iW NEWS | "August Evening" and "Billy The Kid" Win in L.A.

At the Los Angeles Film Festival, Chris Eska's narrative feature "August Evening" and Jennifer Venditti's documentary "Billy the Kid" won the jury prizes on Thursday night. The cash awards, $50,000 each provided by Target, were presented during a ceremony at the Hammer Museum in Westwood. Director, actor, and composter Clint Eastwood received the Spirit of Independence Award at the festival as the event heads into its final weekend. Audience awards will be presented on Sunday night prior to the closing night screening of Danny Boyle's "Sunshine." [Eugene Hernandez]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Honors, Los Angeles Film Festival ]

iW NEWS | IFC Set To Take "Hannah" to Theaters

IFC First Take has set an August 22nd release date for Joe Swanberg's "Hannah Takes The Stairs," which debuted in March at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin. The latest film from a loose collective of filmmakers, nicknamed Mumblecore (or sometimes Mumblecorps), Swanberg's "Hannah" stars actors Greta Gerwig and Kent Osbourne alongside a host of American indie filmmakers, including Mark Duplass, Andrew Bujalski, and Ry Russo-Young. In "Hannah," Gerwig stars as a post-college woman who dates three very different colleagues that work together. Duplass plays a cool former musician, Bujalski is an intellectual workaholic and Kent Osborne is somewhere in between. The film, produced by Anish Savjani, is the latest from Swanberg who is known for the Nerve.com series "Young American Bodies" and the feature films, "Kissing on the Mouth" and "LOL." indieWIRE profiled Swanberg when the film debuted at SXSW earlier this year. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions ]

iW NEWS | Arthouse Goes to "Cool School"

Arthouse Films has announced its acquisition of worldwide rights to Morgan Neville's "The Cool School," debuting in the documentary competition this week at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The story of L.A.'s influential Ferus Gallery which, from 1957 - 1968, nutured artists such as Ed Kienholz, Ed Ruscha, Craig Kauffman, Wallace Berman, Ed Moses and Robert Irwin, the film is narrated by Jeff Bridges and will be released in theaters early next year and will also air nationally on PBS' Independent Lens. The deal was negotiated by David Koh from Arthouse Films and Lilly Bright from Curiously Bright Entertainment along with Julie Goldman of Cactus Three on behalf of the filmmakers and producers. "We love this documentary about the little known Los Angeles art scene and are proud to distribute the film through our Arthouse Films label," said Koh and Bright in a statement. "We want to be the label of choice for arts, cultural, and music documentaries. We are excited to work with the filmmakers on the release of their film." [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, Los Angeles Film Festival ]

AFP: Iran forces Thai film festival to drop controversial film

Award-wining Iranian film "Persepolis" has been dropped from line-up at the 2007 Bangkok International Film Festival after pressure from the Iranian embassy, organisers said Wednesday. The film, which jointly won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May, was scheduled to screen on the opening night of the 10-day festival in the Thai capital, which begins July 19. AFP reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals ]

iW NEWS | Gill and Sacker Launch Film Department

New independent film finance, production and international sales outfit The Film Department, headed by former Warner Independent Pictures president Mark Gill and former Yari Film Group COO Neil Sacker, has announced a $200 million foundation upon which to build their company. The Film Department, officially opening its doors in two weeks, plans to fully finance six films per year, budgeted between $10 - $35 million. In the words of an announcement today, "It plans to make star-driven, commercial pictures at the high end of every genre that appeal to a worldwide audience (notably thrillers, dramas, comedies, romantic comedies, action and horror films)." While Gill is on board as CEO of the new company with Sacker serving as president and COO, the two are running it as a partnership and first worked together at Miramax in 1995, according to the announcement. Based in West Hollywood, The Film Department expects to have nearly 40 employees. "There's a perfect storm of favorable conditions for our new business: strong international demand for star-driven, lower-cost, high-quality films," Gill said in a statement, adding, "A decrease in North American studio in-house production combined with a substantial increase in distribution capacity; and greater star willingness than ever before to make independent films." 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

SF360: "Glue" and "Red Without Blue" Among Top Frameline Winners

Frameline31, the 31st San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, closed Sunday, June 24, with a gala screening of Jamie Babbit's "Itty Bitty Titty Committee," produced by 2007 Frameline Award Winner Andrea Sperling. At Sunday night's Closing Night Party, Frameline31 organizers announced the Audience Award for Best Feature was given to Chris Kraus' "Four Minutes," a German drama that follows the volatile relationship between a convicted killer and the older piano teacher who takes her on as a pupil. Vince DiPersio's "Semper Fi: One Marine's Journey" took home the Audience Award for Best Documentary. Frameline Completion Fund winner "Pariah" (Dir. Dee Rees) took home the Audience Award for Best Short Film. The juried Frameline First Feature Award recognized "Glue," Argentine director Alexis Dos Santos' ode to budding adolescent sexuality. The Michael J. Berg Documentary Award, a $10,000 juried award recognizing the best documentary feature having its Bay Area premiere at the festival, was given to "Red Without Blue," Brooke Sebold, Benita Sills and Todd Sills' moving portrait of Mark and Clair, identical twins whose relationship must adapt when one of them transitions from male to female. SF360 reports. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, Queer Cinema ]

iW NEWS | Cinema Guild Gets "Yella"

Christian Petzold's "Yella," from the 2007 Berlinale, has been acquired by The Cinema Guild in a deal for U.S. distribution rights. Described as "a daring metaphysical thriller about a young woman's efforts to escape her past," the film will open in theaters later this year. At the Berlin International Film Festival, lead actress Nina Hoss won the Silver Bear for best actress. Ryan Krivoshey, Director of Distribution for The Cinema Guild negotiated the deal with Michael Weber for The Match Factory. "'Yella' is an extraordinary film that uses the conventions of a Hollywood thriller to offer a bracing critique of our capitalist society," commented Ryan Krivoshey, in a statement. "Christian Petzold is one of the most innovative young directors working today, and we are very excited to be releasing his new picture." [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions ]

iW NEWS | Seibert Launches Animated Feature Venture

Frederator Studios founder Fred Seibert has launced Frederator Films, a new company for animated 2-D feature genre films. He is launching Frederator Films with Kevin Kolde and Eric Gardner. Its first three projects include a feature based on Genndy Tartakovsky's animated TV series, "Samurai Jack", Doug TenNapel's "The Neverhood" based on the cult claymation PC game, and Dan Meth's hip-hop animated feature, "The Seven Deadly Sins." The company plans to make two films per year. "Our studio's successes have been built on the best creative talents in the animation business," said Seibert in a statement. "Genndy Tartakovsky, Doug TenNapel, and Dan Meth are continuing a tradition of original cartoons we began in 1998 and moving it into feature films." [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

INDUSTRY MOVES | Gazzale to Head AFI

Bob Gazzale will succeed Jean Picker Firstenberg as CEO and President of the American Film Institute, the organization announced today. A 42 year old film historian, TV producer and writer, Gazzle will join AFI on November 1, 2007.  
[permalink]   [ filed under Industry Moves ]

iW NEWS | Maya Acquires "August" at LA Film Fest

Chris Eska's first feature "August Evening" has been acquired by Moctesuma Esparza's upstart distribution company Maya Entertainment, in a deal signed after the film's debut this week at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The LAFF competition title is the story of an undocumented worker and his widowed daughter-in-law dealing with a tragedy. "We're excited to launch our distribution division with a beautiful film like 'August Evening'," said Esparza, compay co-chairman and CEO, in a statement. "We're confident it will satisfy both traditional art house audiences and break through to the mainstream Latino market, achieving both critical and financial success." Glen Reynolds of Circus Road Films negotiated the deal on behalf of the film's producer with Moctesuma Esparza and Jose Martinez, Jr. from Maya. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, Los Angeles Film Festival ]

iW NEWS | DeNiro/Pacino Project at Overture

Jon Avnet's "Righteous Kill," set to star Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, has secured a North American deal with Overture Films, the company's CEO Chris McGurk and COO Danny Rosett announced Monday. Written by Russell Gewirtz, the film features the DeNiro and Pacino as, in the words of an announcement, "two detectives on the hunt for a serial killer whose victims are criminals who have slipped through the cracks of the justice system. After following a trail of clues, the detectives soon realize the killer had unusual access to his victims, the type of access only another cop would have." Millennium Films is producing the movie along with Randall Emmett and Rob Cowan. It is set to start shooting this September in Bridgeport, CT and New York City. Overture’s Sean Furst, EVP Productions and Acquisitions, will oversee production for the company. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Movies ]

INDUSTRY MOVES | Garelick and Alvarado-Brown Join Overture

Overture Films has announced the appointment of Justin Alvarado-Brown and Matt Garelick to SVP positions. Matt Garelick has joined Overture as its SVP of Theatrical Distribution, heading to the company from Nielsen EDI. He will handle Western distribution for the company, while SVP of Theatrical Distribution Greg Forston is handling Eastern distribution. Justin Alvarado-Brown has joined the company as SVP Business and Legal Affairs, overseeing dealmaking and running day-to-day business affairs at the company. He is joining the company from HBO where he served as Senior Counsel.  
[permalink]   [ filed under Industry Moves ]

iW NEWS | Koch Lorber and Red Envelope Take "Water Lilies"

All U.S. and Canadian rights to Celine Sciamma's "Water Lillies" (La Naissance des Pieuvres) have been acquired in a joint deal by Koch Lorber Films and Red Envelope Entertainment, the companies announced Monday. The film, set in the summer at a suburban Parisian municipal swimming pool, debuted in the Un Certain Regard section at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Richard Lorber from Koch Lorber and Liesl Copland from Red Envelope negotiated the pact with Film Distribution's Nicolas Brigaud-Robert and Didar Domehri. Koch Lorber is planning a national theatrical release beginning early next year, followed by a DVD release later in the year. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, Cannes ]

iW NEWS | Tribeca Fest Heading to China

Tribeca Enterprises, The William Morris Agency and China Interactive Media Group (CIMG) will unveil a new two-day independent film event in China next month. Dubbed the Tribeca 798 Film Festival Beijing -- named for the artist friendly 798 distict -- the event is set for July 10th and 11th and will include screenings of Benson Lee's break-dancing documentary, "Planet B-Boy," a 2007 TFF world premiere from Tribeca's TAA program. [Eugene Hernandez]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Festivals, New York ]

iW BOX OFFICE | The Top Ten So Far

Each week, indieWIRE receives the final weekend numbers for specialty releases in theaters. This is our top ten for the three day weekend so far, with most numbers already in. The top ten is subject to change before the final chart is published tomorrow and the weekly box office column is written. Weekend box office data provided by Rentrak as of Monday, 6:00 p.m. EST.
1. Sicko" (Lionsgate/The Weinstein Company) $68,969 wknd ($68,969 per scrn) 2. "Manufactured Landscapes" (Zeitgeist) $9,129 wknd ($9,129 per scrn) 3. "Colma: The Musical" (Roadside Attractions) $8,403 wknd ($8,403 per scrn) 4. "Broken English" (Magnolia Pictures) $55,198 wknd ($7,885 per scrn) 5. "Pierrot Le Fou" (Janus Films) $7,395 wknd ($7,395 per scrn) 6. "You Kill Me" (IFC Films) $233,709 wknd ($6,677 per scrn) 7. "Lady Chatterly" (Kino International) $32,814 wknd ($6,563 per scrn) 8. "La Vie En Rose" (Picturehouse Films) $773,896 wknd ($6,558 per scrn) 9. "12:08 East of Bucharest" (Tartan Films) $4,809 wknd ($4,809 per scrn) 10. "Black Sheep" (IFC First Take) $16,102 wknd ($4,026 per scrn) 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

iW NEWS | "Sicko" Strong in U.S. Debut

Michael Moore's "Sicko" opened to big business on one screen in Manhattan this weekend, earning an estimated $70,000 on one screen, according to The Weinstein Company. The film, which will go into wide release on Friday, also sold out all 43 Saturday night sneak previews held throughout the country, according to TWC. In other weekend box office news, Paramount Vantage opened Michael Winterbottom's "A Mighty Heart" at 1,355 locations, earning an estimated $4 million for an estimated per screen average just under $3,000, according to Paramount. [Eugene Hernandez]  
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]