The Inbox (May 11-17, 2013)

Every week, I get several press releases, screening invitations and other notifications from a handful of studio contacts. While I won’t be sharing any information regarding my screening invites, some of the press releases might be of interest to my readers, so I thought I’d start sharing them in toto with all of you. These could include new image galleries for various films or important updates to upcoming releases from various smaller studios and art house production companies.

Press Release: Vision Films Takes Worldwide Rights to Sharon Stone’s Documentary “Femme”

SHARON STONE DOCUMENTARY ‘FEMME’ TO INSPIRE AUDIENCES

Vision Films’ Lise Romanoff Takes Worldwide Rights for “FEMME”

Los Angeles, CA (May 13, 2013) – Vision Films, a worldwide distributor of independent films, has announced today that it has picked-up worldwide rights to the inspirational documentary FEMME, which is directed by Emmanuel Itier (THE INVOCATION, THE MIDNIGT HOUR), and executive produced and narrated by Sharon Stone (CASINO, BASIC INSTINCT).

FEMME features interviews with many internationally recognized speakers including Sharon Stone, Marianne Williamson, Gloria Steinem, Nobel Peace laureates Shirin Ebadi and Maired Maguire, Maria Bello, Angela Davis, Maria Conchita Alonso, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Mary Buffett, Rickie Lee Jones, Jean Houston and Dr. Sue Morter. The soundtrack of the film includes music and songs from well-known artists such as Annie Lennox, Yoko Ono and Rickie Lee Jones. FEMME, which has played at numerous international film festivals, is currently available for worldwide release. Vision Films will be introducing the documentary for the first time at the upcoming Marché du Film in Cannes.

FEMME is a Celebration of Women around the World transforming and healing our society. As executive-producer Sharon Stone explains: “FEMME is an innovative effort to illuminate the thoughts, voices and insights of women the world over. It is an opportunity for women to be heard and to hear one another in an unfiltered regard on issues that touch the core of the human condition both elegantly and eloquently. We have much to learn about each other and from each other”.

Director Emmanuel Itier (The Invocation) has travelled the 5 continents, filmed in over 20 countries and collected the views of over 100 of the most important women of our time such as Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Mairead Maguire, as well as Marianne Williamson, Jean Houston, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Vandana Shiva, Angela Davis, Gloria Steinem, Jean Shinoda Bolen, and actresses Sharon Stone, Maria Bello, Maria Conchita Alonso and Traci Lords.

FEMME is a movie that will empower women and inspire them to keep leading in all areas of society: in religion as well as in economics and politics. FEMME is also an education for men to better understand their female partners and to be more in touch with their feminine side in order to become more compassionate and attentive. For Mother Miriam Benedict from Italy to conclude: “It is obvious at this time in History that FEMME is immediately needed. For those who have eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts which are concerned with the continuation of Life on this planet, the bringing of the women of the world in FEMME is a powerful tool. I hope and pray that the men who see FEMME will begin to see women as collaborators and not as threats to be violently subjugated”.

“I have been a fan of Emmanuel’s work since I screened THE INVOCATION, said Lise Romanoff, Managing Director and CEO of Worldwide Distribution. “FEMME is truly a thought-provoking film and I hope our buyers enjoy it.”

As part of their slate for the upcoming Marche du Film, Vision Films has recently announced that they are also bringing the authorized Duff McKagan (bassist Guns N’ Roses) documentary IT’S SO EASY AND OTHER LIES to the Marché du Film. Some of Vision Films recent feature releases include: FINDING MS. RIGHT (Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Peter Stormare), CRAZY KIND OF LOVE (Eva Longoria, Virginia Madsen, Sam Tramell), DARK HEARTS (Natjia Sinski, Lucas Till, Goran Vijnic), RUSHLIGHTS (Beau Bridges, Josh Henderson), ALLEGIANCE (Bow Wow, Aidan Quinn), LEAST AMONG SAINTS (Laura San Giacomo, Charles Dutton), SOX: THE AMAZING DOG, 12 DOGS OF CHRISTMAS II and more.

To view the FEMME trailer, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u3HOxsbUMU

About Vision Films
Vision Films is a worldwide distributor of over 800 independent Feature Films, TV Movies, Documentaries, and Music Specials, and licenses all available rights from Theatrical, Video/DVD/Blu-Ray, Television, and VOD/Digital Media rights to both the International and Domestic marketplaces. Lise Romanoff is Vision’s Managing Director/CEO, Worldwide Distribution.

Press Release: Jerry Lewis Film “Max Rose” To Sell at Cannes

ICM AND INTERNATIONAL FILM TRUST TO HANDLE US SALES ON THE JERRY LEWIS STARRER MAX ROSE IN CANNES

Lewis to Return to the Croisette for A Special Homage and Screening

CANNES – May 14, 2013 – Motion picture and television legend Jerry Lewis will return to Cannes this year for a special screening of Max Rose, a feature film starring Lewis, Claire Bloom (The King’s Speech), Kevin Pollak (Three Nights, The Usual Suspects), Kerry Bishé (Argo), and Mort Sahl. A Lightstream Pictures production, the film is directed by Daniel Noah, from his original screenplay. Max Rose is produced by Lawrence Inglee (The Messenger, Rampart) and Garrett Kelleher (Rampart), executive produced by Paul Currie, Matthew Malek, Charlie O’Carroll, Gaston Pavlovich and William L. Walton. ICM Partners will represent the domestic sale while International Film Trust (IFT) will handle international sales beginning in Cannes.

In addition, Lewis’ The Ladies Man will be screen in Cannes Classics, a program presenting old films and masterpieces from cinematographic history that have been carefully restored.

President Ariel Veneziano of the newly announced IFT said, “To have a title in the Official Selection as part of our debut sales slate at Cannes is a wonderful start for IFT. Our goal is to be a supplier of quality driven feature films across all genres with clear commercial appeal for the right distributors. Max Rose ticks all those boxes.”

In Max Rose, Lewis portrays the title role of Max, an 87-year old jazz pianist who has recently lost his wife of over six decades. A discovery made days before his wife’s death causes Max to believe his marriage was a lie. Max embarks on an exploration of his own past that brings him face to face with a menagerie of characters from a bygone era.

Lewis’ contributions to the entertainment industry are legendary, having made his mark as an actor, writer, producer and director. His films have entertained billions around the globe, and they continue to attract and enchant new audiences and fans.

Three-time Academy Award-winner Michel Legrand composed the film’s score and features the original song “Hurry Home” by three-time Academy Award winners Marilyn and Alan Bergman. Max Rose marks the first time Lewis has stepped in front of a movie camera in 18 years and re-unites him with Mort Sahl, who in 1963, appeared in two episodes of Jerry’s comedy variety show.

Lightstream Pictures (LSP) is a privately funded independent film company with a mandate to develop, produce and finance high quality motion picture properties with mainstream appeal. With offices in Los Angeles and London and a boutique animation studio in Petaluma, CA, the company employs a unique business model that focuses on story development to a “proof of concept” stage.

About International Film Trust
International Film Trust (IFT) is an international sales and distribution company operated by producers for producers. With over 20 years experience in producing, finance, international sales and distribution, IFT has the knowledge and relationships to cultivate strategic partnerships with A-list producers and filmmakers. Transparent by their design in their business practices IFT is a company that understands and honors the four pillars that sustain the global film marketplace: Creativity, Finance, Sales and Distribution.

The first titles on the IFT slate on offer at Cannes are The Toxic Avenger, with Arnold Schwarzenegger in negotiations to star for writer/director Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine), the comedy King of the Kastle starring Clive Owen and Jacki Weaver from producers Jonathan Gordan (Silver Linings Playbook) and Michael Benaroya (Margin Call) and the horror thriller Exists currently in post production from Blair Witch Project director Eduardo Sanchez.

Press Release: Worldview Entertainment to Produce “Song One” with Anne Hathaway

WORLDVIEW ENTERTAINMENT TO FINANCE AND PRODUCE SONG ONE STARRING ANNE HATHAWAY

Marc Platt, Jonathan Demme, and Anne Hathaway to produce; Lotus Entertainment to begin international sales in Cannes

May 14, 2013 (Cannes, France) — Worldview Entertainment has signed on to finance and produce the drama, “Song One,” starring Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway. Kate Barker-Froyland will direct the film from her own screenplay. Worldview CEO, Christopher Woodrow, and COO, Molly Conners, will produce alongside Marc Platt, Academy Award winner Jonathan Demme, Hathaway and Adam Shulman. Worldview’s Maria Cestone, Sarah Johnson Redlich and Hoyt David Morgan will executive produce. Principal photography will begin May 29th in New York City.

“Song One” is the story of a young woman who strikes up a relationship with her ailing brother’s favorite musician. Lotus will handle international sales and introduce the film to foreign buyers this week in Cannes while CAA, who arranged financing, will be representing the domestic rights.

“Anne is a brilliant actress and we think she is perfect for this project. We have a very strong creative team and we are looking forward to the start of filming in a couple of weeks,” said Worldview CEO, Christopher Woodrow.

“Song One” joins Worldview’s already impressive 2013 slate, which includes two studio co-financing deals: Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu’s comedy, “Birdman,” with Fox Searchlight and New Regency, starring Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis and Academy Award nominee Edward Norton, which is currently filming in New York City; and Daniel Espinosa’s crime thriller, “Child 44,” with Summit/Lionsgate, starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, Academy Award nominee Gary Oldman and Joel Kinnaman, which is set to begin filming next month in Prague. Worldview has also announced that it is re-teaming with David Gordon Green on the drama “Manglehorn,” starring Academy Award winner, which WestEnd Films will be introducing to foreign buyers this week in Cannes.

Worldview’s 2012 slate included three films making their world premieres here in Cannes: James Gray’s period drama, “The Immigrant,” starring Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard and Academy Award nominees Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner, which is screening in competition and will be released by The Weinstein Company; Arnaud Desplechin’s drama, “Jimmy P.,” starring Benicio Del Toro, which is also screening in competition; and Guillaume Canet’s crime thriller, “Blood Ties,” starring Academy Award nominee Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, Cotillard, Mila Kunis, Zoe Saldana and Academy Award nominee James Caan.

Worldview also has several completed films, which will premiere later this year including Academy Award nominee Atom Egoyan’s crime thriller, “Devil’s Knot,” starring Academy Award winners Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon; David Gordon Green’s drama, “Joe,” starring Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage; Eli Roth’s highly anticipated return to directing with the horror thriller, “The Green Inferno;” and Ti West’s horror thriller, “The Sacrament,” presented and produced by Roth.

About Worldview Entertainment
Worldview Entertainment is a leading independent motion picture production and investment company. The company finances and produces theatrical quality feature films with budgets up to $50 million for worldwide distribution. Worldview is backed by a strong capitalization and represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA). The company was founded in 2007 and is based in New York City.

Press Release: Dennis Lee to Director “Purple America”

DENNIS LEE SIGNS ON TO DIRECT MULBERRY FILMS DEBUT FEATURE PURPLE AMERICA

May 15, 2013 (New York, NY) – Mulberry Films secured veteran director Dennis Lee to spearhead their first film, PURPLE AMERICA, based on the book by best-selling author Rick Moody. Daniel Ragussis also signed on to co-write the adaptation with Lee. While this is the first venture for Mulberry Films, it will be Moody’s second novel to hit the silver screen, following the acclaimed Ang Lee directed feature, THE ICE STORM.

“Daniel and I are thrilled to be working with Mulberry Films on the adaptation of Rick Moody’s beautiful and moving novel,” said Lee. “Like The Ice Storm, Purple America’s poignant themes, stunning imagery, emotional honesty, and unforgettable characters make it perfectly suited for the big screen. Already a great novel, Purple America is going to be an unforgettable film.”

Gopi Sait, CEO of Mulberry Films, said of Lee, “We feel that Dennis is an immensely gifted storyteller that has the right pulse to tell this particular story – he knows drama, humor, tragedy and emotional journeys. Together with Daniel Ragussis, who is also a brilliant writer and a director in his own right, we could not ask for a better combination of talent working together to bring Purple America to life on the big screen. We really believe this is going to be a special, timeless story made even more brilliant with both of them at the helm.”

Purple America, published in 1998, is a dysfunctional family drama about how the ordinary, commonplace tragedies of life can sometimes make heroes out of very ordinary people. Hex, an awkward 40-something returns to Long Island to visit his invalid mother only to discover her husband has left her. In the next 24 hours a series of increasingly bizarre events force him to try and face up to his family responsibilities and re-examine his own evermore muddled life.

“We chose Purple America because of its timeless quality, set against a mythic nuclear background with the deterioration of the American suburbia unfolding. The way in which Rick Moody tells this story is so brilliant and memorable, it’s the kind of writing that reminds us of the classic vintage literature that we all grew up on, like John Cheever and John Steinbeck,” said Sait.

Mulberry Films, based in New York, has acquired options on two other literary works: The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason, and The Collaborator by Mirza Waheed.

About Dennis Lee
Dennis Lee was born and raised in Chicago. After graduating from the University of Chicago, he moved to New York City to attend Columbia University’s M.F.A. Film Program. While at Columbia, he wrote several feature screenplays and directed a number of short films. His thesis short film, JESUS HENRY CHRIST received numerous awards, including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Student Academy Award, DGA Best Asian-American Student Filmmaker, National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award (1st prize,) HBO US Comedy Film Festival’s Jury Prize for Best Student Short, and Columbia University Film Festival’s Award for Best Film.

After graduation, Dennis moved to Los Angeles when he was selected as an ABC/Disney Television Directing Fellow, shadowing on such TV shows as Alias, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, and Grey’s Anatomy.

Dennis made his feature film debut with FIREFLIES IN THE GARDEN, a semi-autobiographical drama which he wrote and directed, starring Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Carrie Ann Moss, Hayden Panettiere and Julia Roberts. Dennis most recently completed production on the feature film version of his award winning short film, JESUS HENRY CHRIST, starring Michael Sheen and Toni Collette, and executive produced by Julia Roberts. The film was released in the US on April 20, 2012

About Mulberry Films
Mulberry Films is a development and production company, focused on adapting strong literary works into commercially viable independent films and media projects. Our immersive approach helps us align with the author’s vision, while keeping cinematic needs and challenges in mind. Our vision is to identify and secure strong literary works, stories and original screenplays with global appeal, and develop them into successful feature length films. www.mulberry-films.com

About Rick Moody
Rick Moody has earned a reputation as one of the most talented writers at work today. Moody is the author of Garden State, Demonology, The Ring of Brightest Angels Around Heaven, The Black Veil, Purple America and The Ice Storm, which is the basis of the award-winning movie directed by Ang Lee – starring Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Tobey Maguire, Elijah Wood and Christina Ricci. He is a past recipient of the Paris Review’s Aga Khan Prize, The Adisson Metcalf Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Pushcart Press Editors’ Book Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship Award. Moody has contributed fiction and essays to most major publications, including The New Yorker, Esquire, and Paris Review, and has been widely anthologized. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Press Release: Lakeshore and Lionsgate to Sell “The Vatican Tapes” at Cannes

LAKESHORE ENTERTAINMENT AND LIONSGATE’S THE VATICAN TAPES FROM DIRECTOR MARK NEVELDINE MOVING QUICKLY BEFORE THE START OF 2013 CANNES

Los Angeles – May 15, 2013 – Lakeshore Entertainment’s horror thriller THE VATICAN TAPES will be written and directed by Mark Neveldine (GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGENACE, CRANK) and will be distributed in the US by Lionsgate with a fall 2014 release. Lakeshore will be starting principal photography in Los Angeles in July. The film is off to a fast start before the opening of the Cannes festival this week, with sales to eOne in Canada, eOne/Hopscotch in Australia, Universum in Germany, Jaguar Film International Distribution in the Middle East, IPA Asia Pacific in Thailand; D Productions in Turkey, and Sun Distribution Group S.A. in Latin America. Lakeshore and Sierra Affinity are formally introducing the film to international buyers in Cannes this week.

THE VATICAN TAPES marks Lakeshore’s third partnership with Neveldine after he penned the screenplays for Jason Statham starrers CRANK and CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE as well as GAMER. Neveldine’s other films include the Nicholas Cage GHOST RIDER sequel. In addition to Lakeshore’s bigger genre fare such as the highly successful UNDERWORLD franchise, Lakeshore has also had box office success with moderate budget films in this genre such as THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE, which grossed over $75M domestically and over $69M internationally.

THE VATICAN TAPES follows the haunting tale of 27 year-old Angela Holmes, who accidentally cuts her finger and ends up in the emergency room. Infection leads to erratic behavior, and she begins to have a devastating effect on anyone close, causing serious injury and death. Priests examine Holmes and believe she is possessed, but when the Vatican is called upon to exorcise the demon, the possession proves to be an ancient satanic force more powerful than they imagined.

Upcoming Lakeshore releases include: Lakeshore Entertainment, Hopscotch Features and Lionsgate production I, FRANKENSTEIN with Aaron Eckhart which Lionsgate will release in January 2014 and WALK OF SHAME, starring Elizabeth Banks and James Marsden, which will be released in September 2013. In addition, the company recently announced the launch of Lakeshore Premium Digital Content, a premier digital distribution strategy for its existing catalogue of motion pictures.

ABOUT LAKESHORE ENTERTAINMENT
Lakeshore Entertainment is one of the leading independent production, finance and international sales and distribution companies. Founded in 1994 by Chairman and CEO Tom Rosenberg, Lakeshore has produced more than 60 films including the Academy Award® winning MILLION DOLLAR BABY as well as RUNAWAY BRIDE, THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES, the UNDERWORLD franchise, EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE, CRANK, THE GIFT, AUTUMN IN NEW YORK and ARLINGTON ROAD. Lakeshore’s recent films include CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE, starring Jason Statham; THE UGLY TRUTH, starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler; THE LINCOLN LAWYER, starring Matthew McConaughey; and UNDERWORLD AWAKENING staring Kate Beckinsale released by Sony Pictures. In 2013 Lakeshore released STAND UP GUYS, starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin.

ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. Lionsgate currently has 28 television shows on 20 networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, the new comedy Anger Management, the network series Nashville, the syndication successes Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, its spinoff Meet the Browns, For Better Or Worse, The Wendy Williams Show, Are We There Yet? and the upcoming Orange Is The New Black, an original series for Netflix.

Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first installment of The Hunger Games franchise, The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn – Part 2, Tyler Perry’s Temptation, Warm Bodies, Snitch, Texas Chainsaw 3D, The Expendables 2, The Possession, Sinister, The Cabin in the Woods and Arbitrage. Lionsgate’s home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 15,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company’s core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

Press Release: Samuel L. Jackson Joins Hailee Steinfeld in “Barely Lethal”

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATED ACTOR SAMUEL L. JACKSON JOINS HAILEE STEINFELD IN BARELY LETHAL

Highland Film Group to handle international sales of the film produced by RKO Pictures with Brett Ratner’s Rat Entertainment and Hopscotch Pictures

CANNES. May 16, 2013 – Academy Award nominated actor Samuel L Jackson (DJANGO UNCHAINED, PULP FICTION) has joined RKO Pictures’ BARELY LETHAL, starring Academy Award nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld (ENDER’S GAME, TRUE GRIT). Highland Film Group (HFG) is handling international sales in Cannes. Kyle Newman (FANBOYS) will direct the comedy action script by John D’Arco. Principal photography will begin Fall 2013. BARELY LETHAL is being produced by RKO Pictures with Hopscotch Pictures and Brett Ratner’s Rat Entertainment.

BARELY LETHAL is a playful, high-velocity action-comedy in which a 16-year old international assassin (Steinfeld) yearning for “normal” adolescence fakes her own death and enrolls in a suburban high school. When her former-employer (Jackson) comes calling, it becomes more extracurriculars than any teenager can handle.

RKO Pictures will produce, with their President of Production Vanessa Coifman and Ted Hartley producing alongside Brett Ratner and John Cheng for Rat Entertainment and Hopscotch Pictures’ Sukee Chew.

Samuel L. Jackson and Hailee Steinfeld are both represented by ICM Partners.

ABOUT HIGHLAND FILM GROUP
Highland Film Group (HFG) is an independent production and sales company that acquires and distributes quality filmed entertainment across multiple platforms to worldwide audiences. Formed in 2010 by Arianne Fraser, and recently partnering with Delphine Perrier, HFG has recently acquired titles such as THE BAYTWON OUTLAWS starring Academy Award Winner Billy Bob Thornton, Eva Longoria and Paul Wesley and REVENGE FOR JOLLY! starring Brian Petsos and Oscar Issac with Kristen Wiig, Elijah Wood, Ryan Phillippe and Adam Brody.

ABOUT RKO PICTURES
RKO Pictures most recently completed Yaron Zilberman’s A LATE QUARTET starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, and Christopher Walken. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and was co-released November 2, 2012 by EONE Entertainment and RKO Pictures. THE PLANTATION, a remake of Val Lewton’s classic I WALK WITH THE ZOMBIE, with Adam Marcus (JASON GOES TO HELL) directing will begin principal photography Winter 2013.

ABOUT RAT ENTERTAINMENT
Rat Entertainment is the production company of filmmaker Brett Ratner. Most recently producing the box office hit HORRIBLE BOSSES, the acclaimed and controversial Sundance documentary CATFISH; and, the re-told Snow White tale, MIRROR MIRROR. Their next producing projects are HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 and HONG KONG PHOOEY starring Eddie Murphy. In television, Ratner produced the acclaimed HBO documentaries HELMUT BY JUNE about the legendary photographer Helmut Newton and I KNEW IT WAS YOU: REDISCOVERING JOHN CAZALE and for PBS the acclaimed Emmy®- nominated AMERICAN MASTERS: WOODY ALLEN – A DOCUMENTARY. Additionally, Ratner directed the pilot and executive produced the Golden Globe®-nominated Fox television series “Prison Break”. As a director, Ratner has grossed over $2 billion worldwide, directing such hits as the RUSH HOUR trilogy, RED DRAGON, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, and most recently, TOWER HEIST. Ratner is currently in pre-production on HERCULES, which he is producing and directing for MGM/Paramount Pictures, starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

ABOUT HOPSCOTCH PICTURES
Hopscotch Pictures most recently produced Dennis Lee’s JESUS HENRY CHRIST starring Toni Collette and Michael Sheen.

Press Release: Content Sells Rights for “Ironclad: Battle for Blood”

“IRONCLAD: BATTLE FOR BLOOD” SELLS WIDELY FOR CONTENT

XLrator Media Takes the US Rights with Numerous International Territories Sold

17 May 2013, Cannes – Content Announced today that IRONCLAD: BATTLE FOR BLOOD has sold extensively. XLrator Media has acquired all US rights while international territories sold include: UK (Warner Bros), France (Metropolitan), Germany (Square One), Australia (Transmission), Benelux (Dutch Film Works), Canada (Mongrel), Japan (Nettai Museum), China (H.G.C. Entertainment), CIS and Baltic States (Zao West), Czech Republic & Slovakia (Bowline), Indonesia (PT Amero), Portugal (Lusomundo), Middle East (Gulf Film), Scandinavia (NonStop), South Korea (Linetree Entertainment), Turkey (Mediamax) and plane and ships (Jaguar).

Content is handling the worldwide rights to the film which was written and directed by Jonathan English (IRONCLAD), who co-wrote with Steven McDool. IRONCLAD: BATTLE FOR BLOOD stars Michelle Fairly (HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1, “Game of Thrones”), Roxanne McKee (“Game of Thrones”), and Danny Webb (VALKYRIE). The film is produced by Mythic International Entertainment’s Rick Benattar, Andrew Curtis and English.

IRONCLAD: BATTLE FOR BLOOD is a hellacious ride featuring the ultra-violent medieval action that has characterized this epic series. With a new battleground and a new enemy, one of the few survivors of the Great Siege of Rochester Castle fights a brutal battle to protect his family’s estate from fierce Celtic raiders. IRONCLAD: BATTLE FOR BLOOD promises to deliver the same ferocious, adrenaline-filled action and gory kills that defined IRONCLAD.

The film is currently in post-production. Content is screening footage at the Cannes Film Festival this week.

About Content Film, a division of Content Media Corporation Ltd
Content Film is the worldwide film and library sales arm of Content Media Corporation Ltd., which specializes in high quality and commercial feature films. In addition to handling worldwide sales, marketing, and publicity — the company assists film producers in securing finance. The Feature Film Library arm also manages international sales on over 240 titles. Content Film is being managed in an executive capacity by Jamie Carmichael, President – Film Division.

Content will be in Cannes this year with a slate that includes: Pudsey: The Movie starring the most famous UK dog who won Britain’s Got Talent; the supernatural horror Dark Summer directed by Paul Solet; Mr. Jones starring Sarah Jones and Jon Foster and The Machine starring Caity Lotz and Toby Stephens, both of which made their world premieres in Tribeca; The Pact 2 from directors Dallas Hallam and Patrick Horvath; Nothing Left to Fear produced by Slash starring Clancy Brown, Anne Heche, Ethan Peck, James Tupper, Jennifer Stone and Rebekah Brandes; the violent SAS action thriller He Who Dares; the ultra-violent medieval actioner Ironclad: Battle for Blood; the cult genre Outpost III: Rise of the Spetsnaz, Sundance’s and Berlinale’s Panorama selection Concussion; Sundance’s Director Award Winner, World Dramatic Cinema Crystal Fairy starring Michael Cera and directed by Sebastian Silva and action thriller The Numbers Station starring John Cusack and Malin Akerman.

Press Release: Alexander Solzhenitsyn to Be Subject of Cyrus Nowrasteh Film for Primeridian Entertainment

Primeridian Entertainment LAUNCHES WITH FEATURE ON nobel prize-winning SOVIET DISSIDENT Alexander Solzhenitsyn

FilmmakerCyrus Nowrasteh Attached

May17, 2013, CANNES – Primeridian Entertainment has hired Cyrus Nowrasteh (THE STONING OF SORAYA M., The Day Reagan Was Shot) to write and direct a feature film based on the life of the famed Soviet dissident and Nobel Prize winning author Alexander Solzhenitsyn. The picturewill be produced andequity financed by Primeridian’s Arcadiy Golubovich and Tim O’Hair. This marks the first feature under thePrimeridian Entertainmentbanner. As source material, the company has optioned the rights to D.M. Thomas’ prize winning Alexander Solzhenitsyn: A Century in His Life, a biography of the author. Nowrasteh will pen the script with his wife, Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh, with whom he recently collaborated on the Ann Rice adaptation CHRIST THE LORD.

“It’s a privilege to tell the courageous story of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn,” said writer director Cyrus Nowrasteh. “Millions suffered and died in the Soviet labor camps. As a survivor, he resolved to tell the world about it. The power of his pen, despite the suppression of his work and every effort to silence his voice, helped bring about the downfall of one of the greatest tyrannies mankind has ever known.”

“We have long been attracted to the complex and remarkable life of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who had a significant impact on the Soviet Union,” said Arcadiy Golubovich, head of Primeridian Entertainment. “As a Russian nonconformist and activist as well as a towering literary figure, Solzhenitsyn’s life makes for a compelling feature film, and we are thrilled to be bringing Cyrus’ talent on board to weave this fascinating story.”

Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a Red Army officer who, after being accused of anti-Soviet propaganda, was imprisoned by Stalin in the gulag system in February of 1945. The period later became the basis for his monumental The Gulag Archipelago, a three-volume book narrating his experiences in the Soviet forced labor camp system, unacknowledged during the Stalinist era. Solzhenitsyn’s other works include The First Circle, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Cancer Ward and The Red Wheel. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, was expelled from the former Soviet Union in 1974, and lived in exile in Vermont until he was able to return to Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the mid-1990s. Solzhenitsyn died in 2008.

British prize winning novelist and poet D.M. Thomas won the Orwell Prize in 1999 for penning Solzhenitsyn’s biography. Other awards include the Los Angeles Fiction prize for his novel The White Hotel, an international bestseller translated into 30 languages.

Nowrasteh wrote and directed the acclaimed Paramount/Showtime production The Day Reagan Was Shot, executive produced by Oliver Stone, as well as The Stoning of Soraya M, released by Roadside Attractions in 2008. He also wrote ABC’s controversial The Path to 9/11, directed by David L. Cunningham.

Nowrasteh is represented by CAA.

Primeridian Entertainment is an international production company dedicated to producing and equity financing quality feature film and television projects with established filmmakers for the worldwide marketplace. With roots in Russia, Europe, Africa, and North America, the company is committed to financial and creative acumen, with the goal of inspiring as well as entertaining audiences. Founded by Arcadiy Golubovich in collaboration with producer and former studio executive Tim O’Hair, Primeridian anticipates producing and financing 2 to 4 films per year.

Press Release: Worldview Options Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde”

WORLDVIEW ENTERTAINMENT OPTIONS ANDREW DOMINIK’S BLONDE

Wild Bunch handling international sales on the Marilyn Monroe biopic

May 18, 2013 (Cannes, France) — Worldview Entertainment has optioned the Marilyn Monroe biopic, “Blonde,” from writer-director Andrew Dominik (“Killing Them Softly,” “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”). The screenplay was adapted from the Joyce Carol Oates fictionalized biography of the late starlet. Wild Bunch is handling international sales on the project, while CAA, who arranged financing, will be packaging and representing the domestic rights.

“Andrew is an extremely talented writer and director and we are big fans of his work. ‘Blonde’ is a fantastic project and we are looking forward to seeing it come to life,” said Worldview CEO, Christopher Woodrow.

Dominik is represented by CAA.

Worldview’s 2013 slate includes the upcoming drama, “Song One,” starring Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway; Zach Braff’s drama, “Wish I was Here;” David Gordon Green’s drama, “Manglehorn,” starring Academy Award winner Al Pacino; and two studio co-financing deals: Academy Award nominee Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu’s comedy, “Birdman,” with Fox Searchlight and New Regency, starring Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis and Academy Award nominee Edward Norton; and Daniel Espinosa’s crime thriller “Child 44,” with Summit/Lionsgate, starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, Academy Award nominee Gary Oldman and Joel Kinnaman.

Press Release: Mike Van Diem’s “The Surprise” Rights Obtained by Content

CONTENT NABS WORLDWIDE SALES RIGHTS ON THE SURPRISE FROM ACADEMY AWARD WINNING FILMMAKER MIKE VAN DIEM

Dutch filmmaker wrote and will direct the Romantic Comedy

May 18, 2013, CANNES – Content Film,a division of Content Media Corporation, has secured worldwide sales duties (excluding Holland, Belgium, the former Dutch Colonies, Luxembourg and Germany) on THE SURPRISE, which was written and will be directed by Academy Award® Winner Mike van Diem (KARAKTER). Els Vandevorst (IT’S ALL SO QUIET, WINTER IN WARTIME, Dogville, Dancer in the DarK) is producing the Dutch romantic comedy together with Hans de Weers (STRICKEN, Antonia’s Line), in co-production with Mike Downey and Sam Taylor (BEFORE THE RAIN), Nino Lombardo (Prime Time), Macdara Kellerher (Fastnet) and Michael Eckert (Riva Film).

Currently in pre-production, THE SURPRISE marks Mike van Diem‘s long-anticipated return to the director’s chair in this romantic comedy about love, death, and really poor timing. Sick of his bland existence, Jacob decides to hire a firm that specializes in assisted, seemingly accidental suicides. After signing up, he meets the incredibly beautiful Anne, and Jacob’s black and white world is suddenly flooded with colour. Although Jacob now has something to live for,the contract he signed is irreversible so he and Anne must use their wits to outsmart the contracted firm.

“Mike van Diem is a huge talent with a distinct voice, and it’s wonderful to be working with him on such a unique and charming film,” said Jamie Carmichael, President of Content Film. “THE SURPRISE is a beautiful and complex story that is at once romantic, melancholic and very funny.”

Director Mike Van Diem said: “The attraction lies in the very simple premise. THE SURPRISE, in a nutshell, is a classic, universal story about two people who revalue life in the face of death. Amusing and light in tone, appealing to a wide audience, but not without an unexpected ending.”

Dutch filmmaker Mike van Diem received an Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film for KARAKTER (1998), which he wrote and directed based on the 1938 novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk. He also received an Academy Award for Best Foreign Student Film for ALASKA (1990), which was produced by Els Vandevorst.

At Cannes, the Content slate currently includes: PUDSEY: THE MOVIE starring Britain’s Got Talent’s most famous dog; PFT’s DARK SUMMER directed by Paul Solet, cult sequel THE PACT 2, Karl Mueller’s MR. JONES recently acquired for North America by Anchor Bay, as well as Caradog James’ THE MACHINE, both of which recently world premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival; Paul Tanter’s special forces actioner HE WHO DARES; Anthony Leonardi III’s demonic NOTHING LEFT TO FEAR starring Anne Heche and produced by former Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist Slash; Kieran Parker’s OUTPOST III: RISE OF THE SPETSNAZ; Sean McNamara’s family adventure SPACE WARRIORS starring Danny Glover, Dermot Mulroney, Mira Sorvino and Josh Lucas; Sebastián Silva’s CRYSTAL FAIRY starring Michael Cera and Stacie Passon’s controversial CONCUSSION starring Robin Weigert which both world premiered in Sundance earlier this year.

Van Diem is represented by CAA and Mosaic

The Content Film slate also includes: the medieval actioner IRONCLAD: BATTLE FOR BLOOD; the post-apocalyptic action thriller BOUNTY KILLER; THE NUMBERS STATIONstarring John Cusack and Malin Akerman.

Press Release: Kevin MacDonald’s “Black Sea” Secures Robust Sales for Focus Features

FOCUS FEATURES INTERNATIONAL SECURES ROBUST SALES ON KEVIN MACDONALD’S BLACK SEA STARRING JUDE LAW

CANNES, May 19, 2013 – Alison Thompson, co-president of Focus Features International announced numerous sales on Academy Award and BAFTA-winning director Kevin Macdonald’s (Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void) heist thriller, Black Sea starring two-time Academy Award-nominee Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes, Anna Karenina). In a multi territory deal Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisition (SPWA) acquired Germany, Austria, German speaking Switzerland, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and Latin America. Backup Media invested against distribution rights in France, Benelux and French speaking Switzerland; E-Stars acquired China; Top Films the CIS; E1 Australia and New Zealand; Lev Cinema Israel; Ster-Kinekor South Africa; and Focus Features International is currently fielding offers in several other territories.

With a screenplay by Dennis Kelly, Black Sea is co-produced and co-financed by Focus and Film4. Focus holds the worldwide rights – excluding U.K. free-TV rights, which are held by Film4.

Kevin Macdonald and Charles Steel are producing the film which stars Law as a modern-day submarine captain who is laid off by the salvage company he works for. Desperate to get even with his former employers and to prove himself, he is approached by a shadowy backer. Handed command of a submarine that is barely seaworthy, he is to rally a gang of English and Russian die-hard seafarers, outcasts and/or psychopaths all, on a mission. Their quarry is a storied sunken submarine, said to be loaded with lost gold, lying at the bottom of disputed waters in the Black Sea. The captain and his crew will have to go to the depths – in more ways than one – to get the loot. The closer they get to the prize, the riskier it becomes to trust one another.

The Focus Features International slate also includes Asif Kapadia’s untitled Amy Winehouse documentary; the true-life dramatic thriller Kill the Messenger, to be directed by Michael Cuesta and star Jeremy Renner; seven-time Academy Award®-nominated writer/director Mike Leigh’s new film, starring Timothy Spall as the painter J.M.W. Turner; Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, starring Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin; the psychological thriller Oculus, directed by Mike Flanagan; Closed Circuit, the suspense thriller directed by John Crowley and starring Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall; and Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Ruairi Robinson’s thriller The Last Days on Mars starring Liev Schreiber, Olivia Williams, and Romola Garai, which will have its world premiere at the 2013 Cannes International Film Festival in Directors’ Fortnight.

About Focus Features International
Focus Features and Focus Features International (www.focusfeatures.com) comprise a singular global company. This worldwide studio makes original and daring films that challenge the mainstream to embrace and enjoy voices and visions from around the world that deliver global commercial success. One of the world’s leading international sales agents, FFI also encompasses international distribution, marketing and publicity.

Focus Features and Focus Features International are part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is owned by Comcast Corporation.