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click on the Mail Guy to e-mail corrections. Last revised on 1/25/05 Belladonna Productions |
| Belladonna Productions, Inc. |
| 450 West 15th Street, Suite 602 |
| New York, NY 10011 |
| 212-873-4937 |
| 8/02 - Writer-director Noah Buschel started principal photography yesterday on "Bringing Rain," a dramatic feature about an East Coast boarding school. Producers of the film are independent producer Dan O'Meara along with Linda Moran and Rene Bastian. "Bringing Rain" explores the aftermath of an accident at a prep school, and it stars Adrian
Grenier, Noah Fleiss, Larisa Oleynik, Paz De La Huerta, Meritt Wever, Ray Santiago, Alexis
Dziena, Niesha Butler, Natalie Paulding, Olek Krupa, Rodrigo Lopresti, and Ryan
Donowho. The film continues shooting throughout August at locations in New York and New Jersey. "Bringing Rain" marks the feature directorial debut for
Buschel, who previously made the short film "The Living and the Dead." Belladonna's Moran and Bastian claimed the Motorola Producers of the Year award at the IFP Spirit Awards for Michael Cuesta's feature debut "L.I.E." They also recently produced Larry Blume's "Martin &
Orloff." This is the first feature produced by O'Meara, formerly of entertainment law firm Rudolph & Beer and Sony Pictures Classics. 3/02 - Belladonna has announced the establishment of RUSH, a new production services division. Designed to benefit first-time filmmakers as well as seasoned professionals, RUSH will provide guidance through the production and marketing processes as well as physical production assistance for producers looking to focus on other aspects of filmmaking. "We want to help filmmakers optimize their production value and their marketing strategy," said Bastian. "We believe that RUSH will enable us to strengthen our roots in the filmmaking community and to establish lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with filmmakers in the process." Moran and Bastian are nominated for the Independent Spirit Motorola Producer's Award, which will be announced on Saturday, March 23. René Bastian Linda Moran |
| HDNet Films |
| 44 Hudson Street |
| New York, NY 10013 |
| 212 587 8800 |
| 212 587 1950:FAX |
| Indie Finance Guide Variety 2002 Contacts: Tory Tunnell Head of Development Type of business: Financing, production Projects sought: $200.000- $2 million for theatrical release A digital film company unveiled at Sundance '99 by Open City Films' Joana Vicente and Jason Kliot. (Formerly Blow Up Pictures) 1/02 - Blow Up Pictures is using the launch of this year's Sundance festival as an opportunity to signal what Kliot calls a "new start for the company." Blow Up has formed a strategic alliance with ContentFilm in a deal that will provide Blow Up with financing for its upcoming slate of 12-15 lower-budget features. Content is among several investors with equity in Blow Up, which produces mostly digital films with budgets under $3 million. According to Kliot, the pact with ContentFilm takes the burden of raising money off his and Vicente's shoulders. "We want the world to know that we're excited about continuing to work with filmmakers," said Kliot. "We want to give them total creative control and final cut, and now we have the financing in place to do that." Kliot said that he and Vicente have several projects in development and indicated that Blow Up could begin production on a film under the Content alliance in as quickly as a few months. For ContentFilm's John Schmidt (a former chief at October Films), the Content deal continues a relationship with Kliot and Vicente that dates back to Tony Bui's "Three Seasons," which was released by October and produced by Open City. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1999. Reached en route to Park City yesterday, Schmidt indicated that while Content plans on funding a "significant" number of films each year, he realized that it would be "foolish to try to do it all internally." As for Sundance 2002, Schmidt said that he intends to leave the aggressive acquisition work to the other companies, choosing instead to focus on discovering "diamonds in the rough" and forming relationships that can lead to new productions. 1/01 - Lot 47 Films has signed a deal to release half of the features shot by digital producer Blow Up Pictures in the next three years. Blow Up, which co-produced "Series-7" with Killer Films, promised to give the Lipsky Brothers' distribution company 50% of their new digital films with budgets of $1 million or less. Covering North American rights in all media, Blow-Up hopes to explode into a "digital studio," as Blow Up's Joana Vicente calls it. "We can say to directors, if you went to Sundance and were the hot movie you'd get this same distribution," said Blow Up's Jason Kliot. Kliot has been outspoken about his fears that digital films will be pigeon-holed into vanity pieces and hobbies because of their low entry price and availability, and believes that having distribution locked in before a small film begins shooting will protect its theatrical prospects. "We didn't want some piddlely-wink cable distribution deal," exclaimed Kliot. "This is the [digital film] marginalization buster." Lot 47 has limited input and cannot reject a submitted film, but they will be present through the entire production process. The Lipskys contended that filmmakers will no longer have to spend time and energy on how best to position themselves for distributors. "We have unprecedented access," co-president Mark Lipsky said of Blow Up films. "For filmmakers it's like being in a cocoon. It's a safe place." Joana Vicente Jason Kliot Vince Schleitwiler - Development Sharan Sklar |
| Clinica Estetico Productions |
| 127 West 24th Street, 7th Floor |
| New York, NY 10011 |
| 212-807-6800 |
| Employees: Ed Saxon Valerie Thomas |
| Emerging Pictures |
| 245 West 55th Street, 4th Floor |
| New York, NY 10019 |
| 212-245-6767 |
| 212-202-4984 |
| a digital production and exhibition outfit based in New York. Ira Deutchman is the former President of Fine Line Features. 7/02 - Deutchman's business model is not to offer Gotham and other major market audiences yet another art movie venue, but to spread the word to territories that may not be quite so familiar with the world of specialized films. "The idea behind Emerging Pictures is to become a complete vertically integrated digital film company," said Deutchman. "We want to put together a network of non-traditional theaters linked by satellite. We've identified over 5,000 under-utilized auditoriums or theaters in performing arts centers and other venues around the country, and we want to bring movies to them." Emerging Pictures will book each film on a calendar basis, playing for one-week stints only. If a film performs well enough to warrant another booking, it will return to the theater for another week-long booking at a later date. Deutchman says he plans to exhibit other distributors' films as well as acquiring other titles that "fall under the radar" and working with some original productions. "The example that I like to use for people is Scranton, PA," Deutchman said. "Scranton has traditionally been a C or a D market as far as far as art films are concerned. By the time the films get there, it's been six or eight months since the film has been released in major markets. Our philosophy is that if you have a concurrent release with the major markets sent via satellite, then Scranton immediately becomes a B market based on its population. Deutchman hopes to outfit 200 theaters within the next three years. The first three theaters, in Scranton, New Brunswick, NJ, and one other location, will open within the next three months. |
| Filbert Steps Productions |
| 200 West 57th Street, Suite 304 |
| New York, NY 10019 |
| 212-246-2301
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| Film Movement |
| 375 West Broadway, 2nd Floor |
| New York, NY 10012 |
| 212-941-7744 |
| 212-941-7812:FAX |
| They are seeking award-winning, well-written, well-crafted, well-performed, well-produced independent cinema. It can be documentary; it can be features. It can be foreign language. It just has to be good. 9/02 - Larry Meistrich, the founder of the Shooting Gallery production company, helped turn New York's chaotic independent film scene into a viable industry with movies like "Sling Blade" and "You Can Count on Me." Now, a year after the Shooting Gallery overextended itself out of business, Mr. Meistrich is trying to change the independent film world again, this time with a mail-order business championing the overlooked and the unreleased. His new venture, Film Movement, resembles a book-of-the-month club, except that beginning in December subscribers will receive a DVD of a first-run independent film chosen by Mr. Meistrich and other experts. Mr. Meistrich said the service, which will cost $189 for the year ($19.95 if paid monthly) or $30 for a single selection, would do away with the main problem keeping many specialty films from getting distribution: the lack of marketing budgets to compete with Hollywood blockbusters. "I took a year off and looked at what is wrong with independent film," Mr. Meistrich, 35, said in an interview. "Smaller releasing companies can't afford to get people to go to the movie theaters. The economics of a platform release just don't work. It's an exercise in futility." Film Movement, which Mr. Meistrich said was being privately financed, is modeled on the successful film series the Shooting Gallery started in 1999. The series took previously unreleased films on nationwide tours and spawned hits like "Croupier" and "Judy Berlin." There is still no shortage of unreleased films to pick from, Mr. Meistrich said. The Sundance festival receives thousands of submissions for 100 or so spots. Few of the documentaries ever get to theaters. And not even all of the 16 films in Sundance's prestigious dramatic competition get distributed. "Memento," for instance, could not find a buyer and was basically self-released. Film Movement's first film will be "El Bola," from the director Achero Mañas, which was part of the New Directors/New Films series of the Film Society of Lincoln Center in April. Future picks will be a mix of foreign and domestic features, as well as documentaries, said Curtis Hougland, a college friend of Mr. Meistrich's from Johns Hopkins University who serves as president of Film Movement. The films will be selected with the help of a board that includes Richard Peña and Richard Raddon. "We're positioning it as a brand, and putting our reputation on the table to tell you that we're picking for you," Mr. Meistrich said. He added that his background provided the credibility the project needs. Along with Ted Hope and James Schamus of Good Machine, and Christine Vachon of Killer Films, Mr. Meistrich helped spark the New York independent film boom of the last decade. At the Shooting Gallery, which he founded in 1991, he produced 30 films, including Nick Gomez's "Laws of Gravity." But the company's overexpansion, particularly into costly Internet ventures, saddled it with operating losses in the millions, and it went out of business last summer. Eammon Bowles, the executive responsible for selecting the Shooting Gallery's film series and then co-founder and president of the distribution company Magnolia Pictures, said he did not think Film Movement's success would be about track record. "It's going to rise or fall on the quality of films themselves and the audience satisfaction they deliver," he said. And that will depend on what filmmakers Film Movement can sign. David Maquiling, whose "Too Much Sleep" was part of the Shooting Gallery's 2001 slate, said it might be a hard sell for anyone with a shot at a traditional release in theaters, usually a requirement to receive a review in major newspapers and a necessity to be considered for an Academy Award nomination. "But if I were in place like I was with `Too Much Sleep,' where we didn't get distribution, I would be thrilled for Film Movement to release it," he said. Mr. Meistrich said Film Movement would be staging limited theatrical runs in big cities for the films. Film Movement's profit-sharing plan might be able to sway some filmmakers. The company is offering them a 10 percent cut of all gross profits, with an up-front payment based on the number of subscribers at the time. That means that if there are 20,000 yearly subscribers, the filmmaker gets at least $30,000. The Shooting Gallery series paid about the same amount for films, and the usual straight-to-video or straight-to-cable release pays less. And those 20,000 people would probably be a bigger audience than that filmmaker could ever realistically get in theaters. "As a filmmaker, it really gets you out there in a lot more significant way," Mr. Meistrich said. (Internet downloads and pay-per-view offerings are also planned, but not until the technology improves and the films can be carried by cable systems.) There are, however, some small distributors who disagree with the contention that there are still a lot of worthy undiscovered films out there, or that the ones that are distributed are not reaching wide audiences. In the last year several new distributors have emerged, like Magnolia and ThinkFilm, or re-emerged, like United Artists. "There was a gap for a few months where there were films that weren't being distributed and not enough outlets, but that was quickly made up for by other companies." said Bob Berney, who just took over the revamped Newmarket, which released "Memento." Mr. Berney said he was intrigued, however, by the notion of putting out the films on DVD. Nobody has tried exactly this before, but there have been some similar enterprises. Short Cinema Journal and Broadcast DVD tried to sell subscriptions for DVD series of shorts, but both are now out of business. Scott Epstein, who was marketing director of Short Cinema Journal and then a founder of Broadcast DVD, was skeptical of Film Movement's chances. "It's compelling, but at that price they'll be lucky to get 1,000 subscribers," he said. Film Movement is aiming higher. "I'd be disappointed if we didn't get 100,000," Mr. Meistrich said. Larry Meistrich - CEO Curtis Hougland - President Brandon Rosser - COO Board: Richard Peña - Program director, Film Society of Lincoln Center Richard Raddon - Director of the Los Angeles Film Festival Christian Gaines - AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival Bob Hawk - ICI (Independent Consultation for Independents) |
| Fine Line Features |
| 888 Seventh Avenue, 20th Floor |
| New York, NY 10106 |
| 212-649-4900: NY |
| 212 956 1942:FAX |
| Indie Finance Guide Variety 2002 Contacts: Mark Ordesky - President Guy Stodel - Senior VP of acquisitions and productions Type of business: Acquisitions, production, distribution Projects sought: Filmmaker driven material, packaged scripts, finished films Owned by Turner Broadcasting System Independent Financiers list 9/02 - “Middle ground , quirky titles still hold the key to Ordesky’s heart.” 6/96 - They are building a slate that is 60% production-driven and 40% acquisitions. Their best performer to date was The Incredibly True Adventures of 2 Girls in Love, which grossed just shy of $2 million. 5/95 - Ruth Vitale announced a slate of 12 films in development with budgets between $5 and $20 million. 2/95 - Will release 10-12 pictures per year, producing 4-6 of those and co-producing the rest. Budgets will be as high as $12-$15 million. They are looking for character, story and filmmaker driven films, as opposed to the genre and high-concept films pursued by New Line. "We're still in the finished film acquisition business" - R.V. 2/95 - Will have a London bureau. |
| Focus Features (Universal) |
| 417 Canal Street, Fourth floor |
| New York, NY 10004 |
| Focus Features is the specialty-films arm of Universal Pictures (a division of Vivendi Universal Entertainment and a part of global giant Vivendi Universal). The production, financing, and worldwide distribution company formed by the combination of USA Films and Good Machine. Formerly October Films. Owned by USA Films (Barry Diller) 51% Owned by Universal Owns Rogue Pictures, a genre division 2/03 - Ranked #3 in Premiere’s list of Indiewood top ten. 12/02 - David Brooks has joined Focus Features as the president of marketing, the company confirmed yesterday. Brooks, who spent 12 years at Miramax, left the company as its executive VP and co-head of marketing. "David has an extraordinary track record, and we're confident that his expertise will be quite valuable to Focus as the company builds on our worldwide presence," commented Focus co-presidents David Linde and James Schamus in a prepared statement yesterday. "He will be a pivotal player on our team." David Brooks joined Miramax directly out of NYU graduate school. He first worked in the company's advertising department. 8/02 - Focus Features, formed earlier this year, confirmed the restructuring of its acquisitions department. 5/02 - Universal Studios has acquired New York film company Good Machine and merged it with its USA Films division. The new company, to be renamed Focus, will be headed by former Good Machine principals James Schamus and David Linde. The two will report to Universal Pictures chairman Stacy Snider. Ted Hope, Good Machine's third principal, is leaving his management position and has signed a three-year, first-look deal to produce feature films that will be distributed by Focus. Current USA Films chairman Scott Greenstein will "step down to pursue other opportunities" and will not be part of the new entity. The deal is the latest major step in Universal's aggressive move into the specialty film world with the intent of unifying its assets under one banner. Universal purchased USA Films in December, creating Vivendi Universal Entertainment, and in March folded distribution shingle Universal Focus, which released last year's "Mulholland Drive." The merger essentially brings together two companies (Good Machine and October Films) who in their initial incarnations helped define New York's independent film scene. Formed in the early 90's like October, Good Machine has produced and handled sales for over 100 feature and short films, tallying a combined 25 Oscar nominations, 20 Golden Globe nominations, 21 Sundance Film Festival entries (including four grand jury prize winners), which have earned a combined worldwide box office in excess of $400 million. Recent productions include "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," the 2000 smash hit released by Sony Pictures Classics that grossed over $128 million domestically, as well as Todd Field's award-winning sleeper hit "In the Bedroom," which was an Oscar nominee for Miramax this year. USA Films, which unlike Good Machine also distributes films, was founded as October Films by Bingham Ray (currently president of United Artists) and Jeff Lipsky (currently president of Lot 47 Films). Universal bought a majority stake in October in 1997, then sold its shares to Barry Diller in 1999, who renamed the company USA Films and merged it with Gramercy and other assets. Universal then bought USA back from Diller last year. Recent releases include Stephen Soderbergh's "Traffic," the Coen brothers' "The Man Who Wasn't There," and Robert Altman's "Gosford Park." Along with its in-house projects, Good Machine has actively entered into a number of high-profile co-productions with many of the indie world's top production houses, including Killer Films ("Storytelling," Happiness") and GreeneStreet Films ("In the Bedroom"). It is currently in-production on Ang Lee's "The Hulk," which was co-written by James Schamus and will be distributed next year by Universal. The move also brings together the Good Machine International sales division with Vivendi Universal's StudioCanal. StudioCanal U.S. co-president Stephane Sperry will serve as liason between the two companies and will report to Linde and Schamus. 8/01 - Glenn Williamson, a senior production executive at DreamWorks has been hired by USA Films to replace the departing Donna Gigliotti as its new president of production. Gigliotti, the 1999 Academy Award-winning producer of "Shakespeare in Love" will return to producing and will continue to work with USA Films through the release of Robert Altman's "Gosford Park" and "Possession" by Neil LaBute, two productions she has been supervising for the company. Williamson served for four years as senior production executive at DreamWorks. During his tenure, he brought Alan Ball's spec script for "American Beauty" to the studio and oversaw the production of the film. Additionally, Williamson helped bring Cameron Crowe to DreamWorks and oversaw "Almost Famous." Williamson will report directly to USA Films chairman Scott Greenstein and will be based in USA's Beverly Hills offices. "Everyone at USA Films is thrilled that Glenn will be joining us here," commented Greenstein, "Having Glenn join USA Films is a truly rewarding moment in our still-early evolution. I'm excited about the opportunity at USA Films and I hope to build on the recent success the company has enjoyed." In addition to "Gosford Park" and "Possession," USA will release "The Man Who Wasn't There," winner of the Best Director Award at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. 7/01 - The Chief Executive of Channel Four Television, Michael Jackson, is leaving the British broadcaster to head USA Entertainment, the company announced yesterday. Jackson, who served in the post since 1997, will become the President and CEO of the group, a part of USA Networks. The executive will oversee USA Cable, Studios USA and USA Films. He will USA Chairman and CEO Barry Diller, Chairman and CEO. "For some time now, I've tried to induce Michael Jackson to join USA... finally, and at a definitive juncture in the life of our entertainment assets, this remarkable executive has agreed to lead our entertainment businesses," Barry Diller said in a prepared statement yesterday. "He has had great success in building up Channel 4 into a major force in Britain. He is a genuinely creative programmer and in the end, and for us something of the beginning, that's what will distinguish our production and distribution of television programs and theatrical motion pictures." 5/97 - Universal has bought them. 4/97 - Universal Pictures and Bain Capital Partners, a Boston-based investment firm, are competing to buy October. Bain just bought Live Entertainment for $93 million. 6/96 - They are venturing into fully financing films, such as The Funeral. This year they will fully finance 4 films out of a slate of 12. They are also launching a foreign sales division at the next Mifed. They have also recently signed a deal with Phoenician Films and Nu Image to manage the domestic rights to a handful of $10 - $30 million genre films. 9/95 - 12-15 specialty films/year ($500,000-$12mill range) 9/92 - They raised equity through a private placement engineered by Allen & Co., with whom they have an ongoing relationship. They have no home video output deal, choosing instead to place films with the distributor that best suits the subject matter and genre. They have also signed a 10 year agreement with Cinecom Entertainment Group to manage their 51 title movie library. Autumn Pictures, run by Mark Blum, is October's production division. Mad Dog Films is their genre film releasing wing. Mad Dog will target four titles a year that they will service on a fee basis or as straight acquisitions. James Schamus - Co-President David Linde - Co-President Scott Greenstein - Co-President (8/97 - ) Bingham Ray - Co-President John Schmidt - Co-President Michael Jackson - President & CEO (7/01 - ) Jeff Lipsky - founded October in 1996; directed Childhood's End; he is also distributing Rebecca Miller's Angela (1995 Sundance winner) David Brooks - President of Marketing Sarah Eaton - Vice President of Publicity & Promotion Jack Foley - President of Distribution Ted Hope - In-house Producer Amir Malin - Co-Managing Director (Ancillary Sales, too?) Glenn Williamson - President of Production Susan Glatzer - Acquisitions (LA) (RWT went to school with her) Indie Finance Guide Variety 2002 Type of business: Acquisitions, production, distribution |
| GreeneStreet Films |
| 9 Desbrosses Street, 2nd floor |
| New York, NY 10003 |
| 212-609 9000 |
| 212 609 9099:FAX |
| 9/00 - They found $30 million in Wall St. cash for production & development. They can greenlight any film up to $5 million without partners, higher with. Independent Financiers list John Penotti - Partner Fisher Stevens - Partner Bradley Yonover - Partner Jamie Gordon Dolly Hall Sydney Kimmel Courtney Potts |
| Hart Sharp Entertainment |
| 380 Lafayette Street, 3rd floor |
| New York, NY 10003 |
| Formed to produce both film and theater projects. Hart is a veteran theater producer. They also have a talent management division. Hart has been a frequent collaborator with Christine
Vachon, who has offices across the hall. 5/01 - Leading UK production company FilmFour and New York-based Hart Sharp Entertainment, producers of Sundance favorites "You Can Count On Me," and "Lift," have launched a major co-production alliance that will see the two companies jointly producing several films a year which FilmFour will distribute in the UK and sell internationally. The deal will cover smaller pictures produced under Hart Sharp's True Film Fund (in the $2-$4 million budget range) and larger productions with budgets projected at upwards of $6 million. The pact gives FilmFour a desired presence in New York and the U.S. market, and offers Hart Sharp a powerful international and financing partner. "London and New York are both theatrical and literary hubs," commented John Hart, who in addition to film producing has been involved in current Broadway rivals such as "Chicago and "Annie Get Your Gun." "We look forward to discovering talent that springs from these communities. FilmFour is the perfect partner for our style of filmmaking -- projects that crossover from these worlds. As with Kenneth Lonergan and Jonathan Harvey, we'll continue to nurture playwrights and provide them with the opportunity to work in cinema as well." Already in development at the two companies is a project based on Sue Tilley's book "Leigh Bowery: The Life and Times of an Icon" which Jonathan Harvey ("Beautiful Thing") is currently adapting. 7/98 - They invested in Chicago and Dark Harbor. John Hart - Jeff Sharp - Jeff Roda - Runs management division |
| IFC Entertainment - Independent Film Channel |
| 11 Penn Plaza, 15th Floor |
| New York, NY 10001 |
| 646-273-7200 |
| IFC Films IFC Productions InDiGent 9/02 - IFC Entertainment has shut down its finishing funds company, Next Wave Films. The closure is effective immediately. IFC Entertainment president Jonathan Sehring attributed the decision to a changing domestic and international marketplace for low-budget films. "It's a distribution market that is increasingly reliant on higher budgeted films, with name cast," Sehring said. He added that IFC Films and InDigEnt will remain active in their initiatives. "Things have changed," Next Wave Films president Peter Broderick said. "Things have changed for independent film in general -- the state of distribution is the hardest it has been in years. The studios are very dominant in theaters right now." Founded in 1996, Next Wave Films was created to provide finishing funds for emerging filmmakers. Among the company's triumphs were Christopher Nolan's first feature, "Following," and the Academy Award-nominated documentary "Sound and Fury." "Until something changes in terms of the distribution business," Sehring said, "It's tough. It's a tough business, it's finding a needle in a haystack, and [Peter] went through every straw in the haystack looking for that gem." Peter Broderick and a Next Wave Films team that included Mark Stolaroff and Tara Veneruso became fixtures on the film festival circuit as Next Wave grew. The group solicited films from independent filmmakers and hosted seminars on low-budget and digital filmmaking. Broderick estimated yesterday that his team screened some 2,500 movies for potential finishing funds via Next Wave or its digital filmmaking arm, "Agenda 2000." Other Next Wave projects include Henry Barrial's "Some Body," Judith Helfand's "Blue Vinyl," the documentary "Paper Chasers," Jordan Melamed's "Manic," David Shapiro and Laurie Gwen Shapiro's documentary "Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale," Amir Bar-Lev's "Fighter," Ron Judkins' "The Hi-Line," Julie Money's "Envy," and Joe Carnahan's "Blood, Guts, Bullets & Octane." "It has never been easier to make films, with the coming of digital tools, but the distribution system has gotten much more difficult for independents," Broderick said. "Now we need to think creatively about how to improve distribution for independent films in general." Broderick is still in the early stage of considering other options. Broderick offered that he appreciated the opportunity to launch Next Wave Films. "I am extremely pleased to have had the opportunity to work with the films and filmmakers," he said, "It was a privilege -- we so much enjoyed helping filmmakers maximize the possibilities for their movies." 9/00 - The Independent Film Channel (IFC) has announced its long-anticipated theatrical distribution company. Distribution veteran Bob Berney is joining the company to head the new division. He will serve as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Distribution. An announcement today indicated that the distribution arm will release 10 - 12 films per year, culled from in-house productions and acquisitions. 9/95 - began transmitting 9/94; operated by Rainbow Programming Holdings; about 500 titles a year license fees: $10,000-$100,000 They plan to air original programming. A representative will attend all festivals. Jonathan Sehring - President Kathleen Dore - Executive VP Carolyn Kaplan |
| Killer Films |
| 380 Lafayette Street, Suite 320 |
| New York, NY 10003 |
| 212-473-3950 |
| Killer Films was founded in 1996 and is headed by producers Christine
Vachon, Pamela Koffler, and Katie Roumel. Killer Films¹ first project was photographer Cindy Sherman¹s Office Killer.
Vachon, Koffler, and Roumel have made a number of award-winning films, including Tony Vitale¹s Kiss Me Guido, Todd Solondz¹ Happiness and Storytelling, Todd Haynes¹s Velvet Goldmine, Dan Minahan¹s Series 7, Kimberly Pierce¹s Boys Don¹t Cry, and John Cameron Mitchell¹s Hedwig and the Angry Inch, based on the off-Broadway stage show. Upcoming releases include Mark Romanek¹s One Hour Photo, Rose Troche¹s The Safety of Objects, Tim Blake Nelson¹s The Grey Zone, and Ethan Hawke¹s Chelsea Walls. Killer Films is currently in production on Todd Haynes¹s new film, Far From Heaven. Killer also has film and television projects in development with Isaac
Mizrahi, Mary Harron, Q-Tip, Neve Campbell, Whit Stillman, and several other writers, directors, and performers. 9/00 - Killer Films has announced that it is teaming up with Clear Blue Sky Productions (CBSP) and Renaissance Films on a new film that will be directed by Rose Troche ("Go Fish," "Bedrooms and Hallways"). The pact for "The Safety of Objects" is one in a five film deal between CBSP and Renaissance -- Killer has a general development and production deal with CBSP. Another movie in CBSP's pact with Renaissance is Marleen Gorris' "The Luzhin Defense" which is set to debut at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival. "The Safety of Objects," based on A.M. Holmes' short stories and chronicling "bittersweet modern day angst in suburbia." It is being adapted for the screen by Troche and will be executive produced by CBSP's Jody Patton and Renaissance's Stephen Evans and Angus Finney. CBSP is an independent film production company that was founded by Microsoft Co-Founder and Dreamworks partner Paul G. Allen and is led by President and Executive Producer Jody Patton. The company has produced Julie Taymor's "Titus," Michael Apted's "Inspirations" and "Me & Isaac Newton," and John Sayles' "Men With Guns." While Renaissance produces films, handles sales and also distributes in the UK through Entertainment Film Distributors. It recently sold Justin Kerrigan's "Human Traffic." |
| Longfellow Pictures |
| 145 Hudson Street |
| New York, NY 10013 |
| 212-343-0452 |
| 212-219-2357 |
| Longfellow is William Randolph Hearst III's company They are looking for partners on projects and will spend development money. They have good relationships with actors: Kevin Kline, John Malkovitch. They have started a new financing company, yet to be named. The new co. will finance $12-18 million features. New Line will distribute domestically. X will distribute internationally. X will distribute video. Longfellow will control P&A funds. They will not develop projects. They will seek romantic comedies and ? |
| Lot 47 Films |
| 22 W. 19th St., 8th floor |
| New York, NY 10010 |
| 8/02 - Jeff Lipsky, president and co-founder of Lot 47 Films, announced his resignation today from the three-year-old company he once headed with his brothers Scott Lipsky and Mark Lipsky. The decision is effective immediately. As Lot 47's theatrical release of "The Fast Runner" winds down, and with no other films on its release slate, questions about the future of the company have intensified among concerned and angry vendors who are owed money by Lot 47. CEO Greg Williams began to clarify the situation at the company, saying that Lot 47 is "moving forward full steam" and stating that he is pursuing opportunities to solidify the company. "How can you leave a company when the company is you?" asked one angry member of the indie community who is owed money by Lot 47. "Could Harvey and Bob Weinstein leave Miramax? Could Michael Barker and Tom Bernard leave Sony Pictures Classics? That seems like a strange concept to me." In a recent conversation , Jeff Lipsky was coy about his reasons for leaving the company. "Every three or four years, I need the industry version of a high colonic," he quipped. "I think that this is the time." He will remain a lot 47 board member. Williams emphasized that Lipsky's resignation does not signal the end of Lot 47. He expressed disappointment over Lipky's decision, adding that the company remains focused on its theatrical and ancillary release of the critically acclaimed "Fast Runner." He also indicated that "Never Get Outta the Boat," a Lot 47 production with Blow Up Pictures, will debut next month at the Toronto Film Festival. Lot 47 has weathered the departure of many key executives and staffers this year, including Tim Clawson, head of its burgeoning, but now defunct, production division. The company, which had as many as 25 employees in January (based at offices in both New York and Los Angeles), now has only a handful on board. CEO Williams and co-founder Scott Lipsky (chairman) remain at Lot 47, along with VP of finance Rick Thiedig and director of distribution Vicki Loughery, who joined the company from USA Films in April. Notably, Williams indicated that Bill Thompson, VP and general sales manager, has been enlisted to remain at the company. Jeff Lipsky recently discussed Thompson's departure, but Williams has since secured a commitment from Thompson to stay at Lot 47 for an unspecified period of time. Chatter about the ups and downs of distribution companies is certainly nothing new, but discussion about the fate of Lot 47 widened when the company acknowledged its financial difficulties to vendors who are owed compensation for their work supporting the company's recent theatrical releases. In letters to vendors just a few weeks ago, Lot 47 admitted that the outfit had been "cash constrained" for several months and acknowledged difficulties in paying its bills, saying clearly that it had fallen behind. Lot 47 said that it would not make a promise to pay its bills in full, but asking for patience. Williams expressed a commitment to deal with the current financial situation and asserted that he remains focused on stabilizing the business. Just seven months ago, Lot 47 was seemingly solid. It moved into new offices in December, bringing together its distribution staff and Lot 47 Productions in offices on West 19th Street in Manhattan. It had trumpeted the launch of its production unit, headed by Tim Clawson, to create feature films, music videos, and commercials and in January named Greg Williams its CEO, and Scott Lipsky (a founder of the company) assumed the title of chairman. One month later, in early February and after only one day's notice to staffers, Clawson decided to depart the company and its production division was subsequently shut down. A company known for the sometimes quirky marketing tactics of its founding brothers, Lot 47's theatrical releases have been met with mixed results. For example, Jeff Lipsky donned a cow suit outside NBC's "Today" show to promote "The Price of Milk," while brother Mark sat in a storefront window for hours, attempting to break the record for longest movie-watching marathon to hype "Scotland, PA." "Milk" grossed just $111,607 at the box office last year, while "Scotland" earned $384,098. Much less successful were its theatrical releases of "Hit and Runaway" (which earned about $82,000), "Some Body" (which made about $12,000), and "waydowntown" (which grossed about $20,000). Among its more successful films were "L.I.E.," which earned about $1.2 million, and the currently in-release "Fast Runner," which has earned more than $1 million for the company. Other releases included "Trouble Every Day," "The War Zone," and the French hit, "Venus Beauty Institute." 5/02 - The Sundance Channel has secured the U.S. pay TV rights to six recent Lot 47 films, including "L.I.E.," Larry Greenberg, director of acquisitions for Sundance Channel and Showtime Networks, negotiated the agreement with Lot 47 president Jeff Lipsky. Other films in the package include: "Scotland, PA"; Im Kwon Taek's "Chunhyang"; "Russian Doll"; "Waydowntown"; and "Happenstance." "L.I.E." will be the first Lot 47 film to unspool on the pay television service in June as part of Out Loud, Sundance Channel's annual celebration of gay pride month. 5/02 - Mark Lipsky is leaving Lot 47 Films, the company he led with his brothers Jeff and Scott. The exec, known as "Mr. Indie" on the company's website, served as Lot 47's executive VP and chief strategy officer for more than a year. His resignation is effective immediately. While at Lot 47, Lipsky launched the "Club 47" membership screening program and spearheaded the creation of the unique McBeth's performance space, to creatively promote the release of "Scotland, PA." Mark Lipsky's resignation leaves Lot 47 with another key vacancy. Danae Kokenos recently announced that she will be leaving her post as VP of acquisitions, while Mary Ann Hult left her PR position to head publicity at United Artists, and publicity coordinator Jason Devaney is also leaving the company. Reached this morning, Lot 47 co-founder and president Jeff Lipsky indicated that he and CEO Greg Williams would be making decisions after Cannes about the rehiring of the key acquisitions and PR positions. "We hope to come back with three movies," Jeff Lipsky told indieWIRE today, adding that in that case, "we would have to gear up immediately." Lot 47 will release last year's acclaimed Cannes entry "The Fast Runner" on June 7, Jeff Lipsky indicated that it has already been booked in 60 theaters. Mark Lipsky recently served as a VP of strategic relations and marketing at Singingfish.com and prior to that he was an exec at Bravo Networks. Lipsky also headed sales and marketing at Prestige and Miramax. 7/01 - Lot 47 Films takes a step in a new direction with the announcement that Tim Clawson is joining the company as the President of Lot 47 Productions, overseeing its new development and production business. The company is making a move into commercials, music videos, television programs, digital content, and ultimately film production according to an announcement. Clawson explained that the division will begin by expanding a roster of directors in the music video and commercial areas. The exec, who founded and headed Shooting Gallery Productions, also served as head of production for Propaganda Films and Limelight. He will be joined at the company by Kris Toledo, who will serve as Executive Producer of Music Videos. Their goal, according to Claswon is to "create a company that services todays marketplace." "We are honored to have Tim Clawson join Lot 47 as we work to add new revenue streams to our core business of film acquisition and distribution," Lot 47 co-founder, chairman and CEO Scott Lipsky said. Videos and commercials will be a priority, but Clawson indicated that other forms of content are likely, singling out the recent BMW Films web project as an example. The company will also pursue film projects. "An advantage we have is the opportunity to provide distribution and marketing plans for any programming that we do," Clawson said. The exec indicated that there is some material and filmmakers that Lot 47 is working with at "a very early developmental stage." "It is viable to say that we could be in production in Spring on a project," Clawson said, "If everything goes right." 4/01 - Founded in 1999 by Jeff and Scott Lipsky, Lot 47 provides marketing and theatrical distribution for ten to twelve films a year, such as "The War Zone;" Aiyana Elliott¹s Sundance Film Festival award-winning, autobiographical chronicle of her legendary father "The Ballad of Ramblin¹ Jack;" "Venus Beauty Institute;" and the upcoming French Film "The Beating of Butterfly Wings." Co-president Jeff Lipsky explains: "Our mandate is three-pronged. One: we will continue to provide moviegoers with a broad cross-section of diverse independent American features, great documentaries, and the kind of foreign language films that once moved a generation. Two: we will endeavor to lead an educational initiative that will address the next generation of moviegoers: that generation of children now just entering junior high school (the college kids of today are already a lost cause). We will work with the educational community, the exhibition community, and with our distributor competitors to give this potential audience, from coast-to-coast, a sense of history about American independent film (that is, the 20 years of independent cinema pre-Tarantino). And three: we expect to lead the industry in the exploration and execution of new means of digital distribution, while not forsaking the experience of seeing feature films in conventional theaters." 1/01 - Lot 47 Films has signed a deal to release half of the features shot by digital producer Blow Up Pictures in the next three years. Blow Up, which co-produced "Series-7" with Killer Films, promised to give the Lipsky Brothers' distribution company 50% of their new digital films with budgets of $1 million or less. Covering North American rights in all media, Blow-Up hopes to explode into a "digital studio," as Blow Up's Joana Vicente calls it. "We can say to directors, if you went to Sundance and were the hot movie you'd get this same distribution," said Blow Up's Jason Kliot. Kliot has been outspoken about his fears that digital films will be pigeon-holed into vanity pieces and hobbies because of their low entry price and availability, and believes that having distribution locked in before a small film begins shooting will protect its theatrical prospects. "We didn't want some piddlely-wink cable distribution deal," exclaimed Kliot. "This is the [digital film] marginalization buster." Lot 47 has limited input and cannot reject a submitted film, but they will be present through the entire production process. The Lipskys contended that filmmakers will no longer have to spend time and energy on how best to position themselves for distributors. "We have unprecedented access," co-president Mark Lipsky said of Blow Up films. "For filmmakers it's like being in a cocoon. It's a safe place." "Many filmmakers are planning their life around next year's Sundance," Mark noted. "Sundance will only be a launch," said Co-President Jeff Lipsky. "How do you rebuild a community because the mini-majors have obliterated that -- now if people don't see five spots on 'Friends' they don't see the movie," Mark Lipsky continued. "When I founded October we wanted to NOT be the next Miramax, but we became that. We from Lot 47 want to be the next what-October-was-going-to-be," he remarked. 3/00 - Jeff Lipsky joins the company started by his brother Scott in 1999. They are determined to build a movie library of films that fall through the cracks and release them in theaters and on-line. Jeff Lipsky - President & COO ( - 8/02) Tim Clawson - President, Lot 47 Productions Greg Williams - CEO Scott Lipsky - Chairman Mark Lipsky - Executive VP ( - 5/02) Danae Kokenos - VP of Acquisitions ( -5/02) Bill Thompson - VP and general sales manager Rick Thiedig - VP of finance Vicki Loughery - Director of Distribution Martin Wendel - Independent Financiers list Type of finance: Acquire digitally produced pics and distr. Theatrically and on internet |
| Lot 47 Productions |
| 22 W. 19th St., 8th floor |
| New York, NY 10010 |
| Commercials, music videos, TV, digital content & feature films 2/02 - Lot 47 had trumpeted the launch of its production unit, headed by Tim Clawson, to create feature films, music videos, and commercials and in January named Greg Williams its CEO, and Scott Lipsky (a founder of the company) assumed the title of chairman. One month later, in early February and after only one day's notice to staffers, Clawson decided to depart the company and its production division was subsequently shut down. "Lot 47 Productions was entirely set up for Tim, and by Tim," Williams said. "With his departure there was really not a business there." 7/01 - The Lipsky Brothers' Lot 47 Films takes a step in a new direction today, with the announcement that Tim Clawson is joining the company as the President of Lot 47 Productions, overseeing its new development and production business. The company is making a move into commercials, music videos, television programs, digital content, and ultimately film production according to an announcement. Clawson explained that the division will begin by expanding a roster of directors in the music video and commercial areas. The exec, who founded and headed Shooting Gallery Productions, also served as head of production for Propaganda Films and Limelight. He will be joined at the company by Kris Toledo, who will serve as Executive Producer of Music Videos. Their goal, according to Claswon is to "create a company that services todays marketplace." "We are honored to have Tim Clawson join Lot 47 as we work to add new revenue streams to our core business of film acquisition and distribution," Lot 47 co-founder, chairman and CEO Scott Lipsky said. "At each of his past companies, including Limelight, Propaganda Films and Shooting Gallery, Tim was able to build a profitable, successful business that produced popular and respected movies, television shows, videos and commercials." Videos and commercials will be a priority, but Clawson indicated that other forms of content are likely, singling out the recent BMW Films web project as an example. The company will also pursue film projects. "An advantage we have is the opportunity to provide distribution and marketing plans for any programming that we do," Clawson said. The exec indicated that there is some material and filmmakers that Lot 47 is working with at "a very early developmental stage." "It is viable to say that we could be in production in Spring on a project," Clawson said, "If everything goes right." |
| Madstone Films |
| 85 Fifth Avenue, 12th Floor |
| New York, NY 10003 |
| 212-989-4500 |
| 212-989-7744:FAX |
| Founded by Tom Gruenberg and Chip Seelig in 1999. Madstone is a family of three distinct companies: Madstone Films is a production company working with first-time feature directors; Madstone Theaters is developing new screening venues; Madstone DDN (Digital Distribution Network) is creating programming for a network of digital projection venues.. 9/02 - Susan Wrubel recently left her post as VP of Acquisitions for Madstone Films. Her departure came after Madstone shifted acquisitions duties to its New Yorker Films unit. 8/02 - President and COO Paul Speaker has departed Madstone, the New York-based "digital film studio." The move comes amidst a restructuring of several key departments and upper-management. 4/02 - Madstone has acquired the landmark independent, specialty, and foreign film distributor New Yorker Films. Dan Talbot will continue to head New Yorker Films, along with the full New Yorker staff. The seeds of the deal were planted when Madstone VP of acquisitions Susan Wrubel, who used to work with Talbot at New Yorker, introduced him to the leadership team at Madstone. After an informal meeting and a few subsequent discussions that lasted a few months, the pact emerged. Expressing his admiration for Madstone's Seelig, New Yorker's Dan Talbot said that many companies have pursued similar relationships with New Yorker over the years, but that it was never a right fit. "This is the first time that I felt really good about it," he explained. "The independent film world is a complicated place to exist," Madstone President and COO Paul Speaker said. "We want to take the next step." He emphasized that the New Yorker deal is a move to offer solid marketing opportunities to the indie distributor. Speaker said that an outgrowth of the deal with New Yorker will include an increase in DVD and video opportunities. "Dan will continue to do what he has done," Speaker explained, "We hope increase some of the exposure (for New Yorker Films), through DVD and video." 1/02 - Madstone Theaters tapped Tom Brueggemann as the head film buyer. Brueggemann spent many years with the Loews Theaters chain and served as head film buyer for Sundance Film Centers. He is also a feature film screener for the Sundance Film Festival. Madstone Theater is currently expanding and relaunching their independent theater chain. "With Tom's passion, acumen and nose for innovative programming, Madstone can now realize its ability to deliver the compelling and community-oriented programming that will be the hallmark of Madstone Theaters," said Tom Gruenberg. 1/02 - Paul Speaker, former head of Shooting Gallery Entertainment, has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of Madstone Films. Speaker will lend his marketing savvy and vast connections to many company efforts, such as locating unique distribution opportunities for emerging filmmakers. During Speaker's stay at Shooting Gallery the company produced the award-winning film "You Can Count On Me" and distributed the sleeper hit "Croupier," among others. Tom Gruenberg enthused, "His unique ability to bring small films to larger audiences was perfectly illustrated in his creation and launch of the groundbreaking Shooting Gallery Film Series.” 10/01 - Madstone has announced the appointment of Jim Sheehan to the position of President of Madstone Theaters. The exec, who previously ran Mann Theaters and joined Madstone last month, will be based at the company's new Los Angeles office. Sheehan will head Madstone's move to offer a mix of film and event programming in movie theaters, including the installation of digital projectors at traditional movie theaters. Madstone is planning to open multiplexes, each with a digital screen, in 10 - 20 markets around the country. Locations are expected to be unveiled later this Fall. "Sophisticated audiences are hungry for a more upscale theater-going experience and Madstone Theaters will offer just the kind of modern style and community involvement that moviegoers have been hungering for," Sheehan said in a prepared statement. "While our bread and butter will be independent and foreign film programming, digital projection will set Madstone apart in the marketplace." 5/01 - Madstone Films is getting closer to making a theatrical "Digital Distribution Network" a reality. The company, already known for signing directors Lisa Siwe, Aaron Woodley and Joan Stein to produce digital video features for the company under a two-year contract, recently signed on former New Yorker Films exec Susan Wrubel as Vice President of Film Acquisitions. While the company continues to search internationally for more filmmakers to add to its slate, Wrubel will be acquiring and programming films for the company's as yet to be announced theatrical distribution outlets. Earlier this year, Madstone put up a bid to purchase the bankrupt Silver Cinemas, whose subsidiary Landmark Theater Corp. comprises the top art-house chain in the country. Though Madstone withdrew their offer, they look to be close to solidifying other exhibition possibilities; within the year, the company expects to have theaters in 10-15 of the top markets. Their mission is to devote one screen per theater to digital projection which will feature a wide variety of programming, including DV features made by Madstone's in-house directors, films, series, and retrospectives secured by Wrubel, as well as non-film product like music concerts, fashion shows and sporting events. Despite the range of exhibition possibilities, Wrubel maintains, "We're going to be a true art-house company." Wrubel will be in Cannes next week, heading up the acquisitions charge for the fledgling company and competing with her former associates. "Shooting Gallery, Winstar, and New Yorker will be our competition," noted Wrubel, who helped acquire and release such titles as Claire Denis' "Beau Travail," and Iranian films such as Abbas Kiarostami's "The Wind Will Carry Us" and Bahman Farmanara's "Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine." "A lot of the stuff I was looking at for New Yorker will be the same [as at Madstone]." "I'd still definitely go after Iranian films." Madstone CEO Tom Gruenberg said, "She [Wrubel] is uniquely suited to us not only because of her established record in the world of independent, foreign and classic film, but also for her remarkable knowledge of pop culture. Susan's expertise and commitment to broadening the theatrical experience will be a boon not only to Madstone, but to moviegoers nationwide." 4/01 - Madstone Films is currently conducting an international search for directors seeking 3 to 5 first-time filmmakers to add to their current roster which includes Lisa Siwe, Aaron Woodley and Joan Stein. Every six months Madstone offers 3-5 directors a two-year contract with an annual salary of $50,000, a benefits package and a 401(K) Plan, as well as full financing for a digital feature film budgeted between $500 thousand and $1.5 million. Filmmakers will also receive profit participation in every film produced during their tenure. 1/01 - They will produce movies that are shot digitally by first-time directors and distributed to theaters by the Madstone Digital Distribution Network (whatever that is). Tom Gruenberg - CEO Paul Speaker - President & COO (1/02 - 8/02) Susan Wrubel - VP, Film Acquisitions ( - 9/02) Katia Smith - Tom Brueggemann - head film buyer, Madstone Theaters |
| Newmarket Films |
| 1180 Avenue of the Americas, 14th floor |
| New York, NY 10036 |
| 2/03 - Ranked 10th in Premiere’s top ten Indiewood distributor list. 9/02 - Beth English has left her publicity post at IFC Films to go work with former IFC head Bob Berney over at the newly launched Newmarket Films. 9/02 - The Toronto International Film Festival may be over, but Newmarket's Toronto buying spree continues. The company announced that it has acquired all North American rights to Niki Caro's "Whale Rider," its fourth Toronto acquisition. "Whale Rider," about a young Maori girl in New Zealand, captured the AGF People's Choice award at Toronto. Newmarket's Will Tyrer negotiated the deal. 9/02 - Further building its slate, Newmarket Films, the newly launched distribution arm of Newmarket Capital Group, has acquired all U.S. rights to "Lilja 4-Ever," the new film from Lukas Moodysson ("Together," "Show Me Love"). The deal was made at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival. Newmarket plans on releasing up to 10 films a year, the first of which will be Patricia Cardoso's "Real Women Have Curves," which won this year's Sundance audience award. The company recently acquired Jonas Akerlund's "Spun," and it also bought Susanne Bier's drama "Open Hearts," which was shot in accordance with Dogme 95 rules. 7/02 - Bob Berney, the indie-distribution maven widely credited with the crossover success of IFC Films' "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," is leaving IFC to become partner and president of a new theatrical distribution company that will be launched by Newmarket Capital Group. "It just seemed like one of those opportunities that rarely come along, a can't-refuse kind of deal," Berney said. "And also, the [indie film] business is really great at this time. And I'd already worked with the Newmarket people on 'Memento' and 'Donnie Darko,' so I knew them really well." Berney, who worked with Newmarket to release its hit film "Memento," insisted that his departure from IFC is an amicable one, a sentiment echoed by IFC Entertainment chief Jonathan Sehring. Berney is expected to continue at IFC as senior vice president of marketing and distribution through the August release of "The Chateau," Jesse Peretz's comedy about two American brothers (Paul Rudd, Romany Malco) who inherit a posh French estate. "And he'll be around to shepherd 'Greek Wedding' to its conclusion," added Sehring. The yet-to-be named Newmarket venture, which had the film community buzzing on Tuesday, will be based in New York City. Current plans call for the distribution entity to build a slate comprised of acquisitions and select titles produced or co-produced by its parent company. "I'm hoping we'll be able to announce the first slate in a couple of weeks," Berney said. According to William Tyrer, president of the Newmarket Capital Group, the new distributor aims to release between 8 and 10 films annually. The first title, which he declined to reveal, could be unveiled as early as Monday. Home-video distribution, he added, likely will be handled by Saturn Home Entertainment. Berney has a decades-long involvement with indie cinema to his credit. Recently of Inwood Films, he also handled Good Machine's release of "Happiness" after October Films dropped the movie. He has worked at a number of indie distributors, including Banner Entertainment, Orion, Triton, and FilmDallas. His diverse resume also includes experience in exhibition as well as distribution. At one point in the early '80s, he managed the Showcase Cinema, a strip-shopping-mall duplex in the Dallas suburb of Farmer's Branch, where he attempted to interest locals in such esoteric fare as Jean-Luc Godard's "Every Man for Himself" and Andrzej Wajda's "Man of Iron." More recently, Berney's success with IFC has raised his visibility in mainstream press outlets, including the Los Angeles Times and Entertainment Weekly -- to a degree seldom equaled by other indie-film marketers. Even so, Sehring says that, for IFC, life goes on. "Bob's helped us get to where we are, no doubt about that," he said. "But IFC has long been on the map, and been successful, with our film production and television networks." The company has already begun the search for a replacement. The IFC Films distribution label, formed in September 2000, has a slate of "seven or eight films on tap" for the next several months, Sehring said. Among the most eagerly anticipated: "Decade Under the Influence," an ambitious and exhaustive overview of '70s cinema co-directed by Richard LaGravenese and the late Ted Demme. Bob Berney - Head Will Tyrer - President, Newmarket Capital Group Beth English - Publicity |
| Deutsch/Open City Films |
| 145 Sixth Avenue, 7th Floor |
| New York, NY 10013 |
| 212 255 0500 |
| Indie Finance Guide Variety 2002 Contacts: Tony Tunnell head of dev. Type of business: Film production - equity pre sales 3/04 - Renamed Deutsch / Open City Films with the addition of their new partner, Donny Deutsch. They will option books, plays and articles and develop them with other financing partners as films budgeted in the $5 - $10 million range. Their digital arm, Blow-Up Pictures, has been renamed HDNetFilms. The best approach for filmmakers is to send an email with a script or story synopsis. 6/96 - They have formed Blow-up Pictures to produce music videos and commercials. Jason Kliot - President, co-founder Joana Vicente - President, co-founder Donny Deutsch - Partner Tory Tunnell - Head of Development Jeff Fierson - Assistant to Presidents Projects sought: $2-$15million Charles Rosen has provided financing for them. Independent Financiers list Contacts: Hugo Heppel |
| Other Pictures |
| 10 West 19th Street, 5th floor |
| New York, NY 10011 |
| 212-462-4515 |
| 212-462-4514:FAX |
| Chris Roberts Jonathan Mednik Dan Partland Ted Skillman asst. Heather Cottrell |
| Palm Pictures |
| 601 West 26th Street, 11th floor |
| New York, NY 10001 |
| 212 320 3600 |
| 212 320 3709:FAX |
| Indie Finance Guide Variety 2002 Type of business: Financing, production, distribution Projects sought: $500 000 - $1 million digital movies $2 million - $6 million film features 12/02 - “We’re much more director-driven and not so much cast-driven.” Interested in projects below $6 million. 9/02 - Palm Pictures has secured a new round of funding from its long-time investor Avalon Capital Group as well as from Latin American media company Grupo Santo Domingo, Palm announced. The new funds (amount not disclosed) will be used "to accelerate the growth" of the company. Chris Blackwell, Palm Pictures founder, CEO and chairman commented, "Palm Pictures' business model is based on introducing our audience to a new generation of digital storytellers, who use the full spectrum of current technology in their creation of cutting-edge images and music." Blackwell founded the company in 1998, focusing its operations on the DVD format and new digital technologies for music and video production and distribution. Palm's media properties operate under RES Media Group, which produces RESFEST, the digital media event. The organization publishes RES Magazine and operates online sites including sputnik7.com, epitonic.com and res.com. Palm's successful Spanish film, "Sex and Lucia," by Julio Medem, is currently in theaters. 7/02 - "Edge City," the voyeuristic examination of fast-living kids in Philadelphia, has been acquired by Palm Pictures, the company announced Friday. The Hamptons' Golden Starfish winner peeks in on the lives of the City of Brotherly Love's teens, both rich and poor, who fill their days and nights with drugs, sex, alcohol, loud music, and reckless driving. The deal was negotiated by David Koh along with Mark Ragone and Steven Beer of Rudolph & Beer. "David Koh and the team at Palm Pictures have a powerful and clear vision for the kind of work they want to release," said writer/director Eugene Martin. "I feel very fortunate that they have chosen to combine their vision with my film, which I believe has something important to say to audiences." Martin's previous work includes Sundance entry "Diary of a City Priest." He is currently prepping his next feature film, "The Other America." Palm's other recent and upcoming releases are "Sex and Lucia," "Fulltime Killer" and "Scratch." 5/02 - Independent distributor Palm Pictures has acquired "Paperboys," a documentary short by acclaimed music video and commercial director Mike Mills. The deal was negotiated by David Koh, Palm Pictures' head of acquisitions and production, and Josh Braun of Submarine Entertainment on behalf of Jack Spade Films, Mike Mills, and the Director's Bureau. Independent Financiers list Chris Blackwell - Owner David Beal - President David Koh - Head of Acquisitions & Production Marvin Gleicher - Dan Genetti - Hooman Majd- Mark Ragone - Head of Business Affairs Bonnie Voland - Karol Marktesko-Fenster - Head of Film & RES Media Group (indieWIRE Managing Member and Co-Founder) |
| Plum Pictures |
| 141 5th Ave., Ste. 8N |
| New York, NY 10010 |
| 212-529-5820 |
| 212-529-5824 :FAX |
A New York-based production company. Plum Pictures’ chief investor is Reagan Silber, a Los Angeles entrepreneur who is also a successful professional poker player. 12/04 - Plum is not ordinary in the film industry. Its lower Fifth Avenue office is tiny and monkishily spare, with no view, a couple of posters and some fake flowers. The principals - Celine Rattray, Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Galt Niederhoffer - three women not yet 30, are equally unaffected, with no publicists in orbit or sound bites at the ready. In the year since they formed their company, the women have already had remarkable success in a world where their age, sex and relative inexperience might be a handicap. They recently finished "Lonesome Jim," and it was accepted last week by next year's Sundance Film Festival, a coup for the company. They have shot two more movies, a comedy and a documentary. Last year they persuaded the historian Edmund Morris to sell them the movie rights to "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt," his Pulitzer-Prize winning biography - a project that Leonardo DiCaprio's company, Appian Way, has joined to develop a big-budget studio movie. Plum Pictures - whose chief investor is Reagan Silber, a Los Angeles entrepreneur who is also, perhaps appropriately, a successful professional poker player - also went up against several studios to compete for the life story of Angelo Brooks, a Baltimore police officer who founded a high school debating team that has helped inner-city students get better grades and helped many get into college. Mr. Brooks said he chose Plum because he trusted the women to help him tell the students' story faithfully, and also because he found them to be "real people." "They weren't all flashy and Hollywood," said Mr. Brooks, who is still a working police officer. Plum Pictures is a model for a new wave of independent movie companies: anchored resolutely in New York, attracted to youthful, offbeat material and also comfortable shuttling between tiny-budget art movies and expensive, more conservative studio projects. The women, longtime friends, said they owed their success to their unwillingness to let any fledgling project die, even when the prognosis was grim. The movie "Lonesome Jim," written by Ms. Niederhoffer's husband, James Strouse, a first-time screenwriter, was originally part of a deal with United Artists, with a budget of about $3 million. But early this year, just before shooting was to begin, the money fell through when Bingham Ray, the president of the studio, resigned. Ms. Niederhoffer and her colleagues had to scramble to keep the stars and Mr. Buscemi involved while they looked for a new backer. "It's like throwing a surprise party even after you find out that your honoree can't come," said Ms. Lundberg. Finally they made the movie, about a man who moves back in with his parents after failing to make it in New York, for one-tenth of its original budget, in Mr. Strouse's hometown, Goshen, Ind., using his boyhood home as a set. The design budget was $1,000, which Ms. Niederhoffer said was enough to "buy us some plywood and a couple of cans of paint." The movie was shot on digital video, with Goshen residents pitching in. Plum Pictures took no fee from the movie and must count on good box office to make any money. The three women were not complete neophytes when they decided to hang out a shingle and try to make movies with $500,000 seed capital. The women said that producing had meant doing a little of everything, from getting directors and actors to read their scripts to cobbling together money to cajoling, browbeating and hand-holding on sets from Indiana to Ecuador. For a documentary called "Pack Strap Swallow," about young American and European women who worked as drug mules and are now in prison in Ecuador, Ms. Rattray spent weeks in a women's prison as interviews were conducted. She said their competitive edge had consisted mostly in persuading moviemakers that they would simply care more. The pitch, she said, usually goes like this: "Sure, you could be with a producer who's been in the business for 20 years, who won't return your calls, when we're going to spend 15 hours every day worrying about your project and putting energy into it." Mr. Brooks said he was impressed mostly by Ms. Rattray's relentless pursuit of him. "Persistence is an understatement," he said. (Ms. Niederhoffer said that at one point when it appeared she had lost Mr. Brooks, Ms. Rattray, was inconsolable. "It was like something had happened in her love life," she said. "She was devastated and crying.") Mr. Buscemi, who is also a producer of "Lonesome Jim," said of the company, "I think they're trying to make quality independent films that don't adhere to a formula, and I think their hearts are in the right place." Celine Rattray Daniela Taplin Lundberg Galt Niederhoffer |
| Sauce Entertainment |
| 100 Varick Street, 3rd Floor |
| New York, NY 10013 |
| 212-343-3000 |
| 212-343-8503:FAX |
| Sauce was founded in 1995 by signing young directors and producing music videos and commercials. 4/97 - They are in post-production on their first 2 features (I think... & Media...). They have formed SB Films, a joint venture with veteran independent film producer Ben Barenholtz, to produce 5 features budgeted below $5 million each with private financing. 8/96 - JAP spoke to him about I Think I Do (a pass). Aida Ashenafi - Partner Marcus Englefield - Partner Matthew Goldberg - Partner |
| ThinkFilm |
| 451 Greenwhich st., 7th floor |
| New York, NY 10013 |
| 646 214 7908 |
| 4/02 - "In am not in the business of acquiring films that are for everybody," Mark Urman said. "It's not what we are supposed to be doing,. Urman has a history of taking on difficult projects; while at Lions Gate, his track record included such films as "Affliction," "American Psycho," "Buffalo 66," "Gods and Monsters," and "Dogma." "Independent or specialized films (are) supposed to harness a particular audience of a particular size," Urman explained, "My definition of success does not have to be the same as everyone else's." 3/02 - It's been less than a year since THINKFilm announced its launch at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival, but the independent distributor has already begun to diversify. The company has launched a new division, Velocity Home Entertainment, a direct-to-video label "dedicated to bringing retailers and customers the selection they want and the titles that move." THINKFilm president and CEO Jeff Sackman will head the imprint, which will be overseen by Marc Hircshberg, THINKFilm's VP of finance and operations. David Rand will act as Velocity's general manager. "The home entertainment business has shifted and Velocity is in a position to stay ahead of the curve and adapt with changes," said Hirschberg. "What this means to retailers is a distributor that has their interests in mind in terms of rentability and profitability." Velocity titles will initially be available through VPD and Ingram Entertainment. The company plans to release 15 to18 genre films each year. Recent THINKFilm acquisitions include "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys" and "Gerry," both of which screened at Sundance 2002. The company also owns the Canadian rights to such prestigious titles as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Pollock," and "You Can Count On Me," formerly controlled by Blackwatch Releasing. 1/02 - THINKFilm announced the hiring of Amanda Sherwin as Vice-President of Distribution and named Michael Tuckman as Director of Theatrical Sales. The company will be proffering its first three acquisitions at the festival: Venice Lion recipient "Time Out," "World Traveler" and "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys." Sherwin reunites with THINKFilm's President, Jeff Sackman, who served as President of Lions Gate Films, and Urman who came on board there in 1998. While employed at the now defunct film company, she oversaw successful campaigns of "Buffalo '66," and Oscar winners "Affliction," "Gods and Monsters," and "The Red Violin." Her role at THINKFilm will include the creative and budgetary aspects of marketing as well as joining Sackman, Urman, and the company's acquisitions team at Sundance. Michael Tuckman joins THINKFilm after most recently serving as Director of Feature Distribution for The Cinema Guild, Inc. Of the appointment Urman stated, "Michael has the perfect sensibility and energy required to help us grow. He's done a terrific job with some very specialized films and we believe that he brings a completely fresh perspective to the sort of high profile titles our company is attracting." 8/01 - Former Lions Gate Films president Jeff Sackman has unveiled plans for ThinkFilm, a new independent film company that will include numerous executives from the old Lions Gate. Mark Urman, who recently left Lions Gate, is on board to head U.S. operations in New York, while Andy Myers, formerly of Blackwatch Releasing, will lead the Toronto headquarters where Sackman will serve as President and CEO. Notably, the company has already announced a couple of key deals and executives. "I thought it was a huge mistake to shut down New York," Sackman said, commenting on recent changes at Lions Gate. "New York is the right place to be for an independent film company." The city will be the heart of film operations for ThinkFilm, housing its marketing, sales, promotion, and acquisitions staff. More than 10 are expected to make up the New York office and the company expects to have a staff of about 20. Sackman, a founder of CFP (Lions Gate's predecessor), explained that he has already scored the company its first deal. In a pact that he calls "a huge success" for the outfit, Sackman signed a deal for the rights to a number of pictures previously assigned to Blackwatch Releasing (a company that Andy Myers was involved with forming). The pact gives ThinkFilm the Canadian distribution rights for more than 40 movies, including "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "All About My Mother," and "Pollock." Another notable deal is the recent acquisition of the Canadian rights to Bruce Sweeney's "The Last Wedding." The film is set to open next month's Toronto International Film Festival and debut theatrically in Canada in October, according to Sackman. The Toronto festival will be an important first fest for the new outfit. Sackman and Urman promise a high profile at the fest and hope to leave the event with deals for the first movies in their debut slate. "We are ready to distribute a film; we just don't have one," Urman said. "We are going into Toronto with definite intentions of coming out of the festival with acquisitions. We don't rule out the idea of finding a film that will deserve a year-end release for awards consideration." At a time when the Indiewood studios and specialty divisions face ongoing challenges from the MPAA and politicians over the release of button-pushing movies, smaller outlets like Lot 47, the old Lions Gate, and now ThinkFilm, are making it clear to the creative community that they want to be a haven for challenging work. The founders of this new company point to movies they produced and/or distributed at Lions Gate, including "American Psycho" and "Dogma." "What distinguished us last time was a willingness and a clear goal to say 'lets go after edgy films.' We have no bureaucracy and we have no limits on what we can do," Sackman explained. "[We have] a willingness to push the envelope and pick up challenging films." "I think it is a responsibility, in fact an obligation for the independent film sector to support those [films]," Urman added, saying that he wants to continue "exposing audiences to a variety of things -- [films that are] challenging, edgy, even a little bit taboo." The ThinkFilm announcement comes at a distinct moment of change among the players in New York City's film community: Shooting Gallery shut down, Lions Gate moved to L.A. and United Artists announced its plan to re-establish in Manhattan under the leadership of Bingham Ray. "Whenever companies disappear, it's kind of sad for everybody," Urman said. "The community in New York is a close and tight and friendly one; as jobs disappear, it diminishes the entire scene. "When John Feltheimer came in as CEO, he brought in a lot of money," Sackman concluded, when asked for additional thoughts on the changes at Lions Gate. "His background and perspective comes from the studio world. Ours comes from building [a company] from the ground up. For me personally, I prefer this, it is the opportunity to do it again -- to build it step by step, brick by brick." Jeff Sackman - President and CEO (Toronto) Mark Urman - Head of U.S. operations/Distribution (NY) Andy Myers - Head of Toronto headquarters Amanda Sherwin - Vice-President of Distribution Michael Tuckman - Director of Theatrical Sales Marc Hirsberg - VP of finance and operations Randy Manis - VP of acquisitions & business affairs Tamara Shannon - Director of development & acquisitions |
| This is That |
| 417 Canal Street, 4th Floor |
| New York, NY 100 |
| 212-343-9230 |
| 9/02 - Every current member of This is That was once a part of the Good Machine staff, including Good Machine co-founder and co-president Ted Hope and longtime Good Machine producers Anthony Bregman and Anne Carey. So far, TIT has already signed on to produce "21 Grams," the first English-language film from "Amores Perros" director Alejandro
Gonzalez Innaritu. 8/02 - former Good Machine-r Ted Hope, along with partners Anthony Bregman and Anne Carey, have found a name for their new production company: This is That. (a.k.a. "TIT"). Ted Hope - Anthony Bregman - Anne Carey - Director of Development |
| TriBeCa Productions |
| 375 Greenwich Street |
| New York, NY 10013 |
| 212-941-4040 |
| Formed by Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal in 1988. 11/97 - They have a credit line from Japanese distributor Shockiku for films starring De Niro Jane Rosenthal - President Brad Epstein - President of Production Kate Fishman - Geoff Eisenman - Creative Executive Hardy Justice - VP, Development. Tarvis Watson - Development |
| United Artists |
| 1350 Avenue of the Americas |
| New York, NY 10019 |
| MGM’s specialty film division. 2/03 - Ray plans to greenlight 2 to 3 productions a year budgeted at no more than $10 million each. The remainder of the slate will be less expensive acquisitions. Ranked #6 in Premiere’s top ten Indiewood companies. 12/01 - Bingham Ray recently announced a number of key appointments at the energized specialty division. Sara Rose has been named Senior Vice-President of Productions and Acquisition, while Dennis O'Connor is on board as Vice President of Marketing and Jack Turner has been named Vice President of Productions and Acquisitions. Rose and O'Connor are based in Santa Monica, CA, while Turner is based at UA's New York headquarters. Also on board in New York are Matt Kennedy as Manager of Acquisitions and Productions and Donna Ellithorpe as Ray's assistant. Sara Rose joined UA as VP of Productions and Acquisitions in 1998, while Dennis O'Connor has joined UA from Universal Focus and Jack Turner recently exited USA Films to join the Ray team at UA.UA's 2002 slate includes Mike Leigh's new untitled film,. 8/01 - MGM made it official, naming October Films Co-Founder Bingham Ray the President of United Artists (UA), its specialty film division. UA will relocate to New York as part of the pact with Ray. Ray will take the helm on September 1st. Crossroads, the company that Bingham Ray joined earlier this year, will maintain its deal with the studio. United Artists will release 8 - 12 movies each year, according to McGurk. The slate will be a mixture of its own movies from deals with Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope, John Penotti and Fisher Steven's GreeneStreet Films, Michael Stipe and Sandy Stern's Single Cell, Michael Winterbottom's Revolution Films, Crossroads (the company where Ray will continue working until he joins UA), and a selection of acquistions, pre-bought scripts and others, according to Ray. "What I am really interested in doing -- and what I am willing to work very hard to achieve -- is a consistent level of success," Ray continued, "The kinds of films that you can make that can be both profitable and provocative." As an example, Chris McGurk points to "Ghost World," which UA is successfully releasing right now amidst what the MGM exec calls a crop of "artistically horrendous films" from other studios. It is a movie that he calls "a message to the film community," because everyone in town passed on it. "Even some of these so-called independent film companies," McGurk continued, "specialty film companies -- on the margin -- will always choose something that seems more commercially oriented." "Hopefully because we took a shot at this picture ("Ghost World")," McGurk added, "It will show that we want to be a haven for cutting edge filmmakers." Bingham Ray - President (8/01 - ) Lindsay Doran - President (6/97 - ) John Calley - President Sara Rose - Senior V.P., Productions & Acquisition (LA) Danny Rosette - Dennis O'Connor - Vice President, Marketing (LA) Jack Turner - Vice President, Productions & Acquisitions (NY) Matt Kennedy - Manager of Acquisitions & Productions (NY) Donna Ellithorpe - Ray's assistant (NY) |
| Washington Square Films |
| 310 Bowery, 2nd Floor |
| New York NY 10012 |
| 212-253-0333 |
| 212-253-0330:FAX
|
| Wellspring Media |
| 419 Park Avenue South |
| New York, NY 10016 |
| Theatrical, TV, domestic, international, home video. The successor company to Winstar and Fox Lorber. The seek “high end, very independent, high quality, art films, fiction or non-fiction.” They acquire 6 - 8 films per year. 2/03 - Marie Therese Guirgis has been been promoted to head of acquisitions, while Krysanne Katsoolis is leaving the company. Guirgis will be responsible for acquisitions and programming for the company's U.S. theatrical and home video releases. She will also handle some duties for the company's sales unit, which separately handles co-productions. Krysanne Katsoolis, who served as SVP of acquisitions and co-productions at the company, is leaving Wellspring after 10 years with the company. She worked to set up the outfit's theatrical distribution arm in 1996 with Theo Angelopoulos' "Ulysses Gaze." 9/02 - Wellspring Media has acquired U.S. theatrical and home video rights to Alexander Sokurov's "Russian Ark" and Bille Eltringham's "This is Not a Love Song." Both films were acquired from Paris-based sales company Celluloid Dreams. 7/02 - New York-based film, television, and video Distributor Wellspring Media has acquired U.S. rights to Delphine Gleize's directorial debut "Carnage," Krysanne Katsoolis announced. The film, featured in the Directors Fortnight section of the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, is described by Wellspring as "a boldly stylish and darkly comic story that traces the unexpected connections forged between characters of widely different backgrounds in the aftermath of a tragic bullfight." Gleize has received much acclaim for her short films, including a Cesar in 2000 for best short for "Sale." Wellspring acquired "Carnage" from Wild Bunch after catching the attention of Katsoolis and her associate Marie Therese Guirgis during this year's Cannes Film Festival; the deal was negotiated with Gael Nouaille of the Paris-based group. "This is a stylish and entertaining film, showcasing a bold new talent," Katsoolis said in a prepared statement. "Each year, we want to release at least one film from a new filmmaker. The film's sophistication and mastery immediately struck us. Gleize is definitely a talent to foster." "Carnage" stars Chiara Mastroianni and Angela Molina. Wellspring currently has "Notorious C.H.O." in release, which expanded to eight screens over the July 4th weekend where it has enjoyed a $10,789 per-screen average and a cumulative total of $109,092 over two weeks. Krysanne Katsoolis - Senior VP of Acquisitions Marie Therese Guirgis - Head of Acquisitions |
| Zeitgeist Films |
| 247 Centre Street, 2nd floor |
| New York, NY 10013 |
| 212 274 1989 |
| 212 274 1644:FAX |
| 4/02 - Sundance Channel has entered an agreement with Zeitgeist Films for U.S. television rights to six of its films, the network announced yesterday. The deal includes "See the Sea," "Water Drops on Burning Rocks," "The Gleaners and I," "Downtown 81" and "The Turandot Project." Documentaries included in the agreement are "I Remember Me" and "The Brandon Teena Story." The deal between the companies was negotiated by Larry Greenberg, director of acquisitions for the Sundance Channel and Showtime Networks and Emily Russo, co-president of Zeitgeist Films. Emily Russo - Co-President |