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Efm: Park Circus to sell Damien Hirst film
30 minutes ago
Exclusive: Film about art project Treasures From The Wreck Of The Unbelievable also gets UK deal.
Park Circus will begin sales at the Efm in Berlin on a film about new Damien Hirst art project Treasures From The Wreck of the Unbelievable.
Classics specialist Park Circus will also handle distribution in the UK.
The Oxford Film and Television (Channel 5’s Henry VIII And His Six Wives) production, made in association with Hirst’s Science Limited, will be directed by Sam Hobkinson (BBC mini-series Venice).
Conceptual artist Hirst, best known for his series of artworks in which dead animals are preserved in formaldehyde, is understood to feature in the film.
The long-gestating project Treasures From The Wreck of the Unbelievable will culminate in an exhibition displayed at the Punta della Dogana and Palazzo Grassi in Venice, Italy from April, 2017.
Hirst said of the project in 2010: “It’s a story of a ship. It is called »
- andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
James Corden joins UK production company Fulwell 73 as partner
37 minutes ago
Corden joins company behind sports docs I Am Bolt and Class Of 92.
James Corden is to join London-based production company Fulwell 73 as a company partner.
He will join existing partners and founding members Gabe Turner, Ben Turner, Ben Winston and Leo Pearlman with immediate effect.
Formed in 2007, Fulwell 73 projects include the recent Usain Bolt film, I Am Bolt; Class Of 92, starring David Beckham, and BBC One’s Mo Farah: Race Of His Life.
The Fulwell 73 partners have worked with Corden for the last 15 years on a variety of projects, including James Corden’s World Cup Live, Comic Relief’s Smithy sketches, When James Met Robbie, When Corden Met Barlow, One Direction projects (including This Is Us), Samsung and Cadburys commercials, the recent Apple Music commercial featuring James Corden, Pharrell and Jimmy Lovine and The Late Late Show With James Corden.
As well as opening an office in La in July 2016, Fulwell 73 recently signed »
Efm: Memento boards China’s Golden Bear contender 'Have A Nice Day'
1 hour ago
Exclusive: Animated dark comedy set against contemporary small-town China is first Chinese animation to play at Berlinale.
Memento Film International (Mfi) has taken on world sales of Chinese animation Have A Nice Day ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival in February.
The Paris-based company is splitting sales territories with Hong Kong-based sales and distribution outfit Edko Films which will handle Asia. Mfi will handle all other territories.
Have A Nice Day is the second animated feature from Nanjing-born filmmaker Liu Jian after the award-winning 2009 Piercing 1, which was billed as China’s first independent feature-length animation.
It will be the first ever Chinese animated feature to play at the Berlinale.
The darkly humorous work revolves around Xiao Zhang, a chauffeur in a small Chinese town, who steals a large amount of money from his boss to help his girlfriend fix a failed plastic surgery operation.
News of the »
Lionsgate UK signs first look deal with indie Bonafide
2 hours ago
Deal with The Last Post producer further bolsters Lionsgate’s UK TV ambitions.
Lionsgate UK announced today that it has entered into a first look deal with UK production outfit Bonafide Films to provide projects for worldwide distribution.
Bonafide is currently in production on BBC One’s The Last Post, the Peter Moffat (The Night Of) series that tells the story of a regiment of military police and their families stationed in the Middle East during the 1960s Aden Emergency.
The company is also developing an adaptation of Jg Ballard’s Super-Cannes, adapted by playwright DC Moore and directed by Saul Dibb (The Duchess); an original series with BAFTA and Golden Globe winning writer Peter Straughan (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy); and adaptations of the George Saunders novella, Bounty, and the Ned Bauman novel The Teleportation Accident with Straughan for Film4.
Bonafide is run by managing director Margery Bone, creative director Elwen Rowlands and head of production »
Cobie Smulders-Noel Clarke comedy secures world sales deal
2 hours ago
Exclusive: First look image of Unstoppable Entertainment comedy about a 90s Britpop singer.
London-based sales outfit Amp International has boarded world sales on UK comedy Songbird, starring Cobie Smulders (Jack Reacher: Never Go Back), Noel Clarke, Jessica Hynes (Bridget Jones’ Baby), Griffin Dunne (After Hours) and Emily Atack (The Inbetweeners).
Currently in post-production, the film follows the lead singer of a 90s Britpop band whose star has fallen considerably since her glory days.
When on a drunken night out she accidentally enrolls at a university she is shocked to discover that her fellow students have no idea who she is and are far more into yoga and kale smoothies than wild parties.
Songbird was written and directed by Jamie Adams (Black Mountain Poets) and is produced by Jason Maza and Noel Clarke of Unstoppable Entertainment (Brotherhood) and Maggie Monteith (Searching For Sugar Man) of Dignity Film Finance.
Rising actress Smulders, pictured above in »
- andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
Neasa Hardiman, Neil Jordan projects receive Irish Film Board funding
4 hours ago
Majority of production loans have gone to female directors.
New projects from Neil Jordan, Neasa Hardiman (both pictured) and John Butler are among those supported by the Irish Film Board in its latest round of funding decisions.
In an apparent nod to recent pledges by the Ifb to commit to gender parity in its funded projects, three of the four production loans in this quarter were given to films with female directors.
Filmmaker Neasa Hardiman, whose television credits include Happy Valley and Tracy Beaker Returns, will make her feature directorial debut with Sea Fever, which has been given a provisional offer of commitment by the Ifb.
The film, centred on a science student who becomes isolated from her superstitious trawler crew as they struggle to overcome a deadly parasite in their water supply, was also written by Hardiman and will be produced by Fantastic Films.
The End of Romance, written and directed by Trish McAdam, based on the »
Pedro Almodóvar named Cannes jury president
6 hours ago
Spanish auteur said he was “grateful, honoured and a bit overwhelmed.”
Pedro Almodóvar will preside over the jury at the 70th Cannes Film Festival in May, 25 years after he served as a juror under Gérard Depardieu.
“I am very happy to be able to celebrate Cannes Film Festival 70th anniversary from such a privileged position,” Almodóvar said in response to the invitation by president of the festival Pierre Lescure and delegate-general Thierry Frémaux.
“I am grateful, honoured and a bit overwhelmed. I am aware of the responsibility that entails being the president of the jury and I hope to be up to the job. I can only tell that I’ll devote myself, body and soul, to this task, that it is both a privilege and a pleasure.”
“For its 70th edition, the Festival de Cannes is delighted to welcome a unique and hugely popular artist. His works have already carved out an eternal niche in the »
- jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
Pedro Almodóvar named 70th Cannes jury president
6 hours ago
Spanish auteur said he was “grateful, honoured and a bit overwhelmed.”
Pedro Almodóvar will preside over the jury at the 70th Cannes Film Festival in May, 25 years after he served as a juror under Gérard Depardieu.
“I am very happy to be able to celebrate Cannes Film Festival 70th anniversary from such a privileged position,” Almodóvar said in response to the invitation by president of the festival Pierre Lescure and delegate-general Thierry Frémaux.
“I am grateful, honoured and a bit overwhelmed. I am aware of the responsibility that entails being the president of the jury and I hope to be up to the job. I can only tell that I’ll devote myself, body and soul, to this task, that it is both a privilege and a pleasure.”
“For its 70th edition, the Festival de Cannes is delighted to welcome a unique and hugely popular artist. His works have already carved out an eternal niche in the »
- jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
Pedro Almodóvar named 70th Cannes Film Festival president
6 hours ago
Spanish auteur said he was “grateful, honoured and a bit overwhelmed.”
Pedro Almodóvar will preside over the jury at the 70th Cannes Film Festival in May, 25 years after he served as a juror under Gérard Depardieu.
“I am very happy to be able to celebrate Cannes Film Festival 70th anniversary from such a privileged position,” Almodóvar said in response to the invitation by president of the festival Pierre Lescure and delegate-general Thierry Frémaux.
“I am grateful, honoured and a bit overwhelmed. I am aware of the responsibility that entails being the president of the jury and I hope to be up to the job. I can only tell that I’ll devote myself, body and soul, to this task, that it is both a privilege and a pleasure.”
“For its 70th edition, the Festival de Cannes is delighted to welcome a unique and hugely popular artist. His works have already carved out an eternal niche in the »
- jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
Study indicates link between Netflix original content and stock price
10 hours ago
Exclusive: Research by Los Angeles-based group Parrot Analytics suggests a correlation between the demand for new original shows on the platform and its stock price.
The findings come from a study by the company that tracked demand for each original title on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Crackle in the Us in 2016.
Demand for Netflix originals exceeded that of its rivals because at this stage the platform has created more than 50 shows and its content is on average more than eight times more popular than shows on Amazon Prime Video, rising to a factor of nine compared to Hulu and nearly 60 compared to Crackle, which has seven original titles. A larger version of the chart below is available here.
Acknowledging that correlation does not necessarily imply causation, the report noted that statements by Netflix during its recent fourth quarter earnings report suggested a link between demand for original content and stock price. A larger »
- jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
'Elle' triumphs at France's Lumière Awards
12 hours ago
France’s foreign press corps also fete Divines, My Life As A Zucchini and The Death Of Louis Xiv. French critics honour Elle in separate awards.
Paul Verhoeven’s French-language thriller continued its winning streak at the 22nd edition of the French Lumière awards on Monday evening.
Elle won best film and best director as well as best actress for Isabelle Huppert for her performance as a hard-nosed businesswoman who plays a psychological game of cat-and-mouse with a rapist who breaks into her home.
Monday’s prizes join a growing a list of awards for both the feature and Huppert that includes the Golden Globe for best foreign language film and best actress.
Huppert is also one of the favourites in the best actress category at the Oscars and the title recently picked up 11 nominations at the French César awards.
Some 60 journalists hailing from the international press corps in France voted in the Lumière Awards, which are regarded »
'La La Land' producer Fred Berger, Jamie Bell team for Max Minghella's directorial debut
18 hours ago
Mister Smith to handle sales on Teen Spirit, also produced by Automatik.
Max Minghella’s (The Social Network) directorial debut, Teen Spirit, will be launched to international buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin by Mister Smith Entertainment.
Currently in pre-production, the film, written and directed by Minghella, is a coming-of-age-story set in the world of pop-music.
Fred Berger (La La Land) will produce alongside Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (Midnight Special) under their Automatik banner. Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot), who developed the screenplay with Minghella, serves as executive producer.
Interscope Records, which is handling the soundtrack on La La Land, will co-produce with Automatik, and will release the official soundtrack featuring contemporary pop tracks.
Oscar-nominated producer Berger will also bring his musical team from La La Land to the project, including music producer Marius DeVries (Moulin Rouge) and music supervisor Steven Gizicki, previously of Lucasfilm.
Cinematographer Autumn Durald (Palo Alto), known for her work on music videos for [link »
- andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
UK financiers team for UK-us film and TV fund
22 hours ago
Hindsight and Head Gear are teaming on mezzannine fund.
UK financiers Hindsight and Head Gear are launching a mezzanine fund for film and TV projects in the UK and Us markets.
The two parties expect to conclude first financing deals for the fund – branded H2 – after Berlin.
H2 will offer producers tactical short terms loans and permanent mezzanine finance. Agreement to launch it follows discussions over recent months.
The first £5m for H2 is committed from existing Hindsight - formerly Prescience - and Head Gear funds and investors. The duo’s expectation is that this will increase to a £25m-30m level by the end of the first year’s trading.
The financiers are working with a third party fund raiser in a bid to bring in new sources of investment for H2.
Phil Hunt, Head Gear, CEO, commented: “Head Gear’s aim has always been to provide efficient, speedy and straightforward investment to producers. I’m really »
- andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
'Elle' triumphs in France's Lumière Awards
23 hours ago
France’s foreign press corps also fete Divines, My Life As A Zucchini and The Death Of Louis Xiv. French critics honour Elle in separate awards.
Paul Verhoeven’s French-language thriller continued its winning streak at the 22nd edition of the French Lumière awards on Monday evening.
Elle won best film and best director as well as best actress for Isabelle Huppert for her performance as a hard-nosed businesswoman who plays a psychological game of cat-and-mouse with a rapist who breaks into her home.
Monday’s prizes join a growing a list of awards for both the feature and Huppert that includes the Golden Globe for best foreign language film and best actress.
Huppert is also one of the favourites in the best actress category at the Oscars and the title recently picked up 11 nominations at the French César awards.
Some 60 journalists hailing from the international press corps in France voted in the Lumière Awards, which are regarded »
Us Briefs: Filming begins on 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' starring Melissa McCarthy
30 January 2017 2:23 AM, PST
Project directed by The Diary Of A Teenage Girl helmer Marielle Heller.
Fox Searchlight has begun principal photography in New York on Can You Ever Forgive Me? starring Melissa McCarthy, Richard E Grant (both pictured), Jane Curtin, Dolly Wells, Anna Deavere Smith and Jennifer Westfeldt.
Marielle Heller directs from a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty based on the novel of the same name by Lee Israel.
Archer Gray president of production Anne Carey, Archer Gray founder Amy Nauiokas and David Yarnell produce and Pamela Hirsch, Jawal Nga and Bob Balaban serve as executive producers.
The film recounts the life of celebrity biographer Israel who turns to deception when she is no longer in style.
The Latin America Training Center will host a three-day entertainment, business and legal affairs programme in Miami from March 29-April 1. The event will cover copyright in the age of digital music, intellectual property, virtual reality, production, distribution »
Us Briefs: Fox Searchlight begins production on 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?'
30 January 2017 2:23 AM, PST
Fox Searchlight has begun principal photography in New York on Can You Ever Forgive Me? starring Melissa McCarthy (pictured in Spy), Richard E Grant, Jane Curtin, Dolly Wells, Anna Deavere Smith and Jennifer Westfeldt.
Marielle Heller directs from a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty based on the novel of the same name by Lee Israel.
Archer Gray president of production Anne Carey, Archer Gray founder Amy Nauiokas and David Yarnell produce and Pamela Hirsch, Jawal Nga and Bob Balaban serve as executive producers.
The film recounts the life of celebrity biographer Israel who turns to deception when she is no longer in style.
The Latin America Training Center will host a three-day entertainment, business and legal affairs programme in Miami from March 29-April 1. The event will cover copyright in the age of digital music, intellectual property, virtual reality, production, distribution and licensing of new media content in Latin America, among other topics »
Peter Capaldi to step down as Doctor Who
30 January 2017 2:11 AM, PST
The Glasgow-born actor announced during an interview on BBC Radio 2 that he will quit the show at the end of the year.
The Glasgow-born actor will conclude his run as the 12th iteration of the Time Lord during a live Christmas special on BBC One.
“I feel sad, I love Doctor Who, it’s a fantastic programme to work on,” said Capaldi, 58, who assumed the role in 2013.
“I can’t praise the people I work with more highly, but I have always been someone that did a lot of different things. I’ve never done one job for three years.”
In the interview with Jo Whiley, Capaldi made it clear he was not finished with the role quite yet and expressed his appreciation for the fans.
“To the viewers and fans whose endless creativity, generosity and inclusiveness points to a brighter future ahead, I can’t thank everyone enough. It’s been cosmic,” he said.
“I »
MPAA ‘concerned’ over Trump travel ban
30 January 2017 1:54 AM, PST
“We firmly believe our country can both protect its national security and be a welcoming place for those who respect our values.”
The Motion Picture Association Of America (MPAA) on Monday joined Hollywood’s chorus of disapproval in the wake of Friday’s executive order by President Donald Trump.
The ban on Us entry to citizens arriving from seven majority-Muslim countries – Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan – has drawn from critics across all walks of life around the world, while former President Barack Obama said he was “heartened” by the response of Us citizens.
Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild awards show was a highly politicised affair as winners spoke out against the White House’s immigration policy.
The Academy Awards ceremony on February 26 is expected to serve up another platform for Hollywood dissent.
The MPAA’s statement in full (chairman Chris Dodd is pictured):
“The U.S. film and television »
- jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
MPAA expresses ‘concern’ over Trump travel ban
30 January 2017 1:54 AM, PST
“We firmly believe our country can both protect its national security and be a welcoming place for those who respect our values.”
The Motion Picture Association Of America (MPAA) on Monday joined Hollywood’s chorus of disapproval in the wake of Friday’s executive order by President Donald Trump.
The ban on Us entry to citizens arriving from seven majority-Muslim countries – Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan – has drawn from critics across all walks of life around the world, while former President Barack Obama said he was “heartened” by the response of Us citizens.
Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild awards show was a highly politicised affair as winners spoke out against the White House’s immigration policy.
The Academy Awards ceremony on February 26 is expected to serve up another platform for Hollywood dissent.
The MPAA’s statement in full (chairman Chris Dodd is pictured):
“The U.S. film and television »
- jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
Amazon, Cinestaan team up for indie Indian films
30 January 2017 12:01 AM, PST
Exclusive: Amazon has exclusive streaming rights to films like The Land Of The Gods and A Death In The Gunj.
Amazon has announced a long-term alliance with Cinestaan Film Company through its sales arm C International Sales for the exclusive distribution of independent Indian films.
The first batch of the titles includes The Land Of The Gods (Dev Bhoomi), A Death In The Gunj and The Hungry. The films will be streamed exclusively on Amazon Prime Video India after their theatrical release.
Rohit Khattar, chairman of India and UK-based boutique studio Cinestaan Group said, “In our quest to champion independent Indian films, we have been trying to figure out various ways to effectively distribute films which face the usual conundrum of high P&A and other costs. Amazon Prime Video has presented a much needed option.”
Nitesh Kripalani, director and country head of Amazon Prime Video India said, “Our alliance with Cinestaan is to build our selection »
- screenasia@yahoo.com (Silvia Wong)
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