Fresh From Cannes, Oscilloscope Gets Gondry Doc

Eugene Hernandez by Eugene Hernandez (May 26, 2009)

North American rights to Michel Gondry’s doc, “The Thorn in the Heart,” which premiered last week at the Cannes Film Festival, have been acquired by Adam Yauch’s Oscilloscope Laboratories. The film, which looks at Gondry’s family, will have a theatrical run, followed by a DVD and digital release.

Thrilled with the news, Gondry related a story in a prepared statement today, “So I called up my best friend Etienne and told him, ‘Guess who’s distributing my documentary about my aunt?’ and he said, ‘who?’ and I said, ‘MCA from Beastie Boys’ and Etienne said, ‘The Beastie Boy bought your Aunt’s documentary?! Get the f*** out of here!’ and I said, ‘Yeah!!!’”

The doc, set in rural France, looks at the filmmaker’s aunt, Suzette Gondry and her relationship with her son, Jean-Yves. In the words of a description, “During the course of filming the documentary, Michel unearths new family stories and uses his camera to explore them in a subtle and sensitive way.”
“Michel is one of the most innovative and creative people in the world,” Adam Yauch said in a statement. “So it’s great to see him making a sincere doc on a subject that is so close to his heart. (no pun intended).

CAA represented Gondry and production company Partizan, in the sale. David Fenkel negotiated the deal for Oscilloscope.

posted on May 26, 2009
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