Taylor Hackford's "Parker" Starring Jason Statham

Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez team up to get their cut in the crime thriller, PARKER, based on the series of bestselling novels by Donald E. Westlake.

Parker (Jason Statham) is a professional thief who lives by a personal code of ethics: Don’t steal from people who can’t afford it and don’t hurt people who don’t deserve it.  But on his latest heist, his crew double crosses him, steals his stash, and leaves him for dead.

Determined to make sure they regret it, Parker tracks them to PalmBeach, playground of the rich and famous, where the crew is planning their biggest heist ever.  Donning the disguise of a rich Texan, Parker takes on an unlikely partner, Leslie (Jennifer Lopez), a savvy insider, who’s short on cash, but big on looks, smarts and ambition.  Together, they devise a plan to hijack the score, take everyone down and get away clean.

PARKER is directed by Academy Award nominee Taylor Hackford (“Ray”) and also stars Michael Chiklis, Wendell Pierce (HBO’s “The Wire”) and Academy Award nominee Nick Nolte.

IGN

"Lincoln" AMC Theater Presents A Conversation With Steven Spielberg & Daniel Day-Lewis Live On Yahoo!

DreamWorks Pictures announced today that AMC Theatres will be presenting A Conversation with Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis Live only on Yahoo! following a special screening of Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” on Wednesday, October 10 at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 in New York City. The event, which starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET), features a live Q&A session with director Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis following the presentation of the film.

This event gives film fans a unique opportunity to engage in a live question and answer discussion with Steven Spielberg and Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis, who portrays President Lincoln, by submitting questions via Twitter using the hashtag #Lincolnmovie. The screening will start simultaneously in nine other cities—Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Boston, Washington DC, Seattle, Miami, Atlanta, Houston—and audiences in those cities will view the Q&A live via satellite after the film and will be able to text questions to the moderator. The Q&A will stream live on Yahoo! Movies at: http://www.movies.yahoo.com/lincoln-live.

Spielberg directs two-time Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln,” a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President’s tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.

Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook and Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln” is produced by Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, with a screenplay by Tony Kushner, based in part on the book “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The DreamWorks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox film, in association with Participant Media, releases in U.S. theaters exclusive on November 9, 2012, with expansion on November 16, 2012.

Freestyle Digital Media Acquires N. American Rights To "Amphibious"

Freestyle Digital Media has acquired all North American rights to AMPHIBIOUS, a tongue-in-cheek creature feature directed by Brian Yuzna (“Beyond Re-Animator”). The film, which was produced by Yuzna and San Fu Maltha (“Iron Sky,” “Black Book”), and stars Michael Paré (“The Lincoln Lawyer”), Janna Fassaert (“Couple’s Retreat”) and Verdi Solaiman (“The Raid: Redemption”), is slated for VOD and multiple platform release on October 9^th with a DVD release to follow shortly after.
 
AMPHIBIOUS: CREATURE OF THE DEEP tells the tale of a marine biologist, Skylar Shane (Fassaert), who hires an expat charter boat captain, Jack Bowman (Paré), to help her find prehistoric life form samples in the north Sumatran Sea.  After she takes in an orphaned boy (Solaiman), strange occurrences happen on board the ship, including the death of some local smugglers by an unknown entity. Skylar and Jack then have to band together to defeat the evil creature that has emerged from the deep. 
 
The deal was negotiated by FDM’s CEO Susan Jackson and Thierry Wase-Bailey, Managing Director of Celsius Entertainment and its genre label Fahrenheit Pictures.  
 
“Everyone loves a fun, creature feature!” said Susan Jackson, President of Freestyle Digital Media. ”This is a great genre film and a perfect serving for the enormous fan base hungry for this type of movie.”

Edgar Wright's "The World's End" Begins Production

Working Title Films and Big Talk Productions have commenced filming on The World’s End, the third installment of Edgar Wright’s trilogy of comedies, following the successes Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007).  The new movie is filming in the U.K. As with the first two movies in the trilogy, Universal Pictures International (UPI) will distribute The World’s End internationally and Focus Features will distribute it in North America.

As with the two earlier pictures, Mr. Wright co-wrote the script with Simon Pegg, who will once again star alongside Nick Frost. Joining the team are actors Martin Freeman (Shaun of the Dead, The Hobbit), Paddy Considine (Hot Fuzz, The Bourne Ultimatum), Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes), and Rosamund Pike (Jack Reacher).

The World’s End also marks Mr. Wright’s third movie with Working Title and Big Talk, following Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz; The World’s End is produced by Nira Park of Big Talk and Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. The film will be executive-produced by James Biddle, Mr. Wright, Mr. Pegg, Mr. Frost, and Liza Chasin.

Mr. Wright is also reteaming with such creative collaborators as director of photography Bill Pope, production designer Marcus Rowland, hair and make-up designer Jane Walker, editor Paul Machliss, stunt coordinator Bradley Allen, and VFX Double Negative. Guy Speranza is the film’s costume designer.

In The World’s End, 20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hellbent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King (Simon Pegg), a 40-year-old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their hometown and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub – The World’s End.  As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realize the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind’s. Reaching The World’s End is the least of their worries.

Working Title Films, co-chaired by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner since 1992, is one of the world’s leading film production companies. Founded in 1983, Working Title has made nearly 100 films that have grossed over $5 billion worldwide. Its films have won six Academy Awards, 30 BAFTA Awards, and prizes at the Cannes and Berlin International Film Festivals. Working Title’s 2012/2013 slate also includes Les Misérables, directed by Tom Hooper and starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway; John Crowley’s Closed Circuit, starring Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall; Hossein Amini’s The Two Faces of January, starring Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, and Oscar Isaac; Dan Mazer’s I Give It a Year, starring Rose Byrne and Rafe Spall; the telefilm Mary and Martha, directed by Phillip Noyce and written by Richard Curtis, starring Hilary Swank and Brenda Blethyn; Ron Howard’s Rush, starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl; and Joe Wright’s epic love story Anna Karenina, starring Keira Knightley, Jude Law, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

Big Talk’s credits include all of Edgar Wright’s films to date: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and Greg Mottola’s Paul, written by and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost with Kristen Wiig. Most recently Big Talk developed and produced Joe Cornish’s debut feature Attack the Block, which was released to critical acclaim in 2011, winning all four Audience Awards at Sitges, SXSW, the LAFF, and Fantasia International Film Festival. Next up for Big Talk is the black comedy Sightseers, directed by Kill List’s Ben Wheatley. The film had its world premiere at Cannes with a Special Screening in the Directors’ Fortnight section. It will have a Gala Screening at the London Film Festival, and will be released in the U.K. in November. Big Talk is currently in production on Cuban Fury, a dance comedy starring Nick Frost, Chris O’Dowd, and Rashida Jones, directed by James Griffiths; and Jeremy Lovering’s psychological thriller In Fear.

Universal Pictures International and Focus Features are part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51% interest in NBCUniversal, with GE holding a 49% stake.

Magnolia Pictures Attains US Rights To Terrence Malick’s "To The Wonder"

The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnolia Pictures announced today that they have acquired US rights to Terrence Malick’s TO THE WONDER, which bowed at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month. Starring Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams and Javier Bardem, this stunningly beautiful film reunites the acclaimed filmmaker with producers Sarah Green and Nicolas Gonda, as well as cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki who all collaborated with him on Tree of Life and The New World. The film was executive produced by Glen Basner of FilmNation, and  Jason Krigsfeld and Joseph Krigsfeld of Brothers K Productions.

TO THE WONDER tells the story of Marina (Kurylenko) and Neil (Affleck), who meet in France and move to Oklahoma to start a life together, where problems soon arise. While Marina makes the acquaintance of a priest and fellow exile (Bardem), who is struggling with his vocation, Neil renews a relationship with a childhood sweetheart, Jane (McAdams). Bold and lyrical, the film is a moving, gorgeously shot exploration of love in its many forms.

“It is an honor and a dream come true to be working with Terrence Malick, one of our greatest living filmmakers,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “TO THE WONDER is a romantic, haunting and beautiful film that will be endlessly rewarding for movie lovers.”

"We are excited to partner with Magnolia for the release of TO THE WONDER," said producers Nicolas Gonda and Sarah Green.  "Magnolia has become a destination for the work of some of the world's most innovative and talented directors, and we are proud to align with this forward-thinking team."

The deal was negotiated by Magnolia SVP of Acquisitions Dori Begley, with CAA on behalf of the filmmakers. Distribution legal for the filmmakers was provided by Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz. Magnolia plans a 2013 theatrical release for the film.

"The Details" Official Poster

After ten years of marriage, Jeff and Nealy Lang (Tobey Maguire and Elizabeth Banks) have an idyllic suburban home… and a relationship on the skids.  But, when a family of hungry raccoons ransacks their perfectly manicured backyard, Jeff becomes single-mindedly obsessed with eradicating the pests by any means necessary. Soon the relentless rodents aren’t merely uprooting the lawn, but also overturning the Langs’ entire bourgeois existence, as the man-versus-beast battle leads into an absurd mess of infidelity, extortion, organ donation and other assorted mayhem.  Devilish throughout, THE DETAILS also stars Laura Linney in a stand-out performance as the Langs’ eccentric neighbor, Lila.  Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert and Kerry Washington round out the cast in this darkly funny meditation on marital malaise.

Freestyle Releasing Wins Domestic Rights To "GENIUS ON HOLD"

Freestyle Releasing announced today that they have acquired all domestic rights to GENIUS ON HOLD, the hard hitting documentary written and directed by Gregory Marquette (“Innocents”). The film was produced by Walter T. Shaw, and co-produced by Diana Ross-Shaw and is narrated by Frank Langella (fresh from his Oscar-worthy role in “Robot & Frank”). GENIUS ON HOLD debuted as an official selection at the Palm Beach International Film Festival and Soho International Film Festival this past year.

GENIUS ON HOLD intertwines four true stories of the life of an American inventor responsible for some of the most important telephone inventions in history; his son’s anger at the treatment of his brilliant father, corporate greed, and the mafia. At its heart is the story of Walter L. Shaw—a brilliant inventor with an astonishing list of telecommunications patents to his name. His ground-breaking designs should have earned him great fortune and lasting fame, but for one thing—the power, greed, and oppression of AT&T, the largest, government-sanctioned, telecommunications monopoly in the United States which blocked him from realizing his dream. Punished, imprisoned, and eventually destitute, Shaw was drawn to the only organization that would reward him for his talent—the mob, whose bookies used his “black box” to run their gambling operations and evade the Feds. His son, embittered by his father’s destruction, turned to organized crime; becoming one of the most notorious jewel thieves in American history. All to get back at the system that destroyed his family; but at what cost?

The deal for the domestic rights was negotiated by Freestyle Releasing’s Co-President Mark Borde and Producer Walter T. Shaw.

“Phones are the center of most of our universes today,” said Mark Borde, Co-President of Freestyle Releasing. “I was amazed to learn about Walter Shaw and am honored to be able to help have his voice finally be heard.”

“My father always believed and fought for the right of the inventor.  It may be too little too late for the Shaw family but hopefully – 62 years later – his words came to pass.  This recent Supreme Court ruling will help those inventors of the future,” said Shaw.

EBF & Associates and Palmstar Media Capital Partner For New Film Financing Venture

Minneapolis-based private investment firm EBF & Associates and Kevin Frakes’ PalmStar Media Capital announced today the formation of Merced Media Partners, a strategic partnership that is targeting  investments in approximately 15 films per year.  Merced was introduced to the industry at this year’s Cannes Film Market, where it began seeking investment opportunities.  Since then, Merced has circled over $20M in financing for an initial slate of pictures leading into TIFF, including EVERY SECRET THING starring Diane Lane and Elizabeth Banks, to be directed by Amy Berg; CHAINED to be directed by and starring Ryan Phillippe and CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR starring Isabel Lucas, to be directed by Elizabeth Allen.  Merced recently closed on a structured facility for some of Exclusive Media’s upcoming titles, the first of which is Ron Howard’s RUSH.  Merced plans to announce additional investments leading up to the American Film Market in November. 
 
Raj Singh, Stuart Brown and Mike Sullivan of EBF & Associates are involved with the day-to-day operations of Merced Media Partners.
 
Founded in 1988, EBF & Associates is a privately-held registered investment advisor specializing in alternative investment strategies. The firm currently has $1.3 billion in capital under management. Limited partners include endowments, foundations, state and corporate pension plans, family offices, and high net worth individuals.
 
PalmStar Media Capital is a Los Angeles based entertainment company focused on motion picture investments and specialty financial services.  It is owned and operated by partners Kevin Frakes and Peggy Taylor.  PalmStar also develops and produces films through its production arm PalmStar Entertainment.  Recent film credits include Rashida Jones’ CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER currently in theaters and being released by Sony Pictures Classics; Bille August’s NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON starring Jeremy Irons and Melanie Laurent; the Paul Walker starrer VEHICLE 19; SEVEN BELOW with Val Kilmer and Ving Rhames and the New Orleans-set Hurricane Katrina drama HOURS, starring Paul Walker.

Waterman Entertainment Adds "Mr. Ed" To Library

Family-based production outfit Waterman Entertainment is developing a feature film concept based on the iconic family television property, MR. ED. The property fits seamlessly into the company’s business model, which is to identify existing and successful family brands that can be developed into live action/CGI feature film properties.

Over the past twelve months the company has been aggressively seeking out family-friendly brands that have franchise potential and ancillary viability on platforms including television, digital, literary, and merchandising. In doing so, Waterman Entertainment works in conjunction with the creators and rights holder’s to tap their wealth of knowledge around their characters and storylines allowing for stronger content that remains true to the property.

Steve Waterman, who founded and manages the company along with his sons Tucker and Cooper, has served as an Executive Producer on theatrical features including CASPER with Universal; ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS, ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL and ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIPWRECKED with 20th Century Fox; and STUART LITTLE and STUART LITTLE 2 with Columbia Pictures, among other credits.

Cooper Waterman said, “We are identifying properties that have had success with multiple generations of parents who feel comfortable and have excitement about reintroducing the characters and storylines to their own kids and grandkids.  While each property remains independent of each other, they will share the commonality of addressing social values, morality lessons, and characteristics that are clearly identifiable for kids with comedic elements for all age groups.”

The company recently announced the acquisition of rights for THE BRAVE LITTLE TOASTER, a project that Disney released as a fully animated feature in 1987. Waterman will present the reimagination as a CGI/live action property and give it a contemporary storyline, while preserving the original essence of the characters and moral lessons behind the story.

Waterman Entertainment is focused on acquiring properties and growing them across multiple platforms to support the theatrical release.  Tucker Waterman continued, “When we develop properties we don’t limit them solely to the big screen. They are iconic characters and brands that have appeal far beyond movies. We will be utilizing both traditional and new methods to bring these characters to audiences in a myriad of platforms.”

Waterman Entertainment (www.watermanent.com) is a family-owned and operated media and entertainment company that focuses on creating, financing and distributing film, television, and digital media properties across multiple platforms for family audiences. The company works closely with creators and rights holders and manages all licensing rights to their brands and characters to exploit ancillary revenue streams tied to worldwide theatrical releases.

Poster For Nicolas Winding Refn's "Pusher"

Based on the edgy and explosive series by visionary director Nicolas Winding Refn (DRIVE), PUSHER stars Richard Coyle as a drug dealer who grows increasingly desperate over the course of a week after a botched deal lands him in the merciless clutches of a ruthless crime lord.  The more desperate his behavior, the more isolated he becomes until there is nothing left standing between him and the bullet his debtors intend to fire his way.