Where do great movies come from? When Netflix started creating its own shows a decade ago, Ted Sarandos and his colleagues put that question to select creatives around town. It was a smart exercise – but most respondents insisted there was no answer.
Coincidentally I’d been putting out that question at various times over the years with equally ambiguous results. Saul Zaentz, the feisty film and music producer, once offered this response: “Great movies come from terrible people who fight you every step of the way and make your life miserable.”
Misery or not, Zaentz’s indie company managed to produce three Best Picture winners over the years and his music company earned millions from Creedence Clearwater Revival. Never part of Hollywood’s corporate structure, Zaentz and his achievements are a reminder of the banner times in the indie era — from Samuel Goldwyn to John Heyman, Dino De Laurentiis and Francis Coppola.
Coincidentally I’d been putting out that question at various times over the years with equally ambiguous results. Saul Zaentz, the feisty film and music producer, once offered this response: “Great movies come from terrible people who fight you every step of the way and make your life miserable.”
Misery or not, Zaentz’s indie company managed to produce three Best Picture winners over the years and his music company earned millions from Creedence Clearwater Revival. Never part of Hollywood’s corporate structure, Zaentz and his achievements are a reminder of the banner times in the indie era — from Samuel Goldwyn to John Heyman, Dino De Laurentiis and Francis Coppola.
- 7/15/2022
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Penning a premature obituary is an occupational hazard that goes with the territory of film industry analysis, and there are few topics that attract such hand wringing as the alleged “death of the pre-sale.”
While the execs headed to the Cannes Market have seen major disruptions in the past decade from technology and pandemics, industry insiders say it’s a little too early to play “Taps” on this market mainstay.
Legend has it that the concept of indie movie “pre-sales” was invented in the early 1970s by the financial wizard John Heyman, a man no doubt worthy of a role in one of his award-winning son’s “Harry Potter” productions. Bankrolling upfront distribution commitments for indie titles — or “turning paper into gold” as one veteran puts it — was a magician’s trick not lost on a hot sellers’ market in those heady times.
To understand the evolution of pre-sales requires...
While the execs headed to the Cannes Market have seen major disruptions in the past decade from technology and pandemics, industry insiders say it’s a little too early to play “Taps” on this market mainstay.
Legend has it that the concept of indie movie “pre-sales” was invented in the early 1970s by the financial wizard John Heyman, a man no doubt worthy of a role in one of his award-winning son’s “Harry Potter” productions. Bankrolling upfront distribution commitments for indie titles — or “turning paper into gold” as one veteran puts it — was a magician’s trick not lost on a hot sellers’ market in those heady times.
To understand the evolution of pre-sales requires...
- 5/10/2022
- by Angus Finney
- Variety Film + TV
Most stories of tortured film productions turn on the tragedy of missed opportunities: We’ll never know if Alejandro Jodoworsky’s “Dune” or the original version of Terry Gilliam’s “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” would have delivered on their directors’ audacious visions. “Ghost in the Noonday Sun” is a different situation. The 1974 pirate comedy, which starred Peter Sellers as a 17th century troublemaker named Dick Scratcher, actually got made — and it sucked. In fact, everyone involved felt that the movie was a mistake. Sellers, at the height of his commercial and creative powers, clashed with director Peter Medak on a nightmarish shoot riddled with practical challenges and indecision; Columbia shelved the project, dumping it on home video a decade later, Medak’s career was forever tarnished, and Sellers died by the end of the decade.
In the grand tradition of “Jodoworsky’s Dune” and “Lost in La Mancha,...
In the grand tradition of “Jodoworsky’s Dune” and “Lost in La Mancha,...
- 6/23/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Thompson on Hollywood
Most stories of tortured film productions turn on the tragedy of missed opportunities: We’ll never know if Alejandro Jodoworsky’s “Dune” or the original version of Terry Gilliam’s “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” would have delivered on their directors’ audacious visions. “Ghost in the Noonday Sun” is a different situation. The 1974 pirate comedy, which starred Peter Sellers as a 17th century troublemaker named Dick Scratcher, actually got made — and it sucked. In fact, everyone involved felt that the movie was a mistake. Sellers, at the height of his commercial and creative powers, clashed with director Peter Medak on a nightmarish shoot riddled with practical challenges and indecision; Columbia shelved the project, dumping it on home video a decade later, Medak’s career was forever tarnished, and Sellers died by the end of the decade.
In the grand tradition of “Jodoworsky’s Dune” and “Lost in La Mancha,...
In the grand tradition of “Jodoworsky’s Dune” and “Lost in La Mancha,...
- 6/23/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Movie junkies, rejoice. Director Peter Medak has made an instructive and nightmarishly funny documentary about how actor Peter Sellers drove him crazy and nearly trashed his career. The Ghost of Peter Sellers (now available on demand) recounts the filming of Ghost in the Noonday Sun, a 1973 pirate-epic folly so riven by fits, fights and clashing egos that its producers decided never to release it. “We all just wanted to kill ourselves,” said Medak after the film’s first screening.
On Cyrus, where this 17th-century adventure was shot, disaster was in the air from Day One,...
On Cyrus, where this 17th-century adventure was shot, disaster was in the air from Day One,...
- 6/23/2020
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
Garnett also worked on Earth Girls Are Easy and seminal TV drama Cathy Come Home.
Tony Garnett, the film and television producer behind Ken Loach’s breakthrough features, has died aged 83.
The British producer collaborated with Loach from 1965 to 1979 on films including Kes, Family Life and Black Jack as well as seminal TV drama Cathy Come Home.
World Productions, the company he co-founded in 1990, said in a statement: “After a short illness, Tony Garnett, the legendary TV and film producer… died around midday on January 12. Tony was a great man and an inspirational producer who will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him.
Tony Garnett, the film and television producer behind Ken Loach’s breakthrough features, has died aged 83.
The British producer collaborated with Loach from 1965 to 1979 on films including Kes, Family Life and Black Jack as well as seminal TV drama Cathy Come Home.
World Productions, the company he co-founded in 1990, said in a statement: “After a short illness, Tony Garnett, the legendary TV and film producer… died around midday on January 12. Tony was a great man and an inspirational producer who will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him.
- 1/13/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
British film and TV producer Tony Garnett, founder of “Bodyguard” producer World Productions, died Sunday at the age of 83.
His death was confirmed by the ITV Studios-backed World Productions, which released the following statement Sunday night: “After a short illness, Tony Garnett, the legendary TV and film producer and founder of World Productions, died around midday on January 12. Tony was a great man and an inspirational producer who will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him.”
The Birmingham, U.K.-born Garnett began his career as an actor in the 1960s before going on to produce TV movies such as “Cathy Come Home” and “Kes” with “I, Daniel Blake” director Ken Loach – a frequent collaborator.
His work was known for a hard-nosed social realism that tackled issues such as homelessness and abortion.
Garnett worked in Hollywood in the 1980s, where he produced films such as “Earth Girls Are Easy,...
His death was confirmed by the ITV Studios-backed World Productions, which released the following statement Sunday night: “After a short illness, Tony Garnett, the legendary TV and film producer and founder of World Productions, died around midday on January 12. Tony was a great man and an inspirational producer who will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him.”
The Birmingham, U.K.-born Garnett began his career as an actor in the 1960s before going on to produce TV movies such as “Cathy Come Home” and “Kes” with “I, Daniel Blake” director Ken Loach – a frequent collaborator.
His work was known for a hard-nosed social realism that tackled issues such as homelessness and abortion.
Garnett worked in Hollywood in the 1980s, where he produced films such as “Earth Girls Are Easy,...
- 1/13/2020
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
Anna Nemes and Laszlo Csuja’s female body building drama won award worth $50,000.
Hungarian writer-directors Anna Nemes and Laszlo Csuja’s female body building drama Gentle Monster has scooped the top prize $50,000 prize at the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel International Film Lab (Jsfl).Beauty of the Beast (2022)[/link]
A total of 12 feature projects hailing from Brazil, Ghana, Hungary, Ireland, Georgia and Israel participated in the eighth edition of the eight-month lab.
The awards were handed out at the end of a final wrap up session in Jerusalem, running July 4-8, at which participants pitched their projects to a jury of industry professionals.
Gentle Monster revolves around...
Hungarian writer-directors Anna Nemes and Laszlo Csuja’s female body building drama Gentle Monster has scooped the top prize $50,000 prize at the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel International Film Lab (Jsfl).Beauty of the Beast (2022)[/link]
A total of 12 feature projects hailing from Brazil, Ghana, Hungary, Ireland, Georgia and Israel participated in the eighth edition of the eight-month lab.
The awards were handed out at the end of a final wrap up session in Jerusalem, running July 4-8, at which participants pitched their projects to a jury of industry professionals.
Gentle Monster revolves around...
- 7/10/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Michael Barker, the lauded co-president and co-founder of Sony Pictures Classics, was celebrated with an honorary career tribute in Jerusalem as part of the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab.
Barker, who made his first trip to Israel to attend the event, received the Force-of-Nature in Filmmaking Award. Founded by Renen Schorr and run by producer Lior Sasson, the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab praised Barker as a “major cinematic master-builder” for the pivotal role he played in distributing Israeli films such as “Waltz With Bashir,” “The Band’s Visit,” “Footnote” and “The Gate Keepers,” and leading them to the Academy Awards.
Barker has also distributed critically acclaimed international films such as “Call Me by Your Name,” “Whiplash,” “Talk to Her” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”
Aside from the tribute to Barker, the film lab gave the top award of its eighth edition to “Gentle Monster,” a project from the Hungarian...
Barker, who made his first trip to Israel to attend the event, received the Force-of-Nature in Filmmaking Award. Founded by Renen Schorr and run by producer Lior Sasson, the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab praised Barker as a “major cinematic master-builder” for the pivotal role he played in distributing Israeli films such as “Waltz With Bashir,” “The Band’s Visit,” “Footnote” and “The Gate Keepers,” and leading them to the Academy Awards.
Barker has also distributed critically acclaimed international films such as “Call Me by Your Name,” “Whiplash,” “Talk to Her” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”
Aside from the tribute to Barker, the film lab gave the top award of its eighth edition to “Gentle Monster,” a project from the Hungarian...
- 7/9/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
I'm working my way through all the films about Hitler's last days. Downfall seemed set to be the definitive version, but now it's been reduced to a meme. Still, it's a largely accurate, powerful account, with a very strong performance from Bruno Ganz.In Bologna's Cinematheque I watch Pabst's The Last Act which, aided by the scorching summer weather, packed auditorium and inadequate air conditioning, really felt like spending ten days in a bunker under heavy shelling. The film introduces a fictional anti-war general played by Oscar Werner in a bit of "We're not all bad" special pleading but it gets a lot right.Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973) is notorious for getting a lot wrong: not facts, which are scrupulously attested to and signed off on right at the start by a historian and an actual witness, but the filmmaking and the casting. I don't know who you ought...
- 4/25/2018
- MUBI
John Heyman, a producer, agent, film financier and father of Harry Potter producer David Heyman, has died. He was 84.
Heyman died Friday in New York City, his daughter, Dahlia Heyman, who also is a producer, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Heyman was the founder of the London-based International Artists Agency, with clients that included Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Michael Caine, Richard Harris, Shirley Bassey and Burt Bacharach, and among the films he produced was the Burton-Taylor starrer Boom! (1968).
He also produced Joseph Losey's The Go-Between (1971) — which starred Julie Christie and Alan Bates and won the Palme d'Or...
Heyman died Friday in New York City, his daughter, Dahlia Heyman, who also is a producer, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Heyman was the founder of the London-based International Artists Agency, with clients that included Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Michael Caine, Richard Harris, Shirley Bassey and Burt Bacharach, and among the films he produced was the Burton-Taylor starrer Boom! (1968).
He also produced Joseph Losey's The Go-Between (1971) — which starred Julie Christie and Alan Bates and won the Palme d'Or...
- 6/9/2017
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Updated with memorial service details: Longtime producer John Heyman died this morning in New York at age 84. We are trying to get more information, but believe that his wife Nissa was by his side, and he passed away in his sleep. Heyman, who was getting active again in raising funds to finance movies, had been in and out of the hospital in recent weeks. He is remembered as a prolific producer and for a time the agent of Elizabeth Taylor and other stars. He’s also…...
- 6/9/2017
- Deadline TV
Updated with memorial service details: Longtime producer John Heyman died this morning in New York at age 84. We are trying to get more information, but believe that his wife Nizza was by his side, and he passed away in his sleep. Heyman, who was getting active again in raising funds to finance movies, had been in and out of the hospital in recent weeks. He is remembered as a prolific producer and for a time the agent of Elizabeth Taylor and other stars. He’s also…...
- 6/9/2017
- Deadline
Glinwood worked with Roman Polanski, Jeremy Thomas, Karel Reisz and Terry Jones.
UK industry veteran Terry Glinwood has died aged 82 following complications from surgery for a minor complaint.
Glinwood’s career spanned fifty years as a producer and sales executive during which time he worked closely with some of the European industry’s leading figures.
He entered the business in the 1960s as a production controller working on Roman Polanski films Repulsion and Cul-De-Sac.
In the 1970’s he would work closely with fellow-producers Ned Sherrin and Beryl Vertue and director Bob Kellett on a string of UK comedies including Up Pompeii and The Alf Garnett Saga as well with UK producer John Heyman and Grease and Saturday Night Fever producer Robert Stigwood.
In the same decade Glinwood struck up a fertile collaboration with Rpc boss Jeremy Thomas for whom he would work in a sales and financing capacity on Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, The Last Emperor and [link...
UK industry veteran Terry Glinwood has died aged 82 following complications from surgery for a minor complaint.
Glinwood’s career spanned fifty years as a producer and sales executive during which time he worked closely with some of the European industry’s leading figures.
He entered the business in the 1960s as a production controller working on Roman Polanski films Repulsion and Cul-De-Sac.
In the 1970’s he would work closely with fellow-producers Ned Sherrin and Beryl Vertue and director Bob Kellett on a string of UK comedies including Up Pompeii and The Alf Garnett Saga as well with UK producer John Heyman and Grease and Saturday Night Fever producer Robert Stigwood.
In the same decade Glinwood struck up a fertile collaboration with Rpc boss Jeremy Thomas for whom he would work in a sales and financing capacity on Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, The Last Emperor and [link...
- 3/9/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Coverage of Isa’s (International Sales Agents) has resumed for The American Film Market. This segment follows leaders and innovation in the world of international film sales and distribution.
Lisa Wilson is an accomplished and widely respect Hollywood veteran. She is a Partner and Co-Founder of The Solution Entertainment Group, and has been in international film distribution for nearly forty years. She has handled Academy Award Winner “Crash”, “The Tourist”, “Hugo” and “Arbitrage”. She serves on the board of the Independent Film & Television Alliance and is a current member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Lisa talks about The Solution Entertainment Group, her full service international sales and financing company:
This is our third Afm. Berlin was my first market, almost four years ago. I had been in sales for almost four decades, working for other companies. My partner was a banker, and he was working in film financing. He had various experiences where he had gone to a sales company to sell a film, and then the sales person would leave in the middle of working with him. He was looking to start a company, but he wanted a partner that was in sales so that couldn’t happen to him again. And so we joined forces. We have a third partner – Craig Chapman – and we’re based on the Siren Lot in Hollywood. We’re very branded, and very strategic about what we bring to the market. We’re not looking to do a massive amount of product. We’re looking to do high quality product with real talent attached.
The new one now that we’re selling here is” Oppenheimer Strategy” with Richard Gere and shoots in January. It’s being directed by Israeli director Joseph Cedar, whose last two films were both in Cannes and were both nominated for best foreign film at the Academy Awards. That’s a really good example of what we’re looking to do.
How did you enter the business?
It was an accident. I had a temporary secretarial job with John Heyman, who is David Heyman’s father, which turned into a career in international distribution. I love it. It’s certainly challenging now, far more than it was in the DVD glory days. I still think if you have the right product, you can do well, because there’s an awful lot of wrong product.
What inspires you in your work?
For me it’s the material. We read everything ourselves, and we’re always looking for that ‘something special’. It has to sing to me. For better or for worse, what you see on the slate is my taste. I make no excuses for it. It’s nice to be able to do that.
See The Solution Entertainment Group slate here.
More about The Solution Entertainment Group:
The Solution Entertainment Group is a multi-faceted, full service international sales and financing company which offers filmmakers access to development funding, production funding, production and post-production services as well as international distribution. The Solution was founded in 2012 by international sales veteran, Lisa Wilson, and leading film financier, Myles Nestel, who are both partners.
The Solution’s current slate of titles includes three films which made their market premieres at Afm: How To Make Love Like An Englishman starring Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek and Jessica Alba, Jenny’S Wedding starring Katherine Heigl, Tom Wilkinson and Linda Emond as well as The Forger with John Travolta, Christopher Plummer and Tye Sheridan, which world premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.
The Solution’s additional titles include the recently announced political thriller Oppenheimer Strategies set to star Richard Gere, psychological thriller Man Down starring Shia Labeouf, Gary Oldman and Kate Mara, currently shooting as well as Bleed For This set to star Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, which will begin principal photography later in the month.
Other titles include three films currently in Us theatrical release: Lynn Shelton’s Laggies with Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz and Sam Rockwell, which is being distributed by A24 Films, Roger Donaldson’s November Man with Pierce Brosnan, in theatres through Relativity Media and Felony starring Joel Edgerton via Gravitas Ventures.
Their films in post-production include The Ticket with Dan Stevens and Malin Akerman as well as Ten Thousand Saints starring Ethan Hawke, Asa Butterfield and Hailee Steinfeld, directed by Bob Pulcini and Shani Berman.
Lisa Wilson is an accomplished and widely respect Hollywood veteran. She is a Partner and Co-Founder of The Solution Entertainment Group, and has been in international film distribution for nearly forty years. She has handled Academy Award Winner “Crash”, “The Tourist”, “Hugo” and “Arbitrage”. She serves on the board of the Independent Film & Television Alliance and is a current member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Lisa talks about The Solution Entertainment Group, her full service international sales and financing company:
This is our third Afm. Berlin was my first market, almost four years ago. I had been in sales for almost four decades, working for other companies. My partner was a banker, and he was working in film financing. He had various experiences where he had gone to a sales company to sell a film, and then the sales person would leave in the middle of working with him. He was looking to start a company, but he wanted a partner that was in sales so that couldn’t happen to him again. And so we joined forces. We have a third partner – Craig Chapman – and we’re based on the Siren Lot in Hollywood. We’re very branded, and very strategic about what we bring to the market. We’re not looking to do a massive amount of product. We’re looking to do high quality product with real talent attached.
The new one now that we’re selling here is” Oppenheimer Strategy” with Richard Gere and shoots in January. It’s being directed by Israeli director Joseph Cedar, whose last two films were both in Cannes and were both nominated for best foreign film at the Academy Awards. That’s a really good example of what we’re looking to do.
How did you enter the business?
It was an accident. I had a temporary secretarial job with John Heyman, who is David Heyman’s father, which turned into a career in international distribution. I love it. It’s certainly challenging now, far more than it was in the DVD glory days. I still think if you have the right product, you can do well, because there’s an awful lot of wrong product.
What inspires you in your work?
For me it’s the material. We read everything ourselves, and we’re always looking for that ‘something special’. It has to sing to me. For better or for worse, what you see on the slate is my taste. I make no excuses for it. It’s nice to be able to do that.
See The Solution Entertainment Group slate here.
More about The Solution Entertainment Group:
The Solution Entertainment Group is a multi-faceted, full service international sales and financing company which offers filmmakers access to development funding, production funding, production and post-production services as well as international distribution. The Solution was founded in 2012 by international sales veteran, Lisa Wilson, and leading film financier, Myles Nestel, who are both partners.
The Solution’s current slate of titles includes three films which made their market premieres at Afm: How To Make Love Like An Englishman starring Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek and Jessica Alba, Jenny’S Wedding starring Katherine Heigl, Tom Wilkinson and Linda Emond as well as The Forger with John Travolta, Christopher Plummer and Tye Sheridan, which world premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.
The Solution’s additional titles include the recently announced political thriller Oppenheimer Strategies set to star Richard Gere, psychological thriller Man Down starring Shia Labeouf, Gary Oldman and Kate Mara, currently shooting as well as Bleed For This set to star Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, which will begin principal photography later in the month.
Other titles include three films currently in Us theatrical release: Lynn Shelton’s Laggies with Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz and Sam Rockwell, which is being distributed by A24 Films, Roger Donaldson’s November Man with Pierce Brosnan, in theatres through Relativity Media and Felony starring Joel Edgerton via Gravitas Ventures.
Their films in post-production include The Ticket with Dan Stevens and Malin Akerman as well as Ten Thousand Saints starring Ethan Hawke, Asa Butterfield and Hailee Steinfeld, directed by Bob Pulcini and Shani Berman.
- 11/11/2014
- by Erin Grover
- Sydney's Buzz
Jeff Bridges has been watching this project for years and now he is sixty-one years old, just enough to see himself in the lead role. Oscar winner for his turn in Crazy Heart and nominated for the Coen brothers’ remake of classic western True Grit has also optioned the rights to Lois Lowry’s 1993 futuristic classic The Giver.
Bridges has been looking at this sci-fi novel since the 1990s, when his daughter read it in high school. Therefore, he said:
I originally thought of the role of the Giver as a vehicle for my father, the late Lloyd Bridges; however, at 61 years old, I feel the time is right for me to do it.”
Bridges and his long-time producing partner Nikki Silver (and veteran John Heyman) have finally secured the rights and have plans to move forward with Vadim Perelman, the writer/director behind House of Sand and Fog, to...
Bridges has been looking at this sci-fi novel since the 1990s, when his daughter read it in high school. Therefore, he said:
I originally thought of the role of the Giver as a vehicle for my father, the late Lloyd Bridges; however, at 61 years old, I feel the time is right for me to do it.”
Bridges and his long-time producing partner Nikki Silver (and veteran John Heyman) have finally secured the rights and have plans to move forward with Vadim Perelman, the writer/director behind House of Sand and Fog, to...
- 6/28/2011
- by Nick Martin
- Filmofilia
Their first attempt failed, now Jeff Bridges and producer Nikki Silver are having another go at a film adaptation of Lois Lowry's 1994 young adult novel "The Giver" reports Variety.
The story follows a 12-year-old who lives in a futuristic utopian society where all memory of human history has been erased. His life is thrown into turmoil when he is designated to inherit the role of the Giver and bear his community's vast range of human emotions, which causes him to realize that living a pain-free life comes at a high cost.
Fox and Walden Media were interested in the project back in 2006 but that incarnation fell through, then Warner Bros. Pictures setup the project with producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher in 2007. When the rights became available again, Bridges and Silver reacquired them and will now produce through On Screen Entertainment.
Vadim Perelman ("The House of Sand and Fog...
The story follows a 12-year-old who lives in a futuristic utopian society where all memory of human history has been erased. His life is thrown into turmoil when he is designated to inherit the role of the Giver and bear his community's vast range of human emotions, which causes him to realize that living a pain-free life comes at a high cost.
Fox and Walden Media were interested in the project back in 2006 but that incarnation fell through, then Warner Bros. Pictures setup the project with producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher in 2007. When the rights became available again, Bridges and Silver reacquired them and will now produce through On Screen Entertainment.
Vadim Perelman ("The House of Sand and Fog...
- 6/28/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Exclusive: First, Ricky Gervais blogged earlier this week: “We are about to start work on a Chinese The Office. How cool is that?” Then BBC Worldwide poured cold water on the story, telling AP there was “no deal in place, no broadcaster, no production company”. That's not entirely true. The BBC has now admitted to me that it is indeed developing a Mandarin version of the show with NY-based film financier John Heyman, father of Harry Potter producer David Heyman. So a Hong Kong subsidiary of Heyman’s World Film Group is developing The Office with BBC exec Pierre Cheung in Beijing. There’s no broadcaster on board yet. Auntie has already sold The Office format to the U.S., Chile, France, Germany, Israel, and Quebec. Next week BBC Worldwide is hosting BBC Showcase China, a screening event for over 100 Chinese TV buyers in Beijing including state broadcaster China Central...
- 8/21/2010
- by TIM ADLER
- Deadline London
Deborah Ann Woll has joined the cast of the drama "Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You." According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden, Lucy Liu, Toby Regbo and Stephen Lang have already been cast. The film focuses on an isolated young adult (Regbo) who must deal with his dysfunctional family the summer before he heads to college. Roberto Faenza is directing the film, which is adapted from the novel by Peter Cameron. John Heyman of World Productions and Elda Ferri of Jean Viggo Italia are producing. Shooting begins next month in New York. Woll is best known for her role on HBO's "True Blood." She recently booked "Catch .44," a crime drama with...
- 8/20/2010
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Deborah Ann Woll ("True Blood") has signed on for the ensemble drama "Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You" for World Prods. and Jean Viggo Italia says The Hollywood Reporter.
The story follows an isolated young adult (Toby Regbo) who must contend with his dysfunctional family during his pre-college summer. He's also dating a married professor and writing her memoirs.
Woll plays his sister Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden, Lucy Liu and Stephen Lang also star. Roberto Faenza is directing and adapted the script from Peter Cameron's novel.
John Heyman and Elda Ferri are producing bad shooting kicks off next month in New York City.
The story follows an isolated young adult (Toby Regbo) who must contend with his dysfunctional family during his pre-college summer. He's also dating a married professor and writing her memoirs.
Woll plays his sister Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden, Lucy Liu and Stephen Lang also star. Roberto Faenza is directing and adapted the script from Peter Cameron's novel.
John Heyman and Elda Ferri are producing bad shooting kicks off next month in New York City.
- 8/19/2010
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Deborah Ann Woll, one of the key players in HBO's "True Blood," is joining the ensemble drama "Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You."
The drama tells the tale of an isolated young adult who must contend with his dysfunctional family the summer before he heads to college.
Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden, Lucy Liu and Stephen Lang are already on board.
Woll plays the sister of the young adult (Toby Regbo), who is dating a married professor and writing her memoirs, hoping to cash in on the youthful memoirs craze.
Roberto Faenza is directing the pic, which adapts the novel by Peter Cameron and shoots next month in New York. John Heyman of World Prods. and Elda Ferri of Jean Viggo Italia are producing.
The heat generated from "True Blood" has opened doors for many of the cast. Alexander Skarsgard is a couple of weeks away from shooting "Battleship,...
The drama tells the tale of an isolated young adult who must contend with his dysfunctional family the summer before he heads to college.
Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden, Lucy Liu and Stephen Lang are already on board.
Woll plays the sister of the young adult (Toby Regbo), who is dating a married professor and writing her memoirs, hoping to cash in on the youthful memoirs craze.
Roberto Faenza is directing the pic, which adapts the novel by Peter Cameron and shoots next month in New York. John Heyman of World Prods. and Elda Ferri of Jean Viggo Italia are producing.
The heat generated from "True Blood" has opened doors for many of the cast. Alexander Skarsgard is a couple of weeks away from shooting "Battleship,...
- 8/18/2010
- by By Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Italian production starts shooting today in Central Park, New York City. The Oscar-winning actress joins Marcia Gay Harden, Toby Regbo (Harry Potter), Lucy Liu (Charlie's Angels), Stephen Lang (Avatar) and Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood) in this coming-of-age story. Italian financiers including Rai Cinema are fully financing this adaptation of the teenage novel by New York-based author Peter Cameron, which was a bestseller in Italy. The novel tells a Holden Caufield-ish tale of a teenager working in his mother’s pretentious Manhattan art gallery, where he finds himself accused of sexual harassment. Roberto Faenza is the director and the producer is Elda Ferri (Life Is Beautiful). It’s a wholly Italian-financed production, partly financed by Rai Cinema. One footnote is that the script is by Dahlia Heyman, step-sister of Harry Potter producer David Heyman. By my reckoning, she’s the fifth member of the Heyman dynasty to enter the business.
- 8/18/2010
- by TIM ADLER
- Deadline London
Congratulations to Jamie Ellis, Christine Russell and Tim Newsome - a set is on its way to each you!
As the hi-def assault gathers momentum, Optimum Home Entertainment are releasing some bona fide classics on Blu-ray via The Studio Canal Collection. Revisiting Studio Canal's back catalogue, the 15th Feb sees a wonderfully eclectic trio released exclusively on Blu-ray for the first time. What's more, Optimum have 3 sets to give away for lucky Twitch readers in the UK.
First up is The Go-Between, based on LP Hartley's novel of the same name, starring Julie Christie, Edward Fox and Alan Bates in a magnificently English period drama, of lusty Victorians and adolescent confusion. This was probably the first film that gave me faith in movies being able to interpret novels successfully, having read the book at school and subsequently dug out the film. An in-her-prime Christie probably helped too...
Next is...
As the hi-def assault gathers momentum, Optimum Home Entertainment are releasing some bona fide classics on Blu-ray via The Studio Canal Collection. Revisiting Studio Canal's back catalogue, the 15th Feb sees a wonderfully eclectic trio released exclusively on Blu-ray for the first time. What's more, Optimum have 3 sets to give away for lucky Twitch readers in the UK.
First up is The Go-Between, based on LP Hartley's novel of the same name, starring Julie Christie, Edward Fox and Alan Bates in a magnificently English period drama, of lusty Victorians and adolescent confusion. This was probably the first film that gave me faith in movies being able to interpret novels successfully, having read the book at school and subsequently dug out the film. An in-her-prime Christie probably helped too...
Next is...
- 2/21/2010
- Screen Anarchy
ABC has ordered three more single-camera comedies: pilot Never Better, from Dave Alpert; an untitled pilot from Kristin Newman; and Roman's Empire, a pilot presentation from Al Higgins.
Never Better, from ABC Studios and the Littlefield Co., centers on a guy trying to be a good husband and father despite his somewhat misguided attempts. Walpert wrote it and will exec produce with Warren Littlefield and John Heyman.
The untitled Newman project, from ABC Studios and DreamWorks TV, centers on a thirtysomething woman who tries to break free of her overbearing and dysfunctional family, friends and boss. UTA-repped Newman penned the script and is exec producing with DreamWorks' Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank.
Empire, written by Higgins, centers on a lovable guy who, after getting dumped by his girlfriend, tries but cannot extricate himself from her wealthy family and her outrageous father. Katalyst, Tiger Aspect and CBS Par will produce.
Never Better, from ABC Studios and the Littlefield Co., centers on a guy trying to be a good husband and father despite his somewhat misguided attempts. Walpert wrote it and will exec produce with Warren Littlefield and John Heyman.
The untitled Newman project, from ABC Studios and DreamWorks TV, centers on a thirtysomething woman who tries to break free of her overbearing and dysfunctional family, friends and boss. UTA-repped Newman penned the script and is exec producing with DreamWorks' Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank.
Empire, written by Higgins, centers on a lovable guy who, after getting dumped by his girlfriend, tries but cannot extricate himself from her wealthy family and her outrageous father. Katalyst, Tiger Aspect and CBS Par will produce.
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