Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Oct 11, 2014 9:55:44 GMT -6
variety.com/2014/film/news/new-distributors-saban-clarius-broad-green-bleecker-street-shake-up-indie-scene-1201311513/
New Distributors Saban, Broad Green, Bleecker Street, Clarius Shake Up Indie Scene
Four months into its existence, Saban Films made a serious statement at the Toronto Film Festival as it bought three films — John Travolta’s “The Forger,” Taylor Lautner’s “Tracers” and Hayden Christensen’s “American Heist.”
“That’s what we were here to do,” said Saban Films president Bill Bromiley. “Toronto is always a good place for acquisitions.”
Bromiley should know. Before signing on to the Saban post in the spring, he’d been the key acquisitions exec for Image Entertainment.
Saban’s first purchase came at Cannes when it acquired Tommy Lee Jones’ “The Homesman.” It’s also developing a reboot of the Power Rangers franchise.
“We’ve stuck to our business plan by focusing on commercial high-quality product, with ‘The Homesman’ being a prestige title.”
Bromiley also said he was a bit disappointed over the overall quality of films for sale at TIFF — with one notable exception: forereclusure drama “99 Homes,” starring Michael Shannon and Andrew Garfield. “The title and the subject matter were not intriguing but it’s a fine film,” he said
That title went to another upstart distributor, Broad Green Pictures, which also bought Omar Sy’s immigration drama “Samba” and Tuesday announced a pickup of Mia Hansen-Love’s “Eden.” Brothers Gabriel and Daniel Hammond launched the company this summer.
“We are interested in filmmakers with fresh voices/auteurs – both those just arriving on the scene and those who have been long respected,” the Hammonds said. “We are championing filmmakers as much as we are films, regardless of their country of origin, budget or genre. We are building a team with a strong intuition for talent and sharp instinct for innovation that will allow us to make and release quality films and guide them to reach as wide of an audience as possible.”
Clarius Entertainment acquired Peter Bogdanovich’s “She’s Funny That Way,” starring Jennifer Aniston, and Andrew Karpen’s Bleecker Street bought chess drama “Pawn Sacrifice.”
Clarius acquisition exec Louise Chater aims to provide an alternative to the major studios’ focus on tentpoles.
“We’re operating in the old studio space,” she notes. “Not every film has to a theme park ride. The adult audience is being neglected so it’s an extraordinary time for us.”
New Distributors Saban, Broad Green, Bleecker Street, Clarius Shake Up Indie Scene
Four months into its existence, Saban Films made a serious statement at the Toronto Film Festival as it bought three films — John Travolta’s “The Forger,” Taylor Lautner’s “Tracers” and Hayden Christensen’s “American Heist.”
“That’s what we were here to do,” said Saban Films president Bill Bromiley. “Toronto is always a good place for acquisitions.”
Bromiley should know. Before signing on to the Saban post in the spring, he’d been the key acquisitions exec for Image Entertainment.
Saban’s first purchase came at Cannes when it acquired Tommy Lee Jones’ “The Homesman.” It’s also developing a reboot of the Power Rangers franchise.
“We’ve stuck to our business plan by focusing on commercial high-quality product, with ‘The Homesman’ being a prestige title.”
Bromiley also said he was a bit disappointed over the overall quality of films for sale at TIFF — with one notable exception: forereclusure drama “99 Homes,” starring Michael Shannon and Andrew Garfield. “The title and the subject matter were not intriguing but it’s a fine film,” he said
That title went to another upstart distributor, Broad Green Pictures, which also bought Omar Sy’s immigration drama “Samba” and Tuesday announced a pickup of Mia Hansen-Love’s “Eden.” Brothers Gabriel and Daniel Hammond launched the company this summer.
“We are interested in filmmakers with fresh voices/auteurs – both those just arriving on the scene and those who have been long respected,” the Hammonds said. “We are championing filmmakers as much as we are films, regardless of their country of origin, budget or genre. We are building a team with a strong intuition for talent and sharp instinct for innovation that will allow us to make and release quality films and guide them to reach as wide of an audience as possible.”
Clarius Entertainment acquired Peter Bogdanovich’s “She’s Funny That Way,” starring Jennifer Aniston, and Andrew Karpen’s Bleecker Street bought chess drama “Pawn Sacrifice.”
Clarius acquisition exec Louise Chater aims to provide an alternative to the major studios’ focus on tentpoles.
“We’re operating in the old studio space,” she notes. “Not every film has to a theme park ride. The adult audience is being neglected so it’s an extraordinary time for us.”