The Hollywood Reporter

day3_p1 n1 b:001THRD3_n1
2/12/10
Q&A
Michael
Winterbottom
shares his
“Killer”
instincts.
SEE PAGE 6
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Berlin
the
Saturday
February 13, 2010
THR.com/berlin
By Scott Roxborough
H
arvey and Bob have given
up that corner office. The
Weinsteins Co.’s massive
first floor booth used to dominate the European Film Market.
It was a proud,
some might say
cocky, assertion
of TWC’s ambitions to own the
indie business in
the way Miramax
Harvey Weinstein
did in the 1990s.
That booth is
gone now. In its
place at the Martin Gropius Bau
are no less than
eight companies,
including EFM
Bob Weinstein
vets Bleiberg
Entertainment and Hollywood
Classics, alongside more regional sellers such as Al Arabia and
the Croatian Audiovisual Center.
It’s a trend seen across the
market. Big U.S. sellers — Focus
and Summit are two other examples — have pulled up stakes at
the EFM and are doing business
from the relative privacy of their
continued on page 26
WHAT’S INSIDE
>News Renny Harlin has
Georgia on his mind.
PAGE 3
>Reviews PAGE 8, 21, 22, 23
>Festival Screening Guide
PAGE 10, 12
>Market Screening Guide
PAGE 16, 24
EFM finds English accent
Euro producers say the word to make push into U.S.market
By Scott Roxborough
W
alking around the
European Film
Market you hear
just about as many
accents as there
are sellers. But step inside the
screening rooms and it’s hard to
mistake a new lingua franca
emerging from the foreign films
on display: English.
Whether it’s double Oscar
nominee “The Last Station,”
produced by Berlin’s Egoli Tossell
Film; “Brighton Rock,” StudioPASCAL LE SEGRETAIN/GETTY IMAGES
U.S.shinglesopt
forthesuitelife
3
Canal’s adaptation of the Graham Greene novel starring Helen
Mirren and Sam Riley; or Joel
Schumacher’s “Twelve,” co-produced by Gaumont, the trend is
clear. European production companies from Madrid to Munich
are moving into English-language features in a big way.
Some of the hottest new projects at the EFM this year are
English-language features
financed out of Europe.
Take “Ivanhoe,” a new bigscreen adaptation of Walter
Scott’s classic medieval tale that
Egoli Tossell and Spain’s Morena Films are producing. The
Euro shingle picked up the project, which has Iain Softley
attached to direct, from James
Jacks, who will also write and
produce. That a U.S. producer
continued on page 26
Spirited red carpet
Actors Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams
and Ewan McGregor have plenty to smile
about at Friday’s gala world premiere of
Roman Polanski’s “The Ghost Writer.”
‘The Ghost Writer’
REVIEW
R
By Kirk Honeycutt
oman Polanski is a filmmaker who could envelop an old
lady’s stroll along a boulevard with a sense of anxiety
and dread, so it’s a little odd that he hasn’t made more
thrillers in his career. “The Ghost Writer,” an out-and-out
thriller with international politics and war crimes as its
background, gives him a springboard to take a deep dive into
all the moody atmosphere, breathtaking betrayals, words
loaded in double meanings and heart-stopping threats that
make the genre so cinematic.
continued on page 8
‘Flower’power
luresWinstone
By Scott Roxborough
R
ay Winstone is reteaming
with his “Sexy Beast”
screenwriter David
Scinto for Scinto’s directorial
debut “Night
Flower.”
Ben Whishaw
(“Bright Star”)
Winstone
and Andrew
Garfield (“The Imaginarium of
Doctor Parnassus”) are in talks
continued on page 26
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news
digest
Par picks ‘Extract’
Paramount has picked up the
Mike Judge-directed comedy
“Extract” from ContentFilm
for release in the U.K. “Extract,”
starring Jason Bateman and
Mila Kunis, follows a factory
owner whose world is turned
upside down by an accident at
work. Paramount plans to
release the film March 26 in
the U.K. and Ireland.
‘Paper’ trail
MADRID — Imagina
International in Berlin has
picked up international rights
to one of Spain’s hottest titles
for the coming season, writerdirector Emilio Aragon’s
“Paper Birds.” Aragon’s $9 million directorial debut is produced by Madrid-based
Versatil and Globomedia, with
Hispano Fox handling Spanish
theatrical and DVD rights.
THR.com/berlin
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Harlin goes to war for love
Action helmer takes new direction for ‘most personal movie’
R
By Borys Kit
thriller, at EFM
on Friday, calling
the war film the
“most personal
movie of my
career.”
Harlin, the
Harlin
director of such
high-flying
action movies as “Die Hard 2”
and “Cliffhanger,” found his last
few films wanting and was
looking for a change in direc-
enny Harlin was determined to go in a different direction with his
newest film, “even” if it
meant doing a love
story. He went there with a
Georgian battalion that included tanks, choppers, jets and
thousands of soldiers.
Harlin unveiled footage of
“Georgia,” his latest action
Checkmark’sthespot
fornewtwo-picpact
By Scott Roxborough
Oy, NonStop go 3D
Finnland’s Oy Filmkompaniet
and Swedish sales outfit
NonStop have arrived in Berlin
with the first footage from
“Moomins and the Comet
Chase,” the first-ever Nordic
3D film. Directed by Maria
Lindberg and based on the
best-selling children’s books
by Finnish illustrator and
writer Tove Jansson,
“Moomins” follows the adventures of a family of blobish
white trolls. The first
“Moomin” film, “Moomin and
Midsummer Madness” sold
theatrical to over 10 countries.
MCGREGOR PHOTO: SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES
‘Melancholia’ baby
Russia’s Central Partnership
and Polish Gutek Film, both distributors on Lars Von Trier’s
“Antichrist,” have boarded the
Danish director’s new in development project, “Melancholia.”
TrustNordisk closed the presales on the eve of the EFM.
“Melancholia” is being billed as
a psycological disaster film and
will mark Von Trier’s first foray
into science fiction.
Los Angeles 323.525.2000
tion. He switched agencies last
year and gave his new team a
mandate.
“I’ve been making movies for
25 years and it’s great and I love it,
but even if it sounds pretentious,
I really wanted to make something that makes me feel like I’m
doing something that means
something,” Harlin said after the
first screening of his 15-minute
showreel.“I told them to find
continued on page 25
KODAK MOMENT: Ewan McGregor snaps some shots
of his own during Friday’s “Ghost Writer” photocall.
Polanski’sspirithoversoverpresser
By Scott Roxborough
for all of us,” said the film’s producer, Robert Benmussa.
Rumors that Polanski would
continued on page 25
Roman Polanski was the
ghost at the Berlin news conference Friday following the world
premiere of his new film.
Under house arrest at his
chalet in Switzerland and facing
possible extradition to the U.S. on
a decades old charge of unlawful
sex with a 13-year-old, Polanski
couldn’t make it to the Berlin
competition premiere of “The
Ghost Writer.” But his presence in
the room was almost palpable.
“That Roman Polanksi is not
at the center of this podium, is
something that is very strange
Canadian sales and financing
outfit Cinesavvy has inked a
two-pic deal
with L.A.-based
Checkmark
Films that will
see Checkmark
put up P+A
financing for
Cinesavvy proBerry
ductions
“Frankie &
Alice” and “Cell 213,” both of
which Cinesavvy is premiering
at the EFM.
“Frankie & Alice” is a psychological drama starring Halle
Berry as a woman suffering
continued on page 25
Quintet join ‘Monster’ lineup
By Borys Kit
Adam Goldberg, Jay Harrington and Danny Huston are lining
up to do voice work in “A Monster in Paris,” an animated movie
“Shark Tale” co-director Bibo
Bergeron is working on for
Europacorp.
Bob Balaban and Catherine
O’Hara are also joining the
voice cast, which already
includes French pop singer
Vanessa Paradis.
Written by Stephane Kazandjian and Bergeron, the story, set in
Paris in 1910, follows a shy movie
continued on page 25
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THR.com/berlin
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Berlin wears Sundance stamp
Pairjourneyto
‘PromisedLand’
Distant festivals have long enjoyed a symbiotic relationship
By Jay A. Fernandez
By Stuart Kemp
P
ark City and Berlin may not
have alot in common, but
they are sharing some hot
festival titles this year.
Lisa Cholodenko’s crowdpleasing comedy “The Kids Are
All Right,” Debra Granik’s grand
jury prize-winning drama
“Winter’s Bone” and Michael
Winterbottom’s polarizing noir
“The Killer Inside Me” all
booked flights to Europe after
their Stateside bows to screen at
the 60th Berlinale.
The Berlinale typically
launches just 10 days after
Sundance has run its course,
and the two often share films.
Last year, Berlin added Lone
Scherfig’s “An Education” after
its buzzy Park City premiere as
well as Oren Moverman’s drama
“The Messenger.” Both recently
fielded Oscar nominations. (On
the other hand, Winterbottom’s
Sundance 2010 doc “The Shock
Doctrine” actually premiered in
Berlin the year before.)
Among the other popular or
intriguing festival films moving
LONDON — Colin Firth
and Matthew Macfadyen
are lining up alongside Jim
Sturgess to star in Michael
Winterbottom’s “The
Promised
Land,” backers
said Thursday.
“Promised”
is
being
Firth
repped worldwide at the European Film
Market here by Fortissimo
Films, which is partnering
with Winterbottom and
producing partner Andrew
Eaton’s production banner
Revolution Films to make
the movie.
Winterbottom is traveling to the Berlinale to
present “The Killer Inside
Me” in competition and
said he is casting
“Promised.”
Billed as a political crime
thriller set in British-ruled
Palestine at the end of
World War II, “Promised”
is written by Laurence
Coriat.
“The Killer Inside Me”
purchased U.S., U.K., German
and South African rights to
“Kids,” which shows what happens when the teenage children
of a married lesbian couple seek
out their sperm donor, for just
south of $5 million.
Roadside Attractions acquired
North American rights to the dark
thriller “Winter’s Bone”; and
despite the controversy “Killer
Inside Me” kicked up because of
its scenes of brutally realistic
beatings of women, IFC Films
picked up U.S. rights to the film
for north of $1 million.”
Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s “Howl,” which follows the
1957 obscenity trial sparked by
Allen Ginsberg’s infamous Beatera poem, will screen in competition at the Berlinale, as will
Winterbottom’s “Killer.” ∂
from Sundance to Berlin are the
Banksy-directed street art documentary “Exit Through the
Gift Shop,” Nicole Holofcener’s
Catherine Keener-Rebecca Hall
comedy “Please Give” and a
Spike Jonze short about robot
love called “I’m Here.”
Less high-profile Sundance
titles “Peepli Live,” “Boy,” “Bran
Nue Dae,” “Waste Land” and
opening-day premiere “Howl”
also scored Berlin slots, as well.
“Please Give” already had a
pre-fest home at Sony Pictures
Classics, but Cholodenko’s,
Granik’s and Winterbottom’s
films all picked up distribution
at Sundance. Focus Features
snapshot
FEB. 14, 2004: Fatih Akin’s
FATIH PHOTO: SOEREN STACHE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
“Head-On” wins Golden Bear.
“Head-On” almost didn’t make it to Berlin.
The “dirty little punk movie,” as Fatih Akin
described it, was an eleventh-hour addition to
the competition lineup. Slotting in a lowbudget feature about the lives of thirdgeneration Turkish immigrants living in
Hamburg had the taste of tokenism about it. It
looked as if “Head-On” would go the way of
most of the Berlinale’s German entries: straight
to obscurity. After all, a German film hadn’t won in Berlin since 1986. Instead, it
triumphed. Akin pumped his arm in the air when jury president Frances
McDormand called out his name and he bounded on stage.
“He looked like (director Rainer Werner) Fassbinder, that’s who he reminded
me of,” actress Hanna Schygulla recalls thinking as she watched the ceremony on
TV. “He had that same energy, that same feeling of ‘I’m here, I’ve arrived.’”
With “Head-On” a new wave of German cinema had arrived. “Head-On”
followed its Golden Bear by sweeping the German and European Film Awards. It
launched Akin’s career. His next gig would be jury duty in Cannes and then a slot in
Cannes competition (for “The Edge of Heaven”).
Less happy was the reaction to Sibel Kekilli, whose breakout performance was
a highlight of “Head-On.” After the Golden Bear win, German tabloids uncovered
Kekilli’s past as an adult film star and splashed it on the front pages. Her
conservative Turkish family disowned her.
— Scott Roxborough
Los Angeles 323.525.2000
Two pics on tap for Madsen
By Scott Roxborough
Danish director Ole Christian
Madsen, whose last feature,
“Flame & Citron,” was the
biggest Danish boxoffice hit in
decades, has arrived in Berlin
with his two follow-up projects.
Madsen and producers Nimbus are looking to nail down
financing for the comedy
“Superclasico” and the beatnik
biopic “Eik.”
In “Superclasico,” Anna, a
Danish soccer agent, falls for a
hunky Argentinean player and
heads to Buenos Aires, pursued
by her estranged husband,
Christian. Starring Anders W.
Berthelsen and Paprika Steen,
it is set to begin principle photography May 10.
“Eik” is a period biopic on
’ 60s beatnik poet Eik Skaloe,
described by some as the Danish Jim Morrison. Shooting is
planned for 2011.
The Match Factory will be
handling world sales on both
titles. ∂
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q&a
THR.com/berlin
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of “The Killer Inside Me,”
There has already been a film
made of the novel. Is it correct you
didn’t watch it before you made
yours and if so why not?
Winterbottom: I didn’t realize
there had been a film until I met
with (producer Chris) Hanley,
and when I found out, I deliberately didn’t watch it. I still
haven’t watched it. I wanted the
film to be very literal to the
book and I didn’t want to
remake any film.
penned for the big screen by John Curran and based on a novel by sometime
Stanley Kubrick scriptwriter Jim Thompson, rounds off more than two
decades in the director’s chair for the filmmaker. His vision of a West Texas
deputy sheriff slowly unmasked as a psychotic killer ruffled feathers when
it unspooled in Sundance last month because of its graphic depictions of
murder and violence, particularly toward women. Winterbottom, a festival
circuit doyen with Golden and Silver Bear awards from Berlin already on his
shelves, talks to The Hollywood Reporter’s U.K. bureau chief Stuart Kemp
about adapting a work with Kubrick’s shadow over it, working with Casey
Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson and Bill Pullman, and the bloody question of screen violence.
How did you come to this project?
Michael Winterbottom: I read
the book. We had been working
a little bit on a gangster film set
in Manchester (England). About
that time, I read (Jim) Thompson’s book and thought it would
be perfect to do it as it is (on
film). (Producing partner
Andrew Eaton and I) looked into
who had the rights and found
out two U.S. producers Chris
Hanley and Brad Schlei had
them. We got in touch and they
said they had been trying to
make it for 12 years or so. So we
met with them, I said I was
interested in directing a film
version and we put it together
with them.
This was the first time you’ve shot
a film in America. How did you
find the experience?
Winterbottom: It was good.
There was a lot of hanging
around waiting for the money to
come through because it was
such an independent film. We
shot in Oklahoma, right in middle America. The actual shoot
was good because it is such a
good cast. It was quite a simple
shoot and no different to shooting in the U.K. or even
Afghanistan for that matter.
The casting for “The Killer Inside
Me” has been described as brilliant in several notices. How
involved were you in choosing
your leading men and women?
Winterbottom: We worked with
a U.S. casting director. (The U.S.
producers) sent me (John Curran’s) script and I just slightly
amended it to bring it back to
Los Angeles 323.525.2000
How was working with Casey
Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson and Bill Pullman?
Winterbottom: Everyone knew
it was a low-budget indie film
shooting in Oklahoma with no
frills. They were all great. Casey
is in almost every shot and certainly every scene so he was there
all day, every day and the others
came in for a couple of days at a
time and did their scenes. So
the original novel because I
wanted to make a film as close to
the source book as possible. The
first person we cast was Casey
(Affleck) as Lou Ford, and
everyone else was cast around
that afterward.
You’ve directed everything from
literary adaptations to science fiction, comedy to family drama.
Why film noir?
Winterbottom: It was really just
by chance rather than design. To
be honest, I made “Butterfly
Kiss,” about a female serial
killer, so it wasn’t that new to
me. In both cases the killers and
their relationships were similarly crazy in some shape or form
while being in love with the
things they wanted to destroy.
Stanley Kubrick, for whom Jim
Thompson wrote “The Killing”
and “Paths of Glory,” famously
described the novel as “probably
the most chilling and believable
first-person story of a criminally
warped mind I have ever
encountered.” Was it
intimidating as a filmmaker approaching
something with a
For more Q&A
Kubrick connection?
with Michael
Winterbottom: It’s a
Winterbottom
good recommendation
go to
and a very sensible idea
THR.com/berlin
by the publishers to put
Kubrick’s quote on the
cover (of the novel). It wasn’t like
we tried to remake a Kubrick film.
It’s not really that connected to
Kubrick. I don’t think Jim
Thompson had an altogether
comfortable relationship with
Kubrick, for what it’s worth.
vital stats
Michael Winterbottom
Nationality: British
Born: March 26, 1961
Film In Berlin: “The Killer Inside
Me” In Competition
Selected filmography: “Jude”
(1996), “Welcome to Sarajevo”
(1997),” “In This World” (2002), “A
Cock and Bull Story” (2005), “The
Road to Guantanamo” (2006), “A
Mighty Heart” (2007), “The Shock
Doctrine” (2009).
Notable Awards: BAFTA foreignlanguage nod for “In This World,”
Berlin Silver Bear for “The Road to
Guantanamo,” Berlin Golden Bear
for “In This World,” Edinburgh best
new British film for “Jude.”
each day was Casey plus one, but
it was easy from my point of view
because I just got to concentrate
on the performances.
“The Killer Inside Me” had its world
premiere at Sundance and ruffled
a few feathers over its shocking
violence. How do you see it?
Winterbottom: Jim Thompson is writing a noir, so you
know there is going to be
murder and violence. I
found the book very violent
and very shocking when I
read it, especially when you
think it was written in 1952.
There is an area of film noir
that can be quite tender and
you feel for the killer. But
here the violence is shocking
and Lou Ford is killing the people closest to him and who love
him. It makes you think about
what’s wrong with the world
and made you think about the
shocking violence. I think it’s
more moral to show violence
as shocking and horrifying
than it being made to appear
pleasurable.
Are there any other movies in
the Berlinale you’ll be hoping to
see while you’re in Berlin?
Winterbottom: Our film
is right at the end so we’re
probably only going to be able
to get there the day before,
so maybe one of two
things. ∂
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ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS MORRIS
day3_p6 qa winterbottom f:006THRD3_qa
21.00 H FRIEDRICHSTADTPALAST
IN COMPETITION
BAVARIA FILM INTERNATIONAL
SCREENINGS OF SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13 TH
09.00 H CINESTAR 1 MARKET
12.30 H CINEMAXX 15 MARKET
17.30 H CINEMAXX 1 MARKET
Martin Gropius Bau | Stand No 12
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The Hollywood Reporter | Saturday, February 13, 2010
| reviews
‘Ghost Writer’
> COMPETITION
continued from page 1
BOTTOM LINE Polanski is in a
This is certainly one of the
director’s most commercial
films in a while, perhaps since
his great thriller “Chinatown,”
though this is a slicker, shallower exercise. It’s hypnotic as it
unfolds but once the credit roll
frees you from its grip, it doesn’t
bear close scrutiny.
Summit Entertainment has a
sure-fire boxoffice hit domestically. The film should do equally well in overseas territories.
In “The Ghost Writer,”
Polanski most clearly means to
evoke Hitchcock. Like the master, Polanski builds his scenes
through ominous music, the
rhythms of his editing, a
heightened sense of place and a
central figure, an innocent, who
struggles to gain control of a
living nightmare.
It’s one of the story’s amusing
conceits that this figure is a
writer. Not an investigative
journalist or high-minded novelist, mind you, but a guy who
Hitchcock mode here with a
sleek though superficial thriller.
DIRECTOR: Roman Polanski.
SCREENWRITERS: Roman Polanski,
Robert Harris. PRODUCERS: Roman
Polanski, Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde,
Timothy Burrill. Rated PG-13, 128 minutes.
under suspicious circumstances. Had he stumbled upon
a dark secret?
So the ghost writer — he is
not given a name — confronts a
manuscript in sore need of
rewriting plus the possibility
that it contains a hint of what
may have caused its writer’s
death. He also confronts an
unusual working arrangement.
It seems the ex-PM is holed
up in a seaside town on an island
off the eastern United States.
The former British leader is cut
off from the world, living in a
security bubble with a frosty
“ghosts” celebrity memoirs. His
last one was about a magician.
This time the ghost writer
(Ewan McGregor) hits the jackpot in the form of former British
Prime Minister Adam Lang
(Pierce Brosnan), and it’s a quick
job with a lucrative payday
He quickly has two reasons to
worry. Moments after landing
the job, a former cabinet minister accuses Lang of authorizing
the illegal rendition of British
subjects for torture by the CIA.
Secondly, he is the second
writer on the job. The first,
Lang’s longtime aide, drowned
wife Ruth (Olivia Williams); an
aide Amelia (Kim Cattrall), who
may be his mistress; and an
always present if not oppressive
security detail.
The drumbeat from the outside world over the war crimes
allegations hits the compound
with greater force than the winter storms outside, bringing
protestors and reporters. The
writer struggles to make sense
of the small contradictions in
his client’s story, mixed signals
from his wife and a perceived
threat lurking “out there” that
never quite reveals itself.
This is not the kind of thriller
that requires a lot of action.
Rather, unease creeps into every
word and deed. ∂
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| New York 646.654.5000 | London +44.207.420.6139 | Beijing +86.139.1118.1756 |
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<HEC <B7D:;HI
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12:41 PM
Page 1
>>> festival
screenings
Titles in bold; competition films in black
THR.com/berlin
Saturday, February 13, 2010
I]Z HZXgZi EVhhV\Z
Portrait of the
Fighter as a
Young Man
IYh[[d_d] jeZWo
%.#%% " >B6M (9 Hdcn 8ZciZg
IWb[i0
Forum, Cubix 7 (E); The AllAround Reduced
Personality - Outtakes,
Germany, 98 mins, Forum,
CineStar 8 (E)
>TODAY
9:30 Howl, U.S., 90 mins,
Competition,
Friedrichstadtpalast (D)
13:00 La Pivellina, Austria,
Italy, 100 mins, Generation
Kplus, Zoo Palast 1 (E); For
the Good of the Others,
Spain, 107 mins, Panorama
Special, CinemaxX 7 (E); Run
If You Can, Germany, 112
mins, Perspektive Deutsches
Kino, Colosseum 1 (E);
Salvatore Giuliano, 135
mins, Retrospective PLAY IT
AGAIN ...!, CinemaxX 8 (E)
10:30 Twigson, Norway, 75
mins, Zoo Palast 1 (E)
IYh[[d_d] jeZWo
&*#%% " 8^cZbVmM '
11:00 Kawasaki’s Rose,
Czech Republic, 100 mins,
Panorama Special, CinemaxX
7 (E); The Sun, Russian
Federation- Italy/FranceSwitzerland, 110 mins,
Retrospective PLAY IT AGAIN
...!, CinemaxX 8 (E); Neukölln
Unlimited, Germany, 96
mins, Generation 14plus,
Babylon (Mitte) (E); Trace of
the Bears, Germany, 94 mins,
Berlinale Special,
International (E)
IWb[i0
13:30 Mein Kampf,
Germany/Switzerland/Austria,
109 mins, German Cinema,
CinemaxX 1 (E); My
Childhood, U.K., 48 mins,
Forum, Kino Arsenal 1 (D); My
Ain Folk, U.K., 55 mins,
Forum, Kino Arsenal 1 (D); My
Way Home, U.K., 71 mins,
Forum, Kino Arsenal 1 (D)
11:30 The Door, Germany, 103
mins, German Cinema,
CinemaxX 1 (E)
IYh[[d_d] jeZWo
'%#%% " 8^cZbVmM &(
IWb[i0
lll#[aVcYZgh^bV\Z#Xdb
:;B hiVcY <( B<7
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Los Angeles 323.525.2000
12:00 The Ghost Writer,
France, Germany, U.K., 128
mins, Competition,
Friedrichstadtpalast (D); All
My Tumbler Girls Or All
About Women Who Dare To
..., Germany, 82 mins,
Panorama Dokumente,
CineStar 7 (E)
14:00 The Oath, U.S., 96
mins, Forum, Delphi
Filmpalast (E); Last
Address, U.S., 9 mins,
Panorama Supporting Film,
International; New York
Memories, Germany, 89
mins, Panorama Dokumente,
International
14:30, Making the Boys,
U.S., 93 mins, Panorama
Dokumente, CineStar 7;
12:30 Sona, the Other
Myself, Japan, Republic of
Korea (South Korea), 82 mins,
I Miss You, Mexico,
Argentina, 96 mins,
Generation 14plus, Babylon
(Mitte) (E); Phobidilia,
Israel, 86 mins, Panorama
Special, Cubix 9 (E)
15:00 Imani, Uganda,
Sweden, 82 mins, Forum,
Cubix 7 (D); Portrait of the
Fighter as a Young Man,
Romania, 163 mins, Forum,
CineStar 8 (E); The
Complete Metropolis, Panel
discussion, Retrospective
Events, Deutsche Kinemathek
15:30 My Name Is Khan,
India, 165 mins,
Competition,
Friedrichstadtpalast (D,
E);Yuki & Nina, France,
Japan, 92 mins, Generation
Kplus, Zoo Palast 1 (E);Arias
With a Twist: The
DocuFantasy, U.S., 88 mins,
Panorama Dokumente,
Colosseum 1; Whisky mit
Wodka, Germany, 108 mins,
German Cinema, CinemaxX 1
(E); Central Station,
Brazil/France, 112 mins,
Retrospective PLAY IT AGAIN
...!, CinemaxX 8 (E)
16:00 The Dream of Norma,
Germany, 7 mins, Forum
Expanded @ Auto Kino!,
Temporäre Kunsthalle; Flight
through the Night, Federal
Rep. Germany, 90 mins,
| New York 646.654.5000 | London +44.207.420.6139 | Beijing +86.139.1118.1756 |
10
continued on page 12
THR.com/berlin
|
day 3
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2/9/10 9:58 AM
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2/11/10
12:41 PM
Page 2
The Hollywood Reporter | Saturday, February 13, 2010
Festival
continued from page 10
Forum Expanded @ Auto
Kino!, Temporäre Kunsthalle;
5 lessons and 9 questions
about Chinatown, U.S., 10
mins, Berlinale Shorts
Competition, CinemaxX 6 (E);
I Am Always On Top,
Germany, 18 mins, Berlinale
Shorts Competition,
CinemaxX 6 (E); Out in that
Deep Blue Sea, Canada, 16
mins, Berlinale Shorts
Competition, CinemaxX 6 (E);
The Descent, Israel, 20 mins,
Berlinale Shorts Competition,
CinemaxX 6 (E); Be Loved,
Germany, 16 mins, Berlinale
Shorts Competition,
CinemaxX 6 (E)
16:30 Road, Movie, India,
U.S., 95 mins, Generation
14plus, CinemaxX 3 (E); I’m in
Trouble!, Republic of Korea
(South Korea), 98 mins,
Forum, Delphi Filmpalast (E);
If I Want To Whistle, I
Whistle, Romania, Sweden,
94 mins, Competition,
Berlinale Palast (D);
17:00 Bran Nue Dae, 88
festival | screenings
mins, Australia, Generation
14plus, Babylon (Mitte) (E); II
giardino dei Finzi
Contini/The Garden of the
Finzi-Continis,
Italy/Germany, 95 mins,
Retrospective PLAY IT
AGAIN...! (I); Waste Land,
U.K., Brazil, 99 mins,
Panorama Dokumente,
International (E);
Friedensschlag - Das Jahr
der Entscheidung/To Fight
For - The Year Of Decision,
Germany, 107 mins, Panorama
Documente, CineStar 7 (E);
Monga, Taiwan, 140 mins,
Taiyu Panorama Special,
Cubix 9 (E)
17:45 Jolly Fellows, Rusian
Federation, Panorama,
CineStar 3 (E)
18:00 Berlin Schoenhauser Corner,
German Democratic Republic,
81 mins, Homage, CinemaxX 8
(E); Prick Up Your Ears!
Talk with Stephen Frears,
Deutsche Kinemathek
18:30 Run If You Can,
Germany, 112 mins, Berlinale
Goes Kiez, Toni & Tonino (E)
19:00 When We Leave,
Germany, 119 mins, Panorama
Special, Zoo Palast 1 (E);
Eastern Drift, France/
Lithuania/Russian Federation,
111 mins, Forum, Delphi
Filmpalast (E)
17:30 The Ghost Writer,
France-Germany-U.K., 128
mins, Competition, Urania
(D); David Wants To Fly,
Germany-Austria-Switzerland,
96 mins, Panorama
Dokumente, Cubix 7 (E);
Head Cold, GermanyHungary, 93 mins, Forum, Kino
Arsenal 1 (E); Rabbit
Without Ears 2, Germany,
124 mins, CinemaxX 1 (E);
Berlinale Shorts, Berlinale
Shorts Competition,
Colosseum 1 (E)
19:15 Orly, Germany-France,
84 mins, Forum, CineStar 8
(E); Shutter Island, U.S., 138
mins, Out of Competition,
Berlinale Palast (D)
19:30 The Marriage of Maria
Braun, Federal Rep. Germany,
120 mins, Retrospective PLAY
IT AGAIN...!, Zeughauskino
(E); Gentlemen Broncos,
U.S., 89 mins, Gerneration
14plus, Babylon (Mitte); Black
Bus, Israel, 76 mins, Forum,
CinemaxX 4 (E); The Boy
Who Wouldn’t Kill, Germany,
25 mins, Perspektive
Deutsches Kino, CinemaxX 3
(E); Glebs Film, Germany, 27
mins, Perspektive Deutsches
Kino; Hollywood Drama,
Germany, 25 mins,
Perspektive Deutsches Kino
20:00 Kanikosen, Japan,
109 mins, Forum, Colosseum 1
(D); Crab Trap, ColombiaFrance, 96 mins, Forum, Cubix
9 (E); The Mouth of the
Wolf, Italy, 75 mins, Forum,
Kino Arsenal 1 (E); The Night,
Italy-France, Retrospective
PLAY IT AGAIN...!, CinemaxX 8
(E); I Shot My Love, Israel, 70
mins, Panorama Dokumente,
CineStar7 (E); The
Actresses, Republic of Korea
(South Korea), 104 mins,
Panorama, CinemaxX 7 (E);
Howl, U.S., 90 mins,
Competition, International
(D)
20:15 Son of Babylon, IraqU.K.-France-United Arab
Emirates, Qatar, 90 mins,
Panorama, CineStar 3
(E);Missing Man, Russian
Federation, 96 mins,
Panorama Special, Cubix 7&8
Interlock (E)
20:30 My Name Is Khan,
India, 165 mins, Out of
Competition, Urania (D,E);
Run If You Can, Germany, 112
Los Angeles 323.525.2000
mins, Perspektive Deutsches
Kino, CinemaxX 1 (E); Crash
Site/My Never Ending
Burial Plot, Austria, 69 mins,
Forum Expanded, Hebbel am
Ufer - HAU 2
21:00 Henri 4, GermanyFrance-Spain-Austria, 155
mins, Berlinale Special Gala,
Friedrichstadtpalast (E)
21:30 A Crowd of Three,
Japan, 131 mins, Forum, Delphi
Filmpalast (E); Berlinale
Goes Kiez Die Frau und der
Fremde/The Woman and
the Stranger, German
Democratic Republic, 97 mins,
Berlinale Goes Kiez, Toni &
Tonino (E)
21:45 How Much Does Your
Building Weigh, Mr.
Foster?, U.K.-Spain, 72 mins,
Berlinale Special, Cinema
Paris (D); Loose Cannons,
Italy, 110 mins, Panorama
Special, Zoo Palast 1 (E)
22:00 The Deer Hunter, U.S.,
183 mins, Retrospective PLAY
IT AGAIN...!, CineStar 8; The
Counting of the Damages,
Argentina, Forum, cinemaxX 4
(E); The Forbidden Christ,
Italy, 110 mins, Retrospective
PLAY IT AGAIN...!,
Zeughauskino (D,F);
Berlinale Shorts IV. Berlinale
Shorts Competition,
CinemaxX 3 (E); The LIghts
of Asakusa, Japan, 77 mins,
Forum, Kino Arsenal 1 (E)
22:15 I Am, Russian
Ferderation, 88 mins, Forum,
Cubix 9 (E)
22:30 The Ghost Writer,
France-Germany-U.K., 128
mins, Competition,
International (D); Initiation,
Austria, 92 mins, Panorama,
CinemaxX 7 (E); In the White
City, Switzerland-Portugal,
108 mins, Retrospective PLAY
IT AGAIN...!, CinemaxX 8 (E);
Southern District, Bolivia,
109 mins, Panorama, Cubix
7&8 Interlock (E); Rock
Hudson - Dark and
Handsome Stranger,
Germany, 95 mins, Panorama
Dokumente, CineStar 7 (E);
Herbert White, U.S., 14 mins,
Panorama Supporting Film,
Colosseum 1; The Feast of
Stephen, U.S., 4 mins,
Panorama Supporting Film;
Open, U.S., 88 mins,
Panorama
22:45
Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll,
U.K., 115 mins, Panorama,
CineStar 3; Submarino,
Denmark, 110 mins,
Competition, Berlinale
Palast (D)
| New York 646.654.5000 | London +44.207.420.6139 | Beijing +86.139.1118.1756 |
12
THR.com/berlin
|
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day3_p14 revs2 b:014THRD3_revs
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Page 1
reviews
THR.com/berlin
Saturday, February 13, 2010
‘Imani’
By Neil Young
T
he 40th year of the Berlinale Forum gets off to a
low-key start with Ugandan-Swedish co-production
“Imani,” in which director-producer-editor Caroline Kamyi –
a Kampala-born, Londontrained graduate of the festival’s
Talent Campus — makes a halfhearted transition from shorts
and TV to the big screen.
A disappointingly conventional choice for a Berlinale
section designed to showcase
innovation and risk-taking,
“Imani” (which, according to
press-notes, translates as
“Faith”) is essentially a trio of
shorts chopped together into a
feature. The whole is less than
the sum of the parts, and those
parts aren’t any great shakes to
begin with. Festivals highlighting African cinema and female
filmmakers may want to take a
look, but otherwise prospects
are dim.
The main problem is the
script by Kamya’s anthropologist sister Agnes — one strand
of which is “partly inspired” by
Judith Adong’s child-soldier
story “Shadow of Tinted Soul.”
Rather than properly developing any of the three stories, the
Kamya sisters instead cut
CDL
an inner-city music event.
Nanfuka and Buyi are engaging performers and cope well
with underwritten characters.
But each story is dramatized in
such perfunctory fashion that
it’s hard to care about the characters. We’re never actually told,
for example, if the introverted
Olwenyi was a child-soldier, or if
Mary’s sister actually killed her
husband. When the film ends,
it’s a jarringly abrupt termination rather than a satisfactory
climax for tales whose characters’ paths never actually cross.
The digital RED camera is
used by DP Andrew Coppin and
yields slick images of cityscapes
and dusty rural vistas, but
director Kamya deploys Ragnar
Grippe’s synth-electronic score
somewhat arbitrarily between
them. An opening on-screen
title-card that quotes Paul
Thomas Anderson’s “Magnolia” indicates their model, but
the Kamyas do little with
what’s become an overfamiliar
school of scriptwriting.
There’s potential in each
story: Kampala maid Mary
(Rehema Nanfuka) must quickly raise cash to bail out her sister, a victim of domestic abuse
who has apparently killed her
violent husband; traumatized
“child of war” Olwenyi
(Stephen Ocen) returns home to
the countryside after a spell in a
“rehabilitation center”; breakdancer Armstrong (Philip Buyi)
must deal with a gang-lord exschoolmate as he tries to stage
H=DDI>C<
> FORUM
BOTTOM LINE Three uninvolving
tales of life in present-day
Uganda unfold in parallel with
underwhelming results.
DIRECTOR: Caroline Kamya.
PRODUCTION: iVAD International
Ltd., Kampala, Cinepost Studios AB,
Stockholm. CAST: Rehema Nanfuka,
Philip Buyi, Stephen Ocen, Vincent
Ochen, Paul Ssenyonga.
(along with vocal and instrumental tracks by local musicians) in heavy-handed fashion
with counterproductive consequences. Her occasional directorial “flourishes” — brief slowmotion or shuttering effects —
likewise fail to energize a frustratingly inert enterprise. ∂
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;>AB 8DBB>HH>DC
VkV^aVWaZ
mmm$beYWj_ed\bWdZ[hi$Yec
:;B 7ddi] <( B<7
MVSSV^ \Z VU !
Los Angeles 323.525.2000
| New York 646.654.5000 | London +44.207.420.6139 | Beijing +86.139.1118.1756 |
14
THR.com/berlin
|
day 3
DadiEntB_D3_02_13_10.indd 1
2/11/10 10:16 AM
day3_p16,24 screen_mkt c:016THRD3_mktguide
2/11/10
12:39 PM
Page 1
>>> market
screenings
>TODAY
8:50 A Step Into the
Darkness, Turkey, 110 mins,
Insomnia World Sales,
Cinemaxx 8
9:00 Confucius, China, 125
mins, Dadi Century (Beijing)
Limited, Cinestar 7; The Blonde
With Bare Breasts, France, 101,
Wild Bunch, Cinestar 2; Van
Diemen’s Land, Australia, 104
mins, Bavaria Film International,
Cinestar 1; The Infidel, U.K., 105
mins, Salt, Cinemaxx 3;
Gordos, Spain, 102 mins,
Imagina International Sales,
Dffb - Kino; Last Chance
Mumbai, India, 105 mins, High
Point Media Group, Arsenal 2;
Marpiccolo, Italy, 87 mins,
Intramovies, Cinemaxx Studio
11; Of Love and Other
Demons, Colombia, 97 mins,
Latido, Cinestar 6; Chain
Letter, U.S., 90 mins, New
Films International, Cinemaxx 1;
Golden Gun, Argentina, 0 mins,
Montecristo International,
Marriott 3; The Wedding Cake,
France, 93 mins, Films
Distribution, Cinestar 4; Barry
Munday, U.S., 83 mins, T&C
Pictures Int’l, Cinemaxx Studio
17; Mythic Journeys, U.S., 97
mins, Arrow Entertainment,
Marriott 2; Mugabe and the
White African, U.K., 88 mins,
Hanway Films, Mgb - Kino;
Good Morning Aman, Italy,
105 mins, Istituto Luce
Spa/Cinecitta Luce, Cinemaxx 9
9:30 The Famous and the
Dead, Brazil, 95 mins,
Umedia, Cinemaxx Studio 16;
Alamar, Mexico, 73 mins,
MK2, Cinemaxx Studio 13; Au
Revoir Taipei, Taiwan, U.S.,
Germany, 85 mins, Beta Film,
Cinemaxx 5; Cargo,
Switzerland, 119 mins,
Telepool Gmbh, Cinemaxx 2;
The Athlete, Unknown, 93
mins, Arrow Entertainment,
Cinestar 5; Girlfriends, Korea
(South), 119 mins, Mirovision
Inc., Cinemaxx Studio 18;
Passing Strange, U.S., 135
mins, Elephant Eye Films,
Marriott 1; Holy Money,
Belgium, 100 mins,
Fabrication Films, Cinemaxx
Studio 19; The Indian,
Netherlands, 80 mins,
Delphis Films Inc., Cinemaxx
Studio 12; Turk’s Head,
France, 85 mins, Other Angle
Los Angeles 323.525.2000
THR.com/berlin
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Pictures, Cinemaxx Studio 14;
Dancing On Ice, Greece, 104
mins, Greek Film Centre,
Parliament; The Roundup,
France, 110 mins, Gaumont,
Cinemaxx 10
“Mythic Journeys”
10:00 The Counsel, France,
95 mins, Snd Groupe M6 Int’l Sales, Arsenal 1
10:30 The Game of Death,
France, 120 mins, Rezo,
Cinemaxx Studio 17
10:40 22 Bullets, France, 115
mins, Europacorp, Cinestar 4;
I Love You, Ana Elisa,
Colombia, 105 mins,
Cinemavault, Mgb - Kino;
Barbarossa, Italy, 123 mins,
Rai Trade, Cinemaxx Studio 11
10:45 South, Austria, 105
mins, Austrian Film
Commission, Cinestar 2
11:00 Guidance, Sweden, 83
mins, Filmsharks Int’l,
Cinemaxx Studio 15;
Unthinkable, U.S., 96 mins,
Sierra Pictures, Cinemaxx 3;
Dance, Subaru!, Hong Kong
(China), 113 mins, Fortissimo
Films, Cinestar 6; Treasure,
France, 85 mins, Pathe
International, Cinemaxx 9; No
Mercy, Korea (South), 125
mins, Cj Entertainment Inc.,
Arsenal 2; The Way Beyond,
Switzerland, 96 mins,
Eastwest Filmdistribution
Gmbh, Cinemaxx Studio 14;
Upperdog, Norway, 100
mins, Svensk Filmindustri, Ab,
Marriott 3
Studio 12
11:30 The Door, Germany, 99
mins, Telepool Gmbh,
Cinemaxx 1; Cotton, U.S., 103
mins, Studiocanal, Cinestar 5;
Immaculate, France, 120
mins, Wild Bunch, Cinemaxx
10; Eep!, Netherlands, 90
mins, Delphis Films Inc.,
Cinemaxx Studio 16; Mine,
My Life Behind the Scenes,
France, 83 mins, Wide
Management Enterprise,
Cinemaxx Studio 19; My
Buddy Claudia, Brazil, 87
mins, Cinema Do Brasil,
Parliament
11:05 Recien Cazado,
Mexico, 109 mins, Kevin
Williams Associates (Kwa
S.L.), Dffb - Kino
11:40 The Wedding
Photographer, Sweden, 113
mins, Nonstop Sales Ab,
Cinemaxx Studio 18
11:10 Master Harold & The
Boys, USA, 100 mins,
Shoreline Entertainment,
Marriott 2
11:50 Kandahar Break, U.K.,
94 mins, Centre Films Media
Sales Ltd, Marriott 1
11:15 Mao’s Last Dancer,
Australia, 117 mins, Celluloid
Dreams, Cinemaxx 6; Boogie,
Argentina, 85 mins, Vision
Films / Vision Music, Astor
Film Lounge; The Storm,
Netherlands, 93 mins, Delphis
Films Inc., Cinemaxx Studio
13; Soreret, Israel, 76 mins,
Cats & Docs, Cinemaxx 5
12:25 Pimp, U.K., 90 mins,
Stealth Media Group, Mgb Kino
12:30 Friendship!, Germany,
108 mins, Bavaria Film,
Cinemaxx Studio 15
12:35 Plus, France, 128 mins,
Kinology, Cinestar 2;
Poligamy, Hungary, 85 mins,
Hungaricom Ltd., Cinemaxx
Studio 17
11:20 Sweet Evil, France, 90
mins, Umedia, Cinemaxx
12:40 Pepperminta,
Switzerland, 84 mins, The
Match Factory, Cinestar 4
12:45 The Temptation Of
St. Tony, Estonia, 115 mins,
Homeless Bob Production,
Cinemaxx Studio 14; Sorry I
Want To Marry You, Italy,
95 mins, Adriana Chiesa
Enterprises, Cinemaxx 9;
The Con Artist, U.S., 87
mins, Myriad Pictures,
Cinemaxx 3
12:50 The Man Who Will
Come, Italy, 117 mins,
Intramovies, Cinestar 1; Keep
Surfing, Germany, 92 mins,
Beta Cinema, Cinemaxx
Studio 11
12:55 Balls (By Invitation
Only), Sweden, 98 mins,
Trustnordisk, Cinemaxx
Studio 16
13:00 Suspicious Minds,
Spain, 84 mins, Eldorado
Internacional, Dffb - Kino;
Frankie & Alice, Canada, 100
mins, Cinesavvy, Inc., Cinestar
6; Freeway Killer, U.S., 85
mins, Bleiberg Entertainment
Llc, Marriott 3; The Two
Horses of Genghis Khan,
Mongolia, 90 mins, Atrix
Films, Cinemaxx Studio 13;
And Soon the Darkness,
| New York 646.654.5000 | London +44.207.420.6139 | Beijing +86.139.1118.1756 |
16
continued on page24
THR.com/berlin
|
day 3
ANDERS BAASMO CHRISTIANSEN
NORWAY
EDWARD HOGG
UNITED KINGDOM
ANAÏS DEMOUSTIER
FRANCE
DRAGOŞ BUCUR
ROMANIA
PIHLA VIITALA
FINLAND
KRYŠTOF HÁDEK
CZECH REPUBLIC
AGATA BUZEK POLAND
LOTTE VERBEEK
THE NETHERLANDS
MICHELE RIONDINO
ITALY
with the support of the MEDIA Programme of the European Union
222037_210x297_Hollywood.indd 1
Berlin_FP_Bleed.indd 1
at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival
PRESS CONFERENCE
Sunday, 14 February, 2010
11 am
Photo-call
12 noon Press conference
For accredited press only
Please register with PremierPR
[email protected]
[email protected]
phone at Berlinale: +49 (0)30 2300 3139/5572
www.shooting-stars.eu
Participating EFP members: British Council, Cinecittà Luce-Filmitalia,
Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Czech Film Center, Finnish Film
Foundation, Holland Film, Norwegian Film Institute, Polish Film
Institute, Romanian Film Promotion, Unifrance
main partner
third partners
EUROPEAN FILM PROMOTION
proudly presents
Photos: Šime Eškinja, Ola Røe, Arno, Nicolas Rabadeux, Marko .fi, Dana Nālbaru, Tomáš Nosil, Hendrik Velmans, Reinhard Scheuregger, Fabio Lovino
ZRINKA CVITEŠIĆ
CROATIA
co-partner
financial partner
EFP is supported by
FRIEDENSALLEE 14–16
22765 HAMBURG, GERMANY
[email protected]
W W W. E F P - O N L I N E . C O M
03.02.10 13:45
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2/9/10 11:38 AM
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2/12/10
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Page 1
The Hollywood Reporter | Saturday, February 13, 2010
| reviews
‘A Crowd of Three’
By Maggie Lee
“A
Crowd of Three” is a
road movie motored by
characters that drive
each other (and probably quite a
few audiences) up the wall, not
least because of its unsympathetic characters, unpleasant
violence, or its inarticulate
manner of speaking out for
grassroots youth. The disturbing misogyny that serves as a
lubricant for male-bonding
alone is enough to curtail over-
> FORUM
BOTTOM LINE Grating youth
protest movie that alienates
despite its anger and violence.
SALES: Asmik Ace Entertainment Inc.
PRODUCTION: Little More Co., Ltd.
CAST: Shota Matsuda, Kengo Kora,
Sakura Endo, Hirofumi Arai. DIRECTORSCREENWRITER: Tatsushi Omori.
PRODUCERS: Tomoo Tsuchii, Tomomi
Yoshimura, Asako Nakano.
Los Angeles 323.525.2000
seas market destinations.
If Tatsuhi Omori’s idea of representing angry young men by
making them smash things and
repeat lines like “I want to break
out” sounds trite, wait till you
see the other clichés that pile up
along the way as the two protagonists go on a meandering road
trip and, like every Japanese film
charting a “journey of self-discovery,” reach the sea at the end.
Kenta (Shota Matsuda) and
Jun (Kengo Kora) first appear
chatting up girls. They settle on
plain-looking Kayo (Sakura
Ando). The two men are demolition workers raised in the same
orphanage. They are bullied by
the foreman Yuya, who was
stabbed by Kenta’s elder brother
Kazu years ago. At the spur of
the moment, Kenta and Jun
wreck their office and disfigure
Yuya’s car with sledgehammers.
They escape to Abashiri Prison
in Hokkaido, to visit Kazu.
The film feels like a Punch &
Judy sequence of Kenta and Jun
picking fights with others or with
each other. Omori wants to say
that lack of education or opportunities makes them prisoners in
a free society, but despite their
oft-chanted mantra of wanting
to “break through” and Kenta’s
self-description as “the type who
cannot choose,” they are never
shown even trying to make
choices, nor are forces of oppression memorably identified.
Kayo and Jun’s relationship is
an abusive cycle of using her for
money and sex, then rough-
handling and dumping her. Her
chronic lack of self-esteem and
masochism is more unwatchable than Jun’s routine degradation of her. It’s the old cliché of
the oppressed taking it out on
those weaker than themselves,
but there is also sadistic glee in
the representation, crystallized
by the closing shot of Kayo smiling through a bleeding mouth
just after she is thrown out of a
car. The fact that Ando, the
feisty cult-leader in “Love
Exposure” is so convincing makes
it even more troubling. ∂
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The Hollywood Reporter | Saturday, February 13, 2010
‘My Name is Khan’
By Kirk Honeycutt
T
he thing about some Bollywood superstars is that
they are actually fine actors
as well as charismatic performers. So it’s not surprising in “My
Name Is Khan” to see Bollywood
mega-star Shah Rukh Khan —
he’s light-years beyond a mere
superstar in Hindi cinema’s cosmology — challenge himself to
expand his acting range and possibly his international fan base.
In convincing fashion, he plays
an Indian in America battling
the double whammy of living
with Asperger’s Syndrome and
as a Muslim man in the post9/11 world.
The film is getting released
in India, North America and
many other territories Feb. 12,
but its North American distributor, Fox Searchlight,
adopted the puzzling strategy
of playing the film out of competition here at the Berlinale
but refusing to screen it to U.S.
press ahead of its release. With
Shah Rukh Khan as your star,
you can get away with this
since worldwide grosses for his
films tend toward the stratosphere. But it’s a pity that the
non-Indian press are discouraged from shouting out the
news about a film that delves
compellingly into Americans’
anti-Muslim hysteria.
True, the film veers into
melodrama and contrivances in
the second half. Yet its director/co-writer Karan Johar is,
here and in other films, trying
to bring fresh ideas to Hindi
commercial cinema with a little
less masala and a dash more
reality to its fantasy stories.
Johar, Khan and co-star Kajol,
who all worked on Johar’s smash
hit “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”
| reviews
(1998), reunite on this much
more serious project that finds
Khan as a man with a disability
who nevertheless wins people
over through a loving personality that peeks through his emotional shortcomings. For the first
half, the film plays a dicey game
of skirting sentimentality without ever quite crossing that line
into pure hokum.
Khan is Rizvan Khan, who is
on the road in a quest to meet
the president of the United
States to deliver this message:
“My Name is Khan and I am not
a terrorist.” In flashbacks beginning with his early life in India,
where a doting mother helped
nurture and give strength to a
child suffering from a form of
autism, the film recounts its
hero’s journey up to this point.
Upon his mother’s death,
Khan joins a younger brother
who emigrated to San Francisco, but the two never really
adjust to one another.
Against all odds — the theme
of most Bollywood stories — he
woos and wins the love of a
beautiful single mom (Kajol).
Only one problem: She is Hindu.
The brother cuts him off, but
Khan basks in the love of his new
bride and her young son.
Then 9/11 happens. The film
pictures Americans as unable to
GROPIUS MIRROR Restaurant
Los Angeles 323.525.2000
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The Hollywood Reporter | Saturday, February 13, 2010
tell the differences between
Muslims and Hindus or Arabs
and Indians. Which is not exactly
wrong, when it comes to certain
redneck elements, but locating
these hatreds in left-leaning San
Francisco demonstrates a certain
Los Angeles 323.525.2000
lack of comprehension on the
filmmakers’ part as well. Perhaps
they just liked the idea of cable
cars in their movie.
So a somewhat predictable
tragedy tears the new family
apart. Worse, Khan’s wife
| reviews
blames him of all people, an
exasperating plot turn that
lessens her as a character and
makes no sense at any level.
The movie then become a
pilgrimage of redemption
where the hero must fulfill his
wife’s demand to tell the country and the U.S. president that
even though his name is Muslim he is not a terrorist. This
has a certain Capra-esque
quality so it might have
worked, but the linchpin to his
redemption seems to be a poor
rural and black county set in
the Deep South that defies any
credibility whatsoever. These
are also the only sequences that
clearly take place on a soundstage set. Everything here
screams: Fake!
Nevertheless, the film and
especially Khan hold on to their
integrity through conviction and
warm-heartedness. Without
any gimmickry, Khan captures
the nervous ticks and emotional
barriers that an afflicted individual must battle against daily.
It’s a showy performance but in
the right kind of way.
> OUT OF COMPETITION
BOTTOM LINE Shah Rukh Khan
comes to America (although in
a Bollywood film) and shows
why he is an Indian mega-star.
PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Fox Star
Studios and Fox Searchlight present a
Dharma Prods. and Red Chillies
Entertainment production. CAST: Shah
Rukh Khan, Kajol, Jimmy Shergill, Tanay
Chheda. DIRECTOR: Karan Johar.
SCREENWRITERS: Karan Johar, Shibani
Bathija. Rated PG-13, 162 minutes.
The production seems to grow
bigger as the movie progresses as
Khan’s odyssey must include a
Guantanamo-like imprisonment and a hurricane. Even
Barack Obama (Christopher B.
Duncan) puts in an appearance.
This is a movie not built for
subtlety, but it does tackle a
subject American movies have
mostly avoided — that of racial
profiling and the plight of Muslim-Americans. It also allows
Shah Rukh Khan to display his
talent to an even wider audience. It’s well worth the 162minute journey. ∂
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Page 2
The Hollywood Reporter | Saturday, February 13, 2010
Market
Enterprise, Cinemaxx Studio 19
continued from page 16
U.S., 91, Studiocanal,
Cinemaxx 4; Bitter Feast,
U.S., 0 mins, Mpi Media Group,
Marriott 2; Student Services,
France, 101, Films Distribution,
Cinemaxx Studio 19
13:10 Dédé Through the
Mist, Canada, 140 mins, Max
Films Inc., Cinemaxx Studio
12; Pool, Japan, 96 mins,
Nippon Television Network
Corp. ( Ntv), Parliament
13:30 Making Plans for
Lena, France, 105 mins, Le
Pacte, Arsenal 2; Animals
United, Germany, 60 mins,
Timeless Films, Astor Film
Lounge; Mein Kampf,
Germany, 109 mins, Telepool
Gmbh, Cinemaxx 1; Ya,
Russian Federation, 88 mins,
VVP Alians, Cinemaxx 5
13:40 Patagonia, U.K., 110
mins, The Little Film Co.,
Marriott 1; Plato’s Academy,
Greece, 103 mins, Greek Film
Centre, Cinemaxx Studio 18
14:00 Hugh Hefner:
Playboy, Activist and
Rebel, Canada, 124 mins, Vs
Productions, Mgb - Kino
14:15 Merantau, Indonesia,
107 mins, Golden Network
Asia Ltd, Cinestar 4; All My
Friends Are Funeral
Singers, U.S., 84 mins,
Indiepix Studios, Cinemaxx
Studio 17
14:30 Doghouse, U.K., 89
mins, Carnaby International,
Cinemaxx Studio 15; The Time
of the Charity Fete Is Over,
France, 100 mins, Pyramide
International, Cinemaxx Studio
11; The Robbers, China, 93
mins, Action Concept Gmbh,
Marriott 3
14:40 Letters To Father
Jacob, Finland, 75 mins,
Filmsharks Int’l, Cinemaxx
Studio 16
14:45 Arthur and the
Revenge of Maltazard,
France, 93 mins, Europacorp,
Cinestar 2; Love and Other
Impossible Pursuits, U.S.,
102 mins, Essential
Entertainment, Cinemaxx 4;
Donkey, Croatia, 90 mins,
Croatian Audiovisual Centre,
Cinemaxx Studio 13; The
Secret In Their Eyes,
Argentina, 129 mins, Latido,
Cinestar 6
14:50 Gigola, France, 105
mins, Wide Management
Los Angeles 323.525.2000
market | screenings
15:00 The Dancer and the
Thief, Spain, 126 mins, 6
Sales, Marriott 2; The Be All
and End All, U.K., 100 mins,
High Point Media Group,
Cinemaxx Studio 14; True
Legend, China, 111, Focus
Features International, Astor
Film Lounge; The
Annunciation, Cuba, 96
mins, Icaic - Productora
Internacional, Dffb - Kino;
Time of Peace, Brazil, 80
mins, Tropicalstorm
Entertainment, Parliament
17:00 5150 Elms Way,
Canada, 106 mins, E1
Entertainment International,
Cinestar 6; Fate/Stay Night:
Unlimited Blade Works,
Japan, 102 mins, Tbs (Tokyo
Broadcasting System
Television, Inc.), Cinestar 5;
Creeping Zero, U.K., 8 mins,
Dan Films Ltd., Astor Film
Lounge; Milos Forman: Co
te Nezabije, Germany,
France, 100 mins, Bio Illusion,
dffb-Kino
15:10 Dossier K,
Netherlands, 116 mins, The
Works International,
Cinemaxx 2
15:30 Nowhere Boy, U.K., 97
mins, Hanway Films,
Cinemaxx 10; My Dog Tulip,
U.S., 81, Cinemavault, Cinestar
5; Whisky with Vodka,
Germany, 108 mins, The
Match Factory, Cinemaxx 1; A
Very Very Beautiful Love
Story, France, 100 mins, Rezo,
Arsenal 2, The Right Thing,
Italy, 95 mins, Rai Trade,
Cinemaxx Studio 18; El vuelco del cangrejo, Colombia,
France, 96 mins, M-Appeal,
Cinemaxx 5
17:10 Undertow, Peru, 100
mins, Shoreline
Entertainment, Marriott 2;
The Mighty Macs, U.S., 90
mins, Mission Pictures
International, Marriott 1
15:40 The Warrior and the
Wolf, China, 104 mins,
Fortissimo Films, Cinemaxx
Studio 12; Picture Me, U.S.,
80 mins, Visit Films, Marriott 1
15:45 Crossdresser, France,
80 mins, Rendez-Vous
Pictures, Cinemaxx Studio 17
16:00 Optical Illusions,
Chile, 102 mins, Films
Boutique, Cinemaxx Studio
16; Magic Silver, Norway, 83
mins, Nonstop Sales Ab,
Cinemaxx Studio 19
16:10 Birds of the Nile,
United Arab Emirates, 0
mins, Al Arabia Cinema
Production & Distribution,
Marriott 3; Family Tree,
France, 105 mins, Films
Distribution, Cinemaxx
Studio 15
16:15 Berlin ‘36, Germany,
101, Beta Cinema, Cinemaxx
Studio 11; Tetsuo the Bullet
Man, Japan, 71, Coproduction
Office, Mgb - Kino
16:25 Snowmen, U.S., 86
mins, Locomotive
Distribution, Parliament
16:30 Yona Yona Penguin,
Japan, 87 mins, Wild Bunch,
Cinestar 2; Sphinx, France,
105 mins, Gaumont,
Cinemaxx Studio 13
16:50 Oceans, France, 103
mins, Pathe International,
Cinestar 1; Dorian Gray, U.K.,
113 mins, Ealing Studios
International, Cinemaxx
Studio 14
17:15 Demon’s Twilight,
Italy, 85 mins, Minerva
Pictures Group, Cinemaxx
Studio 17; Freedom Riders,
U.S., 111, Wgbh
International/PBS, Cinemaxx
Studio 18; Kawa no soko
kara konnichi wa, Pia Film
Festival, 112 mins, Minerva
Pictures Group, Cinemaxx 5
17:30 Brain Drain, Spain,
108 mins, Deaplaneta,
Cinemaxx 10; Rabbit
Without Ears 2, Germany,
124 mins, Bavaria Film
International, Cinemaxx 1;
Polvere, Italy, 85 mins,
Intramovies, Cinemaxx
Studio 19; Symbol, Japan, 93
mins, Umedia, Cinemaxx
Studio 12
17:35 Primal, Australia, 85
mins, Av Pictures Limited,
Mgb - Kino
17:50 My Father’s Guests,
France, 98 mins, Tf1
International, Cinestar 4
18:00 Untitled, U.S., 96
mins, Filmsharks Int’l,
Cinemaxx Studio 16; Wild
Target, U.K., 98 mins,
Protagonist Pictures,
Cinemaxx Studio 15; All That
I Love, Poland, 95 mins, Wide
Management Enterprise,
Cinemaxx Studio 11
18:15 The Last Station,
Germany, 112 mins, The Little
Film Company, Cinestar 2;
Travellers, U.K., 86 mins,
Altadena Films, Marriott 3
18:20 To Protect And
Serve, France, 90 mins,
Pathe International,
Cinemaxx Studio 13
18:40 Passenger Side,
Canada, 85 mins, Breakaway
Media Lp, Cinestar 1
18:45 The Dispensables,
Germany, 102 mins, Aktis Film
International Gmbh,
Cinemaxx Studio 17; Casino
Jack and the United States
of Money, U.S., 122 mins,
Magnolia Pictures & Magnet
Releasing, Marriott 1
18:50 Black Sheep, Mexico,
85 mins, Tigre Pictures,
Cinemaxx 2
19:00 Cartagena, France,
90 mins, Goldcrest Films,
Cinemaxx Studio 14; Dog
Pound, France, 88 mins,
Wild Bunch, Cinestar 6;
Zombies of Mass
Destruction, Unknown, 87
mins, Forward Motion,
Marriott 2; Love & Savagery,
Canada, 95 mins,
Cinemavault, Cinestar 5
19:10 Road Train, Australia,
87 mins, Lightning
Entertainment, Cinemaxx
Studio 19
19:15 9:06, Slovenia, 71,
Insomnia World Sales,
Cinemaxx Studio 12
19:20 My Suicide, U.S., 107
mins, Bleiberg Entertainment
Llc, Cinemaxx Studio 18
19:30 Stranded, France, 110
mins, Snd Groupe M6 - Int’l
Sales, Cinestar 4; American
Cowslip, U.S., 106 mins, New
Films International,
Cinemaxx 10; Neo-w na-eui
i-shib-il-seki, South Korea,
83 mins, CJ Entertainment,
Cinemaxx 5
19:40 Nenette, France, 70
mins, Les Films Du Losange,
Cinemaxx Studio 11
19:45 The Last Summer of
the Boyita, Argentina, 86
mins, M-Appeal, Cinemaxx
Studio 16
19:50 Red and White,
Indonesia, 105 mins, Seth
Baron, Marriott 3; 3 Idiots,
India, 171 mins, IM Global,
Cinemaxx Studio 15;
20:00 Altiplano, Belgium,
108 mins, Meridiana Films,
Cinemaxx Studio 13
20:10 To Save A Life, U.S.,
90 mins, Mission Pictures
International, Cinestar 1
20:30 Casanegra, Morocco,
110 mins, Silenzio Films,
Cinemaxx Studio 14
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Page 2
The Hollywood Reporter | Saturday, February 13, 2010
| news
By Stuart Kemp
L
ONDON — Christian Grass,
co-CEO of Focus Features
International, has been
named to oversee Universal Pictures’ reorganized international
production efforts.
Universal chairman Adam
Fogelson and cochairman Donna Langley said
Thursday that the change is part
of efforts “to streamline Universal’s global production and
distribution operations and in
recognition of the international
production group’s contributions to the growth of UPI.”
Grass becomes president of
international production and
acquisitions at Universal Pic-
Harlin
continued from page 3
something different, anything. It
could even be a love story.”
What he made is a movie set
during the barely week-long 2008
war between Russia and Georgia,
starring Rupert Friend and Val
Kilmer as war journalists and
Emmanuel Chriqui as a civilian
caught in the conflict. The footage
showcased everything from the
beauty of the Georgian landscape
and culture to slick scenes of car
explosions and aerial shots of an
army invading a town.
The production, with a budget producers tabbed at about
‘Ghost Writer’
continued from page 3
send a video message to the festival proved unfounded.
Instead, the cast of the film and
Robert Harris, who wrote both
the novel and screenplay to
“The Ghost Writer,” took turns
praising the director’s intensity
and professionalism.
“He is an intense director
who has lived a very intense
life,” said Pierce Brosnan, who
plays a former British prime
minister, clearly modeled on
Tony Blair, who is accused of
war crimes. “The red light was
on every day on the set. We all
knew we had to be on the top of
our game for this great man.”
Ewan McGregor, who in the
Los Angeles 323.525.2000
tures International, reporting
to David Kosse,
who recently
assumed an
expanded role as
president of
international at
Grass
Universal Pictures, and Langley.
Grass led Universal’s international production group since
October 2007, and his team has
sealed a slew of pacts, including a
co-production with Timur Bekmambetov’s Bazelevs Prods. for
the project “Black Lightning”
and a co-production with Studio
37 and One World in France on
“Serge Gainsbourg (vie heroique),”
helmed by Joann Sfar. ∂
PROTESTER PHOTO: ANDREAS RENTZ/GETTY IMAGES
Grass: int’l man of Uni
Bum’s rush:
Local police lead a naked protester on a long, and presumably cold, walk
away from the Berlinale Palast on Friday.
$20 million, shot in Georgia,
which welcomed it with open
arms. “Arms” being the operative word. The country’s army
was put at Harlin’s disposal.
“I had 40 tanks, eight helicopters, four fighter jets and
2,000 troops, all in one scene
sometimes,” he said. “I was like
the general. What filmmaker
gets this? Ever?”
But with Andy Garcia as reallife President Mikheil
Saakashvili making impassioned
speeches and scenes of crowds
chanting “Georgia! Georgia!”
will the movie find an audience
in Russia?
“It’s not pro-Georgia, it’s
anti-war,” Harlin said. ∂
film plays a man hired to ghostwrite the prime minister’s memoirs, even went so far as to say his
performance in the film was
“50% Polanski and 50% me.”
Despite the controversy surrounding the Polanski case,
there was no replay in Berlin of
the media circus seen after his
arrest. At the press conference,
most were happy to talk about
the film, a tight political thriller
that was strongly applauded
after its press screening.
Harris commented on the
almost serendipitous release of
“The Ghost Writer” just as pressure is growing to put the real
Tony Blair on trial for war crimes.
“I wrote the book two years
ago and it seems as if history is
now playing out just as I had
imagined it,” Harris said. ∂
Monster
continued from page 3
projectionist (Harrington) and an
inventor who team up with a
cabaret star (Paradis), an eccentric scientist and his monkey to
save the city from a monster.
The real villain, however,
turns out to be the ruthless
police chief (Huston).
Goldberg voices a delivery
man without any goals in life;
Balaban acts as a police captain;
O’Hara plays the owner of the
cabaret club.
The tone and style of the film
is described as meshing the sensibilities of “King Kong” with
“Les Triplettes de Belleville.”
Europacorp, Bibi Films and
France 3 Cinema are the production companies behind the film,
and Europacorp is handling
Checkmark
continued from page 3
from multiple personality disorder who is treated by a psychologist, played by Stellan
Skarsgard.
“Cell 213” is a prison thriller
starring Eric Balfour and
Michael Rooker.
The P&A deal for “Frankie &
Alice”includes the financing of
an Oscar campaign. Cinesavvy
and Checkmark are in talks with
U.S. distributors for a 2010
release of the film.
Huston
Goldberg
ple Grandin.”
ICM packaged the project
and repped the actors. Goldberg is additionally repped by
Luber Roklin, Huston by Laina
Cohn Management and O’Hara
by Brillstein Entertainment
Partners. ∂
“This is not just about finding P&A for one or two films,”
Cinesavvy managing directorAbhi Rastogi said. “It’s the
start of a relationship with
Checkmark that will go beyond
individual projects.”
Added Checkmark CEO Jon
Carr: “As the age-old distribution machine evolves, the day
has come where packaging
P&A with service distribution
deals finally provides independent film with an infrastructure offering potential for
maximum success for all
involved.” ∂
| New York 646.654.5000 | London +44.207.420.6139 | Beijing +86.139.1118.1756 |
25
sales at the EFM.
Goldberg
starred in ABC’s
short-lived comedy “The Unusuals” while Harrington is the star
of ABC’s “Better
off Ted.”
Huston will be
seen as Poseidon
in “Clash of the
Titans” and Balaban can be seen
in “Howl.”
O’Hara appeared
in HBO’s “Tem-
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The Hollywood Reporter | Saturday, February 13, 2010
EFM
shooting stars
Dragos Bucur
Nationality: Romanian
continued from page 1
of Jacks’ stature — he was
responsible for “The Mummy”
franchise — had to come to
Europe to get “Ivanhoe” made,
speaks volumes.
“Equity financing has dried
up for independent productions
in the U.S.,” said Mark
Horowitz, president of H2O
Motion Pictures World Sales.
“Which is why you see this
trend toward Europe, where you
have other possibilities, especially with soft money.”
H20 has tapped that European soft money though a production and services agreement
it has with Cologne-based studios MMC. H20 is looking to
shoot Samuel L. Jackson starrer
“Running Wild” and Alex Winter’s “The Gate” at the German
studio and secure financing
from regional subsidy board
Filmstifftung NRW.
Soft money played a big role
in the greenlighting of “2 Days
in New York,” Julie Delpy’s follow-up to her first directing
effort, “2 Days in Paris.”
France’s Rezo Films and Germany’s Senator Film have
teamed on the English-language sequel, which Delpy will
also produce and star in. Senator is producing via its new
English-language shingle Senator Film Koln Production.
“We are operating on a more
even playing field now,” said
Senator Koln head Ulf Isreal.
“It’s not as if we are saying to
American companies — ‘come
over here and get easy financing.’ We are instead taking control of the development and
production of any English-lan-
Winstone
continued from page 1
to join the cast.
Brit sales outfit AV Pictures is
hawking the project, described
as a “terrifying romantic
thriller,” at the European Film
Market in Berlin.
In addition to writing and
directing “Night Flower,” Scinto
will also produce the film
together with Bobby Allen and
Jade Bell. James Wilson (“Shaun
of the Dead”) is on board as an
executive producer.
Shooting on “Night Flower”
is set to start this fall. ∂
Los Angeles 323.525.2000
| news
Weinstein
continued from page 1
Who is the actor/actress you most
admire and why?
I like Mircea Albulescu and Victor
Rebengiuc, both are very technical
and this is what I appreciate as an
actor.
What do you consider your breakthrough role?
The cinematographic system in
Romania is a bit atypical; you can’t
say that a certain role marks the
“breakthrough.” Each role I’ve
played was important in my achievement as an actor.
What part do you wish you could have played
(past or present)?
I don’t have unfulfilled wishes in cinematography. I believe in destiny
and in the fact that everyone has his path!
Which director would you most like to work with?
Mainly I wish to keep working with the directors with whom I’ve already
worked before.
Describe your next project.
I don’t have anything established regarding the acting yet, so for now I
take care of the others: family, holidays and business.
guage film we do.”
StudioCanal has perhaps
been most active in the English-language sphere, beefing
up its local productions, particularly in the U.K., with recent
titles like “Attack the Block,”
financed with Channel 4, and
“Brighton Rock,” co-financed
with the BBC.
“This is basically the direction we’re taking,” StudioCanal
Harold Van Lier said of production in the language of Shakespeare, adding: “We’re moving
our lineup to much more English-speaking films and benefiting from the fact that we’re a
major distributor in three European territories.”
StudioCanal plans to produce three or four English-language titles a year out of it’s
U.K.-based Optimum, in addition to its 10-12 local titles in
France. The company also
boasts a German distribution
outlet in Kinowelt.
“Our ambition is to operate
as a European studio that can
bring to the international marketplace films that do not need
the co-financing of a U.S. partner, which is difficult to find
these days,” Van Lier said.
Even more difficult to find
can be a U.S. distributor.
Despite being easier to finance
now, European-produced
English-language features
have the same problem getting
onto screens in the U.S as
domestic indies.
“That’s the real issue and a
real challenge for us,” Jens
Meurer of Egoli Tossell said.
“Not just getting these films
made but getting them into the
cinemas.”
“It’s the bottleneck that
everyone has to go through,”
said Robert Kulzer, head of the
L.A. office of Germany’s Constantin Film. “Distribution is
the biggest hurdle.”
But despite the obstacles, the
move toward more English-language production in Europe is
being welcomed Stateside. As
the studios produce fewer films
and with the indies still struggling, U.S. agencies are excited
about the prospect of a rise of
Anglo productions.
The agencies are coming to
Europe with more serious
agendas than they have in the
past. On the flip side, European
execs are making more trips to
America. Both want to build
relationships.
“There will be an uptick in
these international productions,” one top agent said.
“Whatever system we have
here, we’ll see the rise of an
equivalent in other parts of the
world. There is no reason why
they can’t compete with us.”
Rebecca Leffler in Paris and
Borys Kit contributed to this
report.
suites at the Grand Hyatt.
“I guess everyone has to watch
their budgets, even the Weinsteins,” said one German buyer
who has picked up a number of
TWC titles in the past.“They’re
not gone but they certainly don’t
have the presence they used to.”
Hungaricom’s booth last year
was housed at the Marriott, this
year it’s in the Martin Grobius
Bau. Exec Viktor Dudas says the
void gave him a chance to move
in. He’s looking forward to the
increased opportunities, though
he also wonders that if the big
companies like the Weinsteins are
gone, will buyers leave as well?
“We’ve gotten some great
interest so far but we’ll see if
that translates to more foot
traffic,” Dudas said.
TWC is quietly pushing two
projects: “Scream 4” and “I
Don’t Know How She Does It,”
an adaptation of the Allison
Pearson comic bestseller, which
has Sarah Jessica Parker attached
to star. With no finished titles to
screen, and the pre-sales market
still shaky, it’s not surprising the
Weinsteins are downsizing their
Berlin presence.
“They don’t need to be here at
this point,” one U.S. agent said.
Besides the economic
crunch, which has spared no
one, there’s a shift in the balance of power among the socalled mini-majors.
“Before it used to be Miramax
and New Line, that’s it. They
owned the market,” a veteran
East European buyer said. “Now
you have all these new players
like (ex TWC sales chief) Glen
Basner’s FilmNation, which
have the same level of production and on-screen talent
attached to their projects.”
There’s no denying the market has gotten a lot more
crowded. In addition to U.S.
groups like Lionsgate, Hyde
Park, Summit et al, there are
such continental giants as
EuropaCorp and StudioCanal
fighting for a share.
Whoever emerges with the
best deals coming out of Berlin,
it’s unlikely anyone will again be
able to own the biz like the
Weinsteins once did.
Looks like that corner office
is going to stay empty for a
while yet.
Borys Kit contributed to this
report.
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