Black Flies, the Cannes competition entry starring two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan (Ready Player One), has been acquired by Signature Entertainment for the U.K. and Ireland from FilmNation Entertainment.
Produced by Warren Goz (Copshop), Eric Gold (Copshop), Penn and Sheridan, the feature is directed by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire (A Prayer Before Dawn) from a script by Ben Mac Brown and Ryan King (The Tutor), based on Shannon Burke’s novel.
Alongside Penn and Sheridan, the film stars Michael Pitt (Funny Games), Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) and Mike Tyson (The Hangover).
Black Flies follows Ollie Cross (Sheridan) an upstart paramedic who courses through adrenaline-fueled nights in an ambulance for the New York City Fire Department in Brownsville, Brooklyn while spending days studying for med-school exams in a Chinatown hovel. Working alongside seasoned first responder Gene Rutkovsky (Penn), Cross discovers firsthand the chaos and...
Produced by Warren Goz (Copshop), Eric Gold (Copshop), Penn and Sheridan, the feature is directed by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire (A Prayer Before Dawn) from a script by Ben Mac Brown and Ryan King (The Tutor), based on Shannon Burke’s novel.
Alongside Penn and Sheridan, the film stars Michael Pitt (Funny Games), Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) and Mike Tyson (The Hangover).
Black Flies follows Ollie Cross (Sheridan) an upstart paramedic who courses through adrenaline-fueled nights in an ambulance for the New York City Fire Department in Brownsville, Brooklyn while spending days studying for med-school exams in a Chinatown hovel. Working alongside seasoned first responder Gene Rutkovsky (Penn), Cross discovers firsthand the chaos and...
- 5/17/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Signature Entertainment has snapped up U.K. and Ireland rights to Julia Louis-Dreyfus comedy “You Hurt My Feelings” from FilmNation Entertainment.
Directed by Nicole Holofcener, the film stars Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies (“The Crown”) as a couple whose marriage is thrown into turmoil when she overhears his honest reaction to her latest book. The cast also includes Owen Teague, David Cross, Arian Moayed and Michaela Watkins.
It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and will close Sundance London.
Reviewing the film for Variety, critic Owen Gleiberman said: “The key to ‘You Hurt My Feelings’ is that the entire movie turns into a satire of what has become our fetishistically supportive and oversensitive therapeutic culture of positivity. All these things, in a way, are necessary. But maybe, the film suggests, we have tried to heal ourselves a little too much. Maybe we need a little more naked honesty mixed in with the wellness.
Directed by Nicole Holofcener, the film stars Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies (“The Crown”) as a couple whose marriage is thrown into turmoil when she overhears his honest reaction to her latest book. The cast also includes Owen Teague, David Cross, Arian Moayed and Michaela Watkins.
It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and will close Sundance London.
Reviewing the film for Variety, critic Owen Gleiberman said: “The key to ‘You Hurt My Feelings’ is that the entire movie turns into a satire of what has become our fetishistically supportive and oversensitive therapeutic culture of positivity. All these things, in a way, are necessary. But maybe, the film suggests, we have tried to heal ourselves a little too much. Maybe we need a little more naked honesty mixed in with the wellness.
- 5/16/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Rev up your DeLorean and check that old flux capacitor because Cannes 2023 is looking like a trip back to the future.
After the disruption and near devastation brought on by the Covid pandemic, and concerns that the rising tide of global streamers would wash away the business model of independent film distributors worldwide, buyers and sellers arrive on the Croisette this year on a wave of good (ish) news on the return of the theatrical business and a bumper crop of big movies, both blockbuster-y and arthouse-esque, up for sale at the Marché.
“The box office in North America is back up pretty close [to pre-pandemic levels],” notes Rob Carney, vp of sales at FilmNation, referencing first-quarter figures that showed domestic revenues of $1.8 billion, just 25 percent off the record highs of 2019. Gross box office in the European Union (EU) and the U.K. last year, as reported by the European Audiovisual Observatory, was up 70 percent from the 2021 figures,...
After the disruption and near devastation brought on by the Covid pandemic, and concerns that the rising tide of global streamers would wash away the business model of independent film distributors worldwide, buyers and sellers arrive on the Croisette this year on a wave of good (ish) news on the return of the theatrical business and a bumper crop of big movies, both blockbuster-y and arthouse-esque, up for sale at the Marché.
“The box office in North America is back up pretty close [to pre-pandemic levels],” notes Rob Carney, vp of sales at FilmNation, referencing first-quarter figures that showed domestic revenues of $1.8 billion, just 25 percent off the record highs of 2019. Gross box office in the European Union (EU) and the U.K. last year, as reported by the European Audiovisual Observatory, was up 70 percent from the 2021 figures,...
- 5/16/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Once upon a time, Todd Haynes’ hot Cannes Competition title “May December” — a psychological drama based on the Mary Kay Letourneau case, starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore — would already have a North American distributor. (A source placed its budget just under $20 million.) However, we no longer live in a world where buyers will overpay for a film before they can gauge its theatrical value: The risk is just too great.
That’s why sellers CAA and UTA opted to not show the film to distributors before the festival. Instead, they’re betting that an enthusiastic response from Cannes media and audiences will boost its sale price.
“People are being skittish about paying top dollar for a movie as easily as they did in the past,” said Sony Pictures Classics co-president Michael Barker. At Cannes, SPC will screen the Pedro Almodovar gay western short “Strange Way of Life” starring Ethan Hawke...
That’s why sellers CAA and UTA opted to not show the film to distributors before the festival. Instead, they’re betting that an enthusiastic response from Cannes media and audiences will boost its sale price.
“People are being skittish about paying top dollar for a movie as easily as they did in the past,” said Sony Pictures Classics co-president Michael Barker. At Cannes, SPC will screen the Pedro Almodovar gay western short “Strange Way of Life” starring Ethan Hawke...
- 5/12/2023
- by Anne Thompson and Brian Welk
- Indiewire
In early January this year, the Guy Ritchie spy comedy thriller Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre — a typically frenetic Ritchie actioner starring Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza and Hugh Grant — started earning decent figures around the world. In Russia, it topped 9 million, while in Australia it passed 4 million. In Saudi Arabia — where action films have often punched above their weight — the film helped ensure Avatar: The Way of Water enjoyed a solitary week at number one (and was only kept off the top spot itself by local hit Sattar). So far, so “yeah, so what?”
But the interesting thing about Operation Fortune’s, ahem, fortune, is that it was all achieved without a U.S. distributor in place. In fact, it was only on Feb. 13 — by which time the film had amassed 29 million internationally — that Lionsgate announced it had acquired the feature, setting a March 3 domestic release date.
While undoubtedly not...
But the interesting thing about Operation Fortune’s, ahem, fortune, is that it was all achieved without a U.S. distributor in place. In fact, it was only on Feb. 13 — by which time the film had amassed 29 million internationally — that Lionsgate announced it had acquired the feature, setting a March 3 domestic release date.
While undoubtedly not...
- 2/17/2023
- by Alex Ritman and Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When, at the Sundance Film Festival two years ago, Apple bought worldwide rights to Sian Heder’s Coda for a reported 25 million, it triggered panic across the independent film industry.
International distributors who had pre-bought the movie — Heder’s remake of 2014 French hit La Famille Bélier was a top seller for Pathé at Cannes’ Marché du Film a year earlier — thought the Apple deal might signal the end of their business model. Why bother taking the up-front risk by investing in movie scripts and talent packages — the core activity at most international film markets — if a deep-pocketed tech company can come in after the fact and buy up the movie when it is finished? In the wake of the Coda deal, there was talk of sales companies and Hollywood talent agencies wanting to insert mandatory buyback clauses into indie distribution contracts, treating independent buyers, from their perspective, as little more...
International distributors who had pre-bought the movie — Heder’s remake of 2014 French hit La Famille Bélier was a top seller for Pathé at Cannes’ Marché du Film a year earlier — thought the Apple deal might signal the end of their business model. Why bother taking the up-front risk by investing in movie scripts and talent packages — the core activity at most international film markets — if a deep-pocketed tech company can come in after the fact and buy up the movie when it is finished? In the wake of the Coda deal, there was talk of sales companies and Hollywood talent agencies wanting to insert mandatory buyback clauses into indie distribution contracts, treating independent buyers, from their perspective, as little more...
- 2/16/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The European Film Market kicking off this week in Berlin could mark a return to a familiar, old-fashioned balance of power between buyers and sellers. And as the impact of the pandemic retreats, there is cautious optimism that activity levels may now be more sustainable and fairer.
Certainly, leading film sales companies and local distributors have over the past week once again been engaging in a long-established pre-market routine. The former sent out a volley of scripts for new film projects, while the latter fielded the incoming pitches, attempted to read them quickly at home or on airplanes, and positioned themselves to take on-site meetings.
“All the usual suspects have two or three projects. FilmNation’s got a couple, Rocket Science, AGC, WME, Cornerstone, my company. So, there’s a very healthy number and range of projects. Quite a variety,” says David Garrett, CEO of Mister Smith Entertainment. And prospects for dealmaking look good.
Certainly, leading film sales companies and local distributors have over the past week once again been engaging in a long-established pre-market routine. The former sent out a volley of scripts for new film projects, while the latter fielded the incoming pitches, attempted to read them quickly at home or on airplanes, and positioned themselves to take on-site meetings.
“All the usual suspects have two or three projects. FilmNation’s got a couple, Rocket Science, AGC, WME, Cornerstone, my company. So, there’s a very healthy number and range of projects. Quite a variety,” says David Garrett, CEO of Mister Smith Entertainment. And prospects for dealmaking look good.
- 2/15/2023
- by Patrick Frater and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Picturehouse Entertainment has acquires U.K. distribution rights from FilmNation Entertainment for Justin Simien’s “Bad Hair,” which will be released in British movie theaters on Nov. 27.
The film received its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this year, following in the footsteps of Simien’s directorial debut “Dear White People” in 2014.
A satirical horror movie set in 1989, “Bad Hair” follows an ambitious young woman (Elle Lorraine) who gets a weave in order to succeed in the image-obsessed world of music television. However, her flourishing career comes at great cost when she realizes that her new hair may have a mind of its own.
In addition to Elle Lorraine’s breakout leading role, the ensemble cast includes Vanessa Williams (“Soul Food”), Lena Waithe (“Master of None”), Laverne Cox (“Orange Is the New Black”), Jay Pharoah, Kelly Rowland, Blair Underwood (“Set It Off”), James Van Der Beek (“Dawson’s Creek”), Chanté Adams (“The Photograph”) and Usher.
The film received its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this year, following in the footsteps of Simien’s directorial debut “Dear White People” in 2014.
A satirical horror movie set in 1989, “Bad Hair” follows an ambitious young woman (Elle Lorraine) who gets a weave in order to succeed in the image-obsessed world of music television. However, her flourishing career comes at great cost when she realizes that her new hair may have a mind of its own.
In addition to Elle Lorraine’s breakout leading role, the ensemble cast includes Vanessa Williams (“Soul Food”), Lena Waithe (“Master of None”), Laverne Cox (“Orange Is the New Black”), Jay Pharoah, Kelly Rowland, Blair Underwood (“Set It Off”), James Van Der Beek (“Dawson’s Creek”), Chanté Adams (“The Photograph”) and Usher.
- 9/24/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Trends and shifts in the global indie film biz mark the 2020 European Film Market.
Women direct or star in some of the hottest packages being brought to Berlin: Olivia Wilde’s biopic of gymnast Kerri Strug, “Perfect,” from FilmNation; Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, “The Lost Daughter,” starring Olivia Colman, sold by Endeavor Content; Noomi Rapace-starrer “O2” a Black List survival thriller from Wild Bunch with Alexandre Aja producing; and Gaby Dellal’s shark attack thriller “Something in the Water,” from Studiocanal.
Claire Denis’ “The Stars at Noon,” with Robert Pattinson, was the subject of the Efm’s first high-profile U.S. deal on Tuesday, sold to A24.
Although there will be bigger projects, such as Gerard Butler action-thriller “Remote Control,” from STXInternational; or Solstice Studios’ deep space thriller “Ground Control to Major Tom,” with Seth Gordon directing, in today’s climate, $30 million — the reported budget of FilmNation’s...
Women direct or star in some of the hottest packages being brought to Berlin: Olivia Wilde’s biopic of gymnast Kerri Strug, “Perfect,” from FilmNation; Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, “The Lost Daughter,” starring Olivia Colman, sold by Endeavor Content; Noomi Rapace-starrer “O2” a Black List survival thriller from Wild Bunch with Alexandre Aja producing; and Gaby Dellal’s shark attack thriller “Something in the Water,” from Studiocanal.
Claire Denis’ “The Stars at Noon,” with Robert Pattinson, was the subject of the Efm’s first high-profile U.S. deal on Tuesday, sold to A24.
Although there will be bigger projects, such as Gerard Butler action-thriller “Remote Control,” from STXInternational; or Solstice Studios’ deep space thriller “Ground Control to Major Tom,” with Seth Gordon directing, in today’s climate, $30 million — the reported budget of FilmNation’s...
- 2/20/2020
- by John Hopewell and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
FilmNation, the company behind films including Arrival and The Big Sick, has closed an output deal with Chinese digital platform iQiyi. The deal gives it exclusive access to show FilmNation features on its on-demand platform for three years. It comes as FilmNation is launching Paul Dano’s directorial debut Wildlife in Cannes. “More Chinese movie fans than ever before will be able to experience many of the best independent films from some of the world’s most exciting directors,” said FilmNation’s VP, Sales Rob Carney. “Following on the heels of our strategic cooperation agreements with entertainment companies such as Fox, Disney, Sony and Netflix, this exclusive partnership with FilmNation represents the next step of iQIYI bringing subscriber members an ever more international selection of high quality contents,” added Yang Xianghua, Svp, iQiyi.
Stuart Ford’s fledging firm Agc Studios has struck a $150 million film production agreement with Ingenious Media.
Stuart Ford’s fledging firm Agc Studios has struck a $150 million film production agreement with Ingenious Media.
- 5/9/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Influential indie film company FilmNation Entertainment has struck an output deal with Chinese video streaming giant iQiyi.
The agreement, unveiled Wednesday at the Cannes Film Market, gives the Chinese streamer exclusive VOD rights access to FilmNation’s content for a three-year period.
“More Chinese movie fans than ever before will be able to experience many of the best independent films from some of the world’s most exciting directors,” said FilmNation’s Rob Carney.
“Following on the heels of our strategic cooperation agreements with entertainment companies such as Fox, Disney, Sony and Netflix, this exclusive partnership with FilmNation represents the...
The agreement, unveiled Wednesday at the Cannes Film Market, gives the Chinese streamer exclusive VOD rights access to FilmNation’s content for a three-year period.
“More Chinese movie fans than ever before will be able to experience many of the best independent films from some of the world’s most exciting directors,” said FilmNation’s Rob Carney.
“Following on the heels of our strategic cooperation agreements with entertainment companies such as Fox, Disney, Sony and Netflix, this exclusive partnership with FilmNation represents the...
- 5/9/2018
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Leading film sales and distribution firm, FilmNation Entertainment has struck a output deal with Chinese video streaming giant iQIYI. The agreement gives the Chinese streamer exclusive VoD rights access to FilmNation’s content for a three-year period.
“More Chinese movie fans than ever before will be able to experience many of the best independent films from some of the world’s most exciting directors,” said FilmNation’s Rob Carney. The agreement was announced at the Cannes Film Market, on the side of the Cannes Film Festival.
“Following on the heels of our strategic cooperation agreements with entertainment companies such as Fox, Disney, Sony, and Netflix, this exclusive partnership with FilmNation represents the next step of iQIYI bringing subscriber members an ever more international selection of high quality contents,” said Yang Xianghua, senior VP of iQIYI in a prepared statement.
Iqiyi, which last month listed on the Nasdaq stock market in the U.
“More Chinese movie fans than ever before will be able to experience many of the best independent films from some of the world’s most exciting directors,” said FilmNation’s Rob Carney. The agreement was announced at the Cannes Film Market, on the side of the Cannes Film Festival.
“Following on the heels of our strategic cooperation agreements with entertainment companies such as Fox, Disney, Sony, and Netflix, this exclusive partnership with FilmNation represents the next step of iQIYI bringing subscriber members an ever more international selection of high quality contents,” said Yang Xianghua, senior VP of iQIYI in a prepared statement.
Iqiyi, which last month listed on the Nasdaq stock market in the U.
- 5/9/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Influential independent film company FilmNation Entertainment has struck an output deal with Chinese video streaming giant iQiyi.
The agreement, unveiled Wednesday at the Cannes Film Market, gives the streamer exclusive VOD rights to FilmNation’s content for a three-year period.
“More Chinese movie fans than ever before will be able to experience many of the best independent films from some of the world’s most exciting directors,” said FilmNation’s Rob Carney.
“Following on the heels of our strategic cooperation agreements with entertainment companies such as Fox, Disney, Sony and Netflix, this exclusive partnership with FilmNation represents ...
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The agreement, unveiled Wednesday at the Cannes Film Market, gives the streamer exclusive VOD rights to FilmNation’s content for a three-year period.
“More Chinese movie fans than ever before will be able to experience many of the best independent films from some of the world’s most exciting directors,” said FilmNation’s Rob Carney.
“Following on the heels of our strategic cooperation agreements with entertainment companies such as Fox, Disney, Sony and Netflix, this exclusive partnership with FilmNation represents ...
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Agreement kicks off with Open Road Sleepless Night to star Jamie Foxx and Michelle Monaghan.
Open Road Films and FilmNation Entertainment have closed a string of output deals on films that Open Road produces or acquires for the world, pursuant to their new partnership.
Territories covered include Spain, Latin America, Canada and Eastern Europe, with Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions closing multiple deals.
eOne picked up rights for the UK, Village Roadshow for Australia and New Zealand, Telepool for Germany, Ster Kinekor for South Africa and Lev for Israel.
The arrangement kicks off with Open Road’s previously announced thriller and first in-house production Sleepless Night to star Jamie Foxx and Michelle Monaghan, one of three to four films the company expects to finance and produce each year.
“Glen and his team did a fantastic job of helping us get into business with top-tier international distributors throughout the world,” said Open Road CEO Tom Ortenberg.
“We look forward...
Open Road Films and FilmNation Entertainment have closed a string of output deals on films that Open Road produces or acquires for the world, pursuant to their new partnership.
Territories covered include Spain, Latin America, Canada and Eastern Europe, with Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions closing multiple deals.
eOne picked up rights for the UK, Village Roadshow for Australia and New Zealand, Telepool for Germany, Ster Kinekor for South Africa and Lev for Israel.
The arrangement kicks off with Open Road’s previously announced thriller and first in-house production Sleepless Night to star Jamie Foxx and Michelle Monaghan, one of three to four films the company expects to finance and produce each year.
“Glen and his team did a fantastic job of helping us get into business with top-tier international distributors throughout the world,” said Open Road CEO Tom Ortenberg.
“We look forward...
- 2/6/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
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