Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Nov 30, 2016 10:52:54 GMT -6
deadline.com/2016/11/sacha-baron-cohen-greed-fox-searchlight-michael-winterbottom-the-trip-sir-philip-green-topshop-1201861433/
Fox Searchlight Picks Up Sacha Baron Cohen-Michael Winterbottom Comedy ‘Greed’
In feverish bidding, Fox Searchlight has acquired rights to the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy Greed, produced by UK production banner Revolution Films. Baron Cohen is teaming with Brit helmer Michael Winterbottom, who is set to direct, with Melissa Parmenter producing. Several companies were vying for the package but Searchlight sealed the deal.
I’m hearing the story is a satirical take on the world of the super-rich with Baron Cohen playing a cut-throat retail billionaire. While further details are being kept under wraps, the first comparison that springs to mind is Sir Philip Green, the Arcadia Group tycoon who owns a host of UK and U.S. retail outlets including Topshop and Miss Selfridge. Green is commonly known for his lavish lifestyle, perma-tan and investing money into offshore tax havens. But more recently, he made headlines when he sold troubled Brit retail chain British Home Stores, known as BHS, for £1 ($1.24), which then shortly collapsed with the loss of 11,000 jobs and carrying a $800M pension deficit.
Winterbottom is no stranger to the subject of the growing disparity between economic classes – he directed 2015 documentary The Emperor’s New Clothes starring actor and activist Russell Brand, which examined the gaping financial inequality that exists in a society where corrupt bankers are rewarded and ordinary families are crippled by austerity. He and Parmenter are also the director-producer duo behind the amusing hit travelogue/feature The Trip and its sequel The Trip To Italy and upcoming The Trip To Spain, all starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, as well as A Mighty Heart and 9 Songs.
Baron Cohen is repped by CAA. Winterbottom is repped by UTA in the U.S. and Independent Talent Group in the UK.
Fox Searchlight Picks Up Sacha Baron Cohen-Michael Winterbottom Comedy ‘Greed’
In feverish bidding, Fox Searchlight has acquired rights to the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy Greed, produced by UK production banner Revolution Films. Baron Cohen is teaming with Brit helmer Michael Winterbottom, who is set to direct, with Melissa Parmenter producing. Several companies were vying for the package but Searchlight sealed the deal.
I’m hearing the story is a satirical take on the world of the super-rich with Baron Cohen playing a cut-throat retail billionaire. While further details are being kept under wraps, the first comparison that springs to mind is Sir Philip Green, the Arcadia Group tycoon who owns a host of UK and U.S. retail outlets including Topshop and Miss Selfridge. Green is commonly known for his lavish lifestyle, perma-tan and investing money into offshore tax havens. But more recently, he made headlines when he sold troubled Brit retail chain British Home Stores, known as BHS, for £1 ($1.24), which then shortly collapsed with the loss of 11,000 jobs and carrying a $800M pension deficit.
Winterbottom is no stranger to the subject of the growing disparity between economic classes – he directed 2015 documentary The Emperor’s New Clothes starring actor and activist Russell Brand, which examined the gaping financial inequality that exists in a society where corrupt bankers are rewarded and ordinary families are crippled by austerity. He and Parmenter are also the director-producer duo behind the amusing hit travelogue/feature The Trip and its sequel The Trip To Italy and upcoming The Trip To Spain, all starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, as well as A Mighty Heart and 9 Songs.
Baron Cohen is repped by CAA. Winterbottom is repped by UTA in the U.S. and Independent Talent Group in the UK.