EXCLUSIVE: It was a good Toronto Film Festival for Finnish helmer Dome Karukoski. His Heart Of A Lion premiered earlier this month at the fest, and during the run of the event he was tapped to make his English-language debut on Tom Of Finland. All of that action got the major agencies interested, and he just inked with ICM Partners.
Heart Of A Lion, written by Aleksi Bardy, centers on the head of a gang of racist skinheads who finds himself questioning his personal prejudices and values after falling for a waitress whose son is of African descent. It bows next month in Karukoski’s native Finland. Tom Of Finland is the biopic of Finnish artist Touko Laaksonen, who revolutionized the image of gay men, paved the way for greater tolerance and openness, and influenced designers like Tom Ford and Jean Paul Gaultier. READ MORE »
‘Tom Of Finland’ Helmer Dome Karukoski Signs With ICM Partners
Paradigm Inks Toronto Helmer Aaron Wilson
EXCLUSIVE: Aussie-born Aaron Wilson just popped his feature debut Canopy in the Discovery sidebar at the Toronto Film Festival and now has been inked by Paradigm. The agency’s Scott … Read More »
Resolution Inks ‘Art Of The Steal’ Director Jonathan Sobol
EXCLUSIVE: Resolution has signed Canadian filmmaker Jonathan Sobol, whose action comedy The Art Of The Steal world premiered this month in a Gala slot … Read More »
Drafthouse Acquires Toronto Midnight Madness Comedy ‘R100′
Drafthouse Films has picked up North American rights to Hitoshi Matsumoto’s R100, which had its world premiere at the Midnight Madness section of this month’s Toronto Film Festival. The plan is for a VOD/digital and theatrical release next … Read More »
Deadline’s Film Fest Wrap-Up And Awards Season Preview: Video
Deadline Awards Columnist Pete Hammond and International Editor Nancy Tartaglione sit down with host David Bloom to wrap up the Telluride, Venice and Toronto film festivals and the many awards-worthy movies coming out of them, including Gravity, Philomena, 12 Years A Slave and … Read More »
Music Box Picks Up Pawel Pawlikowski’s FIPRESCI Prize Winner ‘Ida’
The latest drama from the director of My Summer Of Love and Last Resort is coming to North America via Music Box Films. Pawel Pawlikowski‘s Ida follows a young nun in 1960s Poland who’s on … Read More »
Deadline’s Best Film Stories Of The Week
If you didn’t read some of Deadline’s Top Film stories this week, here’s your chance today:
‘Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston Will Next Play Blacklisted Scribe Dalton Trumbo
By Mike Fleming Jr – EXCLUSIVE: When he completes his tour de force run in Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston will play the title role in the Jay Roach-directed Trumbo, the fact-based feature of the man who broke the Hollywood blacklist.
‘Prisoners’ Breaks Out For #1 With $21.4M; ‘Battle Of The Year’ #5 For Bleak $4.1M
By Nikki Finke - SUNDAY 1 AM, 4TH UPDATE: With the 65th Emmys broadcasting this weekend, Hollywood is only talking television, television, television. Read More »
Toronto: Cinedigm Acquires Kelly Reichardt’s ‘Night Moves’
Cinedigm has acquired North American rights to the Kelly Reichardt-directed Night Moves, which just played Toronto, Venice and Deauville. The film, about environmentalists trying to blow up a hydroelectric dam, stars Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning and … Read More »
Toronto: RADiUS-TWC Acquires Mike Myers-Directed Docu ‘Supermensch’
EXCLUSIVE: RADiUS-TWC, the boutique label of The Weinstein Company, has acquired North American distribution rights to Supermensch: The Legend Of Shep Gordon. The documentary, which premiered in Toronto on September 7 at Roy Thompson Hall, marks the feature directorial debut of Mike Myers. RADiUS co-presidents Tom Quinn and Jason Janego plan to release the film theatrically in the first quarter of 2014. They tell me they see the breakout potential of 20 Feet From Stardom, the acclaimed docu they turned into a prestige film hit this spring after acquiring it at Sundance.
Related: Toronto: Fleming Q&A’s Mike Myers On ‘Supermensch
With backing from A&E IndieFilms, Myers devoted the documentary to the life journey of Shep Gordon, who became a music manager after a chance encounter in the 1960s with Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. Specifically, the latter felt bad after punching Gordon in the face the night before after Gordon, concerned she was being attacked, broke up what turned out to be a consensual sexual encounter taking place in the grass outside his hotel room window. From there, he colorfully steered the careers of such musical artists as Alice Cooper, Anne Murray, Teddy Pendergrass and Blondie, and he created the “celebrity chef” culture and became a confidante of the Dalai Lama. Myers, who met Gordon when he was trying to get Alice Cooper to appear in a Wayne’s World scene, interviewed himself and the likes of Michael Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, Willie Nelson, Emeril Lagasse and more. Myers creates a picture of a charming Hollywood mensch whose Midas touch for dealmaking realized the dreams of others, as he put his own happiness on the back burner. I found the Zelig-like subject and the film irresistible. Read More »
IFC Midnight Acquires ‘Almost Human’
The horror pic from writer-director Joe Begos has been been acquired by IFC Midnight following its Toronto Film Festival premiere. Almost Human stars Graham Skipper, Vanessa Leigh, and Josh Ethier in the … Read More »
Toronto 2013: Late Nights And Lotsa Deals; First Seller’s Market Since The Crash?
The sales market at the Toronto Film Festival was the healthiest and most vigorous that I can remember, certainly since that barren year when the prestige film bubble burst and the sole festival sale was the Tom Ford-directed A Single Man. During the first five days at least of this Toronto, there was deal action going into the wee hours of the morning. One quality, crowd-pleasing acquisition title after another un-spooled each night and then distributors were left trying to restrain themselves from going past their sober revenue projections as they tried to fill holes in 2014 slates.
At last count, around 28 Toronto films have sold in deals large and small, agents tell me. I thought the biggest challenge for sellers would be to get distributors to focus because of the inordinate amount of titles they launched into the Oscar race with lavish Toronto premieres. Instead, the biggest challenge for sellers, and buyers for that matter, was stamina. We are all getting older, and pretty much everyone was walking around like zombies after taking part Friday and Saturday in the fest’s biggest deals—Focus paying $7 million for world rights to the Jason Bateman-directed comedy Bad Words, and The Weinstein Company paying $7 million and $20 million in P&A for U.S. rights to the John Carney-directed Can A Song Save Your Life?
Dare I say that Toronto was the first seller’s market in as long as I can remember? I asked the top agents at the three most prolific deal making agencies if that was true. None of them were cocky enough to use the “S” word, but all three of them said they expect to clear their considerable inventories by the end of next week. Even if nothing got done until the time everyone but insomniacs are asleep.
Read More »
TORONTO TOLDJA! Magnolia Confirms ‘The Sacrament’ Deal For Genre Label Magnet
Mike Fleming Jr broke this news from Toronto last week that Magnolia was finalizing a seven-figure deal for Ti West’s contemporary found-footage thriller that played in the Vanguard sidebar. Now Magnolia says the pic will go out through its genre distribution label Magnet Releasing sometime in 2014. The release: Read More »
Toronto: Magnolia Acquires Lukas Moodysson’s Punk Rock Pic ‘We Are The Best!’
New York (September 18, 2013) – US distributor Magnolia Pictures has acquired the North American rights for Lukas Moodysson’s WE ARE THE BEST! from TrustNordisk, sales agent on behalf of producer Memfis Film. The deal was negotiated between Susan Wendt , Head of Sales at TrustNordisk and Peter Van Steemburg, Director of Acquisitions at Magnolia Pictures.
‘Metalhead’ Duo Signs With APA
EXCLUSIVE: Icelandic director Ragnar Bragason and actress Thora Bjorg Helga, star of Bragason’s Toronto Film Festival drama Metalhead, … Read More »
Toronto: IFC Films Acquires Kristen Wiig-Starrer ‘Hateship Loveship’
NEW YORK, NY (September 17, 2013) – IFC Films announced today that the company is acquiring US rights to Liza Johnson’s HATESHIP LOVESHIP. The film, based on a short story by Alice Munro with a screenplay by Mark Poirier, stars Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, Nick Nolte, Christine Lahti, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Sami Gayle. HATESHIP LOVESHIP was produced by Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Jamin O’Brien, Dylan Sellers and Cassian Elwes and executive produced by Jacob Pechenik, Michael Raimondi and Abigail Disney. The film made its world premiere as a special presentation at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.
Deadline’s Best Film Stories Of The Week
If you missed Deadline’s top film stories this week, check them out here:
UNIVERSAL SHAKEUP: Adam Fogelson Out, Donna Langley Sideways, Jeff Shell In, And Ron Meyer Up As Studio Taken By Surprise
By Mike Fleming Jr – BREAKING… SHOCKER! In a shocking development, Adam Fogelson will exit his post as Universal Pictures chairman, with Jeff Shell taking over Universal Studios. Ron Meyer is becoming the sole vice chairman of NBC Universal through 2017, and Donna Langley has been promoted chairman of Universal Pictures.
‘Insidious 2′ Stuns As Sept’s 2nd Biggest With $41M For Year’s 2nd Best Horror Pic; De Niro’s ‘The Family’ Forgotten For $13.9M
By Nikki Finke - No surprise that a genre scarer did so well on a weekend frontloaded by Friday The 13th… Read More »
Toronto: ’12 Years A Slave’ Wins People’s Choice Award
In a nice boost for its increasing awards season profile 12 Years A Slave has just won the People’s Choice Audience award from the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. (Full winners below.) It’s a good omen for Oscar as such recent Best Picture winners as The King’s Speech, Slumdog Millionaire, American Beauty, and Chariots Of Fire were also winners that went on to take the Oscar for Best Pic. Several nominees have also been the recipient of the Toronto honor including last year’s Silver Linings Playbook and Precious among many others. Fox Searchlight will begin a slow rollout of Slave on October 18. The film, which debuted at Telluride Film Festival to loud buzz has generated much Oscar talk for director Steve McQueen, star Chiwetel Ejiofor and supporting players Michael Fassbender and newcomer Lupita Nyong’o. Tree Of Life team Brad Pitt (who has a supporting role), Dede Gardner and Bill Pohlad are among the producers. Runners-up for the People’s Choice were Philomena and Prisoners.
The Square took the People’s Choice for Documentary while Why Don’t You Play In Hell won for Midnight Madness section and When Jews Were Funny took the Best Canadian Feature honor. Ida won the International Critics Prize (Fipresci).
The fest closed Saturday night with the World Premiere of Life Of Crime, a very black comedy based on Elmore Leonard‘s novel The Switch. The film stars Jennifer Aniston in a change of pace role as an upper class wife who is kidnapped for ransom by an inept group of criminals led by John Hawkes. Tim Robbins plays her philandering husband who refuses to pay to win her freedom. The film is directed by Daniel Schecter. Leonard, who died last month at the age of 87, has an Executive Producer credit representing the last film version of his many works in which he was involved. In remarks before the film rolled at the Roy Thomson Hall (where one observer said it “played through the roof”) Schecter spoke about Leonard. “Elmore has always been my storytelling hero and I hope this film can be a worthy tribute to him. One of my many dreams has always been to adapt one of his great novels into a feature… If I can leave you guys with one thing, please go out and buy one of his books. And if you’re not hooked after one chapter, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” he said. Read More »
Global Showbiz Briefs: Multiple Deals For Nicolas Cage Drama ‘Joe’; Vodafone OKd For $10.2B Kabel Deutschland Buyout; More
WestEnd Films Seals Multiple Deals For Nicolas Cage Drama ‘Joe’
International sales company WestEnd Films has closed a raft of deals on David Gordon Green’s drama Joe, starring Nicolas Cage and Tye Sheridan. The film debuted in Venice, where Sheridan won the best newcomer prize. The Worldview Entertainment-produced and -financed film then appeared in Toronto, where deals were sealed with Japan (CCC), Australia (Madman), Benelux (Cinéart) and Scandinavia (Non Stop). Artificial Eye picked it up in the UK, and the film had previously sold to 15 territories include France (Wild Side), Germany (Koch Media), Latin America (Swen), China (Media Asia), Israel (United King), and Greece (Spentzos Films). CAA is repping the North America rights, with Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions and Magnolia Pictures being the front-runners as of Friday.
Vodafone Set To Acquire Germany’s Kabel Deutschland For $10.2B
Shareholders of Kabel Deutschland — Germany’s largest cable company — voted Friday to accept Vodafone’s buyout offer of €87 ($115.70) a share, which includes a €2.50 dividend payment. Vodafone, Germany’s top mobile network with 32 million subscribers, said the required 75% minimum of Kabel investors had been met. The deal, which gives Vodafone 7.6 million cable subs, continues its strategy of offsetting declining revenue by selling mobile phone subscriptions alongside TV, landline and broadband services. Reuters reported Friday that three hedge funds that tendered shares enabling Vodafone’s successful Kabel bid plan to sue for a better price for their outstanding holdings.
Toronto: Magnolia Nears Deal For Ti West’s ‘The Sacrament’
EXCLUSIVE: Ti West wrote and directed The Sacrament, the contemporary found-footage thriller that world premiered at Venice before showing at Toronto over the weekend in the fest’s Vanguard section. Magnolia Pictures, which lost on an … Read More »
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