Max Landis (Chronicle, and the upcoming American Ultra and Victor Frankenstein) has released a new short film called Jane La. The 12-minute short film is a documentary/found footage-style story about a girl named Jane who claims to be creating a bomb as an art project. How much of her plan is a joke and how much of it is real? […]
The post Watch ‘Jane La’ From Max Landis: A Short Film About a Girl and Her Art Project appeared first on /Film.
The post Watch ‘Jane La’ From Max Landis: A Short Film About a Girl and Her Art Project appeared first on /Film.
- 12/16/2014
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
Mark Monheim’s film [pictured] will be shown at the German Films Previews later this month in Dresden.
Global Screen has picked up worldwide distribution rights to About A Girl.
Mark Monheim’s film stars Jasna Fritzi Bauer alongside Heike Makatsch and centres on a 15-year-old girl who, after failing to commit suicide, discovers what fun life can be when she falls in love.
The film is in post-production but Global Screen will show a fine cut at the German Films Previews, taking place in Dresden from June 19-22.
About A Girl is produced by Imbissfilm in co-production with die film, Senator Film Produktion and Bayerischer Rundfunk, with support from FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Filmförderungsanstalt Berlin and German Federal Film Fund.
Global Screen has picked up worldwide distribution rights to About A Girl.
Mark Monheim’s film stars Jasna Fritzi Bauer alongside Heike Makatsch and centres on a 15-year-old girl who, after failing to commit suicide, discovers what fun life can be when she falls in love.
The film is in post-production but Global Screen will show a fine cut at the German Films Previews, taking place in Dresden from June 19-22.
About A Girl is produced by Imbissfilm in co-production with die film, Senator Film Produktion and Bayerischer Rundfunk, with support from FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Filmförderungsanstalt Berlin and German Federal Film Fund.
- 6/12/2014
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic followed up last night’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony by playing a secret, invite-only show at a tiny Brooklyn club. Watch the fan-made videos below. In addition to their Rock Hall cohorts Joan Jett, St. Vincent and Kim Gordon (Lorde wasn’t there), Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis and Deer Tick’s John McCauley also took on vocal duties. The 16-song set list was comprised entirely of Nirvana songs, with Joan Jett tackling the classic “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and St. Vincent’s Annie Clark putting her stamp on “Heart Shaped Box.” Check out the full setlist below the clips. Here’s the setlist for Nirvana and friends’ secret Brooklyn show: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (with Joan Jett) "Breed" (with Joan Jett) "In Bloom" (with Joan Jett) "Territorial Pissings" (with Joan Jett) "Drain You" (with J. Mascis) "Penny Royal Tea" (with...
- 4/11/2014
- by Whitney Phaneuf
- Hitfix
It's been almost 20 years since Kurt Cobain committed suicide in Seattle, but he has hardly been forgotten. On this, what would have been the Nirvana singer's 47th birthday, enjoy 47 videos and images of the man and his music.
Note: Several videos are Nsfw.
1. "Come As You Are"
2. A fan at the Seattle vigil, 1994
3. CNN report on Cobain's death
4. "MTV Live and Loud," 1993
5. Cobain's childhood home in Aberdeen, Wash.
6. "MTV Unplugged" -- "Something in the Way"
7. Dave Grohl talks about Nirvana
8. News report on Cobain's death
9. Cobain in concert, Italy, Feb. 1994
10. 1994 MTV tribute to Cobain
11. New Year's in London, 1991
12. Kurt Cobain Memorial Park, Aberdeen
13. Cobain with Courtney Love and Frances Bean, MTV Music Awards, 1993
14. "Lithium"
15. Kurt Cobain -- the outtakes
16. Nirvana in January, 1992
17. At the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards
18. Interview in Seattle, 1992 (with Cobain holding his baby)
19. A quote from Cobain at an Occupy Wall Street protest
20. Frances Bean Cobain, 2007
21. "About a Girl"
22. October,...
Note: Several videos are Nsfw.
1. "Come As You Are"
2. A fan at the Seattle vigil, 1994
3. CNN report on Cobain's death
4. "MTV Live and Loud," 1993
5. Cobain's childhood home in Aberdeen, Wash.
6. "MTV Unplugged" -- "Something in the Way"
7. Dave Grohl talks about Nirvana
8. News report on Cobain's death
9. Cobain in concert, Italy, Feb. 1994
10. 1994 MTV tribute to Cobain
11. New Year's in London, 1991
12. Kurt Cobain Memorial Park, Aberdeen
13. Cobain with Courtney Love and Frances Bean, MTV Music Awards, 1993
14. "Lithium"
15. Kurt Cobain -- the outtakes
16. Nirvana in January, 1992
17. At the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards
18. Interview in Seattle, 1992 (with Cobain holding his baby)
19. A quote from Cobain at an Occupy Wall Street protest
20. Frances Bean Cobain, 2007
21. "About a Girl"
22. October,...
- 2/20/2014
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame‘s list of 2014 inductees is a wildly eclectic, yet extremely popular gang of performers. Nirvana, Peter Gabriel, Kiss, Linda Ronstadt, Hall and Oates, and Cat Stevens all join the Cleveland institution this year. While none of those performers is gay, they all have their moments of Lgbt influence worthy of note. Here are our favorite gay (or pseudo-gay or gay-related) moments from this quintet of straight acts.
Nirvana: Smells Like a Sexually Confused Teen Spirit
Nirvana’s reign as ’90s grunge godfathers may have been short-lived due to Kurt Cobain‘s suicide, but you’d have a viable reason to claim any of their albums as a personal favorite. I like Unplugged in New York because of its unforgettable Meat Puppets covers, but the band’s adrenalized debut Bleach (’88) has the awesome “About a Girl” and “Scoff,” Nevermind has everything from “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to “Lithium,...
Nirvana: Smells Like a Sexually Confused Teen Spirit
Nirvana’s reign as ’90s grunge godfathers may have been short-lived due to Kurt Cobain‘s suicide, but you’d have a viable reason to claim any of their albums as a personal favorite. I like Unplugged in New York because of its unforgettable Meat Puppets covers, but the band’s adrenalized debut Bleach (’88) has the awesome “About a Girl” and “Scoff,” Nevermind has everything from “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to “Lithium,...
- 12/18/2013
- by Louis Virtel
- The Backlot
We’re just hours away from the series finale of Breaking Bad, titled “Felina” and we are still in the dark about the fates of many of our characters. No one should expect a happy, warm-hearted send off, but we’ve got our own theories and expectations of what could happen tonight. If you’re not caught up, then please click on one of our other articles because everything else is for those who just want to see how it all ends. Consider this your final warning, and remember Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is the one who knocks. (Breaking Bad art by Bill Sienkiewicz)
I’m Glad I’m not Jesse’s Boy
Most viewers believe that Brock (Ian Posada) is still alive so he can be used as leverage to force Jesse (Aaron Paul) to work. In the penultimate episode, Uncle Jack (Michael Bowen) turned to Todd (Jesse Plemons...
I’m Glad I’m not Jesse’s Boy
Most viewers believe that Brock (Ian Posada) is still alive so he can be used as leverage to force Jesse (Aaron Paul) to work. In the penultimate episode, Uncle Jack (Michael Bowen) turned to Todd (Jesse Plemons...
- 9/29/2013
- by Ernie Estrella
- BuzzFocus.com
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
The following article is provided by Rolling Stone.
By Daniel Kreps
No more guessing about what will appear on the 20th anniversary reissue of Nirvana's In Utero — Rolling Stone can now reveal what the mammoth, 70-song, three-disc deluxe edition of the band's final masterpiece will contain: Two versions of In Utero (the original LP remastered, plus the album newly remixed) as well as more than 40 tracks of unreleased demos, rehearsals, live performances, B-sides, and a recently unearthed, never-before-heard Nirvana instrumental. The reissue will arrive September 24th.
Link: Rolling Stone’s List of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time: Nirvana
The first disc will feature a remastered version of the original, Steve Albini-produced In Utero, complete with the two tracks ("Heart Shaped Box," "All Apologies") that Scott Litt mixed for In Utero's final version. The oft-bootlegged abrasive Albini versions of those two songs will finally legally appear on the Iu reissue,...
By Daniel Kreps
No more guessing about what will appear on the 20th anniversary reissue of Nirvana's In Utero — Rolling Stone can now reveal what the mammoth, 70-song, three-disc deluxe edition of the band's final masterpiece will contain: Two versions of In Utero (the original LP remastered, plus the album newly remixed) as well as more than 40 tracks of unreleased demos, rehearsals, live performances, B-sides, and a recently unearthed, never-before-heard Nirvana instrumental. The reissue will arrive September 24th.
Link: Rolling Stone’s List of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time: Nirvana
The first disc will feature a remastered version of the original, Steve Albini-produced In Utero, complete with the two tracks ("Heart Shaped Box," "All Apologies") that Scott Litt mixed for In Utero's final version. The oft-bootlegged abrasive Albini versions of those two songs will finally legally appear on the Iu reissue,...
- 8/13/2013
- Huffington Post
"It's About A Girl" is a new web series from filmmaker Andrew Jenks, charting the experience of looking for love in your twenties -- and what happens when your expectations don't quite match up to reality. A new episode will be posted here on HuffPost Women each week.
In episode 4 of "It's About A Girl," the series' protagonist fantasizes about a girlfriend who makes an otherwise mundane activity, like shopping for clothes, playful and fun. His reality, however, involves attempting to strike up a conversation in a much more formal, high-brow environment. (Spoiler alert: It doesn't go very well.)
Andrew Jenks described his desire to approach intellectually curious women in a Q&A with the Huffington Post. He said:
Whenever I was walking around the city I would notice so many beautiful women. And I’d start to think about what the perfect woman would be like -- a scientist,...
In episode 4 of "It's About A Girl," the series' protagonist fantasizes about a girlfriend who makes an otherwise mundane activity, like shopping for clothes, playful and fun. His reality, however, involves attempting to strike up a conversation in a much more formal, high-brow environment. (Spoiler alert: It doesn't go very well.)
Andrew Jenks described his desire to approach intellectually curious women in a Q&A with the Huffington Post. He said:
Whenever I was walking around the city I would notice so many beautiful women. And I’d start to think about what the perfect woman would be like -- a scientist,...
- 7/30/2013
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
"It's About A Girl" is a new web series from filmmaker Andrew Jenks, charting the experience of looking for love in your twenties -- and what happens when your expectations don't quite match up to reality. A new episode will be posted here on HuffPost Women each week.
In this week's installment of "It's About A Girl," the protagonist's fantasy involves elegant rooftop drinks with the beautiful woman he met last week. Unfortunately, his date is pretty far from his reality -- which involves making epically awkward eyes at a girl on the subway.
In a Q&A with the Huffington Post, Jenks reflected on how frustrating it is to be surrounded by interesting strangers but be unable to summon the courage to speak to them: "Man, what if I had the guts to go up to one of these women? I'm a normal guy. I can talk and be cool.
In this week's installment of "It's About A Girl," the protagonist's fantasy involves elegant rooftop drinks with the beautiful woman he met last week. Unfortunately, his date is pretty far from his reality -- which involves making epically awkward eyes at a girl on the subway.
In a Q&A with the Huffington Post, Jenks reflected on how frustrating it is to be surrounded by interesting strangers but be unable to summon the courage to speak to them: "Man, what if I had the guts to go up to one of these women? I'm a normal guy. I can talk and be cool.
- 7/16/2013
- by Nina Bahadur
- Huffington Post
Andrew Jenks is best known for his MTV series, World Of Jenks, but his most recent project provides an introspective experience rarely offered on TV. Jenks is the creator and star of It's About A Girl, a very clever web series that seeks to draw a line between dream and reality. While the premise may sound like a bad Inception knock-off, It's About A Girl is actually quite clever in the way it juxtaposes fantasies against the mundane nature of real life. The series follows Jenks as he pursues the girl of his dreams, but instead of painting an idealistic picture where that girl falls into his lap, Jenks instead plays a character who can only meet his true love (played by Taryn Southern) through a TV screen. The best part of It's About A Girl's debut episode is its lack of dialogue. Many web series feel obliged to...
- 7/12/2013
- by Sam Gutelle
- Tubefilter.com
Tags: Morning BrewPia SundhageRachel MaddowThe Real L WordSomer BinghamWhitney MixterKreayshawnOlivia ThirlbyIMDb
Good morning!
Just in case you missed our Google Hangout with Whitney Mixter and Somer Bingham of The Real L Word yesterday, you can watch it all right here.
Bisexual actress Olivia Thirlby looked ravishing at the Dredd 3D premiere last night. I am loving her hair.
Photos by Dave Kotinsky/Getty
Speaking of bisexual, Berkeley, California is celebrating Bisexual Day on September 23. Yay!
It's Pia Sundhage's last game with the Us Women's Team today. Espnw has a great piece on her leaving, with players like Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach praising her style. Pia talked about being a Gold-medal winning coach but still having a gender barrier in the game.
If I go into a locker room where it's only women's soccer, I have the status. If I go into a locker room with men, I don't have the same status.
Good morning!
Just in case you missed our Google Hangout with Whitney Mixter and Somer Bingham of The Real L Word yesterday, you can watch it all right here.
Bisexual actress Olivia Thirlby looked ravishing at the Dredd 3D premiere last night. I am loving her hair.
Photos by Dave Kotinsky/Getty
Speaking of bisexual, Berkeley, California is celebrating Bisexual Day on September 23. Yay!
It's Pia Sundhage's last game with the Us Women's Team today. Espnw has a great piece on her leaving, with players like Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach praising her style. Pia talked about being a Gold-medal winning coach but still having a gender barrier in the game.
If I go into a locker room where it's only women's soccer, I have the status. If I go into a locker room with men, I don't have the same status.
- 9/19/2012
- by trishbendix
- AfterEllen.com
British author Nick Hornby’s second novel About A Boy is a study of teenage isolation and a friendship forged through a shared love of the band Nirvana. The book’s title was inspired by a song (‘About A Girl’) on Nirvana’s seminal album ‘Bleach’ and was written in the wake of Kurt Cobain’s suicide. When it was announced that the book was to be adapted into a film by the guys behind ‘American Pie’ Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love reportedly stepped in and vetoed any mention or use of Nirvana’s music in the film. As a result the film is substantially different from the book but still manages to capture the essence of Hornby’s novel.
About A Boy was re-released as part of Universal’s on-going back catalogue Blu-ray upgrades. Here is our review…
Will (Hugh Grant) is a rich, child-free, irresponsible Londoner who, in search of available women,...
About A Boy was re-released as part of Universal’s on-going back catalogue Blu-ray upgrades. Here is our review…
Will (Hugh Grant) is a rich, child-free, irresponsible Londoner who, in search of available women,...
- 4/14/2011
- by Chris Wright
- Obsessed with Film
Butch Vig, best known as the producer of Nirvana's Nevermind album and drummer of the band Garbage, recently discussed that he reunited ex-Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic for a track on an upcoming Foo Fighters album. The track is titled "I Should Have Known," and will be featured on the next album from Grohl's band.
The new song sees Novoselic contribute both bass guitar and accordion (!!) to the track. Recording for the as-of-yet untitled album was completed at the beginning of this year, and is being held for a release during April.
Grohl and Novoselic first worked together in the band Nirvana, led by frontman Kurt Cobain. Their breakthrough album was Nevermind, released in 1991, and produced by Butch Vig. The release of the album would usher in a new attitude, sound, and feel for the hard rock/metal and punk community that would eventually be labeled as the "Grunge" genre by the media.
The new song sees Novoselic contribute both bass guitar and accordion (!!) to the track. Recording for the as-of-yet untitled album was completed at the beginning of this year, and is being held for a release during April.
Grohl and Novoselic first worked together in the band Nirvana, led by frontman Kurt Cobain. Their breakthrough album was Nevermind, released in 1991, and produced by Butch Vig. The release of the album would usher in a new attitude, sound, and feel for the hard rock/metal and punk community that would eventually be labeled as the "Grunge" genre by the media.
- 1/31/2011
- by Greg Davies
- Geeks of Doom
Today marks a bittersweet day in rock history, as on this day in 1994, the world was able to pick up MTV Unplugged in New York, the first Nirvana album released after the death of frontman Kurt Cobain. Recorded nearly a year earlier at Sony Studios in New York City, the album collected all of the songs that aired on the original episode of "Unplugged" that aired in December 1993 and added two new tracks in "Something in the Way" and "Oh Me" (a third Meat Puppets cover). The album debuted on top of the Billboard album chart and went on to sell five million copies (and also turned "About a Girl" — a song from Nirvana's first LP Bleach — into a surprise MTV and radio hit).
Despite his anti-corporate stance (he famously wore a T-shirt that said "Corporate Magazines Still Suck" on the cover of Rolling Stone, though that never stopped...
Despite his anti-corporate stance (he famously wore a T-shirt that said "Corporate Magazines Still Suck" on the cover of Rolling Stone, though that never stopped...
- 11/1/2010
- by Kyle Anderson
- MTV Newsroom
Sugababes star Amelle Berrabah fears she is hitting "rock bottom" after being arrested for drink driving. The "About A Girl" singer was pulled over by officers in North London at 5.23 A.M. last Thursday, September 23 and charged with "driving with excess alcohol", according to a police spokesperson.
"I can't believe what's being said! I'm so sad this has happened to me," she made a series of posts on her Twitter account in regards to the incident. "I got up to do my normal 6am jog, you guys know this as I twitter about it all the time!"
"I'd been out the night before for drinks with friends and got stopped on my way to meet my personal trainer and It was obviously still In my system. I'm sooo angry with myself I felt fine and had a coffee. Why do papers always write horrid stuff on me I feel like I'm going rock bottom again.
"I can't believe what's being said! I'm so sad this has happened to me," she made a series of posts on her Twitter account in regards to the incident. "I got up to do my normal 6am jog, you guys know this as I twitter about it all the time!"
"I'd been out the night before for drinks with friends and got stopped on my way to meet my personal trainer and It was obviously still In my system. I'm sooo angry with myself I felt fine and had a coffee. Why do papers always write horrid stuff on me I feel like I'm going rock bottom again.
- 9/28/2010
- by celebrity-mania.com
- Celebrity Mania
September 27, 2010: Amelle Berrabah, the Sugababes star fears to be rock-bottom, post her arrest due to a drunken driving offense.
The ‘About A Girl’ singer was pulled over by police officers in the Northern part of London. This incident took place at 5.23am on the 23rd of September, a Thursday. She was then charged with driving while drunk excessively. This info has been found out from a police spokesperson.
She went ahead and made a few posts on her Twitter account, regarding the incident. She said that she couldn’t believe, what was being said and she is really saddened with all that. She said that she went out for her normal jogging schedule at 6 am like she always does.
She said that she did drink.
The ‘About A Girl’ singer was pulled over by police officers in the Northern part of London. This incident took place at 5.23am on the 23rd of September, a Thursday. She was then charged with driving while drunk excessively. This info has been found out from a police spokesperson.
She went ahead and made a few posts on her Twitter account, regarding the incident. She said that she couldn’t believe, what was being said and she is really saddened with all that. She said that she went out for her normal jogging schedule at 6 am like she always does.
She said that she did drink.
- 9/27/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
Ian Hart is outstanding in A Boy Called Dad, but the darkly comic Perrier's Bounty is hamstrung by its awful title, writes Mark Kermode
Nine years ago, writer Julie Rutterford and director Brian Percival made the affecting short film About a Girl (think Fish Tank meets The Fast Show with a tragic sting in the tale), which went on to win several prestigious awards including a best short Bafta. Having featured on the excellent Cinema 16 collection, About a Girl now resurfaces as one of the DVD extras accompanying Percival and Rutterford's long-awaited first feature, A Boy Called Dad (2009, Kaleidoscope, 15). Talented and confident newcomer Kyle Ward stars as the eponymous baby-father Robbie, an untrammelled 14-year-old whose own errant father Joe has yet to learn the true responsibilities of adulthood. As Joe, Ian Hart brings an effortless sense of conviction to the screen; few actors can convey such conflicted character traits (strength and weakness,...
Nine years ago, writer Julie Rutterford and director Brian Percival made the affecting short film About a Girl (think Fish Tank meets The Fast Show with a tragic sting in the tale), which went on to win several prestigious awards including a best short Bafta. Having featured on the excellent Cinema 16 collection, About a Girl now resurfaces as one of the DVD extras accompanying Percival and Rutterford's long-awaited first feature, A Boy Called Dad (2009, Kaleidoscope, 15). Talented and confident newcomer Kyle Ward stars as the eponymous baby-father Robbie, an untrammelled 14-year-old whose own errant father Joe has yet to learn the true responsibilities of adulthood. As Joe, Ian Hart brings an effortless sense of conviction to the screen; few actors can convey such conflicted character traits (strength and weakness,...
- 8/14/2010
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
A teenage father and his own dad bond in this well-meaning but not entirely successful British drama, writes Peter Bradshaw
Writer Julie Rutterford and director Brian Percival are Bafta winners for their 2001 short film About a Girl; their feature debut is a well-intentioned look at masculinity and fatherhood. Ian Hart plays Joe, who walked out on his family when his son Robbie was just four. Ten years later he shows up in Robbie's life, ironically just as 14-year-old Robbie has become a father himself. Newcomer Kyle Ward gives a good performance as Robbie, and Hart is typically excellent. Their dialogue scenes together at first are gentle, humorous and touching. The problem is that the movie quickly takes a wild, forced lurch into high drama, and Robbie goes on the run, a development which damagingly deprives the film of Hart's presence. I wish they had stuck with the charmingly low-key relationship between Robbie and Joe.
Writer Julie Rutterford and director Brian Percival are Bafta winners for their 2001 short film About a Girl; their feature debut is a well-intentioned look at masculinity and fatherhood. Ian Hart plays Joe, who walked out on his family when his son Robbie was just four. Ten years later he shows up in Robbie's life, ironically just as 14-year-old Robbie has become a father himself. Newcomer Kyle Ward gives a good performance as Robbie, and Hart is typically excellent. Their dialogue scenes together at first are gentle, humorous and touching. The problem is that the movie quickly takes a wild, forced lurch into high drama, and Robbie goes on the run, a development which damagingly deprives the film of Hart's presence. I wish they had stuck with the charmingly low-key relationship between Robbie and Joe.
- 4/29/2010
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Sugababes newcomer Jade Ewen has admitted that she felt "restricted" when she joined the group last year. The Eurovision star was recruited as a new member in September following the departure of ousted singer Keisha Buchanan. Following her appointment, Ewen immediately flew out to Los Angeles to film a video for the band's single 'About A Girl', before hitting the recording studio to replace Buchanan's vocals on forthcoming album Sweet 7. Reflecting on the experience, Ewen told The Scotsman: "I felt really restricted, actually. You've got the part already designated to you, a part that was never written with me in mind so it's (more)...
- 3/8/2010
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
The current line-up of Sugababes had a performance at Jalouse nightclub's In/Out party at London's Bloomsbury Ballroom. But while that sounds like their usual glam stage set, pictures from the event were more reminiscent of Lady Gaga's early New York living room sets.
While the 'Babes looked great in their body-baring mini-dresses, the pictures have caused media to call their performances their raunchiest, and cheapest-looking yet. The girls looked like they performed in a small room in front of a white wall on a stage that looked like it was made of felt. Somewhere in a London high-rise, Keisha Buchanan is either laughing or weeping.
Sugababes performed their new steamy choreography to songs like "About a Girl" and latest single "Wear My Kiss," which features more sexualized, girl-on-girl performance action than they're known for. Although they hit the scene singing songs like "Freak Like Me," their image has...
While the 'Babes looked great in their body-baring mini-dresses, the pictures have caused media to call their performances their raunchiest, and cheapest-looking yet. The girls looked like they performed in a small room in front of a white wall on a stage that looked like it was made of felt. Somewhere in a London high-rise, Keisha Buchanan is either laughing or weeping.
Sugababes performed their new steamy choreography to songs like "About a Girl" and latest single "Wear My Kiss," which features more sexualized, girl-on-girl performance action than they're known for. Although they hit the scene singing songs like "Freak Like Me," their image has...
- 2/22/2010
- icelebz.com
The current line-up of Sugababes had a performance at Jalouse nightclub's In/Out party at London's Bloomsbury Ballroom. But while that sounds like their usual glam stage set, pictures from the event were more reminiscent of Lady Gaga's early New York living room sets.
While the 'Babes looked great in their body-baring mini-dresses, the pictures have caused media to call their performances their raunchiest, and cheapest-looking yet. The girls looked like they performed in a small room in front of a white wall on a stage that looked like it was made of felt. Somewhere in a London high-rise, Keisha Buchanan is either laughing or weeping.
Sugababes performed their new steamy choreography to songs like "About a Girl" and latest single "Wear My Kiss," which features more sexualized, girl-on-girl performance action than they're known for. Although they hit the scene singing songs like "Freak Like Me," their image has...
While the 'Babes looked great in their body-baring mini-dresses, the pictures have caused media to call their performances their raunchiest, and cheapest-looking yet. The girls looked like they performed in a small room in front of a white wall on a stage that looked like it was made of felt. Somewhere in a London high-rise, Keisha Buchanan is either laughing or weeping.
Sugababes performed their new steamy choreography to songs like "About a Girl" and latest single "Wear My Kiss," which features more sexualized, girl-on-girl performance action than they're known for. Although they hit the scene singing songs like "Freak Like Me," their image has...
- 2/22/2010
- icelebz.com
Sugababes newcomer Jade Ewen has claimed that a psychic foresaw her involvement with the band one week before she joined. The singer was recruited for the girl group last year after founding member Keisha Buchanan was ousted from the lineup. Ewen then immediately flew to Los Angeles, where she joined Heidi Range and Amelle Berrabah to film the video for the band's single 'About A Girl'. Speaking to The Mirror, Ewen commented: "I've never done Tarot cards, but a week before I went to La my friend and I had a tea leaf reading. "I don't usually believe all that (more)...
- 2/22/2010
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
The Sugababes have revealed that they bonded with newest member Jade Ewen by "slapping" her bottom. Heidi Range and Amelle Berrabah first met Ewen at the video shoot for their recent single 'About A Girl' in Los Angeles last September. "You know what's funny? The first day we all met, I had Heidi slapping me on the a**e! It was part of the routine for the video for 'About A Girl' to slap each other on the bum," Ewen told More. "That's our favourite move, we do it all the time." Range added: (more)...
- 2/15/2010
- by By David Balls
- Digital Spy
The Sugababes stars came up with a novel way of getting to know each other better when Jade – who previously sang for Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest - joined the girl band in place of founding member Keisha Buchanan.
Jade revealed: “You know what’s funny? The first day we all met, I had Heidi slapping me on the a**e! It was part of the routine for the video for ‘About A Girl’ to slap each other on the bum.
“That’s our favourite move, we do it all the time.”
Heidi quipped: “She’s got a cute bum, look!”
The group have also joked that Jade is placed in between her fellow members – also including Amelle Berrabah – during their dance routines so the girls have easy access to her backside.
Jade said: “Where we stand sometimes depends what we’re wearing. If two are wearing trousers and...
Jade revealed: “You know what’s funny? The first day we all met, I had Heidi slapping me on the a**e! It was part of the routine for the video for ‘About A Girl’ to slap each other on the bum.
“That’s our favourite move, we do it all the time.”
Heidi quipped: “She’s got a cute bum, look!”
The group have also joked that Jade is placed in between her fellow members – also including Amelle Berrabah – during their dance routines so the girls have easy access to her backside.
Jade said: “Where we stand sometimes depends what we’re wearing. If two are wearing trousers and...
- 2/13/2010
- by Alice
- Gossipvita
When performing for "Fight Cervical Cancer in Style" concert at Koko in Camden, London earlier this week, Sugababes suffered from wardrobe malfunction. One of the band's member Heidi Range got her outfit ripped around her shoulder.
Jade Ewen and Heidi sported see-through costumes during the gig, while Amelle Berrabah wore a mini black dress. The three girls delivered such songs as "Get Sexy", "About a Girl", "About You Now", "Wear My Kiss" and "Girls".
To the crowd, Amelle said, "You might as well go and get a smear and check it out because it's your life you're playing with here and it's so easy. It takes five minutes out of your time and you could save yourself a lot of trouble in the future."
Other musical guests at the event were Pixie Lott, La Roux and Paloma Faith.
Jade Ewen and Heidi sported see-through costumes during the gig, while Amelle Berrabah wore a mini black dress. The three girls delivered such songs as "Get Sexy", "About a Girl", "About You Now", "Wear My Kiss" and "Girls".
To the crowd, Amelle said, "You might as well go and get a smear and check it out because it's your life you're playing with here and it's so easy. It takes five minutes out of your time and you could save yourself a lot of trouble in the future."
Other musical guests at the event were Pixie Lott, La Roux and Paloma Faith.
- 1/30/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Jade Ewen wants socks for Christmas. The 'About A Girl' singer - who joined Sugababes in September after former member Keisha Buchanan was ousted from the group amid allegations that she bullied her bandmates - said she wasn't really fussy about anything she is given over the festive season. Jade, 21, a former contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest, said: "I'll be happy with anything, even socks!" Her bandmate Amelle Berrabah - who was admitted to an Austrian clinic in October suffering from "severe nervous exhaustion" - continued with the clothing theme and said she'd like, "simple things... like pyjamas". The third member of the trio Heidi Range, 26, was a little more specific and has made a specific request...
- 12/24/2009
- Monsters and Critics
The pop trio – whose only remaining founding member Keisha left in September and was swiftly replaced by Jade Ewen – have had to deal with allegations from fans that Keisha was unfairly ousted, but Heidi says things in the group have never been better since Keisha departed. The ‘About A Girl’ singer said: “It’s such a difference, we don’t dread coming to work any more! We laugh all the time now.” Bandmate Amelle Berrabah - who checked into a private clinic in Austria for three weeks in October to be treated for “severe nervous exhaustion” – also insisted she, Heidi and Jade are getting on great and feels the group is much stronger following Keisha’s exit. She added to Britain’s Star magazine: “Our personalities really gel. It feels so natural and like we’ve all been together a lot longer. “Jade fits like a glove. She looks great,...
- 12/16/2009
- by Alice
- Gossipvita
Heidi Range doesn't dread going to work any more now Keisha Buchanan has left The Sugababes. The pop trio - whose only remaining founding member Keisha left in September and was swiftly replaced by Jade Ewen - have had to deal with allegations from fans that Keisha was unfairly ousted, but Heidi says things in the group have never been better since Keisha departed. The ?About A Girl' singer said: "It's such a difference, we don't dread coming to work any more! We laugh all the time now." Bandmate Amelle Berrabah - who checked into a private clinic in Austria for three weeks in October to be treated for "severe nervous exhaustion" - also insisted she, Heidi and Jade are...
- 12/16/2009
- Monsters and Critics
Sugababes newcomer Jade Ewen has admitted that she found it "hard" to re-record Keisha Buchanan's vocals for the band's forthcoming Sweet 7 album. The Eurovision star was recruited for the group following Buchanan's ousting in September. She was later asked to replace her predecessor's contributions to 'About A Girl' and other tracks. Speaking to New magazine, Ewen explained: "We're doing some new material too, which is nice because it was hard re-recording (more)...
- 12/9/2009
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
The 40-year-old music mogul told fellow rapper Jay-z he thought the former Eurovision singer looked “mean” and “amazing” in the girl group’s latest video ‘About A Girl’ – in which she appears in a pair of skin-tight leather hotpants.
A source said: “He thinks Jade is amazing and loves her voice. He’s hoping to be in London in March and will be looking her up.”
However, Diddy may find it difficult to get Jade’s attention – she has previously claimed the Sugababes’ busy schedule stops her from meeting men.
The singer - who joined the pop trio in September after founding member Keisha Buchanan left – recently said: “I still haven’t got a boyfriend. You know what is mad? You actually do not have the time.”
Jade rose to success through BBC talent show ‘Making Your Mind Up’, which led her to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song content.
A source said: “He thinks Jade is amazing and loves her voice. He’s hoping to be in London in March and will be looking her up.”
However, Diddy may find it difficult to get Jade’s attention – she has previously claimed the Sugababes’ busy schedule stops her from meeting men.
The singer - who joined the pop trio in September after founding member Keisha Buchanan left – recently said: “I still haven’t got a boyfriend. You know what is mad? You actually do not have the time.”
Jade rose to success through BBC talent show ‘Making Your Mind Up’, which led her to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song content.
- 12/7/2009
- by Alice
- Gossipvita
P. Diddy has a crush on new Sugababes singer Jade Ewen. The 40-year-old music mogul told fellow rapper Jay-z he thought the former Eurovision singer looked "mean" and "amazing" in the girl group's latest video 'About A Girl' - in which she appears in a pair of skin-tight leather hotpants. A source said: "He thinks Jade is amazing and loves her voice. He's hoping to be in London in March and will be looking her up." However, Diddy may find it difficult to get Jade's attention - she has previously claimed the Sugababes' busy schedule stops her from meeting men. The singer - who joined the pop trio in September after founding member Keisha Buchanan left...
- 12/7/2009
- Monsters and Critics
Sugababes have pledged their support to the Fight Cervical Cancer in Style campaign. The 'About A Girl' group are calling for women to wear purple scarves - which are given away in magazines - to raise awareness for the campaign. Earlier this year, Sugababes performed at Jade Goody's wedding a month before she died of the disease. "Having performed at Jade's wedding, it is a subject we feel passionately about," singer Heidi Range said. "It (more)...
- 12/1/2009
- by By David Balls
- Digital Spy
Harmonix and MTV Games have announced that a three pack of songs from Nirvana as well as a three pack of songs from Night Ranger will be added next week to the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation® 3 computer entertainment system and Wii™.
Rock Band Dlc Additions for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 System and Wii
Rock Band is delivering more Nirvana tracks next week, including the rock anthem, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” from the band’s best-selling 1991 album, Nevermind. “Nirvana Pack 02” also includes two live recordings – “Come As You Are,” from the band’s legendary MTV Unplugged performance, and “Lithium,” from the 1992 Reading Festival. The Live at Reading CD/DVD is also available for purchase in stores. Fans can also download “About a Girl,” “Blew” and “School,” from Bleach, already available in the Rock Band Music Store. Nirvana released their debut album,...
Rock Band Dlc Additions for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 System and Wii
Rock Band is delivering more Nirvana tracks next week, including the rock anthem, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” from the band’s best-selling 1991 album, Nevermind. “Nirvana Pack 02” also includes two live recordings – “Come As You Are,” from the band’s legendary MTV Unplugged performance, and “Lithium,” from the 1992 Reading Festival. The Live at Reading CD/DVD is also available for purchase in stores. Fans can also download “About a Girl,” “Blew” and “School,” from Bleach, already available in the Rock Band Music Store. Nirvana released their debut album,...
- 11/26/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (Staff)
- Fangoria
The ‘About a Girl’ hitmakers feel like a completely different group since their recent line-up change and have enjoyed familiarising themselves with their older records and getting to know new member Jade Ewen Heidi Range said: “We’ve been rehearsing loads and are enjoying it at last. We feel like a new band learning the songs again. “I wish we could discuss what we are doing musically more but obviously there’s been so much else to talk about recently and we have to give answers.” In September, the last remaining original member Keisha Buchanan was ousted from the group and replaced by Jade after relations with Heidi and Amelle Berrabah irrevocably broke down. Although former Eurovision contestant Jade, 21, joined the Sugababes almost immediately after Keisha left, she admits it has taken her a while to settle into the girl group. Jade explained to Britain’s Daily Star newspaper: “We...
- 11/25/2009
- by cyan
- Gossipvita
Sugababes singer Jade Ewen has admitted that the band wanted to perform their new single ‘About A Girl’ on the X Factor, but weren’t asked to be on the show.
“X Factor rules the music industry at the moment. It’s so massive. We didn’t get asked to go on the show this year and it makes a difference,” Jade Ewen told the Daily Star.
“Especially over Christmas you just know X Factor is going get number one, simple as that. Next year we hope they have a Sugababes week for acts to sing our songs.”
The girls are still thrilled with how the first single from their first lineup was received.
“We didn’t do any promotion for the new single and it still came in at number eight. We are over the moon with that and our record label is as well,” Amelle Berrabah said.
“X Factor rules the music industry at the moment. It’s so massive. We didn’t get asked to go on the show this year and it makes a difference,” Jade Ewen told the Daily Star.
“Especially over Christmas you just know X Factor is going get number one, simple as that. Next year we hope they have a Sugababes week for acts to sing our songs.”
The girls are still thrilled with how the first single from their first lineup was received.
“We didn’t do any promotion for the new single and it still came in at number eight. We are over the moon with that and our record label is as well,” Amelle Berrabah said.
- 11/25/2009
- by Lisa McGarry
- Unreality
Sugababes have revealed that they wanted to perform their latest single 'About A Girl' on The X Factor. The trio claimed that the ITV1 show dominates the music industry at this time of year and guarantees good promotion for a song. "X Factor rules the music industry at the moment. It's so massive. We didn't get asked to go on the show this year and it makes a difference," Jade Ewen told the Daily Star. "Especially over Christmas you just know X Factor is going get number one, simple as that. Next year we hope they have a Sugababes week (more)...
- 11/25/2009
- by By David Balls
- Digital Spy
The Sugababes feel like a new band. The 'About a Girl' hitmakers feel like a completely different group since their recent line-up change and have enjoyed familiarising themselves with their older records and getting to know new member Jade Ewen Heidi Range said: "We've been rehearsing loads and are enjoying it at last. We feel like a new band learning the songs again. "I wish we could discuss what we are doing musically more but obviously there's been so much else to talk about recently and we have to give answers." In September, the last remaining original member Keisha Buchanan was ousted from the group and replaced by Jade after relations with Heidi and Amelle Berrabah irrevocably broke down. Although...
- 11/25/2009
- Monsters and Critics
The sexy singer – who recently joined the pop band following the departure of founding member Keisha Buchanan – wants to date but is constantly busy with her hectic work schedule. She told Britain’s Metro newspaper: “I still haven’t got a boyfriend. You know what is mad? You actually do not have the time. I think it was actually two weeks ago the last time I even saw my mum. You meet people all the time but you never get the chance to really get to know anyone. There are people around and there was someone and I thought, ‘Oh, he’s cute.’ But I haven’t had that chance to explore that avenue.” The Sugababes – who are also comprised of Amelle Berrabah and Heidi Range – are preparing for the release of their new album ‘Sweet 7’, which is due to come out in March 2010, and have been promoting latest single...
- 11/23/2009
- by cyan
- Gossipvita
Sugababes have revealed that they have recorded a cover version of Christmas song 'Santa Baby'. The group, who are currently promoting new single 'About A Girl', announced that the song will be distributed around radio stations but not made available for release. "We are not releasing it as a single, we are giving it out to radio stations. It's just for people to listen to over Christmas," Heidi Range told the Daily Record. "It is a soulful version of 'Santa Baby' and then the album is out in March." The trio, (more)...
- 11/19/2009
- by By David Balls
- Digital Spy
Sugababes have revealed that the original lineup would not legally be allowed to use their name if they decide to reform. However, the 'About A Girl' trio claimed that Siobhan Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan would still be able to perform songs from One Touch, the only album to include all their vocals. "They could still perform them, but they can't use the name because it belongs to our record company who we signed to," Heidi Range told Real Radio. "They wouldn't be allowed to use any of the songs except 'Overload', it would be like doing a cover," Amelle Berrabah said. (more)...
- 11/18/2009
- by By David Balls
- Digital Spy
Sugababes used body doubles in a music video when their feuding was at its worst. The British girlband - who had a line-up change recently after months of rowing and strained relations - were forced to hire lookalikes to portray them in the video for single 'About a Girl' because they didn't know if the band had any future. Singer Heidi Range explained: "The video was shot anyway, only using body doubles. They thought, there's no band but we still need a video to put out with this song, so the girls who were our stunt doubles became the stars." In September, original band member Keisha Buchanan was ousted from the girl group after months of feuds and tension...
- 11/14/2009
- Monsters and Critics
Sugababes have confirmed that they are planning to tour in March next year. The group, who released new single 'About A Girl' on Monday, revealed that they are eager to hit the road with new recruit Jade Ewen. "We're all really looking forward to it. It'll probably be March time next year, so we've got to prepare for it," singer Amelle Berrabah told GMTV. Heidi Range added: "We'd also love to go to Australia - we'd love some sunshine!" Range (more)...
- 11/13/2009
- by By David Balls
- Digital Spy
Sugababes have claimed that they postponed the release of their upcoming album Sweet 7 so that they could promote it properly. The 'About A Girl' group delayed the record until next year after Amelle Berrabah was diagnosed with nervous exhaustion and forced to take a break from the band last month. "Amelle had a bit of time off and we didn't want to rush it. We hadn't done any promotion," singer Heidi Range told GMTV. (more)...
- 11/12/2009
- by By David Balls
- Digital Spy
Sugababes have announced that they will release their upcoming album Sweet 7 in Germany on December 4. The record, which includes singles 'Get Sexy' and 'About A Girl', is currently expected to be released three months later in the UK on March 8. The trio teamed up with producers including RedOne, Stargate and The Smeezingtons for the album, which also features a collaboration (more)...
- 11/9/2009
- by By David Balls
- Digital Spy
Sugababes have announced that they will release their upcoming album Sweet 7 in Germany on December 4. The record, which includes singles 'Get Sexy' and 'About A Girl', is currently expected to be released three months later in the UK on March 8. The trio teamed up with producers including RedOne, Stargate and The Smeezingtons for the album, which also features a collaboration (more)...
- 11/9/2009
- by By David Balls
- Digital Spy
Sugababes have confirmed the tracklisting for their upcoming seventh studio album Sweet 7, scheduled for release on November 23. The disc, which includes writing and production credits from RedOne, The Smeezingtons, Stargate and Ne-Yo, was recorded in Los Angeles and New York after the group signed to Roc Nation earlier this year. New recruit Jade Ewen has since recorded her own vocals after only original member Keisha Buchanan was ousted from the band last month. The complete Sweet 7 tracklisting: 1. 'Get Sexy'
2. 'Wear My Kiss'
3. 'About A Girl'
4. 'Wait For You'
5. 'Thank You For The Heartbreak'
6. 'Miss Everything' (feat. Sean Kingston)
7. (more)...
2. 'Wear My Kiss'
3. 'About A Girl'
4. 'Wait For You'
5. 'Thank You For The Heartbreak'
6. 'Miss Everything' (feat. Sean Kingston)
7. (more)...
- 10/28/2009
- by By David Balls
- Digital Spy
At this stage, a clearer picture is coming together about "Michael Jackson's This Is It." Using a combination of rehearsals, fly-on-the-wall meetings and proper performances, it shows the once-unstoppable pop star gearing up for his big career comeback using some of his most beloved hits (and sending a message about hope and humanity in the process).
A great music doc is made up of a combination of signature moments, incredible performances and an ineffable something that can give the fan sitting on the couch that same twinge of electricity you get standing three feet from a sweaty lead singer in a packed stadium, or that awkward cringe you get seeing your favorite rock star fall apart on film. In his prime, Jackson had that magic (both kinds, unfortunately) when he took the stage, and we'll find out for sure next week if he still had it near the end of his life.
A great music doc is made up of a combination of signature moments, incredible performances and an ineffable something that can give the fan sitting on the couch that same twinge of electricity you get standing three feet from a sweaty lead singer in a packed stadium, or that awkward cringe you get seeing your favorite rock star fall apart on film. In his prime, Jackson had that magic (both kinds, unfortunately) when he took the stage, and we'll find out for sure next week if he still had it near the end of his life.
- 10/23/2009
- by Gil Kaufman
- MTV Newsroom
Sugababe Amelle Berrabah has been forced to take a break from the group after being diagnosed with a severe bout of nervous exhaustion. The singer, who replaced Mutya Buena in December 2005, has been struggling to cope with recent changes in the band, which saw Jade Ewen replace original member Keisha Buchanan last month. The group have cancelled upcoming performances in Leeds and Germany to promote new single 'About A Girl' and album Sweet 7. "Amelle has been forced to take an unexpected short break away from the pressures of work, following professional medical advice," a statement reads. "As a result of recent events within the band, culminating in a change of lineup, the prolonged duration of stress has unfortunately taken its toll on Amelle and this has led to her suffering from a severe bout of nervous exhaustion. "She is expected to (more)...
- 10/16/2009
- by By David Balls
- Digital Spy
Amazing footage of Nirvana performing “School” at the 1992 Reading Festival was recently made available for fans. The video comes from the CD+DVD Nirvana Live At Reading which hits stores November 17th, with the CD only version arriving on November 3rd. Often heralded as one of the greatest Nirvana performances of all time, the gig featured front man Kurt Cobain rocking out in a hospital gown. Fans can now own a color-corrected video from the original film with audio sourced from the original multi-track masters. Nirvana Live At Reading DVD: 1. Breed 2. Drain You 3. Aneurysm 4. School 5. Sliver 6. In Bloom 7. Come As You Are 8. Lithium 9. About A Girl 10. Tourette’s 11. Polly 12. Lounge Act 13. [...]...
- 10/14/2009
- by Brian Corder
- ShockYa
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.