SATURDAY, MAY 19 2012
TODAY
www.ScreenDaily.com Christine Vachon Editorial +33 4 9706 8458
AT THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL Advertising +33 4 9706 8495
Abu Dhabi sets incentive
Killer lines up busy slate led by Silva thriller
BY JEREMY KAY Killer Films principals Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffl er are in the middle of their busiest ever production cycle and have a number of prestige titles in the market here. Brian O’Shea’s The Exchange
and 6 Sales have been talking up the untitled Sebastian Silva project, a psycho-thriller that wrapped last week. Michael Cera, Juno Temple and Emily Browning star in the true story about a young American who begins to unravel while on vacation in remote Chile. Killer is producing with Mike White’s com- pany Ripcord and UTA Independ- ent represents domestic rights. Exclusive Media is handling
international sales on Ramin Bah- rani’s drama At Any Price, a story about an enterprising farmer that stars Zac Efron, Dennis Quaid and Heather Graham and is in post. CAA is the domestic sales agent. Bankside is selling Hilary
Brougher’s Innocence, which is set to begin shooting in early June and stars Kelly Reilly and Sophie Curtis in the tale of a private school that houses a vampire sect. Ron Curtis is producing with Killer and CAA handles domestic rights. Inferno handles international
sales on John Krokidas’ Kill Your Darlings, the young Beats story that just wrapped shooting. Michael Benaroya financed and produced and UTA Independent and Cassian Elwes represent domestic rights. Mo Ogrodnik’s Deep Powder was
Killer’s fi rst feature into production this year and is produced with former Disney chief Michael Eisn- er’s Vuguru new-media platform. Vachon and Koffl er serve as exe-
cute producers on two titles, Ruba Nadda’s Inescapable (sold by Myr- iad) and Lance Edmands’ Bluebird.
Jada Pinkett Smith, Ben Stiller, Jessica Chastain and Chris Rock at the press call for Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. See review p32.
Money talks for TrustNordisk
UK distributor Icon Film Distribution has snatched all rights to Easy Money II from TrustNordisk. Icon already holds the rights to the first Easy Money. A work-in-progress version of the film is screening for buyers here and
has already been sold to Benelux (Lumiere), Switzerland (Frenetic), Russia and the Balkans (Maywin), Czech and Slovak Republics (Film Europe) and Korea (Sonamu). Network Movie’s Peter
Nadermann has acquired TV rights
BY LIZ SHACKLETON Abu Dhabi’s twofour54 and the Abu Dhabi Film Commission are launching a production rebate from September 1, marking the fi rst major incentive scheme in the Middle East. The incentive, in the form of a
rebate of up to 30% of qualifying spend in Abu Dhabi, will be avail- able for feature fi lm, TV, documen- tary, advertising and music-video production. Qualifying spend includes
goods and services sourced from Abu Dhabi and relevant expendi- ture on location and studio fi lming and post-production. Hotel costs and fl ights booked on Etihad Air- ways are also covered. “We want to use this to really
fuel production in Abu Dhabi. This will be unique in the region in terms of an offering, and a pretty compelling one at that,” twofour54 deputy CEO Wayne Borg told Screen. “It demonstrates our com- mitment to what we’re trying to do
in terms of developing the eco- system, and really building out and leveraging the infrastructure we’re now putting in place.” Projects applying for the rebate
will be assessed by the Abu Dhabi Film Commission. “Post audit, we will look to pay out the incentive within 45-60 days,” said Borg. Twofour54 houses more than 160
companies. The standalone govern- ment organisation now also houses the Abu Dhabi Film Commission and Abu Dhabi Film Festival.
Wachsberger: business as usual
BY JEREMY KAY Despite his entry into corporate America in the wake of the Lions- gate-Summit merger, Patrick Wachsberger has been ensconced in his offi ce on the Croisette, in the thick of the market as usual. “I really enjoy the sales process
and this is something I don’t want to let go,” the recently anointed co- chairman of Lionsgate Motion Pic- ture Group said, talking exclusively
to Screen. “In the process of mak- ing the decision of what movies to make and not make, our business plan has been to rely on the inter- national market and pre-sales to help our downside. We are not changing the model.” Wachsberger now presides over
a significantly enhanced slate alongside Lionsgate president of international sales Helen Lee Kim. Wachsberger declines to go into
specifics about Kim’s rumoured departure later this year. “There’s no specifi c timetable. She’s under contract. I think she’s fantastic and as far as I’m concerned I’m not looking forward to seeing her go.” He declares himself thrilled with
the team of Anne-Marie Ross, Crystal Bourbeau and Wendy Reeds, head of sales for the Asia- based Celestial Tiger. The Hunger Games sequel
Monaghan eyes Night moves
BY JEREMY KAY Michelle Monaghan will star for Jonathan Mostow in thriller Still Of Night, which Exclusive Media has been discussing with buyers here. Susan Sarandon is in fi nal nego-
tiations to join the story about a woman who tangles with a crimi- nal. Exclusive will finance and jointly produce with Mostow and Steve Alexander. The project will start shooting in August. CAA rep- resents North American rights.
for German ZDF and French ARTE. The third feature, Easy Money III,
is in pre-production. Also, TrustNordisk pre-sold
thriller The Keeper Of Lost Causes and the three subsequent films in the series to NFP for Germany and Frenetic for Switzerland. Geoffrey Macnab
Duncan Jones
NEWS Spy games Duncan Jones signs on to direct the story of Ian Fleming for K5. » Page 2
Taking the throne Mika Kaurismaki casts rising Swedish actress Malin Buska as his Queen Kristina.
» Page 6
REVIEWS Out of Africa In Paradise: Love, the first film of his new trilogy, Ulrich Seidl presents an unflinching portrait of sex tourism. » Page 20
SCREENINGS » Page 56
Catching Fire is on the runway and he says there is “a possibility” that fi nale Mockingjay will be split into two fi lms a la Breaking Dawn. Production will commence
shortly on Summit’s Red 2 and Pompeii and Tarzan are in the pipe- line. Wachsberger is bullish about Summit. “We have created a brand and a good one, so I don’t see [the merger] interfering,” he says. Summit International’s output
deals will endure through their terms after which Wachsberger and his partners will review them.
BREAKING NEWS
» Lionsgate and Nordisk Film have signed a multi-year Scandinavian
output deal covering films from both Lionsgate and Summit. » Films Boutique has sold More Than Honey to Germany (Senator), Switzerland (Frenetic) and Austria (Filmladen). » Wild Bunch has sold Haute Cuisine to The Weinstein Company for the US, UK, Asia (except Japan) and South Africa.
» Film Movement acquired North American rights to Room 514 from Doc + Film.
ATLAS THE KING MAKER Atlas International Film has added Stephen King adaptation A Good Marriage to its Cannes slate. Peter Askin will direct the thriller based on a short story from King’s book Full Dark — No Stars. Will Battersby produces. The thriller follows a woman who discovers her husband’s dark secret. The New York shoot is set for late summer. The project is out to cast. Andreas Wiseman
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