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