Gaston Pavlovich, famed for producing Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” and “The Irishman,” is joining Sophokles Tasioulis, producer of Terrence Malick’s “Voyage of Time,” to produce “The Hague.”
The feature is set up at Tasioulis’ Sophisticated Films banner in Germany and Pavlovich’s Mexico-based international production banner Fábrica de Cine.
“The Hague” is based on a story and treatment by Ilan Ziv, an Israeli who fought as a young man in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, before becoming a documentary director whose “Capitalism,” a six-part series, was broadcast on Franco-German broadcaster Arte.
In active development, the producers are currently discussing the script adaptation with several top writers. With a screenplay underway, the film is scheduled to go into production in 2022, shooting in multiple European and original locations.
The Hague’s International Criminal Court is best known for bringing to justice and indicting African war criminals such as the Democratic Republic...
The feature is set up at Tasioulis’ Sophisticated Films banner in Germany and Pavlovich’s Mexico-based international production banner Fábrica de Cine.
“The Hague” is based on a story and treatment by Ilan Ziv, an Israeli who fought as a young man in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, before becoming a documentary director whose “Capitalism,” a six-part series, was broadcast on Franco-German broadcaster Arte.
In active development, the producers are currently discussing the script adaptation with several top writers. With a screenplay underway, the film is scheduled to go into production in 2022, shooting in multiple European and original locations.
The Hague’s International Criminal Court is best known for bringing to justice and indicting African war criminals such as the Democratic Republic...
- 2/26/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
After the BBC’s “Deep Blue,” “Earth” and Terence Malick’s “Voyage of Time,” Berlin-based Sophisticated Films is partnering Finland’s Mrp Matila Röhr Productions on their mythological natural history feature “Tale of the Sleeping Giants.” Sophisticated Films’ managing director Sophokles Tasioulis will serve as associate producer, in charge of marketing and sales outside Finland.
“Tale of the Sleeping Giant” is the third standalone nature movie produced by Mpr Matila Röhr Productions after “Tale of a Forest” (2013) and “Tale of a Lake” (2016), the biggest Finnish documentary ever with 188,000 ticket sales.
Shot over three years in Lapland’s wilderness, from the Arctic Circle to the Arctic Ocean, Marko Röhr’s “Tale of the Sleeping Giants” is based on screenwriter Antti Tuuri’s vision of fells as sleeping giants. “It’s pure drama, which is why we’ve received support from the Finnish Film Foundation’s drama -not documentary-department,” noted Röhr.
The...
“Tale of the Sleeping Giant” is the third standalone nature movie produced by Mpr Matila Röhr Productions after “Tale of a Forest” (2013) and “Tale of a Lake” (2016), the biggest Finnish documentary ever with 188,000 ticket sales.
Shot over three years in Lapland’s wilderness, from the Arctic Circle to the Arctic Ocean, Marko Röhr’s “Tale of the Sleeping Giants” is based on screenwriter Antti Tuuri’s vision of fells as sleeping giants. “It’s pure drama, which is why we’ve received support from the Finnish Film Foundation’s drama -not documentary-department,” noted Röhr.
The...
- 2/8/2021
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes — Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Luc Jacquet (“March of the Penguins”) and producer Sophokles Tasioulis are partnering to launch Icebreaker, a new production company that uses blockchain technology to create innovative ways to produce and finance films.
“We saw that we’re coming to a dead end for the kind of movies we do, and how we used to do them,” said Tasioulis. “We cannot finance our movies any longer in the way we used to.”
Icebreaker is in advanced negotiations with Extended Monaco, an initiative recently launched by the principality that uses blockchain technology to offer investors an opportunity to support sustainable, environmentally minded businesses. Icebreaker will be based out of Monaco.
The company will also raise financing through an initial security token offering, as well as the sale of additional tokens through a secure, blockchain-enabled platform. Corporate sponsorship alliances will also play a role.
The new funding model will...
“We saw that we’re coming to a dead end for the kind of movies we do, and how we used to do them,” said Tasioulis. “We cannot finance our movies any longer in the way we used to.”
Icebreaker is in advanced negotiations with Extended Monaco, an initiative recently launched by the principality that uses blockchain technology to offer investors an opportunity to support sustainable, environmentally minded businesses. Icebreaker will be based out of Monaco.
The company will also raise financing through an initial security token offering, as well as the sale of additional tokens through a secure, blockchain-enabled platform. Corporate sponsorship alliances will also play a role.
The new funding model will...
- 5/17/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The producers behind Brad Pitt's upcoming documentary Voyage of Time are speaking out in support of the actor's decision to skip the premiere of the film amid his ongoing divorce from Angelina Jolie. "I can understand Brad in many ways. Right now he's in a very difficult situation personally," producer Sophokles Tasioulis told People at the premiere on Wednesday. "We want people to come here for the movie, not for what is going on behind the scenes and Brad's personal life. I think it was a good decision by him and we all respect his privacy." Pitt, who serves...
- 9/29/2016
- by Jodi Guglielmi, @JodiGug3
- PEOPLE.com
The producers behind Brad Pitt's upcoming documentary Voyage of Time are speaking out in support of the actor's decision to skip the premiere of the film amid his ongoing divorce from Angelina Jolie. "I can understand Brad in many ways. Right now he's in a very difficult situation personally," producer Sophokles Tasioulis told People at the premiere on Wednesday. "We want people to come here for the movie, not for what is going on behind the scenes and Brad's personal life. I think it was a good decision by him and we all respect his privacy." Pitt, who serves...
- 9/29/2016
- by Jodi Guglielmi, @JodiGug3
- PEOPLE.com
Terrence Malick’s musing on the universe, Voyage Of Time: Life’s Journey, took a trip down the red carpet here at the Venice Film Festival last night, and was met with a standing ovation that’s been clocked at about 10 minutes. The passion project received largely positive reviews after its first press screenings and one attendee said the reaction to the premiere last night was “wild.” Producer Sophokles Tasioulis, whose nature doc credits include Earth and Deep Blue…...
- 9/8/2016
- Deadline
Tomorrow, Terrence Malick will finally debut his long-gestating documentary Voyage of Time: Life’s Journey — the 90-minute cut, narrated by Cate Blanchett, featuring voice-over that is “more searching and poignant, an urgent inquiry from a child of earth to the mother of all” — at the Venice International Film Festival. The 40-minute version, Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience, featuring “more awestruck and explanatory” narration by Brad Pitt, will hit IMAX screens on October 7. We’ve now got more details on when audiences will be able to see both in theatrical release, as well as the first two clips from Life’s Journey.
Because IMAX documentaries have done “around 80% of their business in the United States,” according to Variety, this 40-minute version will play domestically and then, in about six months, we’ll get the 35mm, feature-length version. The distribution routes “will flip” in other countries, with Australia and France getting Life’s Journey in December,...
Because IMAX documentaries have done “around 80% of their business in the United States,” according to Variety, this 40-minute version will play domestically and then, in about six months, we’ll get the 35mm, feature-length version. The distribution routes “will flip” in other countries, with Australia and France getting Life’s Journey in December,...
- 9/5/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
It’s been a couple months since the last edition of What’s Up Doc? placed Michael Moore’s surprise world premiere of Where To Invade Next at the top of this list and in the meantime much shuffling has taken place and much time has been spent on various new endeavors (namely my Buffalo-based film series, Cultivate Cinema Circle). Finally taking its rightful place at the top, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hagedus’ Unlocking the Cage is in the midst of being scored by composer James Lavino, according to Lavino’s own personal site. Though the project has been taking shape at its own leisurely pace, I’d expect to see the film making its festival debut in early 2016.
Right behind, the American direct cinema masters is a Texan soon to make his non-fiction debut with Voyage of Time. Just two weeks ago indieWIRE reported that Ennio Morricone, who scored...
Right behind, the American direct cinema masters is a Texan soon to make his non-fiction debut with Voyage of Time. Just two weeks ago indieWIRE reported that Ennio Morricone, who scored...
- 11/5/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
The fall festival rush is upon us. Locarno is currently ramping up. Venice has released their line-up and Thom Powers and the Toronto International Film Festival team have dropped a bomb with a previously unannounced new feature from powerhouse docu-provocateur Michael Moore. It is truly a miracle that the production of a film such as Moore’s upcoming Where To Invade Next (see still above) managed to go completely undetected by the filmmaking community until it was literally announced to world premiere at one of the largest film festivals in the world. Programmed as a one of the key films in the Special Presentations section at Tiff, the film sees Moore telling “the Pentagon to ‘stand down’ — he will do the invading for America from now on.” Also announced to premiere at Tiff was Avi Lewis’ This Changes Everything, which has slowly been rising up this list, as well as...
- 8/7/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
It’s been a surprisingly interesting month of moving and shaking in terms of doc development. Just a month after making his first public funding pitch at Toronto’s Hot Docs Forum, legendary doc filmmaker Frederick Wiseman took to Kickstarter to help cover the remaining expenses for his 40th feature film In Jackson Heights (see the film’s first trailer below). Unrelentingly rigorous in his determination to capture the American institutional landscape on film, his latest continues down this thematic rabbit hole, taking on the immensely diverse New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights as his latest subject. According to the Kickstarter page, Wiseman is currently editing the 120 hours of rushes he shot with hopes of having the film ready for a fall festival premiere (my guess would be Tiff, where both National Gallery and At Berkeley made their North American debut), though he’s currently quite a ways away from his $75,000 goal.
- 7/6/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Hot projects on Screenbase this week include German-Canadian co-production In The Lost Lands, twin brothers Mohammed Abou Nasser and Ahmad Abou Nasser’s Dégradé, spy-thriller Damascus Cover and documentary Tomorrow.
Fantasy adventure In The Lost Lands
Milla Jovovich will star alongside Justin Chatwin in this new feature based on short stories from the creator of Game Of Thrones. The German-Canadian co-production is directed by Constantin Werner.
The story revolves around a series of magical and fantastic tales centring on a sorceress in search of a spell, a warrior girl on a quest and a young barbarian who encounters a witch in a spacecraft.
Steve Hoban, Oliver Luer and Nico Bruinsma produce. Myriad Pictures chief Kirk D’Amico will serve as an executive producer.
Terrence Malick’s Voyage Of Time
Malick’s documentary features the voices of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Dede Gardner, Nicolas Gonda, Sarah Green, Grant Hill, Brad Pitt, Bill Pohlad and [link...
Fantasy adventure In The Lost Lands
Milla Jovovich will star alongside Justin Chatwin in this new feature based on short stories from the creator of Game Of Thrones. The German-Canadian co-production is directed by Constantin Werner.
The story revolves around a series of magical and fantastic tales centring on a sorceress in search of a spell, a warrior girl on a quest and a young barbarian who encounters a witch in a spacecraft.
Steve Hoban, Oliver Luer and Nico Bruinsma produce. Myriad Pictures chief Kirk D’Amico will serve as an executive producer.
Terrence Malick’s Voyage Of Time
Malick’s documentary features the voices of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Dede Gardner, Nicolas Gonda, Sarah Green, Grant Hill, Brad Pitt, Bill Pohlad and [link...
- 2/9/2015
- by maud.le-rest@sciencespo-toulouse.net (Maud Le Rest)
- ScreenDaily
Imax Corporation has revealed its latest distribution play via its $50m war chest to finance original film, partnering with Broad Green Pictures to join Sophisticated Films and Wild Bunch on Terrence Malick’s Voyage Of Time.
Broad Green gets the first opportunity to distribute the feature version in North America following an exclusive IMAX release.
Wild Bunch represents international sales on Voyage, in which Malick sets out to chronicle the entirety of time. The auteur is working first in the IMAX format for a 40-minute version that Brad Pitt narrates before shifting his focus to a 35mm feature-length version with narration by Cate Blanchett.
Imax unveiled it’s Original Film Fund last May to co-finance 10 original Imax films.
Broad Green’s Gabriel and Daniel Hammond serve as executive producers with Tanner Beard, Mary Bing, Yves Chevalier, Christos V Konstantakopoulos, Jacques Perrin, Ryan Rettig and Donald Rosenfeld.
The producers are Dede Gardner, Malick regular...
Broad Green gets the first opportunity to distribute the feature version in North America following an exclusive IMAX release.
Wild Bunch represents international sales on Voyage, in which Malick sets out to chronicle the entirety of time. The auteur is working first in the IMAX format for a 40-minute version that Brad Pitt narrates before shifting his focus to a 35mm feature-length version with narration by Cate Blanchett.
Imax unveiled it’s Original Film Fund last May to co-finance 10 original Imax films.
Broad Green’s Gabriel and Daniel Hammond serve as executive producers with Tanner Beard, Mary Bing, Yves Chevalier, Christos V Konstantakopoulos, Jacques Perrin, Ryan Rettig and Donald Rosenfeld.
The producers are Dede Gardner, Malick regular...
- 2/3/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Imax Corporation has revealed the first funding recipient from its $50m war chest set up to finance original film, partnering with Broad Green Pictures to join Sophisticated Films and Wild Bunch on the Terrence Malick project.
Broad Green gets the first opportunity to distribute the feature version in North America following an exclusive IMAX release.
Wild Bunch represents international sales on Voyage, in which Malick sets out to the entirety of time. The auteur is working first in the IMAX format for a 40-minute version that Brad Pitt narrates before shifting his focus to a 35mm feature-length version with narration by Cate Blanchett.
Imax’s Original Film Fund was announced last May to co-finance 10 original Imax films.
Broad Green’s Gabriel and Daniel Hammond serve as executive producers with Tanner Beard, Mary Bing, Yves Chevalier, Christos V Konstantakopoulos, Jacques Perrin, Ryan Rettig and Donald Rosenfeld.
The producers are Dede Gardner, Malick regular...
Broad Green gets the first opportunity to distribute the feature version in North America following an exclusive IMAX release.
Wild Bunch represents international sales on Voyage, in which Malick sets out to the entirety of time. The auteur is working first in the IMAX format for a 40-minute version that Brad Pitt narrates before shifting his focus to a 35mm feature-length version with narration by Cate Blanchett.
Imax’s Original Film Fund was announced last May to co-finance 10 original Imax films.
Broad Green’s Gabriel and Daniel Hammond serve as executive producers with Tanner Beard, Mary Bing, Yves Chevalier, Christos V Konstantakopoulos, Jacques Perrin, Ryan Rettig and Donald Rosenfeld.
The producers are Dede Gardner, Malick regular...
- 2/3/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
IMAX Corporation, together with Broad Green Pictures, today announced they are joining Sophisticated Films and Wild Bunch to complete financing of Terrence Malick’s Voyage Of Time. Broad Green will have the first opportunity to distribute the feature film version in North America following the exclusive IMAX release. Gabriel and Daniel Hammond of Broad Green Pictures are executive-producing the film along with Tanner Beard, Mary Bing, Yves Chevalier, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Jacques Perrin, Ryan Rettig, and Donald Rosenfeld. Dede Gardner, Nicolas Gonda, Sarah Green, Grant Hill, Brad Pitt, Bill Pohlad and Sophokles Tasioulis are producing. Voyage commenced international sales at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, with Gaga (Jpn), Mars (Fr), Lumière (Benelux) and Edko (Hk) among the first to secure distribution rights. Voyage Of Time is a celebration of the universe, displaying the whole of time, from its start to its final collapse. This film examines all that occurred to prepare...
- 2/3/2015
- by Josh Abraham
- Hollywoodnews.com
I have a weird relationship with Terrence Malick. It's a one-sided relationship, obviously, since he doesn't even know I exist and it isn't specifically with Malick as much as it's with his online groupies. Then again, I'm probably equally a fan of directors such as David Fincher, Nicolas Winding Refn and Jacques Audiard so I guess I can understand the blind desire to see whatever he has in the pipeline, but it's just a general disinterest in the kind of films Malick has been working on as of late that cause me to question the interest from others. Granted, behind Tree of Life, which I enjoyed but didn't love as others have, To the Wonder is all that he's released. Coming up next is Knight of Cups, which will premiere at the Berlin Film Festival and after that we have Lawless (or at least that's what it was once called) and Voyage of Time,...
- 2/3/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
While Terrence Malick was filming The Tree of Life he was also working on The Voyage of Time, which has been described Tree editor Billy Weber as a film that involves "the first signs of life, bacteria, cellular pioneers, first love, consciousness, the ascent of humanity, life and death and the end of the universe." The film features narration by Brad Pitt and Emma Thompson. It's always a matter of speculation as to when a Malick film will actually see the light of day and now Variety reports Voyage will be delivered in 2016 in a feature-length version and a 40-minute large-format version. It would make sense if the large-format version played in IMAX theaters such as the one here in Seattle at the Pacific Science Center while the feature-length version would receive a standard theatrical release, but that is merely speculation based on this report. Production companies Wild Bunch and...
- 5/13/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
You've seen Charles Dickens' works, but have you seen them with added free running?
Red Bull Media House has signed on to produce "Twist", a contemporary 3D adaptation of "Oliver Twist" for Pure Grass Films and the Salt Co. says Variety.
This new version centers around Fagin Gang and who use the physical vaulting art of parkour to carry out a series of art thefts in the film.
Sophokles Tasioulis, Ben Grass and Piers Tempest will produce with shooting to take place next year.
Red Bull Media House has signed on to produce "Twist", a contemporary 3D adaptation of "Oliver Twist" for Pure Grass Films and the Salt Co. says Variety.
This new version centers around Fagin Gang and who use the physical vaulting art of parkour to carry out a series of art thefts in the film.
Sophokles Tasioulis, Ben Grass and Piers Tempest will produce with shooting to take place next year.
- 5/16/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
We have eleven great clips in from Disneynature's documentary "Earth," including with James Earl Jones, Alastair Fothergill. These are all included with the trailer in the same player below. See the images here! What's "Earth" all about? The first in the Disneynature line-up of films, “Earth,” narrated by James Earl Jones, tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their amazing journeys across the planet we all call home. “Earth” combines rare action, unimaginable scale and impossible locations while capturing the most intimate moments of our planet’s wildest and most elusive creatures. Directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, the acclaimed creative team behind the Emmy Award®-winning “Planet Earth,” combine forces again to bring this epic adventure to the big screen, beginning Earth Day, April 22, 2009. Behind-the-scenes talent includes producers Alix Tidmarsh and Sophokles Tasioulis, award-winning composer George Fenton directing the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and editor Martin Elsbury (“Deep...
- 4/9/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
With the jury still out on where this year's Berlin lineup will rate on the Dieter meter, attention is beginning to focus on the selection for the Festival de Cannes.
The Riviera event marks its 60th anniversary when it unspools May 16-27, suggesting fest president Gilles Jacob will want to inject some extra glitz. But artistic director Thierry Fremaux said the landmark will not influence his choice of movies for Competition.
After the poor reception given to last year's opener The Da Vinci Code, pressure is on to find a more crowd-pleasing title. One option under consideration is the hugely ambitious documentary "earth," which offers a dazzling look at natural life on our planet.
"We're already speaking to Cannes about being the opening film. We're sending an unfinished mix to Cannes at the end of February," said Sophokles Tasioulis of Greenlight Media, who co-produced the movie with the BBC. The movie is distributed in France by Gaumont, which has previously handled opening-night duties with The Fifth Element and Vatel.
A more conventional contender is Ocean's Thirteen from Palme d'Or winner Steven Soderbergh. And one that would allow for a top-flight red carpet gala given the Warner Bros. picture's all-star cast headed by George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Al Pacino.
Warner's Iraq-themed movie The Valley of Elah written and directed by Paul Haggis starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and James Franco is also in the running. "It's not out of the question," said a source.
Although it is still too early for titles to have received any locked-down slots, Fremaux looks to have a good choice of titles from both the U.S. and France.
Among the former is Cannes golden boy Quentin Tarantino's exploitation double-feature Grind House, co-directed by Robert Rodriguez.
Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is one possible for out of Competition. Paramount Pictures' fantasy adventure Stardust, starring Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Sienna Miller and Michelle Pfeiffer, may also show up.
The Riviera event marks its 60th anniversary when it unspools May 16-27, suggesting fest president Gilles Jacob will want to inject some extra glitz. But artistic director Thierry Fremaux said the landmark will not influence his choice of movies for Competition.
After the poor reception given to last year's opener The Da Vinci Code, pressure is on to find a more crowd-pleasing title. One option under consideration is the hugely ambitious documentary "earth," which offers a dazzling look at natural life on our planet.
"We're already speaking to Cannes about being the opening film. We're sending an unfinished mix to Cannes at the end of February," said Sophokles Tasioulis of Greenlight Media, who co-produced the movie with the BBC. The movie is distributed in France by Gaumont, which has previously handled opening-night duties with The Fifth Element and Vatel.
A more conventional contender is Ocean's Thirteen from Palme d'Or winner Steven Soderbergh. And one that would allow for a top-flight red carpet gala given the Warner Bros. picture's all-star cast headed by George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Al Pacino.
Warner's Iraq-themed movie The Valley of Elah written and directed by Paul Haggis starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and James Franco is also in the running. "It's not out of the question," said a source.
Although it is still too early for titles to have received any locked-down slots, Fremaux looks to have a good choice of titles from both the U.S. and France.
Among the former is Cannes golden boy Quentin Tarantino's exploitation double-feature Grind House, co-directed by Robert Rodriguez.
Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is one possible for out of Competition. Paramount Pictures' fantasy adventure Stardust, starring Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Sienna Miller and Michelle Pfeiffer, may also show up.
With the jury still out on where this year's Berlin lineup will rate on the Dieter meter, attention is beginning to focus on the selection for the Festival de Cannes.
The Riviera event marks its 60th anniversary when it unspools May 16-27, suggesting fest president Gilles Jacob will want to inject some extra glitz. But artistic director Thierry Fremaux said the landmark will not influence his choice of movies for Competition.
After the poor reception given to last year's opener "The Da Vinci Code", pressure is on to find a more crowd-pleasing title. One option under consideration is the hugely ambitious documentary "earth," which offers a dazzling look at natural life on our planet.
"We're already speaking to Cannes about being the opening film. We're sending an unfinished mix to Cannes at the end of February," said Sophokles Tasioulis of Greenlight Media, who co-produced the movie with the BBC. The movie is distributed in France by Gaumont, which has previously handled opening-night duties with "The Fifth Element" and "Vatel".
A more conventional contender is "Ocean's Thirteen" from Palme d'Or winner Steven Soderbergh. And one that would allow for a top-flight red carpet gala given the Warner Bros. picture's all-star cast headed by George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Al Pacino.
Warner's Iraq-themed movie "The Valley of Elah" written and directed by Paul Haggis starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and James Franco is also in the running. "It's not out of the question", said a source.
Although it is still too early for titles to have received any locked-down slots, Fremaux looks to have a good choice of titles from both the U.S. and France.
Among the former is Cannes golden boy Quentin Tarantino's exploitation double-feature "Grind House", co-directed by Robert Rodriguez.
Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" is one possible for out of Competition. Paramount Pictures' fantasy adventure "Stardust", starring Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Sienna Miller and Michelle Pfeiffer, may also show up.
The Riviera event marks its 60th anniversary when it unspools May 16-27, suggesting fest president Gilles Jacob will want to inject some extra glitz. But artistic director Thierry Fremaux said the landmark will not influence his choice of movies for Competition.
After the poor reception given to last year's opener "The Da Vinci Code", pressure is on to find a more crowd-pleasing title. One option under consideration is the hugely ambitious documentary "earth," which offers a dazzling look at natural life on our planet.
"We're already speaking to Cannes about being the opening film. We're sending an unfinished mix to Cannes at the end of February," said Sophokles Tasioulis of Greenlight Media, who co-produced the movie with the BBC. The movie is distributed in France by Gaumont, which has previously handled opening-night duties with "The Fifth Element" and "Vatel".
A more conventional contender is "Ocean's Thirteen" from Palme d'Or winner Steven Soderbergh. And one that would allow for a top-flight red carpet gala given the Warner Bros. picture's all-star cast headed by George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Al Pacino.
Warner's Iraq-themed movie "The Valley of Elah" written and directed by Paul Haggis starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and James Franco is also in the running. "It's not out of the question", said a source.
Although it is still too early for titles to have received any locked-down slots, Fremaux looks to have a good choice of titles from both the U.S. and France.
Among the former is Cannes golden boy Quentin Tarantino's exploitation double-feature "Grind House", co-directed by Robert Rodriguez.
Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" is one possible for out of Competition. Paramount Pictures' fantasy adventure "Stardust", starring Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Sienna Miller and Michelle Pfeiffer, may also show up.
- 2/15/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Miramax Films has acquired North American distribution rights to the feature-length documentary Deep Blue, from BBC Worldwide and Germany's Greenlight Media. The film is narrated by U.K. thespian Michael Gambon. Inspired by the BBC and Discovery Channel's series The Blue Planet, Deep sets out to explore life "above, below and far beneath the ocean's surface," according to the filmmakers. The project was co-directed by Alastair Fothergill and Andy Byatt and produced by Alix Tidmarsh and Sophokles Tasioulis. Nikolaus Weil, Stefan Beiten, Andre Sikojev and Mike Phillips executive produced. Miramax director of acquisitions Chiara Trento brought Deep into the mini-major.
- 12/12/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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