Fortissimo "Eyes" Sales Rights to Hong Kong Opener

Fortissimo Films has acquired worldwide sales rights to Hong Kong International Film Festival opener, "Eye In the Sky" from Sundream Motion Pictures. The deal excludes Asia aside from Japan and Korea. The film is the directorial debut of scriptwriter, Yau Nai Hoi ("Election"). The deal was completed by Fortissimo's co-chairman Michael J. Werner and Sundream Motion Picture's VP of distribution Otto Leong. "Yau is destined to be one of Hong Kong's rising stars; already in his first film he has created a masterful story with a distinctive flair," commented Werner in a statement. "We are pleased to be working with him, Sundream and the Milkyway team to bring 'Eye In the Sky' to the international market." [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions ]

Magnolia Gets Zobel's "Great Word of Sound"; Fall Release Planned

Magnolia Pictures has announced its acquisition of North American rights to Craig Zobel's "Great World of Sound" which is screening this week in Austin at the SXSW Film Festival and had its world premiere at Sundance in January where Magnolia execs first saw the movie. In the words of an announcement, "Existing at the darkly comic intersection of the 'American Idol' phenomenon, 'Glengarry Glen Ross', and The Maysles Brothers' revered documentary 'Salesman', 'Great World of Sound' stars Patrick Healy and Kene Holliday as Martin and Clarence, two average southern guys who get involed in the excitement of a record industry talent scouting scheme..." The company is planning a Fall release for the film. In a statement, Zobel said Thursday, "Magnolia is one of the most progressive, exciting companies out there--they were at the top of the wish list in my hopes of getting distribution. I feel extremely lucky that they are so passionate about the film. Having this deal happen at SXSW is just tremendous." The deal was negotiated by Magnolia head of acquisitions Tom Quinn and head of business affairs Jason Janego, with Cassian Elwes of William Morris Independent representing the Zobel. "I love 'Great World of Sound'," praised Magnolia owner Mark Cuban in a statement. "It reminded me of all the great sales movies, and the ups and downs anyone who has ever had to close a sale in order to eat has experienced." [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, SXSW ]

SF 360: SF International Asian American Film Festival 's revelatory cultural leaps

One heartening development at this year's San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival is the presence of some excellent feature films that cross national boundaries in a manner that reveals the increased flexibility of the word "international." By that I don't mean "global," a word that often connotes corporate interests which add 100 shades of blandness to every culture they touch. Rather, I mean movies that travel through different countries, sometimes observing one culture through the eyes of an outsider, sometimes closely watching an outsider within a culture. These traits can be found in a pair of standout films--"The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief" and "In Between Days"--that aren't even part of the 25th SFIAAF's International Showcase, a realm that boasts some superb features that more closely fit the standard definition of an "international" film. Johnny Ray Huston reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, World Cinema ]

Kurian Named Creative Exec at Intrepid

Anil Kurian has been promoted to Creative Executive at Intrepid Pictures, the company's partners Marc Evans and Trevor Macy announced Thursday . Kurian joined Intrepid at its inception in December of 2005, and previously worked for Matthew McConaughey and Gus Gustawes' company, jk livin productions. He also held positions at ICM and Endeavor and did production work on several features and TV shows. Upcoming Intrepid Pictures releases include "Strangers" by Bryan Bertino and Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon's "Balls of Fury." [Brian Brooks]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Industry Moves ]

Sony Classics Gets Buscemi's "Interview" for U.S. Summer Release

Sony Pictures Classics has announced a deal for U.S. rights to Steve Buscemi's "Interview," based on the late Theo Van Gogh's film of the same name. Buscemi wrote and directed the movie and stars alongside Sienna Miller in a story described as, "a passionate drama about two polar opposite characters and their unforeseen encounter." Sony Classics' Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Dylan Leiner, who are planning a Summer release, acquired the film from Cinemavault Releasing. "We have always wanted to work with Steve Buscemi, and we've admired Sienna Miller's work over the last several years," the SPC execs said in a statemant. "We're thrilled to bring this movie out in July as we think it's a perfect summer film." The film was a Dutch/American co-production between Column Film in Amsterdam and Bruce Weiss' New York based Ironworks Productions. In a statement, Weiss said, "It was always Theo's dream to make films in America and to have his work seen here. Gijs and I are thrilled that Steve and Sienna helped us realize that dream." Cinemavault has sold the film in numerous foreign territories where it will have a theatrical release, including Germany (Kinowelt), France (Diaphana), Italy (Fandango), Spain (Golem), Scandinavia (CCV), Switzerland (Rialto Film), Benelux: A-Film, Austria: Polyfilm, Poland: Solopan, CIS: Maywin Media, Greece: Spentzos Films, Iceland (Samfilm), Former Yugoslavia (Karantanija), Middle East (Front Row), Czech Republic (CinemArt), Turkey (Mars). Negotiations are also underway for deals in the UK, Japan, and Latin America, according to the company. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions ]

iW Video | Swanberg on "Hannah Takes The Stairs" & Mumblecore

One of the big films at SXSW '07 is the latest low budget movie by Joe Swanberg. "Hannah Takes The Stairs" stars fellow so-called "mumblecore" filmmakers Andrew Bujalski and Mark Duplass, among others. In an iW Video interview (link to YouTube clip), Swanberg talks about the new film and this prolific community of American indie filmmakers. indieWIRE reports in the film in a Dispatch from SXSW published last night.  
[permalink]   [ filed under indieWIRE: VIdeo ]

HR: First Look president Vitale exiting

Ruth Vitale is leaving her post as president of First Look Studios effective April 30, the first earthquake at the indie studio since First Look Pictures CEO Henry Winterstern's abrupt departure March 5. "(First Look parent) Prentice Capital has been nothing but wonderful," said Vitale in an interview Wednesday afternoon with the Hollywood Reporter. Vitale will oversee the April 13 wide release of the animated Cartoon Network series adaptation "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters" and will consult on First Look theatrical releases, including the omnibus film "Paris j'taime" and other films. She said she has no other current plans after her departure but described her resignation as a "mutual decision." Gregg Goldstein reports.  
[permalink]   [ filed under Industry Moves ]

AAS: SXSW Interview: Stephen Kijak, "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man"

Four years in the making, "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man" is and in-depth look at a man who turned his back on fame to follow a very singular and uncompromising artistic path, something all too rare in today's accelerated pop culture. In addition to a rare interview with the reclusive Walker himself, the film features interviews with an impressive roster of his famous fans and collaborators (Bowie, Radiohead, Jarvis Cocker, and legendary arranger Angela Morley, formerly known as Wally Stott) And the filmmakers were granted exclusive access to observe the recording of Walker's latest album "The Drift." Matthew Odam speaks with "Scott Walker" director Stephen Kijak where his doc is having its North American premiere at the SXSW Film Festival, currently underway, in the Austin American Statesman. 
[permalink]   [ filed under People, SXSW ]

Edie Sedgwick Film Retrospective Hosted by NY's Museum of Moving Image

New York's Museum of the Moving Image will host a retrospective entitled, "The Real Edie Sedgwick" from March 31 through April 8, 2007, offering all of Sedgwick's rarely seen films directed by Andy Warhol, including rare double-projector screenings of the films "Outer and Inner Space" and "Lupe." In all of the Warhol films, the camera runs continuously, capturing Sedgwick on her own, or hanging out with such members of the Warhol crowd as Gerard Malanga, Chuck Wein, and Ondine. The films are very loosely scripted, but are basically slices of life made during the heyday of the Warhol Factory scene. Among the Warhol films to be shown are "Beauty #2," "Space," "Afternoon," "Restaurant," and "Kitchen." The sixteen-film retrospective also includes the U.S. premiere of footage of Sedgwick shot by documentary filmmaker Richard Leacock for a production of the opera "Lulu," and the feature documentary "Ciao! Manhattan," which was made shortly before Sedgwick died at the age of 28. Sedgwick was portrayed by Siena Miller in the recently released biopic "Factory Girl." [Brian Brooks]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Events ]

San Francisco Film Society to Honor Spike Lee at 50th Fest Anniversary

Director Spike Lee will receive the San Francisco Film Society's directing award during the 50th San Francisco International Film Festival, which will hold its 50th edition April 26 - May 10. The award will be presented to Lee at Film Society Awards Night, a fundraising gala, on Thursday, May 3 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel benefitting the Society's Education Program. In addition to the Lee honor, the SFFS will honor a soon-to-be-announced recipient of the Peter J. Owens Award for a brilliant acting career; Peter Morgan, recipient of the Kanbar Award for excellence in screenwriting; and George Lucas, recipient of the one-time-only Irving M. Levin Award honoring a "man who embodies the iconoclastic spirit of the festival founder." "Spike Lee is a masterful director and one of the most important filmmakers of our generation," said Graham Leggat, SFFS executive director in a statement. "No American director of the last 25 years has done more to lever open and examine the inner workings of American society than he has." [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

Nine Honored at 2nd Very Short Film Festival

Nine awards were presented at the 2nd Very Short Film Festival at Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre, with Spanish film "Avatar" by Lluis Quillez winning in the drama category, while "The Happiest Day Of His Life" (USA) by Ursula Burton receiving the prize for comedy and "Africa Parting" (USA) by Robyn Yannoukos taking the nod in animation. Tiffany Shlain's "The Tribe" (USA) won for doc and "Victoria" (USA) by Marc Carlini won for music video. In the audience categories, Nancy Stein's "Joey" (USA) took the non-fiction nod and Jack Swanstrom's "A.W.O.L." received audience kudos for fiction. James Higgins' "Ephemera" won the fest's New Frontier prize. And VSFF's experimental and grand jury prize "Best of the Fest" award was given to "Vend" (Australia) by James Findlay. The international cadre of filmmakers from the United States and 11 countries included 40 of the represented filmmakers who attended in person. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, Shorts ]

AFP: Deneuve says European cinema stands apart

French actress Catherine Deneuve on Wednesday hailed European cinema as unique as she visited Japan for a French film festival. There are great filmmakers in Hong Kong and Korea but I think that European and especially French cinema is very different," she told a news conference. "It's cinema that's all at once emotional, that speaks a lot and explains a lot, and that understands the quite universal things about love," she said, calling on Japanese distributors to show more French films. AFP reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under People ]

iW Video | John Pierson on Michael Moore, "Roger & Me," and "Manufacturing Dissent"

Among the films that have had people talking at SXSW this year is "Manufacturing Dissent," a new documentary critical of Michael Moore. In an iW Video clip (link to YouTube clip), film professor and former film rep John Pierson, who shepherded Moore's breakthrough to wider awareness in 1989, talks about Michael Moore, "Roger & Me" and the new doc, "Manufacturing Dissent." As indieWRE reported in a Dispatch from SXSW earlier this week, among the hot topics is whether Michael Moore actually did conduct an interview with GM chief Roger Smith in "Roger & Me."  
[permalink]   [ filed under SXSW, indieWIRE: VIdeo ]

It Was a "Namesake" Weekend at the Specialty Box Office

Fox Searchlight's "The Namesake" by Mira Nair topped the specialty box office last weekend as ranked on a per screen basis with a whopping $41,425 average, while Zeitgeist's "Into Great Silence" placed second with an $11,566 per screen average in its second week in theaters. IFC First Take's "The Exterminating Angels" ranked third with $6,485 on its opening, while IFC Films' "Beyond the Gates (aka Shooting Dogs)" followed, also on one screen with $6,374. Rounding out the top five on the iW Box Office Table (iW BOT) was THINKFilm's "Avenue Montaigne," which averaged $5,239, giving its four-week cume a total of $304,000. Top absolute dollar earners amongst the specialty offerings last week were Samuel Goldwyn/Roadside Attractions' "Amazing Grace" came in at just under $2.5 million on 1000 screens, while Bigger Picture's "The Ultimate Gift" scored nearly $1.25 million at 816 locations. [The iWBOT is based on per-theater averages reported by Rentrak Theatrical, the complete indieWIRE BOT weekly chart is available here at indieWIRE.com.] [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

"The Reef" and "Ugly Duckling" Bookend 10th Sprockets Fest for Children

The North American debut of Kyeong-ho Lee, John Fox and Howard E. Baker's animated underwater comedy, "The Reef" will open the 10th Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children, taking place April 13 - 22. This year's festival will screen films in 25 languages from 28 different countries. In addition to the line up, the event will honor the "Degrassi" franchise with producer-creator Linda Schuyler, key cast members and contributors to the creative team, on Saturday April 14. In addition, to celebrate its 10th anniversary, Sprockets will host a Canadian Retrospective of four award-winning feature films from previous years at the festival. "The Ugly Duckling and Me" by Michael Hegner and Karsten Kiilerich will close the fest. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's classic, the film follows Ratso, a "success-starved rodent who persuades the villagers that he is the father of a stray ugly duckling." Sprockets is a program of the Toronto International Film Festival Group. For more information and a full line up, visit their website. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

Hong Kong to Honor Siao at Inaugural Awards

Hong Kong actor Josephine Siao ("Fists of Fury") will be the recipient of the inaugural Asian Film Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema which will be presented at an awards ceremony on March 20th at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. David Bordwell, a prominent film theorist also known for his astute knowledge of filmmaking, will also be honored at this years AFAs. . The festival runs March 20th through April 11th. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

Balkan Fund Call for Entries

The fifth installment of the Balkan Fund is accepting entries through May 25, 2007. Four award winners will receive 10,000 euros following a three day workshop during which the writers, directors and producers of the pre-selected projects will meet the international jury of the Balkan Fund to present and discuss their work at the 48th Thessaloniki International Film Festival in November. For more information and rules, visit their website. [Brian Brooks] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

AAS: Funnyman gets funny in Austin

Baggy-eyed, hair tousled, face a schmear of dark whiskers, Paul Rudd looks like he spent a Saturday night in Austin. It was a good night, and he had reason to celebrate. Earlier that day his film "The Ten" sold out the 1,200-seat Paramount Theatre to an eruptively appreciative audience who laughed at every gag, joke and quip in the often brilliant absurdist comedy. The movie is one of three comedies Rudd's pushing at the South by Southwest Film Festival this week and last. As Paul Rudd riffs on the absurd, you forget he has a trio of SXSW films to promote. The others are "Diggers" and "Knocked Up," Judd Apatow's sequel to "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," in which Rudd co-starred. All three films will be released later this year. Chris Garcia reports for the Austin American Statesman. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

Reuters: Eisner launches Internet video studio Vuguru

An investment firm run by former Walt Disney Co. chief executive Michael Eisner has launched a studio that will produce and distribute videos for the Internet, portable media devices and cell phones, as Hollywood strives to reach tech-savvy viewers online. The studio, Vuguru, has signed for its first project, "Prom Queen," a scripted 80-episode mystery consisting of 90-second installments described as "a blend of love, gossip, and betrayal" during the final two weeks of high school. Kenneth Li reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

Picturehouse to Bring "The Fox & the Child" to U.S.

Picturehouse has acquired the U.S. rights to "The Fox & the Child," the first narrative film from the team that created the box-office hit "The March of the Penguins," Bob Berney, president of Picturehouse announced Monday. The film is directed by Luc Jacquet and produced by Yves Darondeau, Christophe Lioud and Emmanuel Priou. Picturehouse by SVP of acquisitions, Sara Rose and Carolyn Blackwood, EVP of business affairs and co-productions, New Line brokered the deal for the company. Based on Jacquet's own experience as a child, the film tells the story of "a little girl who enters the familiar landscape of the forest surrounding her home but, by following in the fox's footsteps, an entire new world is revealed to her." "We are tremendously pleased to be a part of 'The Fox & the Child,'" said Berney in a statement. "It's a universal story that will touch people of all ages. I know that Luc and his team will bring their incredible passion to this project and capture images we never thought possible." [Brian Brooks]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions ]

"Black Book" and "Eagle Vs. Shark" Bookend 10th Bermuda International Film Festival

"Black Book," by veteran director Paul Verhoeven ("Total Recall") will open the 10th anniversary of the Bermuda International Film Festival, while "Eagle vs. Shark," the first film by Kiwi stand-up comedian Taika Waititi, will close the event. The festival will take place on the mid-Atlantic island from March 16-24, 2007, offering 85 films from 32 countries. Also at this year's BIFF, actor Earl Cameron, who is a Bermudian by birth, will return to the island to be honored with a film retrospective and participate in "A Conversation With... Earl Cameron" on Saturday, March 17. "Mr. Cameron has been widely hailed as the most successful black actor that Britain has produced, and rightly so," says the festival's director of programming, David O'Beirne in a statement. "His career has spanned more than half a century, and he continues to be a working actor today." For more information and a full line up, please visit the Bermuda International Film Festival's website. [Brian Brooks]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

Tribeca Launches Tomorrow Unlimited With Former RES Group

Touting a plan to create "a network of global multi-platform properties," Robert DeNiro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff's Tribeca Enterprises (parent of the Tribeca Film Festival and Tribeca Cinemas) has announced the formation of Tomorrow Unlimited LLC with former principals of RES Media Group. The new division is headed by CE0 Karol Martesko and COO John Turk, along with former RES team Jesse Ashlock, Jeremy Boxer, Khris Kline, and Sam Margolius. Specific plans have yet to be officially announced, but the new company will be a programming and curatorial entity with an online web journal, a multi-city event and a touring festival. The outfit will explore film, music, design, art, gaming, technology, architecture, fashion, and other areas. Martesko-Fenster said in a statement:

"Tomorrow Unlimited will give voice to the grassroots of emerging creative culture worldwide. The extraordinary efforts of young talents working with new tools and techniques, new communication technologies, new concepts in multimedia creation, and perhaps most importantly, a renewed sense of hope for the promise of creative culture, offers an open door to our collective future."

EDITORS NOTE: Separately, Karol Martesko-Fenster is also a managing member of indieWIRE LLC. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]