Asian buyers duck H`wood prices

day5_p1,22
11/3/07
5
7:57 PM
Page 1
the
Day
Dialogue
with Shebnem Askin
p8
daily
from AFM
hollywoodreporter.com/afm
S u n d a y, N o v e m b e r 4 , 2 0 0 7
Asian buyers duck H’wood prices
Karen Nicoletti
Say market
is ‘slow’ for
juicy titles
By Jonathan Landreth
Asian activity at this year’s
AFM seems to be shifting focus
with buyers less eager to snap up
U.S. titles in a similar feeding
frenzy to previous years.
Instead, the rising markets
across Asia are fueling confidence among companies local
to build local deals to aid expansion.
Christine Iso, L.A.-based proSee ASIA on page 22
Window dressing
Rigel Entertainment beats the Santa Monica parking hassle.
Big Apple firms nail down sales
By Gregg Goldstein
Two New York-based companies wrapped up Saturday night
with some big sales and acquisitions.
Mark Lindsay, head of N.Y.based sales outfit Kimmel International, sold several titles.
Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York” has sold to
Paradiso for Benelux, Nu
Metro for South Africa, AsmikAce for Japan, BIM Distribution for Italy, Sponge for South
Korea and Best Film for Poland.
His first day at AFM was his
best day ever, and he said “it’s
much easier to have meetings
with other producers and see
talent here.”
They had plenty of other sales
Murphy
on their extensive slate: Stephen
Belber’s romantic comedy
“Management,” starring Jennifer Aniston, sold to RCV for
See NEW YORK on page 22
Longoria
Costner
Murphy moves to country
‘Body’ heat:
NL takes U.S.
By Stuart Kemp
By Gregg Goldstein
Brittany Murphy has checked into the country
hotel-set psychological horror film “3.30 am,” written and directed by Mick Davis (“Modigliani”).
The movie details the story of young New Yorker
who decides to pick up and move to a country hotel
See MURPHY on page 22
New Line Cinema has
nabbed all domestic rights
to two Gold Circle Films
projects. “Over Her Dead
See GOLD on page 22
LightningEnt_D5_11_04_07_1.indd 1
10/31/07 12:37:17 PM
day5_p3,20
11/3/07
7:48 PM
Page 3
news
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Day 5
‘Winged’ victory for Peace Arch
AFM Daily Edition
OFFICE:
Loews Hotel, Santa Monica
Room 447
Phone: (310) 455-7307
Fax: (310) 455-7305
JOHN KILCULLEN
Publisher
ERIC MIKA
Senior VP, Publishing Director
ELIZABETH GUIDER
Editor
E
D
I
T
O
R
I
A
L
DAVID MORGAN
Deputy Editor
STEVE BRENNAN
International Editor
DEEANN J. HOFF
Director, Art
GREGG KILDAY
Film Editor
STUART KEMP
Germany leads raft of deals; ‘Babysitters’ finds work
By Stuart Kemp
“Winged Creatures”
Rowan Woods’ “Winged
Creatures” is flying out to distributors around the world via
deals with sales company Peace
Arch Entertainment headlined
by a pact struck with Constantin
Film in Germany.
The movie, produced by
Robert Salerno (“21 Grams”),
stars Forest Whitaker, Jennifer
Hudson, Jackie Earle Haley, Guy
Pearce, Kate Beckinsale and
Dakota Fanning as people dealing with the fallout from a shooting in a Los Angeles diner.
Icon Entertainment has
the movie for Australia/New
Zealand, M&F snared it for South
Korea, and Front Row will be
unspooling it in the Middle East.
It is currently in post-production and was acquired by Sony
for U.S. theatrical rollout sometime next year.
Peace Arch also has struck
deals for the dark comedy “The
Babysitters” with Audio Visual
Enterprises for Greece/Cyprus,
Front Row Filmed Entertainment for the Middle East and
See PEACE ARCH on page 20
UK Bureau Chief
JONATHAN LANDRETH
Rapid ‘Transit’ deal for TWC
Asia Editor
GREGG GOLDSTEIN
FIlm Reporter
Script buy just beats strike deadline
KEVIN CASSIDY
Senior Editor International
By Borys Kit
CHAD WILLIAMS
International News Editor
JACKIE VUONG
Senior Designer
PATRICK HIPES
Copy Chief
KIRK HONEYCUTT
Chief Film Reviewer
A
D
V
E
R
T
I
S
I
N
G
ROSE EINSTEIN
VP, Assoc. Publisher, Sales & Marketing
ALISON SMITH
International Sales Manager
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN
Acct. Manager, Independent Films
IVY LAM
Concluding a deal just ahead
of the WGA strike, currently
scheduled to begin at 12:01 a.m.
Monday, the Weinstein Co. has
bought David Andron’s screenplay “Transit” and attached
Andrew Lau to direct.
Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who
produced the Weinstein Co.’s
“Derailed” and “1408,” will
produce the action thriller
through his Di Bonaventura Pictures, with Adam Kolbrenner
attached as exec producer.
Lau’s producing partner
Phoenix
Lau
Di Bonaventura
Andrew Loo is co-producing
“Transit” via the duo’s Initial A
Entertainment.
“Transit” will be made through
See ‘TRANSIT’ on page 20
Asia Sales & Marketing Manager
O
P
E
R
A T
I
O
N
S
KELLY JONES
Corsan makes deal with ‘Devil’
Production Director
GREGG EDWARDS
Production Manager, Features
Copyright ©2007 Nielsen Business Media, Inc. All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in any retrieval system or transmitted, in any form
or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise — without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
to avoid assassination attempts.
Belgium-based production,
financing and international sales
company Corsan has optioned
the rights to “The Devil’s Double,” based on Yahia’s “The Devil’s Double” and “I Was Saddam’s Son,” which have sold
more than one million copies
worldwide to date.
See “DEVIL” on page 20
By Stuart Kemp
Plans are afoot for a movie
based on the real-life story of the
double of Saddam Hussein’s son,
based on the books by Latif
Yahia, the man who was forced to
become Uday Hussein’s double.
The Iraqi dictator, executed
late last year, is infamous for
assembling doubles of his family
hollywoodreporter.com los a n ge le s 3 2 3 / 5 2 5 -2 0 00
|
new york 646/654-5000
3
|
l o ndo n 44/207-420-6139
|
Paltrow
‘Lovers’ lane:
2929 takes
pair abroad
By Gregg Goldstein
2929 International hit
home runs in several international territories on two
big projects: James Gray’s
“Two Lovers” starring
Joaquin Phoenix and
Gwyneth Paltrow, and John
Hillcoat’s “The Road” starring Viggo Mortensen.
“Lovers” is the tale of a
Brooklyn man who can’t
decide between his parents’ choice for a bride and
the neighbor who becomes
his obsession. 2929 sold
the film to Wild Bunch for
See 2929 on page 20
beijing 86/10-6512-5511 (ext. 121)
LightningEnt_D5_11_04_07_2.indd 1
10/31/07 12:37:41 PM
LightningEnt_D5_11_04_07_3.indd 1
10/31/07 12:38:16 PM
day5_p6 digest
Day 5
11/3/07
7:22 PM
Page 6
news
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Bad guys and beehives
digest
‘Gangster,’ ‘Bee’ fire up boxoffice
Intandem, Radical team on ‘Tatua’
By Gregg Kilday
Fantasy action thriller “Tatua,” one of the first projects to come
out of the strategic partnership between U.K.-based
finance/sales banner Intandem Films and U.S.-based graphic
novel company Radical Comics, is being touted to buyers and
talent here. The $25 million project is being packaged by Intandem. “Tatua,” penned by comic book writers Rob Prior and Paul
Jenkins, is a sci-fi action thriller about a troubled man, Danny
Black, who seeks to avenge his lost love by using his supernatural powers. Todd Breau and Kari Hollend are producing.
After an anemic fall season, this
weekend’s two star-studded new
arrivals pumped fresh blood into
the North American boxoffice.
Universal’s “American Gangster,” from Imagine Entertainment, showed plenty of swagger
as it took in an estimated $16
million domestically on Friday.
DreamWorks Animation’s “Bee
Movie,” released by Paramount,
created plenty of buzz of its own,
collecting about $10.1 million for
the day.
The one-two punch of an Rrated crime saga and a punny,
PG-rated animated movie not
only kicked off the year-end season with pizzazz, but also
showed that stars, when they
take on the right roles, can
draw crowds to the multiplex.
Despite the challenge of an
R-rating and a running time of
more than two and a half
hours, “Gangster,”
which stars Denzel
Washington as a reallife Harlem drug
lord and Russell
Crowe as the detective pursuing him,
‘Substitute’ in N.A. classroom
Ole Bornedal’s “The Substitute” has scared up a North American distribution deal with Grindstone Entertainment Group.
Grindstone inked the deal for the Danish scary movie — produced by Thura Films and starring Paprika Stee — Nordisk Film
International Sales. The deal follows hot-on-the-heels of Grindstone’s purchase of Nordisk’ ghost story “Room 205.” Grindstone will work in partnership with Sam Raimi’s Ghost House
Pictures on the release of the film, which follows a terrified 6thgrade class as they race to reveal to their parents that their new
substitute teacher is an evil alien being.
Mirovision eyeing ‘Tomorrow’
By Jonathan Landreth
Mirovision Inc., a leading
independent South Korean film
production and distribution outfit, on Saturday announced it is
making “Tomorrow News,” a
live-action film based on a 20year-old cult classic Korean manga by Kang Chulso.
Director Chung Keun-sup is in
Mirovision’s sights to direct
“Tomorrow,” which the 10-yearold, privately-held company
hopes to finish in spring after four
years of build-up, company president Jason Chae said Saturday at
the American Film Market.
Chae said that Mirovision plans
to spin off “Tomorrow” into a
television series after its theatrical
release to help cover its production costs in the depressed Korean
entertainment market. No broadcaster is yet involved, Chae said.
Mirovision also sold the comedy “The Mafia, the Salesman”
at AFM to Jiant in Thailand,
Chae said.
The company also said it will
handle worldwide rights for
“Once Upon Time,” a newly
unveiled project to be
directed by
Chung Yongki
of the “Marrying
the
Mafia” films,
now in preproduction
with MiroviChae
sion’s production partner IM Pictures.
“Once” takes director Chung
back to 1940s-era Seoul for an
adventure comedy starring Park
Yongwoo (“For Horowitz,” “My
Scary Girl”) and Lee Boyoung
(“Dirty Carnival”), Chae said.
The film, budgeted at about $6
million, is being shot near Seoul.
On the international front,
Chae said Mirovision has just
appointed Nicholas Piccato as
the new foreign executive for coproductions. Piccato, a Frenchman, formerly worked in the film
industry in Mexico.
Picatto said that the company
hopes to sell market debut film
“Muoi,” a horror film shot in
Vietnam by director Kim Taekyung.
hollywoodreporter.com los a n ge le s 3 2 3 / 5 2 5 -2 0 00
•
For more news
online, go to
hollywoodreporter.com
The Works U.K. hordes ‘Mongol’
By Stuart Kemp
A movie centering on the early life of Genghis Khan is
marauding into U.K. theaters as
indie British company the Works
U.K. Distribution corralled U.K.
rights to the movie “Mongol”
from Beta Cinema here.
Sergei Bodrov’s $20 million
Mongolian-language epic recently opened in Russia to the tune of
a $2.5 million opening weekend.
The deal was negotiated by
Andreas Rothbauer at Beta Cinema and Laurence Gornall from
the Works. Gornall said the movie
will be skedded for theatrical distribution in the U.K. in 2008.
Beta already has sold the
movie to a slew of territories
•
|
is on track to
score an opening
weekend that
could
climb
north of $45
million.
“Bee,” synonymous with Jerry
Seinfeld, who conceived
the film, worked on its
screenplay and provides the
voice of the main character, is
headed for an opening weekend
in the mid-$30 million range.
New Line’s “Martian Child,”
the weekend’s other new wide
release, didn’t join the party
though, mustering just about $2
million and ranking sixth.
Rounding out the top five were
last weekend’s boxoffice winner, horror sequel “Saw IV,”
with $3.7 million; Disney’s
Steve Carell comedy “Dan
in Real Life,” with $2.6 million; and Sony’s vampire tale
“30 Days of Night,”
with $1.2 million.
new york 646/654-5000
6
|
l o ndo n 44/207-420-6139
|
including BIM Distribution in
Italy, X Verleih in Germany, Italia
Film International in the Middle
East and Hopscotch for Australian and New Zealand rights.
Picturehouse has U.S. rights
to the project.
Separately, in London, parent
company the Works Media
Group, floated on the U.K.’s
AIM stock exchange, told the
market that production and
finance banner Milcoz Films will
invest £763,000 ($1.6 million)
in the Works.
Milcoz is producing Brittany
Murphy starrer “3.30 am.”
The Works will use the funds
invested to develop its distribution and sales operations, the
company said.
•
beijing 86/10-6512-5511 (ext. 121)
ImaginationWWD1_LD_10_31_07.indd1 1
10/29/07 4:07:03 PM
day5_p8_dialogue-ShebnemAskin
Day 5
11/3/07
6:47 PM
Page 8
Sunday, November 4, 2007
s the international sales arm of Todd Wagner
and Mark Cuban’s collection of entertainment
companies, 2929 International has the strength of
2929 Prods. big-name talent and medium budget
product to sell at AFM. For three years, president
Shebnem Askin has led sales of films landing at both
indies and majors with director of international sales
& marketing Michelle McDonald, vp international sales
administration Jodie Adair and vp post production &
worldwide services Marc Wuertemburg. On the fourth
day of the market, she gave her assessment of it all to
The Hollywood Reporter film reporter Gregg Goldstein.
A
The Hollywood Reporter:
How did your company get its
start at AFM?
Shebnem Askin: We launched
in 2004, and our first slate included George Clooney’s “Good
Night, and Good Luck”
and Alex Gibney’s
“Enron: The Smartest
Guys In The Room.”
We ended up getting
seven Oscar nominations a year
later, so it was a very good start.
Bruce Willis set to start before the
actors strike deadline next summer. The buyers are a bit frightened. There’s a lot of anxiety
because people don’t know if a
film will get made or be delivered
on time. We have three
pre-strike movies. One
starts shooting Monday: James Gray’s
“Two Lovers” with
Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth
Paltrow (and) “The Burning
Plain” starts shooting Tuesday
with Charlize Theron and Kim
Basinger. That’s the directing
debut of Guillermo Arriaga, who
wrote “21 Grams” and “Babel.”
We also have “The Road” with
Viggo Mortensen, based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel that won
the Pulitzer Prize. John Hillcoat is
set to shoot that in February.
dialogue
THR: What’s the main way this
year is different from last?
Askin: The strike changed the
feel of AFM. We’re hearing from a
lot of distributors that there are
too many projects with the same
cast attached, like more than one
movie with John Cusack and
vital stats
Shebnem Askin
Nationality: U.S.
Title: President of sales outfit 2929 International
Career history: Prior to 2929,
Askin was executive vp of
worldwide sales at
Pandora/Gaylord Films from
1999-2004. She joined after
serving as vp of international
co-productions and sales at Trimark Pictures from 1995-1999,
but during this period took a
brief break from Trimark to
become president of director
Alfonso Arau’s company Arau
Films Internacional (“Like
Water for Chocolate”).
sales on them — as with “We
Own the Night” selling to Sony
while it was playing this year in
Cannes, we want to screen the
films and get people’s reactions.
“The Road” was the exception to
the rule because Dimension Films
was extremely interested in it.
THR: What other changes have
you see this year?
Askin: This is the first time I’m
seeing so many distributors coming so early. Usually you have
one or two arrive early, but this
year it feels like AFM started two
weeks in advance.
THR: What’s your strategy for
AFM?
Askin: We want to be in a very
low quantity, high quality business. We’re not introducing six,
eight, 12 films in the market, just
a handful of films from very talented filmmakers with A-list
stars. We’re a very small company in terms of overhead, so we
have the luxury of being able to
carefully pick the movies we sell.
There are just four people on our
staff, and Marc Wuertemburg
has the dual role of being in
charge of worldwide services and
postproduction on our movies.
THR: What are they saying to
you?
Askin: Nobody knows. As far as
we’re concerned, it already happened. A lot of key territories
have been presold on our films
— so far, so great.
THR: How are you planning to
sell the films in North America?
Askin: We don’t have domestic
hollywoodreporter.com los a n ge le s 3 2 3 / 5 2 5 -2 0 00
|
THR: What advice would you
give to new sellers after doing
new york 646/654-5000
8
|
l o ndo n 44/207-420-6139
|
this for so long?
Askin: You really have to listen to
what the buyer is looking for.
You have to look closely at every
situation in every country to be
able to price a movie right. If your
expectations are too high you
wont be able to sell it, and if
they’re too low your producers
will lose out.
THR: How would you assess the
various territories this year?
Askin: The healthiest markets
are the U.K., Australia, Germany
and France. One troublesome
market is Spain — there are a lot
of problems with TV deals with
distributors and deals with
exhibitors, and it’s difficult to
sell them a film because of that.
The good news is that Japan is
coming back, but a main problem that remains is being able to
book a wide number of theaters.
Smaller films requiring just one
screen, though, are easier to sell,
just not wide releases with big
budgets.
•
beijing 86/10-6512-5511 (ext. 121)
MediaDev_D6_11_05_07.indd 1
10/25/07 11:29:40 AM
INVITES YOU
ON A CRUISE...
Win a 5-day, 4-night Carnival Cruise for two when
you purchase an annual subscription to
The Hollywood Reporter during AFM.
Visit Our Booth, 7th Floor Atrium
In partnership with:
afm.indd 1
10/25/07 3:43:29 PM
day5_p11_rev1
11/3/07
3:32 PM
Page 11
inside
Reviews in brief . . . . . . 18
“Body of War,” “Look” . . 23
Day 5
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Studied silences and stiffly mannered
performances fill Reygadas’ Mennonite tale.
‘Silent Light’
W
riter-dir ector
medieval language.
review
Carlos
ReyWith “Silent Light,”
gadas, the bad boy of
Reygadas
should
Mexican cinema, is up
expand his audience
to his old tricks in
considerably, albeit at
“Silent Light.” But
festivals and in art housBY
this time, he has
es. The long takes and
KIRK
HONEYCUTT
hitched his austere and
studied silences still
protracted style to an
smack of pretension. An
Originally
allegorical tale of subopening shot as the
reviewed in
tle strength and depth.
camera pans down from
May at the Cannes
Film Festival
Yes, amateur actors
the night sky to capture
are coached to stare
dawn and the coming of
the bottom line
into space for long
a new day, while beautiIt’s a long, slow
moments
before
ful, does take six minbuild to a powerful
delivering stiff diautes. And that’s just the
climax in Carlos
Reygadas’ quietly
logue with unnatural
movie’s first shot.
provocative film.
solemnity. But since
The film’s action can
the story takes place
be summed up thusly:
within an isolated minority com- Johan (Cornelio Wall Fehr), a
munity of Mennonites in north- farmer and devout head of a large
ern Mexico, this makes sense: family, falls in love with another
These are God-fearing people woman,
Marianne
(Maria
who shun emotional displays and Pankratz). Is this the work of the
speak in a Germanic dialect that devil, or is he responding to his
hits the modern ear like a spiritual soul mate?
hollywoodreporter.com los a n ge le s 3 2 3 / 5 2 5 -2 0 00
|
His dad, who is a preacher,
sees the hand of the “enemy” in
this situation. His friend,
Zacarias (Jacobo Klassen), sees
Marianne as his true natural
woman. Johan does not believe
the devil has anything to do with
it; he holds himself responsible
but is unable to repair his ways.
Johan has hidden none of this
from his faithful and devoted
wife Esther (Mariam Toews). So
the relationship pits the women
against one another even though
neither has laid eyes on the other. Marianne is oddly sympathetic to Esther’s pain; Esther says
little until near the end, when the
word “whore” escapes her lips.
Between the scenes where
emotions heat up, Reygadas
treats you to small documentaries on farm life: how cows get
milked and how hay is harvested.
One scene takes place in fall,
and the next has snow on the
ground. Slowly, slowly, slowly
though, “Silent Light” builds to
an impressive climax. Perhaps
the hand of God has been
new york 646/654-5000
11
|
l o ndo n 44/207-420-6139
|
involved all along. The film certainly escapes from the carefully
established reality of the Mennonite community, and the ending certainly gives that long pan
down from the heavens a more
profound meaning.
The stiffness of the performances, except from the children,
who are just naturally wonderful,
works extremely well in this context. These are people who put
all feelings into their choice of
words, not body language or
vocal inflections. The formality
of the language often sounds
funny, but in the end conveys a
kind of dignity and truthfulness.
“Silent Light,” or “Stellet
Licht” in the Plautdietsch
tongue, continues to dwell within your mind long after the lights
have come back up.
•
more online
Full review and
credits available at
hollywoodreporter.com
beijing 86/10-6512-5511 (ext. 121)
NuImageD1_CONAN_10_31_07.indd 1
10/29/07 3:14:33 PM
NuImageD1_CODE_10_31_07.indd 1
10/29/07 3:27:31 PM
NuImageD1_RK_10_31_07.indd 1
10/29/07 3:25:26 PM
NuImage_D4_11_03_07.indd 1
10/31/07 12:38:56 PM
56 copy
11/2/07
1:57 PM
Page 1
THE CLASS
SPECIAL JURY
PRIZE
Karlovy Vary Int’l
FF 2007
SPECIAL JURY
AWARD
DRAMA / ESTONIA / ESTONIAN / 97 MIN / 2007
Warsaw Int’l FF
2007
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY: Ilmar Raag
FIPRESCI
AWARD
CAST: Lauri Pedaja, Vallo Kirs, Pärt Uusberg
Warsaw Int’l FF
2007
ESTONIA’S OSCAR® SUBMISSION 2007
SCREENINGS:
SUN NOV 4TH AT 15:00, LE MERIGOT 5, TODAY
TUE NOV 6TH AT 13:00, LE MERIGOT 5
www.klassifilm.com
BEST EUROPEAN FILM
MASTER AVAILABLE
VISIT NONSTOP SALES AT AMERICAN FILM MARKET:
LOEWS HOTEL # 540
Judith Toth, Sales Executive, mobile: +46 (0) 704 16 99 83
[email protected], www.nonstopsales.com
[email protected]
NuImageD1_KP_10_31_07.indd 1
10/29/07 3:17:25 PM
day5_p18_revsinbrief a
Day 5
11/3/07
4:09 PM
Page 18
reviews in brief
Sunday, November 4, 2007
“Starting Out
in the Evening”
“Searchers 2.0”
“Searchers 2.0”
> Sales Co.: New Concorde
> Bottom Line: A road movie, sometimes
wistful, sometimes nasty, that fails to
raise enough dust.
“Searchers 2.0,” Alex Cox’s first feature
since 2002’s “Revengers Tragedy,” is a road
movie — ah, we have had so many, some
would moan — but it goes a couple of steps
beyond that. On the face of it, it is a tale of
revenge and justice. Then, as the reels unfold,
it is apparent that there is more nostalgia and
longing than mere hard feelings, ingredients
to get the work into the commercial circuit.
In any case, it is hardly festival material, and
even at the Venice Film Festival it was not
part of the more serious and academic competition and outside competition sections.
The film opens with a beautiful sunrise in
an American countryside. As we go along,
there are equally stunning visuals captured
to mesmeric effect by cinematographer
Steven Fierberg. Aging Mel (Del Zamora)
and Fred (Ed Pansullo) fancy themselves
actors, but all that they have to their credit
is a single performance as child artists in
“Buffalo Bill vs. Doc Holiday.”
That sole appearance was enough for a
lifetime, given the nasty experience on the
set, where legendary screenwriter Fritz Frobisher (Sy Richardson) savaged them to get
them wailing for a particular scene. Mel and
Fred obviously have not forgotten the pain.
Years later, they find a chance to avenge
their humiliation.
Great visuals and peppy music spice up
the story, which by itself is threadbare. The
performances are even, though sparks of
ingenuity can be seen in Richardson in
those scenes where he is confronted by Mel
and Fred. The character of Delilah seems
largely an embellishment that jars, and one
suspects that she was put there in the first
place as a relief in an all-male drama.
— Gautaman Bhaskaran
“Sing Now or Forever
Hold Your Peace”
> Sales Co.: Worldwide Film Entertainment
> Bottom Line: The latter may be the better
option in this lame comedy.
The log line here could be “The Big
Chill” with songs, though this is misleading
in two respects. “Sing Now or Forever Hold
Your Peace” lacks any of the socio-economic or political concerns of “The Big Chill.”
Indeed, its shallowness is reflected in one
character’s abiding concern with his receding hairline. And there actually is more
music in Lawrence Kasdan’s 1983 ensemble
comedy-drama as its soundtrack is gloriously rife with 1960s rock and soul standards.
The gimmick in “Sing” is that the reunited
buddies all sang a cappella together in college, which leads to several musical segments.
In any event, the issues here are light and
trite, the humor strained and resolutions as
pat as a TV sitcom. Consequently, the film’s
attraction to the over-30 crowd is limited.
because of a compelling story, great acting, intelligent writing and sensitive direction. Andrew Wagner’s portrait of an
aging writer and his adrift daughter cuts
across generational lines, capped by an
astounding performance by Frank Langella. This is a picture with real boxoffice
potential for a selective audience.
Watching Langella struggle with the character’s resistance is to observe a pro at work.
He totally inhabits the character with his
voice, gestures and erect posture.
“Starting Out in the Evening” could easily have tipped over into the maudlin and
sentimental were it not for Wagner’s precise
direction and his succinct script, written
with Fred Parnes (based on a novel by Brian Morton). Beautifully shot on location in
New York in an unbelievable 18 days by
Harlan Bosmajian, the film manages to
keep its balance, aided by a lovely and
restrained score by Adam Gorgoni.
— James Greenberg
— Kirk Honeycutt
“Starting Out
in the Evening”
> Sales Co.: The Little Film Co.
> Bottom Line: Complex and satisfying
New York literary drama.
At a time when directors are falling over
each other to scramble the medium’s
form, it is reassuring and invigorating to
see a film like “Starting Out in the
Evening” that succeeds so beautifully
hollywoodreporter.com los a n ge le s 3 2 3 / 5 2 5 -2 0 00
|
new york 646/654-5000
18
|
“Sing Now
or Forever Hold
Your Peace”
l o ndo n 44/207-420-6139
|
beijing 86/10-6512-5511 (ext. 121)
NuImageD1_TRAIN_10_31_07.indd 1
10/29/07 3:24:14 PM
day5_p3,20
11/3/07
Day 5
7:48 PM
Page 20
news
Sunday, November 4, 2007
‘Transit’
Continued from page 3—
the Weinstein Co.’s Asian Film
Fund, Weinstein Co. co-president
of production Michael Cole said.
The screenplay tells the story
of a man who is forced to kill
three men in three different
cities in 12 hours or his son will
die. Andron also has pennned
the pilot for NBC’s upcoming
retooling of “Knight Rider.”
Lau, best known for “Infernal
Affairs,” already is making three
films for the Weinstein Co.
Lucas Carter, director of production and development, found
the script for the Weinstein Co.
and will oversee the project with
David Lee, exec vp of Asian
operations.
Andron is repped by attorney
Bruce Gelman. Lau and Initial A
are repped by ICM and the
Schiff Co.
•
2929
Continued from page 3—
France and Benelux, Bim
Distribution for Italy,
Lusomundo for Portugal,
United King for Israel,
ECS for the Middle East,
Aqua Group for Turkey,
Sandrew for Scandinavia
and EEAP for Eastern
Europe.
“Road” is based on Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer
Prize-winning novel and
recent Oprah’s Book Club
selection. Mortensen stars
as a father travelling across
the country with his son
through a post-apocalyptic
landscape. The film was
sold to Icon for the U.K.
and Australia, Metropolitan
for France and Scanvox for
Scandinavia.
2929’s third offering,
“The Burning Plain,” sold
out most of its international
territories under president
Shebnem Askin.
For more news
online, go to
hollywoodreporter.com
CJ, Park take walk on Wild Side
By Jonathan Landreth
South Korea’s CJ Entertainment Inc. presold director Park
Chan-wook’s untitled project
about a priest-turned-vampire
to Wild Side of France on Saturday at the American Film
Market.
Park, perhaps best known for
“Oldboy,” the 2004 Cannes
Grand Prix-winning ultra-violent thriller, will begin to shoot
the new mid-range budgeted
film in the spring with his production company MOHO Film.
CJ plans to release it in Korea at
the end of 2008.
The film will see star Song
Kang-ho (“The Host,” “Secret
Sunshine”) as the priest whose
transformation, due to a failed
medical experiment, results in
physical and psychological
change that leads him into an
affair with the wife of his childhood friend.
Peace Arch
Continued from page 3—
Lusomundo for Portugal.
“The Babysitters” details the
story of a teenage girl who turns
her babysitting service into a callgirl ring for married men after a
tryst with one of her customers.
‘Devil’
Continued from page 3—
Yahia, an Iraqi Army lieutenant stationed on the Iranian
border, was summoned to Hussein’s headquarters and given
the option to become Uday’s
double or die.
Michael Thomas has penned
the screenplay adaptation for the
€15 million ($22 million)-budgeted movie, which will be
filmed predominantly in Spain,
Corsan chief Paul Breuls said.
Corsan is “currently speaking
with several high-profile directors” for the film and eyeing a
summer 2008 shoot start date.
The title will be executive produced by Breuls, Harris Tulchin
hollywoodreporter.com los a n ge le s 3 2 3 / 5 2 5 -2 0 00
|
Tom Oh, senior vice president
for international, said CJ also sold
presold Park’s film to Russia’s
Maywin Media, which also picked
up “Secret Sunshine” by Lee
Chang-dong, the film which garnered star Jeon Do-yeon the best
actress prize at Cannes this year.
Oh said CJ also sold completed romantic drama “Love
Now” by Chong Yun-su (“Yesterday”) to Twin Co Ltd. in
Japan. The film stars, among
others, actress Han Chaeyoung (“Wild Card”).
CJ also sold the period horror
mystery “Shadows in the
Palace” by debut woman director Kim Mi-jung to Splendid in
Germany. The film was an official selection at San Sebastian
this year.
Rounding out sales, CJ’s Oh
said “May 18” by Kim Ji-hoon
— the second-highest-grossing
film in Korea this year — sold to
Mingyo in Australia.
•
The deals were negotiated
by Julie Sultan, Peace Arch
executive vp of international
theatrical sales.
The company also closed a
package with HBO Latin America for pay TV rights to a trio of
movies: “Chapter 27,” “Delirious” and “Guantanamero.”
•
of Tulchin Entertainment and
Arjen Terpstra of Foreign Media
Group, and produced by Atilla
Meijs and Michael John Fedun
of Corrino Films and Emjay
Rechsteiner of Staccato Films.
Corsan is repping worldwide
sales through its Corsan World
Sales arm here at the AFM.
The film also will incorporate
details of Yahia’s experience after
he fled Iraq, when he managed
to escape to Europe and refused
to become an agent for the CIA,
while battling his self-loathing
and the imprint of his real-life
alter ego, Uday Hussein.
“We’re excited to adapt and
develop such a distinct and
promising project,” Corsan
COO and producer Catherine
new york 646/654-5000
20
|
l o ndo n 44/207-420-6139
|
Han Chae-young in
“Love Now”
Vandeleene said. “Yahia’s story
is a fascinating saga that evolved
within the long, deadly regime
in Iraq and obviously had a deep
impact on his life and the lives
of those closest to him.”
Added
Corrino
Films’
Michael John Fedun: “Our
interest in this project stems
from the fact that even though
Latif Yahia’s humanity was taken
away from him, he never gave in
to the temptation and opulence
that went along with being the
‘third son of Saddam Hussein,’
and he somehow managed to
hold onto his identity even in the
face of pure evil.”
Breuls and Vandeleene negotiated the deal on behalf of
Corsan.
•
beijing 86/10-6512-5511 (ext. 121)
NuImage_D3_11_02_07.indd 1
10/31/07 5:48:41 PM
day5_p1,22
Day 5
11/3/07
7:58 PM
Page 22
news
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Gold
Continued from page 1—
Body” stars Eva Longoria
Parker, Paul Rudd and Jason
Biggs, and “The New Daughter” stars Kevin Costner and
Ivana Baquero.
Jeff Lowell’s romantic comedy “Body” stars Rudd as a
man devastated after his
fiancée (“Desperate Housewives” lead Longoria Parker)
is killed on their wedding day.
He consults a psychic (Lake
Bell) and they start to fall for
each other, but complications
ensue when his fiancée’s ghost
tries to keep them apart. New
Line plans a Feb. 1 release just
in time for Valentine’s Day.
Luiso Berdejo’s thriller
“Daughter” stars Costner as a
single father who moves to a
farm with his two kids after a
painful divorce. When his
daughter (“Pan’s Labyrinth”
star Baquero, in her Englishlanguage debut) starts behaving ominously, he begins to
suspect that the burial mound
in a nearby field might have
something to do with it. Production is slated to begin ear-
MAKE
THE CALL
The THR Digital
Edition is on the
phone.
For more news
coverage, visit
hollywoodreporter.com
Asia
ly next year.
Both films are being sold
through Mandate International at AFM, along with Gold
Circle’s romantic comedy
“Chilled in Miami,” with
Renee Zellweger, Virginia
Madsen starrer “The Haunting
in Connecticut” and Joel Schumacher thriller “Town Creek.”
Berdejo and Lowell are
both first-time feature directors. “Quite often new directors add a freshness that
brings a hint of difference to
help the films cut through the
clutter of the marketplace,”
CEO Paul Brooks said.
“Body” is produced by
Brooks and Peter Safran
through his Safran Co. production banner, and “Daughter” is also produced by
Brooks. Gold Circle’s Norm
Waitt and Scott Niemeyer are
the executive producers on
both films, which are fully
financed by their company.
New Line president of production Toby Emmerich
announced the deals, which
were negotiated by Niemeyer
with New Line’s Carolyn
Blackwood.
Continued from page 1—
ducer of hit Asian remakes “The
Ring” and “Eight Below” and a
former buyer for Japan’s Asmik
Ace Entertainment, observes
that Asian domestic productions
are higher on the wish list than
some Hollywood product.
“Buyers in Asia won’t pay
high minimum guarantees for
Hollywood titles. For the same
amount, say $2 million in Japan
for example, they can just as easily make a whole movie at
home,” said Iso, who’s looking
at several projects for Asia.
The result at the AFM is that
there just aren’t that many buyers from Asia with a sense of
urgency this year, observers said.
Last year, Chris Weitz’s “The
Golden Compass” found itself
at the center of a maelstrom of
Asian interest, which saw
Shochiku secure it for Japanese
theaters. This year, there doesn’t
seem to have been a single U.S.
title to create a storm or pique
Asian interest.
And if sellers cast their minds
back four of five years ago, they
recall the heady days when companies such as Toho and Golden
Murphy
New York
Continued from page 1—
to take a job after her father dies.
The film is produced by Costa
Theo and Joy Mellins at Milcoz
Films and Peter La Terriere at
Future Films.
Global sales are being handled by Ellen Wander at Filmbridge International.
“Every time you write a script,
you can’t help but imagine someone in the role, in the case of
‘3.30 am’ it was Brittany Murphy
and only her,” Davis said. “She
has the range, the charisma and
the intelligence I need for this
very complex character. It’s a
director’s dream come true, when
you get the actor you want.”
“3:30 am” is scheduled for a
January shoot in North Carolina
and will take advantage of Future
Films’ U.S. tax credit package.
Murphy is represented by
David Unger at ICM.
Continued from page 1—
hollywoodreporter.com los a n ge le s 3 2 3 / 5 2 5 -2 0 00
•
|
Benelux, Falcom (Germany),
Village Roadshow (Greece),
Nordisk (Scandinavia), Imagem
(Brazil) and Quality Film (Latin
America). Christian Duguay’s
thriller “Boot Camp” sold to
Nordisk in Scandinavia, Telecinema for Spain, Nu Metro in
South Africa and Germany’s
ProSieben.
Other Kimmel titles selling
were Robert Logevall’s drama
“All God’s Children Can
Dance” to Roadshow (Greece),
Aqua (Turkey), Forum Film
(Israel), PT Camila (Indonesia), Sponge (South Korea).
Tarsem Singh’s apocalyptic
thriller “Unthinkable” went to
Movie-Eye (Japan), Senator
(Germany),
Metropolitan
(France) and PT Camila
(Indonesia).
Weinstein Co. president of
new york 646/654-5000
22
|
l o ndo n 44/207-420-6139
|
Harvest could be counted on to
pay good money for Asian territory rights, often closing key
gaps in production funding.
“Buyers are saying nothing is
hot,” said Mina Mita, deputy
director of the motion picture
department at Fuji TV, Japan’s
dominant film producer. “There’s
no urgency to buy so the market
just isn’t hustle-bustle.”
Ricky Tse, a seller from Media
Asia in Hong Kong quipped that
none of his Hong Kong buyer
buddies were interested in much
this year.
“There was huge interest in
Japanese films at Cannes, but
AFM is feeling rather slow,” Tse
said.
This echoes the sentiment at
the last big regional market in
Pusan, South Korea, where buyers said dealings were slow but
remained confident that there
would be projects to tie up at
AFM.
There have been deals started
at Pusan tied up here, but so far
they are few. One saw Beijingbased start-up Dadi Century
boarding Anthony Szeto’s
“Wushu,” a coming-of-age martial arts drama represented at the
market by Golden Network.
•
international Glen Basner also is
based on the East Coast, but
found plenty of action out West.
TWC acquired U.S. rights to
three French thrillers from Wild
Bunch:
Agnès
Merlet’s
“Dorothy Mills,” Pascal Laugier’s “Martyrs” and Marc Caro’s
sci-fi themed “Dante 01,”
which also included Canadian,
Australian and New Zealand
rights. Michal Podell and Maeva
Gatineau negotiated on behalf
of TWC, with Carole Baraton
from Wild Bunch.
The company also picked up
U.S. rights to Richard Attenborough’s wartime love story
“Closing the Ring,” starring
Shirley MacLaine, Brenda
Fricker, Christopher Plummer,
Mischa Barton, Neve Campbell
and Pete Postlethwaite, from
ContentFilm International.
TWC’s Barry Gordon and ContentFilm’s Jamie Carmichael
closed the deal.
•
beijing 86/10-6512-5511 (ext. 121)
day5_p23_revs2
Day 5
11/3/07
3:29 PM
Page 23
reviews
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Tomas Young, right, was
paralyzed by an AK-47
round in Iraq.
‘Body of War’
A
matter-of-fact but pointedly which his unarmored vehicle was
critical commentary on the attacked, and an AK-47 round
Iraq War, “Body of War” focuses pierced his spinal cord, leaving
on how soldiers got
him paralyzed.
sent to Iraq and the
We meet Tomas shortly
review
shape in which
before his marriage to
they’re
coming
Brie, a determined woman
back, leaving the
who we see searching
rest to the nightly
online for ways to help
news. A crowded marketplace control Tomas’ unpredictable
makes boxoffice unpredictable, bowels. Brie and Tomas’ mother,
but identification with a single Cathy, help him with large and
protagonist gives “War” some- small things during the film — at
thing to set it apart from other one point, the camera watches
antiwar documentaries. It also uncomfortably while Cathy puts
was tapped by Toronto as the a catheter in her son’s penis so he
second runner-up behind “East- can empty his bladder.
ern Promises” and first runnerTomas’ paralysis affects him in
up “Juno” as the audience award ways viewers might not expect.
winner.
His body can’t regulate its temLike men of another genera- perature, so he has to wear a vest
tion who enlisted after Pearl filled with ice packs when going
Harbor, Tomas Young joined to Crawford, Texas, to appear at
the Army on Sept. 13, 2001, one of Cindy Sheehan’s rallies.
after seeing President Bush stand He gets light-headed easily, so he
in front of Ground Zero rubble takes dramatic pauses while
and promise to hunt down those addressing a church gathering in
who attacked us. He expected to Brooklyn. Despite the discomgo to Afghanistan in the hunt for fort, he’s determined to travel
Osama bin Laden, but eventual- the country arguing against a
ly found himself shipped off to war he now sees as illegitimate.
Iraq. For about five days — after
In between scenes of this camhollywoodreporter.com los a n ge le s 3 2 3 / 5 2 5 -2 0 00
|
paign, filmmakers Ellen Spiro
and Phil Donahue cut back to
October 2003, when the White
House made its case for invading
Iraq. We hear the president make
assertions we now know to be
incorrect, and, damningly, we
hear his talking points parroted
by one senator after another
while Congress debates giving
him the authority to use military
force. Republicans are most
ardent in beating these tidbits of
misinformation into the public’s
mind, but “War” makes a point
of catching prominent figures
like Hillary Clinton doing exactly the same thing. John Kerry,
for his part, reports that Saddam
Hussein likely will have a nuclear
weapon within a year.
From the opening scenes and
through to the end, the film
returns to the roll call that followed this debate, mercilessly
listing every senator who voted
for the measure. It also returns
to footage of Sen. Robert Byrd,
aged but fiery, as he begs his colleagues not to give in to the
power grab. Byrd has taken his
share of ribbing on “The Daily
Show With Jon Stewart” for his
over-the-top oratorical style, but
he comes off as a hero here,
standing up for an unpopular
principle and foreseeing what
effects a “yea” vote would have.
The back-and-forth feels disjointed at points, but as we
spend time with Tomas — who
feels he’s not getting adequate
care from Army doctors — we
understand. Yes, the filmmakers
want to draw attention to the
plight of those who come home
disabled from Iraq. But they also
want to move beyond the easy
excoriation of President Bush
and remind us, indelibly, of each
legislator who gave him the keys
to the car.
This movie wants to help
make things better. But it also —
fervently, and for a purpose —
holds a grudge.
‘Look’
L
AS VEGAS — Contending that at any given moment there are about
30 million surveillance
cameras on covert display
in the U.S. alone, filmmaker Adam Rifkin incorporates a few dozen of them
in “Look,” a skillful examination of the things people
do when they think no
one’s looking.
Shot from the POV of
those security cameras, the
clever picture, which took
home the Grand Jury Prize
from this year’s CineVegas
Film Festival, blends sharp
satire with Orwellian chills
to intriguing effect.
“Look” neatly interweaves stories that unfold
in front of the unblinking
lenses of clandestine recording devices perched in
department store fitting
rooms, convenience stores,
hotel elevators, ATMs,
police car dashboards,
school parking lots and
even living rooms, keeping
tabs on would-be shoplifters, child predators,
abusive nannies and others
behaving badly. The film
forces us to see the 24/7
reality of our increasingly
voyeuristic society.
While others have
attempted similar highconcept productions —
Mike Figgis’ “Timecode”
comes to mind — writerdirector Rifkin really
makes it all work.
— John DeFore
more online
Full review and
credits available at
hollywoodreporter.com
new york 646/654-5000
23
Rifkin’s clever
film unfolds via
security cam.
|
l o ndo n 44/207-420-6139
— Michael Rechtschaffen
|
beijing 86/10-6512-5511 (ext. 121)
AmericanCinema_D5_11_04_07.indd 1
10/30/07 4:24:43 PM