SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6 2011


TODAY www.ScreenDaily.com


Buyers sing with eOne’s Marion


eOne Films International has reported a strong response to its comedy drama Song For Marion, which The Weinstein Company is poised to buy for the US. eOne’s Charlotte Mickie has


licensed rights to Sun Distribution for Latin America and Ascot Elite for all German rights excluding TV, as well as Austria and all multi-lingual Swiss rights. ARD Degeto acquired German TV rights. Lev Cinemas will release the


film in Israel and Greenlight Films has licensed it for Iceland. Vanessa Redgrave, Terence


Stamp, Gemma Arterton and Christopher Eccleston are set to star in the story of a man who joins an unconventional choir. Meanwhile Guy Maddin’s


Keyhole has sold to the US (monterey media) and France (ED Distribution).


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AFM deals solid despite fewer new high-end titles


BY JEREMY KAY AFM trade appeared solid at the halfway mark despite a dearth of new high-end packages, which in light of an extraordinary Cannes market was perceived more as a quirk of the production and fi nanc- ing cycle than a harbinger of doom. Yet even if there was less fresh


material in the $25m-$35m range than had been hoped for, new projects that did emerge resulted in frenetic activity, such as Summit International’s 12 Years A Slave from Steve McQueen and Louis Leterrier’s Now You See Me, plus IM Global’s Dead Man Down from Niels Arden Oplev. Pre-existing titles such as Exclu-


sive Films International’s Rush attracted plenty of business, as have Outrun and Project Blue Book, two additions to the slate that are in post. Voltage’s Imogene and Code Name Geronimo, Lionsgate’s Pent-


Nick Meyer, enjoying strong trade on Europa, Rampart and Parker. “The vagaries of the production cycle mean movies aren’t always ready.” Sales veteran Jere Hausfater


Sierra/Affinity’s Nick Meyer


house North, FilmNation’s Mud and Parlay Films’ The Words also generated interest. IM Global reported a furious


trade on its fully fi nanced thriller Dead Man Down. Deals closed for the UK (Momentum), Germany (Wild Bunch), Spain (Aurum), Scandinavia (Nordisk), Russia (Central Partnership), Benelux (RCV), Latin America (Swen), Tai- wan (SSG) and Canada (Alliance). “There’s not a ton of [new high-


end product] but there’s demand for it,” said Sierra/Affinity chief


TrustNordisk sparks deals on ID:A


BY ANDREAS WISEMAN TrustNordisk has sold Christian Christiansen’s thriller ID:A to the UK (Chelsea Films), Germany (ZDF), Poland (Kino Swiat), Korea (Sonamu Pictures) and Turkey and Cyprus (Calinos Entertainment). Zentropa produces the drama,


about a woman with amnesia who must elude mysterious strangers. The UK deal was negotiated by


TrustNordisk head of sales Susan Wendt and Daniel Cooper, head of acquisitions for Chelsea Films, the genre label of Artifi cial Eye.


ID:A


added: “The sweet spot is the $15m-$35m range and the sweeter spot is $25m-$35m. Those movies are very difficult to put together and to finance because there are very few companies with the fi nan- cial wherewithal [to do so].” The Eurozone crisis kept some


European arthouse buyers away but that did not stop the major acquisitions teams from attending. Asian deals were strong, with South Korean buyers leading the pack. One UK seller noted that a lack


of high-end product enabled more deals on mid-level fare, while another invoked the “crumbs make the cake” analogy to describe how a high volume of smaller deals had turned this into a steady market.


Joe Dante thrills with sci-fi pic O2


BY JEREMY KAY Joe Dante will direct the $50m sci- fi thriller O2, the first of three projects set up by Jeanette Buer- ling’s Magnet Media Group and effects house Prime Focus. The fi lm will shoot in Germany


in association with Magnet’s recently launched German produc- tion arm Magnet Media Produc- tions Cologne. O2 also marks the fi rst fi lm new


Scandinavian crime wave still surging for Svensk


Svensk has closed AFM deals on Kathrine Windfeld’s Agent Hamilton thriller In The Interest Of The Nation and more deals on Lasse Hallstrom’s The Hypnotist. For The Interest Of The Nation,


deals have closed with Germany (ZDF), Benelux (Lumiere) and South Korea (Sonamu). The Hypnotist, about a


psychiatrist using hypnosis to solve a murder, has sold to the UK


(StudioCanal), Korea (Keowon), Eastern Europe (EAP), Argentina (Alfa Films) and Israel (Lev Films). Svensk’s slate also includes The


Paganini Contract and TV series Anno 1790.


Andreas Wiseman


Magnet president of production Michele Ohayon will produce alongside Buerling. Magnet is fully financing the


project, which is now casting and scheduled to shoot in Germany and the UK in autumn 2012. Ronnie Christensen wrote the


script about a young scientist in the year 2150 who investigates her father’s disappearance.


Jennifer Lynch


NEWS Hostage talks Jennifer Lynch discusses her new thriller Chained. » PAGE 2


Night moves Bac continues sales on action pic Sleepless Night. » PAGE 2


This is the final print edition of this year’s AFM dailies. For continued market coverage, visit ScreenDaily.com


Warrior keeps punching


BY ANDREAS WISEMAN Fortissimo Films’ Taiwanese Oscar submission and Venice Competi- tion entry Warriors Of The Rainbow: Seediq Bale has closed new deals for Germany (Senator Film), Australia/ NZ (Bounty Films) and HBO Latin America, two days after closing a US deal with Well Go USA. The action drama is Taiwan’s


biggest ever hit at the local box offi ce, having taken $23m to date. It opens the MoMA Fortissimo tribute in New York next week.


AFM DEALS


» Yellow Affair has closed a North American all-rights deal on Swedish-language romance With Every Heartbeat to Wolfe Video. Cinemien has taken Benelux and Nordisk Film distributes in Scandinavia. Ruth Vega Fernandez, Liv Mjones and Lena Endre star in the drama.


» Lightning Entertainment has closed key deals across its slate, led by sales on action comedy Cat Run, starring Paz Vega, to Quality Filmes for all Latin American rights except Brazilian DVD and to Ster Kinekor for South Africa. Animated feature Top Cat has


gone to FOX/Star TV for pan-Asian TV rights, Film House for Israel, Ster Kinekor for South Africa and Eagle Films for the Middle East. Lightning has also booked


deals on Brake, Bloodwork, Boy Wonder, The Trouble With Bliss, Wrath, The Jungle and Columbus Circle.


DAY 5


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