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 May 1, 2008 INDUSTRY MOVES | Phathanavirangoon Joins Toronto Fest
Raymond Phathanavirangoon has been named the Southest Asian progammer for this year's Toronto International Film Festival. He joins TIFF from Fortissimo Films where he served as director of marketing and special projects. Phathanavirangoon has served as an international programmer for the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival, worked for the Hong Kong International Film Festival and served on the Teddy Jury at last year's Berlin International Film Festival.  [permalink] [ filed under Industry Moves, Toronto ] September 18, 2007iW NEWS | Myriad Planning North American Release of Argento Film; Weinsteins Make DVD/TV Deal
Following a recent Toronto International Film Festival debut, Myriad Pictures has announced that it will release Dario Argento's "The Mother of Tears" theatrically in North America, while the company also said Tuesday that The Weinstein Company has acquired U.S. DVD and TV rights (as well as Canadian TV rights) to the film. [Eugene Hernandez] [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions, Toronto ] HR | SPC commits to 'Married'
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired North American rights to Ira Sachs' "Married Life," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film, which screened at the recent Toronto International Film Festival, is set for the upcoming New York Film Festival. [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions, Toronto ] September 17, 2007E: Toronto Makes Promises, If Not Buzz
When the 32nd Toronto International Film Festival began, big buzz surrounded films looking at Serious Topics like war and corruption, but when the 10-day festival closed on Saturday it was old-fashioned thrillers and feel-good movies that caught the attention of moviegoers and buyers. Barry Brown reports. [permalink] [ filed under Festivals, Toronto ] September 14, 2007iW NEWS | IFC Gets Guy Maddin Film in Toronto
As the Toronto International Film Festival winds down, acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin's "My Winnipeg" has been acquired for U.S. distribution by IFC Entertainment. In the words of a festival description, Maddin's playful, docu-style rumination on his hometown, "continues in the freewheeling, genre-bending tradition that has made him one of Canada's most consistently intriguing and internationally respected artists." The filmmaker performed a live narration for the film at its Toronto festival premiere last week. Canadian rights to "My Winnipeg" are set with Maximum Films, while London-based Soda Pictures has nabbed rights for the film in the UK. Additional festival dates have yet to be announced. [Eugene Hernandez] [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions, Toronto ] HR | 'Bill' sees dollar signs in Toronto
Melisa Wallack and Bernie Goldmann's "Bill" has been acquired by First Look Studios, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film, from GreeneStreet Films, stars Aaron Eckhart and Jessica Alba, among others. It was produced by John Penotti, Fisher Stevens, and Matthew Rowland. [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions, Toronto ] September 13, 2007NYT | A World Where an Antonioni Might Not Get a Distribution Deal
"Because the Toronto [festival] is so large and functions both as a preview for the fall studio season and as an international bazaar, with goods from Germany, Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia (the multinational provenance for the period epic "Mongol"), it affords an instructive view of the state of the American art and industry. More than any other major festival, Toronto makes clear the divide between those movies that matter aesthetically and intellectually." Manohla Dargis surveys the festival in The New York Times. [permalink] [ filed under Festivals, Toronto ] September 12, 2007AFP: Woody Allen unveils "Cassandras Dream" at Toronto Film Festival
Despite more than three dozen films to his credit, legendary movie director Woody Allen insists that he really doesn't work all that hard, is lazy and just got into movies to meet women. "You'll think I'm being facetious, but I'm not a dedicated filmmaker," he told reporters at the North American premiere of his latest film "Cassandra's Dream." "I'm lazy. Making films is not the be-all and end-all of my life," he said Wednesday at the Toronto Film Festival. Michel Comte reports. [permalink] [ filed under People, Toronto ] AFP: Tears gush at Rwanda genocide film premiere
Audiences at the Toronto International Film Festival wept for Rwanda genocide victims at the premiere this week of "Shake Hands with the Devil," a movie about the failure of UN peacekeepers in 1994 to stop the slaughter around them. Although critics panned the movie, there was not a dry eye in the cinema. AFP reports. [permalink] [ filed under Festivals, Toronto ] September 11, 2007NYT: A Voice From the Blacklist: Documentary Lets Dalton Trumbo Speak (Through Surrogates)
Sixty years after a Congressional panel grilled 10 uncooperative writers, directors and producers about their supposed Communist connections, Hollywood still quarrels over the heroes and villains of its Red Scare. But on Monday night in Toronto, one of the era's acknowledged heroes, the jailed and blacklisted Dalton Trumbo, was expected to deliver some posthumous words that might finally put to rest the hunt for good guys and bad. Michael Cieply reports. [permalink] [ filed under Festivals, Toronto ] Reuters: Toronto film festival turns gaze from war to love
A quirky teen-pregnancy yarn and a love story involving a life-sized sex doll have won over critics at the Toronto International Film Festival, stealing the spotlight from darker films on war and politics. While films with themes wrought from the war in Iraq and global terrorism have drawn a generally positive response, lighter fare such as "Juno" and "Lars and the Real Girl" have also emerged from the pack. Cameron French reports. [permalink] [ filed under Festivals, Toronto ] Globe and Mail: De Palma's Comeback
The veteran director--67 today--has been in the film business for at least 40 years and made almost as many pictures in that time. Now the New Jersey native appears to be back on the winning side of the ledger with a searing film about the losing American war effort in Iraq called "Redacted. James Adams reports. [permalink] [ filed under Festivals, Toronto ] HR | Overture Films buys McCarthy's 'Visitor'
Tom McCarthy's "The Visitor" has been acquired by Overture Films, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In the trade paper, Greg Goldstein writes that the pact is valued at, "more than $1 million plus boxoffice bonuses for the filmmakers." [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions, Toronto ] September 10, 2007AFP: Moore takes parting shot at Bush in rockstar flick
Filmmaker Michael Moore on Saturday predicted a landslide victory for the Democrats in the 2008 presidential election, but is taking no chances, rallying US liberals in his latest documentary. "The potential for a (Democratic) landslide is enormous. People do not want to vote for the Republicans," he told reporters at the Toronto film festival premiere of his "Captain Mike Across America." Michel Comte reports. [permalink] [ filed under Festivals, Toronto ] iW NEWS | IFP Set's Sayles' "Honeydripper" for '07 Event
The 2007 Independent Film Week, IFP Market, and Filmmaker Conference will open on Monday, September 17th with a screening of John Sayles film, "Honeydripper," uptown at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square. The film, debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival, will be released next year by Emerging Pictures. After the New York City showing, the organization will celebrate with a party toasting the 15th Anniversary of its publication, Filmmaker Magazine. For more information, please visit the IFP website. [Eugene Hernandez] [permalink] [ filed under Events, Toronto ] September 9, 2007iW NEWS | Strand Picks Up "Before I Forget" for North America
All North American rights to Jacques Nolot's "Before I Forget" (Avant Que J'Oublie) have been acquired by Strand Releasing, the company announced late Saturday night. The film is currently screening in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the Toronto International Film Festival and was also in the Director's Fortnight in Cannes in May. The deal was negotiated between Strand bo-president, Jon Gerrans and Claude Nouchi, a consultant for Colifilms Diffusion. The film deals with Pierre (played by Nolot) as an aging writer facing writers block, dealing with hustlers, anti-depressants, while keenly facing his fears and addressing them in an edgy filmic format similar to his last venture. "We're thrilled to be working with both Mr. Nolot and Mr. Nouchi" said Gerrans, in a statement. "This is a a daring, edgy film that is reminscent of French new wave films that push the envelope in terms of content and form." [Brian Brooks] [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions, Toronto ] September 8, 2007iW NEWS | Miramax Makes Meirelles Deal, Pre-Buys "Blindness"
In Toronto tonight, Miramax Films may be celebrating this evening's TIFF debut of The Coen Brothers' "No Country For Old Men," but company president Daniel Battsek can also toast his pre-buy of U.S. rights to filmmaker Fernando Meirelles' "Blindess." The film has been shooting locally ahead of the production moving to Meirelles' native Brazil and was adapted from Jose Saramago's acclaimed novel. The in-production project was described by Miramax tonight as follows: "When a sudden plague of blindness devastates a city, a small group of the afflicted band together to triumphantly overcome the horrific conditions of their imposed quarantine." Written by celebrated Canadian writer, actor and director Don McKellar (a recent Tony Award winner for "The Drowsy Chaperone), "Blindness" stars Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Alice Braga, Danny Glover and Gael Garcia Bernal. The movie is produced by Niv Fichman, Andrea Barata Ribeiro, and Sonoko Sakai and executive produced by Gail Egan and Simon Channing-Williams. Miramax's EVP Michael Luisi negotiated the deal with Fichman and Sakai, as well as Steve Saltzman of Loeb and Loeb representing the film. [Eugene Hernandez] [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions, Toronto ] iW NEWS | In Toronto, ThinkFilm Makes Deal for Helen Hunt Film
ThinkFilm has acquired U.S. rights to Helen Hunt's "Then She Found Me," which debuted on Friday evening at the Toronto International Film Festival, with TVA Films taking Canadian rights after overnight negotiating. The actress' directorial debut -- produced by Killer Films -- stars Bette Midler, Colin Firth, and Matthew Broderick and was adapted by Hunt, Vic Levin and Alice Arlen from a novel by Elinor Lipman. International sales on the film are being shopped in Toronto by Odyssey Entertainment. Think's Mark Urman and Randy Manis closed the deal with CAA and Yves Dion negotiated for Equinoxe, according to an announcement today. The Hollywood Reporter offers additional background on the deal, in a story that pegs the pact at $2 - 3 million, combining U.S. rights to ThinkFilm and the Canadian rights deal. (Reps corrected a previous report that mistakenly indicated Canadian rights were nabbed by Equinoxe). [Eugene Hernandez] [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions, Toronto ] September 7, 2007iW NEWS | Niv Fichman Receives CFPTA Producers Award
Industry Initatives at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Canadian Film and Television Production Association announced that Niv Fichman is the recipient of the second annual CFTPA Producer's Award with a $10,000 CAD cash prize. Fichman has produced over 200 documenataries, television series and films, including Francois Girard's Silk, which is screening at the Festival. [Peter Knegt] [permalink] [ filed under Honors, Toronto ] September 5, 2007iW NEWS | THINKFilm Adopts "My Brother is an Only Child" for North America
North American rights to Daniele Luchetti's "My Brother is an Only Child" (Mio Fratello e Figlio Unico) have been acquired by THINKFilm with a planned March, 2008 theatrical release, Mark Urman, the company's theatrical division head announced Wednesday. The film, which will screen at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival, was represented by THINKFilm International for worldwide sales in Cannes where it screened in the official selection. THINKFilm International Head of Sales, Eve Schoukroun, along with THINK executives Urman, Randy Manis and Ben Stambler sealed the arrangement with Marco Chimenz, who produced the film with Riccardo Tozzi and Giovanni Stabilini, his partners at Cattleya, their Rome-based film and TV production company. The film has earned $8.5 million at home in Italy. Set in a small Italian town in the '60s and '70s, the film tells the story of two brothers who want to change the world--but in completely different ways. The two polar opposite siblings find conflict against the backdrop of the turbulent era. [Brian Brooks] [permalink] [ filed under Acquisitions, Toronto ] Older Buzz/Rumors about TorontoAugust 27, 2007 August 23, 2007 August 23, 2007 August 15, 2007 August 7, 2007 August 2, 2007 July 31, 2007 July 26, 2007 July 23, 2007 July 18, 2007 July 17, 2007 July 10, 2007 July 5, 2007 May 10, 2007 February 20, 2007 September 21, 2006 September 18, 2006 September 18, 2006 September 17, 2006 September 16, 2006 September 15, 2006 September 13, 2006 September 13, 2006 September 13, 2006 September 12, 2006 September 10, 2006 September 10, 2006 September 10, 2006 September 10, 2006 September 9, 2006 September 9, 2006 September 8, 2006 September 7, 2006 September 7, 2006 September 3, 2006 August 30, 2006 August 23, 2006 August 23, 2006 August 15, 2006 August 14, 2006 August 10, 2006 August 1, 2006 July 27, 2006 July 26, 2006 July 25, 2006 July 20, 2006 July 11, 2006 July 6, 2006 April 28, 2006 October 17, 2005 October 4, 2005 September 26, 2005 September 16, 2005 September 15, 2005 September 13, 2005 September 13, 2005 September 13, 2005 September 13, 2005 September 12, 2005 September 10, 2005 September 10, 2005 September 10, 2005 September 9, 2005 September 9, 2005 September 9, 2005 September 9, 2005 September 9, 2005 September 8, 2005 September 8, 2005 September 6, 2005 September 1, 2005 August 28, 2005 August 26, 2005 August 23, 2005 | |
