Exclusive: Tara Long, who was President of Global Unscripted Television at eOne, has finalized a deal with John Morayniss’ Blink49 Studios.
Deadline revealed that Long was leaving after the Lionsgate merger went through and was set to strike a deal with the Fifth Season-backed company. Instead of setting up her own shop with the company, she is instead becoming President of Global Unscripted Television.
Joining her is former Bounce TV exec Ri-Karlo Handy, who will become SVP, Unscripted.
Based in LA and reporting to CEO Morayniss, whom she worked with for over ten years when he was at eOne, Long will oversee its U.S. unscripted television slate and will assume responsibility for managing the global unscripted division including the ongoing Canadian operations.
EVP Toby Dormer and Handy will report to Long, while VP Allison Brough will continue to report to Dormer.
Long has been behind series such as Impact...
Deadline revealed that Long was leaving after the Lionsgate merger went through and was set to strike a deal with the Fifth Season-backed company. Instead of setting up her own shop with the company, she is instead becoming President of Global Unscripted Television.
Joining her is former Bounce TV exec Ri-Karlo Handy, who will become SVP, Unscripted.
Based in LA and reporting to CEO Morayniss, whom she worked with for over ten years when he was at eOne, Long will oversee its U.S. unscripted television slate and will assume responsibility for managing the global unscripted division including the ongoing Canadian operations.
EVP Toby Dormer and Handy will report to Long, while VP Allison Brough will continue to report to Dormer.
Long has been behind series such as Impact...
- 1/29/2024
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Tara Long, eOne’s President, Global Unscripted Television, is leaving the company after ten years.
Long’s departure comes after Lionsgate acquired the company from Hasbro.
Deadline understands that she is now in the process of setting up her own shop and is set to strike a deal with her former eOne boss John Morayniss and his Blink49 Studios.
Long joined eOne in 2012 and has shepherded unscripted series such as We tv’s Growing Up Hip Hop franchise, MTV’s Ex On The Beach and Siesta Key, E!’s LadyGang, BET’s Hustle in Brooklyn, Death Row Chronicles and Emmy-nominated LA Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later, A&e’s Biggie: The Life of Notorious B.I.G. and Gsn’s America Says.
Earlier this month, it emerged that Lionsgate was cutting eOne’s workforce by about 10% after the deal closed in August.
Morayniss, who ran eOne’s television business between 2008 and...
Long’s departure comes after Lionsgate acquired the company from Hasbro.
Deadline understands that she is now in the process of setting up her own shop and is set to strike a deal with her former eOne boss John Morayniss and his Blink49 Studios.
Long joined eOne in 2012 and has shepherded unscripted series such as We tv’s Growing Up Hip Hop franchise, MTV’s Ex On The Beach and Siesta Key, E!’s LadyGang, BET’s Hustle in Brooklyn, Death Row Chronicles and Emmy-nominated LA Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later, A&e’s Biggie: The Life of Notorious B.I.G. and Gsn’s America Says.
Earlier this month, it emerged that Lionsgate was cutting eOne’s workforce by about 10% after the deal closed in August.
Morayniss, who ran eOne’s television business between 2008 and...
- 12/11/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Fifth Season-backed Blink49 Studios has acquired a majority stake in Front Street Pictures, a prolific TV series and movies producer for Hallmark, Lifetime, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros., Tubi and Paramount.
Terms of the investment were not disclosed, but the agreement expands Blink49’s Canadian production reach as part of its first major acquisition. Vancouver-based Front Street Pictures will continue to operate under its own banner and be led by president Charles Cooper as it expands its focus on TV movie production.
John Morayniss, Patrice Theroux, Jeff Lynas and Nelson Kuo-Lee — all veteran executives from Entertainment One — launched Blink49 Studios as a Canadian-based indie banner in 2021 to develop and produce both scripted and unscripted content. Fifth Season (formerly Endeavor Content) became the lead strategic investor in Blink49, which is headquartered in Toronto and has offices in Los Angeles, and is also the production banner’s main distribution partner.
“We’re thrilled...
Terms of the investment were not disclosed, but the agreement expands Blink49’s Canadian production reach as part of its first major acquisition. Vancouver-based Front Street Pictures will continue to operate under its own banner and be led by president Charles Cooper as it expands its focus on TV movie production.
John Morayniss, Patrice Theroux, Jeff Lynas and Nelson Kuo-Lee — all veteran executives from Entertainment One — launched Blink49 Studios as a Canadian-based indie banner in 2021 to develop and produce both scripted and unscripted content. Fifth Season (formerly Endeavor Content) became the lead strategic investor in Blink49, which is headquartered in Toronto and has offices in Los Angeles, and is also the production banner’s main distribution partner.
“We’re thrilled...
- 11/21/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Canada-based firms Blink49 Studios and Vanguarde Artists Management are teaming to make shows.
The pair has created a joint venture that will develop and produce content for the global market. The firms are billing the deal as a “first-of-its-kind” agreement in Canada, with Vanguarde providing the creative talent and IP and former eOne Television chief John Morayniss’ Blink49 providing studio, production and distribution infrastructure.
Blink49, which is backed by Cj Enm-owned Fifth Season, will also provide development funding to help create a slate. It and Vanguarde will serve as co-producers on all projects developed, with Fifth Season taking a first look on international distribution rights.
The news comes shortly after Deadline revealed Vanguarde had set up a production arm, Vanguarde Pictures and hired former Saving Hope and Burden of Truth showrunner Adam Pettle, who’ll work to develop content alongside Co-Heads Tina Horwitz and Jay Horwitz.
“With a stellar client roster and a thoughtful,...
The pair has created a joint venture that will develop and produce content for the global market. The firms are billing the deal as a “first-of-its-kind” agreement in Canada, with Vanguarde providing the creative talent and IP and former eOne Television chief John Morayniss’ Blink49 providing studio, production and distribution infrastructure.
Blink49, which is backed by Cj Enm-owned Fifth Season, will also provide development funding to help create a slate. It and Vanguarde will serve as co-producers on all projects developed, with Fifth Season taking a first look on international distribution rights.
The news comes shortly after Deadline revealed Vanguarde had set up a production arm, Vanguarde Pictures and hired former Saving Hope and Burden of Truth showrunner Adam Pettle, who’ll work to develop content alongside Co-Heads Tina Horwitz and Jay Horwitz.
“With a stellar client roster and a thoughtful,...
- 11/16/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Blink49 Studios is launching a Canadian unscripted TV arm to develop a slate of non-fiction content targeting the local and international markets.
The new division will be led by Toby Dormer, executive vp of unscripted TV and Allison Brough, named vp of unscripted TV. Based in Vancouver, Dormer most recently served as executive vp of unscripted, Canada for Entertainment One, and will report to John Morayniss, CEO of Blink49 Studios.
Brough also comes over from eOne, where she was vp of development, unscripted TV and head of Podcast Network. “We’re thrilled to be launching our unscripted division with Toby and Allison leading the charge. They are a formidable team with stellar reputations and an impressive track record of developing and producing a compelling and diverse slate of unscripted content for a global market,” Morayniss said in a statement.
Morayniss, Patrice Theroux, Jeff Lynas...
Blink49 Studios is launching a Canadian unscripted TV arm to develop a slate of non-fiction content targeting the local and international markets.
The new division will be led by Toby Dormer, executive vp of unscripted TV and Allison Brough, named vp of unscripted TV. Based in Vancouver, Dormer most recently served as executive vp of unscripted, Canada for Entertainment One, and will report to John Morayniss, CEO of Blink49 Studios.
Brough also comes over from eOne, where she was vp of development, unscripted TV and head of Podcast Network. “We’re thrilled to be launching our unscripted division with Toby and Allison leading the charge. They are a formidable team with stellar reputations and an impressive track record of developing and producing a compelling and diverse slate of unscripted content for a global market,” Morayniss said in a statement.
Morayniss, Patrice Theroux, Jeff Lynas...
- 8/2/2022
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Former Entertainment One TV CEO John Morayniss has reunited with several of his former colleagues to launch Blink Studios, a new independent studio launched with the backing of Endeavor Content. Morayniss will serve as CEO of the company, which will be based in Toronto with an office in Los Angeles.
Morayniss is forming Blink with fellow eOne alums Patrice Theroux (who will serve as executive vice chair), Nelson Kuo-Lee (who will serve as CFO) and Jeff Lynas (who will serve as COO).
Blink will focus on both scripted and unscripted fare, with an eye toward the global marketplace. Endeavor Content, described as Blink’s anchor investor and lead strategic partner, will serve as the new studio’s worldwide priority distribution partner.
Blink will place much of its emphasis in investing in Canadian production companies, and also plans to strike overall deals with writers, creators, producers and others. One of the...
Morayniss is forming Blink with fellow eOne alums Patrice Theroux (who will serve as executive vice chair), Nelson Kuo-Lee (who will serve as CFO) and Jeff Lynas (who will serve as COO).
Blink will focus on both scripted and unscripted fare, with an eye toward the global marketplace. Endeavor Content, described as Blink’s anchor investor and lead strategic partner, will serve as the new studio’s worldwide priority distribution partner.
Blink will place much of its emphasis in investing in Canadian production companies, and also plans to strike overall deals with writers, creators, producers and others. One of the...
- 11/2/2021
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
Former eOne Television chief John Morayniss has launched a new production venture with a handful of his former colleagues and backing from Endeavor Content.
Morayniss, Patrice Theroux, Jeff Lynas and Nelson Kuo-Lee have established Blink Studios, headquartered in Toronto with offices in LA. The studio will develop and produce scripted and unscripted content for the global market with Endeavor Content as its “priority” distribution partner.
The company will look to invest in Canadian production companies as well as strike deals with writers and producers and pursue IP in Canada and around the world.
Morayniss led eOne’s television business between 2008 and 2018 after cofounding Canadian indie Blueprint Entertainment, which was acquired by eOne. He left after Mark Gordon became eOne’s President and Chief Content Officer, Film, Television and Digital, overseeing all of its creative units.
Theroux was previously eOne’s President of Film and Television from 2007 to 2014, Lynas handled day-to-day...
Morayniss, Patrice Theroux, Jeff Lynas and Nelson Kuo-Lee have established Blink Studios, headquartered in Toronto with offices in LA. The studio will develop and produce scripted and unscripted content for the global market with Endeavor Content as its “priority” distribution partner.
The company will look to invest in Canadian production companies as well as strike deals with writers and producers and pursue IP in Canada and around the world.
Morayniss led eOne’s television business between 2008 and 2018 after cofounding Canadian indie Blueprint Entertainment, which was acquired by eOne. He left after Mark Gordon became eOne’s President and Chief Content Officer, Film, Television and Digital, overseeing all of its creative units.
Theroux was previously eOne’s President of Film and Television from 2007 to 2014, Lynas handled day-to-day...
- 11/2/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
John Morayniss, Patrice Theroux, Jeff Lynas, and Nelson Kuo-Lee— all veteran executives from Entertainment One— have launched Blink Studios, a Canadian-based indie banner that will develop and produce both scripted and unscripted content.
Endeavor Content will act as its lead strategic investor in Blink, which will be headquartered in Toronto with offices in Los Angeles, with Endeavor co-president Chris Rice joining the outfit as a board member. Endeavor will also be Blink’s priority distribution partner.
Former CBC head Kirstine Stewart has been appointed as non-executive board chair for the company that, in addition to producing content, plans to make ...
Endeavor Content will act as its lead strategic investor in Blink, which will be headquartered in Toronto with offices in Los Angeles, with Endeavor co-president Chris Rice joining the outfit as a board member. Endeavor will also be Blink’s priority distribution partner.
Former CBC head Kirstine Stewart has been appointed as non-executive board chair for the company that, in addition to producing content, plans to make ...
- 11/2/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
John Morayniss, Patrice Theroux, Jeff Lynas, and Nelson Kuo-Lee— all veteran executives from Entertainment One— have launched Blink Studios, a Canadian-based indie banner that will develop and produce both scripted and unscripted content.
Endeavor Content will act as its lead strategic investor in Blink, which will be headquartered in Toronto with offices in Los Angeles, with Endeavor co-president Chris Rice joining the outfit as a board member. Endeavor will also be Blink’s priority distribution partner.
Former CBC head Kirstine Stewart has been appointed as non-executive board chair for the company that, in addition to producing content, plans to make ...
Endeavor Content will act as its lead strategic investor in Blink, which will be headquartered in Toronto with offices in Los Angeles, with Endeavor co-president Chris Rice joining the outfit as a board member. Endeavor will also be Blink’s priority distribution partner.
Former CBC head Kirstine Stewart has been appointed as non-executive board chair for the company that, in addition to producing content, plans to make ...
- 11/2/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Exclusive: Production has commenced in North Bay, Ontario, on feature drama All My Puny Sorrows, starring Alison Pill (Vice), Sarah Gadon (Alias Grace), Amybeth McNulty (Anne With An E) and Oscar-nominee Mare Winningham (News Of The World).
Written and directed by Michael McGowan (Between), adapted from the novel by Canadian author Miriam Toews, the film charts the story of two Mennonite sisters portrayed by Pill and Gadon who have left their strict religious upbringing behind. While one sibling struggles in love and life, the other is a world-famous concert pianist.
Rounding out the cast is Donal Logue (Vikings) and Aly Mawji (Silicon Valley).
Pic is produced by McGowan’s Mulmur Feed Co., along with Sugar Shack Productions’ Patrice Theroux, and Carousel Pictures’ Tyler Levine and Katelyn Cursio.
Mongrel Media will distribute in Canada and Voltage is aboard for world sales.
The film is supported by the Short-Term Compensation Fund, administered...
Written and directed by Michael McGowan (Between), adapted from the novel by Canadian author Miriam Toews, the film charts the story of two Mennonite sisters portrayed by Pill and Gadon who have left their strict religious upbringing behind. While one sibling struggles in love and life, the other is a world-famous concert pianist.
Rounding out the cast is Donal Logue (Vikings) and Aly Mawji (Silicon Valley).
Pic is produced by McGowan’s Mulmur Feed Co., along with Sugar Shack Productions’ Patrice Theroux, and Carousel Pictures’ Tyler Levine and Katelyn Cursio.
Mongrel Media will distribute in Canada and Voltage is aboard for world sales.
The film is supported by the Short-Term Compensation Fund, administered...
- 12/2/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
The female-led drama is set for a February theatrical and on-demand launch.
Gravitas Ventures has acquired Us rights to recent Toronto festival premiere The Rest Of Us from sales agent Voltage Pictures.
The drama-comedy about the complicated relationships between two women and their daughters stars Heather Graham, Sophie Nélisse, Jodi Balfour and Abigail Pniowsky. Aisling Chin-Yee directed from a script by Alanna Francis.
Katie Bird Nolan and Lindsay Tapscott of Babe Nation Films, William Woods of Woods Entertainment, and Emma Fleury served as producers. Executive Producers are Damon D’Oliveira and Patrice Theroux.
Gravitas, part of the Europe-based multi-national Red Arrow Studios group,...
Gravitas Ventures has acquired Us rights to recent Toronto festival premiere The Rest Of Us from sales agent Voltage Pictures.
The drama-comedy about the complicated relationships between two women and their daughters stars Heather Graham, Sophie Nélisse, Jodi Balfour and Abigail Pniowsky. Aisling Chin-Yee directed from a script by Alanna Francis.
Katie Bird Nolan and Lindsay Tapscott of Babe Nation Films, William Woods of Woods Entertainment, and Emma Fleury served as producers. Executive Producers are Damon D’Oliveira and Patrice Theroux.
Gravitas, part of the Europe-based multi-national Red Arrow Studios group,...
- 11/22/2019
- ScreenDaily
Aisling Chin-Yee’s feature directorial debut centres on tragedy that unites two women.
Voltage Pictures has launched worldwide sales excluding Canada on The Rest Of Us starring Heather Graham, which receives its world premiere in Tiff Discovery tomorrow (6).
Graham stars in Aisling Chin-Yee’s feature directorial debut as a children’s author and illustrator who invites her ex-partner’s wife and daughter into her life when tragedy strikes.
The cast includes Sophie Nélisse, Jodi Balfour, and Abigail Pniowsky (Arrival). Alanna Francis makes her feature screenwriting debut.
levelFILM will distribute The Rest Of Us in Canada. Katie Bird Nolan and Lindsay Tapscott...
Voltage Pictures has launched worldwide sales excluding Canada on The Rest Of Us starring Heather Graham, which receives its world premiere in Tiff Discovery tomorrow (6).
Graham stars in Aisling Chin-Yee’s feature directorial debut as a children’s author and illustrator who invites her ex-partner’s wife and daughter into her life when tragedy strikes.
The cast includes Sophie Nélisse, Jodi Balfour, and Abigail Pniowsky (Arrival). Alanna Francis makes her feature screenwriting debut.
levelFILM will distribute The Rest Of Us in Canada. Katie Bird Nolan and Lindsay Tapscott...
- 9/5/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Following the documentary, Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World Of Ben Ferencz, producers Barry Avrich and Patrice Theroux are continuing to tell the story of the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor Ben Ferencz by acquiring the film and television rights to Ferencz’s story for an upcoming scripted project.
Ferencz, a lifelong advocate of “law not war”, became the lead prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen case at Nuremberg after witnessing Nazi concentration camps shortly after liberation. In his first trial, at age 27, all 22 Nazi officials who were tried for murdering over a million people, were convicted. Ferencz went on to advocate for restitution for Jewish victims of the Holocaust and later assisted in the establishment of the International Criminal Court.
“I am honored to take this journey,” said Ferencz, “I never dreamed as a 27-year-old standing in a Nuremberg courtroom prosecuting Nazis that my life would be the subject of a film.
Ferencz, a lifelong advocate of “law not war”, became the lead prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen case at Nuremberg after witnessing Nazi concentration camps shortly after liberation. In his first trial, at age 27, all 22 Nazi officials who were tried for murdering over a million people, were convicted. Ferencz went on to advocate for restitution for Jewish victims of the Holocaust and later assisted in the establishment of the International Criminal Court.
“I am honored to take this journey,” said Ferencz, “I never dreamed as a 27-year-old standing in a Nuremberg courtroom prosecuting Nazis that my life would be the subject of a film.
- 6/6/2019
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Vertical Entertainment has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Giant Little Ones, the coming-of-age drama from Canadian director Keith Behrman that had its world premiere earlier this fall as a Toronto Film Festival special presentation. The plan is for a March 2019 platform theatrical release.
Josh Wiggins, Darren Mann, Taylor Hickson, Maria Bello and Kyle MacLachlan star in the pic, which centers on Franky Winter (Wiggins) and Ballas Kohl (Mann) who have been best friends since childhood. They are high school royalty – handsome, stars of the swim team and popular with girls. They live the perfect teenage life, until the night of Franky’s epic 17th birthday party when Franky and Ballas are involved in an unexpected incident that changes their lives forever.
Allison Black produced, with Patrice Theroux, Bello, Nathan Morlando, Ricky Blumenstein, Jason Potash, Paul Finkel, Hussain Amarshi, Daniel Bekerman, Mark Gingras and John Laing as executive producers.
Josh Wiggins, Darren Mann, Taylor Hickson, Maria Bello and Kyle MacLachlan star in the pic, which centers on Franky Winter (Wiggins) and Ballas Kohl (Mann) who have been best friends since childhood. They are high school royalty – handsome, stars of the swim team and popular with girls. They live the perfect teenage life, until the night of Franky’s epic 17th birthday party when Franky and Ballas are involved in an unexpected incident that changes their lives forever.
Allison Black produced, with Patrice Theroux, Bello, Nathan Morlando, Ricky Blumenstein, Jason Potash, Paul Finkel, Hussain Amarshi, Daniel Bekerman, Mark Gingras and John Laing as executive producers.
- 11/1/2018
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Vertical Entertainment has acquired U.S. rights to The Reckoning, a documentary about Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo era that premiered at Hot Docs International in April.
Here’s the logline: The Reckoning details the personal toll of the movie mogul’s alleged pathology and broadens the systemic scale of abuse to the ensuing harassment scandals in the #MeToo era. Featuring interviews with insiders, complainants and whistleblowers, as well as divisive journalists and lawyers, Avrich brings controversial voices and undeterred women to the forefront in this unsettling look at one of the most explosive watersheds in Hollywood history.
Watch the trailer here.
No release date has been set for director Barry Avrich’s film, which also looks at other scandals involving James Toback, Woody Allen and Louis C.K. and features interviews with insiders, those who came forth as victims and whistleblowers.
“The Reckoning is a powerful and timely account...
Here’s the logline: The Reckoning details the personal toll of the movie mogul’s alleged pathology and broadens the systemic scale of abuse to the ensuing harassment scandals in the #MeToo era. Featuring interviews with insiders, complainants and whistleblowers, as well as divisive journalists and lawyers, Avrich brings controversial voices and undeterred women to the forefront in this unsettling look at one of the most explosive watersheds in Hollywood history.
Watch the trailer here.
No release date has been set for director Barry Avrich’s film, which also looks at other scandals involving James Toback, Woody Allen and Louis C.K. and features interviews with insiders, those who came forth as victims and whistleblowers.
“The Reckoning is a powerful and timely account...
- 7/20/2018
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
As Harvey Weinstein faces accusations from more than 100 women and a rape trial that could send him to prison for 25 years, directors, writers, and producers jockey for position: Who will be the first to prepare adaptations of his demise? He sparked an episode of “Law & Order: Svu” that aired earlier this year, but that only scratches the surface.
Of course, news headlines spur plenty of quickly announced films that never get made. Revolution Studios touted “Fan Interference” the week Steve Bartman’s foul ball catch kept the Cubs from the 2003 World Series, while Spike Lee pledged to direct a James Brown biopic for Paramount Pictures and Imagine Entertainment just one day after the soul legend’s death in 2006. However, a couple of these Weinstein undertakings are very much in the works, with one only months away.
Here, we assess the prospective Weinstein-inspired projects to date, from most to least likely.
Of course, news headlines spur plenty of quickly announced films that never get made. Revolution Studios touted “Fan Interference” the week Steve Bartman’s foul ball catch kept the Cubs from the 2003 World Series, while Spike Lee pledged to direct a James Brown biopic for Paramount Pictures and Imagine Entertainment just one day after the soul legend’s death in 2006. However, a couple of these Weinstein undertakings are very much in the works, with one only months away.
Here, we assess the prospective Weinstein-inspired projects to date, from most to least likely.
- 6/14/2018
- by Jenna Marotta
- Indiewire
In 2010, filmmaker Barry Avrich wrote, directed and produced Unauthorized: The Harvey Weinstein Project, a documentary about the micro-managing, hair-trigger tempered but ultimately genius Hollywood producer. Now Avrich and producer Melissa Hood’s new documentary The Reckoning: Hollywood’s Worst Kept Secret will have its world premiere at the 25th Hot Docs Film Festival. It will bow as part of the festival’s Special Presentations program
Avrich’s new feature length documentary returns to detail what he didn’t know then about the far darker side of the now-disgraced sexual predator. Which begs the question, if it was Hollywood’s worst kept secret, how come the subject didn’t come up eight years ago in his first doc.
The Reckoning: Hollywood’s Worst Kept Secret is executive produced by Hood, Patrice Theroux and Avrich.
The Reckoning opens with a contrite Weinstein packing off to a rehab centre, right before the #MeToo movement exploded.
Avrich’s new feature length documentary returns to detail what he didn’t know then about the far darker side of the now-disgraced sexual predator. Which begs the question, if it was Hollywood’s worst kept secret, how come the subject didn’t come up eight years ago in his first doc.
The Reckoning: Hollywood’s Worst Kept Secret is executive produced by Hood, Patrice Theroux and Avrich.
The Reckoning opens with a contrite Weinstein packing off to a rehab centre, right before the #MeToo movement exploded.
- 4/17/2018
- by Anita Busch
- Deadline Film + TV
Mongrel International handles sales outside Us and Canada.
Kyle MacLachlan, star of Showtime’s recently revived Twin Peaks, has joined La and Toronto-based euclid431’s Ya drama Glo, which is currently shooting in and around Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario, Canada.
The star of the recently revived Twin Peaks on Showtime joins previously announced Maria Bello and Josh Wiggins on the Ya drama.
Keith Behrman wrote and directed Glo, also known as The Giant Little Ones, about two popular teenage friends whose lives and families are turned upside-down after an unexpected incident occurs at a 17th birthday party.
Darren Mann, Taylor Hickson, and Peter Outerbridge round out the cast. Production in Ontario is scheduled to continue through August.
Telefilm Canada, Storyboard Entertainment, Omdc, Nohfc, Mongrel Media, CBC, Urban Post, Bell Media’s Harold Greenberg Fund, and Tmn are financing the project.
euclid431 founder Allison Black produces the film, and executive producers are Bello, Patrice Theroux, [link...
Kyle MacLachlan, star of Showtime’s recently revived Twin Peaks, has joined La and Toronto-based euclid431’s Ya drama Glo, which is currently shooting in and around Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario, Canada.
The star of the recently revived Twin Peaks on Showtime joins previously announced Maria Bello and Josh Wiggins on the Ya drama.
Keith Behrman wrote and directed Glo, also known as The Giant Little Ones, about two popular teenage friends whose lives and families are turned upside-down after an unexpected incident occurs at a 17th birthday party.
Darren Mann, Taylor Hickson, and Peter Outerbridge round out the cast. Production in Ontario is scheduled to continue through August.
Telefilm Canada, Storyboard Entertainment, Omdc, Nohfc, Mongrel Media, CBC, Urban Post, Bell Media’s Harold Greenberg Fund, and Tmn are financing the project.
euclid431 founder Allison Black produces the film, and executive producers are Bello, Patrice Theroux, [link...
- 7/17/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
"X-Men" film series writer David Hayter has been tapped to pen the comic-to-tv series adaptation of Michael Moreci's comic strip "ReincarNATE" and will serve as head writer and executive producer on the supernatural crime drama series.
The story portrays a down-on-his-luck private eye, Nate McCoy. After being shot in the head during an investigation, McCoy finds he can interact with versions of himself from past lives, including a Wild West lawman and a sultry 1960s female contract killer.
With their help he takes on a dangerous underworld of crooked cops and scumbags, including a criminal heavyweight who may have murdered his father.
Sean Buckley and Patrice Theroux will also executive produce.
Source: THR...
The story portrays a down-on-his-luck private eye, Nate McCoy. After being shot in the head during an investigation, McCoy finds he can interact with versions of himself from past lives, including a Wild West lawman and a sultry 1960s female contract killer.
With their help he takes on a dangerous underworld of crooked cops and scumbags, including a criminal heavyweight who may have murdered his father.
Sean Buckley and Patrice Theroux will also executive produce.
Source: THR...
- 6/22/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Director David Cronenberg (Eastern Promises, A History of Violence) returns with a provocative satire about the Hollywood film industry and the demons of celebrity obsession in the Focus World release Maps To The Stars, now available on Digital HD and debuting on Blu-ray with Digital HD and DVD on April 14, 2015 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Academy Award winner Julianne Moore (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay) stars with Mia Wasikowska (The Kids Are All Right), Olivia Williams (Hyde Park on Hudson), John Cusack (Being John Malkovich), and Robert Pattinson (The Twilight Saga) in this unforgettable darkly comic thriller written by Bruce Wagner (I’m Losing You). Hollywood actress Havana Segrand (Moore) is unraveling as her career flounders. Her self-help psychotherapist (Cusack) and his wife (Williams) are busy managing the career of their child-star son. But when a mysterious young woman named Agatha (Wasikowska) befriends a limo driver and aspiring actor (Pattinson) all their lives get together,...
Academy Award winner Julianne Moore (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay) stars with Mia Wasikowska (The Kids Are All Right), Olivia Williams (Hyde Park on Hudson), John Cusack (Being John Malkovich), and Robert Pattinson (The Twilight Saga) in this unforgettable darkly comic thriller written by Bruce Wagner (I’m Losing You). Hollywood actress Havana Segrand (Moore) is unraveling as her career flounders. Her self-help psychotherapist (Cusack) and his wife (Williams) are busy managing the career of their child-star son. But when a mysterious young woman named Agatha (Wasikowska) befriends a limo driver and aspiring actor (Pattinson) all their lives get together,...
- 3/25/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
• Guy Pearce and Dominic West have signed on for Genius, joining Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Laura Linney. Michael Grandage is directing the film, marking his feature debut. John Logan adapted A. Scott Berg’s book for the screen. Pearce will play F. Scott Fitzgerald, while West will portray Ernest Hemingway. The film will relay the true, complicated relationship between novelist Thomas Wolfe (Law) and his editor, Max Perkins (Firth). Kidman will play Aline Bernstein, with Linney as Louise Perkins. Genius comes as the third collaboration between Grandage, producing partner James Bierman, and John Logan. Filming kicks off...
- 9/26/2014
- by C. Molly Smith
- EW - Inside Movies
Entertainment One reveals plans to reorganize global film structure.
eOne veteran Patrice Theroux is to leave the production-distribution powerhouse with former DreamWorks executive Steve Bertram joining the company as president, Global Film Group, reporting to Darren Throop, CEO.
Théroux, who joined eOne in 2007 to run the outfit’s film division, will continue to collaborate with eOne through a film and TV development deal.
Former Paramount and Relativity exec Bertram joins eOne from DreamWorks where he most recently led new business development and operations.
Reporting directly to CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, Bertram was responsible for building and managing the company’s new technology initiatives and strategic partnerships.
Bertram will lead film activities globally for the acquisitive mini-studio eOne, including supervision of eOne’s direct distribution operations in Canada, the UK, the Us, Australia/New Zealand, Spain and the Benelux.
He will also oversee the company’s growing film production and international sales operations and will work to expand the company...
eOne veteran Patrice Theroux is to leave the production-distribution powerhouse with former DreamWorks executive Steve Bertram joining the company as president, Global Film Group, reporting to Darren Throop, CEO.
Théroux, who joined eOne in 2007 to run the outfit’s film division, will continue to collaborate with eOne through a film and TV development deal.
Former Paramount and Relativity exec Bertram joins eOne from DreamWorks where he most recently led new business development and operations.
Reporting directly to CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, Bertram was responsible for building and managing the company’s new technology initiatives and strategic partnerships.
Bertram will lead film activities globally for the acquisitive mini-studio eOne, including supervision of eOne’s direct distribution operations in Canada, the UK, the Us, Australia/New Zealand, Spain and the Benelux.
He will also oversee the company’s growing film production and international sales operations and will work to expand the company...
- 9/15/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
A couple of really blurry images have appeared on Instagram from Blumhouse Productions and eOne’s Sinister 2, the sequel to the 2012 sleeper hit horror movie Sinister. Barry Lee Caldwell, script supervisor on the film, leaked out the two photos from the set in Chicago.
Ciaran Foy (Citadel) is directing Sinister 2, which Focus Features will release nationwide domestically on Friday, August 21, 2015. Scott Derrickson, director of Sinister, penned the Sinister 2 screenplay with C. Robert Cargill, with whom he also wrote the original film.
eOne is financing Sinister 2, and Jason Blum of Blumhouse, who produced the earlier movie, is producing it with Derrickson. Charles Layton, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and eOne’s Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux are executive producers on Sinister 2.
In the aftermath of the shocking events in Sinister, a protective mother (Shannyn Sossamon; pictured above) and her 9-year-old twin sons (real-life twins Robert and Dartanian Sloan) find...
Ciaran Foy (Citadel) is directing Sinister 2, which Focus Features will release nationwide domestically on Friday, August 21, 2015. Scott Derrickson, director of Sinister, penned the Sinister 2 screenplay with C. Robert Cargill, with whom he also wrote the original film.
eOne is financing Sinister 2, and Jason Blum of Blumhouse, who produced the earlier movie, is producing it with Derrickson. Charles Layton, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and eOne’s Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux are executive producers on Sinister 2.
In the aftermath of the shocking events in Sinister, a protective mother (Shannyn Sossamon; pictured above) and her 9-year-old twin sons (real-life twins Robert and Dartanian Sloan) find...
- 9/9/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
Blumhouse Productions and eOne’s Sinister 2, the sequel to the 2012 sleeper hit horror movie Sinister, begins production next week in Chicago; and we finally have some casting news.
Ciaran Foy (Citadel) is directing Sinister 2, which Focus Features will release nationwide domestically on Friday, August 21, 2015. Focus, Entertainment One (eOne), and Blumhouse confirmed the following key information today.
Scott Derrickson, director of Sinister, has written the Sinister 2 screenplay with C. Robert Cargill; the duo also wrote the original film.
eOne is financing Sinister 2, and Jason Blum of Blumhouse, who produced the earlier movie, is producing it with Derrickson. Charles Layton, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and eOne’s Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux are executive producers on Sinister 2.
In the aftermath of the shocking events in Sinister, a protective mother (Shannyn Sossamon of "Wayward Pines"; pictured above) and her 9-year-old twin sons (real-life twins Robert and Dartanian Sloan) find themselves...
Ciaran Foy (Citadel) is directing Sinister 2, which Focus Features will release nationwide domestically on Friday, August 21, 2015. Focus, Entertainment One (eOne), and Blumhouse confirmed the following key information today.
Scott Derrickson, director of Sinister, has written the Sinister 2 screenplay with C. Robert Cargill; the duo also wrote the original film.
eOne is financing Sinister 2, and Jason Blum of Blumhouse, who produced the earlier movie, is producing it with Derrickson. Charles Layton, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and eOne’s Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux are executive producers on Sinister 2.
In the aftermath of the shocking events in Sinister, a protective mother (Shannyn Sossamon of "Wayward Pines"; pictured above) and her 9-year-old twin sons (real-life twins Robert and Dartanian Sloan) find themselves...
- 8/13/2014
- by Debi Moore
- DreadCentral.com
Exclusive: James Ransone will return to his Sinister role alongside Shannyn Sossamon (Wayward Pines) to lead the cast of Blumhouse Productions and eOne’s Sinister 2, which is heading into production next week in Chicago. The 2012 microbudget sleeper hit from director Scott Derrickson starred Ethan Hawke as a man who finds mysterious home movies in his new house that place his family in danger. Ransone will reprise his role in the sequel as a concerned local sheriff’s deputy, opposite Sossamon as a protective mother who moves with her 9-year-old twin sons into a rural house that’s marked for death.
Related: Ciaran Foy To Direct ‘Sinister’ Sequel
Ciaran Foy (Citadel) is at the helm directing from a script by Derrickson and his Sinister co-scribe C. Robert Cargill. Jason Blum is again producing for Blumhouse with Derrickson, and Charles Layton, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and eOne’s Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux are exec producing.
Related: Ciaran Foy To Direct ‘Sinister’ Sequel
Ciaran Foy (Citadel) is at the helm directing from a script by Derrickson and his Sinister co-scribe C. Robert Cargill. Jason Blum is again producing for Blumhouse with Derrickson, and Charles Layton, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and eOne’s Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux are exec producing.
- 8/13/2014
- by Jen Yamato
- Deadline
Blumhouse Productions and eOne’s Sinister 2, the sequel to the 2012 sleeper hit horror movie Sinister, begins production next week in Chicago. Ciaran Foy (Citadel) is directing Sinister 2, which Focus Features will release nationwide domestically on Friday, August 21st, 2015. Scott Derrickson, director of Sinister, has written the Sinister 2 screenplay with C. Robert Cargill; the duo also wrote the original film. eOne is financing Sinister 2. Jason Blum of Blumhouse, who produced the earlier movie, is producing Sinister 2 with Derrickson. Charles Layton, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and eOne’s Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux are executive producers. In the aftermath of the shocking events in Sinister, a protective mother (Shannyn Sossamon of Wayward Pines) and her 9-year-old twin sons (...
- 8/13/2014
- by Pietro Filipponi
- The Daily BLAM!
In Chicago and need something to do after you finish your delicious deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati's? Fan of the movie Sinister? Want to be In The Sequel? Then this one is for you, kids! Drop your burger from Kuma's and read on for details.
According to The Chicago Tribune: "Sinister 2” needs kids and teenagers to serve as extras when the sequel begins filming in the Chicago area next month.
Joan Philo Casting is looking for 7- to 18-year-olds of all shapes and sizes and an overweight male 12-15 years old, according to Facebook.com/Sinister2Extras.
But before you sign up, little Johnny, there are a few things you should know.
The original “Sinister” was a rated R horror film that involved hangings and the terrifying Mr. Boogie. And as the Facebook page pointed out, extras in the sequel may be required to act in scary scenes...
According to The Chicago Tribune: "Sinister 2” needs kids and teenagers to serve as extras when the sequel begins filming in the Chicago area next month.
Joan Philo Casting is looking for 7- to 18-year-olds of all shapes and sizes and an overweight male 12-15 years old, according to Facebook.com/Sinister2Extras.
But before you sign up, little Johnny, there are a few things you should know.
The original “Sinister” was a rated R horror film that involved hangings and the terrifying Mr. Boogie. And as the Facebook page pointed out, extras in the sequel may be required to act in scary scenes...
- 7/30/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
Focus Features has announced the release date to the much anticipated sequel to Sinister: August 21st, 2015. Scott Derrickson will not be returning to direct the sequel. However, he did write the script for Sinister 2 with C. Robert Cargill, also from the original film. Ciaran Foy (The Citadel) will be in the directors chair. Come inside for all the details!
The following excerpt is from the official press release: Focus Features will release Sinister 2, the sequel to the micro-budget horror-hit, wide on August 21, 2015. Ciaran Foy will direct the sequel which Scott Derrickson, the director of the first Sinister, is writing with C. Robert Cargill. Derrickson and Cargill also wrote the original film. eOne is financing the film which Jason Blum is producing via his Blumhouse Productions banner along with Derrickson. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Charles Layton, and eOne’s Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux are executive producing.
While horror movie...
The following excerpt is from the official press release: Focus Features will release Sinister 2, the sequel to the micro-budget horror-hit, wide on August 21, 2015. Ciaran Foy will direct the sequel which Scott Derrickson, the director of the first Sinister, is writing with C. Robert Cargill. Derrickson and Cargill also wrote the original film. eOne is financing the film which Jason Blum is producing via his Blumhouse Productions banner along with Derrickson. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Charles Layton, and eOne’s Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux are executive producing.
While horror movie...
- 7/24/2014
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Jonathan M Cook)
- Cinelinx
It was announced today that Focus Features will release Blumhouse and eOne’s Sinister 2, the sequel to the micro-budget horror-hit, wide on August 21, 2015.
Ciaran Foy will direct the sequel which Scott Derrickson, the director of the first Sinister, is writing with C. Robert Cargill.
Derrickson and Cargill also wrote the original film. Sinister took in $18.2 million on opening weekend in October 2012, with an eventual gross of $48 million – all on a $3 million budget.
The film starred Ethan Hawke and Juliet Rylance. Read Travis Keune’s review Here.
eOne is financing the film which Jason Blum is producing via his Blumhouse Productions banner along with Derrickson. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Charles Layton, and eOne’s Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux are executive producing.
The post Sinister 2 Haunting Its Way Into Theaters On August 21, 2015. appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.
Ciaran Foy will direct the sequel which Scott Derrickson, the director of the first Sinister, is writing with C. Robert Cargill.
Derrickson and Cargill also wrote the original film. Sinister took in $18.2 million on opening weekend in October 2012, with an eventual gross of $48 million – all on a $3 million budget.
The film starred Ethan Hawke and Juliet Rylance. Read Travis Keune’s review Here.
eOne is financing the film which Jason Blum is producing via his Blumhouse Productions banner along with Derrickson. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Charles Layton, and eOne’s Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux are executive producing.
The post Sinister 2 Haunting Its Way Into Theaters On August 21, 2015. appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.
- 7/23/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Sinister 2 will hit theaters on Aug. 21, 2015. Ciaran Foy, the filmmaker behind Citadel, is directing the follow-up for Blumhouse Pictures and Entertainment One. Focus Features will release the movie in the U.S. Scott Derrickson, the director of the first Sinister, wrote the script for the sequel with C. Robert Cargill (the duo also wrote the original). Jason Blum's Blumhouse is producing Sinister 2 with Derrickson. Executive producing are Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Charles Layton, as well as Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux of eOne. Sinister, released in October 2012 and starring Ethan Hawke, was one of
read more...
read more...
- 7/23/2014
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Some quick news is coming in for you Sinister fans! Focus Features will release Sinister 2, the sequel to the micro-budget horror hit, wide on August 21, 2015. Ciaran Foy will direct the follow-up, which Scott Derrickson, the director of the first Sinister, is writing with C. Robert Cargill.
Derrickson and Cargill also wrote the original film. eOne is financing the project, which Jason Blum is producing via his Blumhouse Productions banner along with Derrickson. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Charles Layton, and eOne’s Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux are executive producing.
Sinister 2 is the sequel to the highly praised original film starring Ethan Hawke, which grossed more than $87M worldwide off of a $3M budget. The move to build the Sinister franchise follows in the footsteps of Blumhouse’s successes with the Paranormal Activity and Insidious series of ultra-low-budget genre hits.
Plot details are currently being kept under wraps; however, an ad...
Derrickson and Cargill also wrote the original film. eOne is financing the project, which Jason Blum is producing via his Blumhouse Productions banner along with Derrickson. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Charles Layton, and eOne’s Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux are executive producing.
Sinister 2 is the sequel to the highly praised original film starring Ethan Hawke, which grossed more than $87M worldwide off of a $3M budget. The move to build the Sinister franchise follows in the footsteps of Blumhouse’s successes with the Paranormal Activity and Insidious series of ultra-low-budget genre hits.
Plot details are currently being kept under wraps; however, an ad...
- 7/23/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
What If gives a slightly different spin on romantic comedies, and more importantly, it gives Zoe Kazan a chance to get the exposure she deserves.
More than just your typical rom-com, What If spins the “friendship” question into new nooks and crannies of the relationship world, and does so from the perspective of some excessively quirky characters. Daniel Radcliffe, who to me has had varying levels of success attempting a wide array of characters, looks to have this role nailed down… possibly because there is a bit of Harry Potter about Wallace.
The new clip below expands on the “friendship bargain” you get in the trailer above, and is a pretty clever moment for the film.
Check it out, and make sure you have August 8th on your calendar.
What If Clip – The Girl With a Boyfriend
What If is the story of medical school dropout Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe), who...
More than just your typical rom-com, What If spins the “friendship” question into new nooks and crannies of the relationship world, and does so from the perspective of some excessively quirky characters. Daniel Radcliffe, who to me has had varying levels of success attempting a wide array of characters, looks to have this role nailed down… possibly because there is a bit of Harry Potter about Wallace.
The new clip below expands on the “friendship bargain” you get in the trailer above, and is a pretty clever moment for the film.
Check it out, and make sure you have August 8th on your calendar.
What If Clip – The Girl With a Boyfriend
What If is the story of medical school dropout Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe), who...
- 6/17/2014
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
Whistler Film Festival in BC runs from December 4 to 8, 2013, and filmmakers and deal-makers from Los Angeles, China and Canada will meet there at the Whistler Film Festival’s annual industry Summit to talk about cross border distribution and commerce. One of the many advantages of Wff’s Summit is the intimate environment in which executives and filmmakers network and forge relationships. Whether it is at a panel discussion, a reception or strolling through the village, Whistler offers an unparalleled opportunity for gaining access to the people you need to talk to – and with this years roster of industry elite, it’s an opportunity you can’t afford to miss.
“Drawing on the expertise of this years VIP guests, the Summit is structured around the theme of bringing your films to market, and is designed to provide filmmakers and producers with the necessary tools to succeed both within and beyond Canada’s borders,” said Paul Gratton, Wff’s Director of Programming. “Our second annual China Canada Gateway for Film Script Competition will provide insight into what works when considering a possible co-production with China. Similarly, this year's Crossing Borders program focuses on film distribution in Canada, specifically addressing what the EOne acquisition of Alliance means to Canadian players.”
On December 5th, Wff’s Summit kicks off with the second annual China Canada Gateway for Film® Script Competition, a dynamic pitching competition designed to stimulate international financing for Canadian creators to participate in a China Canada co-production. The competition introduces experienced writer/producer teams to Chinese studios with production financing on the table for three selected projects. The selected teams, international panel of experts and three Chinese production companies will be announced at the end of October.
On December 6th, the Summit’s Crossing Borders program will address all things distribution from big screen success to small screen solutions, attracting the most influential players in the industry.
The New Distribution panel will reveal how the vacuum in the Canadian distribution sector is quickly being filled up by aggressive new players such as Pacific Northwest Pictures and Indiecan, and how more established companies such as Kinosmith and Phase Four Films are stepping up to the plate. Attendees will learn about the new distributors, what they are looking for, and how and when to best approach them with their next film project. Guests include: Emily Alden, VP of Production & Development, Pacific Northwest Pictures; Robin Smith, Founder & President, Kinosmith; and Berry Meyerowitz, President & CEO, Phase 4 Films Inc.
The Alternative Distribution panel will speak to new ways of getting films to the big screen, or any screen for that matter. At a time when digital technology is allowing more and more films to get made than ever before, the challenge still remains on how to get these films to market. With alternative distributors speaking from both the Us and Canadian perspective, attendees will find out from the pros how to get films seen and generating revenue no matter what side of the border you live on. Guests include: J. Joly, Founder & CEO, CineCoup; Bill Bromiley, Chief Acquisitions Officer, Image, Rlj Entertainment; and Avi Federgreen, CEO, IndieCan Entertainment.
The What’s Up Docs panel will be moderated by Sturla Gunnarsson, director of numerous award-winning docs and of Ice Soldiers, which is receiving its world premiere at Wff. Featuring notable documentary filmmakers, the panel will address financing and distribution options for feature length documentaries at a time when most of the programming slots for so-called "one-offs" have disappeared from television screens to make way for reality programs. Guests include: Barry Avrich, Director, Filthy Gorgeous: The Bob Guccione Story; and Lucy Walker, Director, Crash Reel, with others to be announced with Wff’s lineup.
Hussain Amarshi, President & Founder of Mongrel Media, will deliver a keynote address entitled The Best of Times, The Worst of Times - Reflections on 20 Years of Film Distribution at Wff’s annual invitation only Filmmaker Luncheon.
Summit highlight In Conversation: A View From The Top moderated by Variety’s VP & Executive Editor, Steven Gaydos features Canada’s distribution and exhibition leaders including eOne, Cineplex and Bell Media who will discuss consolidation in the media and debate the pros and cons their companies' dominant positions bring to their respective sectors (theatrical distribution, theatrical exhibition, and television exhibition) in Canada. Guests include: Patrice Theroux, President, Global Filmed Entertainment, Executive Director of Entertainment One Ltd.; Michael Kennedy, Vice-President of Filmed Entertainment, Cineplex; and Kevin Goldstein, VP Regulatory Affairs Bell Media Inc.
Registered filmmakers and producers with industry experience and production credits will also have the opportunity to sign up for high-level one-on-one meetings to pitch their projects to commissioning editors, sales agents, distributors and other key execs attending the Festival.
On December 7th, Wff’s ShortWork Lab returns to empower the next generation of storytellers, providing filmmakers firsthand insight into the world of narrative short-form storytelling. Emerging filmmakers are invited to participate in this full day of panel discussions, pitches, networking and screenings with filmmakers and industry experts.
Wff’s Summit industry schedule is now available at www.whistlerfilmfestival.com . The Festival’s online box office is open for early bird industry registration and festival passes until October 31st. The Festival lineup and film schedule will be available online on November 4th.
For more information, go to www.whistlerfilmfestival.com .
The Whistler Film Festival is supported by Telefilm Canada, the Province of British Columbia and the Resort Municipality of Whistler. Bell Media (CTV, Etalk, E!) is Wff’s lead partner. Wff is sponsored by Variety, Transcontinental Media (Elle Canada), the Directors Guild of Canada - British Columbia, American Airlines, Sorel, Christie, Zoom Audio Visual Networks, Promosa Management, Tourism Whistler, Whistler Blackcomb and the Westin Resort & Spa Whistler.
The Whistler Film Festival Society (Wffs) is a cultural charitable organization dedicated to furthering the art of film by providing programs that focus on the discovery, development and promotion of new talent culminating with a must attend festival for artists, the industry and audiences in Whistler. Wffs produces one of Canada’s leading film festivals and plays a leadership role in offering professional and project development programs for filmmakers.
Whistler is Canada’s premier, year-round destination located in the spectacular Coast Mountains of British Columbia, and just two hours north of Vancouver. Consistently ranked the number one mountain resort in North America, Whistler features two majestic mountains, epic skiing and snowboarding conditions, four championship golf courses, more than 200 shops, 90 restaurants and bars, accommodations galore, hiking trails, spas and arguably the best mountain bike park in the world. In short, Whistler has everything you will ever need to have the time of your life - and so much more.
“Drawing on the expertise of this years VIP guests, the Summit is structured around the theme of bringing your films to market, and is designed to provide filmmakers and producers with the necessary tools to succeed both within and beyond Canada’s borders,” said Paul Gratton, Wff’s Director of Programming. “Our second annual China Canada Gateway for Film Script Competition will provide insight into what works when considering a possible co-production with China. Similarly, this year's Crossing Borders program focuses on film distribution in Canada, specifically addressing what the EOne acquisition of Alliance means to Canadian players.”
On December 5th, Wff’s Summit kicks off with the second annual China Canada Gateway for Film® Script Competition, a dynamic pitching competition designed to stimulate international financing for Canadian creators to participate in a China Canada co-production. The competition introduces experienced writer/producer teams to Chinese studios with production financing on the table for three selected projects. The selected teams, international panel of experts and three Chinese production companies will be announced at the end of October.
On December 6th, the Summit’s Crossing Borders program will address all things distribution from big screen success to small screen solutions, attracting the most influential players in the industry.
The New Distribution panel will reveal how the vacuum in the Canadian distribution sector is quickly being filled up by aggressive new players such as Pacific Northwest Pictures and Indiecan, and how more established companies such as Kinosmith and Phase Four Films are stepping up to the plate. Attendees will learn about the new distributors, what they are looking for, and how and when to best approach them with their next film project. Guests include: Emily Alden, VP of Production & Development, Pacific Northwest Pictures; Robin Smith, Founder & President, Kinosmith; and Berry Meyerowitz, President & CEO, Phase 4 Films Inc.
The Alternative Distribution panel will speak to new ways of getting films to the big screen, or any screen for that matter. At a time when digital technology is allowing more and more films to get made than ever before, the challenge still remains on how to get these films to market. With alternative distributors speaking from both the Us and Canadian perspective, attendees will find out from the pros how to get films seen and generating revenue no matter what side of the border you live on. Guests include: J. Joly, Founder & CEO, CineCoup; Bill Bromiley, Chief Acquisitions Officer, Image, Rlj Entertainment; and Avi Federgreen, CEO, IndieCan Entertainment.
The What’s Up Docs panel will be moderated by Sturla Gunnarsson, director of numerous award-winning docs and of Ice Soldiers, which is receiving its world premiere at Wff. Featuring notable documentary filmmakers, the panel will address financing and distribution options for feature length documentaries at a time when most of the programming slots for so-called "one-offs" have disappeared from television screens to make way for reality programs. Guests include: Barry Avrich, Director, Filthy Gorgeous: The Bob Guccione Story; and Lucy Walker, Director, Crash Reel, with others to be announced with Wff’s lineup.
Hussain Amarshi, President & Founder of Mongrel Media, will deliver a keynote address entitled The Best of Times, The Worst of Times - Reflections on 20 Years of Film Distribution at Wff’s annual invitation only Filmmaker Luncheon.
Summit highlight In Conversation: A View From The Top moderated by Variety’s VP & Executive Editor, Steven Gaydos features Canada’s distribution and exhibition leaders including eOne, Cineplex and Bell Media who will discuss consolidation in the media and debate the pros and cons their companies' dominant positions bring to their respective sectors (theatrical distribution, theatrical exhibition, and television exhibition) in Canada. Guests include: Patrice Theroux, President, Global Filmed Entertainment, Executive Director of Entertainment One Ltd.; Michael Kennedy, Vice-President of Filmed Entertainment, Cineplex; and Kevin Goldstein, VP Regulatory Affairs Bell Media Inc.
Registered filmmakers and producers with industry experience and production credits will also have the opportunity to sign up for high-level one-on-one meetings to pitch their projects to commissioning editors, sales agents, distributors and other key execs attending the Festival.
On December 7th, Wff’s ShortWork Lab returns to empower the next generation of storytellers, providing filmmakers firsthand insight into the world of narrative short-form storytelling. Emerging filmmakers are invited to participate in this full day of panel discussions, pitches, networking and screenings with filmmakers and industry experts.
Wff’s Summit industry schedule is now available at www.whistlerfilmfestival.com . The Festival’s online box office is open for early bird industry registration and festival passes until October 31st. The Festival lineup and film schedule will be available online on November 4th.
For more information, go to www.whistlerfilmfestival.com .
The Whistler Film Festival is supported by Telefilm Canada, the Province of British Columbia and the Resort Municipality of Whistler. Bell Media (CTV, Etalk, E!) is Wff’s lead partner. Wff is sponsored by Variety, Transcontinental Media (Elle Canada), the Directors Guild of Canada - British Columbia, American Airlines, Sorel, Christie, Zoom Audio Visual Networks, Promosa Management, Tourism Whistler, Whistler Blackcomb and the Westin Resort & Spa Whistler.
The Whistler Film Festival Society (Wffs) is a cultural charitable organization dedicated to furthering the art of film by providing programs that focus on the discovery, development and promotion of new talent culminating with a must attend festival for artists, the industry and audiences in Whistler. Wffs produces one of Canada’s leading film festivals and plays a leadership role in offering professional and project development programs for filmmakers.
Whistler is Canada’s premier, year-round destination located in the spectacular Coast Mountains of British Columbia, and just two hours north of Vancouver. Consistently ranked the number one mountain resort in North America, Whistler features two majestic mountains, epic skiing and snowboarding conditions, four championship golf courses, more than 200 shops, 90 restaurants and bars, accommodations galore, hiking trails, spas and arguably the best mountain bike park in the world. In short, Whistler has everything you will ever need to have the time of your life - and so much more.
- 10/22/2013
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
eOne Films International has reported a roaring trade in Toronto on No Trace Camping’s Michael Dowse rom-com The F Word starring Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan.
eOne financed the film and entered the festival with Canadian and UK rights. It will now distribute directly in Australia and New Zealand, Benelux and Spain.
Rights have gone to German-speaking Europe (Telepool), France (Snd), Cis and Baltics (Carmen), Latin America (Sun Distribution), Scandinavia (Scanbox), Portugal (Lusomundo), Turkey (Mars Sinema), Middle East (Front Row), Thailand (Mono Film Company), China (Hgc Entertainment), former Yugoslavia (Discovery Film), Hong Kong (Gold Scene), Iceland (Scanbox), India (Pictureworks), Israel (Shani), Nigeria (Red Mist), South Africa (Nu Metro) and Airlines (Cinesky).
The sales agent is in active negotiations for Japan, Australia, South Korea and Taiwan. CBS Films acquired Us rights earlier in the week.
The F Word charts the course of a relationship between two best friends who enjoy strong chemistry. Adam Driver and [link...
eOne financed the film and entered the festival with Canadian and UK rights. It will now distribute directly in Australia and New Zealand, Benelux and Spain.
Rights have gone to German-speaking Europe (Telepool), France (Snd), Cis and Baltics (Carmen), Latin America (Sun Distribution), Scandinavia (Scanbox), Portugal (Lusomundo), Turkey (Mars Sinema), Middle East (Front Row), Thailand (Mono Film Company), China (Hgc Entertainment), former Yugoslavia (Discovery Film), Hong Kong (Gold Scene), Iceland (Scanbox), India (Pictureworks), Israel (Shani), Nigeria (Red Mist), South Africa (Nu Metro) and Airlines (Cinesky).
The sales agent is in active negotiations for Japan, Australia, South Korea and Taiwan. CBS Films acquired Us rights earlier in the week.
The F Word charts the course of a relationship between two best friends who enjoy strong chemistry. Adam Driver and [link...
- 9/13/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Canadian entertainment powerhouse behind listed on stock exchange.
The move to a premium listing follows the acquisition of Canadian film distributor Alliance Films, which owns rights to titles including Lord Of The Ringsand The Hunger Games.
“Reaching the Ftse 250 Index is an incredible milestone through which we will see many positive benefits for the group and our shareholders,” said CEO Darren Throop.
“We are very proud of the group’s solid performance since listing, a testament to the hard work of all the eOne teams. We are proud to be among the highly-regarded Ftse 250 companies and look forward to driving further value for our shareholders over the coming years.”
Interview: Patrice Theroux, eOne’s chairman of global film group...
The move to a premium listing follows the acquisition of Canadian film distributor Alliance Films, which owns rights to titles including Lord Of The Ringsand The Hunger Games.
“Reaching the Ftse 250 Index is an incredible milestone through which we will see many positive benefits for the group and our shareholders,” said CEO Darren Throop.
“We are very proud of the group’s solid performance since listing, a testament to the hard work of all the eOne teams. We are proud to be among the highly-regarded Ftse 250 companies and look forward to driving further value for our shareholders over the coming years.”
Interview: Patrice Theroux, eOne’s chairman of global film group...
- 9/12/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
I’ve read some overriding impressions of this year’s Sundance, Peter Knegt’s on Sex and Sundance naturally caught my attention immediately. While I agree with his observations and would add that CAA’s party was the cherry on top of it all, I actually think that whatever one’s concerns of the moment are, that subject will be addressed for that person by more than one film at Sundance. After all, the reason sex sells so well is that everyone is concerned with sex just about every minute of the day (according for Freud, that is)
The Wrap cites “a Sundance for bold, kinky subject matter, for lots of sex (onscreen), for indie directors ramping up the excess and melodrama in a way that would have seemed completely out of place back in the days when the phrase ‘a Sundance movie’ usually meant something restrained and naturalistic like ‘Frozen River’ or ‘In the Bedroom’."
Sundance might also be said to be skewed this year toward: Women (on the rise), Violence (by gun, government, war), or, for me personally, reality.
Whether the loss of reality as in Escape from Tomorrow, Crystal Fairy or Magic Magic, or even The World According to Dick Cheney, or God Loves Uganda in which the person’s grasp on reality was lost in the normal course of living, or the thin border between reality and fiction as expressed in the panels on documentaries or “true fiction” or the Sloan Foundation panel on Science and Film, I found that most of what I was watching and hearing was concerned with “reality”. For those who know me, they are aware that my concerns at this time are dealing with the shifting realities of my life. And that is what I found being addressed by the events of Sundance.
I did not see the acquisitions films. I concentrated on World Cinema and mostly Latino and Eastern European cinema, though I was lucky to catch What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love from Indonesia. The reality of the deaf, mute and blind differs from ours though love is the same and is summed up when one person says, “the male loves what he sees and the female loves what she hears”.
I was also lucky to have seen Fruitvale, the winner of so much acclaim. The huge disconnect between reality and fantasy is found in the security guards’ readiness to resort to violence simply by seeing the color of another man’s skin. They were either looking for a fight or were panicked by the number of revelers on the train. Either way it was a tragic ending, redeemed only by the yearly memorial held in Oscar Grant’s honor. God Loves Uganda shows an entire nation deluded by extremists who speak only the deadly evil of homosexuality. I couldn’t stand watching the degradation of a people taking place because of the glib jabber of a white right-wing evangelist purporting to be speaking for G’d. Circles deals with a reality creating events otherwise unimaginable except for their occurring within a context of race hatred and war. Crystal Fairy’s gringo protagonists live in an unreal world inspired by past emotional injuries and only come to reality through the support of compassionate and accepting friends. Magic Magic, Escape from Tomorrow, A Teacher and Houston are about complete breaks from reality by the protagonists. Il Futuro likewise, in the way of Last Tango in Paris, shows how Thanatos’ antithesis Eros create an extreme sexual acting out of grief. In Lasting, winner of the Cinematography Award, reality finally wins out and a wiser love ensues. The doc Who is Dayani Cristal shows a reality we cannot deny as people brave unreal challenges just to aspire to the American Dream. The World According to Dick Cheney shows a man so blind that he cannot think of a single fault in his own character. The havoc he caused to the U.S. as a result was so devastating that I could barely watch the film to its end. No brings the role of media to a happy conclusion, though the media hype itself was based totally in fantasy, as media most often is. I Used to be Darker is the exception as it is deals entirely with reality. Inequality For All was the only dose of realism I received and I was inspired by the film to speak out!
Fifteen films in six days is not too bad, though it doesn’t give me bragging rights to having seen the top winners of awards or acquisitions, except for Fruitvale.
A big change for me was that I attended panels along with attending my traditional Creative Coalition luncheon for inspiring teachers.
The panels also dealt with the thin line between reality and fiction, “true fiction” and documentaries, communication and sharing between science and film.
Science in Film Forum a 10 year collaboration between The Sloan Foundation and the Sundance Film Festival which aims to encourage more realistic and compelling stories about science and technology themes and characters seemed somewhat debilitated by the very issue of how scientists and filmmakers communicate. I will write more on this later, but in terms of reality and unreality, the difference between the delivery of a scientist and an actor (in this case Kate Winslet in Contagion) as they explain the phenomenology of contagion itself is dramatically different. And the questions a filmmaker asks of a scientist will determine how communicative a scientist can be in terms of making a movie more realistic. Frankly speaking, Jon Amiel and screenwriter Scott Burns made more sense to me than the scientists. More on that later as well. In Imitation of Life, the panel with Sarah Polley, Michael Polish, Segio Oksman and others, about how art mirrors life was completely about reality vs. lies, another form of unreality. The best panel was one I caught accidently about the N.Y. Times online Opinion Pages and the shorts on Op-Docs, the best of which is called The Public Square by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, taking place in Times Square where protesters counter an anti-Islamic speech by pastor Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who set fire to the Koran, by singing The Beatles. This is a great new venue for short films. If I were making shorts, I would aim to land here.
In the editors’ own words:
"Since Op-Docs, our forum for short, opinionated documentaries, produced with creative latitude across many subjects, started in November 2011, 46 short films and videos have been published on nytimes.com. Today (December 16), we begin a new Op-Docs feature: Scenes. It will be a platform for very short work — snippets of street life, brief observations and interviews, clips from experimental and artistic nonfiction videos — that follow less traditional documentary narrative conventions. This first Scenes video presents a classic New York moment, recorded last year." — The Editors
The morning of my last at Sundance, I went to the Marriott Headquarters and wrote, saw friends as they passed by...shared the good news of my friend Rigo’s We Are What We Are selling to eOne for six figures for the U.S. and shared his excitement for the future of this film. eOne already had acquired Canada and U.K., South Africa and Australia/ N.Z. too, so this was an affirmation of its sincere approval of the finished product. Since EOne's merger with Alliance, not only is it the largest distributor and international sales agent in Canada, with branches In U.S., U.K., Australia, and New Zealand, but it is also the Only Big One. The smaller companies now have the chance to move up to second position since the number one and two companies have merged. I have no doubt that Mr. Victor Loewy, the seller of Alliance, will still hold the position of victor, after all, his wallet is bigger than any and everybody else's. It's funny because eOne, though it seemed to pop up from nowhere (tv), the people running it are the same configuration as always: Patrice Theroux, Patrice Roy, Bryan Gliserman, Patrick Roy, consultant and former Lionsgate founder Jeff Sackman. I love it when I see him, because he has succeeded in this business without ever changing who he is. That in itself merits reward.
This afternoon I met with Gamila Yistra who is in Sundance for the first time, exploring ways to extend and reconfigure The Binger Institute in Amsterdam where we began our professional teaching in its first years. From the idea to the screen, projects and their producers, writers and directors will have extensive workshopping, and the relationships will be lasting ones. As we were leaving the Marriott Headquarters to go to the Planned Parenthood party to meet Caroline Libresco who announced a special women's initiative in Sundance, we ran into Paul Federbush, Director of international for Sundance Institute's Film Program; he told her, to her surprise, that the had a meeting set for the next day.
At the party where Gamila met Caroline, we ran into Mary Jane Skalski who's Two Good Girls is playing here. Others at the Planned Parenthood reception were producer Nermeen Shaikh of Democracynow.org’s whose Daily Independent News Hour with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez is drawing great praise. The event was marked by the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade (January 22, 2013).
“As the nation’s leading women’s health care provider and advocate, Planned Parenthood understands that abortion is a deeply personal and often complex decision for a woman to consider, if and when she needs it,” said Cecile Richards, president, Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “A woman should have accurate information about all of her options around her pregnancy. To protect her health and the health of her family, a woman must have access to safe, legal abortion without interference from politicians, as protected by the Supreme Court for the last 40 years.”
I took a walk down Main Street and a walk up some stairs and discovered a jewel of a hotel for those with the money to spend. Next time you’re there, check out the Washington School House. It was like stepping into an enchanted history where you could almost imagine living in 1889 when it was built.
As my last act in Sundance, I searched the lost and found for my lost hat (didn’t find it!), and went to the 6:30 press screening of Magic Magic. Stay tuned for my interview with Sebastian Silva about this and his other film, Crystal Fairy, which as my readers know, I liked very much. How did it happen that he got two films into the limited space of Sundance is not a question answered in my interview.
After that I saw the 9:00 screening of Houston, an adult film about a German "headhunter" who is sent from Germany to Houston to recruit the CEO of a large petroleum company for a German based conglomerate. Both films' central concern was the perception of reality, especially across cultural lines.
In conclusion, I would repeat that this year's theme was the nature of reality and its fluid parameters as perceived by various individuals.
The next day I left in the morning to return my car by noon. The road became icy and the planes were unable to take off until 4pm. Lucky for me my plane was scheduled to leave at 9 pm and left on schedule. I had hours to spend at the airport and was lucky in meeting Michele Turnure-Salleo, the Director of Filmmaker 360 of the San Francisco Film Society (http://www.sffs.org/). We have been trying to catch up all year and this was our chance. At the same little table where we set up our computers, we were joined by another Sundance refugee Anecita Agustinez who is a journalist nad producer for www.onnativeground.org a news site dealing with native American issues.
Watch for further blogs on Sundance:
Interviews with:
Director Jacek Borcuch and producer Piotr Kobus of Lasting (Isa: Manana), winner of the Sundance’s World Cinema Cinematography Award Director Srdan Golubovic and producer Jelena Mitrovic of Circles (Isa: Memento) and winner of World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Artistic Vision Director Sebastian Silva of Crystal Fairy, winner of Sundance’s Directing Award, and Magic Magic (Isa: 6 Sales). Documentary and science panels
See you in L.A. Or Berlin! Or Guadajara in March!
The Wrap cites “a Sundance for bold, kinky subject matter, for lots of sex (onscreen), for indie directors ramping up the excess and melodrama in a way that would have seemed completely out of place back in the days when the phrase ‘a Sundance movie’ usually meant something restrained and naturalistic like ‘Frozen River’ or ‘In the Bedroom’."
Sundance might also be said to be skewed this year toward: Women (on the rise), Violence (by gun, government, war), or, for me personally, reality.
Whether the loss of reality as in Escape from Tomorrow, Crystal Fairy or Magic Magic, or even The World According to Dick Cheney, or God Loves Uganda in which the person’s grasp on reality was lost in the normal course of living, or the thin border between reality and fiction as expressed in the panels on documentaries or “true fiction” or the Sloan Foundation panel on Science and Film, I found that most of what I was watching and hearing was concerned with “reality”. For those who know me, they are aware that my concerns at this time are dealing with the shifting realities of my life. And that is what I found being addressed by the events of Sundance.
I did not see the acquisitions films. I concentrated on World Cinema and mostly Latino and Eastern European cinema, though I was lucky to catch What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love from Indonesia. The reality of the deaf, mute and blind differs from ours though love is the same and is summed up when one person says, “the male loves what he sees and the female loves what she hears”.
I was also lucky to have seen Fruitvale, the winner of so much acclaim. The huge disconnect between reality and fantasy is found in the security guards’ readiness to resort to violence simply by seeing the color of another man’s skin. They were either looking for a fight or were panicked by the number of revelers on the train. Either way it was a tragic ending, redeemed only by the yearly memorial held in Oscar Grant’s honor. God Loves Uganda shows an entire nation deluded by extremists who speak only the deadly evil of homosexuality. I couldn’t stand watching the degradation of a people taking place because of the glib jabber of a white right-wing evangelist purporting to be speaking for G’d. Circles deals with a reality creating events otherwise unimaginable except for their occurring within a context of race hatred and war. Crystal Fairy’s gringo protagonists live in an unreal world inspired by past emotional injuries and only come to reality through the support of compassionate and accepting friends. Magic Magic, Escape from Tomorrow, A Teacher and Houston are about complete breaks from reality by the protagonists. Il Futuro likewise, in the way of Last Tango in Paris, shows how Thanatos’ antithesis Eros create an extreme sexual acting out of grief. In Lasting, winner of the Cinematography Award, reality finally wins out and a wiser love ensues. The doc Who is Dayani Cristal shows a reality we cannot deny as people brave unreal challenges just to aspire to the American Dream. The World According to Dick Cheney shows a man so blind that he cannot think of a single fault in his own character. The havoc he caused to the U.S. as a result was so devastating that I could barely watch the film to its end. No brings the role of media to a happy conclusion, though the media hype itself was based totally in fantasy, as media most often is. I Used to be Darker is the exception as it is deals entirely with reality. Inequality For All was the only dose of realism I received and I was inspired by the film to speak out!
Fifteen films in six days is not too bad, though it doesn’t give me bragging rights to having seen the top winners of awards or acquisitions, except for Fruitvale.
A big change for me was that I attended panels along with attending my traditional Creative Coalition luncheon for inspiring teachers.
The panels also dealt with the thin line between reality and fiction, “true fiction” and documentaries, communication and sharing between science and film.
Science in Film Forum a 10 year collaboration between The Sloan Foundation and the Sundance Film Festival which aims to encourage more realistic and compelling stories about science and technology themes and characters seemed somewhat debilitated by the very issue of how scientists and filmmakers communicate. I will write more on this later, but in terms of reality and unreality, the difference between the delivery of a scientist and an actor (in this case Kate Winslet in Contagion) as they explain the phenomenology of contagion itself is dramatically different. And the questions a filmmaker asks of a scientist will determine how communicative a scientist can be in terms of making a movie more realistic. Frankly speaking, Jon Amiel and screenwriter Scott Burns made more sense to me than the scientists. More on that later as well. In Imitation of Life, the panel with Sarah Polley, Michael Polish, Segio Oksman and others, about how art mirrors life was completely about reality vs. lies, another form of unreality. The best panel was one I caught accidently about the N.Y. Times online Opinion Pages and the shorts on Op-Docs, the best of which is called The Public Square by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, taking place in Times Square where protesters counter an anti-Islamic speech by pastor Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who set fire to the Koran, by singing The Beatles. This is a great new venue for short films. If I were making shorts, I would aim to land here.
In the editors’ own words:
"Since Op-Docs, our forum for short, opinionated documentaries, produced with creative latitude across many subjects, started in November 2011, 46 short films and videos have been published on nytimes.com. Today (December 16), we begin a new Op-Docs feature: Scenes. It will be a platform for very short work — snippets of street life, brief observations and interviews, clips from experimental and artistic nonfiction videos — that follow less traditional documentary narrative conventions. This first Scenes video presents a classic New York moment, recorded last year." — The Editors
The morning of my last at Sundance, I went to the Marriott Headquarters and wrote, saw friends as they passed by...shared the good news of my friend Rigo’s We Are What We Are selling to eOne for six figures for the U.S. and shared his excitement for the future of this film. eOne already had acquired Canada and U.K., South Africa and Australia/ N.Z. too, so this was an affirmation of its sincere approval of the finished product. Since EOne's merger with Alliance, not only is it the largest distributor and international sales agent in Canada, with branches In U.S., U.K., Australia, and New Zealand, but it is also the Only Big One. The smaller companies now have the chance to move up to second position since the number one and two companies have merged. I have no doubt that Mr. Victor Loewy, the seller of Alliance, will still hold the position of victor, after all, his wallet is bigger than any and everybody else's. It's funny because eOne, though it seemed to pop up from nowhere (tv), the people running it are the same configuration as always: Patrice Theroux, Patrice Roy, Bryan Gliserman, Patrick Roy, consultant and former Lionsgate founder Jeff Sackman. I love it when I see him, because he has succeeded in this business without ever changing who he is. That in itself merits reward.
This afternoon I met with Gamila Yistra who is in Sundance for the first time, exploring ways to extend and reconfigure The Binger Institute in Amsterdam where we began our professional teaching in its first years. From the idea to the screen, projects and their producers, writers and directors will have extensive workshopping, and the relationships will be lasting ones. As we were leaving the Marriott Headquarters to go to the Planned Parenthood party to meet Caroline Libresco who announced a special women's initiative in Sundance, we ran into Paul Federbush, Director of international for Sundance Institute's Film Program; he told her, to her surprise, that the had a meeting set for the next day.
At the party where Gamila met Caroline, we ran into Mary Jane Skalski who's Two Good Girls is playing here. Others at the Planned Parenthood reception were producer Nermeen Shaikh of Democracynow.org’s whose Daily Independent News Hour with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez is drawing great praise. The event was marked by the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade (January 22, 2013).
“As the nation’s leading women’s health care provider and advocate, Planned Parenthood understands that abortion is a deeply personal and often complex decision for a woman to consider, if and when she needs it,” said Cecile Richards, president, Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “A woman should have accurate information about all of her options around her pregnancy. To protect her health and the health of her family, a woman must have access to safe, legal abortion without interference from politicians, as protected by the Supreme Court for the last 40 years.”
I took a walk down Main Street and a walk up some stairs and discovered a jewel of a hotel for those with the money to spend. Next time you’re there, check out the Washington School House. It was like stepping into an enchanted history where you could almost imagine living in 1889 when it was built.
As my last act in Sundance, I searched the lost and found for my lost hat (didn’t find it!), and went to the 6:30 press screening of Magic Magic. Stay tuned for my interview with Sebastian Silva about this and his other film, Crystal Fairy, which as my readers know, I liked very much. How did it happen that he got two films into the limited space of Sundance is not a question answered in my interview.
After that I saw the 9:00 screening of Houston, an adult film about a German "headhunter" who is sent from Germany to Houston to recruit the CEO of a large petroleum company for a German based conglomerate. Both films' central concern was the perception of reality, especially across cultural lines.
In conclusion, I would repeat that this year's theme was the nature of reality and its fluid parameters as perceived by various individuals.
The next day I left in the morning to return my car by noon. The road became icy and the planes were unable to take off until 4pm. Lucky for me my plane was scheduled to leave at 9 pm and left on schedule. I had hours to spend at the airport and was lucky in meeting Michele Turnure-Salleo, the Director of Filmmaker 360 of the San Francisco Film Society (http://www.sffs.org/). We have been trying to catch up all year and this was our chance. At the same little table where we set up our computers, we were joined by another Sundance refugee Anecita Agustinez who is a journalist nad producer for www.onnativeground.org a news site dealing with native American issues.
Watch for further blogs on Sundance:
Interviews with:
Director Jacek Borcuch and producer Piotr Kobus of Lasting (Isa: Manana), winner of the Sundance’s World Cinema Cinematography Award Director Srdan Golubovic and producer Jelena Mitrovic of Circles (Isa: Memento) and winner of World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Artistic Vision Director Sebastian Silva of Crystal Fairy, winner of Sundance’s Directing Award, and Magic Magic (Isa: 6 Sales). Documentary and science panels
See you in L.A. Or Berlin! Or Guadajara in March!
- 1/29/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
London -- Canadian producer/distributor Entertainment One on Tuesday unveiled its European leadership in the aftermath of its acquisition of Alliance Films, from affiliates of Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Investissement Québec for approximately $228 million (Cad$225 million). The enlarged group, which merges the global operations of the two companies, means more responsibility for Alex Hamilton, eOne's current U.K. managing director. Hamilton will oversee the combined U.K. team, including Alliance's Momentum Pictures business, as managing director. Jorge Vazquez will serve as managing director for the company's operations in Spain. Patrice Theroux, who leads eOne’s global film business, announced the management decisions.
read more...
read more...
- 1/15/2013
- by Stuart Kemp
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
London – Canadian giant Entertainment One has inked a four-year output agreement with DreamWorks Studios to distribute the studio's output in all media across the U.K. and Benelux. “We’re delighted to collaborate with Steven Spielberg, Stacey Snider, Jeff Small and the innovative DreamWorks team in two of eOne’s core territories," said Patrice Theroux, eOne’s president of filmed entertainment. Theroux described the pact as a "momentous opportunity" to be working with "such esteemed partners and broaden our international slate with top-quality commercial films for years to come." The first title to go out through the agreement
read more...
read more...
- 9/17/2012
- by Stuart Kemp
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto -- Will he stay or will he go? The question of the future of Victor Loewy on news Alliance Films has finally been acquired by rival Canadian indie distributor Entertainment One was on the minds of film distribution players at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday. The Canadian industry has been treating the merger of eOne and Alliance Films as a given since news of takeover talks first emerged ahead of the Cannes Film Festival. What has remained uncertain was what was on Loewy's mind as eOne, led by CEO Darren Throop and filmed entertainment chief Patrice Theroux , his
read more...
read more...
- 9/7/2012
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Noreen Halpern, Entertainment One Television’s head of scripted programming, is leaving the company after 3 years. The move represents a parting of the ways for Halpern and long-time partner John Morayniss, who serves as eOne’s head of TV. In 2002, Halpern and Morayniss left Alliance-Atlantis together to launch their own independent studio, Blueprint Entertainment. In 2008, Blueprint was acquired by eOne. In the three years since, as President of Dramatic Programming, Halpern focused on investment in content, including the use of non-traditional financing for TV drama, and strategic partnerships. She oversaw all of eOne’s scripted series and longform projects, including drama series Hell On Wheels (AMC), Rookie Blue (ABC), Haven (Syfy), Hung (HBO) and The Firm (NBC). “It’s been an exciting journey, and I’m really proud of the shows we’ve put on the air,” Halpern said. “There’s an incredible development slate I’m leaving with...
- 2/23/2012
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
Given that the horror genre has been number one at the box office every weekend of 2012 so far (no doubt another sign of the apocalypse), it's no surprise to see studios sit up and take notice.
From the Press Release
Independent studio Entertainment One (eOne) has entered into a multi-year film and television production pact with Room 101, Inc., partners Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity 1, 2 & 3, Insidious, The Devil Inside) and Adi Shankar (The Grey).
Under the terms of the deal, Room 101 will deliver on average two premium micro-budget genre titles annually to eOne. The projects will be high-concept and filmmaker-driven and will encompass both acquisitions and original productions. eOne will finance, co-produce, and distribute globally, with the exception of the United States, where distribution will be handled on a per-project basis.
"With a number of exciting and high-profile genre movies already in the works, Room 101 has established itself...
From the Press Release
Independent studio Entertainment One (eOne) has entered into a multi-year film and television production pact with Room 101, Inc., partners Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity 1, 2 & 3, Insidious, The Devil Inside) and Adi Shankar (The Grey).
Under the terms of the deal, Room 101 will deliver on average two premium micro-budget genre titles annually to eOne. The projects will be high-concept and filmmaker-driven and will encompass both acquisitions and original productions. eOne will finance, co-produce, and distribute globally, with the exception of the United States, where distribution will be handled on a per-project basis.
"With a number of exciting and high-profile genre movies already in the works, Room 101 has established itself...
- 2/6/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Entertainment One has made a pact with Paranormal Activity producer Steven Schneider and Adi Shankar who worked on The Grey for micro-budget movies through its distribution network. The multi-project production pact with Schneider and Shankar who are both partners at Room 101 inc., two movies will be produced annually which Entertainment One will co-finance and will distribute globally but not in the U.S market it is reported. “With this co-financing venture, we are taking a more global approach to films, allowing all of our territories to distribute the slate and providing our international sales teams with highly-commercial pictures for distribution around the globe,” Patrice Theroux, president of filmed entertainment at Entertainment One said Monday. Benedict Carver a senior Vice Principal of filmed at the Canadian producer will also be heavily involved. Schneider followed-up Paranormal Activity with a further two sequels for Paramount, with a fourth entry to be released this.
- 2/6/2012
- by noreply@blogger.com (gercooney)
- www.themoviebit.com
Los Angeles/Toronto – February 6, 2012 – Independent studio Entertainment One (eOne) has entered into a multi-year film and television production pact with Room 101, Inc. partners Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity 1, 2 & 3, Insidious, The Devil Inside) and Adi Shankar (The Grey). Under the terms of the deal, Room 101 will deliver on average two premium micro-budget genre titles annually to eOne. The projects will be high-concept and filmmaker-driven, and will encompass both acquisitions and original productions. eOne will finance, co-produce, and distribute globally, with the exception of the United States where distribution will be handled on a per-project basis. “With a number of exciting and high-profile genre movies already in the works, Room 101 has established itself as a tastemaker and trend-setter in the creative community,” said Patrice Theroux, eOne’s President of Filmed Entertainment. “With this co-financing venture, we are taking a more global approach to films; allowing all of our territories...
- 2/6/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline TV
Los Angeles/Toronto – February 6, 2012 – Independent studio Entertainment One (eOne) has entered into a multi-year film and television production pact with Room 101, Inc. partners Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity 1, 2 & 3, Insidious, The Devil Inside) and Adi Shankar (The Grey). Under the terms of the deal, Room 101 will deliver on average two premium micro-budget genre titles annually to eOne. The projects will be high-concept and filmmaker-driven, and will encompass both acquisitions and original productions. eOne will finance, co-produce, and distribute globally, with the exception of the United States where distribution will be handled on a per-project basis. “With a number of exciting and high-profile genre movies already in the works, Room 101 has established itself as a tastemaker and trend-setter in the creative community,” said Patrice Theroux, eOne’s President of Filmed Entertainment. “With this co-financing venture, we are taking a more global approach to films; allowing all of our territories...
- 2/6/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Steven Hoban's Copperheart Entertainment has closed agreements with David Hayter and Benedict Carver's Dark Hero Studios, Don Murphy and Susan Montford's Angry Films and Entertainment One to adapt the classic science fiction/fantasy novel "Dragonflight" by Anne McCaffrey into a feature film. In "Dragonflight," the first in the epic "Dragonriders of Pern" series of novels, an elite group of warriors take to the skies on the backs of giant, fire-breathing, telepathic dragons to save the wondrously exotic planet of Pern from a terrifying airborne menace. Hayter ( X-Men , X2: X-Men United and Watchmen ) will pen the screenplay. Hoban and Carver will produce the film with Murphy, Montford and Hayter executive producing. Patrice Theroux negotiated for...
- 4/12/2011
- Comingsoon.net
Global entertainment group Entertainment One will acquire Sydney-based distributor Hopscotch Group for £12.9 million ($20.07 million). The deal will prove a windfall for the company's owners: Troy Lum, Frank Cox and Sandie Don, who will be issued more than 4.1 million shares in eOne and approximately £6.45 million in cash as part of the deal. They will remain with the company, which will form part of eOne.s Filmed Entertainment division headed by Patrice Theroux, after the deal is completed early next month. Hopscotch posted unaudited revenue of approximately £11.9 million ($18.51 million) and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of approximately £1.9 million ($2.95 million) in the year ended June 2010. The acquisition...
- 4/11/2011
- by Brendan Swift
- IF.com.au
Toronto -- The release of Summit Entertainment's hit vampire pic "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" in Canada, the U.K. and Holland has turbo-charged E1 Entertainment's distribution revenue.
The Toronto-based distributor, which has an output deal with Summit, said it posted Canadian boxoffice revenue of $56.8 million ($55 million) in 2009, up from a year-earlier Can$32.6 million.
E1's U.K. distribution revenue jumped to Can$87.8 million ($85 million) last year, up sharply from Can$10.7 million in 2008. And Dutch boxoffice revenue jumped 46% from Can$18 million in 2008 to Can$26.3 million ($25.5 million) last year.
Patrice Theroux, president of E1's filmed entertainment division, said the distributor would continue to generate ancillary revenue from "New Moon" and other 2009 releases, including "Nativity!" and "An Education and Knowing."...
The Toronto-based distributor, which has an output deal with Summit, said it posted Canadian boxoffice revenue of $56.8 million ($55 million) in 2009, up from a year-earlier Can$32.6 million.
E1's U.K. distribution revenue jumped to Can$87.8 million ($85 million) last year, up sharply from Can$10.7 million in 2008. And Dutch boxoffice revenue jumped 46% from Can$18 million in 2008 to Can$26.3 million ($25.5 million) last year.
Patrice Theroux, president of E1's filmed entertainment division, said the distributor would continue to generate ancillary revenue from "New Moon" and other 2009 releases, including "Nativity!" and "An Education and Knowing."...
- 1/12/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Entertainment One, a Canadian producer and distributor, is buying Dhx Media in yet another acquisition for the company after recently acquiring Barna-Alper Productions, Blueprint Entertainment and several others. The $65+ million deal for the Halifax TV producer will bring the company a 2,200x30-minute programming library. Dhx owns Decode Entertainment, Halifax Film and Studio B Productions. Darren Throop will continue on as Entertainment One's CEO while Patrice Theroux will head up filmed entertainment.
http://enews.cynopsis.com/html.asp?XZY1187491UTF61...
http://enews.cynopsis.com/html.asp?XZY1187491UTF61...
- 9/30/2008
- by ariana@cynopsis.com
TORONTO -- Canadian producer Sullivan Entertainment on Wednesday said it has hired former Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution executive Doug Smith as a sales consultant for its distribution arm.
Smith becomes the latest former Alliance Atlantis movie distribution executive to resurface elsewhere in the industry after a takeover of MPD, Canada's largest indie movie distributor by Goldman Sachs & Co.
Smith joined Alliance Atlantis in 1997, survived management turmoil in late 2006 that cost the jobs of Victor Loewy, Patrice Theroux and Paul Laberge, before he was promoted by newly installed MPD CEO John Bailey to become executive vp of sales.
But late last year, after Goldman Sachs acquired Alliance Atlantis, Loewy was reinstalled at the helm and Bailey and his regime was out.
Smith will oversee the distribution arm of Sullivan Entertainment, which is best known for worldwide sales of its "Green Gables-Avonlea" franchise and third party product.
Other former Alliance Atlantis executives that recently have gone elsewhere includes Patrice Theroux named president of distributor Entertainment One and Paul Laberge as the new COO of the Toronto-based Fight Network cable channel.
Smith becomes the latest former Alliance Atlantis movie distribution executive to resurface elsewhere in the industry after a takeover of MPD, Canada's largest indie movie distributor by Goldman Sachs & Co.
Smith joined Alliance Atlantis in 1997, survived management turmoil in late 2006 that cost the jobs of Victor Loewy, Patrice Theroux and Paul Laberge, before he was promoted by newly installed MPD CEO John Bailey to become executive vp of sales.
But late last year, after Goldman Sachs acquired Alliance Atlantis, Loewy was reinstalled at the helm and Bailey and his regime was out.
Smith will oversee the distribution arm of Sullivan Entertainment, which is best known for worldwide sales of its "Green Gables-Avonlea" franchise and third party product.
Other former Alliance Atlantis executives that recently have gone elsewhere includes Patrice Theroux named president of distributor Entertainment One and Paul Laberge as the new COO of the Toronto-based Fight Network cable channel.
- 3/13/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
AMSTERDAM -- Dutch-based indie distributor RCV, which distributes across Benelux, has been snapped up by North American outfit Entertainment One, RCV owner Sanoma said Wednesday.
The agreement marks Entertainment One's second acquisition in the European market and follows the company's stated strategic aim to become a global entertainment content ownership and distribution business.
RCV will become part of Entertainment One's Filmed Entertainment division headed by president Patrice Theroux.
RCV Entertainment is the largest independent distributor of filmed entertainment in the Benelux countries. In 2006 RCV Entertainment had net sales of about € 31 million and employed 46 people. The gain on the sale of RCV amounts to about € 23 million.
"This deal represents another significant step in our strategy, further enhancing our position as a leading international film and entertainment content owner and distributor," Entertainment One CEO Darren Throop said. "Following our acquisitions earlier in the year of Contender in the U.K. and Seville in Canada, and our multiterritory distribution agreement with Summit Entertainment, we have now established ourselves as a multiterritory distributor of significant scale in the international market place.
The agreement marks Entertainment One's second acquisition in the European market and follows the company's stated strategic aim to become a global entertainment content ownership and distribution business.
RCV will become part of Entertainment One's Filmed Entertainment division headed by president Patrice Theroux.
RCV Entertainment is the largest independent distributor of filmed entertainment in the Benelux countries. In 2006 RCV Entertainment had net sales of about € 31 million and employed 46 people. The gain on the sale of RCV amounts to about € 23 million.
"This deal represents another significant step in our strategy, further enhancing our position as a leading international film and entertainment content owner and distributor," Entertainment One CEO Darren Throop said. "Following our acquisitions earlier in the year of Contender in the U.K. and Seville in Canada, and our multiterritory distribution agreement with Summit Entertainment, we have now established ourselves as a multiterritory distributor of significant scale in the international market place.
- 1/10/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.