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Graham King Makes First Look Warner Bros Deal For GK And Brings ‘Jersey Boys’ Musical With Him

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday September 13, 2012 @ 6:17pm PDTTags: Argo, Big Deals Film, GK Films, Graham King, Jersey Boys, Tim Headington, Warner Bros
Mike Fleming

Graham KingEXCLUSIVE: Graham King and Tim Headington have made an exclusive first-look one year deal at Warner Bros, which puts GK Films back at the studio where he made Blood Diamond, the Oscar-winning The Departed, The Town and Dark Shadows. It’s also the studio that will release the Ben Affleck-directed Argo, which was one of the standout films that premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. GK co-financed that film and King is executive producer. King’s move is a surprise but an even bigger one is that he’s bringing Jersey Boys with him.

King had a four-picture put deal at Sony Pictures, which released the Johnny Depp-Angelina Jolie-starrer The Tourist. Sony is where he originally set Jersey Boys, the movie based on the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. King is moving that film–which will be directed by Jon Favreau–over to Warner Bros to be first film under this new deal. I’m told that though it is a plum project–the stage musical is a giant hit–GK and Sony didn’t see eye to eye over the budget and that is why the project is moving.

Jersey Boys will begin production in January and Warner Bros will release it Christmas, 2013. GK had a tough run in late 2011, where films like the Martin Scorsese-directed Hugo and In the Angelina Jolie-directed In The Land Of Blood And Honey got accolades but didn’t make enough money. King is a filmmaker at heart, and I believe he just felt most comfortable at Warner Bros, where he has a very close relationship with Jeff Robinov. And Argo has the makings of a big Oscar season hit. I will provide more details when I get them.

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Shake-Up At GK Films: SVP Grey Rembert & COO Bahman Naraghi Out

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Monday April 2, 2012 @ 5:36pm PDTTags: Big Deals Film, GK Films, Graham King

EXCLUSIVE… 2ND UPDATE: I’ve learned more info now… Graham King’s GK Films is laying off SVP Grey Rembert because “she’s a books person and brought in great books, but having a books person is a luxury for anyone … Read More »

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GK Snags Alien Invasion Novel ’5th Wave’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday March 9, 2012 @ 1:01pm PSTTags: Graham King
Mike Fleming

Tobey Maguire GK FilmsGraham King’s GK Films has acquired film rights to 5th Wave, a young adult sci-fi suspense thriller with a love story at its center. When the human race is on the verge of extinction, one of … Read More »

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Scott Frank To Write And Direct GK Films Adaptation Of British Miniseries ‘Unforgiven’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday November 8, 2011 @ 11:20am PSTTags: Angelina Jolie, DJ Caruso, Francis Lawrence, Graham King, Scott Frank, Tim Headington, Tom Cruise, Tony Scott
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Scott Frank will rewrite and direct a feature adaptation of the 2009 British miniseries Unforgiven for GK Films partners Graham King and Tim Headington. When the project was set at GK last year, Christopher McQuarrie was signed to … Read More »

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HAMMOND: Scorsese’s ‘Hugo’ Takes Hollywood; Is It A Best Picture Contender – Or Pretender?

By PETE HAMMOND | Sunday November 6, 2011 @ 5:27pm PSTTags: 84th Annual Academy Awards, Academy Awards, Georges Melies, Graham King, Hugo, James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, Paramount, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sacha Baron Cohen, Slash
Pete Hammond

Another piece of this year’s Oscar movie puzzle was unveiled in a big way this weekend when Paramount rolled out Martin Scorsese’s 99.9%-finished version of Hugo, an ode to the early days of cinema and the eye-popping possibilities of movies. It’s the director’s first family film, 3D film and perhaps most personal film. In an intriguing and highly unusual move, Paramount held a packed screening, with tons of invited press and bloggers included, at Regal’s Downtown LA Live theaters Saturday afternoon. Then that night they also played it at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills for the Academy’s official membership screening. That last move was interesting because most films play either the weekend of opening or after for the Acad (although The Weinstein Co.  unspooled their much-praised  ode to the early days of cinema, The Artist, to an appreciative audience for its official Academy screening Sunday night).

It is extremely rare to show voters something that is still unfinished (one special effects shot was missing and the end credits are far from complete), but Hugo‘s media rollout has been different from the start. It was first unleashed in a much-less-finished form at the New York Film Festival last month as a “work in progress.” Reaction on the web was all over the place, generally favorable, but did not signal a major awards contender outside of the obvious technical nominations for the film’s stunning look. That screening in hindsight may have been a miscalculation.

This week, things began to heat up. Paramount had a couple of “tastemaker” screenings for AMPAS members a few days ago (one in the evening, one during lunchtime) where the median age range was said to be 60-plus — with 50 members reportedly at each. There were also reportedly 80 members who checked in for the Regal screening that was accompanied by a lively post-movie Q&A moderated by director Paul Thomas Anderson with Scorsese and his dream team of much-Oscared collaborators including DP Robert Richardson, production designer Dante Ferretti, editor Thelma Schoonmaker, composer Howard Shore and visual effects supervisor Rob Legato. Scorsese received an enthusiastic standing ovation when he was introduced, just as he did again today after a DGA screening for a Q&A moderated by James Cameron, who told him Hugo was a “masterpiece.” He added, “finally there is a Scorsese film I can take my kids to.” And Cameron also told Scorsese it was the best use of 3D he had seen, including his own films. At Saturday’s Regal Q&A, Legato actually credited the innovations in Avatar for making possible a lot of what Hugo was able to do. Musician Slash was among those also at the DGA screening  and he later tweeted “Fantastic movie!” Read More »

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Warner Bros Heating Up With Rupert Wyatt And Michael Fassbender?

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday November 4, 2011 @ 12:31pm PDTTags: Alexander Litvinenko, Christi Dembrowski, Graham King, Johnny Depp, Michael Fassbender, Rupert Wyatt, Vladimir Putin
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Action is heating up on Londongrad, the Warner Bros drama about the mysterious death of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko, who was poised in 2006 with polonium-210. I’m told the studio is in discussions with Rise of the Planet … Read More »

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Johnny Depp And Graham King To Produce Drama For Lifetime About William Wilkerson

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday October 12, 2011 @ 9:30am PDTTags: Graham King, Infinitum Nihil, Lifetime
Nellie Andreeva

Lifetime is developing a period drama series about The Hollywood Reporter founder William Wilkerson, which is being produced by Johnny Depp’s Infinitum Nihil and Graham King’s GK TV. The project, … Read More »

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Martin Scorsese Unveils ‘Hugo’ At NYFF

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday October 11, 2011 @ 8:27am PDTTags: Graham King, Hugo, James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, New York Film Festival
Mike Fleming

When New Yorker Martin Scorsese took the stage at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall to unveil a work-in-progress screening of his first 3D film Hugo, the standing ovation showed that the filmmaker was dealing with a home-field advantage. Deadline revealed yesterday that the New York Film Festival’s mystery film by a master filmmaker would be Hugo, and the place was packed last night. NYFF’s Richard Pena started the proceedings by asking journalists not to review the film, or tweet while it was playing. Scorsese added his own caveats. He said that the film was not completely color corrected, that some of the visual effects weren’t quite there yet, and that the 3D and music were also not quite complete. I saw the film’s producer Graham King before the screening, and he said while they couldn’t get the film finished in time to be part of the early fall festival hoopla, they came up with this idea as a way not to miss out completely, and the NYFF agreed to it for the first time since Disney came to them with an unfinished print of Beauty and the Beast.

With the exception of a couple of intricate shots, the film looked like it was rounding into shape quite nicely. I won’t review it, but will say it will be a worthy addition to the upcoming awards season. Read More »

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BREAKING: Tonight’s NYFF Mystery Film Is Martin Scorsese’s ‘Hugo’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday October 10, 2011 @ 9:35am PDTTags: Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Clint Eastwood, Emily Mortimer, Graham King, Hugo, Hugo Cabret, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Martin Scorsese, Michael Pitt, Ray Winstone, Richard Pena, Sacha Baron Cohen, Stephen Daldry
Mike Fleming

VIDEO: Martin Scorsese Introduces ‘Hugo’
HAMMOND: NY Film Festival Mystery Movie

BREAKING: I can confirm that tonight’s New York Film Festival mystery film is Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, the John Logan-scripted adaptation of the Brian Selznick novel Hugo Cabret. The festival revealed late last week that it would feature a film by a master filmmaker, and speculation covered everything from Clint Eastwood’s J Edgar to Stephen Daldry’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I’m told that Richard Pena will introduce the picture at Avery Fisher Hall, but I’m not sure if Scorsese will be in the house. The film isn’t quite finished, but it will be shown in 3D, though there might be some green screen moments. Paramount releases Hugo on November 23. Scorsese hasn’t shown an unfinished film like this before (though he did once tell me that The Last Temptation Of Christ qualified as that when Universal rushed it into release because protesters were dragging crosses in front of the houses of studio higher-ups like Sid Sheinberg), and the NYFF hasn’t shown an unfinished print like this since Disney’s Beauty And The Beast in 1991. But it’s a great opportunity to build buzz on the movie, Scorsese’s first family and 3D film. Read More »

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GK Films Plans WWII ‘Battle Of Britain’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday October 4, 2011 @ 10:00am PDTTags: GK Films, Graham King, Martin Scorsese, Robert Towne, Tim Headington
Mike Fleming

Graham King’s GK Films has hired Robert Towne to write The Battle Of Britain, a script about the largest and most sustained air battle to date. King and Tim Headington will produce. In 1940, the Royal Air Force battled … Read More »

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FilmDistrict Acquires Taylor Hackford-Helmed ‘Parker’ With Jason Statham

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday June 20, 2011 @ 10:20am PDTTags: Bob Berney, Brian Helgeland, Donald E. Westlake, FilmDistrict, Graham King, Jason Staham, John Boorman, John J. McLaughlin, Jonathan Mitchell, Lee Marvin, Les Alexander, Mel Gibson, Parker, Peter Schlessel, Sidney Kimmel, Taylor Hackford, Tim Headington
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: FilmDistrict is closing a deal for U.S. distribution rights to Parker, the Taylor Hackford-directed thriller that will star Jason Statham. Production starts in early August. The John J. McLaughlin-scripted film is an adaptation of the Donald E. Westlake novel series, and Statham is playing a character that Mel Gibson played in the Brian Helgeland-directed Payback and Lee Marvin played in the John Boorman-directed Point Blank. Parker is a thief, but one who follows a strict moral code he’ll kill to uphold. The producers are Steven Chasman, Sidney Kimmel, Les Alexander, Jonathan Mitchell and Hackford. The film’s casting up quickly, and the movie was a prominent sales title during the Cannes Film Festival where Sierra/Affinity’s Nick Meyer sold offshore rights and made the domestic deal. Meyer has sold most world territories. Incentive Filmed Entertainment funded the film, and produced with Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Sierra/Infinity. Sierra/Infinity and Incentive Filmed Entertainment previously teamed on Shark Night 3D, a movie that will be released in September. Read More »

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FX & Fox Int’l Channels Team With GK-TV & Valhalla For Pirate Drama ‘Port Royal’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday May 23, 2011 @ 1:24pm PDTTags: Fox International Channels, FX, Gale Anne Hurd, GK-tv, Graham King, Port Royal
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Graham King’s GK-tv and Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Entertainment have partnered with FX Prods and Fox International Channels to co-produce hourlong period drama series Port Royal. The project, based on the original idea by Hurd, will … Read More »

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CANNES: FilmDistrict To Release Angelina Jolie’s ‘In The Land Of Blood And Honey’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Sunday May 15, 2011 @ 8:49am PDTTags: Angelina Jolie, Cannes, FilmDistrict, Graham King, Peter Schlessel, Tim Headington
Mike Fleming

Angelina Jolie’s much-discussed feature directing debut now has a title and a distributor. Graham King and his GK Films partner Tim Headington, who financed it, have placed it with their FilmDistrict shingle. FilmDistrict CEO Peter Schlessel will slot  In The Land Of Blood And Honey, the Bosnia-set drama that Jolie scripted, for a Dec. 23 release in the US. The film is set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War in the 1990s and, according to a statement, “illustrates the consequences of the lack of political will to intervene in a society stricken with conflict. “The film is specific to the Bosnian War, but it’s also universal,” Jolie said in a statement. “I wanted to tell a story of how human relationships and behavior are deeply affected by living inside a war.” Said King: “Working with Angelina on this film and story has been a great collaboration and I am extremely proud of this film. The filmmaking is impeccable, and signals the arrival of a visceral and compelling storyteller.” Read More »

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GK Films Hires Focus Exec Kahli Small

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday May 2, 2011 @ 7:00am PDTTags: Colin Farrell, David Cronenberg, George Clooney, GK Films, Graham King, Johnny Depp, Kahli Small, Keira Knightley, Martin Scorsese, Peter Morgan, Sacha Baron Cohen, Tim Headington, Viggo Mortensen
Mike Fleming

Graham King’s GK Films has hired Focus Features exec Kahli Small to be executive vice president of production and development. She will report directly to King and will work out of GK’s Santa Monica headquarters. Kahli is a seven-year vet … Read More »

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Graham King and Gale Anne Hurd To Produce Pirate Drama Series Project

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Sunday April 3, 2011 @ 11:16am PDTTags: Gale Ann Hurd, Graham King, Port Royal
Nellie Andreeva

Graham King’s GK-tv and Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Entertainment have partnered to develop and produce Port Royal, an hourlong series based on an original idea by Hurd. Set in the late 17th century on … Read More »

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GK Films Hires Ex-Miramax Exec Larry Angrisani To Spearhead Marketing

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday March 21, 2011 @ 4:01am PDTTags: GK Films, Graham King, Miramax Films
Mike Fleming

Larry Angrisani has been appointed senior vice president of World Marketing and Publicity for Graham King’s GK Films. He’ll be responsible for campaigns for TV, film and new media, based out of GK’s Santa Monica offices. Angrisani spent 7 years … Read More »

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GK Films Reboots ‘Tomb Raider’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday March 7, 2011 @ 7:00pm PSTTags: GK Films, Graham King, Lara Croft, Movie Deals, Movies, Tim Headington, Tomb Raider
Mike Fleming

In a pre-emptive strike, GK Films has come on board to acquire the feature film rights to TOMB RAIDER and will reboot the successful action-adventure franchise aiming for a 2013 release for the first film.

Produced by Graham King and

… Read More »

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Paramount To Distribute Martin Scorsese’s ‘Hugo Cabret’ For Thanksgiving

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Saturday February 19, 2011 @ 7:42am PSTTags: Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Brad Grey, Chloe Moretz, Emily Mortimer, Graham King, Hugo Cabret, Jude Law, Martin Scorsese, Paramount Pictures, Sacha Baron Cohen
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Pictures has stepped up to become the distributor of the Martin Scorsese-directed 3D film Hugo Cabret, with the studio locking a November 23 release date, the day before Thanksgiving. The adaptation of the Brian  Selznick novel is produced … Read More »

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GK Films Tells Love Story From Male POV

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday January 20, 2011 @ 9:00am PSTTags: GK Films, Graham King, Movie Deals, Movies
Mike Fleming

GK Films has acquired The Man’s Guide to Love, a pitch for a comedy that Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett will write and direct. GK’s Graham King and Tim Headington will produce with Laurence Mark. The plot revolves around three … Read More »

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