EFM Roundup: Cinedigm Gets ‘Berlin Job’; Naedomi Takes U.S. ‘Sleeper’s Wake’; ‘The Pact 2′ Set; Radiant Chases ‘Run Boy Run’; K5 & Clive Owen For ‘Blue Angel’ And More

Refresh for latest… Cinedigm has acquired the crime thriller Berlin Job from Arclight Films for release on digital platforms as well as DVD and VOD in North America. The directorial debut by Frank Harper was released in the UK as St. George’s Day. Pic stars Craig Fairbrass, Vincent Regan, Neil Maskell, Luke Treadaway, Sean Pertwee, Jamie Foreman, Ashley WaIter and Charles Dance. The deal was secured by Clay Epstein on behalf of Arclight and Emily Rothschild on behalf of Cinedigm. Arclight Films is handling international sales outside the UK.

Naedomi Media has picked up U.S. rights to the suspense thriller Sleeper’s Wake. Negotiating the deal on behalf of the film were XYZ Films, producer Ken Kaplan and exec producer Sanjeev Singh and Steve Break represented Naedomi Media. Naedomi launched in 2010 and has distributed 16 titles through to 2011 via digital, DVD and television and it has set a midyear release for Sleeper’s Wake. The movie marks director Barry Berk’s feature debut. Berk’s script is based on the acclaimed novel by Alistair Morgan. It stars South African actors Lionel Newton and Deon Lotz. The film is co-produced by Bioskope Pictures and Videovision Entertainment. Sleeper’s Wake concerns a recently widowed man who takes refuge in a small coastal town but gets caught up in a dangerous relationship with a young woman. MPI Media is repping the film for international sales at Berlin. Sleeper’s Wake will be released in South Africa on 8 March 2013 by United International Pictures (South Africa).

Content Film says The Pact 2 is ready for buyers in Berlin. The thriller’s sequel, written and directed by Dallas Hallam and Patrick Horvath, will start production in the spring. Hallam & Horvath’s debut feature Entrance premiered at the LA Film Festival and was featured on Stephen Kings Best of 2012. The Pact 2 is produced by Preferred Film & TV’s Ross M. Dinerstein and exec produced by Content’s Jamie Carmichael and Nicholas McCarthy. The Pact 2 is the second film produced by the Preferred Content / Content Media Corp venture Preferred Film & TV formed in 2012. Content’s Carmichael and Preferred’s Kevin Iwashina will jointly sell North America and Content will handle the rest of the world. The new movie is set weeks after the original’s deadly climax.

Radiant Films is now handling world sales, including the U.S., on German-French co-production Run Boy Run. The drama from Pepe Danquart, an Oscar winner for his 1993 short Black Rider, is based on Uri Orlev’s novel about a boy who escaped from the Warsaw ghetto in 1942 and survived on his own in the woods until the end of the war. Newcomer Andy Tkacz stars alongside German actors Jeanette Hain and Rainer Bock, both of whom have done crossover work in U.S. films. Lead co-producers are Bittersuess Pictures and Ciné-Sud/Vandertastic. Run Boy Run will debut on the festival circuit later this year. Picture is a nice fit for L.A.-based Radiant’s Mimi Steinbauer who’s Austrian by birth and says she feels a particular connection to the European material.

The smart guys at Paris-based film finance group BackUp Media think they’ve come up with something that will help revolutionize rights management for international film biz execs – and it’s free, for now. They’ve developed Movie Chainer, a cloud-based application designed to improve the tracking of revenue shares throughout the commercial life of a production. I sat down with BackUp partner Jean-Baptiste Babin in Berlin yesterday for a demo of the software that launches April 30, just in time for Cannes and in partnership with the Cannes Market’s Cinando film database and networking platform. Basically, once contract details are loaded into the system, a whole series of reports, maps and waterfall charts can be generated and simulated including availability lists, revenue splits, payment schedules and cash flow status. The BackUp team, which has been involved through their distribution fincancing fund with such films as Amour, On the Road, READ MORE »

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Clive Owen & Juliette Binoche Locked For ‘Words & Pictures’

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Wednesday November 7, 2012 @ 11:13am PST

After months of rumors, Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche have signed on to play the leads in the romantic drama Words Read More »

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Interview: Philip Kaufman At Cannes With ‘Hemingway And Gellhorn’ HBO Premiere

Pete Hammond

Unlike last year when three entries in the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival went on to grab Oscar nominations for Best Picture (and The Artist even won) this year it’s different, at least going into the final weekend.  Cannes doesn’t seem to have even one sure candidate for Oscar’s big prize. But in a real twist the world’s most famous film fest is launching a surefire Emmy contender: HBO’s Hemingway And Gellhorn which premieres here tonight with a Red Carpet gala at the Grand Theatre Lumiere three days before debuting on HBO May 28. Movie stars Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen will be giving the paparazzi lots to shoot and 75-year-old director Philip Kaufman – whose career includes such acclaimed works as The Right Stuff, The Unbearable Lightness Of Being, The Wanderers, The White Dawn, Henry And June and Invasion Of The Body Snatchers in addition to writing Raiders Of The Lost Ark - will be ascending those famous stairs for the first time. And how ironic this quintessential filmmaker is doing it for a TV movie, albeit one on HBO. But this movie about the tempestuous marriage of Ernest Hemingway and his third wife, war correspondent Martha Gellhorn has the look and feel of an epic spanning the Spanish Civil War, the conflict between the Soviets and Finland, the Japanese occupation of China and World War II.

Related: Cannes Biz Climate Shines Despite The Wind And Rain

Kaufman knows people will see it on TV but he’s hoping critics watch it first on a big screen. I watched it on my 61-inch set at home before heading here as it was sent out a few weeks ago in HBO’s Emmy For Your Consideration box. He wanted them to hold it back but HBO was intent on getting it to the voters. He is very excited to see how it will look on the giant Grand Theatre Lumiere screen.

Despite making the kinds of films Cannes seems to love, Kaufman has had very little contact with the Festival. 48 years ago he was here and awarded  the Prix de la Nouvelle Critique (the Young Critics award) for his first film, Goldstein (tying with a very young Bernardo Bertolucci who is also back in Cannes with his new film Me And You). When we talked this week at an outdoor cafe overlooking the beach Kaufman told me he has only been back a couple of times to raise money for films he was trying to make. TV movie or not, Cannes was anxious to give him the full treatment (although the film is out of competition). “I don’t think they have ever done this with an American movie before. There was Carlos which was a miniseries made for French TV but Olivier Assayas is Cahiers Du Cinema and this is a French film festival. What an honor for me for a movie made for television to be selected here. I know HBO is thrilled.”
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Lionsgate U.K. Snaps Up Guillaume Canet’s Starry ‘Blood Ties’: Cannes

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Thursday May 17, 2012 @ 5:58am PDT

EXCLUSIVE: I’ve learned that Wild Bunch has closed a deal with Lionsgate UK for the Guillaume Canet-directed drama Blood Ties. The pic is currently shooting with stars Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, Zoe Saldana, Mila Kunis, James Caan, Matthias Schoenaerts and … Read More »

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Kirsten Dunst, Orlando Bloom Join Indie Feature ‘Cities’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday October 28, 2011 @ 4:57pm PDT
Mike Fleming

Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom have joined Clive Owen and Anil Kapoor in Cities, the international thriller being directed by Roger Donaldson. Matthew Metcalfe and Chris Curting are producing. The film is a cautionary tale about greed and ambition that … Read More »

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Toronto: Millennium Acquires Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s ‘Intruders’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday October 11, 2011 @ 2:41pm PDT
Mike Fleming

Los Angeles (October 11, 2011) – Millennium Entertainment’s CEO Bill Lee announced today that the company has acquired North American rights to Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s chilling Intruders, which had its world premiere at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival, followed by a European premiere in San Sebastian. Millennium Entertainment will release the film theatrically April 2012. Fresnadillo directed the haunting film, starring Clive Owen, Carice Van Houten, Daniel Brühl, Pilar López de Ayala, Ella Purnell and Izán Corchero, from a screenplay by Nicolás Casariego and Jaime Marques. Intruders was produced by Enrique López Lavigne, Belén Atienza and Mercedes Gamero, and executive produced by Jesus de la Vega and Ricardo Garcia Arrojo.

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Toronto: ‘Intruders’ Helmer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo Is ‘Highlander’ Frontrunner

Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, here for today’s world premiere of his latest film The Intruders, is Summit Entertainment’s choice to direct Highlander. That is the reboot of the 1986 film about immortals who battle with swords, and live and die by the mantra that “there can be only one.” Fresnadillo is now in discussions to direct a film that Summit will co-finance with RCR Media Group. Fresnadillo is also attached to direct a reboot of The Crow, which has Bradley Cooper attached.

This is a coveted job that became an open directing slot when Justin Lin dropped out to make the sixth installment of The Fast and the Furious.

Fresnadillo, who first attracted Hollywood’s attention with the genre film Intacto, followed with the superb 28 Weeks Later. Today he unveils Intruders, an intense psychological drama that stars Clive Owen as a father who cannot protect his young daughter from faceless intruders. The film also stars Daniel Bruhl, who starred Inglourious Basterds and next stars as Formula One racer Niki Lauda in the Ron Howard-directed Rush. The film is an acquisition title that is high on many buyers’ lists, and the director’s UTA reps are selling it. Read More »

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Toronto Taps David Hare’s ‘Page Eight’ As Closer, Bulks Up Slate With Gala Starpower

Mike Fleming

The 2011 Toronto Film Festival has selected David Hare’s spy drama Page Eight, starring Bill Nighy, Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, as its closing-night film and added a slew of Gala premieres and Special Presentations that boost the star wattage with the likes of Robert De Niro, Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Nicole Kidman, James Gandolfini and Gerard Butler. The additions to the previously announced film slate includes a Future Projects lineup that features James Franco and Gus Van Sant reminiscing about My Own Private Idaho, a documentary about Exit through the Gift Shop‘s Mr. Brainwash (Thierry Guetta), and Peter Lynch’s Buffalo Days; and a Wavelengths program of international experimental films. Here is the release about the additional Galas and Special Presentations:

Toronto – The Toronto International Film Festival® announces the addition of 8 Galas and 17 Special Presentations to the high-calibre selection of crowd-pleasers premiering in September. Today’s announcement includes 14 World Premieres and reveals that Festival-goers will be treated to a programming lineup featuring world premieres from directors including Nick Murphy, Gary McKendry, Joel Schumacher, Gianni Amelio, Agnieszka Holland, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Pankaj Kapur, Anne Fontaine, Mathieu Kassovitz and Geoffrey Fletcher. The films unveiled today feature onscreen appearances by Jason Statham, Robert De Niro, Clive Owen, Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Gerard Butler, Ralph Fiennes, Imelda Staunton, Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve, Shahid Kapur, Isabelle Huppert, Saoirse Ronan, Alexis Bledel and James Gandolfini, among others.

This announcement brings the final number of Galas to 20, and the final number of Special Presentations to 67.

GALAS
Closing Night Film
Page Eight
David Hare, United Kingdom International Premiere
Johnny Worricker (Bill Nighy) is a long-serving M15 officer. His boss and best friend Benedict Baron (Michael Gambon) dies suddenly, leaving behind him an inexplicable file, threatening the stability of the organization. Meanwhile, a seemingly chance encounter with Johnny’s striking next-door neighbour and political activist Nancy Pierpan (Rachel Weisz) seems too good to be true. Set in London and Cambridge, Page Eight is a contemporary spy film which addresses intelligence issues and moral dilemmas peculiar to the new century. Also stars Ralph Fiennes and Judy Davis.

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Hot Trailer: ‘Killer Elite’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday August 4, 2011 @ 1:12pm PDT

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Open Road Makes Netflix Deal

Mike Fleming

Well, now we know that Open Road is for real. The upstart distribution company run by Tom Ortenberg and funded by theater chains Regal and AMC have made a streaming deal with Netflix that will begin with its first film, Killler Elite, with Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. Here’s the announcement:

Los Angeles, CA, June 28, 2011 – Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Open Road Films today announced a multi-year agreement to bring movies distributed theatrically by Open Road Films exclusively to Netflix for digital streaming in the “pay TV window,” after their release on DVD. The deal will allow Netflix members to instantly watch OpenRoad Films titles on various devices streaming from Netflix.

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Hot Trailer: ‘Killer Elite’

Here’s the first look at Killer Elite, a fact-based action thriller starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro that opens Sept. 23. Gary McKendry directed. It’s also the first release from AMC and Regal’s joint-venture distribution outfit Open Road, led by Tom Ortenberg.

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Open Road To Acquire U.S. Distribution On Stephenie Meyer’s ‘The Host’

Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Open Road, the upstart distribution company formed by theater chains AMC and Regal, is making its second big acquisition. Tom Ortenberg’s company is acquiring domestic distribution rights to The Host, the Andrew Niccol-directed adaptation of Twilight Saga author Stephenie Meyer’s novel. I’m told that the there were at least three other distributors trying to get this and that the deal will be a seven-figure minimum guarantee, a healthy P&A commitment, and gross for participants that include the author.

Saoirse Ronan is set to play heroine Melanie Stryder, one of the last humans putting up a fight against an alien species called Souls, parasites that invade human bodies, fuse to each person’s consciousness and systematically erase their personalities. Melanie is captured by the aliens and implanted by a Soul called Wanderer. While Wanderer’s goal is to get Melanie to give up the remaining pockets of humans, the alien finds Melanie to be unique in her unwillingness to surrender her consciousness. Wanderer is so overwhelmed by Melanie’s memories and feelings that she is driven to reconnect with Melanie’s old life, which includes falling for Melanie’s boyfriend. The result is a complex, romantic and emotional human/alien love triangle. Nick Wechsler, Meyer, Paula Mae Schwartz and Steve Schwartz are producing. Inferno’s Marc Butan, Jim Seibel and Bill Johnson are exec producers and Roger Schwartz is co-producer. Read More »

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Open Road Sets First Release With Fall Date On ‘Killer Elite’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday June 8, 2011 @ 9:47am PDT
Mike Fleming

Open Road, the distribution company hatched earlier this year by theater chains AMC and Regal with Tom Ortenberg at the helm, has set its first release. Open Road set a September 23, 2011 date for Killer Elite, the Gary McKendry-directed … Read More »

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Cannes: Andrew Niccol To Direct Saoirse Ronan In Stephenie Meyer’s ‘The Host’

Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Andrew Niccol has been set as the director of The Host, directing his scripted adaptation of the bestselling novel by Twilight Saga author Stephenie Meyer. The project, which is being shopped here at Cannes by Inferno Entertainment and producers Nick Wechsler and Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz, will star Saoirse Ronan.

After resisting overtures to sell the book, Meyer finally entrusted it with the producers, who gave her strong creative input. She chose Niccol originally because she was a fan of his film Gattaca and script for The Truman Show. While Niccol adapted the book into the current script, he exited to make the film Now, which he has completed with Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and Cillian Murphy starring. The producers went down the road with several directors, but talks with Niccol to return started heating up in recent weeks. Ronan ramped up interest in the film when she was set to star.

Ronan will play Melanie Stryder, one of the last humans putting up a fight against an alien species called Souls. These parasites invade human bodies, fuse to each person’s consciousness and systematically erase their personalities. The story follows Melanie as she is captured by the aliens and implanted by a Soul called Wanderer, something of a legend because of all of the “hosts” she has attached to on numerous planets. Wanderer’s goal is to get Melanie to give up the remaining pockets of humans, but instead the alien finds Melanie to be unique in her unwillingness to surrender her consciousness. Wanderer is so overwhelmed by Melanie’s memories and feelings that she is driven to reconnect with Melanie’s old life, which includes falling for Melanie’s boyfriend. The result is a complex, romantic and emotional human/alien love triangle. Read More »

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Cannes: Tom Ortenberg Makes First Big Open Road Acquisition With ‘Killer Elite’

Mike Fleming

Open Road, the new distribution company launched by theater chains AMC and Regal to find films that can play in wide release, has made its first major deal as Tom Ortenberg closed U.S. rights to the action film Killer Elite, which stars Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. … Read More »

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2011 Cannes Film Festival Sales Roundup: Deals For Clive Owen’s ‘Shadow Dancer’ And Todd Robinson’s ‘Phantom’

Mike Fleming

Clive Owen will star in Shadow Dancer, a BBC Films coproduction that will be directed by Man on Wire helmer James Marsh, with production to begin in Dublin later this month. Wild Bunch will sell international territories at Cannes, and … Read More »

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HBO Builds Cast For ‘Hemingway & Gellhorn’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday March 10, 2011 @ 12:53pm PST
Nellie Andreeva

A slew of actors have joined Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman in the HBO film Hemingway & Gellhorn. The biopic, exec produced by James Gandolfini and directed by Phil Kaufman, recounts the tumultuous romance and subsequent marriage of literary master … Read More »

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