Tuesday, November 11, 2008

THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY ACQUIRES WORLDWIDE RIGHTS TO FEATURE FILM ADAPTATION OF PULITZER AND TONY AWARD-WINNING PLAY AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

NEW YORK, The Weinstein Company (TWC) has acquired the worldwide rights to produce and distribute the feature film adaptation of the multiple Tony Award-winning play August: Osage County. Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of TWC, will serve as one of the producers on the film. Weinstein will join Jean Doumanian Productions and Steve Traxler, president and co-founder of Jam Theatricals, who had previously signed on to produce.

Weinstein is a co-producer of the Broadway production of August: Osage County; Doumanian and Traxler are lead producers as are Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel who are on board to executive produce the feature film adaptation.

The film is currently in development, with playwright Tracy Letts, who won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for August: Osage County, writing the script. The winner of five 2008 Tony Awards, including Best Play, and the 2008 Pulitzer Prize, the critically acclaimed August: Osage County premiered in summer of 2007 at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre and debuted on Broadway in December 2007.

“This is such an extraordinary piece of material, which comes along once in a great while,” said Weinstein. “I was blown away by Tracy’s play and believe our movie will likewise have an incredible resonance with anyone who has ever been a part of a family. I’ve worked with Jean before and I am a big fan. I’m looking forward to working with her and Steve on this picture.”

“I am very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Harvey Weinstein again on August: Osage County – we had previously worked together on films such as Bullets Over Broadway and Everyone Says I Love You. I greatly respect his taste as a filmmaker and a distributor,” said film and theatre producer Jean Doumanian. “I know he is equally passionate about Tracy Letts’ wonderful play, which has spoken to so many people, and I look forward to collaborating with him on the film adaptation.”

“Tracy Letts wrote a great American play and we look forward to making it into a motion picture. We envisioned this as a film before we opened on Broadway and I am so pleased to be working with Tracy and Harvey to make this a reality,” said Traxler.

Ben Famiglietti, vice president of production and development, originally brought the play to Weinstein, who immediately signed on as a co-producer of the Broadway production. Famiglietti also brought the movie rights to TWC. Famiglietti and Rob Scheidlinger, executive vice president of production and business affairs, will oversee the production on behalf of TWC. Patrick Daly, Vice President of Production and Development at Jean Doumanian Productions, will liaise with TWC on August: Osage County.

Scheidlinger negotiated on behalf of TWC, George Sheanshang negotiated on behalf of Doumanian, Traxler, Richards and Frankel.

August begins an eight week engagement at London’s National Theatre on November 21, 2008. The national tour of August launches in Summer 2009.

CHEECH AND CHONG NEW CONCERT MOVIE

THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY PARTNERING WITH CHEECH MARIN AND TOMMY CHONG ON A NEW CONCERT MOVIE

TWC to Retain Worldwide Rights


NEW YORK, NY, The Weinstein Company (TWC) have partnered with Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, and their managers Ben Feigin and Josh Klein to produce a concert movie to memorialize the comic duo’s reunion and first tour together in 25 years. The announcement was made today by Barry Gordon, executive vice president of home entertainment at TWC.

As part of the arrangement, TWC has worldwide theatrical, home video, digital and television rights. The feature-length program, which will portray a live concert experience of the “Cheech & Chong: Light Up America” tour, is expected to make a major TV premiere, followed by the DVD release. TWC International will handle foreign sales beginning at AFM this week.

“The Cheech and Chong Concert Movie” will be an historic, must-experience event for the many fans that grew up listening to their recordings and watching their movies,” said Barry Gordon, EVP of Home Entertainment at TWC. “For the millions of new fans who have discovered Cheech and Chong over the years as cultural icons, this will be the first time many of them will be able to enjoy the artistry and one-of-kind magic that is Cheech and Chong live on stage. This is the comedy event of the decade."

"It's great to get a chance to cap a long career with a show of where we are now,” said Marin.

Chong stated, "I really like Harvey because he picked up my dinner tab."

Start of production and official release dates are to be announced.

Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong's phenomenal success began on the stand-up comedy circuit and led to eight hit films and nine comedy albums, which garnered multiple Grammy nominations. The “Cheech & Chong: Light Up America” reunion tour officially kicked off on September 26, 2008 and has been selling out across the country. Many of the dates have needed to add multiple shows each night to meet demand. The tour will continue through 2009, and will bring the duo overseas to multiple continents.

Gordon and Eileen Rodriguez, director of acquisitions, negotiated on behalf of TWC. Ben Feigin of Anonymous Content, Josh Klein of The Group Management, Stan Coleman and Matthew Sugarman from the firm of Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall, and Josh Hiller negotiated on behalf of Marin and Chong. Feigin and Klein will executive produce the movie.

Friday, November 7, 2008

MILK Mosaic

Housed on the Milk Official Website at FilmInFocus.com.

Enhancements will be worked on throughout the week, but since they're live we'd like to invite you to "Celebrate the Harvey Milk in all of us” and create a tile for the Mosaic. Simply submit a video, photo or text of someone/something that inspires you.

To get to the Mosaic and create your tile:
http://filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/milk/mosaic

To view the current entries at the Mosaic Viewer:
http://filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/milk/mosaic/mosaicViewer.php

To see some tiles for inspiration:
http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/milk/mosaic/mosaicViewer.php?item_id=123
http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/milk/mosaic/mosaicViewer.php?item_id=75
http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/milk/mosaic/mosaicViewer.php?item_id=153
http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/milk/mosaic/mosaicViewer.php?item_id=3
http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/milk/mosaic/mosaicViewer.php?item_id=30
http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/milk/mosaic/mosaicViewer.php?item_id=188

Enjoy!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Brad Pitt in Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds


Brad Pitt on the set of Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds (Not a typo!)

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa at the World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX® Theater

Tickets on sale: Friday, Oct. 10, 2008
Opening: Friday, Nov. 7, 2008


The new DreamWorks Animation film has been digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® and will open at the World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX Theater Friday, Nov. 7.

Bringing back the loveable characters – Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe, Gloria the hippo, King Julien, Maurice and the penguins – Escape 2 Africa follows the crew as they’re left marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar. The New Yorkers hatch a plan so crazy, it just might work! The film stars the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, and Sacha Baron Cohen.

Tickets for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, a special engagement film at the 2D World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX Theater, will be available on-line at www.wgv.com beginning Friday, Oct. 10. Prices are $12 for adults, $11 for military, seniors and students and $10 for children ages 3-12.

For more information, call 904-940-IMAX or visit the IMAX section at www.wgv.com.

VALKYRIE Trailer and Clips

Below is a link from YAHOO.com that includes the trailer and a new feature. Enjoy!
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809913399/info

TIM ROBBINS - STAR ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME

Born October 16, 1958 in West Covina, California and raised in New York City's Greenwich Village, Tim Robbins has a long list of notable credits as an actor, director, writer and producer of films and theater.

Key acting roles are in such films as Mystic River,The Secret Life of Words, Catch a Fire, The Player and Short Cuts, The Shawshank Redemption, The Hudsucker Proxy, War of the Worlds, Arlington Road, Code 46, Human Nature, Five Corners, Jacob’s Ladder and Bull Durham. Robbins will next be seen in Fox Walden’s City of Ember, which opens nationwide October 10th.

Robbins has won numerous awards for his acting including an Oscar®, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor for Mystic River, Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Globe for Best Actor for The Player. He was nominated by the Golden Globes for Best Actor for Bob Roberts and by the Screen Actors Guild for Best Actor for The Shawshank Redemption. Warner Home Video will be releasing The Shawshank Redemption, which Robbins considers one of his four all-time favorite films in a magnificent new Blu-Ray Hi-Def version on December 2.

As a director, Robbins distinguished himself with Cradle Will Rock, which he also wrote and produced, winning Best Film and Best Director at the Sitges Film Festival in Barcelona and the National Board of Review Award for Special Achievement in Filmmaking in the United States.

Dead Man Walking, which he also wrote and produced, won multiple awards including the Academy Award for Best Actress for Susan Sarandon, the Christopher Award, the Humanitas Award and four awards at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as four Oscar nominations including Best Director and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Screenplay.

His first film, Bob Roberts, won the Bronze Award at the Tokyo International Festival and Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor at the Boston Film Festival.

Robbins also serves as Artistic Director for the Actors’ Gang, a theater company formed in 1982 that has over 80 productions and more than 100 awards to their credit. As a playwright he has been produced in London, Paris, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. His latest play, Embedded, played to sold out audiences for over four months at the Public Theater in New York before playing the Riverside Studios in London and embarking on a National Tour in the U.S.

Most recently he directed the Actors Gang in their shockingly relevant and wildly successful adaptation of George Orwell's 1984 which for the past two years has toured to over 40 states and to four continents.

From 2006 until the present, Le Petit Theatre de Pain's production of Embedded has been touring France, most recently playing at the Theatre du Soleil in Paris. In the US, Embedded was revived recently in productions in Chicago and Tampa Bay.

Robbins is also very proud to sponsor educational programs with the Actors Gang that provide arts education to Elementary, Middle and High School students in the L.A. area. The Gang has also worked for the past three years providing theatrical workshops to incarcerated inmates in the L.A. prison system.