‘COLLIDE’ REVERSES OUT OF US RELEASE
The US rights for Eran Creevy’s action thriller ‘Collide’, which was due for release Stateside by Ryan Kavanaugh’s Relativity on 30th Oct, 2015 have allegedly reverted to the producers, according to a recent report. The news follows Relativity’s entry into Chapter 11 last week. The movie, which stars Nicholas Hoult, Felicity Jones, Ben Kingsley & Anthony Hopkins, is now seeking a new US distributor. Stuart Ford’s IM Global is handling US deal. ‘Collide’, which was formerly titled ‘Autobahn’, is produced by Brian Kavanaugh – Jones, Ben Pugh & Rory Aitken. The screenplay, which was written by Creevy & F. Scott Frazier, kicks off when a heist goes terribly wrong. Casey Stein (Hoult) finds himself on the run from a ruthless gang headed by mob boss Hagen (Hopkins). Casey has a precious cargo that belongs to Hagen, who will stop at nothing to retrieve it.
HOLLYWOOD AGENCIES WORK WITH EUROPEAN COUNTERPARTS
The popularity of foreign talent in Hollywood movies & TV series has sparked a shakeup at US agencies, incentivizing them to team up with their counterparts across the globe. Most non – American stars now have 2 or 3 agents worldwide who work together on everything from reading scripts to negotiating contracts. And most important, they are willing to split commissions. “The world of acting has gotten much smaller,” says UTA’s Theresa Peters. “When a film gets made, whatever the language, casting agents are able to cast the net wider” because of Skype & digital auditions. From UTA’s Beverly Hills base, Peters reps foreign talent such as Sweden’s Alicia Vikander, Denmark’s Pilou Asbaek, France’s Tahar Rahim (“A Prophet”) & Charlotte Le Bon, a Canadian who now lives in France. Michael Douglas recently noted that Brits & Australians are taking many of the best American roles, but new waves of French & Scandinavian thesps & directors are also getting more & more work in US or on English language pictures financed in Europe.
NIKELDEON PICKS UP 2 US RIGHTS
Nickelodeon has snatched up US rights to the 1st 2 seasons of the CG -animated reboot series ‘Alvinnn’ & ‘Chipmunks’. Delivered by Bagdasarian Productions & OuiDo Productions, the series comprising of 104 episodes of 11 minutes each is penned & directed by Janice Karman. Sales outfit PGS Entertainment handles worldwide rights outside France, where the series was acquired by M6. Karman and her husband, Ross Bagdasarian, who own the franchise, also provided the voices & produced the series as well as the previous 1980s hit TV series and the three ‘Chipmunks’ movies. Bagdasarian, Karman, Sandrine Nguyen, Boris Hertzog are executive producing. ‘Alvinnn’ & ‘Chipmunks’ has been airing on Nickelodeon’s international channels since April, 2015 and has topped ratings across 20 markets since its launch. “I’m thrilled with the shows that Janice has created and excited to share them with our fans in US.” Bagdasarian said. “Nickelodeon has been amazing to support the show launch across the world and we can’t wait to extend success with them in US.” said Guillaume Soutter, who runs PGS with Philippe Soutter.
‘DAMASCUS COVER’ NOT AMONGST RELATIVITY CASUALTIES
A spokesperson for sales company Carnaby International has confirmed that espionage thriller ‘Damascus Cover’, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers & John Hurt, is not one of the “casualties” of Relativity Media’s decision to file for Chapter 11. “As an official representative of the film, I can confirm that there are no contractual commitments in place between these 2 parties and the film is still in pre – sale negotiations with buyers worldwide,” said Carnaby’s press representative, Hayley Hamburg, director of Rave PR. Hamburg issued the statement recently in response to “inaccurate reports” in a trade publication, not Variety, and BBC. Both erroneous reports have been corrected. At the Cannes Film Festival, ‘Damascus Cover’ went to South Africa’s Crystal Brook, India’s Empire Networks, Vietnam’s Vistcom & China’s HGC. At Berlin, it had been sold to Gulf Films (Middle East), PT Prima Cinema (Indonesia), Flins y Piniculas (Spain), Discovery (former Yugoslavia) & KRU Group (Malaysia).
AMC GLOBAL ACQUIRES ‘HUMANS’
AMC Global has acquired exclusive 1st window television rights to ‘Humans’ from Endemol Shine International. The 8 x 60 mins series will debut in most AMC Global territories in Oct, 2015 with a 2nd season to premiere in 2016. The series will continue to air in UK on the Channel 4 free to air network. AMC Global said that the international broadcast of its upcoming martial arts series, ‘Into The Badlands’, will start in conjunction with AMC US’s 10 p.m. 15th Nov, 2015 launch. With the exception of UK, where it will not go to air until 2016, the show will then re – air in local time zones during primetime. The 6 x 60 mins series starring Hong Hong’s Daniel Wu was produced by AMC Studios. The channel has exclusive 1st window international TV rights to the series. Set in UK and starring William Hurt, ‘Humans’ takes place in a parallel present where the latest must have gadget for any busy family is a Synth, an artificially intelligent servant eerily similar to its living counterpart.
CHANNEL 5 ORDERS BRIT VERSION OF SPIKE’S HIT SHOW
UK’s free – to – air TV network Channel 5, which was bought by Viacom in Sept, 2014, has greenlit a British version of Spike’s US entertainment format ‘Lip Sync Battle’. The show will air in primetime. The series has been commissioned by director of programs, Ben Frow and will be produced for Channel 5 by Whizz Kid Entertainment. Steve Regan, VP, commissioning & production, MTV UK, will executive produce on behalf of Channel 5, reporting to Frow, with Whizz Kid’s chief executive, Malcolm Gerrie & Katherine Allen acting as co – executive producers. Presenting & performing talent will be announced in due course, with the series expected to premiere in UK early next year. Based on the pop -culture phenomenon of lip sync battling, the Spike original series features celebrities going head – to -head lip – syncing the song of their choice. The original US series is hosted by LL Cool J and has featured an array of A – list musical combatants. The series is the most watched original series in the network’s history, averaging nearly 3 million viewers and has been re – commissioned for 20 more episodes in 2016.
LIBERTY GLOBAL UPS ITV STAKE
John Malone’s international cable TV company Liberty Global has increased its stake in UK broadcaster ITV to 9.9%. Liberty Global bought a 6.4% stake in ITV, whose shows include ‘The X Factor’ & ‘Downton Abbey’, last year from European pay TV operator Sky. “Given ITV’s operating & stock price performance, we were able to increase our stake to 9.9% with no incremental investment by hedging our existing equity position,” Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries said. “This investment remains an opportunistic one for us in our largest market. ITV is a well run company with attractive growth potential and we are pleased to increase our position as their largest shareholder.” Liberty Global stated that it does not intend to make an offer to acquire ITV, although it reserves the right to do so in the future. Liberty Global has been steadily increasing its investments in UK. It already owns UK pay TV company Virgin Media and half of All3Media, which comprises a wide range of TV production companies, mostly in UK but also in US. ITV itself has been acquiring production companies in UK & US.
ZURICH FEST TO FOCUS ON NEW IRANIAN FILMMAKER’S
In the aftermath of the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran, the Zurich Film Festival will make Iran the guest country of its New World View section, which will spotlight the latest generation of Iranian filmmakers. The nuclear deal was hammered out in the Swiss city of Geneva. The Swiss fest will showcase a dozen new features & docus by young Iranian filmmakers, who “despite strict state controls & censorship” have taken it upon themselvs “to tackle & question in an intelligent & entertaining manner the burning topics & taboos occupying Iranian society today,” it said in a statement. While Iranian cinema draws international attention largely due to established names like Abbas Kiarostami, Asghar Farhadi & Jafar Panahi, who won this year’s Berlin fest top prize for ‘Taxi’. Zurich aims to provide a platform for emerging Iranian helmers.
3 PROJECTS ENTER LOCARNO’S OPEN DOORS
Hassan Legzouli’s ‘Dieu Reconnaitra Les Siens’, Mehdi Ben Attia’s ‘L’Amour Des Hommes’ & Nejib Belkadhi’s ‘Retina’ are among 12 projects to be pitched at Locarno’s Open Doors showcase, a co – production forum focusing this year on Africa’s Maghreb countries: Morocco, Tunisia, Libya & Algeria. Taking place 8th to 11th Aug, 2015 at the Swiss fest, the event will grant an Open Doors Award, worth CHF50,000 ($51,827); a €20,000 ($22,149) 2nd cash kudo and a new plaudit granted by a new initiative of European Union’s Med Culture program ICAM (Investing in Culture & Art in the South Mediterranean). France’s CNC film – TV board & broadcaster Arte will also offer prizes. 6 out of 12 projects are debuts. The rest are mostly 2nd or 3rd features. ‘Dieu Reconnaitra Les Siens’ is the 3rd feature of Hassan Legzouli whose Celluloid Dreams sold ‘The Golden Calf’, a story about a disaffected teen, shared San Sebastian’s Cinema in Motion Award in 2012.
LOCARNO FEST REVEALS TITLES
The Locarno Film Festival has revealed 6 titles that have made the cut for its 1st look on Israeli Cinema pics – in – post showcase. Formerly known as Carte Blanche, Locarno’s 1st Look will provide Israel’s vibrant film industry with a prominent platform where directors & producers will screen their unfinished goods for buyers, sellers & fest programmers during the indie centric Swiss fest’s Industry Days informal mart. The selected titles are
‘A Quiet Heart’ (‘Lev Shaket’) by Eitan Anner, produced by Gal Greenspan (GreenProductions), ‘Ewa’, by Haim Tabakman, produced by David Silber (Metro Communication) & Ronen Ben Tal (Plan B), ‘Hope’ (‘Amal’) by Miya Hatav, produced by Elad Peleg & Haggai Arad (Daroma Productions), ‘Our Father’ (‘Avinu’) by Meni Yaesh, produced by Marek Rozenbaum (Transfax Films Production), ‘Sand Storm’ (‘Sufat Chol’) by Elite Texer, produced by Haim Mecklberg & Estee Mecklberg (2Team Productions), ‘The 90 Minute War’ (‘Milhemet 90 Hadakot’) by Eyal Halfon, produced by Assaf Amir (Norma Productions) & Steve Hudson (Gringo Films GmbH). These works – in – progress will be accessible to industry badge holders only.
DEAUVILLE FEST KICKS OFF
Baltasar Kormakur’s 3D adventure thriller ‘Everest’ is all set to open the 41st edition of the Deauville American Film Festival. Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Sicario’, which world premiered in competition at Cannes, will close the the festival. A Universal Pictures movie, ‘Everest’, which will also kick off the Venice film festival, stars Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson & Jake Gyllenhaal. Pic is produced by Working Title’s Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner along with Kormákur, Icelandic’s biggest film producer – producer, Nicky Kentish Barnes, Brian Oliver & Tyler Thompson. Deauville is expecting ‘Everest’s “film team” to attend the premiere. Penned by William Nicholson & Simon Beaufoy, ‘Everest’ is based on the tragic 1996 expeditions to Mount Everest that left several climbers dead. ‘Everest’ will be released in US by Universal on 25th Sept, 2015. ‘Sicario’, written by Taylor Sheridan, is an action packed thriller starring Emily Blunt as an FBI field agent facing off a powerful Mexican drug cartel. Pic also toplines Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber. ‘Sicario’ was produced by Black Label Media & Thunder Road Production. Lionsgate will release it Stateside on 18th Sept, 2015. Deauville will run 4th to 13th Sept, 2015.
YMAGIS ACQUIRES FRANCE’S OLDES FILM LAB
The French commercial court of Nanterre has greenly the acquisition of Gaul’s 108 year old film lab Eclair Group which was placed under bankruptcy protection in Jun, 2015. Priced at $742,000 (670,000 Euros), the acquisition by Ymagis covers Eclair Group’s businesses, assets & holdings in France, Germany & Morocco. Ymagis will split the company into two subsids: Eclair Media SAS, which will be dedicated to content distribution & localisation services & Eclair Cinéma SAS, which will handle post production & restoration. Out of the 320 people on Eclair Group’s payroll, 233 will join the pair of newly created Eclair Media SAS, Eclair Cinéma SAS as well as the subsidiaries acquired. Eclair Group’s businesses will complement Ymagis Group’s existing “content services” division, providing digital content delivery to movie theatres and opening the group up to new developments in video biz, such as services for TV channels & VOD platforms in international markets.
WILLEM JOINS THE CAST OF ‘WHAT HAPPENED TO MONDAY’
Willem Dafoe is all set to join Noomi Rapace & Glenn Close in Tommy Wirkola’s sci – fi action thriller ‘What Happened To Monday’. Penned by Kerry Williamson & Max Botkin, ‘What Happened To Monday’ is a dystopian thriller set in a not so distant future, where over population & famine have forced Governments to undertake a drastic one child policy. It turns on 7 identical sisters who are being tracked down by the Child Allocation Bureau which enforces a strict family planning agenda that the sisters outwit by taking turns assuming the identity of one person: Karen Settman. ‘What Happened To Monday’ is produced by Raffaella Productions’ Raffaella De Laurentiis as well as Vendôme Pictures’ Philippe Rousselet & Fabrice Gianfermi. SND handles international sales while CAA reps domestic distribution rights. “We could not have dreamt of a better team with Tommy Wirkola directing & Noomi Rapace, Glenn Close, Willem Dafoe starring to make this unique & thrilling movie,” said Rousselet. Marwan Kenzari, Christian Rubeck & Pal Sverre Hagen complete the cast. Vendôme Pictures’s Guy Stodel & SND’s Thierry Desmichelle are executive producing. The key crew includes Joseph Hodges, production designer, Jose David Montero, director of photography, Oana Paunescu, costume designer, Giannetto De Rossi, make up designer & Bryan Jones, VFX supervisor. ‘What Happened To Monday’ has just started shooting in Bucharest at the Castel Film Studios with Hester Hargett – Aupetit line producing.
VENICE DAYS ADDS ‘LOLO’ TO LINE UP
Julie Delpy’s return to French film making, ‘Lolo’, a high profile comedy starring herself & Gallic superstar Dany Boon has been added as the 11th competition title at the Venice Film Festival’s independently run Venice Days section, which is modelled on the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. Delpy stars as Violette, a 40 year old workaholic with a career in the fashion industry who falls for a provincial computer geek, Jean – Rene (Dany Boon), while on a spa retreat with her best friend. ‘Lolo’ is produced by Michael Gentile with Wild Bunch handling international sales. “The presence of Julie Delpy gives us with 1 title 3 key elements of our section: attention for female creativity, passion for comedies & movies that mix fun & smarts and the special grace of French cinema,” enthused Venice Days topper Giorgio Gosetti in a statement. The 11th edition of Venice Days will run from 2nd to 12th Sept, 2015.
