The Toronto Film Festival (TIFF) is getting a market.
TIFF on Thursday confirmed that it will add an official film market to run alongside its festival program, billing the venture as the “North American hub for buying and selling screen-based projects, intellectual property, and immersive and innovative content across all platforms” that aims to “elevate Canadian and international talent while driving global distribution and sales.”
Toronto has long been a spot where business gets done — major deals for the upcoming The Crow reboot and Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut Woman of the Hour were inked at or just before TIFF last year — but unlike Cannes or Berlin, the festival has never had an official bazaar where buyers and sellers can set up shop. Instead, U.S. and international film buyers and sellers networked and did business informally while circulating around the festival or in hotel rooms, rather than under one roof.
TIFF on Thursday confirmed that it will add an official film market to run alongside its festival program, billing the venture as the “North American hub for buying and selling screen-based projects, intellectual property, and immersive and innovative content across all platforms” that aims to “elevate Canadian and international talent while driving global distribution and sales.”
Toronto has long been a spot where business gets done — major deals for the upcoming The Crow reboot and Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut Woman of the Hour were inked at or just before TIFF last year — but unlike Cannes or Berlin, the festival has never had an official bazaar where buyers and sellers can set up shop. Instead, U.S. and international film buyers and sellers networked and did business informally while circulating around the festival or in hotel rooms, rather than under one roof.
- 5/16/2024
- by Scott Roxborough and Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film financier BondIt Media Capital has closed a new co-financing partnership with Cineverse for North American production, acquisition and distribution of film projects.
First up under the deal is distribution support for Cineverse (and its horror division Bloody Disgusting) for upcoming Terrifier 3, the third installment in the worldwide cult horror phenomenon featuring Art the Clown.
Micro-budget Terrifier 2 released in the fall of 2022 grossed more than $15 million in worldwide box office. The production companies behind the film, Dark Age Cinema and The Coven, re-teamed with filmmaker Damien Leone (and David Howard Thornton as Art the Clow) for Terrifier 3, which wrapped production in New York last month and is set for an October 11, 2024 theatrical release.
Cineverse (formerly Cinedigm) and led by former MGM chairman Chris McGurk has previously said the film will “unleash chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve.
First up under the deal is distribution support for Cineverse (and its horror division Bloody Disgusting) for upcoming Terrifier 3, the third installment in the worldwide cult horror phenomenon featuring Art the Clown.
Micro-budget Terrifier 2 released in the fall of 2022 grossed more than $15 million in worldwide box office. The production companies behind the film, Dark Age Cinema and The Coven, re-teamed with filmmaker Damien Leone (and David Howard Thornton as Art the Clow) for Terrifier 3, which wrapped production in New York last month and is set for an October 11, 2024 theatrical release.
Cineverse (formerly Cinedigm) and led by former MGM chairman Chris McGurk has previously said the film will “unleash chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve.
- 5/7/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Lionsgate and Amazon Studios have announced that a sequel to the 2018 hit mystery-comedy film “A Simple Favor” is coming. The sequel will bring back stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, as well as Paul Feig to direct.
Based on the 2017 novel of the same name, “A Simple Favor” told the story of a widowed single mother named Stephanie, played by Kendrick. Working as a vlogger in Connecticut, she looks enviously upon her best friend, Emily (Lively). Emily has a successful career, a loving family and a glamorous lifestyle. However, things turn awry when Emily mysteriously disappears one day, causing Stephanie to launch her own investigation into her friend’s past, finding more than a few surprises along the way.
The sequel will see the return of Stephanie and Emily as they head to the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests,...
Based on the 2017 novel of the same name, “A Simple Favor” told the story of a widowed single mother named Stephanie, played by Kendrick. Working as a vlogger in Connecticut, she looks enviously upon her best friend, Emily (Lively). Emily has a successful career, a loving family and a glamorous lifestyle. However, things turn awry when Emily mysteriously disappears one day, causing Stephanie to launch her own investigation into her friend’s past, finding more than a few surprises along the way.
The sequel will see the return of Stephanie and Emily as they head to the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests,...
- 3/27/2024
- by Carson Burton and Katcy Stephan
- Variety Film + TV
Deadline already told you two years ago that A Simple Favor 2 was happening with Paul Feig back in the director’s chair and Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick starring, but today Amazon MGM Studios has made it official that the movie is a go and with the original cast members returning, read Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Joshua Satine, Ian Ho, and Kelly McCormack.
Lionsgate is co-producing the sequel to the 2018 black comedy which minted $97M off a $20M budget. Cameras roll this spring. A streaming release on Prime Video in 240 countries is planned.
In part two, we see the return of Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Lively) as they head to the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than...
Lionsgate is co-producing the sequel to the 2018 black comedy which minted $97M off a $20M budget. Cameras roll this spring. A streaming release on Prime Video in 240 countries is planned.
In part two, we see the return of Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Lively) as they head to the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than...
- 3/27/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s time to raise an Aviation gin martini to toast Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively returning for another glamorous mystery with A Simple Favor 2 from director Paul Feig.
Amazon MGM Studios announced Wednesday that the sequel movie, which is a co-production with Lionsgate, is looking to begin shooting this spring and will stream on Prime Video. Feig is back to helm the follow-up to his 2018 dark comedy, with Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Joshua Satine, Ian Ho and Kelly McCormack all reprising their roles from the first feature.
Jessica Sharzer, who penned the initial movie, returned to write the sequel, with Feig and Laeta Kalogridis also contributing to the script. Sharzer’s screenplay for the original film was based on the 2017 novel of the same name by author Darcey Bell.
A Simple Favor 2 sees Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Lively) heading to the island of Capri for Emily’s lavish wedding.
Amazon MGM Studios announced Wednesday that the sequel movie, which is a co-production with Lionsgate, is looking to begin shooting this spring and will stream on Prime Video. Feig is back to helm the follow-up to his 2018 dark comedy, with Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Joshua Satine, Ian Ho and Kelly McCormack all reprising their roles from the first feature.
Jessica Sharzer, who penned the initial movie, returned to write the sequel, with Feig and Laeta Kalogridis also contributing to the script. Sharzer’s screenplay for the original film was based on the 2017 novel of the same name by author Darcey Bell.
A Simple Favor 2 sees Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Lively) heading to the island of Capri for Emily’s lavish wedding.
- 3/27/2024
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
AGC Studios chief creative officer Lourdes Diaz has signed a new multi-year employment agreement and has been elevated to partner with a seat on the board of the independent film and television studio.
The promotion comes on the back of founders Stuart Ford, chairman and CEO, and Miguel Palos, chief operating office, themselves signing new multi-year agreements late last year.
Since AGC launched in 2018, it has become one of Hollywood’s leading production and financing players, with 41 major film and TV productions under its belt.
In a statement, Ford and Palos said Diaz had been a “hugely influential contributor to the company’s explosive growth.”
They added: “Aside from building a highly respected scripted television operation, in her broader role as chief creative officer she has shaped key decisions on the feature film and unscripted sides of the company, helped kickstart our Family and YA division and has made us...
The promotion comes on the back of founders Stuart Ford, chairman and CEO, and Miguel Palos, chief operating office, themselves signing new multi-year agreements late last year.
Since AGC launched in 2018, it has become one of Hollywood’s leading production and financing players, with 41 major film and TV productions under its belt.
In a statement, Ford and Palos said Diaz had been a “hugely influential contributor to the company’s explosive growth.”
They added: “Aside from building a highly respected scripted television operation, in her broader role as chief creative officer she has shaped key decisions on the feature film and unscripted sides of the company, helped kickstart our Family and YA division and has made us...
- 3/18/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Lourdes Diaz has been upped to partner at AGC Studios, signing a new multi-year contract with Stuart Ford’s independent production and sales group, AGC unveiled on Monday.
Diaz joined AGC in 2018, heading up its freshly-launched television division, where she oversaw such projects as War of the Worlds, starring Gabriel Byrne and Daisy Edgar-Jones, which aired on Epix in the U.S., and the Australian crime series Troppo, starring Thomas Jane. Diaz was an executive producer on the hit Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler and helped set up Roland Emmerich’s upcoming Roman gladiator series Those About to Die, which is set to go out on Peacock stateside this July. In 2022, Diaz was promoted to chief creative officer at AGC.
AGC Studios presented Diaz’s promotion as a sign of stability at the indie group, coming after new multi-year contracts for both Ford as chairman and CEO, and for chief operating officer Miguel Palos.
Diaz joined AGC in 2018, heading up its freshly-launched television division, where she oversaw such projects as War of the Worlds, starring Gabriel Byrne and Daisy Edgar-Jones, which aired on Epix in the U.S., and the Australian crime series Troppo, starring Thomas Jane. Diaz was an executive producer on the hit Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler and helped set up Roland Emmerich’s upcoming Roman gladiator series Those About to Die, which is set to go out on Peacock stateside this July. In 2022, Diaz was promoted to chief creative officer at AGC.
AGC Studios presented Diaz’s promotion as a sign of stability at the indie group, coming after new multi-year contracts for both Ford as chairman and CEO, and for chief operating officer Miguel Palos.
- 3/18/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In honor of International Women’s Day, IndieWire is pleased to share its annual female filmmakers to watch list featuring a rising assortment of women writers and directors with some of the biggest projects of the year.
On the big screen, Theda Hammel’s Sundance breakout “Stress Positions” went on to become a leading title on this year’s New Directors/New Films lineup and is set to close out the festival. Alessandra Lacorazza’s “In the Summers” won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance, and also earned Lacorazza the Directing prize. Cazzie David and Elisa Kalani co-wrote and co-directed SXSW selected film “I Love You Forever,” which is produced by Diablo Cody.
While David also co-stars in the film, another actress makes her directorial debut with a similarly sinister premiere: Anna Kendrick directs and stars in “Woman of the Hour” based on the haunting true story of the “Dating Game” killer.
On the big screen, Theda Hammel’s Sundance breakout “Stress Positions” went on to become a leading title on this year’s New Directors/New Films lineup and is set to close out the festival. Alessandra Lacorazza’s “In the Summers” won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance, and also earned Lacorazza the Directing prize. Cazzie David and Elisa Kalani co-wrote and co-directed SXSW selected film “I Love You Forever,” which is produced by Diablo Cody.
While David also co-stars in the film, another actress makes her directorial debut with a similarly sinister premiere: Anna Kendrick directs and stars in “Woman of the Hour” based on the haunting true story of the “Dating Game” killer.
- 3/8/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Netflix kicked off February with news of the streaming service’s 2024 film slate.
The steamer, which landed 18 Oscar nominations this year – including seven for Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” – will debut numerous populist films in 2024, including new projects from Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry, Jenifer Lopez, Millie Bobby Brown, Eddie Murphy, and more.
Well-known directors with movies set to premiere on Netflix this year include Tyler Perry (two titles), McG, Richard Linklater, and Lee Daniels. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld will also make his directorial debut with “Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story.”
On the awards front, while it’s too early to tell which projects might pop – and what movies Netflix might acquire for release this year, similarly to how the studio purchased Todd Haynes’ “May December” at the Cannes Film Festival last year – titles to flag include “The Piano Lesson” from Malcolm Washington with Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington,...
The steamer, which landed 18 Oscar nominations this year – including seven for Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” – will debut numerous populist films in 2024, including new projects from Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry, Jenifer Lopez, Millie Bobby Brown, Eddie Murphy, and more.
Well-known directors with movies set to premiere on Netflix this year include Tyler Perry (two titles), McG, Richard Linklater, and Lee Daniels. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld will also make his directorial debut with “Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story.”
On the awards front, while it’s too early to tell which projects might pop – and what movies Netflix might acquire for release this year, similarly to how the studio purchased Todd Haynes’ “May December” at the Cannes Film Festival last year – titles to flag include “The Piano Lesson” from Malcolm Washington with Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington,...
- 2/1/2024
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: 3 Arts veteran Josh Lieberman is leaving the management and production company to join Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Also joining Brillstein is Allie Veneris of Authentic Talent & Literary Management.
“We’re excited to continue our focused expansion with the addition of Josh and Allie,” said Jon Liebman and Cynthia Pett, Brillstein’s co-ceo’s. “They have great clients, great taste, and great futures ahead.”
Lieberman was at 3 Arts for almost two decades, having started at the company — now majority owned by Lionsgate — in June 2004 as an assistant.
The list of his clients, dominated by multi-hyphenates in the comedy space, include Dave Attell, Atsuko Okatsuka, Karan Soni, Moshe Kasher, Katherine Ryan, Vanessa Gonzalez, Noah Garfinkel, Brent Morin, David Nihill, Jiaoying Summers, Sara Weinshenk, Jessi Cruickshank, Sarah Burns, Marc Evan Jackson as well as WWE’s Sami Zayn.
For Veneris, this marks a return to Brillstein where she was a college intern in the early 2010s.
“We’re excited to continue our focused expansion with the addition of Josh and Allie,” said Jon Liebman and Cynthia Pett, Brillstein’s co-ceo’s. “They have great clients, great taste, and great futures ahead.”
Lieberman was at 3 Arts for almost two decades, having started at the company — now majority owned by Lionsgate — in June 2004 as an assistant.
The list of his clients, dominated by multi-hyphenates in the comedy space, include Dave Attell, Atsuko Okatsuka, Karan Soni, Moshe Kasher, Katherine Ryan, Vanessa Gonzalez, Noah Garfinkel, Brent Morin, David Nihill, Jiaoying Summers, Sara Weinshenk, Jessi Cruickshank, Sarah Burns, Marc Evan Jackson as well as WWE’s Sami Zayn.
For Veneris, this marks a return to Brillstein where she was a college intern in the early 2010s.
- 1/10/2024
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
After a starry awards gala kicked off the Palm Springs Film Festival, several of this year’s awards contenders and friends reconnected at Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch & Creative Impact Awards Presented by Directv, Friday at the Parker Palm Springs hotel.
Before the presentation, the honorees posed on the red carpet and stopped for questions with Variety’s senior culture & events editor Marc Malkin. Anna Kendrick, a new member of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch, recalled the first time she yelled action on set for her film “Woman of the Hour.”
“Day one I was really worried about moving slowly on the first shot, of the first day, of the first Monday because it always sets the tone for the week,” the star-turned-director said. “And certainly, the very first one sets the tone for the whole shoot. I really raced through the first couple of setups because I was like,...
Before the presentation, the honorees posed on the red carpet and stopped for questions with Variety’s senior culture & events editor Marc Malkin. Anna Kendrick, a new member of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch, recalled the first time she yelled action on set for her film “Woman of the Hour.”
“Day one I was really worried about moving slowly on the first shot, of the first day, of the first Monday because it always sets the tone for the week,” the star-turned-director said. “And certainly, the very first one sets the tone for the whole shoot. I really raced through the first couple of setups because I was like,...
- 1/6/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: After working with NBC on his shows Siberia and Emerald City, Matthew Arnold has returned to the network as the creator, executive producer and showrunner of Nowhere, a new drama series in development with Atomic Monster, Vertigo Entertainment, Room 101 (Paranormal Activity franchise) and Antihero Entertainment.
Originally conceived by Arnold as a novella, which he’s adapted into a forthcoming novel, the show is billed as a high concept mystery in the vein of Manifest or La Brea, with supernatural thriller elements. It watches as a group of individuals awake to find that all the inhabitants from their remote Vermont town have seemingly vanished overnight. Led by the former sheriff, the remaining citizens embark on a mysterious search for their missing loved ones, uncovering numerous supernatural anomalies along the way.
In addition to Arnold, executive producers for Nowhere will include James Wan, Rob Hackett...
Originally conceived by Arnold as a novella, which he’s adapted into a forthcoming novel, the show is billed as a high concept mystery in the vein of Manifest or La Brea, with supernatural thriller elements. It watches as a group of individuals awake to find that all the inhabitants from their remote Vermont town have seemingly vanished overnight. Led by the former sheriff, the remaining citizens embark on a mysterious search for their missing loved ones, uncovering numerous supernatural anomalies along the way.
In addition to Arnold, executive producers for Nowhere will include James Wan, Rob Hackett...
- 12/15/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
CEO Stuart Ford says market has potential to evolve along path of South Korea and be ‘prolific exporter’ of content
AGC Studios is mulling the opening of a Middle East office as it increases its activity in the region, according to chairman and CEO Stuart Ford.
The LA-based film financing and sales company, whose slate includes Richard Linklater’s Hit Man and Anna Kendrick’s Red Sea title Woman Of The Hour, has been active in the Mena region since Ford founded the company in 2018 with Image Nation Abu Dhabi as one its cornerstone investors.
Asked if AGC will open...
AGC Studios is mulling the opening of a Middle East office as it increases its activity in the region, according to chairman and CEO Stuart Ford.
The LA-based film financing and sales company, whose slate includes Richard Linklater’s Hit Man and Anna Kendrick’s Red Sea title Woman Of The Hour, has been active in the Mena region since Ford founded the company in 2018 with Image Nation Abu Dhabi as one its cornerstone investors.
Asked if AGC will open...
- 12/4/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Egyptian actor Mohamed Karim is teaming up with Hit Man producer AGC Studios on Judgment of the Dead, a possession thriller with an Egyptian spin, with Stuart Ford’s AGC will co-produce with Karim’s Mk Global Entertainment.
Karim, a major star in the Middle East, who has appeared in such indie actioners as A Score to Settle alongside Nicolas Cage and A Day to Die with Bruce Willis and Frank Grillo, will produce and star in Judgement of the Dead, playing Dr. Sherif Hawass, a renowned Egyptologist who must save the world, and the woman he loves, after an artifact he unearths releases an ancient evil. Thomas M. Hewlett penned the screenplay to Judgement of the Dead based on Karim’s original idea.
Karim is known across the Middle East for his roles in popular Ramadan soaps and as a former host of the Arab language version of singing talent format The Voice.
Karim, a major star in the Middle East, who has appeared in such indie actioners as A Score to Settle alongside Nicolas Cage and A Day to Die with Bruce Willis and Frank Grillo, will produce and star in Judgement of the Dead, playing Dr. Sherif Hawass, a renowned Egyptologist who must save the world, and the woman he loves, after an artifact he unearths releases an ancient evil. Thomas M. Hewlett penned the screenplay to Judgement of the Dead based on Karim’s original idea.
Karim is known across the Middle East for his roles in popular Ramadan soaps and as a former host of the Arab language version of singing talent format The Voice.
- 11/29/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Kim Kardashian will be the fifth wheel for Netflix.
As previously announced, the reality TV superstar turned budding actress will lead the ensemble comedy movie The Fifth Wheel, which landed at Netflix in a competitive situation.
Paula Pell and Janine Brito are behind the screenplay, with plot details being kept under wraps, but Kardashian will play the eponymous “fifth wheel” alongside a female ensemble cast. (The rest of the cast has yet to be announced.) Kardashian and Pell will also produce.
Pell, a Saturday Night Live alum, wrote the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler comedy film Sisters and previously starred in Netflix feature Wine Country. Brito, who is married to Pell, has credits that include the NBC sitcom Mr. Mayor. The duo play spouses on the comedy Girls5Eva, which recently moved to Netflix after two seasons on Peacock.
Kardashian can currently be seen in the latest American Horror Story season,...
As previously announced, the reality TV superstar turned budding actress will lead the ensemble comedy movie The Fifth Wheel, which landed at Netflix in a competitive situation.
Paula Pell and Janine Brito are behind the screenplay, with plot details being kept under wraps, but Kardashian will play the eponymous “fifth wheel” alongside a female ensemble cast. (The rest of the cast has yet to be announced.) Kardashian and Pell will also produce.
Pell, a Saturday Night Live alum, wrote the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler comedy film Sisters and previously starred in Netflix feature Wine Country. Brito, who is married to Pell, has credits that include the NBC sitcom Mr. Mayor. The duo play spouses on the comedy Girls5Eva, which recently moved to Netflix after two seasons on Peacock.
Kardashian can currently be seen in the latest American Horror Story season,...
- 11/26/2023
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Jamie Pillet is joining WME as a talent agent and will be based in New York.
She previously spent 12 years at A3 Artists Agency. She was promoted to partner in 2020 and served as co-head of the talent department until her departure at the end of October, as reported by Deadline.
Pillet has helped build the careers of several rising stars over the last decade. Clients expected to join her at WME include Iain Armitage (Young Sheldon), Walker Scobell, Fred Hechinger, Andrew Barth Feldman (No Hard Feelings), Ben Levi Ross, Nicolette Robinson (Woman of the Hour) and Jahi Di’Allo Winston (We Have a Ghost).
Born in New York, Pillet was involved in theater and the performing arts from a young age. She attended school at the University at Buffalo where she earned her BA in theatre and political science.
She previously spent 12 years at A3 Artists Agency. She was promoted to partner in 2020 and served as co-head of the talent department until her departure at the end of October, as reported by Deadline.
Pillet has helped build the careers of several rising stars over the last decade. Clients expected to join her at WME include Iain Armitage (Young Sheldon), Walker Scobell, Fred Hechinger, Andrew Barth Feldman (No Hard Feelings), Ben Levi Ross, Nicolette Robinson (Woman of the Hour) and Jahi Di’Allo Winston (We Have a Ghost).
Born in New York, Pillet was involved in theater and the performing arts from a young age. She attended school at the University at Buffalo where she earned her BA in theatre and political science.
- 11/20/2023
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Co-organized by the Cannes Film Festival and Market and Argentina’s Incaa film-tv agency, late November’s Ventana Sur market looks set to have at least one star: Cannes head Thierry Fremaux himself.
Presenting the Cannes Film Week, a extraordinary showcase of 2023 winners led this year by Justine Triet’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall” and bowing on Nov. 27 with Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days,” Fremaux usually conducts or presents on-stage conversations with Cannes winners, which of course take in a significant part of the greatest filmmakers in the world. In Argentina, a country with a huge film tradition and one of the biggest market shares for national films until economic crisis and the pandemic decimated state funding, visiting auteurs have been treated like rock stars, even such unyielding social realist directors such as the Dardenne brothers.
This year round, however, the limelight will fall on Fremaux...
Presenting the Cannes Film Week, a extraordinary showcase of 2023 winners led this year by Justine Triet’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall” and bowing on Nov. 27 with Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days,” Fremaux usually conducts or presents on-stage conversations with Cannes winners, which of course take in a significant part of the greatest filmmakers in the world. In Argentina, a country with a huge film tradition and one of the biggest market shares for national films until economic crisis and the pandemic decimated state funding, visiting auteurs have been treated like rock stars, even such unyielding social realist directors such as the Dardenne brothers.
This year round, however, the limelight will fall on Fremaux...
- 11/18/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival will open its third edition, running from November 30 to December 9, with local movie Hwjn, a fantasy romance combining Arabian folklore with modern themes that unfolds against the backdrop of the event’s home of Jeddah.
Deadline exclusively revealed a trailer for the production earlier this year. Watch it here.
The choice of a Saudi movie marks a break with Red Sea’s first two editions – which kicked off with English-language features Cyrano and What’s Love Got To Do With It? in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Hwjn is the most ambitious production to date to come out of a partnership between major Gulf players Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Vox Studios and Mbc Studios first announced in Cannes in 2019.
“Opening the festival with a highly anticipated film like Hwjn is a momentous event,” Rsiff Arab Programs & Film Classics Director Antoine Khalife said of the opening night honor,...
Deadline exclusively revealed a trailer for the production earlier this year. Watch it here.
The choice of a Saudi movie marks a break with Red Sea’s first two editions – which kicked off with English-language features Cyrano and What’s Love Got To Do With It? in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Hwjn is the most ambitious production to date to come out of a partnership between major Gulf players Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Vox Studios and Mbc Studios first announced in Cannes in 2019.
“Opening the festival with a highly anticipated film like Hwjn is a momentous event,” Rsiff Arab Programs & Film Classics Director Antoine Khalife said of the opening night honor,...
- 11/16/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Deals close in Germany, France, Scandinavia, Middle East, South Korea, others.
AGC International has announced a raft of deals out of AFM on Australian filmmakers Cameron and Colin Cairnes’ supernatural horror and Sitges award winner Late Night With The Devil.
Stuart Ford’s LA-based company boarded sales rights shortly before the market and hosted a Halloween screening on the story starring David Dastmalchian as a charismatic talk show host whose live broadcast unexpectedly unleashes evil into the nation’s living rooms.
Deals have closed with Wild Bunch in Germany, France, and Switzerland; Sf Studios in Scandinavia; Sun Distribution in Latin...
AGC International has announced a raft of deals out of AFM on Australian filmmakers Cameron and Colin Cairnes’ supernatural horror and Sitges award winner Late Night With The Devil.
Stuart Ford’s LA-based company boarded sales rights shortly before the market and hosted a Halloween screening on the story starring David Dastmalchian as a charismatic talk show host whose live broadcast unexpectedly unleashes evil into the nation’s living rooms.
Deals have closed with Wild Bunch in Germany, France, and Switzerland; Sf Studios in Scandinavia; Sun Distribution in Latin...
- 11/9/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival has announced a new batch of mostly international titles set to launch in its Festival Favorites and Treasures strands, including the international premiere of U.S. actor-turned-director Jennifer Esposito’s New York City mob drama “Fresh Kills.”
Inspired by Esposito’s upbringing in Staten Island, “Fresh Kills” – in which Esposito co-stars with Annabella Sciorra – bowed stateside at the Tribeca Festival in June.
Other international talents peppered throughout the Red Sea sections likely to be making the trek to Saudi include Anna Kendrick with her period crime drama “Woman of the Hour”; David Oyelowo, producer of high-profile soccer doc “Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story”; Ewan McGregor and Ellen Burstyn for Swedish director Niclas Larsson’s “Mother, Couch”; Serena and Venus Williams as executive producers of “Copa 71,” the story of the groundbreaking 1971 Women’s World Cup; and French writer-director Laetitia Colombani with her drama “The Braid.
Inspired by Esposito’s upbringing in Staten Island, “Fresh Kills” – in which Esposito co-stars with Annabella Sciorra – bowed stateside at the Tribeca Festival in June.
Other international talents peppered throughout the Red Sea sections likely to be making the trek to Saudi include Anna Kendrick with her period crime drama “Woman of the Hour”; David Oyelowo, producer of high-profile soccer doc “Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story”; Ewan McGregor and Ellen Burstyn for Swedish director Niclas Larsson’s “Mother, Couch”; Serena and Venus Williams as executive producers of “Copa 71,” the story of the groundbreaking 1971 Women’s World Cup; and French writer-director Laetitia Colombani with her drama “The Braid.
- 11/9/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut Woman Of The Hour and family drama Mother Couch, starring Ewan McGregor and Ellen Burstyn, are headed to the third edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival, running from November 30 to December 9 in the port city of Jeddah.
The titles will play in the Festival Favorites sidebar which was announced on Thursday alongside the event’s Red Sea: Treasures strand.
Kendrick directs and stars in Netflix-acquired drama Woman Of The Hour as a woman whose path crosses notorious serial killer Rodney Alcala, whilst in Niclas Larsson’s first film Mother Couch, McGregor plays a man whose mother squats the family furniture store.
Further films in the line-up – showcasing 21 buzzy festival titles from the last 12 months – include the David Oyelowo produced documentary Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story; Women’s World Cup doc Copa 71, executive produced by Serena and Venus Williams, Jennifer Esposito’s Fresh Kills,...
The titles will play in the Festival Favorites sidebar which was announced on Thursday alongside the event’s Red Sea: Treasures strand.
Kendrick directs and stars in Netflix-acquired drama Woman Of The Hour as a woman whose path crosses notorious serial killer Rodney Alcala, whilst in Niclas Larsson’s first film Mother Couch, McGregor plays a man whose mother squats the family furniture store.
Further films in the line-up – showcasing 21 buzzy festival titles from the last 12 months – include the David Oyelowo produced documentary Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story; Women’s World Cup doc Copa 71, executive produced by Serena and Venus Williams, Jennifer Esposito’s Fresh Kills,...
- 11/9/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
“Strike, strike, strike, strike,” said Millennium Media President Jeffrey Greenstein, when asked about the lack of big projects and deals at this year’s American Film Market. Santa Monica’s annual indie movie showcase, which wraps up Sunday, has been quieter than usual, with no blockbuster sales and only a handful of new projects generating real buzz.
A24’s Civil War, Alex Garland’s new sci-fi film starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura and Cailee Spaeny, was the rare nearly finished film (the project is in post) at AFM that everyone was talking about that appears to have triggered a bidding war. The near-future thriller —”an intellectual action film,” is how one buyer described it — is set in a United States on the brink of total collapse.
But much of the independent film industry remains in a holding pattern, awaiting a final deal between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture...
A24’s Civil War, Alex Garland’s new sci-fi film starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura and Cailee Spaeny, was the rare nearly finished film (the project is in post) at AFM that everyone was talking about that appears to have triggered a bidding war. The near-future thriller —”an intellectual action film,” is how one buyer described it — is set in a United States on the brink of total collapse.
But much of the independent film industry remains in a holding pattern, awaiting a final deal between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture...
- 11/3/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Getting an independent movie made these days is hard enough but for producers piling into the halls of Santa Monica’s Le Méridien Delfina Hotel for the American Film Market this week, the SAG-AFTRA strike has added another layer of complication.
SAG-AFTRA’s Interim Agreements, or IAs, the contract required for independent producers to produce or talent to promote movies during the ongoing actors strike, have made packaging and deal making tricky, with many filmmakers uncertain when, even if, projects they are offering at AFM will be able to shoot.
“We have our cast set for Worldbreaker but we just have to wait for the end of the strike before we can actual get those deals done,” said director Brad Anderson, at AFM to pitch international buyers on his new dystopian sci-fi thriller, which The Exchange is selling. “Like most filmmakers, I’ve been sitting around not able to...
SAG-AFTRA’s Interim Agreements, or IAs, the contract required for independent producers to produce or talent to promote movies during the ongoing actors strike, have made packaging and deal making tricky, with many filmmakers uncertain when, even if, projects they are offering at AFM will be able to shoot.
“We have our cast set for Worldbreaker but we just have to wait for the end of the strike before we can actual get those deals done,” said director Brad Anderson, at AFM to pitch international buyers on his new dystopian sci-fi thriller, which The Exchange is selling. “Like most filmmakers, I’ve been sitting around not able to...
- 11/1/2023
- by Scott Roxborough and Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When it comes to the post-summer box office blues, Taylor Swift: Eras Tour has helped shake it off. The film’s phenomenal success — it’s already the top-grossing concert film of all time in North America, not adjusted for inflation — as well as its unique rollout, in which Swift teamed up directly teaming directly with AMC Theaters, bypassing traditional studio distribution, is a bright light in an independent movie market sorely in need of some good news.
Sadly, there is only one Taylor Swift. The rest of the independent film world, representatives of which will be gathering in Santa Monica for the American Film Market Oct. 31-Nov. 5, sees few reasons to dance in the aisles.
The market’s new location, at the Le Méridien Delfina on Pico, exchanges the seaside views and beach vibe of the Loews Hotels, AFM’s home for the past 30 years, for the more elusive charms...
Sadly, there is only one Taylor Swift. The rest of the independent film world, representatives of which will be gathering in Santa Monica for the American Film Market Oct. 31-Nov. 5, sees few reasons to dance in the aisles.
The market’s new location, at the Le Méridien Delfina on Pico, exchanges the seaside views and beach vibe of the Loews Hotels, AFM’s home for the past 30 years, for the more elusive charms...
- 10/31/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
AGC International, the international sales and distribution arm of Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios, will launch sales on the supernatural thriller “Late Night With the Devil” at the American Film Market in Santa Monica on Halloween. The film, a nightmarishly entertaining ode to the talk shows and horror movies of the 1970s, won the best screenplay prize at Sitges Film Festival.
“Late Night With the Devil” is written, directed and edited by Australian genre mavericks Cameron and Colin Cairnes. The brothers have crafted an original narrative that unfolds nearly in real time, as the 1977 live broadcast of a late-night talk show unexpectedly transforms from amusing to bizarre to deliciously sinister, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.
The film stars David Dastmalchian as talk-show host Jack Delroy, and is produced by Derek Dauchy, Mat Govoni, Steven Schneider, Roy Lee, Adam White and John Molloy for Image Nation Abu Dhabi,...
“Late Night With the Devil” is written, directed and edited by Australian genre mavericks Cameron and Colin Cairnes. The brothers have crafted an original narrative that unfolds nearly in real time, as the 1977 live broadcast of a late-night talk show unexpectedly transforms from amusing to bizarre to deliciously sinister, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.
The film stars David Dastmalchian as talk-show host Jack Delroy, and is produced by Derek Dauchy, Mat Govoni, Steven Schneider, Roy Lee, Adam White and John Molloy for Image Nation Abu Dhabi,...
- 10/24/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Australian genre mavericks Cameron and Colin Cairnes co-wrote, co-directed Sitges award-winner.
AGC International will launch AFM sales next week on Sitges award-winner and supernatural thriller Late Night With The Devil from Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures.
Australian genre mavericks Cameron and Colin Cairnes were awarded the best screenplay prize for the film at Sitges earlier this month.
The narrative unfolds virtually in real time as the 1977 live broadcast of a late-night talk show unexpectedly turns from amusing to bizarre to deliciously sinister, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms. David Dastmalchian stars as the talk show host.
AGC International will launch AFM sales next week on Sitges award-winner and supernatural thriller Late Night With The Devil from Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures.
Australian genre mavericks Cameron and Colin Cairnes were awarded the best screenplay prize for the film at Sitges earlier this month.
The narrative unfolds virtually in real time as the 1977 live broadcast of a late-night talk show unexpectedly turns from amusing to bizarre to deliciously sinister, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms. David Dastmalchian stars as the talk show host.
- 10/24/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
AGC International has nabbed international rights to Late Night With The Devil from Aussie filmmaking duo Colin and Cameron Cairnes and will launch sales at the upcoming American Film Market.
Unfolding almost in real-time, the pic is set during a 1977 late-night talk show broadcast that unexpectedly transforms from amusing to sinister, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms. The film stars David Dastmalchian as talk show host Jack Delroy and is produced by Derek Dauchy, Mat Govoni, Steven Schneider, Roy Lee, Adam White, and John Molloy for Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Spooky Pictures and Future Pictures. Umbrella Maslow Ahi is distributing the film in Australia and New Zealand.
The Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures pic premiered at SXSW and has since played Fantasia Festival in Montreal, Sydney Film Festival, Bifan in Korea, Sitges, London Film Festival, and Toronto After Dark. Cameron and Colin...
Unfolding almost in real-time, the pic is set during a 1977 late-night talk show broadcast that unexpectedly transforms from amusing to sinister, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms. The film stars David Dastmalchian as talk show host Jack Delroy and is produced by Derek Dauchy, Mat Govoni, Steven Schneider, Roy Lee, Adam White, and John Molloy for Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Spooky Pictures and Future Pictures. Umbrella Maslow Ahi is distributing the film in Australia and New Zealand.
The Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures pic premiered at SXSW and has since played Fantasia Festival in Montreal, Sydney Film Festival, Bifan in Korea, Sitges, London Film Festival, and Toronto After Dark. Cameron and Colin...
- 10/24/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
At least one high-profile TIFF title won’t be going to Netflix. “One Life,” the well-received and well-reviewed Anthony Hopkins vehicle has been acquired by Bleecker Street. The biopic, starring the two-time Oscar winner as the elder version Nicholas “Nicky” Winton, will get a domestic theatrical release in 2024. This would seemingly place it out of the current award-season race.
The James Hawes-directed film also stars Johnny Flynn, Lena Olin, Romola Garai, Alex Sharp, Marthe Keller, Jonathan Pryce and Helena Bonham Carter. Penned by Lucinda Coxon and Nick Drake, the Saw-Saw Films and BBC Films production is based on Barbara Winton’s book “If It’s Not Impossible… The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton.”
The film features Flynn as a young Winton, a London broker who eventually convinces members of the British Committee for Refugees in Czechoslovakia to rescue children in Prague as the Nazis close the borders in late 1938. Fifty years later,...
The James Hawes-directed film also stars Johnny Flynn, Lena Olin, Romola Garai, Alex Sharp, Marthe Keller, Jonathan Pryce and Helena Bonham Carter. Penned by Lucinda Coxon and Nick Drake, the Saw-Saw Films and BBC Films production is based on Barbara Winton’s book “If It’s Not Impossible… The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton.”
The film features Flynn as a young Winton, a London broker who eventually convinces members of the British Committee for Refugees in Czechoslovakia to rescue children in Prague as the Nazis close the borders in late 1938. Fifty years later,...
- 10/9/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
Streamer takes worldwide rights in reported $7m deal.
Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to Azazel Jacobs’ His Three Daughters in its fourth acquisition of a 2023 TIFF film.
‘His Three Daughters’: Toronto Review
The streamer reportedly paid in the $7m region following negotiations with CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers.
Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, and Carrie Coon star in the story of sisters who gather at the family homestead for the last days of their father’s life.
The film garnered strong reviews out of Toronto and would appear to be be a likely awards season play. At...
Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to Azazel Jacobs’ His Three Daughters in its fourth acquisition of a 2023 TIFF film.
‘His Three Daughters’: Toronto Review
The streamer reportedly paid in the $7m region following negotiations with CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers.
Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, and Carrie Coon star in the story of sisters who gather at the family homestead for the last days of their father’s life.
The film garnered strong reviews out of Toronto and would appear to be be a likely awards season play. At...
- 10/2/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to “His Three Daughters,” starring Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon, following its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.
Netflix had no comment on terms of the deal, which is reported to be for just under $7 million.
Written, directed and edited by Azazel Jacobs, the film presents a tense, captivating, and touching portrait of family dynamics with Lyonne, Olsen and Coon starring as sisters who converge after their father’s health declines.
In his review, Variety chief film critic Owen Gleiberman praised the drama as “funny, moving and true,” with its trio of lead actors delivering “superb” performances that “work together like a piece of chamber music.”
He wrote: “The film is a finely observed, winningly unsentimental memory play about three adult sisters who have come together to take care of their father, who is dying of cancer and approaching his final days.
Netflix had no comment on terms of the deal, which is reported to be for just under $7 million.
Written, directed and edited by Azazel Jacobs, the film presents a tense, captivating, and touching portrait of family dynamics with Lyonne, Olsen and Coon starring as sisters who converge after their father’s health declines.
In his review, Variety chief film critic Owen Gleiberman praised the drama as “funny, moving and true,” with its trio of lead actors delivering “superb” performances that “work together like a piece of chamber music.”
He wrote: “The film is a finely observed, winningly unsentimental memory play about three adult sisters who have come together to take care of their father, who is dying of cancer and approaching his final days.
- 10/2/2023
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has acquired Azazel Jacobs’ sisterhood drama His Three Daughters, which stars Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen and Natasha Lyonne and bowed at the Toronto Film Festival.
The trio play estranged sisters forced to reunite when their father becomes seriously ill. The family drama sees the sisters converge as their father’s health steadily declines.
The deal, with a price tag north of $6 million, according to sources, represents Netflix’s third acquisition out of Toronto after the streaming giant picked up Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, Woman of the Hour, for around $11 million after a world premiere at the festival. Netflix also nabbed the worldwide rights to Lucy Walker’s documentary Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa after it was presented as a work-in-progress screening at TIFF.
After Toronto Netflix also paid around $20 million for the Richard Linklater-directed Hit Man, which bowed in Venice and stars Glen Powell and Adria Arjona.
The trio play estranged sisters forced to reunite when their father becomes seriously ill. The family drama sees the sisters converge as their father’s health steadily declines.
The deal, with a price tag north of $6 million, according to sources, represents Netflix’s third acquisition out of Toronto after the streaming giant picked up Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, Woman of the Hour, for around $11 million after a world premiere at the festival. Netflix also nabbed the worldwide rights to Lucy Walker’s documentary Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa after it was presented as a work-in-progress screening at TIFF.
After Toronto Netflix also paid around $20 million for the Richard Linklater-directed Hit Man, which bowed in Venice and stars Glen Powell and Adria Arjona.
- 10/2/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netflix has acquired the rights to “His Three Daughters,” a drama from director Azazel Jacobs that premiered last month at the Toronto International Film Festival, the streamer announced Monday.
The film stars Natasha Lyonne, Carrie Coon and Elizabeth Olsen as a trio of estranged sisters who try to maintain their frayed relationship while taking care of their dying father in his small apartment.
The three actors are also executive producers on the film alongside Maya Rudolph, Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Peter Friedland, Neil Shah and Sophia Lin. Jacobs produces alongside Alex Orlovsky, Duncan Montgomery, Lia Buman, Marc Marrie, Mal Ward, Matt Aselton, Tim Headington, Jack Selby and Diaz Jacobs.
“His Three Daughters” is the third Netflix acquisition from this year’s TIFF. Previously, the streamer acquired Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” for $20 million and Anna Kendrick directorial debut “Woman of the Hour” for $10 million.
“Hit Man” stars Glen Powell and tells...
The film stars Natasha Lyonne, Carrie Coon and Elizabeth Olsen as a trio of estranged sisters who try to maintain their frayed relationship while taking care of their dying father in his small apartment.
The three actors are also executive producers on the film alongside Maya Rudolph, Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Peter Friedland, Neil Shah and Sophia Lin. Jacobs produces alongside Alex Orlovsky, Duncan Montgomery, Lia Buman, Marc Marrie, Mal Ward, Matt Aselton, Tim Headington, Jack Selby and Diaz Jacobs.
“His Three Daughters” is the third Netflix acquisition from this year’s TIFF. Previously, the streamer acquired Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” for $20 million and Anna Kendrick directorial debut “Woman of the Hour” for $10 million.
“Hit Man” stars Glen Powell and tells...
- 10/2/2023
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Exclusive: In its fourth deal for films that played last month’s Toronto Film Festival, Netflix has acquired His Three Daughters for just under $7 million, sources said. Scripted, directed and edited by Azazel Jacobs, the film stars Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon.
CAA Media Finance brokered the deal for worldwide rights.
This marks the fourth major deal for a Toronto title by Netflix, which paid around $20 million for the Richard Linklater-directed Hit Man with Glen Powell and Adria Arjona and north of $10 million for the Anna Kendrick-directed Woman of the Hour, a drama inspired by the true story of a contestant on TV’s The Dating Game who won a date with a serial killer who turned creepier and creepier as the date approached. It also picked up Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, a documentary about the first Nepali woman to completely summit and survive Mount Everest.
CAA Media Finance brokered the deal for worldwide rights.
This marks the fourth major deal for a Toronto title by Netflix, which paid around $20 million for the Richard Linklater-directed Hit Man with Glen Powell and Adria Arjona and north of $10 million for the Anna Kendrick-directed Woman of the Hour, a drama inspired by the true story of a contestant on TV’s The Dating Game who won a date with a serial killer who turned creepier and creepier as the date approached. It also picked up Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, a documentary about the first Nepali woman to completely summit and survive Mount Everest.
- 10/2/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
“Are streamers scaling back?” and “Is this a renaissance period for indie financed films?” were two of the questions at the heart of a Zurich Summit panel this morning, featuring CAA’s Roeg Sutherland, WME’s Katie Irwin and Oscar-winning producer John Lesher (Birdman).
While the eye-watering streamer acquisitions of a few years ago may be fewer and further between out of markets, streamers are still essential buyers, as witnessed by splashy deals for Hit Man and Woman Of The Hour at Toronto and May December in Cannes.
“I don’t think they are retreating, I think they are being agile”, said Irwin of sales and finance operation WME Independent. “I think there’s a constant changing tack and I think they’re pointing their money in different ways.”
“Look at the deal for Hit Man“, noted moderator Sutherland who serves as co-head of CAA Media Finance. The film was...
While the eye-watering streamer acquisitions of a few years ago may be fewer and further between out of markets, streamers are still essential buyers, as witnessed by splashy deals for Hit Man and Woman Of The Hour at Toronto and May December in Cannes.
“I don’t think they are retreating, I think they are being agile”, said Irwin of sales and finance operation WME Independent. “I think there’s a constant changing tack and I think they’re pointing their money in different ways.”
“Look at the deal for Hit Man“, noted moderator Sutherland who serves as co-head of CAA Media Finance. The film was...
- 9/30/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Sony Pictures Classics is in exclusive negotiations to acquire Daddio, the Christy Hall-directed two-hander starring Sean Penn and Dakota Johnson. The film established itself as a bright spot in its premiere at Telluride and then at Toronto. SPC will get North America, Latin America and territories throughout Europe and Asia.
Hall, who co-created the series I Am Not Okay With This, makes her feature directorial debut armed with a taxi cab, two terrific actors and a razor-sharp script in which a driver and his fare get to know each other and intimate aspects of their lives during the course of a traffic-snarled road trip from JFK to midtown Manhattan.
Penn plays the cab driver, who engages his passenger in small talk that becomes gradually more revealing. Johnson plays the young woman who is navigating an affair with a married father and who clearly has misgivings about it. Penn,...
Hall, who co-created the series I Am Not Okay With This, makes her feature directorial debut armed with a taxi cab, two terrific actors and a razor-sharp script in which a driver and his fare get to know each other and intimate aspects of their lives during the course of a traffic-snarled road trip from JFK to midtown Manhattan.
Penn plays the cab driver, who engages his passenger in small talk that becomes gradually more revealing. Johnson plays the young woman who is navigating an affair with a married father and who clearly has misgivings about it. Penn,...
- 9/21/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
While many thought this year’s edition of the Toronto International Film Festival would be quiet due to the SAG/AFTRA/WGA strikes, even if the red carpets were empty, TIFF’s lineup was as strong as ever. With American Fiction having nabbed the People’s Choice Award and many of the entries generating some serious Oscar buzz, as a way of wrapping up our coverage of the fest, here are some of our picks for the best movies that played at the festival. While they can’t all be winners (a double bill of Chris Pine’s Poolman and Harmony Korine’s Aggro Dr1ft just about killed me), there were way more good movies than bad, and many of the titles below should be coming out relatively soon.
The Holdovers:
Alexander Payne makes a welcome return with his first movie since Downsizing back in 2017. He’s ditched the high-concept,...
The Holdovers:
Alexander Payne makes a welcome return with his first movie since Downsizing back in 2017. He’s ditched the high-concept,...
- 9/20/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Film will release globally later this year.
Netflix has made another fall festival acquisition, swooping with Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground on worldwide rights to Matthew Heineman’s Telluride documentary American Symphony.
The film follows a year in the life of musician and Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste as he navigates the stresses and struggles of his meteoric rise winnings six Grammys and preparing the American Symphony for Carnegie Hall, while his wife and bestelling author Suleika Jaouad is diagnosed with the return of Leukemia.
Heineman, Lauren Domino, and Joedan Okun produced American Symphony, and executive producers are Alice Webb,...
Netflix has made another fall festival acquisition, swooping with Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground on worldwide rights to Matthew Heineman’s Telluride documentary American Symphony.
The film follows a year in the life of musician and Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste as he navigates the stresses and struggles of his meteoric rise winnings six Grammys and preparing the American Symphony for Carnegie Hall, while his wife and bestelling author Suleika Jaouad is diagnosed with the return of Leukemia.
Heineman, Lauren Domino, and Joedan Okun produced American Symphony, and executive producers are Alice Webb,...
- 9/19/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Netflix spent big at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, picking up Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut “Woman of the Hour” for $11 million and Richard Linklater’s well-reviewed “Hit Man” for $20 million. But other than that and despite an unusually numerous 50 titles for sale, the TIFF market at large was muted.
The lack of activity was in sync with the festival season for 2023 so far, as Sundance and Cannes went off with a smattering of deals compared to years past.
“In this marketplace, the studios and streamers, aside from Netflix, would rather spend big bucks on one or two movies that they are passionate about versus spending a boatload of money to fill a slate or clog up the pipeline with regular content,” a high-level distribution executive told TheWrap who declined to be named.
According to multiple executives who spoke to TheWrap, shifting priorities for the streamers, ongoing challenges...
The lack of activity was in sync with the festival season for 2023 so far, as Sundance and Cannes went off with a smattering of deals compared to years past.
“In this marketplace, the studios and streamers, aside from Netflix, would rather spend big bucks on one or two movies that they are passionate about versus spending a boatload of money to fill a slate or clog up the pipeline with regular content,” a high-level distribution executive told TheWrap who declined to be named.
According to multiple executives who spoke to TheWrap, shifting priorities for the streamers, ongoing challenges...
- 9/19/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
Having just returned from TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), I can say that without a doubt, one of the most liked movies at the fest this year was Richard Linklater’s Hit Man. You can read my review here, but the movie features a terrific breakout performance by star Glen Powell, who plays a mild-mannered professor who moonlights as an undercover agent for the police, where he poses as a fictional hitman. Things get complicated when he falls in love with one of the people he’s supposed to set up – as played by an impossibly sexy Adria Arjona.
Given how popular the movie was, it’s no surprise that Netflix has snapped it up in their second significant acquisition of the festival. Last week, they bought Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour for $11 million, and Hit Man carries a steep $20 million price tag. A theatrical component has been worked in for the movie,...
Given how popular the movie was, it’s no surprise that Netflix has snapped it up in their second significant acquisition of the festival. Last week, they bought Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour for $11 million, and Hit Man carries a steep $20 million price tag. A theatrical component has been worked in for the movie,...
- 9/18/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
As the dual strike continues to chug along, the buzziest title of the fall festivals has found a home. The Richard Linklater-directed Hit Man, which was co-written by and stars Top Gun: Maverick breakout Glen Powell, has landed at Netflix after interest from multiple buyers, mostly the streaming services. Netflix landed it in a $20 million deal.
Hit Man tells the story of a real-life, mild-mannered psychology professor (Powell) who also posed as undercover hitman for the New Orleans police. But when he breaks protocol to help a desperate woman (played by Adria Arjona) trying to flee an abusive boyfriend, the character finds himself becoming one of his false personas, falling for the woman and flirting with turning into a criminal himself. The feature is based on a 2001 Texas Monthly true-crime article from Skip Hollandsworth, who worked with Linklater on Bernie.
Out of the Venice Film Festival, Hit Man received positive reviews.
Hit Man tells the story of a real-life, mild-mannered psychology professor (Powell) who also posed as undercover hitman for the New Orleans police. But when he breaks protocol to help a desperate woman (played by Adria Arjona) trying to flee an abusive boyfriend, the character finds himself becoming one of his false personas, falling for the woman and flirting with turning into a criminal himself. The feature is based on a 2001 Texas Monthly true-crime article from Skip Hollandsworth, who worked with Linklater on Bernie.
Out of the Venice Film Festival, Hit Man received positive reviews.
- 9/18/2023
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netflix shelled out a staggering $20 million for “Hit Man,” a (sort of) true-crime comedy from director Richard Linklater and star Glen Powell. The streaming service has acquired rights in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and other key international territories.
The movie, which played to enthusiastic crowds at Venice and Toronto film festivals, has been one of the few notable sales from this year’s fall festival circuit. Netflix also acquired Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut “Woman of the Hour” out of TIFF for $11 million, while A24 nabbed the Colman Domingo-led “Sing Sing.” But deals have been slow to come together for other movies on the market, such as Chris Pine’s “Poolman” or Viggo Mortensen’s “The Dead Don’t Hurt.”
“Hit Man” follows Powell as Gary Johnson, a part-time teacher who moonlights as a mysterious gun man for hire. But there’s a catch in hiring him to...
The movie, which played to enthusiastic crowds at Venice and Toronto film festivals, has been one of the few notable sales from this year’s fall festival circuit. Netflix also acquired Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut “Woman of the Hour” out of TIFF for $11 million, while A24 nabbed the Colman Domingo-led “Sing Sing.” But deals have been slow to come together for other movies on the market, such as Chris Pine’s “Poolman” or Viggo Mortensen’s “The Dead Don’t Hurt.”
“Hit Man” follows Powell as Gary Johnson, a part-time teacher who moonlights as a mysterious gun man for hire. But there’s a catch in hiring him to...
- 9/18/2023
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has acquired Richard Linklater and Glen Powell’s buzzy “Hit Man,” TheWrap has learned. With a reported payout of $20 million, this marks the second major buy for the streaming giant amid this year’s Venice and Toronto film festivals following their reported $11 million acquisition of Anna Kendrick’s “Woman of the Hour.”
“Hit Man” stars Powell, who co-wrote the screenplay with Linklater based on a Skip Hollandsworth-penned “Texas Monthly” article. The film concerns an alleged master assassin who is secretly working for the cops. Adria Arjona plays an apparently battered wife who inspires enough sympathy from the faux killer to make him consider doing the job for real.
Ben Croll wrote in his review for TheWrap that the picture “is a deliriously entertaining star vehicle, a throwback to the low-concept, high-reward studio crowd-pleasers built around a comic persona and designed to showcase a gifted performer’s range.”
It...
“Hit Man” stars Powell, who co-wrote the screenplay with Linklater based on a Skip Hollandsworth-penned “Texas Monthly” article. The film concerns an alleged master assassin who is secretly working for the cops. Adria Arjona plays an apparently battered wife who inspires enough sympathy from the faux killer to make him consider doing the job for real.
Ben Croll wrote in his review for TheWrap that the picture “is a deliriously entertaining star vehicle, a throwback to the low-concept, high-reward studio crowd-pleasers built around a comic persona and designed to showcase a gifted performer’s range.”
It...
- 9/18/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Netflix closed a $20 million deal on Hit Man, making the biggest deal at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and of the year for that matter. After the Richard Linklater-directed noir comic thriller debuted to raves at Venice, the film was expected to fetch the biggest deal of the fall festivals so far. Hit Man did not disappoint. Hit Man stars Top Gun Maverick’s Glen Powell and Adria Arjona (Andor) playing the most unlikely romantic partners, in performances that will boost each of their careers. Especially Powell, who co-wrote with Linklater what will be a major star turn for him. Netflix got US, UK, Australia/New Zealand, India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, and Iceland. There is also a theatrical component to the deal, I’ve heard.
Heading into its final weekend, TIFF had been slow so far on the deal front, but this...
Heading into its final weekend, TIFF had been slow so far on the deal front, but this...
- 9/18/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Updated with latest: The Toronto Film Festival began September 7 in Ontario with opening-night movie The Boy and the Heron, from Oscar-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. It kicked off a lineup for the fest’s 48th edition that included world premieres of GameStop pic Dumb Money, Netflix’s Pain Hustlers, Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, Kristin Scott Thomas’ Scarlett Johansson pic North Star, Chris Pine’s Poolman, Michael Keaton-directed Knox Goes Away, Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour, Atom Egoyan’s Seven Veils, Michael Winterbottom’s Shoshana, Grant Singer’s Reptile, Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt, Lee Tamahori’s The Convert and Alex Gibney’s doc In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon.
It ended Sunday when Cord Jefferson’s satire American Fiction won TIFF’s People’s Choice Award for best film, usually a steppingstone to a strong awards season to come.
The fest also...
It ended Sunday when Cord Jefferson’s satire American Fiction won TIFF’s People’s Choice Award for best film, usually a steppingstone to a strong awards season to come.
The fest also...
- 9/18/2023
- by Stephanie Bunbury, Valerie Complex, Pete Hammond, Todd McCarthy and Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
“American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson’s blistering satire of race and media, captured the Toronto International Film Festival’s people’s choice award, bolstering its Oscars chances.
TIFF’s people’s choice award is considered to be among the best predictors of eventual awards success, though the 2023 festival hosted a weaker lineup than most years due to the writers and actors strikes that saw some prominent contenders skip a Canadian premiere. In the past, winners of the prize such as “Green Book,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Nomadland” went on to be named best picture at the Academy Awards. Other recipients, including “Belfast,” “La La Land,” “Jojo Rabbit,” and 2022’s winner, “The Fabelmans,” were all best picture nominees.
The people’s choice category was created in 1978. Seven recipients won best picture at the Oscars, with five of those victories coming in the past two decades.
Alexander Payne’s boarding school dramedy...
TIFF’s people’s choice award is considered to be among the best predictors of eventual awards success, though the 2023 festival hosted a weaker lineup than most years due to the writers and actors strikes that saw some prominent contenders skip a Canadian premiere. In the past, winners of the prize such as “Green Book,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Nomadland” went on to be named best picture at the Academy Awards. Other recipients, including “Belfast,” “La La Land,” “Jojo Rabbit,” and 2022’s winner, “The Fabelmans,” were all best picture nominees.
The people’s choice category was created in 1978. Seven recipients won best picture at the Oscars, with five of those victories coming in the past two decades.
Alexander Payne’s boarding school dramedy...
- 9/17/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction picked up the top People’s Choice honor Sunday at the Toronto Film Festival, which wrapped up a 48th edition with little Hollywood star wattage amid the uncertainty of dual Hollywood strikes.
Jefferson’s feature directorial debut, an adaptation for Orion of Percival Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure, had its world premiere in Toronto at the Princess Alexandra Theatre on Sept. 8. MRC is the film’s studio and financier.
The American drama about U.S. racial dynamics portrays a Black academic, played by Jeffrey Wright, who grows frustrated that the only “Black books” that seem to find a wide (and white) audience are those that tread on stereotypes.
“My gratitude towards everyone who watched American Fiction [and] discussed it afterwards among friends and colleagues is endless. The film is now in your hands, and I’m so grateful that it was embraced in this way,” Jefferson said in a statement Sunday morning.
Jefferson’s feature directorial debut, an adaptation for Orion of Percival Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure, had its world premiere in Toronto at the Princess Alexandra Theatre on Sept. 8. MRC is the film’s studio and financier.
The American drama about U.S. racial dynamics portrays a Black academic, played by Jeffrey Wright, who grows frustrated that the only “Black books” that seem to find a wide (and white) audience are those that tread on stereotypes.
“My gratitude towards everyone who watched American Fiction [and] discussed it afterwards among friends and colleagues is endless. The film is now in your hands, and I’m so grateful that it was embraced in this way,” Jefferson said in a statement Sunday morning.
- 9/17/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
’Dumb Money’, ’Woman Of The Hour’, Nickelback, ’Stop Making Sense’ among highlights.
The ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike ensured 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was quieter than usual, although there was some awards season buzz, a handful of famous US actors turned up, and you-know-who forked out a lot of money in the only major deal of the festival so far.
Screen picks out the main talking points of this year’s event. TIFF runs through September 17.
Awards launchpad light on heavyweights
Venice and Telluride usually prevail in the annual scramble for world premiere bragging rights to the shiniest awards contenders and this year was no different.
The ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike ensured 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was quieter than usual, although there was some awards season buzz, a handful of famous US actors turned up, and you-know-who forked out a lot of money in the only major deal of the festival so far.
Screen picks out the main talking points of this year’s event. TIFF runs through September 17.
Awards launchpad light on heavyweights
Venice and Telluride usually prevail in the annual scramble for world premiere bragging rights to the shiniest awards contenders and this year was no different.
- 9/16/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
’Dumb Money’, ’Woman Of The Hour’, Nickelback, ’Stop Making Sense’ among highlights.
The ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike ensured 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was quieter than usual, although there was some awards season buzz, a handful of famous US actors turned up, and you-know-who forked out a lot of money in the only major deal of the festival so far.
Screen picks out the main talking points of this year’s event. TIFF runs through September 17.
Awards launchpad light on heavyweights
Venice and Telluride usually prevail in the annual scramble for world premiere bragging rights to the shiniest awards contenders and this year was no different.
The ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike ensured 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was quieter than usual, although there was some awards season buzz, a handful of famous US actors turned up, and you-know-who forked out a lot of money in the only major deal of the festival so far.
Screen picks out the main talking points of this year’s event. TIFF runs through September 17.
Awards launchpad light on heavyweights
Venice and Telluride usually prevail in the annual scramble for world premiere bragging rights to the shiniest awards contenders and this year was no different.
- 9/16/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
A24 has landed the U.S. rights to Sing Sing, the Colman Domingo-fronted drama that premiered at Toronto Film Festival about a performing arts prison program.
Greg Kwedar directs the feature that focuses on the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts (Rta) program run out of the eponymous prison that sees the incarcerated producing and acting in stage productions. The story centers on the friendship of Rta alumni John “Divine G” Whitfield (portrayed by Domingo) and Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, who plays himself, as they stage an original production.
Outside of Oscar nominee Paul Paci, who plays the program’s resident director, the rest of the ensemble cast is made up of formerly incarcerated performers who went through the Rta program.
Black Bear, the Marfa Peach Company and Edith Productions financed and produced the film, which was written by Clint Bentley and Kwedar.
“The film has an unhurried pace that some might find taxing.
Greg Kwedar directs the feature that focuses on the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts (Rta) program run out of the eponymous prison that sees the incarcerated producing and acting in stage productions. The story centers on the friendship of Rta alumni John “Divine G” Whitfield (portrayed by Domingo) and Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, who plays himself, as they stage an original production.
Outside of Oscar nominee Paul Paci, who plays the program’s resident director, the rest of the ensemble cast is made up of formerly incarcerated performers who went through the Rta program.
Black Bear, the Marfa Peach Company and Edith Productions financed and produced the film, which was written by Clint Bentley and Kwedar.
“The film has an unhurried pace that some might find taxing.
- 9/16/2023
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Women are not believed. This has been true for decades (if not centuries) and it has allowed men to perpetrate terrible crimes, almost in plain sight, without remorse or consequences. I realise this is something of a blanket statement. But it is enough men, that even when we do scream (literally or figuratively) at the top of our lungs, too often nothing is done to prevent further violence. We're also aware of the expectations upon us to behave certain ways both in private and public, and how that puts us in grave danger. Anna Kendrick's directorial debut Woman of the Hour melds these two threads together in a true crime story. Anyone with access to Netflix or...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 9/15/2023
- Screen Anarchy
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