio and network route. Penned by Judge, “Extract” explores what it’s like to be the boss when everything seems to be shifting around you. Miramax will distribute in North America. Altschuler is producing alongside Michael Rotenberg. Tom Lassally and Krinsky exec produce. Ternion is bringing its first series to the smallscreen under its deal with MRC. “The Goode Family,” which will air on ABC, was created by Altschuler, Judge and Krinsky, who are also exec producing along with Rotenberg and Lassally. The series is currently in production on its first 13 episodes and will bow in the first quarter of 2009. MRC has also preemptively acquired Altschuler and Krinsky’s spec film script “Brigadier Gerard.” Comedy is set in the Napoleonic era and is based on a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle. Ternion is attaching a director to shoot in 2009. Judge, who wrote and directed “Office Space,” is the creator of “Beavis and Butthead” and “King of the Hill,” which he produced with Altschuler and Krinsky. Altschuler and Krinsky wrote “Blades of Glory” and are penning “Brothers of Invention” in addition to finishing work on “The Jetsons.” Bateman next will be seen in “Hancock” alongside Will Smith and in the Kevin MacDonald-helmed political drama “State of Play.”
ACQUISITIONS/ FESTIVAL NEWS
-
Geoffrey Smith’s “The English Surgeon” and Isabelle Lavigne and Stephane Thibault’s “Junior” nabbed the Hot Docs Festival’s top prizes in Toronto on Friday night, which saw 10 awards and C$30,000 ($29,600) presented. “Surgeon,” aired by the BBC but attracting theatrical interest outside the U.K., picked up the Intl. Feature award. It follows Brit brain surgeon Henry Marsh on one of his regular visits to Kiev to aid a struggling colleague. Best Canadian feature winner “Junior”– about young hockey players — was cited by the Canadian feature jury as “a truly authentic drama that penetrates the lives of small town icons.” Bulgaria’s Boris Despodov picked up the new HBO Documentary Film Emerging Artist Award, given to a first-time director of a feature-length documentary in fest’s Intl. Spectrum program, for “Corridor #8,” about a misguided project in southeastern Europe. The special jury prize for international feature doc went to Tamar Yarom’s “To See if I’m Smiling” (Israel) about female Israeli soldiers. Special jury prize for Canuck feature went to “FlicKeR,” Nik Sheehan’s pic on artist Brion Gysin and the influence of his dream machine. “The Apology Line,” directed by Brit James Lees won honors for short documentary (up to 29 minutes), while best mid-length documentary (30-59 minutes) went to “It’s Always Late for Freedom,” which screened in the fest’s Spotlight on Iran program. Veteran director and cinematographer Richard Leacock took the outstanding achievement award, while the Don Haig Award, which recognizes a Canadian director whose work bridges fiction and non-fiction genres, went to Yung Chang, director of Canuck box-office hit “Up the Yangtze.” Toronto-based Elizabeth Lazebnik received the Lindalee Tracey Award given annually to a filmmaker who is informed by a sense of social justice and personal viewpoint. More awards will be unveiled on Monday.
-
Foreign sales company Fortissimo Films has picked up int’l rights to Brillante Mendoza’s “Serbis” (Service.) Pic will play in competition in Cannes next month and is the first from the Philippines to be selected in 24 years. Pic is set in and around a clapped-out movie theater and involves multiple, criss-crossing stories about a matriarchal Filipino family. It was produced by Ferdinand Lapuz of Mendoza’s Centerstage Productions with executive production by French distributor Didier Costet of Swift Productions. Swift has distribution rights in France. Mendoza’s first film “The Masseur” shared a Golden Leopard at the 2005 Locarno fest. The Helmer followed up last year with “Slingshot” which was presented in Berlin and “Foster Child” which appeared in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight section. The pickup is Hong Kong- and Amsterdam-based Fortissimo’s third movie in Cannes’ Official Selection. Company is also repping Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Tokyo Sonata” in Un Certain Regard and Wong Kar-wai’s “Ashes of Time Redux,” which is headed for a special screening.
BUSINESS NEWS
-
With tentpole season about to start, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” topped the mildest frame of the year at the foreign box office, with $7 million at 1,000 playdates, edging out “21″ and “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” Overall international moviegoing saw a double whammy — a lack of launches other than a few targeted markets plus warm temps in Europe. But at least the former will change this week with the worldwide opening of Marvel’s “Iron Man,” starting with France, Italy and South Korea on Wednesday followed by virtually every other major market Thursday and Friday. “Iron Man,” handled by Paramount in most markets, is expected to energize foreign biz. And the rest of May should see robust results from day-and-date launches for Warner Bros.’ “Speed Racer” on the second weekend in May, Disney’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” on the month’s third frame and Par’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” on the fourth. In the meantime, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” launched impressively in the U.K. in first with $4.1 million at 393 for a 26% market share and the best Brit debut of any Judd Apatow pic. The raunchy laffer grossed more than double its nearest rival, the opening of “The Eye.” “Sarah” also showed impressive traction in its Australian soph sesh with a decline of only 7% to $1.6 million. It will avoid going head to head with next month’s tentpoles and won’t go into most major Euro markets until June. Sony’s “21,” which edged “Horton Hears a Who!” last weekend, took in $6.2 million at 1,775, mostly in holdover biz, such as $1.06 million from its third Brit frame to push its foreign cume to $30.7 million in 28 markets. The only launches for the gambling thriller came in the UAE with $250,000 and Venezuela with $145,000. Fox’s “Horton,” which has topped studio expectations, also grossed $6.2 million, at 5,100 in 45 markets, led by its fourth French frame of $1.8 million. Though the big-hearted pachyderm was previously unknown outside the U.S., the CG toon’s been a family fave overseas with a $127.2 million cume — $20 million short of the domestic take — and a South Korean launch coming next weekend. Fox’s “Street Kings” shot down $6.1 million at 2,650 in 45 territories, led by its Spanish opening of $1.06 million as it battled “Fool’s Gold” for first. “Kings” has a foreign cume of $19.9 million — $4 million short of the Stateside take. Warner’s “Fool’s Gold” grabbed enough coin to finish with $5.1 million at 1,600 in 40 markets including modest launches in Germany with $962,000 for second place and Italy with $668,000. “Gold,” which opens this week in France, looks unlikely to see overseas grosses match its $69 million domestic take. Par’s “The Spiderwick Chronicles” led the rest of the pack with $4.4 million at 2,796 in 64 markets, paced by a moderate $1 million Japanese launch and a $1 million French second frame. “Spiderwick” has cumed $81 million overseas, $11 million ahead of the domestic total in a demonstration of the popularity of fantasy fare in foreign markets. French heist comedy “Cash” opened respectably with about $4 million at 522. Mega-hit “Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis” grossed $3.4 million at 850 in its ninth frame for a total of $195 million in France alone. In Germany and Austria, the second frame of Disney’s local drama “Sommer” led with $1.4 million. “Meet the Spartans” remained a decent overseas performer for Fox, with $3.2 million at 700, mostly from a first-place Italian launch of $2.3 million. “Spartans” has cumed $42.8 million offshore, $4 million ahead of the domestic total. The frame also saw Warner’s “10,000 BC” grab $2.2 million at 1,650, mostly from its $1.6 million Japanese launch. The caveman epic’s been the top 2008 title from Hollywood in foreign markets, with $164.5 million — nearly double its $93 million U.S. total. Disney’s 3-D concert pic “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus” remained a sturdy performer overseas given the scarcity of 3-D venues (only 330 available). It opened with $130,000 at seven Brazilian sites, lifting its foreign cume to $4.1 million from 135.
-
Cloud Ten Pictures, a faith-inspired film production company, has inked a distribution deal with New York-based Koch Entertainment and the Nashville-based CNI Distribution for its past and future feature films. Koch will replace Cloud Ten’s previous distributor, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, for North American retail distribution of Cloud Ten’s existing titles. CNI will act as the exclusive fulfillment and distribution agent for Cloud Ten Church Cinemas and as a distributor for all direct-to-churches, consumer and specialty market sales. All upcoming feature films produced or acquired by Cloud Ten will be released through Church Cinemas before being handled by either Koch or CNI.
STRIKE NEWS/ LABOR ISSUES
-
Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild will have to decide this week if they want to make a deal — or keep Hollywood on edge about whether actors will strike this summer. Both sides have kept a tight lid on news about the negotiations, but it’s understood that minimal progress has been achieved after two weeks of negotiations. Unlike the WGA talks before and during the writers strike, however, the process with SAG has been cordial. The optimistic view is that SAG will have to start compromising in the next few sessions, since it faces a Friday deadline to reach a deal or face the prospect of rival union AFTRA signing a primetime deal next week that could lead to the guild losing shows to AFTRA. That’s a serious threat given the abysmal relations between the performers unions — which are negotiating separately for the first time in 27 years. The negative view is that SAG’s leaders may be willing to take that chance in hopes they can pressure the majors into a better deal as the June 30 contract expiration gets closer. SAG and the majors return to the bargaining table at noon today after taking the weekend off. Previous plans had called for negotiations to continue on Saturday, but SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers noted that last week’s move to extend the time frame for the talks until the end of this week had alleviated the need for the sides to work through the weekend. Although the guild hasn’t set a strike authorization vote for the 120,000 SAG members yet, the industry continues to fret about a work stoppage. The majors have remained unwilling to commit to starting new feature productions until a SAG deal is in hand — a situation that some in the biz are calling a de facto strike. After two weeks, the guild’s been unwilling to back down from two of its initial demands — that the companies increase DVD residuals and offer a shorter period of free usage for promotional purposes for streamed content than the 17- and 24-day windows in the DGA and WGA deals. The majors have insisted they won’t give in to either demand. It’s widely expected AFTRA would be willing to sign a deal that mirrors the terms of the DGA and WGA deals when it sits down with the AMPTP next week. AFTRA leaders — who tend to be much less assertive than SAG’s — incorporated parts of the DGA-WGA deals when they agreed last month to a new pact for AFTRA’s network code, covering most of the union’s shows outside primetime. SAG’s board and negotiating committee are controlled by the more aggressive side of the guild, based in Hollywood and repping about 60% of its 120,000 members. Though SAG’s stayed silent about the specifics of its proposals, it’s been making the case to members via three briefings sent last week that it needs a much better deal. The most recent missive, sent Friday, focused on residuals but offered few specifics as to the guild’s proposal. “Residuals are critical to an actor’s ability to make a living,” SAG said. “As a deferred payment for the use or reuse of an actor’s work, residuals are paid on a time cycle that allows many actors to receive income on a reliable basis. Residuals accounted for 53% of all pensionable principal earnings for middle-class actors under the TV and theatrical contracts in 2007.” SAG asserted that changes in industry business models — declining volume of repeats on the major networks, vastly increased Web streaming of primetime fare and the proliferation of unscripted programming — have severely cut into the residuals fees paid to working thesps. “Getting fair residuals formulas in new media, DVDs and other markets is a priority for the guild,” SAG said in its briefing. “Real earnings are on the decline, with average inflation-adjusted residual earnings decreasing 7% over the last five years. This has contributed to a negative annual growth rate in real aggregate earnings to actors over recent years. So, if it feels like you’re making less, it’s because you are.” SAG noted that the volume of primetime repeats is down 25.1% in the last two TV seasons, resulting in fewer residual payments to actors; total home entertainment consumer spending is projected to top $31 billion in 2012, up from $23.4 billion in 2007; the DVD market is forecast to remain viable for years to come, partly because of projected growth in the Blu-ray segment; and some series are Web streaming all episodes produced via ad-supported formats. SAG said it’s asking for “reasonable” residuals for DVD and homevideo, for content made for new media and for traditional film and TV content that is made available via paid downloads, Web streaming and other new-media platforms. It’s also seeking a formula for the burgeoning world of made-for-new-media programs released in traditional media — as NBC experimented with earlier this year in picking up the Marshall Herskovitz-Ed Zwick Web serial “Quarterlife.” In all, SAG said it was seeking a “sustainable residuals structure that ensures working actors can maintain a middle class income and represents an appropriate share of the value contributed by actors.” The AMPTP’s only disclosure came last week when it said that there were “significant gaps” between the two sides — with the caveat that it had sought and received approval from AFTRA to extend the SAG talks for another week in hopes of giving the guild the opportunity to make a deal. SAG has cancelled membership meetings in Hollywood and New York that had been set for Tuesday and Wednesday to update members about the negotiations.
TECHNOLOGY/ MULT-PLATFORM CONTENT
-
FremantleMedia and Heavy.com are partnering on a “Dating Game” for the Internet age. “LoveRace,” a reality skein targeted at adults 18-25, is broken into two segments: casting, which begins in the fall, and the six-week competition, which begins in February. Femme contestants will submit their online vids and create their own profile pages on various social networks, including Facebook and MySpace. Aud members will then choose 12 women for the competish. During the competition, contestants will post videos trying to convince the men to go on a date with them; the men, in turn, will post videos attempting to convince the femmes that they are one to date. FMX, FremantleMedia’s new-media division, plans on integrating brand sponsors into the competish; if it lines up a mobile phone sponsor, for example, the competish would contain a texting component. Contestants not chosen will move onto the second season of the Web skein, ala “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” Fremantle hopes to establish a brand it can extend into other platforms, much the way it did with “Secret Girlfriend,” an online skein being developed into a TV pilot. Among the possible brand extensions: mobile versions or pay-per-view events tied to the skein.
-
In a move that could lead to its eventual purchase of the British videogame publisher, Warner Bros. has invested some $30 million to double its stake in Sci Entertainment to 20%. As part of the deal, Warner will also start distributing and marketing all of Sci’s games, which are published under the Eidos brand, in the U.S. and Canada. Warner already provided some logistical services in the U.S. to Eidos, which is best known for the “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” franchise. WB’s investment is part of a larger $119 million stock placement that Sci is undertaking; the vidgame publisher has been severely short on capital in the past few months and looking for investors or to be acquired. According to reports, both NBC Universal and Warner considered buying the publisher outright. Deal would make it very easy for Warner to buy Sci in the future, however, and quite difficult for any other company to take control without its assent. Studio apparently wasn’t willing to take control now given the publisher’s financial problems but was sufficiently convinced of its potential to invest more money and help keep it alive. In a sign of how desperate Sci was for cash, the shares being bought by Warner Bros. and others represents a 37.5% discount over the publisher’s trading price on Thursday. Sci stock fell 16% to 47 pence (93¢) on London Stock Exchange on Friday as a result. Warner’s initial 10% stake in Sci, which it bought in December 2006, cost $86.8 million. Company plans to use the new capital to repay debt and for working capital to fund a recently downsized slate of games, which includes a “Tomb Raider” sequel coming this holiday season and new installments of its “Deus Ex,” “Kane and Lynch” and “Battlestations Midway” franchises, as well a new casual games division. Sci recently cancelled 14 titles in development and is moving its production services from London to Montreal in order to lower costs. Sci/Eidos is now the fourth videogame publisher working with Warner’s homevid unit to distribute games, along with fellow Brits Codemasters and Empire Interactive and L.A.-based Brash Entertainment.
-
Video search provider ClipBlast introduced a new “Playbox” feature to combine video search and syndication into a unified experience across various providers, reports VideoNuze. The application also provides a recommendation feature, linking to related 3rd party videos that are played directly from the site.
-
White label mobile and IPTV streaming video service MobiTV raised an additional $5 million from Leader Ventures, according to VentureBeat, in addition to the $125 million it has already raised. MobiTV says it now has more than 4 million subscribers and is adding 1 million new subs every 6 months.
-
LeepFrog.tv launched an online music video discovery site offering video, audio sampling and full-length tracks for purchase from a range of labels including Interscope Records, Bad Boy Entertainment and Epic Records. The site will curate the platform to limit the focus to only 50 new releases at any one time.
-
Political ad creation tool SaysMe.TV raised Series A funding from several VC funds including Intel Capital, Prime Capital and Ashton Kutcher’s Katalyst Films. The company plans to use the money to expand beyond politics into other ad businesses.
WEBSITES TO WATCH
You’ve got to love the Freedom of Information Act. Thanks to this far-reaching law, television writers, producers or concerned viewers actually get to see all the formal complaints lodged against programs, simply by asking to see the complaint forms. And now there’s a website called tvshowcomplaints.org that takes the heavy lifting out of the process of filing out the proper paperwork. Fill in the blanks of a simple form online and email it to the FCC or follow the instructions if you prefer snail mail. Check out the examples of complaints the commission gets every day for shows like The Daily Show, Law and Order: SVU and, of course, South Park. They give fascinating insight into what the FCC is up against.
SOURCES:
www.variety.com
www.cynopsis.com
Thursday April 24, 2008
PROJECTS ANNOUNCED
- Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired worldwide rights to “The Damned United,” a biopic of legendary English soccer coach Brian Clough, with Tom Hooper to direct from a script by Peter Morgan. Sony will finance the $10 million project alongside BBC Films, which developed it with producer Andy Harries of Left Bank Pictures as well as Screen Yorkshire. Shooting starts May 25. Jim Broadbent, Timothy Spall and Colm Meaney join the previously announced Michael Sheen, who will play Clough. “The Damned United” was originally being pre-sold by Ealing Studios Intl., with Optimum Releasing set to take U.K. rights. But with the indie financing structure proving tough to close, Deborah Schindler, prexy of SPE’s Intl. Motion Picture Production Group, made a worldwide offer that the producers couldn’t refuse. The project is adapted from Dave Peace’s novel, set in 1974 but flashing back to the 1960s, about Clough’s ill-fated 44-day reign as coach of Leeds United, then one of England’s most successful soccer teams. Hooper most recently helmed the HBO miniseries “John Adams” and before that won acclaim for the Brit telepics “Longford” (also written by Morgan) and “Elizabeth I.” Since “The Queen,” Morgan has scripted the bigscreen adaptation of his own play “Frost/Nixon” and “The Other Boleyn Girl.”
- Fox 2000 is set to bring Brian De Palma’s “The Fury” back to the bigscreen. The label has tapped Brian McGreevy and Lee Shipman to pen a contemporary reimagining of the 1978 supernatural horror film. New version will center on a young man with heightened kinetic powers who is abducted by the government in order to take advantage of his special gifts. Original, starring Kirk Douglas and John Cassavetes and released by 20th Century Fox, was based on John Farris’ 1976 novel of the same name. Ted Field is producing through his Radar Pictures banner. Mike Weber exec produces. Newcomers McGreevy and Shipman penned the spec “Of Every Wickedness,” about America’s first known serial killer, which landed on the industry’s Black List of the hottest unproduced spec scripts and garnered the duo a lot of attention. They nabbed “The Fury” gig off of that script. McGreevy and Shipman are repped by Paradigm and manager Michael Connolly.
PROJECT UPDATES
- HandMade Films and director Charles Shyer have cast 9-year-old Australian actress Jordana Beatty for the title role in “Eloise in Paris” opposite Uma Thurman. Lensing begins Aug. 12 in Paris, New York and the south of France. “Eloise” is co-written by Shyer with his daughter Hallie Meyers-Shyer and Larry Spencer and produced by Patrick Meehan, Thomas D. Adelman and Ron Rotholz. Shyer will also exec produce. HandMade’s hoping the pic, based on the books written by Kay Thompson, will be the start of an “Eloise” franchise. It’s already developing the follow-up, “Eloise Goes to Hollywood.” Beatty, who’s been working as a thesp since she was 4, was picked from more than 4,000 girls who auditioned.
ACQUISITIONS/ FESTIVAL NEWS
- New York governor David Paterson brought a package of film and TV production tax incentives with him to Wednesday morning’s news conference to officially kick off the Tribeca Film Festival. Paterson talked up the state’s sweetened package of lensing incentives during the press sesh, which also featured Gotham Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Tribeca fest co-founder Jane Rosenthal and juror-filmmaker Doug Liman announcing various initiatives and events. The state’s new incentive plan triples the tax credits offered to filmmakers, to 30% on in-state below-the-line costs, with an additional 5% in New York City. Gotham is the first city in the country to offer an extra tax incentive bonus. Ironically, Tribeca fest co-founder Robert De Niro was not on hand as he was shooting a film — in Connecticut. American Express chief marketing officer John Hayes announced that the company, a fest partner from the beginning, will remain a sponsor for another five years. Fest organizers touted the range of pics on display this year. Filmmakers shot the 120 features and 80 shorts in the festival in 41 countries, with some 15 lensed in New York. The slate includes 53 world preems and 30 domestic bows. Liman, a resident of Tribeca, announced that his fellow fest jurors are an eclectic bunch: helmers Callie Khouri and Peter Hedges; thesps Oliver Platt, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Dinklage, Molly Shannon and Lili Taylor; scribes Josh Schwartz and Jay McInerney; producer Christine Vachon; chef Mario Batali; designer Zac Posen; and rocker David Bowie. Bloomberg lauded the fest for helping to revitalize downtown and increase tourism. He noted that while the nation’s economy is not in the greatest shape and tourism is on a downturn, the number of visitors to Gotham is on an upswing, hitting 47 million last year. Bloomberg commended the fest for bringing in more than 2 million visitors and $425 million thus far.
- Robert Beeson and Pam Engel’s new Brit arthouse distrib New Wave Films has acquired two films in this year’s Cannes competition, “The Silence of Lorna” by the Dardennes brothers and Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “Three Monkeys.” Beeson and Engel launched New Wave in February after they ankled from Artificial Eye. They have also acquired Johanna Hogg’s “Unrelated,” which won the Fipresci award at the 2007 London Film Festival, Andrzej Jakimowski’s “Tricks” and Antonello Grimaldi’s “Quiet Chaos.” “Unrelated” will be New Wave’s first release, set to open in September. The company expects to handle four to six theatrical releases a year. Verve Pictures will handle theatrical bookings and DVD releases for the company, with Engel and Beeson focusing their energies on London dating and the overall press and marketing strategy. At Artificial Eye, Engel and Beeson released all the previous films by Ceylan and the Dardennes brothers.
CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
- Steven Soderbergh’s two-part Che Guevara biopic, Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling,” Steven Spielberg’s long-awaited “Indiana Jones” sequel and Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” will all world preem at the 61st Cannes Film Festival. Upcoming edition, which unspools May 14-25, will be lighter on Yank-produced Palme d’Or contenders than was last year’s banner season. But it will still offer Hollywood glam as multiple U.S. pics, both studio and indie items, fill many Out of Competition slots. Elsewhere, Thierry Fremaux — in his first year as a fully fledged Cannes delegate general, but with the seeming complicity of Cannes president Gilles Jacob — looks to be shaking up things. The Competition section still showcases the work of a small pantheon of hallowed auteurs, but it also boasts pics from eight directors new to the section. As Fremaux emphasized, Cannes has fast-tracked a clutch of lesser-known helmers and left-of-field pics into Competition. Fremaux, who acknowledged that the selection process was “very difficult,” said last year’s 60th anni edition drew a line in the sand. “Cinema is evolving and the Cannes festival with it,” he declared to a packed press conference Wednesday at Paris‘ Grand Hotel. The 61st edition is “recentered and renewed,” Jacob said in an introductory speech. Whether the Cannes Film Festival will deliver on this promised renewal will no doubt be one of the event’s major talking points. Fest openers and closers have yet to be announced. Michael Patrick King’s “Sex and the City: The Movie” and Barry Levinson’s “What Just Happened?” are said to be still in the running. Fremaux said opening and closing night films — and perhaps more than one additional Competition title — would be announced later.
IN COMPETITION
“24 City,” China, Jia Zhangke
“Adoration,” Canada, Atom Egoyan
“Changeling,” U.S., Clint Eastwood
“Che” (“The Argentine,” “Guerrilla,”) Spain, Steven Soderbergh
“Un Conte de noel,” France, Arnaud Desplechin
“Three Monkeys,” Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
“Delta,” Germany-Hungary, Kornel Mundruczo
“Il Divo,” Paolo Sorrentino, Italy
“Gomorra,” Italy, Matteo Garrone
“La Frontiere de l’aube,” France, Philippe Garrel
“Leonera,” Argentina-South Korea, Pablo Trapero
“Linha de Passe,” Brazil, Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas
“La Mujer sin cabeza,” Argentina, Lucrecia Martel
“My Magic,” Singapore, Eric Khoo
“The Palermo Shooting,” Germany, Wim Wenders
“Serbis,” Philippines, Brillante Mendoza
“The Silence of Lorna,” U.K.-France, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
“Synecdoche, New York,” U.S., Charlie Kaufman
“Waltz With Bashir,” Israel, Ari Folman
OUT OF COMPETITION
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” U.S., Steven Spielberg
“Kung Fu Panda,” U.S., Mark Osborne, John Stevenson
“The Good, the Bad, the Weird,” South Korea, Kim Jee-woon
“Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” U.S.-Spain, Woody Allen
MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
“Maradona,” Spain-France, Emir Kusturica
“Surveillance,” U.S., Jennifer Lynch
“The Chaser,” South Korea, Na Hong-jin
SPECIAL SCREENNGS
“Ashes of Time Redux,” China, Wong Kar Wai
“Of Time and the City,” U.K., Terence Davies
“Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired,” U.S.-U.K., Marina Zenovich
“Sangue Pazzo” (Crazy Blood), Italy-France, Marco Tullio Giordana
SCREENING OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE JURY
“The Third Wave,” U.S., Alison Thompson
UN CERTAIN REGARD
“A festa da menina morta,” Brazil, Matheus Nachtergaele
“Afterschool,” U.S., Antonio Campos
“De Ofrivilliga,” Sweden, Ruben Ostlund
“Je veux voir,” France, Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige
“Johnny Mad Dog,” France, Jean-Stephane Sauvaire
“La vie moderne (profiles paysans)”, France, Raymond Depardon
“Los Bastardos,” Mexico, Amat Escalante
“Milh handha al-bahr,” (Salt of This Sea), Palestine, Annemarie Jacir
“O’ Horten,” Norway-Germany, Bent Hamer
“Soi Cowboy,” U.K., Thomas Clay
“Tin Che,” (Parking), Taiwan, Chung Mong-Hong
“Tokyo!,” France-Japan, Bong Joon-ho, Michel Gondry, Leos Carax
“Tokyo Sonata,” Japan, Kiyoshi Kurosawa
“Tulpan,” Germany, Sergey Dvortsevoy
“Tyson,” U.S., James Toback
“Versailles,” France, Pierre Schoeller
“Wendy and Lucy,” U.S., Kelly Reichardt
“Wolke 9” (Cloud Nine), Germany, Andreas Dresen
“Yi ban haishui, yi ban huoyan,” China, Fendou Liu
CINEFONDATION
“Ba Yue Shi Wu,” U.S., Jiang Xuan
“Blind Spot,” France, Johanna Bessiere, Cecile Dubois Herry, Simon Rouby, Nicolas Chauvelot, Olivier Clert, Yvon Jardel
“Et dans mon coeur, j’emporterai…,” Belgium, Yoon Sung-A
“Forbach,” France, Claire Burger
“Gata,” Russia, Diana Mkrtchyan
“Gestern in Eden,” Germany, Jan Speckenbach
“Himnon” (Anthem), Israel, Elad Keidan
“Illusion Dwellers,” U.K., Rob Ellender
“Interior. Scara de bloc,” Romania, Ciprian Alexandrescu
“Kestomerkitsijat,” Finland, Juho Kuosmanen
“The Maid,” U.S., Heidi Saman
“Naus,” Czech Republic, Lukas Glaser
“O Som E O Resto,” Brazil, Andre Lavaquial
“El Reloj,” Argentina, Marco Berger
“Shtika” (Silence), Israel, Hadar Morag
“Stop,” South Korea, Park Jae-ok
“This Is a Story About Ted and Alice,” U.S., Teressa Tunney
SHORTS IN COMPETITION
“411-Z,” Hungary, Daniel Erdelyi
“Buen Viaje” (Bon Voyage), Javier Palleiro, Guillermo Rocamora
“De Moins en Moins,” France, Melanie Laurent
“El Deseo” (The Desire), Mexico, Marie Benito
“Jerrycan,” Australia, Julius Avery
“Love You More,” U.K., Sam Taylor Wood
“Megatron,” Romania, Marian Crisan
“My Rabbit Hoppy,” Australia, Anthony Lucas
“Smafuglar,” Iceland, Runar Runarsson
THE JURIES
IN COMPETITION
Sean Penn (president), actor-director-screenwriter, U.S.
Sergio Castellitto, actor-director-screenwriter, Italy
Natalie Portman, actress, U.S.
Alfonso Cuaron, director, Mexico
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, director, Thailand
Alexandra Maria Lara, actress, Germany
Rachid Bouchareb, director, France
CINEFONDATION AND SHORT FILMS
Hou Hsiao Hsien (president) director-producer, Taiwan
Suzanne Bier, director, Denmark
Marina Hands, actress, France
Olivier Assayas, director, France
Larry Kardish, MoMA Curator for Film and Cinema, U.S.
UN CERTAIN REGARD
Fatih Akin (president), director, Germany
CAMERA D’OR
Bruno Dumont (president), director, France
BUSINESS NEWS
- ContentFilm, the film and TV sales company, has signed a $40 million debt facility, which will enable it to fund the acquisition of new product and explore further corporate expansion. The five-year secured revolving credit line is led by JPMorgan Chase, and replaces Content’s existing $32 million loan facility. Content has drawn down $27.5 million of this existing loan, which means that the deal will give it $10-15 million of fresh liquidity to finance its expansion strategy. This follows Content’s decision in March to pull out of talks to sell itself to Peace Arch Entertainment. Content’s biggest recent acquisition was the purchase of the international rights to the library of Canadian pubcaster CBC.
- Even without titan franchises “Spider-Man,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Shrek,” the May box office has a shot at matching or outperforming May ‘07. This time around, there are more movies with more potential — even though they are mostly new and untested properties. Last year, no studio wanted to be in the path of the three heavyweights — which each grossed north of $300 million domestically — so they saved their summer fare for June and beyond. This May, there are four event films: Paramount’s “Iron Man” (May 2), Warner Bros.’ “Speed Racer” (May 9), Disney’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” (May 16) and Paramount’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (May 22). There also are two chick flicks, Sony’s “Made of Honor” (May 2) and “Sex and the City” (May 30) and Fox’s more broad comedy “What Happens in Vegas.” Heading into summer ‘07, the media said there were too many sequels and three-quels. This year, it’s the opposite. Only two of the May films are bona-fide sequels — “Prince Caspian” and “Crystal Skull,” with the Indiana Jones franchise returning to the bigscreen after nearly 20 years.May has become increasingly important for studios. For studios, the question isn’t whether three of the May films can shoot past the $300 million mark domestically, as “Spider-Man 3,” “Shrek the Third” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” ultimately did. The question is whether the product is strong enough as a whole to make up for the lack of the three mega-franchises. Conventional wisdom is that “Iron Man,” “Prince Caspian” and “Crystal Skull” are strong contenders. “Speed Racer,” rated PG, may not open as big as the others but could have strong legs. “What Happens in Vegas” and the two romantic comedies hope to work as counterprogramming. In summer 2006, Fox hit the jackpot with “The Devil Wears Prada,” which opened against “Superman Returns.” In May 2007, the highest-grossing film after the three blockbuster three-quels was Fox Atomic’s “28 Weeks Later,” which made a mere $25.4 million in May after opening on May 11. Studios are already trying to manage expectations, particularly Paramount with “Iron Man,” since it is the first summer tentpole. Par, which is distributing the pic for Marvel Entertainment, has been furiously reminding reporters that “Iron Man” isn’t a sequel, meaning it is all but impossible for the film to open anywhere near the level of a “Spider-Man 3,” which debuted to a record-breaking $151.1 million over the May 4-6 weekend. Toplining Robert Downey Jr., “Iron Man” is whipping up plenty of interest, particularly among males. Though the film doesn’t officially open until May 2, Paramount has decided to begin showing the movie the evening of May 1 in some markets to meet demand. On May 16, Disney opens “Prince Caspian.” The first “Narnia” film, released Dec. 9, 2005, opened to $65.5 million on its way to grossing $291.7 million. “Indiana Jones” bows on Thursday, May 22, on the eve of the Memorial Day holiday. How big the film opens could hinge on whether it can recruit younger generations to the action-adventure franchise after such a lengthy hiatus. “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” released over Memorial Day weekend in 1989, grossed $197.2 million domestically. The absence of “Pirates,” “Shrek” and “Spider-Man,” or some combination thereof, is a risky proposition for Hollywood. At the same time, it gives new franchises the chance to take root.
- CP Prods. principals Michael Cerenzie and Christine Peters have started a genre division and will partner with Mississippi-based Ghostrider Entertainment to co-finance a slate of 10 fright films in the next three years. Budgets will be between $8 million and $20 million. CP’s genre division will be spearheaded by Eric Thompson, who formerly ran the Maverick Films genre label Maverick Red; he came to CP Prods. when he signed his Doomsday Twin Prods. label to a first-look deal with the production company. Thompson hung on to most of the genre projects that he developed at Maverick Red, and he made the approach to Ghostrider Entertainment, which is headed by Wes Benton. Two of the genre films are “Rites of Spring,” written and directed by Padraig Reynolds, about what happens when a father, intent on avenging his murdered son, crosses paths with a serial killer targeting teens; and “Slaughter,” a Nathan Brookes and Bobby Lee Darby-scripted horror film that will be directed by Victor Garcia. Thompson developed the latter at Maverick. The intention is to make two to three films each year, the majority of which will be shot in Mississippi and surrounding areas. That will allow the productions to tap into tax credits and financial incentives being promoted by the Mississippi Film Office to fuel post-Hurricane Katrina economic growth. Cerenzie said Paramount will get first crack at distribution through CP’s first look with the studio. Cerenzie most recently produced “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” just wrapped “Black Water Transit” and is prepping Harvey Keitel starrer “Chaos,” which Daphna Kastner wrote and will direct. Cerenzie and Peters produce with Keitel, and Martin Scorsese is exec producer. Benton grew up in Mississippi and most recently has been an equipment supplier and production manager on motion capture films. He returned to the state after Katrina and began putting together the consortium fund to help boost filmmaking. He’s still raising the funds, but said 60% of the money is in place. Benton said Ghostrider’s parent company, Red Planet Entertainment, is in talks to acquire 84 acres of land in Mississippi, with plans to construct production facilities near the U. of Southern Mississippi Film School campus.
STRIKE NEWS/ LABOR ISSUES
- Though large gaps remain between SAG and the majors, the two sides have made enough headway toward a feature-primetime deal to extend bargaining an extra week until May 2. Wednesday’s joint SAG-AMPTP announcement — the first sign of any progress from eight days of contract talks — came a few minutes after AFTRA disclosed it had agreed to postpone next week’s start of its own primetime negotiations until May 5. AFTRA’s move came in response to a request from the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers. The congloms’ decision to seek another week of talks with the Screen Actors Guild should serve to cool the town’s fears of a SAG strike this summer. But it’s obviously not all hearts and flowers at the bargaining table, with the majors stressing they’re nowhere near a deal and need another week to reach that goal. “We made our request because we owe it to our entire industry to give the current SAG-AMPTP talks every opportunity to result in an agreement,” the AMPTP said in a posting on its website. “At this time there remain significant gaps between the two parties, and we hope to use the extra time to narrow these gaps.” The announcement came a few hours after SAG and the AMPTP launched an eighth day of negotiations at AMPTP heaquarters in Encino, where talks are expected to resume today. Until Wednesday, both sides had adhered to an unofficial news blackout that stood in stark contrast to the vitriolic exchange of attacks during last year’s Writers Guild of America negotiations. SAG’s contract expires June 30, and guild leaders have asserted repeatedly that the guild doesn’t want to strike. But those proclamations haven’t stopped studios from ramping up production and stockpiling features as a hedge against a work stoppage. For SAG to make a deal, it will have to back off its demands for improved DVD residuals and new-media terms that are better than those in the Directors Guild of America and WGA pacts. Both positions are nonstarters for the majors, which have insisted they will only sign a SAG deal that follows the pattern set by the DGA and WGA. SAG’s been sending mixed signals as to how strongly it will adhere to those stances. The guild sent an email to members earlier this week that omitted any mention of DVD or new media — even though SAG national exec director Doug Allen and president Alan Rosenberg had blasted the DGA deal in late January as deeply flawed. SAG’s latest missive highlighted the need to improve earnings for middle-income actors and stressed the need for language dealing with “forced endorsement” via product placement. Wednesday’s move by the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists to step aside for SAG represents a bit of a reversal for the perforners union. It comes three weeks after it angrily broke off the Phase One negotiating partnership with SAG in late March, following a series of jurisdictional disputes that culminated in actors on “The Bold and the Beautiful” attempting to decertify AFTRA as their bargaining rep in favor of SAG. AFTRA said Wednesday that it has agreed to the postponement in hopes that the SAG negotiations will lead to a deal before AFTRA starts its own talks. AFTRA had been scheduled to start its talks Monday concerning primetime network shows including “Rules of Engagement,” “Cashmere Mafia,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Flight of the Conchords” and “ ’Til Death.” If SAG isn’t able to reach a deal before AFTRA, it may face the prospect of a more pragmatic AFTRA signing its own deal first and using that to expand coverage in areas of shared jurisdiction. Yet the AMPTP’s willingness to give SAG another week shows that the majors would prefer to reach an agreement with the guild first if at all possible. Going the SAG-first route would more quickly lift the lingering uncertainty pervading Hollywood’s feature development and production. In addition, should SAG have to wait for an AFTRA deal, the subsequent round of talks could become more difficult since SAG leaders and members would likely become more resentful and less interested in compromise.
INDUSTRY MOVES
- Production and distribution company Liberation Entertainment has tapped Rob Williams as its new veep of acquisitions and theatrical distribution. Williams formerly served as acquisitions and distribution executive at Red Envelope Entertainment. In addition to working with several other independent companies, he has also worked in distribution and marketing at DreamWorks. The new veep’s first stop is the Tribeca Film Festival, where he will work to increase Liberation’s domestic film and television acquisitions.
TECHNOLOGY/ MULT-PLATFORM CONTENT
- The download movie biz still isn’t ready for its closeup. Studios desperately want the download biz to take off, and Netcos are eager for movie sales and rentals to migrate online, but it hasn’t really happened yet. Studios admit the digital biz is very small but believe it could grow to a significant level by next year. At this point, it’s clearly a small part of the overall biz for major players like Apple and Amazon as well. On Wednesday afternoon, the segment was mentioned only in passing on the companies’ earnings calls — despite the fact that both have ramped up their efforts considerably in recent months. Apple signed all the majors to a new movie rental service in January, and while chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer told Wall Street analysts that it “has been very well received by customers,” homevid execs admit it is still getting up to speed. And Lionsgate prexy Steve Beeks, while encouraged by the early going, concedes that iTunes coin reps a very small portion of the overall home entertainment biz. During the first quarter, disc sales generated $3.5 billion, and total consumer spending hit $5.6 billion. Amazon topper Jeff Bezos was even more enigmatic about his digital initiatives on his earnings call, saying only that the Netco was “extremely happy” with them. Amazon’s Unbox service lags behind Apple’s iTunes service considerably. According to market research firm NPD, iTunes accounts for 73% of MP3 sales. And iTunes continued to grow last quarter. In fact, execs told analysts that that growth dented the company’s margins. In its March quarter, Apple’s “other related music products and services” category, which includes iTunes, grew 35% over the year-earlier period to $881 million. That category also includes iPod services and accessories. Overall, Apple posted a $1.05 billion profit, up from $770 million, and A 43% revenue increase to $7.51 billion. That’s the best March quarter earnings and profit in the company’s history. Apple sold 10.6 million iPods in the quarter and 1.7 million iPhones amid shortages of the latter. Amazon also beat expectations with its net earnings, which jumped 30% to $143 million. Sales increased 37% to $4.13 billion. Packaged media continued to dominate Amazon’s sales, accounting for $2.5 billion during the period. The company ran into shortages of its own digital device, the Kindle book reader, at the beginning of the year. Studios expect the number of digital movie sales to increase over the year. Several studios are experimenting with iTunes sales of new releases, which they have been resisting for fear it would give Apple topper Steve Jobs too much power. However, they have been more open to sales via Unbox, in part due to its smaller size .Homevid toppers say it’s just a matter of time before iTunes, and its rivals, gain traction in the movie download biz.
- Oxygen unveiled a new logo, a new tagline, Oxygen: Live Out Loud, and a new multiplatform branding initiative called Oxygen Everywhere designed to reach young, female trendsetters on whatever platform they choose to inhabit. Oxygen.com will undergo a makeover incorporating more content from its NBCU sister properties – including BravoTV.com and iVillage. The site will also launch a new video player to deliver outtakes, webisodes and extras. One such feature is called Oxygen’s Sixth Act where a single scene will be taken from Oxygen’s original series and made available only for digital and wireless. The network’s first ever WAP site is also in the works.
WEBSITES TO WATCH
To promote its Friday night MovieLand slot, MTV Network’s TVLand.com launched a fun Movie Lover’s Database comprised of nearly 1,000 trailers spanning from the 50’s to the present. The handy interface allows users to browse for trailers by name, genre or decade.
Orange’s Spanish-language starMedia portal launched starMedia EntertaiNEWS, the first in a series of new broadband offerings planned by the ad-supported content service. The new channel, developed together with C3 Entertainment, recaps entertainment news and provides information about concerts, movies, theater and other cultural events of interest to Hispanics.
Betting nostalgia will attract users and ultimately dollars, a new digital storefront called GetBack.com launched in beta yesterday, organizing streaming radio and video content as it relates to iconic moments in history. Click on one of the thumbnails at the top of the page to be taken back to a moment in time such as 1982 when Kareem’s Lakers beat Dr. J’s Sixers and Pat Benatar & Loverboy topped the charts. Songs can be sampled before purchasing single tracks or full albums. Content suppliers include Universal Music and Warner Music, Getty Images, Netflix and Hulu.
SOURCES:
-
Archives
- June 2008 (2)
- May 2008 (18)
- April 2008 (22)
- March 2008 (6)
-
Categories
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
