Deal was done via subsidiary Granada9/30/08 3:27pm Event to be held
April 7-8 in Paris9/30/08 1:54pm “Blind Pig” enters Tiger Awards
race9/30/08 6:45am ‘Changeling,’ ‘Palermo Shooting’ on slate9/29/08
11:34am ‘Assembly, ‘Atonement’ take home top awards9/28/08 11:27pm
There’s a lot of pressure on Toronto to show the way ahead for the
film business, particularly the indies.
With a plethora of available titles — and many that are deemed quite
commercial — the festival could be the place where distributors start
filling out their 2009 slates. At least that’s what is driving the
hopes of sales agents. Buyers, on the other hand, continue to have
doubts that Toronto will be able to offer more than what the year’s
other festivals provided when it comes to marketable titles.
Distribution vet Mark Urman, who is in the midst of segueing from
ThinkFilm to Senator this month, says he anticipates more of the same
in Toronto. “I expect this year to be typical: Highly vaunted films
will disappoint, films that are below the radar will pop, and several
films will find homes a few weeks after the event, once expectations
and prices settle down,” he says, noting his focus in Toronto will be
on “transition.”
“There appear to be fewer buyers this year, and I think films that are
marginal or merely ‘interesting’ will be less in demand than in the
past,” Urman adds. “But, this is pretty much it until Sundance, so I’m
sure we’ll all be paying close attention, and several worthwhile
titles will emerge.”
Most every buyer or seller agrees it’s strange days for the indies,
with several distribs being shuttered (WIP, Picturehouse) or scaled
back (Par Vantage) recently.
Optimistically, though, sales agent John Sloss says he’s bringing a
crew of 20 employees. “We’re taking over an entire youth hostel,” he
jokes. He says it’s not that costly to fly over from New York to
Toronto, and adds that he secretly wishes Harvey Weinstein will make
an appearance at the fest to get things revved up on the acquisitions
front. “I miss him and his energy is lacking in the marketplace.”
But exiting Picturehouse topper Bob Berney predicts it’ll be tough for
sellers to incite bidding wars. “Buyers are going to be smart. They’re
looking at the market conditions and how much P&A; they want to
devote; they’ll have to limit the number of films they want to spend
the time on to release. That could be a trend for Toronto and beyond.”
Regardless of the loss of several indie buyers, sales agents note the
shuttered companies picked up few titles and that new shingles — such
as CBS Films and Vivendi — as well as the distribs ramping up VOD
options could be better homes for the types of midlevel films that
studios won’t take on and are too big for boutique indies.
In terms of fest titles in general, new TIFF co-topper Cameron Bailey
says he is impressed with the lighter fare in the lineup this year.
“One thing that’s a real pleasure to see is how much gratifying comedy
is coming out of the U.S. film sector,” he says, pointing to “Zack and
Miri Make a Porno,” “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” “Religulous”
and “Burn After Reading.” “Over the last few years, we’ve seen a major
shift in American cinema responding to the political and the world
situation. This year it’s clear that there’s a turn toward comedy.”
Still, unspooling in Toronto are titles such as “The Hurt Locker,” an
Iraq-set suspense pic centered around a bomb-diffusing specialists.
It’s also one of the bigger titles with U.S. rights available. And
Lionsgate/Roadside has soldiers’ homecoming tale “The Lucky Ones”
showing at the fest.
And, as usual, there are a number of titles gunning for early awards
consideration, such as Vantage’s “The Duchess” and Warner/Fox’s
“Slumdog Millionaire.” Toronto’s friendly, film-savvy auds can help
marketing mavens gauge what’s working and what’s not. They’re also
handy when it comes to goosing sales for the films without
distribution. The coming days will tell.
‘Che’ gets second act at NY Film Fest The makers of “Che” are hoping
the New York Film Festival will provide a fresh opportunity for an
iconic Argentine revolutionary to find new life on American shores.
Bumpy road for Asian film financing Asian film financing is in a
fog. For all its recent marching around, it is difficult to tell
whether it is moving forwards, backwards or simply around in circles.
Sitges fest boosted by rise in genre biz In its 41st edition,
Europe’s largest genre movie event, the Sitges Intl. Film Festival,
shows no signs of age.
An intriguing docu about the intense history of a working-class barrio
in the south of Madrid, “Night Flowers” is a fine study of both a
particular community and the wider history of which it’s a part.
“Flash of Genius” stars Greg Kinnear and Lauren Graham sit down with
Variety at the Telluride Film Festival. ; Director Paul Schrader and
“Adam Resurrected” star Jeff Goldblum chat with Anne Thompson in
Telluride. ; Anne Thompson sits down with “Slumdog Millionaire”
director Danny Boyle at the Telluride Film Festival. ; A view from the
scenic Rocky Mountains in Telluride, Colorado. ; “Happy Go Lucky”
director Mike Leigh speaks to Anne Thompson at the Telluride Film
Festival. ; happy go lucky; telluride film festival; interview; Mike
Leigh; variety; Sony execs Tom Bernard and Michael Barker talk to
Variety at the 2008 Telluride Film Festival. ; sony; michael barker;
telluride film festival; video; variety; tom bernard; “Firaaq”
director and renown Indian actress Nandita Das talks to Mike Jones at
the Telluride Film Festival. ; Salman Rushdie; Firaaq director Nandita
Das; interview; actress; video; variety; ‘Walt With Bashir’ director
Ari Folman sits down with Mike Jones at the Telluride Film Festival. ;
‘Waltz With Bashir’ director Ari Folman; video; variety; Producer Ron
Colby and “Pirate for the Sea” star Paul Watson talk to Variety about
their new anti-whaling documentary. ; Anne Thompson meets some fellow
Telluride enthusiasts in Colorado. ; Anne Thompson; telluride 2008
film festival; variety; ‘Hunger’ director Steve McQueen talks to
Variety at the 2008 Telluride Film Festival.; telluride film festival;
hunger director Steve Mcqueen; video; variety; Director David Fincher
speaks at an outdoor Q&A; at the 2008 Telluride Film Festival in
Colorado. ; panel; zodiac; telluride film festival 2008 david fincher;
Brad Pitt; Benjamin Button; variety;
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