Exclusive: Big news here. Hot off his Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Barbie, Ryan Gosling is launching a new production company General Admission with former Apple Original Films executive Jessie Henderson. In launching the new venture, the duo have inked a three-year first-look film deal at Amazon MGM Studios.
General Admission’s objective will be to collaborate with world class filmmakers to create bold theatrical and streaming events within all genres – fun, transportive entertainment for everyone. Under the pact, Amazon MGM Studios will have a first look on narrative features–some of which Gosling will star in–that General Admission intends to produce for both theatrical and streaming.
“We are so thrilled that Ryan Gosling and Jessie Henderson will make Amazon MGM Studios the home of their new company, General Admission,” said Courtenay Valenti, head of film, streaming, and theatrical at Amazon MGM Studios. “ As the name of their company conveys,...
General Admission’s objective will be to collaborate with world class filmmakers to create bold theatrical and streaming events within all genres – fun, transportive entertainment for everyone. Under the pact, Amazon MGM Studios will have a first look on narrative features–some of which Gosling will star in–that General Admission intends to produce for both theatrical and streaming.
“We are so thrilled that Ryan Gosling and Jessie Henderson will make Amazon MGM Studios the home of their new company, General Admission,” said Courtenay Valenti, head of film, streaming, and theatrical at Amazon MGM Studios. “ As the name of their company conveys,...
- 3/27/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Doug Jones, an independent film programmer with almost three decades of experience in film exhibition, contributed to the development of film culture across the U.S., and a former contributor to IndieWire, died November 2.
The news was announced on Instagram by Vidiots, the Los Angeles non-profit video store and cinema where Jones had worked as a buyer and programmer since May. On November 3, the video store announced that its screenings would be canceled through November 5, due to losing “a dear member” of its team. On November 4, it paid tribute directly to Jones.
“It breaks our heart to share that we have lost the great and wonderful Doug Jones, a beloved and indispensable member of the Vidiots family and a cornerstone of the global film programming community,” reads that statement posted on Vidiots’ Instagram account. “Doug is forever loved by his beautiful son and family, and an enormous network of devoted friends and colleagues.
The news was announced on Instagram by Vidiots, the Los Angeles non-profit video store and cinema where Jones had worked as a buyer and programmer since May. On November 3, the video store announced that its screenings would be canceled through November 5, due to losing “a dear member” of its team. On November 4, it paid tribute directly to Jones.
“It breaks our heart to share that we have lost the great and wonderful Doug Jones, a beloved and indispensable member of the Vidiots family and a cornerstone of the global film programming community,” reads that statement posted on Vidiots’ Instagram account. “Doug is forever loved by his beautiful son and family, and an enormous network of devoted friends and colleagues.
- 11/5/2023
- by Dana Harris-Bridson and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Director Benjamin Caron says that he was “yearning to flex a different muscle” and go from the “historical period drama” that is The Crown to the thrills and spills of Andor and on to the delicious deceit at the heart of his accomplished first feature film Sharper, starring Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan, John Lithgow, Justice Smith and Briana Middleton, giving a star-in-the-making performance.
Related Story ‘Sharper’ Review: Julianne Moore & Sebastian Stan In A Deliciously Twisty New York Noir Full Of Secrets And Lies Related Story Ben Foster, Justice Smith, Katherine Waterston & Maria Bakalova Set For 'Floodplain' Thriller From Topic Studios – EFM Related Story Gaspar Noé's 'Irréversible: Straight Cut' In Theaters, Distributor "Extremely Aware This Is An Extremely Tough Film" – Specialty Preview
His excitement over Sharper, which is highly praised in a review by my Deadline colleague Pete Hammond, is palpable when we meet for a cuppa tea, which he prepares,...
Related Story ‘Sharper’ Review: Julianne Moore & Sebastian Stan In A Deliciously Twisty New York Noir Full Of Secrets And Lies Related Story Ben Foster, Justice Smith, Katherine Waterston & Maria Bakalova Set For 'Floodplain' Thriller From Topic Studios – EFM Related Story Gaspar Noé's 'Irréversible: Straight Cut' In Theaters, Distributor "Extremely Aware This Is An Extremely Tough Film" – Specialty Preview
His excitement over Sharper, which is highly praised in a review by my Deadline colleague Pete Hammond, is palpable when we meet for a cuppa tea, which he prepares,...
- 2/11/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Apple has confirmed Deadline’s scoop on winning an all-night bidding battle for the John Carney-directed Flora and Son, as Apple’s Heads of Worldwide Video Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht and their head of features Matt Dentler burned the midnight oil to make the label’s biggest Sundance Film Festival deal since they acquired Coda in 2021. That film went on to establish Apple as the first streamer to win the Best Picture Oscar, with the film also winning Best Adapted Screenplay for director Sian Heder and Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur.
The three-year old Apple film label paid 25 million for Coda, and Flora and Son came in underneath that but it is certainly a pricey purchase — near the 20 million Netflix paid Monday for another festival favorite, Fair Play. That is more than the 15 million Apple paid at last Sundance for the Grand Jury Prize winner Cha Cha Real Smooth.
The three-year old Apple film label paid 25 million for Coda, and Flora and Son came in underneath that but it is certainly a pricey purchase — near the 20 million Netflix paid Monday for another festival favorite, Fair Play. That is more than the 15 million Apple paid at last Sundance for the Grand Jury Prize winner Cha Cha Real Smooth.
- 1/24/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Apple revealed on Friday the streaming release dates for original films “Causeway,” starring Jennifer Lawrence, and the documentary “Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues.” Both films are due to premiere at Toronto International Film Festival next week.
The A24-produced “Causeway” debuts Nov. 4 on Apple TV+. Lawrence produces and stars as a veteran grappling with a difficult transition from her time in the military to life at home in New Orleans. Directed by Lila Neugebauer in her feature debut, the film will screen at TIFF on Sept. 10 as a Special Presentation at Royal Alexandra Theatre.
“Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues,” described as the “definitive” documentary about the founding father of jazz, streams Oct. 28. Featuring archival footage and never-before-heard home recordings and personal conversations, Sacha Jenkins’ film will take an intimate look at his life and legacy. It’s set to open TIFF’s Documentary Section at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Sept.
The A24-produced “Causeway” debuts Nov. 4 on Apple TV+. Lawrence produces and stars as a veteran grappling with a difficult transition from her time in the military to life at home in New Orleans. Directed by Lila Neugebauer in her feature debut, the film will screen at TIFF on Sept. 10 as a Special Presentation at Royal Alexandra Theatre.
“Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues,” described as the “definitive” documentary about the founding father of jazz, streams Oct. 28. Featuring archival footage and never-before-heard home recordings and personal conversations, Sacha Jenkins’ film will take an intimate look at his life and legacy. It’s set to open TIFF’s Documentary Section at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Sept.
- 9/2/2022
- by Harper Lambert
- The Wrap
“Causeway,” a new drama starring Jennifer Lawrence as a soldier adjusting to life after returning home to New Orleans, will premiere on Apple TV+ on Nov. 4. The streaming service also announced that “Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues,” a documentary about one of the founding fathers of jazz, will hit Apple TV+ on Oct. 28.
Both films are world premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the company is screening five features, the largest number of Apple Originals to debut at a single film festival. The Canada-bound Apple lineup also includes “Sidney,” a documentary about Oscar-winning actor and barrier-breaking star Sidney Poitier that is produced by Oprah Winfrey and directed by Reginald Hudlin; “Raymond & Ray,” which features Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke as half-brothers; and “The Greatest Beer Run Ever” with Zac Efron and Russel Crowe in a new dramedy from “Green Book” director Peter Farrelly.
Apple will also use...
Both films are world premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the company is screening five features, the largest number of Apple Originals to debut at a single film festival. The Canada-bound Apple lineup also includes “Sidney,” a documentary about Oscar-winning actor and barrier-breaking star Sidney Poitier that is produced by Oprah Winfrey and directed by Reginald Hudlin; “Raymond & Ray,” which features Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke as half-brothers; and “The Greatest Beer Run Ever” with Zac Efron and Russel Crowe in a new dramedy from “Green Book” director Peter Farrelly.
Apple will also use...
- 9/2/2022
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
When Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht left Sony Pictures Television in 2017 to steer Apple’s film and TV fortunes, few doubted they would give the tech giant’s upstart content company a beachhead on the small screen. During their 12 years at Sony, they hatched hits like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and Rescue Me.
It was the film part of the equation that prompted questions about their qualifications. Even though they tapped Matt Dentler to run their film unit, Van Amburg and Erlicht were not nearly as prolific as their counterparts at Netflix, Disney+, Amazon or HBO Max. That fueled expectations they were biding time until they found the perfect seasoned movie executive to help put them on the map.
So, imagine everyone’s surprise when Apple became the first streamer to win the Best Picture Oscar in just its second year in the film business. The duo’s...
It was the film part of the equation that prompted questions about their qualifications. Even though they tapped Matt Dentler to run their film unit, Van Amburg and Erlicht were not nearly as prolific as their counterparts at Netflix, Disney+, Amazon or HBO Max. That fueled expectations they were biding time until they found the perfect seasoned movie executive to help put them on the map.
So, imagine everyone’s surprise when Apple became the first streamer to win the Best Picture Oscar in just its second year in the film business. The duo’s...
- 5/20/2022
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
From Lady Gaga to the cast of “West Side Story,” it was the night Tinseltown came to London.
The 2022 Critics Choice Awards hosted a satellite ceremony in the British capital on Sunday night after the omicron variant of Covid-19 forced the show to vacate its initial slot of Jan. 9 and the new March 13 date clashed with the U.K. BAFTA Awards.
With a 10-hour flight and seven-hour time difference meaning attendees couldn’t hotfoot it between ceremonies, the broadcast from the U.K. ensured that nominees including Lady Gaga, Ariana DeBose and Troy Kotsur were able to be in two places at (almost) the same time.
In London, the Critics Choice Awards kicked off at 11 p.m. GMT (4 p.m. Pt), just as the BAFTA post-ceremony dinner was coming to a close, giving guests such as Rachel Zegler and Alana and Este Haim just enough time for a quick outfit change.
The 2022 Critics Choice Awards hosted a satellite ceremony in the British capital on Sunday night after the omicron variant of Covid-19 forced the show to vacate its initial slot of Jan. 9 and the new March 13 date clashed with the U.K. BAFTA Awards.
With a 10-hour flight and seven-hour time difference meaning attendees couldn’t hotfoot it between ceremonies, the broadcast from the U.K. ensured that nominees including Lady Gaga, Ariana DeBose and Troy Kotsur were able to be in two places at (almost) the same time.
In London, the Critics Choice Awards kicked off at 11 p.m. GMT (4 p.m. Pt), just as the BAFTA post-ceremony dinner was coming to a close, giving guests such as Rachel Zegler and Alana and Este Haim just enough time for a quick outfit change.
- 3/14/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
It’s a pretty sweet time to be a top executive in Hollywood.
A series of high-profile mergers and acquisitions, and the arrival of some tech giants looking to break into the entertainment business, has put a premium on corporate talent. All industry eyes have turned to Discovery chief David Zaslav to see what he has planned once his company’s merger with WarnerMedia is consummated, and speculation is running rampant about who deep-pocketed streamers Apple and Netflix may be planning to hire.
All of this jockeying is coming as the industry is experiencing a “once-in-a-generation seismic shift in the power structure of the business,” according to one former studio chief. As major media companies have launched in-house streaming services, their hunger for buzzy shows and movies has become insatiable. At the same time, the traditional ways of gauging success, such as ratings and box office, are fading in importance...
A series of high-profile mergers and acquisitions, and the arrival of some tech giants looking to break into the entertainment business, has put a premium on corporate talent. All industry eyes have turned to Discovery chief David Zaslav to see what he has planned once his company’s merger with WarnerMedia is consummated, and speculation is running rampant about who deep-pocketed streamers Apple and Netflix may be planning to hire.
All of this jockeying is coming as the industry is experiencing a “once-in-a-generation seismic shift in the power structure of the business,” according to one former studio chief. As major media companies have launched in-house streaming services, their hunger for buzzy shows and movies has become insatiable. At the same time, the traditional ways of gauging success, such as ratings and box office, are fading in importance...
- 3/9/2022
- by Brent Lang and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
New details surrounding the union of Apple Studios and David Ellison’s Skydance Media prove the tech giant is willing to spend big to build a global tentpole movie business, sources tell Variety.
Nearly a month after it was announced that Apple had landed a slate of live action films from longtime Paramount Pictures partner Skydance, producer of the mega-franchise “Mission: Impossible” and the upcoming sequel to “Top Gun,” the town is still abuzz about what a lucrative and rarified deal Skydance carved out for itself. Apple, which has been very selective and strategic in the film projects it chooses since launching its division in 2019, has clearly identified Skydance as a key component in the next steps of its evolution.
The agreement closely resembles a “put deal,” according to sources, an increasingly rare Hollywood arrangement wherein a distributor is obligated to release movies its partner chooses. Jason Blum’s Blumhouse,...
Nearly a month after it was announced that Apple had landed a slate of live action films from longtime Paramount Pictures partner Skydance, producer of the mega-franchise “Mission: Impossible” and the upcoming sequel to “Top Gun,” the town is still abuzz about what a lucrative and rarified deal Skydance carved out for itself. Apple, which has been very selective and strategic in the film projects it chooses since launching its division in 2019, has clearly identified Skydance as a key component in the next steps of its evolution.
The agreement closely resembles a “put deal,” according to sources, an increasingly rare Hollywood arrangement wherein a distributor is obligated to release movies its partner chooses. Jason Blum’s Blumhouse,...
- 2/23/2022
- by Matt Donnelly and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Apple will re-release its Best Picture nominee “Coda” into theaters starting next weekend and will do so with a series of free screenings open to all audiences.
Beginning next Friday, February 25, and running through Feb. 27, “Coda” will be presented in a limited theatrical run across the U.S. and London, free of charge and on a first-come, first-served basis. And each screening will have open captions so that it’s inclusive of both Deaf and hard of hearing audiences.
Below is the list of theaters offering free screenings, and here is the link to get “Coda” tickets.
The film’s director Siân Heder will also be present at a live Q&a for the film for one of its screenings in Los Angeles, which will also have an interpreter present to translate into Asl.
“Coda” first premiered at Sundance in 2021 and won the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize in the Dramatic Competition,...
Beginning next Friday, February 25, and running through Feb. 27, “Coda” will be presented in a limited theatrical run across the U.S. and London, free of charge and on a first-come, first-served basis. And each screening will have open captions so that it’s inclusive of both Deaf and hard of hearing audiences.
Below is the list of theaters offering free screenings, and here is the link to get “Coda” tickets.
The film’s director Siân Heder will also be present at a live Q&a for the film for one of its screenings in Los Angeles, which will also have an interpreter present to translate into Asl.
“Coda” first premiered at Sundance in 2021 and won the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize in the Dramatic Competition,...
- 2/18/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Coda, the film that traveled the longest road among the Best Picture nominees, will get a new surge. Apple and its Original Films division will re-release the inspirational film for free in theaters from next Friday, February 25 through Sunday, February 27. All free screenings to feature open captions to be fully accessible to the deaf and hard-of-hearing
The crowd pleaser began its Oscar journey at 2021 Virtual Sundance, where it swept the major awards by winning four: Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast, the Directing Award, the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize. It also set a festival acquisition record when Apple acquired it for $25 million.
Coda, which premiered in theaters and globally on Apple TV+ last August, is the first film starring a predominantly Deaf cast to receive a Best Picture nomination, and Troy Kotsur is the first Deaf male actor to receive a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
The crowd pleaser began its Oscar journey at 2021 Virtual Sundance, where it swept the major awards by winning four: Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast, the Directing Award, the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize. It also set a festival acquisition record when Apple acquired it for $25 million.
Coda, which premiered in theaters and globally on Apple TV+ last August, is the first film starring a predominantly Deaf cast to receive a Best Picture nomination, and Troy Kotsur is the first Deaf male actor to receive a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
- 2/18/2022
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Apple has landed another big feature project, that being an Audrey Hepburn biopic which Oscar-nominated filmmaker Luca Guadagnino will helm, with 2x Oscar nominee Rooney Mara set to play The Breakfast at Tiffany‘s legendary actress.
Deadline has learned separately that Mara is also producing the feature project, which Michael Mitnick, the EP of HBO series Vinyl is writing.
The movie reps Mara’s third producing credit after the documentary The End of Medicine and The Truth About Emmanuel.
Apple Studios is producing. Apple’s heads of worldwide video Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht and head of features Matt Dentler continue their momentum in building big screen fare for the streamer.
Puck first had the story about Apple developing an Audrey Hepburn movie with Mara starring, Guadagnino directing.
Mitnick is repped by Grandview, CAA and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. His feature credits include The Current War and The Giver.
Deadline has learned separately that Mara is also producing the feature project, which Michael Mitnick, the EP of HBO series Vinyl is writing.
The movie reps Mara’s third producing credit after the documentary The End of Medicine and The Truth About Emmanuel.
Apple Studios is producing. Apple’s heads of worldwide video Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht and head of features Matt Dentler continue their momentum in building big screen fare for the streamer.
Puck first had the story about Apple developing an Audrey Hepburn movie with Mara starring, Guadagnino directing.
Mitnick is repped by Grandview, CAA and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. His feature credits include The Current War and The Giver.
- 1/7/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The documentary universe has changed radically over the past dozen years. No longer the domain of a few cable channels or public television stations, no longer bound by the old cinema verite rules of engagement, non-fiction filmmaking has spent the past decade bursting out of the low-budget indie sidelines into mainstream acceptance, adopting tricks and tropes from fiction and series storytelling as directors capture audience attention from all over the world.
One force for change throughout has been the Cinema Eye Honors, an awards body created in 2007 by a group of independent filmmakers. Led by Los Angeles documentary filmmaker A.J. Schnack (“Kurt Cobain About a Son” and the recent “30 for 30” entry “Long Gone Summer”), the Cinema Eye Honors have led the charge in shaking up conversations about the types of non-fiction storytelling that were worthy of celebration.
“It was a reaction to what was happening elsewhere in the field,” Schnack...
One force for change throughout has been the Cinema Eye Honors, an awards body created in 2007 by a group of independent filmmakers. Led by Los Angeles documentary filmmaker A.J. Schnack (“Kurt Cobain About a Son” and the recent “30 for 30” entry “Long Gone Summer”), the Cinema Eye Honors have led the charge in shaking up conversations about the types of non-fiction storytelling that were worthy of celebration.
“It was a reaction to what was happening elsewhere in the field,” Schnack...
- 9/22/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Apple Original Films has made a deal with A24 on distribution for the Joel Coen-directed The Tragedy of Macbeth, a film that stars Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand. The plan is to release the film theatrically worldwide in the fourth quarter by A24, before its global launch on Apple TV+. Pic shapes up as an awards-season contender, with artists who’ve been there before: McDormand just won her third and fourth Oscars for Nomadland, Washington is a two-time Oscar winner and Coen also has four. Coen, who adapted from Shakespeare, makes his first solo directing outing, without brother Ethan.
Washington plays the title character, and McDormand plays Lady Macbeth. Surrounding them is a cast that includes Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Kathryn Hunter, Harry Melling and Brendan Gleeson. Coen reunites with frequent collaborators Bruno Delbonnel as Dp, costume designer Mary Zophres, and Carter Burwell with an original score.
Washington plays the title character, and McDormand plays Lady Macbeth. Surrounding them is a cast that includes Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Kathryn Hunter, Harry Melling and Brendan Gleeson. Coen reunites with frequent collaborators Bruno Delbonnel as Dp, costume designer Mary Zophres, and Carter Burwell with an original score.
- 5/12/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Apple Original Films won a very competitive weekend auction among streamers to land the Tom Hanks-starrer Finch, an Amblin Entertainment sci-fi film that previously carried the title Bios and was originally intended to be released by Universal. It will now be released on Apple TV+ later this year, likely in awards season, with a qualifying theatrical run at least in the cards.
The film is directed by Miguel Sapochnik, who helmed some of the most ambitious episodes of Game of Thrones, including the “Battle of the Bastards” episode in Season 6 which won him the first of his two Emmys for the show. Script is by first-time screenwriter Craig Luck and Ivor Powell, latter of whom was associate producer of Blade Runner and Alien. Pic is produced by Kevin Misher, Jack Rapke, Jacqueline Levine and Powell. The executive producers are Robert Zemeckis, Luck, Sapochnik, Andy Berman and Adam Merims.
The film is directed by Miguel Sapochnik, who helmed some of the most ambitious episodes of Game of Thrones, including the “Battle of the Bastards” episode in Season 6 which won him the first of his two Emmys for the show. Script is by first-time screenwriter Craig Luck and Ivor Powell, latter of whom was associate producer of Blade Runner and Alien. Pic is produced by Kevin Misher, Jack Rapke, Jacqueline Levine and Powell. The executive producers are Robert Zemeckis, Luck, Sapochnik, Andy Berman and Adam Merims.
- 5/3/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Film and television development executive Jessie Henderson is joining Apple Studios as a feature executive, the company announced on Friday.
Henderson will report to Apple Original Films’ Matt Dentler, head of features. Henderson, who joins the company next week, will be part of the Apple Original Films team based in Los Angeles, which includes feature executive Lejo Pet, who recently joined Apple from Paramount Pictures.
Previously, Henderson was EVP, Original Feature Films for HBO Max, where she headed up the development of original films. Prior to her role at HBO Max, Henderson formed and served as co-president of Feigco Entertainment alongside Paul Feig. While at Feigco, she produced film and television projects that included “Spy,” “A Simple Favor, “Someone Great,” the all-female “Ghostbusters” and “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.”
Before that, Henderson was an executive at Chernin Entertainment where she co-produced “The Heat,” after starting her career at Universal.
Henderson earned her...
Henderson will report to Apple Original Films’ Matt Dentler, head of features. Henderson, who joins the company next week, will be part of the Apple Original Films team based in Los Angeles, which includes feature executive Lejo Pet, who recently joined Apple from Paramount Pictures.
Previously, Henderson was EVP, Original Feature Films for HBO Max, where she headed up the development of original films. Prior to her role at HBO Max, Henderson formed and served as co-president of Feigco Entertainment alongside Paul Feig. While at Feigco, she produced film and television projects that included “Spy,” “A Simple Favor, “Someone Great,” the all-female “Ghostbusters” and “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.”
Before that, Henderson was an executive at Chernin Entertainment where she co-produced “The Heat,” after starting her career at Universal.
Henderson earned her...
- 4/9/2021
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Film and television development executive Jessie Henderson is joining Apple Studios as a feature executive, reporting to Apple Original Films’ Matt Dentler, head of features. Henderson, who joins the company next week, will be part of the growing Apple Original Films team based in Los Angeles, which includes feature executive Lejo Pet, who recently joined Apple from Paramount Pictures.
Previously, Henderson was EVP Original Feature Films for HBO Max, where she headed up the development of original films. Prior to her role at HBO Max, Henderson formed and served as co-president of Feigco Entertainment alongside Paul Feig. While at Feigco, she produced film and television projects that included Spy, A Simple Favor, Someone Great, the all-female Ghostbusters and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.
Before that, Henderson was an executive at Chernin Entertainment where she co-produced The Heat, after starting her career at Universal.
Previously, Henderson was EVP Original Feature Films for HBO Max, where she headed up the development of original films. Prior to her role at HBO Max, Henderson formed and served as co-president of Feigco Entertainment alongside Paul Feig. While at Feigco, she produced film and television projects that included Spy, A Simple Favor, Someone Great, the all-female Ghostbusters and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.
Before that, Henderson was an executive at Chernin Entertainment where she co-produced The Heat, after starting her career at Universal.
- 4/9/2021
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Jessie Henderson has joined Apple Studios as a feature film executive, the tech giant announced Friday.
Based in Los Angeles, Henderson will report to Apple Original Film’s head of features Matt Dentler.
Henderson most recently served as executive vice president of original feature films at HBO Max, focusing on development. She departed the WarnerMedia-owned service in late 2020, following a reorganization that gave Warner Bros. Pictures chief Toby Emmerich full control of HBO Max’s straight-to-streaming feature slate, which he had previously shared with HBO Max’s chief content officer Kevin Reilly. Many wondered where the pedigreed Henderson would land in the months following.
Before HBO Max, Henderson served as co-president of Feigco Entertainment alongside Paul Feig. There she produced film and TV projects including “Spy,” “A Simple Favor, “Someone Great,” the all-female “Ghostbusters” and “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.” She was also an executive at Peter Chernin’s eponymous company,...
Based in Los Angeles, Henderson will report to Apple Original Film’s head of features Matt Dentler.
Henderson most recently served as executive vice president of original feature films at HBO Max, focusing on development. She departed the WarnerMedia-owned service in late 2020, following a reorganization that gave Warner Bros. Pictures chief Toby Emmerich full control of HBO Max’s straight-to-streaming feature slate, which he had previously shared with HBO Max’s chief content officer Kevin Reilly. Many wondered where the pedigreed Henderson would land in the months following.
Before HBO Max, Henderson served as co-president of Feigco Entertainment alongside Paul Feig. There she produced film and TV projects including “Spy,” “A Simple Favor, “Someone Great,” the all-female “Ghostbusters” and “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.” She was also an executive at Peter Chernin’s eponymous company,...
- 4/9/2021
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Movie executive Jessie Henderson has joined Apple Studios in its features division.
Henderson, who was previously at HBO Max where she held the title of exec VP, original feature films, will report to Apple Original Films’ head of features Matt Dentler and will be based in Los Angeles. She begins next week.
Apple is in the midst of growing its film team and Henderson’s arrival comes on the heels of hiring of executive Lejo Pet, who recently joined Apple from Paramount Pictures.
Henderson brings with her extensive development and production experience. Prior to her work at HBO Max, Henderson formed ...
Henderson, who was previously at HBO Max where she held the title of exec VP, original feature films, will report to Apple Original Films’ head of features Matt Dentler and will be based in Los Angeles. She begins next week.
Apple is in the midst of growing its film team and Henderson’s arrival comes on the heels of hiring of executive Lejo Pet, who recently joined Apple from Paramount Pictures.
Henderson brings with her extensive development and production experience. Prior to her work at HBO Max, Henderson formed ...
Movie executive Jessie Henderson has joined Apple Studios in its features division.
Henderson, who was previously at HBO Max where she held the title of exec VP, original feature films, will report to Apple Original Films’ head of features Matt Dentler and will be based in Los Angeles. She begins next week.
Apple is in the midst of growing its film team and Henderson’s arrival comes on the heels of hiring of executive Lejo Pet, who recently joined Apple from Paramount Pictures.
Henderson brings with her extensive development and production experience. Prior to her work at HBO Max, Henderson formed ...
Henderson, who was previously at HBO Max where she held the title of exec VP, original feature films, will report to Apple Original Films’ head of features Matt Dentler and will be based in Los Angeles. She begins next week.
Apple is in the midst of growing its film team and Henderson’s arrival comes on the heels of hiring of executive Lejo Pet, who recently joined Apple from Paramount Pictures.
Henderson brings with her extensive development and production experience. Prior to her work at HBO Max, Henderson formed ...
A good weekend for Apple. Besides Apple Studios on Saturday acquiring the hot Sundance title Coda for a festival record $25 million. Apple TV+ is reporting it scored its most-watched weekend in the relatively short history of the year-old streaming service. The record-breaking viewership was driven by the premiere of Palmer, starring Justin Timberlake and directed by Fisher Stevens.
While the streamer doesn’t divulge specifics, Palmer was Apple TV+’s third-biggest launch and second-biggest film, per the studio. Apple heads of worldwide video Zack Van Amburg & Jamie Erlicht and head of features Matt Dentler acquired it in July. The drama follows a former college football phenomenon named Eddie Palmer (Timberlake). After a stint in prison, he returns to his hometown to get his life back on track. There, he faces not only lingering conflicts from his past but also a much more surprising challenge as he finds himself suddenly in...
While the streamer doesn’t divulge specifics, Palmer was Apple TV+’s third-biggest launch and second-biggest film, per the studio. Apple heads of worldwide video Zack Van Amburg & Jamie Erlicht and head of features Matt Dentler acquired it in July. The drama follows a former college football phenomenon named Eddie Palmer (Timberlake). After a stint in prison, he returns to his hometown to get his life back on track. There, he faces not only lingering conflicts from his past but also a much more surprising challenge as he finds himself suddenly in...
- 2/1/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Despite the streaming service’s name, Apple TV+ isn’t just television — it’s also in the original film game. (That would be the “+.”) Apple has just announced that the latest original film to join its upcoming slate is “Swan Song,” starring two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali and written and directed by Academy Award winner Benjamin Cleary (“Stutterer”).
“Benjamin’s script for ‘Swan Song’ immediately connected with us,” said Matt Dentler, Apple’s head of feature development and acquisitions. “We cannot wait to bring Benjamin’s vision together with Mahershala’s undeniable talent to deliver this powerfully layered story to audiences around the world.”
Details about the film are sparse right now, but Apple describes “Swan Song” as “a genre-bending drama” set in the near future and focused on how far someone will go and how much they will sacrifice to make a happier life for the people they love.
“Benjamin’s script for ‘Swan Song’ immediately connected with us,” said Matt Dentler, Apple’s head of feature development and acquisitions. “We cannot wait to bring Benjamin’s vision together with Mahershala’s undeniable talent to deliver this powerfully layered story to audiences around the world.”
Details about the film are sparse right now, but Apple describes “Swan Song” as “a genre-bending drama” set in the near future and focused on how far someone will go and how much they will sacrifice to make a happier life for the people they love.
- 2/19/2020
- by LaToya Ferguson
- Indiewire
Two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali is producing and starring in the genre-bending drama feature “Swan Song” for Apple TV Plus, with production starting in the spring.
The film will be produced by Apple and Anonymous Content. “Swan Song” will be directed by Academy Award winner Benjamin Cleary, who also wrote the project. Cleary won the Oscar in the live-action short category in 2016 for “Stutterer.”
The film is set in the near future and explores how far someone will go, and how much they’ll sacrifice, to make a happier life for the people they love.
“Benjamin’s script for ‘Swan Song’ immediately connected with us,” said Matt Dentler, Apple’s head of feature development and acquisitions. “We cannot wait to bring Benjamin’s vision together with Mahershala’s undeniable talent to deliver this powerfully layered story to audiences around the world.”
Adam Shulman (“Defending Jacob”) and Jacob Perlin (“The Amazing Johnathan Documentary...
The film will be produced by Apple and Anonymous Content. “Swan Song” will be directed by Academy Award winner Benjamin Cleary, who also wrote the project. Cleary won the Oscar in the live-action short category in 2016 for “Stutterer.”
The film is set in the near future and explores how far someone will go, and how much they’ll sacrifice, to make a happier life for the people they love.
“Benjamin’s script for ‘Swan Song’ immediately connected with us,” said Matt Dentler, Apple’s head of feature development and acquisitions. “We cannot wait to bring Benjamin’s vision together with Mahershala’s undeniable talent to deliver this powerfully layered story to audiences around the world.”
Adam Shulman (“Defending Jacob”) and Jacob Perlin (“The Amazing Johnathan Documentary...
- 2/19/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
AppleTV+ will be adding Swan Song to its original film slate. The pic, directed and written by Oscar winner Benjamin Cleary, is a genre-bending drama that is set in the near future, exploring how far someone will go, and how much they’ll sacrifice, to make a happier life for the people they love. Two-time Oscar winner of Green Book and Moonlight, Mahershala Ali, will star in the film as Milo.
Apple is coming in to produce the project with Anonymous Content. The project will go into production this spring and also receive a theatrical release down the road.
Adam Shulman (Defending Jacob) and Jacob Perlin (The Amazing Johnathan Documentary) will produce the film on behalf of Anonymous Content, along with Ali. “Benjamin’s script for ‘Swan Song’ immediately connected with us,” said Matt Dentler, Apple’s head of feature development and acquisitions. “We cannot wait to bring Benjamin’s...
Apple is coming in to produce the project with Anonymous Content. The project will go into production this spring and also receive a theatrical release down the road.
Adam Shulman (Defending Jacob) and Jacob Perlin (The Amazing Johnathan Documentary) will produce the film on behalf of Anonymous Content, along with Ali. “Benjamin’s script for ‘Swan Song’ immediately connected with us,” said Matt Dentler, Apple’s head of feature development and acquisitions. “We cannot wait to bring Benjamin’s...
- 2/19/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Sundance 2019 brings tempered expectations after a quiet 2018 market, when big-spenders Netflix and Amazon withdrew from the fray. As distributors can no longer rely on output deals with Netflix, they are looking to Starz and Hulu to make up the shortfall. And with Amazon Video Direct’s Film Festival Stars program gone, there’s no artificial bottom to the market, which gives everyone more room to maneuver, but also risks leaving the least commercial indies with no distribution at all. And some companies are changing their deals so that theatrical distribution is no longer guaranteed.
The festival always programs a strong selection of potential documentary Oscar contenders, but while prices are bound to be more exuberant following last year’s tsunami of box office hits led by Oscar contender “Rbg” and Morgan Neville tearjerker “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” this year’s selection may not be as commercially robust.
Read...
The festival always programs a strong selection of potential documentary Oscar contenders, but while prices are bound to be more exuberant following last year’s tsunami of box office hits led by Oscar contender “Rbg” and Morgan Neville tearjerker “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” this year’s selection may not be as commercially robust.
Read...
- 1/24/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Sundance 2019 brings tempered expectations after a quiet 2018 market, when big-spenders Netflix and Amazon withdrew from the fray. As distributors can no longer rely on output deals with Netflix, they are looking to Starz and Hulu to make up the shortfall. And with Amazon Video Direct’s Film Festival Stars program gone, there’s no artificial bottom to the market, which gives everyone more room to maneuver, but also risks leaving the least commercial indies with no distribution at all. And some companies are changing their deals so that theatrical distribution is no longer guaranteed.
The festival always programs a strong selection of potential documentary Oscar contenders, but while prices are bound to be more exuberant following last year’s tsunami of box office hits led by Oscar contender “Rbg” and Morgan Neville tearjerker “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” this year’s selection may not be as commercially robust.
Read...
The festival always programs a strong selection of potential documentary Oscar contenders, but while prices are bound to be more exuberant following last year’s tsunami of box office hits led by Oscar contender “Rbg” and Morgan Neville tearjerker “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” this year’s selection may not be as commercially robust.
Read...
- 1/24/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Veteran indie film distributor Mark Urman, most recently president and CEO of New York-based Paladin Films, died Saturday following a bout with cancer, a rep for Paladin confirmed. He was 66.
Urman began his career in the international publicity department at United Artists, followed by publicity positions with Columbia Pictures and the studio’s Triumph Films. In 1997, he left the PR firm Dennis Davidson and Associates to join Cinepix Film Properties as its head of U.S. distribution.
While serving as distribution president at ThinkFilm in the early 2000s, Urman steered seven films to Oscar nominations in six years, with “Taxi to the Dark Side” and “Born Into Brothels” both winning the gold for Best Documentary Feature.
Also Read: Verna Bloom, 'Animal House' and 'Last Temptation of Christ' Actress, Dies at 80
He also shepherded successful Oscar campaigns for the films “Monsters Ball,” “Affliction,” “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” and “Gods and Monsters,...
Urman began his career in the international publicity department at United Artists, followed by publicity positions with Columbia Pictures and the studio’s Triumph Films. In 1997, he left the PR firm Dennis Davidson and Associates to join Cinepix Film Properties as its head of U.S. distribution.
While serving as distribution president at ThinkFilm in the early 2000s, Urman steered seven films to Oscar nominations in six years, with “Taxi to the Dark Side” and “Born Into Brothels” both winning the gold for Best Documentary Feature.
Also Read: Verna Bloom, 'Animal House' and 'Last Temptation of Christ' Actress, Dies at 80
He also shepherded successful Oscar campaigns for the films “Monsters Ball,” “Affliction,” “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” and “Gods and Monsters,...
- 1/14/2019
- by Rosemary Rossi
- The Wrap
Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture: Easter Eggs of the Day: Ready Player One is all about Easter eggs and pop culture references, and ScreenCrush tried to showcase every single one: Theme Song of the Day: Check out this perfect but unofficial "rejected" theme song for Ready Player One focused on the movie's nostalgia hook (via Matt Dentler): Actor in the Spotlight: Also in honor of the release of Ready Player One, IMDb and No Small Parts look at the career of its young star, Tye Sheridan: Vintage Image of the Day: Warren Beatty, who turns 81 today, receives direction from Eliza Kazan on the set of Splendor in the Grass in...
- 3/31/2018
- by Christopher Campbell
- Movies.com
Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture: Easter Eggs of the Day: Ready Player One is all about Easter eggs and pop culture references, and ScreenCrush tried to showcase every single one: Theme Song of the Day: Check out this perfect but unofficial "rejected" theme song for Ready Player One focused on the movie's nostalgia hook (via Matt Dentler): Actor in the Spotlight: Also in honor of the release of Ready Player One, IMDb and No Small Parts look at the career of its young star, Tye Sheridan: Vintage Image of the Day: Warren Beatty, who turns 81 today, receives direction from Eliza Kazan on the set of Splendor in the Grass in...
- 3/31/2018
- by Christopher Campbell
- Movies.com
Unlike Sundance or Cannes, the SXSW Film Festival has undergone rapid changes over the past decade. Tied in with the swirling chaos of its Interactive and Music sections, the Austin-based event is known for the discovery of low-budget features and as a launch pad for edgy studio projects favored by the city’s hipsters.
Much of SXSW’s identity took shape during the early aughts, when current iTunes independent film coordinator Matt Dentler brought a range of new American talent into the program. When he left in 2008 for a job in New York, incoming SXSW film producer Janet Pierson was a programming newcomer but a veteran of scene. With her husband, John Pierson, she shepherded the careers of independent filmmakers like Kevin Smith, Spike Lee, and Errol Morris. With SXSW, she was tasked with funneling that experience into the ever-changing ecosystem of film and television.
To commemorate her 10th year...
Much of SXSW’s identity took shape during the early aughts, when current iTunes independent film coordinator Matt Dentler brought a range of new American talent into the program. When he left in 2008 for a job in New York, incoming SXSW film producer Janet Pierson was a programming newcomer but a veteran of scene. With her husband, John Pierson, she shepherded the careers of independent filmmakers like Kevin Smith, Spike Lee, and Errol Morris. With SXSW, she was tasked with funneling that experience into the ever-changing ecosystem of film and television.
To commemorate her 10th year...
- 3/9/2018
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Looking back on this still-young century makes clear that 2007 was a major time for cinematic happenings — and, on the basis of this retrospective, one we’re not quite through with ten years on. One’s mind might quickly flash to a few big titles that will be represented, but it is the plurality of both festival and theatrical premieres that truly surprises: late works from old masters, debuts from filmmakers who’ve since become some of our most-respected artists, and mid-career turning points that didn’t necessarily announce themselves as such at the time. Join us as an assembled team, many of whom were coming of age that year, takes on their favorites.
Declaring 2007 to be the year mumblecore came of age would be equally as fair as labeling it the year mumblecore collapsed. The signs of ascendance and coalescence—group coverage in high-profile publications, series programmed at art houses,...
Declaring 2007 to be the year mumblecore came of age would be equally as fair as labeling it the year mumblecore collapsed. The signs of ascendance and coalescence—group coverage in high-profile publications, series programmed at art houses,...
- 8/22/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
The Cannes Film Festival is up and running. I took the Air France red eye from Los Angeles to Paris, managing to grab a few nods of sleep despite a screaming baby nearby, with a short layover in Paris and some more snoozing on the flight to Nice. I shared a cab to Cannes with iTunes exec Matt Dentler, who ran the SXSW festival for years, followed by a Cinetic Media stint in New York. He now curates and promotes iTunes placement on indie films with his global distribution partners and filmmakers, many of whom will be meeting with him here. As Amazon and Netflix and their cable rivals amp up their subscription relationship with film consumers, it will be fascinating to see how iTunes evolves. The whole question of the VOD-theatrical market is front and center as buyers navigate each project's worth. Amazon and Netflix are using original films...
- 5/13/2015
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
For the first time ever, Toronto International Film Festival along with Telefilm Canada had a pre-Toronto reception for the trade. Held at Soho House on a flawless L.A. day, with views of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills all the way to the Pacific Ocean, the trade had the happy hours to greet and catch up with each other and to preview trailers of the films Canada will be showing at the festival. And best of all, Tiff gave everyone a 2 lb. 4 oz. catalog (even more than one to gift to other colleagues) to take home instead of having to pack them into our suitcases to take back from Toronto.
Maybe it’s the drought here in L.A. that gives me the yearning for rain, but the films on my must-see list include a couple about rain: the Tiff Doc, “Monsoon” by Surla Gunnarsson and “October Gale” by Ruba Nadda (“Cairo Time”) starring Patricia Clarkson and Scott Speedman, a Special Presentation being sold by Myriad.
Canada has the most coproduction treaties of any other nation, and Seoul Korea is the chosen city in this year’s City to City program. The coproduction between Canada and So. Korea, “In Her Place” by writer-director Albert Shin, showing in the Discovery Section looks very compelling. Elle Driver is selling this drama about a wealthy couple secretly seeking to adopt the unborn child of an impoverished and troubled rural teenager.
Other trailers we watched included Contemporary World Cinema entries, “Felix and Meira” by Maxime Giroux, being sold by Udi – Urban Distribution International, “Love in the Time of Civil War” by Rodrigue Jean (Isa: Les Films du 3 Mars) and “Heartbeat” by Andrea Dorfman.
In Midnight Madness, “The Editor” looks pretty good. Park Entertainment is selling it. Xavier Dolan, Bruce Greenwood and Catherine Keener star in “Elephant Song” by Charles Biname which is a Special Presentation. Another Special Presentation is “Preggoland” by Jacob Tierney (“The Trotsky”).
Trailers from Discovery included “Guidance”, the debut film by Pat Mills, “Big Muddy”, “The Valley Below” by Kyle Thomas, “Wet Bum” by Lindsay Mackay, (Isa: Traction Media), “Backcountry” by Adam MacDonald, (Isa: Event Film Distribution, Us: contact Cinetic), “Bang Bang Baby” a surreal, fever-dream fusion of small-town musical and 1950s sci-fi debut feature which writer-director Jeffrey St. Jules developed from his own short at the Cannes Film Festival Residence Program.
Peter Goldwyn of The Samuel Goldwyn Company and Matt Dentler of iTunes, talked up the unprecedented (for a foreign language film) success reaching the top 20 films on iTunes of “ The German Doctor” directed by Lucia Puenzo.
Paul Federbush and I spoke of new horizons of the international labs of Sundance Institute. Sundance Industry’s Rosy Wong introduced me to Lisa Ogdie, Sundance Ff’s Shorts Programmer. Strand’s Marcus Hu, who has two films in the festival (Films Distribution’s “Girlhood” and Pyramide’s “Xenia”) was there, Frank Wuliger looking at the Gersh trailer of “October Gale”, Rebecca (Bec) Smith of UTA as were so many others.
New acquisitions gigs were discussed: Bobby Rock looking for international sales agent,Cinema Management Group ( Dene Anderberg, Cmg’s VP of Sales and Operations, was also there schmoozing) and for Random Media, the new U.S. distribution company founded by Eric Doctorow (formerly head of Paramount Home Video) in November 2013, which will release films through Cinedigm.
Telefilm and Tiff have held a similar soiree for four years in NewYork. I’m sure Andrew Karpen, former Co-ceo of Focus Features, who is launching the new distribution company Bleecker Street was there in N.Y.
Rachel Shapiro, also happily working on many projects at once and her friend, producer Melanie Backer, Laurie Woodrow of RightsTrade a global online marketplace for film, television and digital rights licensing whose “Market On Demand” streamlines film, television, and digital rights sales and acquisitions for content owners, sales agents and distributors who can reach thousands of industry buyers, and buyers can search, screen, and license rights from sellers of thousands of titles.
Bonnie Voland with her hands full for Im Global and its many lines, reminisced with Carolle Brabant, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada and Brigitte Hubmann of Telefilm about the five (!) regimes of the Toronto International Film Festival she has known…from before Helga Stephenson all the way to Cameron Bailey who was there talking up the upcoming festival and hearing peoples’ raves or rants.
Also reminiscing with Brigitte about their days at Goethe Institut was Margit Kleinman who is now director of Villa Aurora, the artist-in-residence program for artists in Germany housed in the Pacific Palisades former home of German émigré, the novelist Lion Furchtwanger. I didn’t have time to ask if they would host the German Academy Award party this year for their submission for Best Foreign Language film, Dominik Graf’s “Beloved Sister”. Since its premiere at the Berlinale this year, international sales agent Global Screen has sold the rights to Music Box for U.S. who will release it in December, and to Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Poland and Croatia thus far.
Our dear friend, Ian Birnie, programmer for Mumbai Film Festival and the Louisiana International Film Festival was there with so many others. It was a wonderful moment to catch up and to forget the pressure we are all under preparing our screenings and meetings for Tiff.
Even though he wasn’t there, I want to mention a brief interchange I had with producer rep Cassian Elwes of Elevated Film Sales, who is repping “Black and White” with Kevin Costner and co-repping the Paul Bettany movie with Jennifer Connelly, “Shelter”, with UTA at Tiff. “In Venice I have Bogdanovich’s ‘She's Funny that Way’ which is in a three way split between me, CAA and UTA and Joe Dante's movie ‘Burying the Ex’ which I'm doing with CAA.”
Steven Raphael and Mj Pekos were fronting for the reception and also are repping “Voiceover” and “Dark Horse” at Tiff.
There was no need to show trailers to the buzz films like the Gala film “Foxcatcher”, which has Oscar expectations are already swirling around it and which premiered in Cannes and is being sold by Kimberly Fox’s Panorama Media and Annapurna (already sold to Sony Pictures Classics for U.S. as well as to Canada-Métropole Films Distribution and Mongrel Media Inc., France-Mars Films, Germany-Koch Media Gmbh, Japan-Longride Inc. So. Korea-Green Narae Media, Switzerland-Ascot Elite Entertainment Group, Taiwan-Long Shong International, United Kingdom- Entertainment One Uk. The film has already earned Bennett Miller the Best Director prize at Cannes.
Another not previewing was Benedict Cumberbatch starring in the much talked about Alan Turing biopic “ The Imitation Game”, and his portrayal of the legendary British code breaker and mathematician is generating talk of a Best Actor nod at this year's Academy Awards. FilmNation is repping this and has already sold it to The Weinstein Company for U.S., Belgium to Paradiso Filmed Entertainment, Greece to Seven Films, Hong Kong (China) to Edko Films Ltd, Israel to Lev Films (Shani Films), Italy toVidea - Cde S.P.A., Japan toGaga Corporation, So. Korea to Medialog Corp., Sweden to Svensk Filmindustri, Ab, Switzerland to Ascot Elite Entertainment Group, Taiwan to Applause Entertainment Ltd. Taiwan Branch, Thailand to M Pictures Co., Ltd.
Two other hot films are Lone Scherfig's “The Riot Club” repped by Hanway and already sold to Universal Pictures for No. America, Belgium-Lumière, France-Selective Films, Germany-Prokino Filmverleih Gmbh, Hong Kong (China)-Golden Scene Company Limited, Italy-Notorious Pictures, Benelux-Lumiere, Poland-Kino Swiat, Switzerland-Pathe Films Ag, United Arab Emirates-Front Row Filmed Entertainment and the U.K. Kingdom-Universal Pictures International and Noah Baumbach's “ While We're Young”, produced by Scott Rudin and repped by FilmNation (again!), with no sales on record yet.
See Cameron Bailey on CBC News discussing Tiff:
Video | TIFF2014: 4 buzz-worthy films at the fest If you want to know more about sales in Toronto, please check back with www.SydneysBuzz.com/Reports for the Toronto By Numbers Report and after the festival for the Toronto Rights Roundup.
Maybe it’s the drought here in L.A. that gives me the yearning for rain, but the films on my must-see list include a couple about rain: the Tiff Doc, “Monsoon” by Surla Gunnarsson and “October Gale” by Ruba Nadda (“Cairo Time”) starring Patricia Clarkson and Scott Speedman, a Special Presentation being sold by Myriad.
Canada has the most coproduction treaties of any other nation, and Seoul Korea is the chosen city in this year’s City to City program. The coproduction between Canada and So. Korea, “In Her Place” by writer-director Albert Shin, showing in the Discovery Section looks very compelling. Elle Driver is selling this drama about a wealthy couple secretly seeking to adopt the unborn child of an impoverished and troubled rural teenager.
Other trailers we watched included Contemporary World Cinema entries, “Felix and Meira” by Maxime Giroux, being sold by Udi – Urban Distribution International, “Love in the Time of Civil War” by Rodrigue Jean (Isa: Les Films du 3 Mars) and “Heartbeat” by Andrea Dorfman.
In Midnight Madness, “The Editor” looks pretty good. Park Entertainment is selling it. Xavier Dolan, Bruce Greenwood and Catherine Keener star in “Elephant Song” by Charles Biname which is a Special Presentation. Another Special Presentation is “Preggoland” by Jacob Tierney (“The Trotsky”).
Trailers from Discovery included “Guidance”, the debut film by Pat Mills, “Big Muddy”, “The Valley Below” by Kyle Thomas, “Wet Bum” by Lindsay Mackay, (Isa: Traction Media), “Backcountry” by Adam MacDonald, (Isa: Event Film Distribution, Us: contact Cinetic), “Bang Bang Baby” a surreal, fever-dream fusion of small-town musical and 1950s sci-fi debut feature which writer-director Jeffrey St. Jules developed from his own short at the Cannes Film Festival Residence Program.
Peter Goldwyn of The Samuel Goldwyn Company and Matt Dentler of iTunes, talked up the unprecedented (for a foreign language film) success reaching the top 20 films on iTunes of “ The German Doctor” directed by Lucia Puenzo.
Paul Federbush and I spoke of new horizons of the international labs of Sundance Institute. Sundance Industry’s Rosy Wong introduced me to Lisa Ogdie, Sundance Ff’s Shorts Programmer. Strand’s Marcus Hu, who has two films in the festival (Films Distribution’s “Girlhood” and Pyramide’s “Xenia”) was there, Frank Wuliger looking at the Gersh trailer of “October Gale”, Rebecca (Bec) Smith of UTA as were so many others.
New acquisitions gigs were discussed: Bobby Rock looking for international sales agent,Cinema Management Group ( Dene Anderberg, Cmg’s VP of Sales and Operations, was also there schmoozing) and for Random Media, the new U.S. distribution company founded by Eric Doctorow (formerly head of Paramount Home Video) in November 2013, which will release films through Cinedigm.
Telefilm and Tiff have held a similar soiree for four years in NewYork. I’m sure Andrew Karpen, former Co-ceo of Focus Features, who is launching the new distribution company Bleecker Street was there in N.Y.
Rachel Shapiro, also happily working on many projects at once and her friend, producer Melanie Backer, Laurie Woodrow of RightsTrade a global online marketplace for film, television and digital rights licensing whose “Market On Demand” streamlines film, television, and digital rights sales and acquisitions for content owners, sales agents and distributors who can reach thousands of industry buyers, and buyers can search, screen, and license rights from sellers of thousands of titles.
Bonnie Voland with her hands full for Im Global and its many lines, reminisced with Carolle Brabant, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada and Brigitte Hubmann of Telefilm about the five (!) regimes of the Toronto International Film Festival she has known…from before Helga Stephenson all the way to Cameron Bailey who was there talking up the upcoming festival and hearing peoples’ raves or rants.
Also reminiscing with Brigitte about their days at Goethe Institut was Margit Kleinman who is now director of Villa Aurora, the artist-in-residence program for artists in Germany housed in the Pacific Palisades former home of German émigré, the novelist Lion Furchtwanger. I didn’t have time to ask if they would host the German Academy Award party this year for their submission for Best Foreign Language film, Dominik Graf’s “Beloved Sister”. Since its premiere at the Berlinale this year, international sales agent Global Screen has sold the rights to Music Box for U.S. who will release it in December, and to Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Poland and Croatia thus far.
Our dear friend, Ian Birnie, programmer for Mumbai Film Festival and the Louisiana International Film Festival was there with so many others. It was a wonderful moment to catch up and to forget the pressure we are all under preparing our screenings and meetings for Tiff.
Even though he wasn’t there, I want to mention a brief interchange I had with producer rep Cassian Elwes of Elevated Film Sales, who is repping “Black and White” with Kevin Costner and co-repping the Paul Bettany movie with Jennifer Connelly, “Shelter”, with UTA at Tiff. “In Venice I have Bogdanovich’s ‘She's Funny that Way’ which is in a three way split between me, CAA and UTA and Joe Dante's movie ‘Burying the Ex’ which I'm doing with CAA.”
Steven Raphael and Mj Pekos were fronting for the reception and also are repping “Voiceover” and “Dark Horse” at Tiff.
There was no need to show trailers to the buzz films like the Gala film “Foxcatcher”, which has Oscar expectations are already swirling around it and which premiered in Cannes and is being sold by Kimberly Fox’s Panorama Media and Annapurna (already sold to Sony Pictures Classics for U.S. as well as to Canada-Métropole Films Distribution and Mongrel Media Inc., France-Mars Films, Germany-Koch Media Gmbh, Japan-Longride Inc. So. Korea-Green Narae Media, Switzerland-Ascot Elite Entertainment Group, Taiwan-Long Shong International, United Kingdom- Entertainment One Uk. The film has already earned Bennett Miller the Best Director prize at Cannes.
Another not previewing was Benedict Cumberbatch starring in the much talked about Alan Turing biopic “ The Imitation Game”, and his portrayal of the legendary British code breaker and mathematician is generating talk of a Best Actor nod at this year's Academy Awards. FilmNation is repping this and has already sold it to The Weinstein Company for U.S., Belgium to Paradiso Filmed Entertainment, Greece to Seven Films, Hong Kong (China) to Edko Films Ltd, Israel to Lev Films (Shani Films), Italy toVidea - Cde S.P.A., Japan toGaga Corporation, So. Korea to Medialog Corp., Sweden to Svensk Filmindustri, Ab, Switzerland to Ascot Elite Entertainment Group, Taiwan to Applause Entertainment Ltd. Taiwan Branch, Thailand to M Pictures Co., Ltd.
Two other hot films are Lone Scherfig's “The Riot Club” repped by Hanway and already sold to Universal Pictures for No. America, Belgium-Lumière, France-Selective Films, Germany-Prokino Filmverleih Gmbh, Hong Kong (China)-Golden Scene Company Limited, Italy-Notorious Pictures, Benelux-Lumiere, Poland-Kino Swiat, Switzerland-Pathe Films Ag, United Arab Emirates-Front Row Filmed Entertainment and the U.K. Kingdom-Universal Pictures International and Noah Baumbach's “ While We're Young”, produced by Scott Rudin and repped by FilmNation (again!), with no sales on record yet.
See Cameron Bailey on CBC News discussing Tiff:
Video | TIFF2014: 4 buzz-worthy films at the fest If you want to know more about sales in Toronto, please check back with www.SydneysBuzz.com/Reports for the Toronto By Numbers Report and after the festival for the Toronto Rights Roundup.
- 9/1/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Why was the first-ever movie premiere at the restored United Artists Theatre at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles packed with hipsters Tuesday night? While the likes of Miranda July and Mike Mills, Miguel Artega, Chloe Sevigny, Vincent Gallo, Rian Johnson and Karina Longworth, The Ravenettes' Sharin Foo, Matt Dentler, Catherine Hardwicke, David Lowery and Kevin Smith were checking out the gloriously ornate 1600-seat 1927 movie palace, which was hosting its first premiere in 25 years, they were also eager to see Jonathan Glazer's visually stunning "Under the Skin," starring Scarlett Johansson, which A24 scooped up out of Venice, Telluride and Toronto, where it earned claps and boos. (Reviews are more upbeat.) The long-in-the works atmospheric sci-fi thriller backed by a hodge-podge of financiers (including Film Four, BFI, Scottish Screen, Silver Reel and foreign sales company FIlmNation) opens stateside in select cities on April 4th. (Trailer below.) Could it work here.
- 3/26/2014
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
10 years ago, when 23-year-old former volunteer Matt Dentler took on the reigns of the SXSW Film Festival, the art and industry of American cinema was in a very different place. Digital filmmaking had yet to become the market standard for microbudgets, hardly anyone relied on video-on-demand platforms to watch new movies, and the internet was rarely a plot device. One of the biggest breakouts of the year was Sundance-winner "Primer," an esoteric time travel movie that barely even made the cut at that festival -- among the only places in the country where any unconventional U.S. movie could receive a major platform. Today, SXSW continues under the guidance of Janet Pierson, and remains among the foremost places to discover under-the-radar movies largely made by emerging U.S. filmmakers telling stories decisively rooted in the present. This has been its mandate for a decade: The perception of a so-called "mumblecore...
- 3/18/2014
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Spotted on a wall in Cannes by Matt Dentler. Full-size after the cut.
- 5/16/2013
- by Ryan Adams
- AwardsDaily.com
Oncinema.com’s Ioncinephile of the Month feature focuses on an emerging filmmaker from the world of cinema. This November, we feature Sean Baker, an independent filmmaker whose fourth film, Starlet premiered at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, then continued onwards to Locarno, BFI London and most recently AFI Film Fest before being released theatrically via Music Box Films on Friday November 9th. Below is our follow-up interview where we learn more about Baker’s process and about the films that have influenced the filmmaker. Here’s Sean Baker’s personal Top Ten films of all time.
Eric Lavallee: During your childhood…what films were important to you?
Sean Baker: When I was in first grade, my mother brought me to the local library where they were screening selected scenes from the Universal monster films on 16mm. I remember watching the burning windmill sequence from James Whale’s...
Eric Lavallee: During your childhood…what films were important to you?
Sean Baker: When I was in first grade, my mother brought me to the local library where they were screening selected scenes from the Universal monster films on 16mm. I remember watching the burning windmill sequence from James Whale’s...
- 11/8/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Lost and Sound
Welcome to the Machine
King Kelly
Each year, SXSW is a set of experiences that spark new ideas and directions in my life. My SXSW experience in 2005 prompted my now-defunct blog, Doc It Out. I consider that experiment a success since I stuck with it for three years and it spurred my career as a writer and programmer. The festival, via then-producer Matt Dentler and now-producer Janet Pierson, eventually led me to my job at the Austin Film Society and to live in Austin. SXSW creates an environment for thought, creativity and entrepreneurship. This year, I found my experiences pointing me toward the role of technology in our lives.
Avi Zev Weider and his wife Alex used science to get pregnant, and like so many couples these days, they wound up with multiples—triplets to be exact. Avi's film, Welcome to the Machine, is his exploration into...
Welcome to the Machine
King Kelly
Each year, SXSW is a set of experiences that spark new ideas and directions in my life. My SXSW experience in 2005 prompted my now-defunct blog, Doc It Out. I consider that experiment a success since I stuck with it for three years and it spurred my career as a writer and programmer. The festival, via then-producer Matt Dentler and now-producer Janet Pierson, eventually led me to my job at the Austin Film Society and to live in Austin. SXSW creates an environment for thought, creativity and entrepreneurship. This year, I found my experiences pointing me toward the role of technology in our lives.
Avi Zev Weider and his wife Alex used science to get pregnant, and like so many couples these days, they wound up with multiples—triplets to be exact. Avi's film, Welcome to the Machine, is his exploration into...
- 3/19/2012
- by Agnes Varnum
- Slackerwood
21 Jump Street opens Friday, and we have been banging the drum hard in support of this raucous comedy. This evening, our bandwagon just tripled as crowds streamed from the Paramount Theatre . where the film just held a SXSW premiere . and sang the movie.s praises. These are just a few of our favorite Tweets that blew up Twitter right after the screening. .21 Jump Street was way better than it should have been.. Igor .You couldn't hear half the jokes cause the #SXSW crowd was rightfully cheering & screaming for 21 Jump Street, one of the best of 2012 so far.. Germain Lussier .Believe the hype. 21 Jump Street is Really funny. Loudest laughs and claps I've ever heard at the Paramount.. Chris McInroy .21 Jump Street was much funnier than I expected. A great addition to the #SXSW Monday night Paramount Theater studio comedy tradition.. Matt Dentler See? Now you don.t have to take...
- 3/13/2012
- cinemablend.com
The Artist tops off its triumphant run throughout this awards season with a big night at the Oscars. And the winners are... in bold:
Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Directing
The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Alexander Payne
Hugo, Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
Actor In A Leading Role
Demián Bichir in A Better Life
George Clooney in The Descendants
Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt in Moneyball
Actor In A Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Nick Nolte in Warrior
Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Actress In A Leading Role
Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis in The Help...
Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Directing
The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Alexander Payne
Hugo, Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
Actor In A Leading Role
Demián Bichir in A Better Life
George Clooney in The Descendants
Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt in Moneyball
Actor In A Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Nick Nolte in Warrior
Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Actress In A Leading Role
Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis in The Help...
- 2/27/2012
- MUBI
Protecting Our Children, a hard-hitting series that follows a team of social workers, has been accused of exploiting a vulnerable family – and praised as the antidote to reality TV
Within minutes of broadcast, Mumsnet was buzzing with indignation about BBC2's controversial documentary Protecting Our Children. Screened last Monday, the first of three parts followed a team of Bristol social workers dealing with sensitive cases. "Am I being unreasonable," one user demanded, "to be fuming at the Protecting Our Children programme on BBC2 tonight? I do not understand how a young child can be filmed like this." The face of the three-year-old boy, Toby, was pixellated throughout.
Another wrote: "I think it gave a good insight into what social workers do. But I don't believe the child's rights were taken into consideration at all."
Protecting Our Children: Damned If They Do, Damned If They Don't raised as many questions about responsible,...
Within minutes of broadcast, Mumsnet was buzzing with indignation about BBC2's controversial documentary Protecting Our Children. Screened last Monday, the first of three parts followed a team of Bristol social workers dealing with sensitive cases. "Am I being unreasonable," one user demanded, "to be fuming at the Protecting Our Children programme on BBC2 tonight? I do not understand how a young child can be filmed like this." The face of the three-year-old boy, Toby, was pixellated throughout.
Another wrote: "I think it gave a good insight into what social workers do. But I don't believe the child's rights were taken into consideration at all."
Protecting Our Children: Damned If They Do, Damned If They Don't raised as many questions about responsible,...
- 2/5/2012
- by Viv Groskop
- The Guardian - Film News
Indiewire's first week back from the just-wrapped 2012 Sundance Film Festival was a busy one. Get an idea of what went down by checking out this week's highlights in news, features and reviews, all compiled below. News Kino Lorber Acquires Sundance Winner '5 Broken Cameras' Kino Lorber, Inc. has acquired all North American rights to the documentary "5 Broken Cameras," winner of the World Cinema Directing Award at the recently wrapped 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Matt Dentler is Leaving FilmBuff to Join iTunes Matt Dentler is leaving Cinetic Rights Management's FilmBuff to join iTunes, where he'll oversee partnerships with independent film partners. Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Latest Film From 'A Prophet' Director Sony Pictures Classics has acquired North American, Latin American and Eastern European rights to "Rust & Bone," the latest from "A Prophet" director Jacques Audiard. Marion...
- 2/3/2012
- Indiewire
What is Page 2? Page 2 is a compilation of stories and news tidbits, which for whatever reason, didn’t make the front page of /Film. After the jump we’ve included 46 different items, fun images, videos, casting tidbits, articles of interest and more. It’s like a mystery grab bag of movie web related goodness. If you have any interesting items that we might've missed that you think should go in /Film's Page 2 - email us [1]! Header Photo: Khaaan! Car [2] Venkman [3] lists his Top 10 Favorite Sundance 2012 Films [4] Mini Darth Vader cosplay [5]. TomTom Gps have added [6] new Simpsons voice skins: including Mr. Burns and Marge Simpson. Watch [7] a Featurette on the production design of The Descendants. Rejects [8] lists The 6 Must See Movies of February 2012 [9] Game Of Thrones Hand Of The King Metal Pin [10] iTunes has hired [11] Matt Dentler, which means Apple might finally get more indie and foreign films on demand. Raiders of the Lost Ark...
- 2/2/2012
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
Matt Dentler is leaving Cinetic Rights Management's FilmBuff to join iTunes, where he'll oversee partnerships with independent film partners. As head of programming at FilmBuff, Dentler managed the VOD releases of titles like the Polish Bros. title "For Lovers Only" and Ed Burns' "Nice Guy Johnny," both of which were also success stories for the iTunes platform. Dentler is a graduate of Ut Austin's film program; he began working for SXSW in 2000 (his freshman year) as an intern; eventually, he became the head of the festival. He joined FilmBuff in 2008. Currently based in New York, Dentler will relocate to Los Angeles this month. ...
- 2/2/2012
- Indiewire
During indieWIRE and Apple's Meet the Tribeca Filmmaker series, indie stalwart and Tribeca Film Festival vet Edward Burns spoke at the Apple store in Soho to discuss his Tribeca closing-night film "Newlyweds." With a shooting budget of $9,000, Burns latest venture marks his cheapest directorial outing to date. In the chat--moderated by Matt Dentler, FilmBuff's head of content--Burns doled out advice to a crowd packed with aspiring filmmakers and fans. ...
- 4/29/2011
- indieWIRE - People
During indieWIRE and Apple's Meet the Tribeca Filmmaker series, indie stalwart and Tribeca Film Festival vet Edward Burns spoke at the Apple store in Soho to discuss his Tribeca closing-night film "Newlyweds." With a shooting budget of $9,000, Burns latest venture marks his cheapest directorial outing to date. In the chat--moderated by Matt Dentler, FilmBuff's head of content--Burns doled out advice to a crowd packed with aspiring filmmakers and fans. ...
- 4/29/2011
- Indiewire
During indieWIRE and Apple's Meet the Tribeca Filmmaker series, indie stalwart and Tribeca Film Festival vet Edward Burns spoke at the Apple store in Soho to discuss his Tribeca closing-night film "Newlyweds." With a shooting budget of $9,000, Burns latest venture marks his cheapest directorial outing to date. In the chat--moderated by Matt Dentler, FilmBuff's head of content--Burns doled out advice to a crowd packed with aspiring filmmakers and fans. ...
- 4/29/2011
- indieWIRE - People
During indieWIRE and Apple's Meet the Tribeca Filmmaker series, indie stalwart and Tribeca Film Festival vet Edward Burns spoke at the Apple store in Soho to discuss his Tribeca closing-night film "Newlyweds." With a shooting budget of $9,000, Burns latest venture marks his cheapest directorial outing to date. In the chat--moderated by Matt Dentler, FilmBuff's head of content--Burns doled out advice to a crowd packed with aspiring filmmakers and fans. ...
- 4/29/2011
- indieWIRE - People
FilmBuff is releasing two films on VOD platforms before their DVD release. Both Alexandre Franchi’s award-winning thriller The Wild Hunt (which premiered at Toronto in 2009) will be available April 19 on Comcast, Time Warner, Verizon, At&T, iTunes, Xbox, Playstation, Vudu (and more), whereas the DVD will be released June 7. John Carney & Kiernan Carney’s sci-fi comedy (and Tribeca hit in 2010) Zonad will be available June 21 via the same platforms, and on DVD July 19. FilmBuff's Matt Dentler says: "In the home entertainment market, there’s no one distribution outlet that conquers all right now, and we feel strongly that when you have the right film it makes sense to treat each window and platform as an event. Both of these films are ...
- 4/6/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
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