Exclusive: Independent Artist Group has signed writer-producer Owen King, with an eye toward finding him opportunities as a writer in film and television, as well as in the areas of media rights and content creation.
King is perhaps best known for serving as a staff writer and producer on Paramount+’s series adaptation of The Stand, the acclaimed novel from his father Stephen King, which chronicles a battle of Biblical proportions between the survivors of a man-made plague. The nine-episode miniseries from Josh Boone and Benjamin Cavell starred Whoopi Goldberg, Alexander Skarsgård, James Marsden and many more, premiering in December of 2020.
The author of the novels The Curator and Double Feature, Owen teamed with Stephen King on the novel Sleeping Beauties, penning graphic novel Intro to Alien Invasion with Mark Jude Poirier. Most recently, he scripted the short film Let Me Go the Right Way, a psychological thriller about a...
King is perhaps best known for serving as a staff writer and producer on Paramount+’s series adaptation of The Stand, the acclaimed novel from his father Stephen King, which chronicles a battle of Biblical proportions between the survivors of a man-made plague. The nine-episode miniseries from Josh Boone and Benjamin Cavell starred Whoopi Goldberg, Alexander Skarsgård, James Marsden and many more, premiering in December of 2020.
The author of the novels The Curator and Double Feature, Owen teamed with Stephen King on the novel Sleeping Beauties, penning graphic novel Intro to Alien Invasion with Mark Jude Poirier. Most recently, he scripted the short film Let Me Go the Right Way, a psychological thriller about a...
- 2/6/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Buried deep in another story over on Deadline comes the news that Owen King, son of Stephen King, is co-writing with Mark Jude Poirier an adaptation of Intro to Alien Invasion for Constantin Film based on their graphic novel. The… Continue Reading →
The post Owen King Spearheads an Intro to Alien Invasion for Constantin Film appeared first on Dread Central.
The post Owen King Spearheads an Intro to Alien Invasion for Constantin Film appeared first on Dread Central.
- 4/4/2017
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
Hateship Loveship
Written by Mark Jude Poirier
Directed by Liza Johnson
USA, 2013
Alice Munro is one of the finest living fiction writers, consistently able to create tight stories with hidden depths about uniquely aching and awkward characters. A few years ago, Sarah Polley adapted one of her stories from the collection Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage into the exquisite and painful Away From Her. So it’s possible for Munro’s work to shift from one medium to another and transition smoothly. Unfortunately, the new film Hateship Loveship, adapting that collection’s title story, was created by people with less confident hands; this particular short-story adaptation feels more slack and lacking in focus than is appropriate.
Kristen Wiig, playing as far against type as possible, is Johanna, a meek caretaker whose elderly charge passes away in the opening scene. So she moves onto a new job, as housekeeper for a grizzled older man,...
Written by Mark Jude Poirier
Directed by Liza Johnson
USA, 2013
Alice Munro is one of the finest living fiction writers, consistently able to create tight stories with hidden depths about uniquely aching and awkward characters. A few years ago, Sarah Polley adapted one of her stories from the collection Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage into the exquisite and painful Away From Her. So it’s possible for Munro’s work to shift from one medium to another and transition smoothly. Unfortunately, the new film Hateship Loveship, adapting that collection’s title story, was created by people with less confident hands; this particular short-story adaptation feels more slack and lacking in focus than is appropriate.
Kristen Wiig, playing as far against type as possible, is Johanna, a meek caretaker whose elderly charge passes away in the opening scene. So she moves onto a new job, as housekeeper for a grizzled older man,...
- 5/2/2014
- by Josh Spiegel
- SoundOnSight
Title: Hateship Loveship Director: Liza Johnson Starring: Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Nick Nolte, Hailee Steinfeld, Sami Gayle, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christine Lahti In her strikingly humane and thought-provoking debut feature, “Return,” writer-director Liza Johnson showed the ability to locate illuminating character details in all sorts of quiet moments. With her second film, “Hateship Loveship,” starring Kristen Wiig, Johnson again proves herself an astute chronicler of human frailty, even if the low-wattage hum of her lightly romantic drama eventually peters out, leaving the hull — more intriguing than emotionally satisfying — of an ensemble character piece. Adapted by Mark Poirier from a 2001 short story by the late Alice Munro, the film [ Read More ]
The post Hateship Loveship Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Hateship Loveship Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 4/12/2014
- by bsimon
- ShockYa
It is fitting that Hateship Loveship features the most awkward romantic chemistry between two lead actors of any film in 2014 (a year that has already brought us the insipid Winter’s Tale and Breathe In) since it also has one of the most awkward titles of any film in recent memory. Yes, the film’s title is abbreviated from the title of an Alice Munro short story that requires you to take a deep breath before mentioning it: Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage. However, what may have blossomed on the page does not quite gel in an elongated feature-length format, despite a surprisingly strong effort from a subdued Kristen Wiig.
The actress plays Johanna, a caretaker who performs her duties with the utmost care and precision, like a shier version of Anthony Hopkins’ loyal butler from The Remains of the Day. After an old lady she nannies dies, Johanna still...
The actress plays Johanna, a caretaker who performs her duties with the utmost care and precision, like a shier version of Anthony Hopkins’ loyal butler from The Remains of the Day. After an old lady she nannies dies, Johanna still...
- 4/11/2014
- by Jordan Adler
- We Got This Covered
Though former-"SNL" star and Oscar-nominated "Bridesmaids" writer Kristen Wiig is known more for her comedic chops, her recent turn to indies ("Girl Most Likely," "The Skeleton Twins") shows there may be a more serious side to the lovable comedienne. Here's the trailer for her first bona fide dramatic film "Hateship Loveship," directed Liza Johnson and adapted by screenwriter Mark Poirier from the elegant short story out of celebrated Canadian author Alice Munro's 2001 collection "Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage." IFC will release the film in select theaters on April 11. The film centers on shy Johanna (Wiig), a housekeeper hired to care for an ailing man (Nick Nolte) and his granddaughter Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld), who harbors wounds from her mother's death and resents her drug addict father (Guy Pearce). Sabitha fosters a bond between Johanna and her father through a series of forged correspondences, unaware of the consequences that will bring to light.
- 3/12/2014
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Over the years, Saturday Night Live has been the breakout ground for a number of stars, including Bill Murray, Chris Farley, and Gilda Radner. The latest in that group is Kristen Wiig, whose fans were happy to see her gain her own level of movie stardom with 2011′s Bridesmaids. Many were interested to see where she would go next, interest that was piqued with her signing on to Hateship Loveship, an adaptation of an Alice Munro short story. The film is directed by Liza Johnson, working from a screenplay by Mark Poirier, and Wiig appears onscreen alongside Hailee Steinfeld, Guy Pearce, Nick Nolte, Sami Gayle, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The first trailer for the film has now been released, and can be seen below. Sound on Sight also managed to catch this film at Tiff 2013, and our review can be read here.
(Source: First Showing)
The post ‘Hateship Loveship’, starring Kristen Wiig,...
(Source: First Showing)
The post ‘Hateship Loveship’, starring Kristen Wiig,...
- 3/12/2014
- by Deepayan Sengupta
- SoundOnSight
Kristen Wiig and Hailee Steinfeld feature in the new trailer for Hateship Loveship.
Guy Pearce, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Nick Nolte also star in the drama from director Liza Johnson.
It centres around an awkward housekeeper (Wiig) who becomes the victim of a practical joke by a callous teenager (Steinfeld).
However, the joke may have the unexpected effect of finally helping the woman out of her shell.
The film was adapted by Mark Poirier from Alice Munro's 2001 short story Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage.
Steinfeld was most recently seen in Ender's Game and Romeo and Juliet.
Wiig featured in Anchorman 2 and will next be seen in The Skeleton Twins.
Hateship Loveship will be released on April 11 in the Us. A UK release date is yet to be announced.
Guy Pearce, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Nick Nolte also star in the drama from director Liza Johnson.
It centres around an awkward housekeeper (Wiig) who becomes the victim of a practical joke by a callous teenager (Steinfeld).
However, the joke may have the unexpected effect of finally helping the woman out of her shell.
The film was adapted by Mark Poirier from Alice Munro's 2001 short story Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage.
Steinfeld was most recently seen in Ender's Game and Romeo and Juliet.
Wiig featured in Anchorman 2 and will next be seen in The Skeleton Twins.
Hateship Loveship will be released on April 11 in the Us. A UK release date is yet to be announced.
- 3/12/2014
- Digital Spy
To mark the release of Goats on 3rd February, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on DVD.
Based on the novel by Mark Jude Poirier and from first-time director Christopher Neil, Goats centres around the story of fourteen year old Ellis (Graham Phillips), who is getting ready to leave his luxurious home in the foothills of Tucson for his freshman year at Gates Academy, an East Coast prep school. This means leaving behind Wendy (Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air, The Conjuring), his flaky, new age mother and the only real father he has ever known, ‘Goat Man’ (David Duchovny – The X Files, Californication).
At college Ellis discovers a whole new world opening up around him, with new friends and love interests competing with old problems – his real dad Frank (Ty Burell – Modern Family), being one of them. As Ellis attempts to balance the conflicting relationships in his life,...
Based on the novel by Mark Jude Poirier and from first-time director Christopher Neil, Goats centres around the story of fourteen year old Ellis (Graham Phillips), who is getting ready to leave his luxurious home in the foothills of Tucson for his freshman year at Gates Academy, an East Coast prep school. This means leaving behind Wendy (Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air, The Conjuring), his flaky, new age mother and the only real father he has ever known, ‘Goat Man’ (David Duchovny – The X Files, Californication).
At college Ellis discovers a whole new world opening up around him, with new friends and love interests competing with old problems – his real dad Frank (Ty Burell – Modern Family), being one of them. As Ellis attempts to balance the conflicting relationships in his life,...
- 1/27/2014
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
It’s panning out to be a significantly different type of experience with regards to filmmaker Liza Johnson’s sophomore film. After stumbling out with her debut Return, a painfully difficult indie film that premiered in Cannes (Directors’ Fortnight) and whimpered into theaters, the helmer quickly got behind the camera with a plethora of talent for Hateship Loveship, which managed to charm the IFC Films’ Arianna Bocco during Tiff – landing a theatrical distribution deal which will probably set the dramedy for a 2014 showing.
Gist: Based on a short story by Alice Munro with a screenplay by Mark Poirier, Kristen Wiig stars as Johanna Parry, a profoundly shy, unadorned woman who is hired by Mr. McCauley (Nick Nolte) as a housekeeper and a primary caregiver to his granddaughter Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld). When Sabitha uses technology to foster a pseudo-relationship between her widowed father and new caretaker, Johanna is finally able to...
Gist: Based on a short story by Alice Munro with a screenplay by Mark Poirier, Kristen Wiig stars as Johanna Parry, a profoundly shy, unadorned woman who is hired by Mr. McCauley (Nick Nolte) as a housekeeper and a primary caregiver to his granddaughter Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld). When Sabitha uses technology to foster a pseudo-relationship between her widowed father and new caretaker, Johanna is finally able to...
- 9/17/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Us rights snapped up to Kristen Wiig drama, which debuted at Toronto.
IFC Films has acquired Us rights to Liza Johnson’s Hateship Loveship.
The film, based on a short story by Alice Munro with a screenplay by Mark Poirier, stars Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, Nick Nolte, Christine Lahti, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Sami Gayle.
Wiig stars as Johanna Parry, a profoundly shy woman who is hired by Mr. McCauley (Nolte) as a housekeeper and a primary caregiver to his granddaughter Sabitha (Steinfeld). When Sabitha uses technology to foster a pseudo-relationship between her widowed father and new caretaker, Johanna is finally able to indulge in the dream of a future and a home of her own.
Producers are Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Jamin O’Brien, Dylan Sellers and Cassian Elwes. Executive producers are Jacob Pechenik, Michael Raimondi and Abigail Disney.
The film made its world premiere earlier this month as a special presentation at the...
IFC Films has acquired Us rights to Liza Johnson’s Hateship Loveship.
The film, based on a short story by Alice Munro with a screenplay by Mark Poirier, stars Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, Nick Nolte, Christine Lahti, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Sami Gayle.
Wiig stars as Johanna Parry, a profoundly shy woman who is hired by Mr. McCauley (Nolte) as a housekeeper and a primary caregiver to his granddaughter Sabitha (Steinfeld). When Sabitha uses technology to foster a pseudo-relationship between her widowed father and new caretaker, Johanna is finally able to indulge in the dream of a future and a home of her own.
Producers are Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Jamin O’Brien, Dylan Sellers and Cassian Elwes. Executive producers are Jacob Pechenik, Michael Raimondi and Abigail Disney.
The film made its world premiere earlier this month as a special presentation at the...
- 9/17/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
IFC Films has scooped up Tiff special presentation title "Hateship Loveship," starring Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, Nick Nolte, Christine Lahti and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Directed by Liza Johnson ("Return"), the film is adapted by Mark Poirier ("Goats") from a short story by Canadian author Alice Munro. Here's the official synopsis:Hateship Loveship is a multi-dimensional portrait of a young woman who has a life-altering effect on a fractured family. Kristen Wiig stars as Johanna Parry, a profoundly shy, unadorned woman who is hired by Mr. McCauley (Nick Nolte) as a housekeeper and a primary caregiver to his granddaughter Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld). When Sabitha uses technology to foster a pseudo-relationship between her widowed father and new caretaker, Johanna is finally able to indulge in something long missing from her life: the dream of a future and a home of her own.No word yet on a stateside release.
- 9/17/2013
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
IFC Films has acquired U.S. rights to Liza Johnson's Hateship Loveship. The film, based on a short story by Alice Munro with a screenplay by Mark Poirier, stars Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, Nick Nolte, Christine Lahti, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Sami Gayle. Photos: 21 Hot Toronto Titles for Sale Wiig stars as Johanna Parry, a profoundly shy, unadorned woman who is hired by Mr. McCauley (Nolte) as a housekeeper and a primary caregiver to his granddaughter, Sabitha (Steinfeld). When Sabitha uses technology to foster a pseudo-relationship between her widowed father (Pearce) and Johanna, an unlikely relationship
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- 9/17/2013
- by Tatiana Siegel
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IFC Films has acquired the rights to Liza Johnson's "Hateship Loveship," which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last week. Starring Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, Nick Nolte, Christine Lahti and Jennifer Jason Leigh, the film is based on the short story by Alice Munro. Full press release below. New York, NY (September 17, 2013) – IFC Films announced today that the company is acquiring Us rights to Liza Johnson’s Hateship Loveship. The film, based on a short story by Alice Munro with a screenplay by Mark Poirier, stars Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, Nick Nolte, Christine Lahti, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Sami Gayle. Hateship Loveship was produced by Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Jamin O’Brien, Dylan Sellers and Cassian Elwes and executive produced by Jacob Pechenik, Michael Raimondi and Abigail Disney. The film made its world premiere as a special presentation at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.
- 9/17/2013
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
The title of this panel was Financing and Packaging: From Indie to Studio, but in fact, the most studio-like film, Rush , by the major director, Ron Howard, and produced by Brit indie production company Revolution (Andrew Eaton) and Hollywood-based Cross Creek (Brian Oliver), is actually quite independent.
Rush (U.S. Universal, International Sales by Exclusive)
Ron Howard and his producing partner Brian Grazer whose imagine Entertainment have had an overall deal at Universal for 27 years, however, this mid-budget range film of some $50,000,000 was considered not "big enough" for the majors.
To read more about this complex and fascinating film and its international film business background, read the following articles which are quoted throughout this article with thanks and acknowledgement to:
· Variety September 13, 2013 (reprinted at the end of this blog) · Wall Street Journal, September 5, 2013 · The Hollywood Reporter September 28, 2011
Aside from major director Ron Howard himself, the second “major” element of the film is that Universal is the North American distributor of the film. This happens through the three year minimum-6-picture distribution deal Brian Oliver’s Cross Creek has with Universal in which Cross Creek produces and finances either its own films or films chosen from Universal’s development slate. Cross Creek is set up to generate up to four films per year, with Universal to distribute at least two of them with a wide-release commitment.
Isa (International Sales Agent) Exclusive Media is also an independent. This too is the result of Oliver’s deal with Exclusive to jointly finance two projects per year.
Cross Creek, putting its own cash into the project, split the cost of the picture with Exclusive who financed it through a bank loan made against pre-sales generated in 2011 at the Afm. With Howard there to promote the project to buyers, Exclusive secured around $33 million in foreign pre-sales. See Cinando’s list of distributors .
Additionally, Oliver and Eaton structured the project as a U.K.- German co-production, enabling them to secure about $12 million in soft money from Germany (Egoli Tossell) in accordance with U.K.’s co-production treaty. As a result, U.K. rights ended up with Studiocanal.
Brian Oliver is a “one of Hollywood’s biggest and more unusual financiers of risky films, with coin coming mostly from oil and real estate investments in Texas”. This major Hollywood financier/ producer takes chances which prove his astute, if askew, view of what makes a “Hollywood” picture an indie at the same time, as shown by his credits, The Ides of March and Black Swan.
Andrew Eaton is a British producer with deep Hollywood connections through the British community here, e.g., Eric Fellner of Working Title, the British production company currently owned by Universal. (Parenthetically, I bought U.S. rights to Working Title’s first film, My Beautiful Laundrette for Lorimar along with Orion Classics and so I was quite thrilled to have a chance to be in touch with the talented Brits once again).
Working Title had worked with Andrew Easton on Frost/Nixon. Eric Fellner loved the script and offered it to Universal for funding. However, as said, Universal passed on it because it was too small.
“It is going to be easy for people to think this is a Hollywood movie, and it just is not,” quotes Variety from the film’s British screenwriter, Peter Morgan, who penned Frost/Nixon which was also directed by Howard. “It is a British independent film directed by a Hollywood director.”
Eaton and Oliver spoke of how they put this film together.
“We must champion the fact that this is basically 80% a British film in terms of the people who worked on it, the way it was structured and the way we ran it,” says Eaton, who was behind such indie films as 24 Hour Party People and the Red Riding TV series.
Can a Song Save Your Life? (U.S. UTA, Isa: Exclusive)
Exclusive has another film here, Can a Song Save Your Life? which is also repped by Rena Ronson, Co-Head of the Independent Film Group of UTA. Directed by John Carney who came to the public’s attention with his micro-budgeted Once which plays on stage here in Toronto at the moment, in New York and elsewhere regularly. The Weinstein Company picked it up in Toronto, reportedly paying around a $7 million minimum guarantee for U.S. rights with a P&A commitment of at least $20 million.
UTA as an agency also packages both large (studio) and smaller indie films. Rena Ronson, the co-head of UTA Indie explained how her own indie roots -- first at indie distributor Fox-Lorber and continuing into international sales before becoming the “indie agent” at Wma, succeeding the “indie” founder, Bobbi Thompson, have taught her to speak the language of the international as well as the independent film business. She knows the major modes of operating as well as she knows the independent style of business. She further explained that the successes of the larger films permit the “smaller”, i.e., “indie” films to be made.
UTA repped films in Toronto are listed below. For a full report of rights sold, before, during and after Toronto, watch SydneysBuzz.com for the Fall 2013 Rights Roundup.
Can A Song Save Your Life?
Writer/Director: John Carney Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley, Hailee Steinfeld, Adam Levine, Catherine Keener, Mos Def, Cee-Lo Green Publicity: Falco / Shannon Treusch, Monica Delameter U.S. Producer Rep: UTA / CAA . Isa: Exclusive Media Group
U.S. rights were acquired at Tiff 13 by TWC for a record breaking $7 million.
Since first announcing it in Cannes 2012, Exclusive has made other deals as well for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan (Tanweer), Germany (Studiocanal), Japan (Pony Canyon Inc), Philippines (Solar Entertainment), Russia (A Company), So. Korea ( Pancinema), Switzerland ( Ascot Elite Entertainment Group ), Taiwan ( Serenity Entertainment International ), Turkey (D Productions), the Middle East ( Front Row Filmed Entertainment).
Tiff Special Presentations:
Hateship, Loveship
Director: Liza Johnson Writer: Mark Poirier Writer (Novel): Alice Munro Starring: Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte Publicity: Prodigy PR, Erik Bright
North American Sale: UTA / Cassian Elwes. Isa: The Weinstein Co. Sena has rights for Iceland.
The F Word
Director: Michael Dowse Writer: Elan Mastai Writers (Play): Michael Rinaldi & T.J. Dawe Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Rafe Spall, Adam Driver, Mackenzie Davis, Amanda Crew Publicity: Strategy PR / Cynthia Schwartz, Michael Kupferberg Us Sale: UTA / Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman. Isa: eOne
After UTA sold the The F Word to CBS Films for the U.S. for around $3 million in Toronto, Entertainment One Films International completed other international sales. Besides Canada and the U.K., eOne itself will release the film in Australia/New Zealand, Benelux and Spain feeding its own international distribution pipeline. Other sales include Germany to Senator Entertainment, Middle East to Front Row Entertainment, Nigeria toRed Mist, Russia to Carmen Film Group, Turkey to Mars Entertainment Group
Night Moves
Writer/Director: Kelly Reichart Writer: Jonathan Raymond Starring: Dakota Fanning, Jesse Eisenberg, Peter Sarsgaard, Alia Shawkat Publicity: Ginsberg/Libby, Chris Libby North American Sale: UTA Isa: The Match Factory
Tiff Vanguard
The Sacrament
Writer/Director: Ti West Starring: Joe Swanberg, Aj Bowen, Amy Seimetz, Kate Lyn Sheil, Gene Jones Publicity: Dda, Dana Archer, Alice Zhou North American Sale: UTA / CAA Isa: Im Global sold to Pegasus Motion Pictures Distribution Ltd . For China
As of this writing, rather 1 hour ago, Magnolia Pictures, which lost on an earlier bidding war here for Joe, is finalizing a deal for the picture reportedly for seven figures.
Coincidentallywith the beginning of the Toronto Film Festival, the front page of L.A. Times quoted Rena Ronson in an article called "Making history as cameras roll" (print edition) or "Wadjda' director makes her mark in Saudi cinema" (online edition) about Wadjda , (Isa: The Match Factory) last year’s Venice and Telluride film which Rena had spotted at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, where it won a script award. It was written and directed by a woman which is notable in such a male-dominated part of the world. She met the writer-director, Haifaa Mansour, and that led to working with her for the next two years to finance the film. Its $2.5m budget was backed in part by the Rotana Group, the largest media company in the Middle East, owned primarily by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. The German production company Razor Film owned and operated by Gerhard Meixner and Roman Paul whose first coproduction in 2005, Paradise Now brought them into international prominence and who also picked up last year’s Tiff groundbreaking film from Afghanistan,The Patience Stone, and previously coproduced Waltz With Bashir, came on board and brought German broadcast deals and German film funds as well.
Doha and Film Financing
The fourth panelist was Paul Miller, Head of Film Financing, from the Doha Film Institute , Qatar's first international organization dedicated to film financing, production, education and two film festivals. Doha encourages submission for financing film financing opportunities from anywhere in the world. The Dfi Grants program supports first- and second-time filmmakers in producing and developing their own stories. There are two funding rounds per year. Applications are considered from three regions (basically divided into the Middle East, developing nations and the rest of the world – with some exceptions -- each with different eligibility criteria.
Consideration for funding is open to feature-length films in development, production and post-production, as well as short films in production and post-production. Since 2010, Dfi has provided funding to more than 138 filmmakers.
Beyond the regional grants program, Dfi also invests in a diverse slate of international productions to encourage greater collaboration, mentorship and co‑production opportunities between Gulf countries and the rest of the world. Co-financing applications apply to both Middle Eastern and international feature films, television and web series. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year.
Four films at Tiff that Doha has helped finance:
Mohammed Malas’s Ladder to Damacus, screening in Tiff’s Contemporary World Cinema section; Jasmila Žbanic’s For Those Who Can Tell No Tales in the Special Presentation section. Both films were co-financed by Dfi. Dfi grant recipients Néjib Belkadhi’s Bastardo and Mais Darwazah’s My Love Awaits Me by the Sea screening in the Contemporary World Cinema and Discovery sections, respectively.
The fifth panelist, Ted Hope, Director of the San Francisco Film Society, a non-profit training, festival, and funding operation is known to everyone from his history with Good Machine (which was acquired by Universal and renamed Focus Features), and from his blog Hope for Film/ Truly Free Film . In his always-inimitable fashion, Ted proposed a new sort of financing, called "staged financing", based on a progressive meeting of certain criterion from development through distribution. This way of financing is similar to the venture capital models of financing. His broad ideas on what has to change with the industry's funding and packaging methods brought the panelists and the audience to heel at attention. I reprint his blog after this because this idea goes against the current grain of financing an entire film which may or may not prove to be the final box office bingo winner it always purports to be when securing full financing.
The Sffs provided some funding to Thomas Oliver's 1982 which is in Tiff this year. Aside from winning Us in Progress’ $60,000 in post-production services at this year’s Champs Elysees Film Festival, 1982 also received Sffs’s $85,000 post production grant and participated in the Sffs’s A2E labs. The film is being represented by Kevin Iwashina’s Preferred Content.
The panel became very animated as Ted Hope and Rena Ronson faced off about whether a film is made for a broad audience or whether, if targeted correctly, it could actually make money with niche audiences. As always, the two of them, both equally astute, brought much to bear on both sides of the argument. And, I, as the panel’s moderator, hereby declare, They are both right.
The broader the audience the more potential for making money.
However, as Ted points out, with crowd sourcing, crowd funding and crowd theatrical exhibition, there are many other ways beyond ticket purchases that filmmakers can offer in order to make money with their targeted audience.
This, as well as the great contributions made by Doha’s Paul Miller and Revolution’s Andrew Eaton could have extended the panel into a full day. Paul Oliver of Cross Creek was the quietest, perhaps most reticent, of the speakers, but he amply demonstrated that he is one who puts his money where his mouth is. His acumen and taste make us all grateful for his existence as he is a pivotal point person in creating works of art that create substantial revenues for a sustainable art house film business.
The audience as well was most enthusiastic with their questions and post panel discussions with panelists who stayed to talk.
Articles Reprinted Here:
Truly Free Film
Staged Financing Must Become Film Biz’s Immediate Goal
Posted: 06 Sep 2013 05:15 Am Pdt
Each day I become more and more convinced that staged financing could be a cure to much of the Film Biz’s ills. Staged financing? What? Is the phrase not exactly center of your conversations right now? Why not?!! Whatsamattawidyou? Don’t you know a good solution when you see one?
Although it already exists in many fields, and even in a few small patches of our own yard, I recognize that a staged financing strategy is not yet the force behind Indieland’s own gardening. I am however growing convinced it could yield a far more fruitful harvest than our current methods. A staged-financing ecosystem can’t be built in a one-off manner though. Although it also does not need to the rule of the realm, it needs a permanent eco-system to support it.
Staged financing is part of a much bigger solution that we urgently need to bring to our industry: a sustainable investor class . We need smart money and need to stop seeking, encouraging, and propagating dumb money. Most film investors get out, win or lose, by their third film (I have been told this and don’t have the stats to back it up now, but if you do, please share — otherwise just trust that is what my experience has shown). The value of most independent money in the film biz is the money itself, and that is not good for anyone.
Staged financing is exactly what it says to be. I know in this world such literalness is a strange thing, but there is it. Staged financing is a funding process that is there for each distinct stage. In comparison, it is the opposite of up-front financing — the type that monopolizes the narrative feature world. I am proposing that we institutionalize the staged-financing process and make it easier to finance your film in drips and drabs. Why am I so bullish on what probably sounds like hell to many? Why do I think it will save indie film? Let’s count the ways.
Staged financing increases the predictability of success. Investors can base their continued commitment on a proof of prinicipal instead of just a pitch. The longer one waits the more they know — of course the longer one waits the lower the chance for their to be the opportunity for investment, so there. The more investors can project or even predict their success, the longer they will stay in the game, and the more that will gather to pay — i.e. more capital at play! Staged financing allows filmmakers and their supporters to pivot based on real world data. The old way had very little it could do when new information hit. Your film (and investment) could be rendered obsolete over night. But that does not have to be a done deal is this new world. This is just one of the many reasons for #1 above of course. Staged financing diversifies the creative class. Wouldn’t it be great if the film biz was actually a meritocracy? Well, if people had to make good movies to complete their financing, wouldn’t that be a bit closer to the case? Staged financing gives all people the opportunity to prove they have a good idea, whether that idea is completed or not. It is not about who you know, but about what you’ve done and can do. Documentary film — compared to the narrative world — already has a great deal of staged financing institutionalized — and benefits from gender proportional representation among directors. Need I say more?Staged financing allows ambitious artistic work to flourish. Instead of just having “commercial elements”, unique and inspiring work can be recognized for the potential it truly has. Instead of being rewarded for being able to earn trust or arrogantly claim to know what one is doing, staged financing allows good work to be rewarded for being good work. Currently, we mistake confidence for capability and those that boast to be able to predict what the end product will be (where there is no way that they will actually know what the 100+ decisions each day will yield), get to play — not the work that delivers something new and wonderful. Staged financing rewards quality over risk mitigation. Staged financing is actually a better form of risk mitigation than the present form that is only based on regurgitating what has already proven successful. When we limit risk by mimicking what has worked in the past, all we are doing is guessing and covering our ass — and this leads to a film culture of movie titles overrun with numerals. We live in an era of abundance, and as comforting as the familiar may be, we have more access to it than ever before. We rarely need the new version of it. We will however need truly original work more and more as time goes on as we will drowning in the repetitive. How will we prove what works? Staged financing, my friend, staged financing. Staged financing creates a better project as it incentivizes the creators every step of the way. Not that you truly need to incentivize those that are in the passion industries for the right reason, but it never hurts to weed out those that are in it for the wrong reason. When your financing is based on your work and not your connections or investors’ fears, you will do all you can to make each stage of financing shine, justify itself, and be truly competitive. Staged financing requires you to walk a series of steps, proving you have earned the right with every advance — and you better do your homework if you don’t want to get left behind. Staged financing requires you choose your initial partners wisely. It’s not just about the terms of the deal that should determine whom your investors are — but that is how we generally act nowadays. Everyone should instead seek value-add investors. You should get more than just money from your investors. You should benefit from their expertise. Filmmakers, agents, lawyers, and managers, often are willing to leap into bed with anyone who offers the most cash — there’s a name for that practice and it should not be film investment. Staged financing means the creators will have “skin in the game”. When it is an up-front finance model, the creators are not working for a payout in success but working just for the upfornt fees (or some semblance thereof); they may have “profit participation” but basically the only anticipated earnings are what is in the budget. It becomes increasingly difficult to motivate the creative team to be engaged in the needed work after the film premieres. Investors have long recognized that this is not the most beneficial arrangement, yet what can they do? The answer my friend, is… yup, you know the song I am singing: everyone loves that staged financing! Staged financing is a time-tested process that has already been adopted by many industries . Staged financing is the modus operandi of Silicon Valley and all the Vc firms. Other industries, from mining onwards, have seen real benefits from the process. Why do we limit our success and not apply proven models to our field? Could it be that somewhere someone is desperately clutching on to what ever paltry power they perceive themselves to possess? Hmmm… If they don’t offer the model you want at the store, build a new model — or maybe even a chain of stores. Staged financing gives producers of quality work more power. The main objection to staged financing is that it gives financiers more power. That is only true if you are making crap. Or mediocre work. If you are making something wonderfully astounding you will never struggle to progress to the next round — and in fact you will be able to improve your terms. And investors won’t complain either, because they now can have to know a good thing when they see one.
So if Staged Financing is this marvelous thing, why have our leaders not yet delivered it to you? Well, they don’t care about you; didn’t you know that?
And if Staged Financing could really save Indie Film, why has the community not constructed this marvelous ecosystem yet? Well, we’ve all been too busy chasing shiny objects and marveling at the reflections fed back of us.
But change is here. We have hope. We can build it better together. And I have already started. The San Francisco Film Society is committed to it. We have others who want to be part of. We are have spots for more to join in. And we are going to help a few select projects really rock this world.
Watch this space. Let’s do it together and truly astonish the world with your awe inspiring work. Just don’t be slack, okay?
Variety, August 21, 2013:
“Rush,” the high-octane car racing film about the public rivalry between legendary Formula One drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt during the 1970s, has all the markings of tinseltown’s latest flashy biopic, withRon Howard at the wheel, Chris Hemsworth as its star, and Universal Pictures releasing the film Sept. 27. But that assumption couldn’t be further from the truth.
“It is going to be easy for people to think this is a Hollywood movie, and it just is not,” says the upcoming film’s British screenwriter, Peter Morgan, who penned “Frost/Nixon,” also directed by Howard. “It is a British independent film directed by a Hollywood director.” Get Weekly Online News and alerts free to your inbox
As the majors focus more on putting their money behind mega-budgeted projects with built-in brand awareness — sequels, reboots, films based on toys, videogames and comicbooks — filmmakers are finding Hollywood’s studio system rapidly shifting under their feet.
“Because studios are less interested in the midbudget area, there is a massive opportunity for independents to step into that (area) at the moment,” says “Rush” producer Andrew Eaton of London-based Revolution Films.
Indeed, it’s getting harder to set up a midbudget range original project at a studio, even for veteran filmmakers like Howard and his producing partner Brian Grazer, whose Imagine Entertainment has had an overall deal at Universal for 27 years (the longest standing deal U has had in its 100-year history with a production company). That’s forced directors to look elsewhere to tackle the kinds of films now considered too risky to make or the ones that won’t fill retail shelves with merchandise.
Another Hollywood vet, producer Marc Platt, who’s had a production deal at Universal since 1998 after stepping down as its production head, similarly had to find indie financing for his film “2 Guns” after Universal said it would not bankroll the picture but simply distribute it.
With “Rush,” Howard found himself in an entirely new role as the director of a $50 million film that was his first to be independently financed — through a series of bonds, contingencies and pre-sales. He also was a director for hire, replacing Paul Greengrass, who was originally set to bring the showy personalities of Hunt (Hemsworth), a British playboy; and the more serious Austrian champion Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) to the big screen.
“We must champion the fact that this is basically 80% a British film in terms of the people who worked on it, the way it was structured and the way we ran it,” says Eaton. The exec, who was behind such indie films as “24 Hour Party People” and the “Red Riding” series, is modest, and like most Brits politely shies away from the spotlight, tending not to grab credit even when its due.
But he believes “Rush” shows off Blighty’s mettle.
“These are the kinds of films we should be making in the U.K. because we can do it, and we can do it for better value of money,” he says.
Morgan began writing the story of Lauda, a friend of his wife’s, on spec some years ago, intrigued by the driver’s courageous comeback just 40 days after a devastating crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix that severely burned his face and saw him lapse into a coma, and how that might play against Hunt’s notorious womanizing and party lifestyle that gained him rock-star status.
Eager to work with Eaton again after Fernando Meirelles’ “360,” Morgan showed the producer the first draft of “Rush,” and Eaton was hooked.
“Andrew was always going to be a great fit for this project,” Morgan says. “If (the) responsibility was to make this at a price, Andrew could do this. He could make a $50 million film feel like a $150 million film.”
With Greengrass, another Brit, attached to direct, Morgan showed the script to close friend Eric Fellner at his Universal-owned British production outfit Working Title. Fellner, who had worked with him on “Frost/Nixon,” loved the new script and offered it to Universal for funding.
But the studio passed, considering it risky subject matter, given the biopic elements and low profile of F1 racing in the U.S. Universal also didn’t believe the film could be made for the right price. Still Fellner stayed onboard, and his contacts in the F1 arena proved invaluable. His relationships with Ferrari and McLaren thanks to his work on documentary “Senna” enabled “Rush” to enlist the brands in the pic without losing editorial control.
“Ron (Howard) jokes that my major contribution was engine noise,” Fellner says. “Maybe I can take credit for a bit of that.”
Soon after Universal passed, Cross Creek Pictures topper Brian Oliver reached out to Eaton to finance the project — so eager that he offered to put up $2 million before he even signed the deal so that Eaton could order replicas of the 1970s cars to be ready in time for the shoot. He also was instrumental in steering Hemsworth toward the project.
“Typically we don’t spend that kind of money without knowing the movie is going and the budget is done,” Oliver says. “But I was passionate about the script, and I really thought it was a film with a lot of heart, not just a race car movie.”
Cross Creek, also behind “The Ides of March” and “Black Swan,” has quickly become one of Hollywood’s biggest and more unusual financiers of risky films, with coin coming mostly from oil and real estate investments in Texas.
“He’s an unusual maverick in Hollywood because he really fought to get the budget to the highest level he could,” says Eaton of Oliver. “There’s no bullshit with him — he gets stuff done.” Adds Fellner: “Without Brian, the film wouldn’t have gotten off of the ground. He put his money where his mouth is.”
Shortly after funding started coming together, Greengrass dropped off the project due, ironically, to his issues with the budget. Within 24 hours, Morgan and Fellner enticed Howard to come onboard. The financing arrangement intrigued him, but what really attracted Howard was the ability to re-create the world of Formula One in the 1970s “when sex was safe and driving was dangerous,” as he has said in past interviews.
“Ron was incredibly gracious in trusting us to deliver,” Eaton says. “He was very smart about knowing we needed to make this film in a different way. He’d never made a film with a bond before, and never made a film with a contingency before, but he rolled up his sleeves and was ready to learn.” Some of that indie spirit has already rubbed off on Howard, who is now sticking with a mostly British crew on his next project, “In the Heart of the Sea,” including “Rush” cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle and costume designer Julian Day. “Heart” lenses in London.
Exclusive Media came in as the final partner on “Rush,” brought in by Oliver under his deal with Exclusive to jointly finance two projects per year.
Cross Creek split the cost of the pic with Exclusive, with the former putting its own cash in to the pic and the latter financing through a bank loan made against pre-sales generated in 2011 at the Afm, where Howard helped shop the project to buyers. The move proved a success, as Exclusive secured $33 million in foreign pre-sales.
Additionally, Oliver and Eaton structured the project as a U.K.-German co-production, enabling them to secure about $12 million in soft money.
As a result, U.K. rights ended up going to Studiocanal. Universal agreed to distribute “Rush” in the U.S. through its output deal with Cross Creek.
Eaton pressed to put all of the money raised on the screen. “Rush” became the highest-budget film he had ever worked with after 2000’s “The Claim,” which cost $18 million to produce.
“(‘Rush’) was financed in exactly the same way we finance every independent film, and we approached shooting in the same way as we do everything — you try to put as much money as you can onscreen,” Eaton says. “It’s about not wasting money on things you don’t need, like private jets and extravagances.”
Hollywood has tried to bring to life the world of Formula One before.
Sylvester Stallone directed “Driven,” which originally was set in the world of F1, before he changed course and based it on rival Cart racing, instead.
The reason? To gain access to F1, filmmakers must first get the greenlight from the often polarizing Bernie Ecclestone, the 82-year-old billionaire who holds a tight grip on the racing league that has long counted the elite as fans, including Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, and celebs including Michael Fassbender, Patrick Dempsey, Gordon Ramsey, George Lucas, and Cirque de Soleil founder Guy Laliberte.
Although Stallone tried to gain Ecclestone’s approval, “I apologize to fans of Formula 1, but there is a certain individual there who runs the sport that has his own agenda,” Stallone said in 2000. “F1 is very formal, and it’s very hard to get to know people.”
David Cronenberg also planned to direct a tentpole around F1 for Paramount, in 1986, with the director scouting the project by attending Grand Prix races in Australia and Mexico. The film, “Red Cars,” would have revolved around American driver Phil Hill winning the world championship for Ferrari in 1961. Plans were shelved when Ecclestone decided not to support the project. Instead, Cronenberg published a limited edition art book based on the screenplay in 2005.
One of the few cinematic standouts so far is Asif Kapadia’s documentary “Senna,” about the charismatic Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, killed in a race in 1994 that’s show in the docu. “Senna” went on to earn $8.2 million, and helped educate viewers of the sport by focusing not on the races but Senna’s iconic presence and his impact on pop culture.
“Rush” is looking to put a spotlight on the personalities behind the wheel and the often riveting rivalries between drivers — what many consider the real draw to the sport. Bruhl has compared them to “modern knights constantly facing death.”
As the film races toward its September release — it will be shown at the Toronto Film Festival out of competition — Howard has screened it for not only racing fans but Formula One, itself.
He recently showed the film to a group of F1 drivers (including Lauda, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa) at Germany’s Grand Prix, calling that audience the toughest test so far, and comparing the experience to screening “Apollo 13” to Nasa’s astronauts and mission controllers in 1995.
In his efforts to promote the film, Howard has called the Hunt-Lauda rivalry one of the greatest in all of sports. “Their story is so remarkable, you (could) only do it if it was true, because people wouldn’t quite believe it. They were willing to risk their lives to attain this elite status. They paid a price for it, but they defined themselves.”
Morgan also has been doing his part to reassure F1 fans that the film is authentic, stressing that it’s about the people in the cars, and not the sport itself.
Any way the wheel’s spun, it’s clear the film’s overall success will largely be driven by how it plays overseas. “Rush” will need to appeal to an international audience that’s more familiar with F1 — a sport second in popularity only to soccer — than to those in the U.S.
But Howard needs to hook moviegoers closer to home — making the American director’s job a much tougher sell.
It’s not really that surprising that there’s nothing all that American about “Rush.”
Formula One is still struggling to find an audience in the U.S. It’s looking to change that through a new $3 million broadcasting deal with NBC Sports that airs 13 races on the cable channel, two on CNBC, and four on NBC. The Monaco Grand Prix was the first of four F1 races to air live on NBC this year, with the final race taking place Nov. 24 from Brazil.
Ratings have averaged a 0.3 rating, although the Monaco race was watched by 1.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched Formula One race on U.S. television in six years, and up 40% over last year’s race when it aired on Speed TV, Nielsen said.
Promos have emphasized the speed of F1’s jetfighter cars, its international appeal and Olympics-like profiles of the drivers.
Formula One also is looking to rev up new fans in the U.S. through the opening of its first permanent track in Austin, Texas, last year, known as the Circuit of the Americas. Howard attended its first race, where Lauda also roamed the track’s garages.
What’s ironic is that Howard isn’t a very good driver. He proved that recently racing around the track of BBC’s hit show “Top Gear” to promote “Rush,” ending up in second to last place on the series’ celebrity leader board — behind Genesis’ Mike Rutherford.
Host Jeremy Clarkson was quick to mock him, saying “We finally found something you can’t do. Good at directing, brilliant in ‘Happy Days,’ a charming human being — but utterly crap at driving.”
Ron Howard's Risky Formula One Movie, 'Rush'
Can this Euro-centric car racing film play in the U.S.?
By Rachel Dodes Conn
Ron Howard's films, like "Apollo 13" and "Frost/Nixon," typically deal with issues very familiar to American audiences. His latest project, Mr. Howard's first independently financed film, is a bit of a departure: "Rush" chronicles the rivalry between Austrian Formula One racer Niki Lauda and his nemesis, the British driver James Hunt, over the course of the historic 1976 season. While competing in Nürburg, Germany during treacherous weather conditions, Mr. Lauda (Daniel Brühl, right) crashed his Ferrari and sustained severe burns to his face and lungs. Yet, fueled by a desire to beat Mr. Hunt (Chris Hemsworth, above), a playboy type whose wife (Olivia Wilde) ran off with Richard Burton, Mr. Lauda was back in his car just six weeks later—still wearing his bandages—to race against him in the Italian Grand Prix.
When Mr. Howard received the script on spec from screenwriter Peter Morgan ("Frost/Nixon," "The Last King of Scotland"), he wasn't a Formula One fan and didn't know who Messrs. Hunt and Lauda were. "I looked them up on Wikipedia," he admits. But as he read about the racers' personalities, he started to see broader themes that would appeal to U.S. moviegoers. "Maybe this is the American in me identifying this," he says, "but both these guys are utterly and entirely individuals—there was no Yoda telling them to seek their higher self."
For Mr. Howard, the process of researching "Rush" was surprisingly similar to learning about space travel for his "Apollo 13," because he found himself having to make arcane automotive engineering terms accessible to viewers. "It was really fun to understand a sport that combines cutting-edge technology with very dangerous competition," he says. "The visceral, cool and sexy element offered a kind of cinematic experience that nowadays exists only with sci-fi."
Formula One isn't nearly as popular in the U.S. as Nascar, and the subject matter is likelier to play well overseas, where the film's financing came from. It premiered Monday, in London, a few weeks before its U.S. opening. The filmmakers say it's more than just a sports picture, and they expect it to appeal to women as well as men.
Saudi Female Filmmaker Succeeds In Making A Movie About A Girl Who Wants A Bicycle
Los Angeles Times
By Rebecca Keegan
Sept. 6, 2013
In a country where women can't freely move around, Haifaa Mansour covertly films the story of a girl's quest for a bicycle.
The production lost two days to sandstorms. The crew faced a last-minute scramble when the nervous owner of a mall changed his mind about allowing filming there. Some days locals chased the cameras away; other days they brought platters of lamb and rice to the set, and asked to be extras.
Meanwhile, the director hid in a van, speaking to her cast via walkie-talkie. In Saudi Arabia, where driving a car is a subversive act for a woman, a 39-year-old mother of two has done something remarkable: written and directed what her distributor believes is the first feature film shot entirely in the ultraconservative kingdom.
Haifaa Mansour is the director of "Wadjda," a drama about a plucky 10-year-old girl who enrolls in a Koran recitation competition in order to win money for a bicycle she's forbidden by law to ride.
Like her young protagonist, Mansour's own story is one of feminine moxie.
In a sly protest of the country's ban on women behind the wheel, she drove herself to her wedding in a golf cart. Because women in Saudi Arabia can't mingle publicly with men outside their families, she shot her movie covertly on the streets of the capital, Riyadh. With movie theaters banned, she screened "Wadjda" in two foreign embassies and a cultural center.
Petite, self-assured, wearing white high-tops and blue nail polish, Mansour is modern in both her fashion and bearing. She speaks English quickly and colloquially, dropping frequent "you knows" into conversation. And she isn't afraid to counter misperceptions about her homeland, as when she gently corrected Bill Maher for calling Mecca the Saudi capital during a recent appearance on his HBO show.
Laced with empathy and humor, "Wadjda" is a quietly provocative portrait of a culture that straddles the centuries, where men wear the ancient white thobe but carry the latest iPads and women hold important jobs as doctors and news anchors but have yet to vote in an election.
"I didn't want to make a movie about women being raped or stoned," Mansour said in an interview in Beverly Hills in June. "For me it is the everyday life, how it's hard. For me, it was hard sometimes to go to work because I cannot find transportation. Things like that build up and break a woman."
The eighth of 12 children of a poet, Mansour grew up in a small town in a home that she describes as nurturing for a little girl.
"My family is very traditional, but my parents are very supportive, very kind," she said. "I never felt I can't do things because I'm a woman."
When Mansour was a teen, her mother removed the light veil she wore while picking her daughter up from school, a gesture that mortified the young woman at the time, but empowers her when she reflects on it now.
Though movie theaters have been shuttered in Saudi Arabia for decades for religious reasons, Mansour said her father, like others, often rented VHS tapes at Blockbuster for the family to watch -- she grew up on Jackie Chan movies, Bollywood productions, Egyptian cinema and Disney animated films. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was a particular favorite.
"In small-town Saudi, there is nothing to do. You don't get to exercise your emotions because nothing much is happening, you know?" she said. "So to see people falling in love and fighting, it's so powerful, you see beyond your small town."
After earning her bachelor's degree in comparative literature at the American University in Cairo, she returned to Saudi Arabia but quickly felt stymied.
"Going back to Saudi as a young woman, trying to assert yourself in the workplace, you have all those ideas … and all of a sudden you realize because you are a woman you are not heard," she said. "It was such a frustrating moment in my life. It was as if you are screaming in a vacuum."
The idea of women holding jobs still unnerves some Saudi men -- writer Abdullah Mohammed Daoud recently encouraged his more than 97,000 Twitter followers to sexually harass female grocery store clerks to intimidate women from working.
Recalling the freedom she found in movies, Mansour decided to make a short film with her siblings serving as cast and crew, a thriller about a male serial killer who hides under the black abaya worn by Muslim women. Her work -- two more shorts, a documentary and a stint hosting a talk show for a Lebanese network -- focused largely on the untold stories of Saudi women.
In 2005, at a U.S. embassy screening of her documentary, "Women Without Shadows," Mansour met her future husband, American diplomat Bradley Neimann. They now have two children, 2 and 5, and live in Bahrain, where Neimann works for the State Department.
When her husband was posted in Australia, Mansour pursued a master's in film studies at the University of Sydney, and wrote the script that became "Wadjda."
The story was inspired by her now teenage niece, who has tamped down her rambunctious personality to fit into Saudi norms.
"I thought, 'Wow, a woman writer from Saudi Arabia won?'" Rena Ronson said. "I had to meet her. She was so open and tenacious and smart."When Mansour's script for "Wadjda" won an award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, it caught the eye of the co-head of the independent film group at United Talent Agency.
Over the next two years Ronson helped Mansour secure financing for her film, which cost a little less than $2.5 million. The primary obstacle, as far as many potential Middle Eastern producers were concerned, was Mansour's desire to shoot in Saudi Arabia, which she felt lent her story authenticity.
The production finally won the tacit approval of the Saudi government -- one of its backers is Rotana Group, an entertainment company primarily owned by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Another major financier is the German company Razor Film.
Finding actors was another hurdle. Mansour and her producers recruited child performers through small companies that hire folkloric dancers for the Eid holidays. Many of their parents were uncomfortable with a movie about empowering women.
A week before she was scheduled to start shooting, Mansour still hadn't cast her title character when 12-year-old Waad Mohammed entered the room in blue jeans, with headphones clapped over her ears. Singing along to Justin Bieber, she won over Mansour with her sweet singing voice and tomboyish style.
The movie's half-German, half-Saudi crew worked around the rhythms of Saudi life, using cellphone apps that alerted them of the five daily prayer calls. The Germans carried notebooks; the Saudis relied on oral planning.
On the first day of shooting, a start time of 7:20 a.m. came and went. "I don't know what we were thinking," said German producer Roman Paul. "I don't think 7:20 exists in Saudi time. We Germans learned to relax, and the Saudis learned that there is a benefit to doing things at a certain time."
Despite tension on the set -- both from disapproving observers and from the German and Saudi crews learning to work together -- Mansour was buoyant, Paul said.
"She's very fast in overcoming new difficulties, and in an upbeat spirit," Paul said.
Last summer "Wadjda" premiered at the Venice and Telluride film festivals, earning praise for Mansour's subtle direction and a U.S. release from Sony Pictures Classics, which handled the Oscar-winning 2011 Iranian drama "A Separation," about the dissolution of a marriage.
"'A Separation' was such an eye-opener to me in the sense that there were people questioning whether the film went too specific into the Iranian culture," said Michael Barker, co-president and co-founder of the Sony unit. "But if the overall story has a universal appeal, in 'Wadjda' it's about parents and kids and restrictions and freedom, that's something we can all relate to."
Sony Classics has been showing the film to noted feminists -- Gloria Steinem and Queen Noor of Jordan both attended screenings -- and will release it in the U.S. slowly over the fall, starting Sept. 13. (The movie premiered in multiple European countries this summer.)
Mansour said she plans to work in Saudi Arabia again. For her, screening her movie in the kingdom was a high.
"Film is about uplifting, embracing the love of life, it's about moving ahead, it's about victory," she said. "It's not about defeat."
One victory has already been won. This spring, a new law went into effect: With some restrictions, Saudi women are now allowed to ride bicycles.
Rush (U.S. Universal, International Sales by Exclusive)
Ron Howard and his producing partner Brian Grazer whose imagine Entertainment have had an overall deal at Universal for 27 years, however, this mid-budget range film of some $50,000,000 was considered not "big enough" for the majors.
To read more about this complex and fascinating film and its international film business background, read the following articles which are quoted throughout this article with thanks and acknowledgement to:
· Variety September 13, 2013 (reprinted at the end of this blog) · Wall Street Journal, September 5, 2013 · The Hollywood Reporter September 28, 2011
Aside from major director Ron Howard himself, the second “major” element of the film is that Universal is the North American distributor of the film. This happens through the three year minimum-6-picture distribution deal Brian Oliver’s Cross Creek has with Universal in which Cross Creek produces and finances either its own films or films chosen from Universal’s development slate. Cross Creek is set up to generate up to four films per year, with Universal to distribute at least two of them with a wide-release commitment.
Isa (International Sales Agent) Exclusive Media is also an independent. This too is the result of Oliver’s deal with Exclusive to jointly finance two projects per year.
Cross Creek, putting its own cash into the project, split the cost of the picture with Exclusive who financed it through a bank loan made against pre-sales generated in 2011 at the Afm. With Howard there to promote the project to buyers, Exclusive secured around $33 million in foreign pre-sales. See Cinando’s list of distributors .
Additionally, Oliver and Eaton structured the project as a U.K.- German co-production, enabling them to secure about $12 million in soft money from Germany (Egoli Tossell) in accordance with U.K.’s co-production treaty. As a result, U.K. rights ended up with Studiocanal.
Brian Oliver is a “one of Hollywood’s biggest and more unusual financiers of risky films, with coin coming mostly from oil and real estate investments in Texas”. This major Hollywood financier/ producer takes chances which prove his astute, if askew, view of what makes a “Hollywood” picture an indie at the same time, as shown by his credits, The Ides of March and Black Swan.
Andrew Eaton is a British producer with deep Hollywood connections through the British community here, e.g., Eric Fellner of Working Title, the British production company currently owned by Universal. (Parenthetically, I bought U.S. rights to Working Title’s first film, My Beautiful Laundrette for Lorimar along with Orion Classics and so I was quite thrilled to have a chance to be in touch with the talented Brits once again).
Working Title had worked with Andrew Easton on Frost/Nixon. Eric Fellner loved the script and offered it to Universal for funding. However, as said, Universal passed on it because it was too small.
“It is going to be easy for people to think this is a Hollywood movie, and it just is not,” quotes Variety from the film’s British screenwriter, Peter Morgan, who penned Frost/Nixon which was also directed by Howard. “It is a British independent film directed by a Hollywood director.”
Eaton and Oliver spoke of how they put this film together.
“We must champion the fact that this is basically 80% a British film in terms of the people who worked on it, the way it was structured and the way we ran it,” says Eaton, who was behind such indie films as 24 Hour Party People and the Red Riding TV series.
Can a Song Save Your Life? (U.S. UTA, Isa: Exclusive)
Exclusive has another film here, Can a Song Save Your Life? which is also repped by Rena Ronson, Co-Head of the Independent Film Group of UTA. Directed by John Carney who came to the public’s attention with his micro-budgeted Once which plays on stage here in Toronto at the moment, in New York and elsewhere regularly. The Weinstein Company picked it up in Toronto, reportedly paying around a $7 million minimum guarantee for U.S. rights with a P&A commitment of at least $20 million.
UTA as an agency also packages both large (studio) and smaller indie films. Rena Ronson, the co-head of UTA Indie explained how her own indie roots -- first at indie distributor Fox-Lorber and continuing into international sales before becoming the “indie agent” at Wma, succeeding the “indie” founder, Bobbi Thompson, have taught her to speak the language of the international as well as the independent film business. She knows the major modes of operating as well as she knows the independent style of business. She further explained that the successes of the larger films permit the “smaller”, i.e., “indie” films to be made.
UTA repped films in Toronto are listed below. For a full report of rights sold, before, during and after Toronto, watch SydneysBuzz.com for the Fall 2013 Rights Roundup.
Can A Song Save Your Life?
Writer/Director: John Carney Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley, Hailee Steinfeld, Adam Levine, Catherine Keener, Mos Def, Cee-Lo Green Publicity: Falco / Shannon Treusch, Monica Delameter U.S. Producer Rep: UTA / CAA . Isa: Exclusive Media Group
U.S. rights were acquired at Tiff 13 by TWC for a record breaking $7 million.
Since first announcing it in Cannes 2012, Exclusive has made other deals as well for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan (Tanweer), Germany (Studiocanal), Japan (Pony Canyon Inc), Philippines (Solar Entertainment), Russia (A Company), So. Korea ( Pancinema), Switzerland ( Ascot Elite Entertainment Group ), Taiwan ( Serenity Entertainment International ), Turkey (D Productions), the Middle East ( Front Row Filmed Entertainment).
Tiff Special Presentations:
Hateship, Loveship
Director: Liza Johnson Writer: Mark Poirier Writer (Novel): Alice Munro Starring: Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte Publicity: Prodigy PR, Erik Bright
North American Sale: UTA / Cassian Elwes. Isa: The Weinstein Co. Sena has rights for Iceland.
The F Word
Director: Michael Dowse Writer: Elan Mastai Writers (Play): Michael Rinaldi & T.J. Dawe Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Rafe Spall, Adam Driver, Mackenzie Davis, Amanda Crew Publicity: Strategy PR / Cynthia Schwartz, Michael Kupferberg Us Sale: UTA / Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman. Isa: eOne
After UTA sold the The F Word to CBS Films for the U.S. for around $3 million in Toronto, Entertainment One Films International completed other international sales. Besides Canada and the U.K., eOne itself will release the film in Australia/New Zealand, Benelux and Spain feeding its own international distribution pipeline. Other sales include Germany to Senator Entertainment, Middle East to Front Row Entertainment, Nigeria toRed Mist, Russia to Carmen Film Group, Turkey to Mars Entertainment Group
Night Moves
Writer/Director: Kelly Reichart Writer: Jonathan Raymond Starring: Dakota Fanning, Jesse Eisenberg, Peter Sarsgaard, Alia Shawkat Publicity: Ginsberg/Libby, Chris Libby North American Sale: UTA Isa: The Match Factory
Tiff Vanguard
The Sacrament
Writer/Director: Ti West Starring: Joe Swanberg, Aj Bowen, Amy Seimetz, Kate Lyn Sheil, Gene Jones Publicity: Dda, Dana Archer, Alice Zhou North American Sale: UTA / CAA Isa: Im Global sold to Pegasus Motion Pictures Distribution Ltd . For China
As of this writing, rather 1 hour ago, Magnolia Pictures, which lost on an earlier bidding war here for Joe, is finalizing a deal for the picture reportedly for seven figures.
Coincidentallywith the beginning of the Toronto Film Festival, the front page of L.A. Times quoted Rena Ronson in an article called "Making history as cameras roll" (print edition) or "Wadjda' director makes her mark in Saudi cinema" (online edition) about Wadjda , (Isa: The Match Factory) last year’s Venice and Telluride film which Rena had spotted at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, where it won a script award. It was written and directed by a woman which is notable in such a male-dominated part of the world. She met the writer-director, Haifaa Mansour, and that led to working with her for the next two years to finance the film. Its $2.5m budget was backed in part by the Rotana Group, the largest media company in the Middle East, owned primarily by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. The German production company Razor Film owned and operated by Gerhard Meixner and Roman Paul whose first coproduction in 2005, Paradise Now brought them into international prominence and who also picked up last year’s Tiff groundbreaking film from Afghanistan,The Patience Stone, and previously coproduced Waltz With Bashir, came on board and brought German broadcast deals and German film funds as well.
Doha and Film Financing
The fourth panelist was Paul Miller, Head of Film Financing, from the Doha Film Institute , Qatar's first international organization dedicated to film financing, production, education and two film festivals. Doha encourages submission for financing film financing opportunities from anywhere in the world. The Dfi Grants program supports first- and second-time filmmakers in producing and developing their own stories. There are two funding rounds per year. Applications are considered from three regions (basically divided into the Middle East, developing nations and the rest of the world – with some exceptions -- each with different eligibility criteria.
Consideration for funding is open to feature-length films in development, production and post-production, as well as short films in production and post-production. Since 2010, Dfi has provided funding to more than 138 filmmakers.
Beyond the regional grants program, Dfi also invests in a diverse slate of international productions to encourage greater collaboration, mentorship and co‑production opportunities between Gulf countries and the rest of the world. Co-financing applications apply to both Middle Eastern and international feature films, television and web series. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year.
Four films at Tiff that Doha has helped finance:
Mohammed Malas’s Ladder to Damacus, screening in Tiff’s Contemporary World Cinema section; Jasmila Žbanic’s For Those Who Can Tell No Tales in the Special Presentation section. Both films were co-financed by Dfi. Dfi grant recipients Néjib Belkadhi’s Bastardo and Mais Darwazah’s My Love Awaits Me by the Sea screening in the Contemporary World Cinema and Discovery sections, respectively.
The fifth panelist, Ted Hope, Director of the San Francisco Film Society, a non-profit training, festival, and funding operation is known to everyone from his history with Good Machine (which was acquired by Universal and renamed Focus Features), and from his blog Hope for Film/ Truly Free Film . In his always-inimitable fashion, Ted proposed a new sort of financing, called "staged financing", based on a progressive meeting of certain criterion from development through distribution. This way of financing is similar to the venture capital models of financing. His broad ideas on what has to change with the industry's funding and packaging methods brought the panelists and the audience to heel at attention. I reprint his blog after this because this idea goes against the current grain of financing an entire film which may or may not prove to be the final box office bingo winner it always purports to be when securing full financing.
The Sffs provided some funding to Thomas Oliver's 1982 which is in Tiff this year. Aside from winning Us in Progress’ $60,000 in post-production services at this year’s Champs Elysees Film Festival, 1982 also received Sffs’s $85,000 post production grant and participated in the Sffs’s A2E labs. The film is being represented by Kevin Iwashina’s Preferred Content.
The panel became very animated as Ted Hope and Rena Ronson faced off about whether a film is made for a broad audience or whether, if targeted correctly, it could actually make money with niche audiences. As always, the two of them, both equally astute, brought much to bear on both sides of the argument. And, I, as the panel’s moderator, hereby declare, They are both right.
The broader the audience the more potential for making money.
However, as Ted points out, with crowd sourcing, crowd funding and crowd theatrical exhibition, there are many other ways beyond ticket purchases that filmmakers can offer in order to make money with their targeted audience.
This, as well as the great contributions made by Doha’s Paul Miller and Revolution’s Andrew Eaton could have extended the panel into a full day. Paul Oliver of Cross Creek was the quietest, perhaps most reticent, of the speakers, but he amply demonstrated that he is one who puts his money where his mouth is. His acumen and taste make us all grateful for his existence as he is a pivotal point person in creating works of art that create substantial revenues for a sustainable art house film business.
The audience as well was most enthusiastic with their questions and post panel discussions with panelists who stayed to talk.
Articles Reprinted Here:
Truly Free Film
Staged Financing Must Become Film Biz’s Immediate Goal
Posted: 06 Sep 2013 05:15 Am Pdt
Each day I become more and more convinced that staged financing could be a cure to much of the Film Biz’s ills. Staged financing? What? Is the phrase not exactly center of your conversations right now? Why not?!! Whatsamattawidyou? Don’t you know a good solution when you see one?
Although it already exists in many fields, and even in a few small patches of our own yard, I recognize that a staged financing strategy is not yet the force behind Indieland’s own gardening. I am however growing convinced it could yield a far more fruitful harvest than our current methods. A staged-financing ecosystem can’t be built in a one-off manner though. Although it also does not need to the rule of the realm, it needs a permanent eco-system to support it.
Staged financing is part of a much bigger solution that we urgently need to bring to our industry: a sustainable investor class . We need smart money and need to stop seeking, encouraging, and propagating dumb money. Most film investors get out, win or lose, by their third film (I have been told this and don’t have the stats to back it up now, but if you do, please share — otherwise just trust that is what my experience has shown). The value of most independent money in the film biz is the money itself, and that is not good for anyone.
Staged financing is exactly what it says to be. I know in this world such literalness is a strange thing, but there is it. Staged financing is a funding process that is there for each distinct stage. In comparison, it is the opposite of up-front financing — the type that monopolizes the narrative feature world. I am proposing that we institutionalize the staged-financing process and make it easier to finance your film in drips and drabs. Why am I so bullish on what probably sounds like hell to many? Why do I think it will save indie film? Let’s count the ways.
Staged financing increases the predictability of success. Investors can base their continued commitment on a proof of prinicipal instead of just a pitch. The longer one waits the more they know — of course the longer one waits the lower the chance for their to be the opportunity for investment, so there. The more investors can project or even predict their success, the longer they will stay in the game, and the more that will gather to pay — i.e. more capital at play! Staged financing allows filmmakers and their supporters to pivot based on real world data. The old way had very little it could do when new information hit. Your film (and investment) could be rendered obsolete over night. But that does not have to be a done deal is this new world. This is just one of the many reasons for #1 above of course. Staged financing diversifies the creative class. Wouldn’t it be great if the film biz was actually a meritocracy? Well, if people had to make good movies to complete their financing, wouldn’t that be a bit closer to the case? Staged financing gives all people the opportunity to prove they have a good idea, whether that idea is completed or not. It is not about who you know, but about what you’ve done and can do. Documentary film — compared to the narrative world — already has a great deal of staged financing institutionalized — and benefits from gender proportional representation among directors. Need I say more?Staged financing allows ambitious artistic work to flourish. Instead of just having “commercial elements”, unique and inspiring work can be recognized for the potential it truly has. Instead of being rewarded for being able to earn trust or arrogantly claim to know what one is doing, staged financing allows good work to be rewarded for being good work. Currently, we mistake confidence for capability and those that boast to be able to predict what the end product will be (where there is no way that they will actually know what the 100+ decisions each day will yield), get to play — not the work that delivers something new and wonderful. Staged financing rewards quality over risk mitigation. Staged financing is actually a better form of risk mitigation than the present form that is only based on regurgitating what has already proven successful. When we limit risk by mimicking what has worked in the past, all we are doing is guessing and covering our ass — and this leads to a film culture of movie titles overrun with numerals. We live in an era of abundance, and as comforting as the familiar may be, we have more access to it than ever before. We rarely need the new version of it. We will however need truly original work more and more as time goes on as we will drowning in the repetitive. How will we prove what works? Staged financing, my friend, staged financing. Staged financing creates a better project as it incentivizes the creators every step of the way. Not that you truly need to incentivize those that are in the passion industries for the right reason, but it never hurts to weed out those that are in it for the wrong reason. When your financing is based on your work and not your connections or investors’ fears, you will do all you can to make each stage of financing shine, justify itself, and be truly competitive. Staged financing requires you to walk a series of steps, proving you have earned the right with every advance — and you better do your homework if you don’t want to get left behind. Staged financing requires you choose your initial partners wisely. It’s not just about the terms of the deal that should determine whom your investors are — but that is how we generally act nowadays. Everyone should instead seek value-add investors. You should get more than just money from your investors. You should benefit from their expertise. Filmmakers, agents, lawyers, and managers, often are willing to leap into bed with anyone who offers the most cash — there’s a name for that practice and it should not be film investment. Staged financing means the creators will have “skin in the game”. When it is an up-front finance model, the creators are not working for a payout in success but working just for the upfornt fees (or some semblance thereof); they may have “profit participation” but basically the only anticipated earnings are what is in the budget. It becomes increasingly difficult to motivate the creative team to be engaged in the needed work after the film premieres. Investors have long recognized that this is not the most beneficial arrangement, yet what can they do? The answer my friend, is… yup, you know the song I am singing: everyone loves that staged financing! Staged financing is a time-tested process that has already been adopted by many industries . Staged financing is the modus operandi of Silicon Valley and all the Vc firms. Other industries, from mining onwards, have seen real benefits from the process. Why do we limit our success and not apply proven models to our field? Could it be that somewhere someone is desperately clutching on to what ever paltry power they perceive themselves to possess? Hmmm… If they don’t offer the model you want at the store, build a new model — or maybe even a chain of stores. Staged financing gives producers of quality work more power. The main objection to staged financing is that it gives financiers more power. That is only true if you are making crap. Or mediocre work. If you are making something wonderfully astounding you will never struggle to progress to the next round — and in fact you will be able to improve your terms. And investors won’t complain either, because they now can have to know a good thing when they see one.
So if Staged Financing is this marvelous thing, why have our leaders not yet delivered it to you? Well, they don’t care about you; didn’t you know that?
And if Staged Financing could really save Indie Film, why has the community not constructed this marvelous ecosystem yet? Well, we’ve all been too busy chasing shiny objects and marveling at the reflections fed back of us.
But change is here. We have hope. We can build it better together. And I have already started. The San Francisco Film Society is committed to it. We have others who want to be part of. We are have spots for more to join in. And we are going to help a few select projects really rock this world.
Watch this space. Let’s do it together and truly astonish the world with your awe inspiring work. Just don’t be slack, okay?
Variety, August 21, 2013:
“Rush,” the high-octane car racing film about the public rivalry between legendary Formula One drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt during the 1970s, has all the markings of tinseltown’s latest flashy biopic, withRon Howard at the wheel, Chris Hemsworth as its star, and Universal Pictures releasing the film Sept. 27. But that assumption couldn’t be further from the truth.
“It is going to be easy for people to think this is a Hollywood movie, and it just is not,” says the upcoming film’s British screenwriter, Peter Morgan, who penned “Frost/Nixon,” also directed by Howard. “It is a British independent film directed by a Hollywood director.” Get Weekly Online News and alerts free to your inbox
As the majors focus more on putting their money behind mega-budgeted projects with built-in brand awareness — sequels, reboots, films based on toys, videogames and comicbooks — filmmakers are finding Hollywood’s studio system rapidly shifting under their feet.
“Because studios are less interested in the midbudget area, there is a massive opportunity for independents to step into that (area) at the moment,” says “Rush” producer Andrew Eaton of London-based Revolution Films.
Indeed, it’s getting harder to set up a midbudget range original project at a studio, even for veteran filmmakers like Howard and his producing partner Brian Grazer, whose Imagine Entertainment has had an overall deal at Universal for 27 years (the longest standing deal U has had in its 100-year history with a production company). That’s forced directors to look elsewhere to tackle the kinds of films now considered too risky to make or the ones that won’t fill retail shelves with merchandise.
Another Hollywood vet, producer Marc Platt, who’s had a production deal at Universal since 1998 after stepping down as its production head, similarly had to find indie financing for his film “2 Guns” after Universal said it would not bankroll the picture but simply distribute it.
With “Rush,” Howard found himself in an entirely new role as the director of a $50 million film that was his first to be independently financed — through a series of bonds, contingencies and pre-sales. He also was a director for hire, replacing Paul Greengrass, who was originally set to bring the showy personalities of Hunt (Hemsworth), a British playboy; and the more serious Austrian champion Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) to the big screen.
“We must champion the fact that this is basically 80% a British film in terms of the people who worked on it, the way it was structured and the way we ran it,” says Eaton. The exec, who was behind such indie films as “24 Hour Party People” and the “Red Riding” series, is modest, and like most Brits politely shies away from the spotlight, tending not to grab credit even when its due.
But he believes “Rush” shows off Blighty’s mettle.
“These are the kinds of films we should be making in the U.K. because we can do it, and we can do it for better value of money,” he says.
Morgan began writing the story of Lauda, a friend of his wife’s, on spec some years ago, intrigued by the driver’s courageous comeback just 40 days after a devastating crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix that severely burned his face and saw him lapse into a coma, and how that might play against Hunt’s notorious womanizing and party lifestyle that gained him rock-star status.
Eager to work with Eaton again after Fernando Meirelles’ “360,” Morgan showed the producer the first draft of “Rush,” and Eaton was hooked.
“Andrew was always going to be a great fit for this project,” Morgan says. “If (the) responsibility was to make this at a price, Andrew could do this. He could make a $50 million film feel like a $150 million film.”
With Greengrass, another Brit, attached to direct, Morgan showed the script to close friend Eric Fellner at his Universal-owned British production outfit Working Title. Fellner, who had worked with him on “Frost/Nixon,” loved the new script and offered it to Universal for funding.
But the studio passed, considering it risky subject matter, given the biopic elements and low profile of F1 racing in the U.S. Universal also didn’t believe the film could be made for the right price. Still Fellner stayed onboard, and his contacts in the F1 arena proved invaluable. His relationships with Ferrari and McLaren thanks to his work on documentary “Senna” enabled “Rush” to enlist the brands in the pic without losing editorial control.
“Ron (Howard) jokes that my major contribution was engine noise,” Fellner says. “Maybe I can take credit for a bit of that.”
Soon after Universal passed, Cross Creek Pictures topper Brian Oliver reached out to Eaton to finance the project — so eager that he offered to put up $2 million before he even signed the deal so that Eaton could order replicas of the 1970s cars to be ready in time for the shoot. He also was instrumental in steering Hemsworth toward the project.
“Typically we don’t spend that kind of money without knowing the movie is going and the budget is done,” Oliver says. “But I was passionate about the script, and I really thought it was a film with a lot of heart, not just a race car movie.”
Cross Creek, also behind “The Ides of March” and “Black Swan,” has quickly become one of Hollywood’s biggest and more unusual financiers of risky films, with coin coming mostly from oil and real estate investments in Texas.
“He’s an unusual maverick in Hollywood because he really fought to get the budget to the highest level he could,” says Eaton of Oliver. “There’s no bullshit with him — he gets stuff done.” Adds Fellner: “Without Brian, the film wouldn’t have gotten off of the ground. He put his money where his mouth is.”
Shortly after funding started coming together, Greengrass dropped off the project due, ironically, to his issues with the budget. Within 24 hours, Morgan and Fellner enticed Howard to come onboard. The financing arrangement intrigued him, but what really attracted Howard was the ability to re-create the world of Formula One in the 1970s “when sex was safe and driving was dangerous,” as he has said in past interviews.
“Ron was incredibly gracious in trusting us to deliver,” Eaton says. “He was very smart about knowing we needed to make this film in a different way. He’d never made a film with a bond before, and never made a film with a contingency before, but he rolled up his sleeves and was ready to learn.” Some of that indie spirit has already rubbed off on Howard, who is now sticking with a mostly British crew on his next project, “In the Heart of the Sea,” including “Rush” cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle and costume designer Julian Day. “Heart” lenses in London.
Exclusive Media came in as the final partner on “Rush,” brought in by Oliver under his deal with Exclusive to jointly finance two projects per year.
Cross Creek split the cost of the pic with Exclusive, with the former putting its own cash in to the pic and the latter financing through a bank loan made against pre-sales generated in 2011 at the Afm, where Howard helped shop the project to buyers. The move proved a success, as Exclusive secured $33 million in foreign pre-sales.
Additionally, Oliver and Eaton structured the project as a U.K.-German co-production, enabling them to secure about $12 million in soft money.
As a result, U.K. rights ended up going to Studiocanal. Universal agreed to distribute “Rush” in the U.S. through its output deal with Cross Creek.
Eaton pressed to put all of the money raised on the screen. “Rush” became the highest-budget film he had ever worked with after 2000’s “The Claim,” which cost $18 million to produce.
“(‘Rush’) was financed in exactly the same way we finance every independent film, and we approached shooting in the same way as we do everything — you try to put as much money as you can onscreen,” Eaton says. “It’s about not wasting money on things you don’t need, like private jets and extravagances.”
Hollywood has tried to bring to life the world of Formula One before.
Sylvester Stallone directed “Driven,” which originally was set in the world of F1, before he changed course and based it on rival Cart racing, instead.
The reason? To gain access to F1, filmmakers must first get the greenlight from the often polarizing Bernie Ecclestone, the 82-year-old billionaire who holds a tight grip on the racing league that has long counted the elite as fans, including Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, and celebs including Michael Fassbender, Patrick Dempsey, Gordon Ramsey, George Lucas, and Cirque de Soleil founder Guy Laliberte.
Although Stallone tried to gain Ecclestone’s approval, “I apologize to fans of Formula 1, but there is a certain individual there who runs the sport that has his own agenda,” Stallone said in 2000. “F1 is very formal, and it’s very hard to get to know people.”
David Cronenberg also planned to direct a tentpole around F1 for Paramount, in 1986, with the director scouting the project by attending Grand Prix races in Australia and Mexico. The film, “Red Cars,” would have revolved around American driver Phil Hill winning the world championship for Ferrari in 1961. Plans were shelved when Ecclestone decided not to support the project. Instead, Cronenberg published a limited edition art book based on the screenplay in 2005.
One of the few cinematic standouts so far is Asif Kapadia’s documentary “Senna,” about the charismatic Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, killed in a race in 1994 that’s show in the docu. “Senna” went on to earn $8.2 million, and helped educate viewers of the sport by focusing not on the races but Senna’s iconic presence and his impact on pop culture.
“Rush” is looking to put a spotlight on the personalities behind the wheel and the often riveting rivalries between drivers — what many consider the real draw to the sport. Bruhl has compared them to “modern knights constantly facing death.”
As the film races toward its September release — it will be shown at the Toronto Film Festival out of competition — Howard has screened it for not only racing fans but Formula One, itself.
He recently showed the film to a group of F1 drivers (including Lauda, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa) at Germany’s Grand Prix, calling that audience the toughest test so far, and comparing the experience to screening “Apollo 13” to Nasa’s astronauts and mission controllers in 1995.
In his efforts to promote the film, Howard has called the Hunt-Lauda rivalry one of the greatest in all of sports. “Their story is so remarkable, you (could) only do it if it was true, because people wouldn’t quite believe it. They were willing to risk their lives to attain this elite status. They paid a price for it, but they defined themselves.”
Morgan also has been doing his part to reassure F1 fans that the film is authentic, stressing that it’s about the people in the cars, and not the sport itself.
Any way the wheel’s spun, it’s clear the film’s overall success will largely be driven by how it plays overseas. “Rush” will need to appeal to an international audience that’s more familiar with F1 — a sport second in popularity only to soccer — than to those in the U.S.
But Howard needs to hook moviegoers closer to home — making the American director’s job a much tougher sell.
It’s not really that surprising that there’s nothing all that American about “Rush.”
Formula One is still struggling to find an audience in the U.S. It’s looking to change that through a new $3 million broadcasting deal with NBC Sports that airs 13 races on the cable channel, two on CNBC, and four on NBC. The Monaco Grand Prix was the first of four F1 races to air live on NBC this year, with the final race taking place Nov. 24 from Brazil.
Ratings have averaged a 0.3 rating, although the Monaco race was watched by 1.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched Formula One race on U.S. television in six years, and up 40% over last year’s race when it aired on Speed TV, Nielsen said.
Promos have emphasized the speed of F1’s jetfighter cars, its international appeal and Olympics-like profiles of the drivers.
Formula One also is looking to rev up new fans in the U.S. through the opening of its first permanent track in Austin, Texas, last year, known as the Circuit of the Americas. Howard attended its first race, where Lauda also roamed the track’s garages.
What’s ironic is that Howard isn’t a very good driver. He proved that recently racing around the track of BBC’s hit show “Top Gear” to promote “Rush,” ending up in second to last place on the series’ celebrity leader board — behind Genesis’ Mike Rutherford.
Host Jeremy Clarkson was quick to mock him, saying “We finally found something you can’t do. Good at directing, brilliant in ‘Happy Days,’ a charming human being — but utterly crap at driving.”
Ron Howard's Risky Formula One Movie, 'Rush'
Can this Euro-centric car racing film play in the U.S.?
By Rachel Dodes Conn
Ron Howard's films, like "Apollo 13" and "Frost/Nixon," typically deal with issues very familiar to American audiences. His latest project, Mr. Howard's first independently financed film, is a bit of a departure: "Rush" chronicles the rivalry between Austrian Formula One racer Niki Lauda and his nemesis, the British driver James Hunt, over the course of the historic 1976 season. While competing in Nürburg, Germany during treacherous weather conditions, Mr. Lauda (Daniel Brühl, right) crashed his Ferrari and sustained severe burns to his face and lungs. Yet, fueled by a desire to beat Mr. Hunt (Chris Hemsworth, above), a playboy type whose wife (Olivia Wilde) ran off with Richard Burton, Mr. Lauda was back in his car just six weeks later—still wearing his bandages—to race against him in the Italian Grand Prix.
When Mr. Howard received the script on spec from screenwriter Peter Morgan ("Frost/Nixon," "The Last King of Scotland"), he wasn't a Formula One fan and didn't know who Messrs. Hunt and Lauda were. "I looked them up on Wikipedia," he admits. But as he read about the racers' personalities, he started to see broader themes that would appeal to U.S. moviegoers. "Maybe this is the American in me identifying this," he says, "but both these guys are utterly and entirely individuals—there was no Yoda telling them to seek their higher self."
For Mr. Howard, the process of researching "Rush" was surprisingly similar to learning about space travel for his "Apollo 13," because he found himself having to make arcane automotive engineering terms accessible to viewers. "It was really fun to understand a sport that combines cutting-edge technology with very dangerous competition," he says. "The visceral, cool and sexy element offered a kind of cinematic experience that nowadays exists only with sci-fi."
Formula One isn't nearly as popular in the U.S. as Nascar, and the subject matter is likelier to play well overseas, where the film's financing came from. It premiered Monday, in London, a few weeks before its U.S. opening. The filmmakers say it's more than just a sports picture, and they expect it to appeal to women as well as men.
Saudi Female Filmmaker Succeeds In Making A Movie About A Girl Who Wants A Bicycle
Los Angeles Times
By Rebecca Keegan
Sept. 6, 2013
In a country where women can't freely move around, Haifaa Mansour covertly films the story of a girl's quest for a bicycle.
The production lost two days to sandstorms. The crew faced a last-minute scramble when the nervous owner of a mall changed his mind about allowing filming there. Some days locals chased the cameras away; other days they brought platters of lamb and rice to the set, and asked to be extras.
Meanwhile, the director hid in a van, speaking to her cast via walkie-talkie. In Saudi Arabia, where driving a car is a subversive act for a woman, a 39-year-old mother of two has done something remarkable: written and directed what her distributor believes is the first feature film shot entirely in the ultraconservative kingdom.
Haifaa Mansour is the director of "Wadjda," a drama about a plucky 10-year-old girl who enrolls in a Koran recitation competition in order to win money for a bicycle she's forbidden by law to ride.
Like her young protagonist, Mansour's own story is one of feminine moxie.
In a sly protest of the country's ban on women behind the wheel, she drove herself to her wedding in a golf cart. Because women in Saudi Arabia can't mingle publicly with men outside their families, she shot her movie covertly on the streets of the capital, Riyadh. With movie theaters banned, she screened "Wadjda" in two foreign embassies and a cultural center.
Petite, self-assured, wearing white high-tops and blue nail polish, Mansour is modern in both her fashion and bearing. She speaks English quickly and colloquially, dropping frequent "you knows" into conversation. And she isn't afraid to counter misperceptions about her homeland, as when she gently corrected Bill Maher for calling Mecca the Saudi capital during a recent appearance on his HBO show.
Laced with empathy and humor, "Wadjda" is a quietly provocative portrait of a culture that straddles the centuries, where men wear the ancient white thobe but carry the latest iPads and women hold important jobs as doctors and news anchors but have yet to vote in an election.
"I didn't want to make a movie about women being raped or stoned," Mansour said in an interview in Beverly Hills in June. "For me it is the everyday life, how it's hard. For me, it was hard sometimes to go to work because I cannot find transportation. Things like that build up and break a woman."
The eighth of 12 children of a poet, Mansour grew up in a small town in a home that she describes as nurturing for a little girl.
"My family is very traditional, but my parents are very supportive, very kind," she said. "I never felt I can't do things because I'm a woman."
When Mansour was a teen, her mother removed the light veil she wore while picking her daughter up from school, a gesture that mortified the young woman at the time, but empowers her when she reflects on it now.
Though movie theaters have been shuttered in Saudi Arabia for decades for religious reasons, Mansour said her father, like others, often rented VHS tapes at Blockbuster for the family to watch -- she grew up on Jackie Chan movies, Bollywood productions, Egyptian cinema and Disney animated films. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was a particular favorite.
"In small-town Saudi, there is nothing to do. You don't get to exercise your emotions because nothing much is happening, you know?" she said. "So to see people falling in love and fighting, it's so powerful, you see beyond your small town."
After earning her bachelor's degree in comparative literature at the American University in Cairo, she returned to Saudi Arabia but quickly felt stymied.
"Going back to Saudi as a young woman, trying to assert yourself in the workplace, you have all those ideas … and all of a sudden you realize because you are a woman you are not heard," she said. "It was such a frustrating moment in my life. It was as if you are screaming in a vacuum."
The idea of women holding jobs still unnerves some Saudi men -- writer Abdullah Mohammed Daoud recently encouraged his more than 97,000 Twitter followers to sexually harass female grocery store clerks to intimidate women from working.
Recalling the freedom she found in movies, Mansour decided to make a short film with her siblings serving as cast and crew, a thriller about a male serial killer who hides under the black abaya worn by Muslim women. Her work -- two more shorts, a documentary and a stint hosting a talk show for a Lebanese network -- focused largely on the untold stories of Saudi women.
In 2005, at a U.S. embassy screening of her documentary, "Women Without Shadows," Mansour met her future husband, American diplomat Bradley Neimann. They now have two children, 2 and 5, and live in Bahrain, where Neimann works for the State Department.
When her husband was posted in Australia, Mansour pursued a master's in film studies at the University of Sydney, and wrote the script that became "Wadjda."
The story was inspired by her now teenage niece, who has tamped down her rambunctious personality to fit into Saudi norms.
"I thought, 'Wow, a woman writer from Saudi Arabia won?'" Rena Ronson said. "I had to meet her. She was so open and tenacious and smart."When Mansour's script for "Wadjda" won an award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, it caught the eye of the co-head of the independent film group at United Talent Agency.
Over the next two years Ronson helped Mansour secure financing for her film, which cost a little less than $2.5 million. The primary obstacle, as far as many potential Middle Eastern producers were concerned, was Mansour's desire to shoot in Saudi Arabia, which she felt lent her story authenticity.
The production finally won the tacit approval of the Saudi government -- one of its backers is Rotana Group, an entertainment company primarily owned by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Another major financier is the German company Razor Film.
Finding actors was another hurdle. Mansour and her producers recruited child performers through small companies that hire folkloric dancers for the Eid holidays. Many of their parents were uncomfortable with a movie about empowering women.
A week before she was scheduled to start shooting, Mansour still hadn't cast her title character when 12-year-old Waad Mohammed entered the room in blue jeans, with headphones clapped over her ears. Singing along to Justin Bieber, she won over Mansour with her sweet singing voice and tomboyish style.
The movie's half-German, half-Saudi crew worked around the rhythms of Saudi life, using cellphone apps that alerted them of the five daily prayer calls. The Germans carried notebooks; the Saudis relied on oral planning.
On the first day of shooting, a start time of 7:20 a.m. came and went. "I don't know what we were thinking," said German producer Roman Paul. "I don't think 7:20 exists in Saudi time. We Germans learned to relax, and the Saudis learned that there is a benefit to doing things at a certain time."
Despite tension on the set -- both from disapproving observers and from the German and Saudi crews learning to work together -- Mansour was buoyant, Paul said.
"She's very fast in overcoming new difficulties, and in an upbeat spirit," Paul said.
Last summer "Wadjda" premiered at the Venice and Telluride film festivals, earning praise for Mansour's subtle direction and a U.S. release from Sony Pictures Classics, which handled the Oscar-winning 2011 Iranian drama "A Separation," about the dissolution of a marriage.
"'A Separation' was such an eye-opener to me in the sense that there were people questioning whether the film went too specific into the Iranian culture," said Michael Barker, co-president and co-founder of the Sony unit. "But if the overall story has a universal appeal, in 'Wadjda' it's about parents and kids and restrictions and freedom, that's something we can all relate to."
Sony Classics has been showing the film to noted feminists -- Gloria Steinem and Queen Noor of Jordan both attended screenings -- and will release it in the U.S. slowly over the fall, starting Sept. 13. (The movie premiered in multiple European countries this summer.)
Mansour said she plans to work in Saudi Arabia again. For her, screening her movie in the kingdom was a high.
"Film is about uplifting, embracing the love of life, it's about moving ahead, it's about victory," she said. "It's not about defeat."
One victory has already been won. This spring, a new law went into effect: With some restrictions, Saudi women are now allowed to ride bicycles.
- 9/15/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Hateship Loveship
Written by Mark Poirier
Directed by Liza Johnson
USA, 2013
Though Liza Johnson’s name may not presently ring too many bells, she is sure to become a household name in the indie genre over the next couple of years. Her last feature, Return, was well-received by critics and included indie darling Michael Shannon. Johnson’s latest – Hateship Loveship – is an assured follow-up that provides both contemplative moments and laugh-out-loud comedy.
Hateship Loveship tells the story of Johanna (Kristen Wiig), an introverted woman who spends her days caring for other people. When she is hired by Mr. McCauley (Nick Nolte) to care for his granddaughter Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld), Johanna assumes it will just be another caregiving job. But when Sabitha and her friend Edith (Sami Gayle) play a prank on her and make her think she is in a long-distance romantic correspondence with Sabitha’s father, Ken (Guy Pearce), a recovering alcoholic,...
Written by Mark Poirier
Directed by Liza Johnson
USA, 2013
Though Liza Johnson’s name may not presently ring too many bells, she is sure to become a household name in the indie genre over the next couple of years. Her last feature, Return, was well-received by critics and included indie darling Michael Shannon. Johnson’s latest – Hateship Loveship – is an assured follow-up that provides both contemplative moments and laugh-out-loud comedy.
Hateship Loveship tells the story of Johanna (Kristen Wiig), an introverted woman who spends her days caring for other people. When she is hired by Mr. McCauley (Nick Nolte) to care for his granddaughter Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld), Johanna assumes it will just be another caregiving job. But when Sabitha and her friend Edith (Sami Gayle) play a prank on her and make her think she is in a long-distance romantic correspondence with Sabitha’s father, Ken (Guy Pearce), a recovering alcoholic,...
- 9/12/2013
- by Laura Holtebrinck
- SoundOnSight
We’ve seen Kristen Wiig create many characters before, whether it’s been the countless memorable creations from her time on Saturday Night Live, supporting comedic roles in movies like Knocked Up, Adventureland and MacGruber, or her outstanding lead performance in Bridesmaids. But it’s doubtful we’ve ever seen her take on the type of role she plays in Hateship Loveship. Liza Johnson’s sophomore directorial effort is the type of indie drama that carries a mostly serious tone, but can’t help but be comedic in awkward moments orchestrated by slightly eccentric characters. Awkward moments, of course, are where Kristen Wiig tends to shine brightest.
Wiig plays Johanna, a housekeeper/caregiver who, following the death of the woman she had been tending to for years, is hired by a Mr. McCauley (Nick Nolte) to help out with his granddaughter Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld). She also meets the mildly charming...
Wiig plays Johanna, a housekeeper/caregiver who, following the death of the woman she had been tending to for years, is hired by a Mr. McCauley (Nick Nolte) to help out with his granddaughter Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld). She also meets the mildly charming...
- 9/10/2013
- by Darren Ruecker
- We Got This Covered
Hateship Friendship
Director: Liza Johnson
Writer(s): Mark Poirier (Smart People, Goats)
Producer(s): Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Cassian Elwes, Jamin O’Brien, Dylan Sellers
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Guy Pearce, Kristen Wiig, Hailee Steinfeld, Nick Nolte
I might not have connected with Liza Johnson’s Cannes-selected Return (Linda Cardellini is nominated for an Indie Spirit Best Actress award) but I’m looking at her sophomore film as what we have come to expect from an Alexandre Payne-ish type film: placing an atypical cast of flawed characters in an extreme situation. If the foursome of Guy Pearce, Kristen Wiig, Hailee Steinfeld and Nick Nolte offer some emotional bravura, then Johnson might be the second to successfully adapt an Alice Munro story for the big screen following Sarah Polley before her with Away From Her. Worth noting: Beginners‘ Cinematographer Kasper Tuxen lenses.
Gist: Based on Alice Munro’s Hateship,...
Director: Liza Johnson
Writer(s): Mark Poirier (Smart People, Goats)
Producer(s): Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Cassian Elwes, Jamin O’Brien, Dylan Sellers
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Guy Pearce, Kristen Wiig, Hailee Steinfeld, Nick Nolte
I might not have connected with Liza Johnson’s Cannes-selected Return (Linda Cardellini is nominated for an Indie Spirit Best Actress award) but I’m looking at her sophomore film as what we have come to expect from an Alexandre Payne-ish type film: placing an atypical cast of flawed characters in an extreme situation. If the foursome of Guy Pearce, Kristen Wiig, Hailee Steinfeld and Nick Nolte offer some emotional bravura, then Johnson might be the second to successfully adapt an Alice Munro story for the big screen following Sarah Polley before her with Away From Her. Worth noting: Beginners‘ Cinematographer Kasper Tuxen lenses.
Gist: Based on Alice Munro’s Hateship,...
- 1/10/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
• James McAvoy, with his streamlined combo of looks and smarts, is in talks to star as activist and author Daniel Domscheit-Berg alongside Benedict Cumberbatch as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in a movie about the controversial whistleblowing website. With Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) directing and a screenplay adaptation by Josh Singer, the as yet untitled film is based on Domscheit-Berg’s book “Inside WikiLeaks: My Time With Julian Assange At The World’s Most Dangerous Website,” as well as another tome, “WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War On Secrecy,” by reporters David Leigh and Luke Harding. [Variety]
• Jennifer Jason Leigh has joined the cast of Hateship,...
• Jennifer Jason Leigh has joined the cast of Hateship,...
- 11/10/2012
- by Solvej Schou
- EW - Inside Movies
As the American Film Market (Afm) kicks off November 1, Im Global has come on board to produce Joe Carnahan's "Stretch." Patrick Wilson stars in the action film, with frequent Im Global partner Jason Blum's Blumhouse Productions ("Paranormal Activity") co-producing. Below, a roundup of additional opening day market titles. "Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage," based on a book of short stories by Canadian author Alice Munro, stars Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Haylee Steinfeld and Nick Nolte in a comedy centering on a teenage girl who tries to spark a romance between her father and the nanny. The film is directed by Liz Johnson (2011's "The Return") and began shooting in late October in New Orleans. Mark Poirier wrote the script, with Dylan Sellers and Cassian Elwes producing. The Weinstein Company has picked up rights to "The Untitled Chef Project," written by Steven Knight. It follows an enfant...
- 11/1/2012
- by Sophia Savage and Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
Both Kristen Wiig and Hailee Steinfeld have joined Guy Pearce and Nick Nolte in the indie dramedy Hateship, Friendship, which starting to shoot next week in New Orleans.
The new movie from Return (2011) director Liza Johnson is based on the book of short stories, ‘Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage,’ by Alice Munro.
Penned for the big screen by Mark Poirier (Goats), the Hateship, Friendship project focuses on a nanny (Wiig) hired to care for a rather wild teenage girl (Steinfeld) who using email, ignites a romantic flame between the nanny and her own estranged father (Pearce), a recovering drug addict living in a different town; Nolte will play the girl’s grandfather who blames Pearce’s character for the death of his own daughter.
Johnson said there are some lighter moments in the story:
It’s a bit more comedic, but I wouldn’t exactly call it a comedy. What...
The new movie from Return (2011) director Liza Johnson is based on the book of short stories, ‘Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage,’ by Alice Munro.
Penned for the big screen by Mark Poirier (Goats), the Hateship, Friendship project focuses on a nanny (Wiig) hired to care for a rather wild teenage girl (Steinfeld) who using email, ignites a romantic flame between the nanny and her own estranged father (Pearce), a recovering drug addict living in a different town; Nolte will play the girl’s grandfather who blames Pearce’s character for the death of his own daughter.
Johnson said there are some lighter moments in the story:
It’s a bit more comedic, but I wouldn’t exactly call it a comedy. What...
- 10/18/2012
- by Nick Martin
- Filmofilia
[Editor's Note: Goats was originally scheduled to open in Austin theaters in August, but the local theatrical release was canceled shortly beforehand. As a result, we held Elizabeth's review until the movie's home video release date, which is today. You can find this movie on DVD, Blu-ray, Amazon Instant Video and Netflix Watch Instantly.]
In theory, Goats seems like your typical coming-of-age story based at a boys' school. But really, Christopher Neil's directorial debut, based on a screenplay and novel by Mark Poirier, is slightly more than that tired premise. Fourteen-year-old Ellis (Graham Phillips, who plays Zach Florrick on one of my current favorite TV dramas, The Good Wife, and looks years past 14) heads to an East Coast prep school, leaving his hippie/trust-fund-baby mom (Vera Farmiga) to her own devices in Arizona with only the groundskeeper "Goat Man" (David Duchovny) to watch out for her.
Goat Man is something of a spiritual guide to Ellis. He provides Ellis with plenty of weed and serves as a makeshift father figure since Ellis' dad has been out of the picture for years. This new prep school is his dad Frank's alma mater, however, and Ellis keeps finding hints of his dad's times there. Frank...
In theory, Goats seems like your typical coming-of-age story based at a boys' school. But really, Christopher Neil's directorial debut, based on a screenplay and novel by Mark Poirier, is slightly more than that tired premise. Fourteen-year-old Ellis (Graham Phillips, who plays Zach Florrick on one of my current favorite TV dramas, The Good Wife, and looks years past 14) heads to an East Coast prep school, leaving his hippie/trust-fund-baby mom (Vera Farmiga) to her own devices in Arizona with only the groundskeeper "Goat Man" (David Duchovny) to watch out for her.
Goat Man is something of a spiritual guide to Ellis. He provides Ellis with plenty of weed and serves as a makeshift father figure since Ellis' dad has been out of the picture for years. This new prep school is his dad Frank's alma mater, however, and Ellis keeps finding hints of his dad's times there. Frank...
- 9/11/2012
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
“Goats” is Christopher Neil’s first film as a director, but he has both an unusually deep connection to the material and an amazingly sturdy foundation of cinematic experience from which to draw. An adaptation of Mark Jude Poirier’s rangy novel of the same name, the film tracks the coming-of-age of Ellis (Graham Phillips), a 15-year-old Tucson native who leaves behind his New Age hippie mom (Vera Farmiga) and his best friend — an affable stoner and their live-in gardener, named Goatman (David Duchovny) – to attend an East Coast prep school where his estranged father (Ty Burrell) once matriculated. For ShockYa, Brent Simon recently had a chance to speak to Neil one-on-one, about the movie, [ Read More ]...
- 8/16/2012
- by bsimon
- ShockYa
Coming of age stories are the bread and butter of independent cinema. They don’t require any snazzy CGI-effects, no big name actors or their $20 million salaries, and the only “buzz” created is through good ol’ word of mouth, not a multi-faceted, multi-media campaign blitz. It’s the sort of back to basics film-making that is necessitated by the budgets available to unproven directors: simple universal stories, simple old-fashioned techniques.
While more story-oriented movies are a nice change of pace from bloated, marketing-driven franchise films, “independent films” have become just as much a commodity as any of the summer tentpole films. Sundance, IFC, Sony Pictures Classic, and the rest of their ilk are all brand names that conjure up particular (and more important, sellable) images. The social outcast protagonist, usually stuck in some existential ennui, surrounded by an assortment of Carroll-esque kooks, pulling the hero in this or that unexpected direction,...
While more story-oriented movies are a nice change of pace from bloated, marketing-driven franchise films, “independent films” have become just as much a commodity as any of the summer tentpole films. Sundance, IFC, Sony Pictures Classic, and the rest of their ilk are all brand names that conjure up particular (and more important, sellable) images. The social outcast protagonist, usually stuck in some existential ennui, surrounded by an assortment of Carroll-esque kooks, pulling the hero in this or that unexpected direction,...
- 8/15/2012
- by Christopher Lominac
- AreYouScreening.com
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Sept. 11, 2012
Price: DVD $27.97, Blu-ray $29.97
Studio: Image
David Duchovny (r.) carries on with Graham Phillips in Goats.
David Duchovny (The Joneses) and Vera Farmiga (Safe House) star in the 2012 comedy Goats, based on the novel by Mark Jude Poirier (who also penned the screenplay).
At 15 years old, Ellis (Graham Phillips) is the most adult member of his eccentric family. His mom (Farmiga) is a New Age hippie who spends all of her time working on self-help rituals with her hustler boyfriend (Justin Kirk, TV’s Weeds), while his estranged dad (Ty Burrell, TV’s Modern Family) is more focused on his new wife (Keri Russell, TV’s Felicity) and family. And then there’s Goat Man (Duchovny), the goat-herding sage who has lived in their pool house since Ellis was a child, teaching him the meaning of stability, commitment, and expanding one’s mind. When Ellis decides...
Price: DVD $27.97, Blu-ray $29.97
Studio: Image
David Duchovny (r.) carries on with Graham Phillips in Goats.
David Duchovny (The Joneses) and Vera Farmiga (Safe House) star in the 2012 comedy Goats, based on the novel by Mark Jude Poirier (who also penned the screenplay).
At 15 years old, Ellis (Graham Phillips) is the most adult member of his eccentric family. His mom (Farmiga) is a New Age hippie who spends all of her time working on self-help rituals with her hustler boyfriend (Justin Kirk, TV’s Weeds), while his estranged dad (Ty Burrell, TV’s Modern Family) is more focused on his new wife (Keri Russell, TV’s Felicity) and family. And then there’s Goat Man (Duchovny), the goat-herding sage who has lived in their pool house since Ellis was a child, teaching him the meaning of stability, commitment, and expanding one’s mind. When Ellis decides...
- 8/14/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Offbeat coming-of-age movie, “Goats,” is in theaters now! Based on Mark Jude Poirier’s best-selling novel, director Christopher Neil’s hilarious and poignant film is a witty reversal of the coming of age formula, a beautifully honest portrayal of life with its rough edges, awkward moments, and non-endings. In “Goats,” Ellis (Graham Phillips) is the most adult member of his eccentric family at 15 years old. His mom (Vera Farmiga) is a New Age hippie that spends all of her time working on self-help rituals with her hustler boyfriend (Justin Kirk). His dad (Ty Burrell) left home years ago and is more focused on his new wife (Keri Russell) and family. And [ Read More ]...
- 8/14/2012
- by monique
- ShockYa
Sweet and simple, almost to a fault, Goats tells a familiar story of a child at the center of a bitter feud between his long-since divorced parents. In his debut film, director Christopher Neil plays it safe (though this may not necessarily be a bad thing). In the end, a strong cast and the sweet and simple nature of the script (based on the novel by Mark Poirier) makes Goats a charming little indie tale worth the viewing....
- 8/12/2012
- Pastemagazine.com
It's a common practice for movie productions to bring in specialists to coach actors in preparation for roles that require them to perform certain complex behaviors, such as driving, fighting or playing the piano. But, what if the complex behaviors in question are rolling joints and smoking pot? Well, according to Graham Phillips, then you turn to a "master of the cannabic arts" for instruction.
In first-time director Christopher Neil's new coming-of-age movie, Goats, Phillips needed to look practiced at smoking marijuana to play Ellis, the son of a New Age "hippie" mother (Vera Farmiga) whose mentor and father-figure is the Goat Man (David Duchovny), a "botanist and a goat trekker" well-versed in said "cannabic arts." For his role, Duchovny joked that he "didn't need" a coach to teach him how to smoke pot, but he did need some instruction in rolling joints. Duchovny also conceded that he isn't...
In first-time director Christopher Neil's new coming-of-age movie, Goats, Phillips needed to look practiced at smoking marijuana to play Ellis, the son of a New Age "hippie" mother (Vera Farmiga) whose mentor and father-figure is the Goat Man (David Duchovny), a "botanist and a goat trekker" well-versed in said "cannabic arts." For his role, Duchovny joked that he "didn't need" a coach to teach him how to smoke pot, but he did need some instruction in rolling joints. Duchovny also conceded that he isn't...
- 8/11/2012
- by BrentJS Sprecher
- Reelzchannel.com
After years of playing spooky Agent Fox Mulder on TV's "The X-Files" and in two big-screen "X-Files" movies, it's only natural that David Duchovny wants to lighten the mood a little bit. The 52-year-old actor won a Golden Globe for his hilarious role as troubled novelist and unrepentant ladies' man Hank Moody on Showtime's "Californication," the sixth season of which is scheduled to air in January. Now Duchovny appears on the big screen in the quirky comedy "Goats" as Goat Man — a chill, perma-stoned wild man of the desert who has inadvertently become the father figure to the son (Graham Phillips) of the hippie (Vera Farmiga) whose garden he's been tending for years.
We sat down with Duchovny as he waxed philosophical about nature vs. technology, the legalization of marijuana, the future of "The X-Files" and why getting to play guitar with Marilyn Manson was a high point of his life.
We sat down with Duchovny as he waxed philosophical about nature vs. technology, the legalization of marijuana, the future of "The X-Files" and why getting to play guitar with Marilyn Manson was a high point of his life.
- 8/10/2012
- by Robert DeSalvo
- NextMovie
With a title like Goats, there's no telling what a movie is going to be about, but, luckily, Reelz caught up with star David Duchovny at the Goats premiere to get the answer.
It is a true coming-of-age story, but it's realistic and it's a little harder-edged. It's just a smart, well-observed movie that parents and teenage kids would enjoy together.
More specifically, Goats is based on the novel of the same name by Mark Poirier and follows teenager Ellis (Graham Phillips), who is preparing to go to prep school, while balancing his neediness of his New Age, hippie mother (Vera Farmiga) and trying to bridge the emotional gap between himself and his straight-laced father (Ty Burrell). There's also Duchovny's Goat Man, Ellis' pot-smoking mentor, though Duchovny says that the character isn't your typical goat-trekking, pot-growing parental figure.
Movie premieres and more weekdays 5:30p Et / 2:30p Pt
Next...
It is a true coming-of-age story, but it's realistic and it's a little harder-edged. It's just a smart, well-observed movie that parents and teenage kids would enjoy together.
More specifically, Goats is based on the novel of the same name by Mark Poirier and follows teenager Ellis (Graham Phillips), who is preparing to go to prep school, while balancing his neediness of his New Age, hippie mother (Vera Farmiga) and trying to bridge the emotional gap between himself and his straight-laced father (Ty Burrell). There's also Duchovny's Goat Man, Ellis' pot-smoking mentor, though Duchovny says that the character isn't your typical goat-trekking, pot-growing parental figure.
Movie premieres and more weekdays 5:30p Et / 2:30p Pt
Next...
- 8/10/2012
- by Ryan Gowland
- Reelzchannel.com
This is a reprint of our review from the Sundance Film Festival. As far as quirky coming of age stories engineered for festivals and the twee aspiring directors who love them go, “Goats” is a fine little movie. Directed by newcomer Christopher Neil from a script by Mark Poirier, who adapted his own novel, it follows a teenager struggling to deal with his estranged parents as he tries to find a place for himself, but it’s also not really about anything at all, or at least anything original. In fact, it’s the kind of entertainment that’s familiar and pleasant enough that you easily forget that nothing much is happening on screen, which may admittedly be damning it with faint praise. But in a cinematic environment already well-stocked with so many tales of teenagers taking their first steps toward finding their own identity, “Goats” feels like the descendant...
- 8/8/2012
- by Todd Gilchrist
- The Playlist
Where’s an Attenborough When You Need One?: Neil’s Debut a Blank Slate
Acting and dialogue coach Christopher Neil, a vague member of the Coppola Clan, makes his directorial debut with Goats, an adaptation written for the screen by Mark Poirier, from his own novel. Having assembled a first rate cast for his feature, it’s too bad that not one memorable moment glances across the screen. Bland and tepid, the passage of time will only reiterate that quirky scenarios don’t provide the necessary backbone for a solid coming of age narrative.
Fifteen year old Ellis is about to leave his trust-fund headcase mother Wendy (Vera Farmiga) behind on her Tucson ranch house to attend the same isolated prep school his distant father found glory at. This is just too much for the New-Age advocate Wendy to handle, for, all his life, she has referred to his...
Acting and dialogue coach Christopher Neil, a vague member of the Coppola Clan, makes his directorial debut with Goats, an adaptation written for the screen by Mark Poirier, from his own novel. Having assembled a first rate cast for his feature, it’s too bad that not one memorable moment glances across the screen. Bland and tepid, the passage of time will only reiterate that quirky scenarios don’t provide the necessary backbone for a solid coming of age narrative.
Fifteen year old Ellis is about to leave his trust-fund headcase mother Wendy (Vera Farmiga) behind on her Tucson ranch house to attend the same isolated prep school his distant father found glory at. This is just too much for the New-Age advocate Wendy to handle, for, all his life, she has referred to his...
- 8/8/2012
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Watch the new trailer for Goats from Image Entertainment. In theaters August 10, the film stars David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Graham Phillips, Justin Kirk, Ty Burrell, Keri Russell, Anthony Anderson, and Dakota Johnson. Produced by Red Crown Productions and Sandia Media in association with Eva Daniels Productions, Goats premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.
In Goats, Ellis (Graham Phillips) is the most adult member of his eccentric family at 15 years old. His mom (Vera Farmiga) is a New Age hippie that spends all of her time working on self-help rituals with her hustler boyfriend (Justin Kirk). His dad (Ty Burrell) left home years ago and is more focused on his new wife (Keri Russell) and family. And then there.s Goat Man (David Duchovny), the goat-herding sage who has lived in their pool house since Ellis was a child, teaching him the meaning of stability, commitment, and expanding one’s mind.
In Goats, Ellis (Graham Phillips) is the most adult member of his eccentric family at 15 years old. His mom (Vera Farmiga) is a New Age hippie that spends all of her time working on self-help rituals with her hustler boyfriend (Justin Kirk). His dad (Ty Burrell) left home years ago and is more focused on his new wife (Keri Russell) and family. And then there.s Goat Man (David Duchovny), the goat-herding sage who has lived in their pool house since Ellis was a child, teaching him the meaning of stability, commitment, and expanding one’s mind.
- 7/12/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The film is directed by first-timer Christopher Neil, and written by Mark Poirier. The concept seems a little bizarre, and the title won’t do, but if you listen to the dialogue,...
- 7/12/2012
- by Sasha Stone
- AwardsDaily.com
If you've ever wondered what Fox Mulder might look like if he were a dirty hippie, look no further than the trailer for the upcoming film Goats. Duchovny plays a wacky botanist known only as Goat Man, a father figure for fifteen-year-old Ellis, who is getting ready for his freshman year at a prep school on the East Coast. His New Age mother is played by Vera Farmiga, and she is apparently more concerned with having Ellis spy on her ex-husband (Ty Burrell) than doing well at school. Written by Mark Poirier (Smart People), the movie is directed by first-time filmmaker Christopher Neil, who is credited as an acting coach on such films as The Virgin Suicides, Being John Malkovich and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (yikes). Somehow it doesn't surprise me that the movie is produced by the same people who did The Kids Are All Right,...
- 7/12/2012
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
If you ever wanted to see how well Joaquin Phoenix’s I’m Still Here look suits David Duchovny, here’s your chance. He’s not mumbling incoherencies on David Letterman’s late night show, but he is bleating plenty as Goat Man in the new trailer for upcoming movie Goats.
Duchovny’s character is just one member of 15-year-old Ellis’ (Graham Phillips) eccentric household, along with his New Age-hippie mother (Vera Farmiga) and her hustler boyfriend (Justin Kirk). Also rounding out the cast are Modern Family star Ty Burrell as Ellis’ father and Keri Russell as his new stepmom.
Duchovny’s character is just one member of 15-year-old Ellis’ (Graham Phillips) eccentric household, along with his New Age-hippie mother (Vera Farmiga) and her hustler boyfriend (Justin Kirk). Also rounding out the cast are Modern Family star Ty Burrell as Ellis’ father and Keri Russell as his new stepmom.
- 7/11/2012
- by Emily Rome
- EW - Inside Movies
Unlike comedians like Zach Galifianakis and Will Ferrell, David Duchovny hasn't dabbled much in the absurd. While he has played strange and unbalanced characters before, most of them have the laid back aura that comes from the actor's low, slow voice. But in Goats Duchovny apparently decided to let his freak flag fly and put his peaceful nature on display. In the film, based on the Mark Poirier novel and directed by Christopher Neil, Duchovny plays Goat Man, a strange, bearded hippy botanist who takes in a fifteen year old kid. Goats premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and will have a limited release next month. Right now you can check out the brand new trailer, courtesy of Yahoo! Goats stars Graham Phillips as Ellis, a young man who has been brought up by a strange father figure named Goat Man (Duchovny), and his weird new-age mother Wendy (Vera Farmiga...
- 7/11/2012
- cinemablend.com
Premiering at Sundance this year, we’ve got the first trailer for Christopher Neil’s lowkey drama Goats. Starring David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Ty Burrell, Keri Russell, Anthony Anderson and Dakota Johnson, it was one of my more-anticipated of the festivals. The Californication star has found a rejuvenated career thanks to that Showtime show and while he is funny in his bearded supporting role, I came away most impressed with newcomer Graham Phillips, who leads the coming-of-age film. Unfortunately the pacing is a bit plodding and not all of the drama works, but this one makes for a good rental. One can see that new trailer below via Yahoo ahead of it’s release next month.
Synopsis:
In “Goats,” Ellis (Graham Phillips) is the most adult member of his eccentric family at 15 years old. His mom (Vera Farmiga) is a New Age hippie that spends all of her time working...
Synopsis:
In “Goats,” Ellis (Graham Phillips) is the most adult member of his eccentric family at 15 years old. His mom (Vera Farmiga) is a New Age hippie that spends all of her time working...
- 7/10/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Today we have the trailer for the upcoming "Goats" comedy, starring David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Graham Phillips, Keri Russell and Ty Burrell. Check it out below. Plot: 15-year-old Ellis (Phillips) is getting ready to leave his luxurious home in the foothills of Tucson for his freshman year at Gates Academy, an East Coast prep school. This means leaving behind Wendy (Farmiga), his flaky, new age mother and the only real father he has ever known, Goat Man (Duchovny). The new movie is directed by Christopher Neil and is based on a novel by Mark Poirier. It already premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is now set to hit theaters on August 10th, in limited release. Trailer:...
- 7/10/2012
- WorstPreviews.com
It's been a long time since David Duchovny was Agent Mulder on The X-Files, and lately the actor has taken to cable roles on "Californication" or the occasional, strange indie role like his turn in Goats, the Sundance selected comedy from Christopher Neil based on the novel of the same name by Mark Jude Poirier. I had a chance to catch the film at Sundance and found myself uninterested in any of the characters, despite a valiant effort by Duchovny to be a hippie, goat herder wiser than his smoked out demeanor lets on. Maybe Sundance was wearing on me, so we'll let you judge for yourself by watching the first trailer below. Here's the first trailer for Christopher Neil's adaptation of Goats, originally from Yahoo: Ellis (Graham Phillips) leaves his unconventional desert home to attend the disciplined and structured Gates Academy. There, he re-connects with his estranged biological...
- 7/10/2012
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Check out the trailer for Goats starring David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Graham Phillips and Keri Russell. Image Entertainment has released the trailer for the Christopher Neil dramedy seen at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The Red Crown Productions in association with Eva Daniels Productions film is scripted by Mark Poirier based on his novel which tells of fourteen-year-old Ellis who is getting ready to leave the Southwest for a boarding school in the East. This means leaving behind his mother and the only real father he has ever known, Goat Man. Goat Man has done more for Ellis than giving him his first bong hit. He has maintained a home on Ellis's mom's property rent-free since Ellis was a child, taking care of small tasks and raising a herd of goats - all the while teaching Ellis the meaning of stability, caretaking, and commitment.
- 7/9/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Check out the trailer for Goats starring David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Graham Phillips and Keri Russell. Image Entertainment has released the trailer for the Christopher Neil dramedy seen at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The Red Crown Productions in association with Eva Daniels Productions film is scripted by Mark Poirier based on his novel which tells of fourteen-year-old Ellis who is getting ready to leave the Southwest for a boarding school in the East. This means leaving behind his mother and the only real father he has ever known, Goat Man. Goat Man has done more for Ellis than giving him his first bong hit. He has maintained a home on Ellis's mom's property rent-free since Ellis was a child, taking care of small tasks and raising a herd of goats - all the while teaching Ellis the meaning of stability, caretaking, and commitment.
- 7/9/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Sundance 2012 is long gone, but its Fox Searchight-like spirit lives on. The first wave of its films have already started to hit (Beasts of the Southern Wild being the most notable example), and the promise of this year’s future critical darlings can be found right here, right now. We’ve got posters, is what I’m trying to say.
The first is for The Sessions (formerly The Surrogate), a drama starring Sundance mainstay John Hawkes, hey-remember-her Helen Hunt, and William H. Macy. Ben Lewin is behind the film, in which a dying man decides he wants to lose his virginity before passing on — for this, he hires a surrogate to train him in the art of physical bonding. Some of it sounds a little dreary and Oscar-y, personally, but our review claims there’s something much more emotional, genuine, and human to be found in the “tender, affecting portrait.
The first is for The Sessions (formerly The Surrogate), a drama starring Sundance mainstay John Hawkes, hey-remember-her Helen Hunt, and William H. Macy. Ben Lewin is behind the film, in which a dying man decides he wants to lose his virginity before passing on — for this, he hires a surrogate to train him in the art of physical bonding. Some of it sounds a little dreary and Oscar-y, personally, but our review claims there’s something much more emotional, genuine, and human to be found in the “tender, affecting portrait.
- 6/27/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
It is rare that a film can approach the subject of war on a purely human level. Often, these films feel the need to comment upon and offer solutions to the larger political and social issues at hand, while failing to grasp or explore the human story that they purport to want to tell.
Director Liza Johnson, in her first feature film, managed to sidestep this potential pitfall and deliver a deeply personal story that asks the audience to consider the characters and their lives alone, while leaving the larger, impersonal questions surrounding the war on the sidelines. In doing so, she makes an affecting and powerful film, one that even those who have grown weary of war films can appreciate.
It was my great pleasure, then, to be able to speak with Johnson earlier this week regarding her film’s conception and creation; the unique merits of a female-led...
Director Liza Johnson, in her first feature film, managed to sidestep this potential pitfall and deliver a deeply personal story that asks the audience to consider the characters and their lives alone, while leaving the larger, impersonal questions surrounding the war on the sidelines. In doing so, she makes an affecting and powerful film, one that even those who have grown weary of war films can appreciate.
It was my great pleasure, then, to be able to speak with Johnson earlier this week regarding her film’s conception and creation; the unique merits of a female-led...
- 2/10/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Image Entertainment has acquired North American rights to the comedy Goats, which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January. The indie distributor plans a theatrical release in the spring. David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Keri Russell, Ty Burrell, Justin Kirk, Graham Phillips and Dakota Johnson star in the story of a fifteen-year-old boy who leaves his luxurious home in Tucson to enroll at an East Coast prep school as he must deal with his eccentric New Age family. Christopher Neil directed a screenplay written by Mark Jude Poirier based on his novel. Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Eric Kopeloff
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- 2/9/2012
- by Jay A. Fernandez , Daniel Miller
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Though the 2012 Sundance Film Festival is starting to fade from memory, buyers and sellers continue to make unhurried deals for the films that premiered there. Image Entertainment has just acquired U.S. rights to Christopher Neil’s coming-of-age stoner film Goats for what I’m hearing was near $1 million. The film premiered January 24 at the Eccles Theater and buyers sparked to the performances by David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Ty Burrell and Graham Phillips. Christopher Neil directed and Mark Jude Poirier wrote the script. The film is based on the Mark Jude Poirier novel, in which a guy leaves his unconventional desert home to attend the disciplined and structured Gates Academy. There, he re-connects with his estranged father and for the first time questions the family dynamics. The film was produced by Red Crown Productions’ Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Shannon Lail and Eric Kopeloff. Executive Producers include Peter Touche, whose Sandia Media partially financed the film,...
- 2/7/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Sundance 2012 review of Goats - Vera Farmiga stumbles at comedy in disappointing 'Goats' It's a letdown really, watching the incredibly talented Vera Farmiga try her hand at comedy; playing a clownish hippie, Earth Mother type and failing miserably in director Christopher Neil's adaptation of Mark Jude Poirier's comic novel Goats. Neil aims for an oddball family comedy in the vein of Little Miss Sunshine but ends up with something far more forgettable. Farmiga deserves much of the blame flitting about her sprawling desert home and letting loose primal screams when she's not practicing yoga. Still, it's impossible to criticize Farmiga too harshly after thinking about her standout performances in dramatic movies like Higher Ground, Up in the Air, Source Code and her career- making Down to the Bone. Comedy is clearly not Farmiga's strength...
- 2/7/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Sundance 2012 review of Goats - Vera Farmiga stumbles at comedy in disappointing 'Goats' It's a letdown really, watching the incredibly talented Vera Farmiga try her hand at comedy; playing a clownish hippie, Earth Mother type and failing miserably in director Christopher Neil's adaptation of Mark Jude Poirier's comic novel Goats. Neil aims for an oddball family comedy in the vein of Little Miss Sunshine but ends up with something far more forgettable. Farmiga deserves much of the blame flitting about her sprawling desert home and letting loose primal screams when she's not practicing yoga. Still, it's impossible to criticize Farmiga too harshly after thinking about her standout performances in dramatic movies like Higher Ground, Up in the Air, Source Code and her career- making Down to the Bone. Comedy is clearly not Farmiga's strength...
- 2/7/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Sundance 2012 review of Goats - Vera Farmiga stumbles at comedy in disappointing 'Goats' It's a letdown really, watching the incredibly talented Vera Farmiga try her hand at comedy; playing a clownish hippie, Earth Mother type and failing miserably in director Christopher Neil's adaptation of Mark Jude Poirier's comic novel Goats. Neil aims for an oddball family comedy in the vein of Little Miss Sunshine but ends up with something far more forgettable. Farmiga deserves much of the blame flitting about her sprawling desert home and letting loose primal screams when she's not practicing yoga. Still, it's impossible to criticize Farmiga too harshly after thinking about her standout performances in dramatic movies like Higher Ground, Up in the Air, Source Code and her career- making Down to the Bone. Comedy is clearly not Farmiga's strength...
- 2/7/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
While Sundance is best known for movies that sell for millions and stir up controversial topics, most of the movies are simple, well-written, well-acted films that are solid, but often get lost in the mix. Lynn Shelton's follow-up to Humpday, called Your Sister's Sister, is one of those movies. Another is Goats, the debut feature of Christopher Neil. Your Sister's Sister features Emily Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt as estranged sisters Iris and Hannah who end up at their family's old cabin when Iris' best friend Jack (Mark Duplass) heads there to get over the one-year anniversary of the death of his brother. The three characters then develop what I'd like to call a "love triangle" but is more like a "love right angle" that flirts on and off with adding that third line. Goats stars David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga and Ty Burrell as the parental figures of a young teenager named Eliis,...
- 1/27/2012
- by Germain Lussier
- Slash Film
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