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.CITAZIONE
'Warrior' looking for extras
Friday, March 20, 2009
By Barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
You don't have to know the difference between mixed martial arts and Mixmasters to be an extra in "Warrior," a movie about the ferociously competitive (and increasingly popular) sport that will start shooting here in late April.
The Lionsgate film, being directed by Gavin O'Connor and starring Nick Nolte, Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Morrison, will need thousands of extras to populate scenes at the Petersen Events Center in Oakland, training gyms, a drive-in, classroom and other locations.
Nolte will play a Vietnam vet and one-time boxer, steelworker and alcoholic. Now sober and remorseful, he trains his son, played by Hardy, to compete in a mixed martial arts tournament.
Lissa Brennan, extras casting director, says extras will be paid $100 a day and can work from one to 15 days. No experience is necessary but extras must be prepared for days that can stretch to 12 or more hours.
Extras must be 18 years or older and Brennan is especially interested in students (including those youthful enough to portray high schoolers) and athletic young men with some martial arts or fighting training who can convincingly be in the background of gym scenes.
Also needed are men who are Latino or who can play a Latino, plus Marines or men with hair short enough to pass as Marines.
To be considered, e-mail [email protected] with the following: an attached recent photo and a resume or description of experience or interest. Also include contact information, age, height and weight. Or send a photocopy of a photo and resume or description to: Warrior Productions Extras Casting, 225 W. Station Square Drive, Suite 210, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15219.
If you qualify, put "Warrior-Fighter," "Warrior-Hispanic" or "Warrior-Student" in your email subject header or on the envelope. The movie will shoot in Pittsburgh from late April through the end of June.
Donna Belajac Casting is looking for two sets of identical Caucasian twin girls for "Warrior." One pair must be or look 2 years old and the other 4 and be able to interact with the actors.
If interested, e-mail two recent photos (at least one close-up) of the girls, their names, ages, parents and contact information to [email protected] with "Twin Submission" in the subject line.
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.CITAZIONE
One-two punch: 'Warrior' filmmakers drawn by city's look, state's incentives
Friday, May 08, 2009
By Barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteSPOILER (click to view)The off-camera direction wasn't something Erik Apple likely or ever hears.
"Like a rag doll, bro! Like a rag doll."
Apple, a professional fighter with a fierce brown mohawk, was in the ring with actor Tom Hardy or his stunt double, Jace Jeanes. Hardy, recently Handsome Bob in "RocknRolla," and Jeanes sported matching hairstyles, tattoos, sleeveless white undershirts and gray sweatpants.
They were in Colt's Gym, a place so authentic and photogenic that you might swear the heavy punching bags and speed bags, the weathered wooden floor and the banners and American flag hanging from the painted, peeling brick walls had been there for decades.
If it didn't smell quite like a gym -- no funky perspiration burned into the bricks -- that's because Colt's was created for the movie "Warrior," shooting in town. But, even from the outside, the Strip District set looked so real that a couple of strangers recently inquired about joining.
Had they come earlier this week, they would have found Gavin O'Connor in his literal director's chair, which is black with "Warrior" in yellow letters and the silhouette of a fighter with his arms raised.
"Warrior" explores fathers and sons, brotherly bonds and rivalries and the increasingly popular world of mixed martial arts.
It marks Nick Nolte's third movie here, after "Lorenzo's Oil" and "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh." This time, he's a retired mill worker and recovering alcoholic named Paddy, who raised his boys as competitive wrestlers.
Now, his sons, Tommy (Hardy) and Brendan (Joel Edgerton), are on a collision course to end up in a $5 million mixed martial arts competition called Sparta. Could it sound any more manly?
Tommy left 14 years earlier with his mother, who wanted to escape an abusive relationship.
"When we come into the story, he is in the Marines, but he's been at war and now he's mysteriously out, and we don't know what that's about," explained "Warrior" producer Greg O'Connor, Gavin's twin brother and frequent collaborator.
As Tommy returns to Pittsburgh and trains with his father, however, they start to repair their broken relationship.
Brendan, meanwhile, is a high school teacher and father of two who gave up fighting at the insistence of his girlfriend-turned-wife, Tess. But, facing foreclosure on their home, he returns to the ring.
The cast also includes Jennifer Morrison ("Star Trek," "House") as Tess, pro wrestler Kurt Angle as a Russian named Koba and Frank Grillo, one of "The Kill Point" bank robbers, as Brendan's trainer.SPOILER (click to view)The movie builds to Sparta, a 16-man, single-elimination tournament set in Atlantic City but being staged at the Petersen Events Center with real fighters lending some verisimilitude. With 17 key fights in the script, stunt-fight coordinator J.J. "Loco" Perry has his hands full.
Between bites of lunch, Perry talked in double time about the challenge of pairing real fighters with actors and making the performers look believable. In actual fights, it's more important how it works than how it looks, but that formula is reversed for the movies.
Perry and his team, who also worked with Hugh Jackman and others on "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," helped key players each gain 18 pounds of muscle.
"They're eating 120 grams of chicken four to six times a day, with protein shakes, and they have to lift twice a day. It's not just putting the weight on them, it's putting lean muscle mass on them and at the same time, teaching them how to fight," mixed martial arts style.
"A lot of people misjudge it, they think it's a bunch of brawlers .... It's actually a very technical sport," said Perry, who has been rehearsing out of Eric Hibler's Pittsburgh Fight Club in Robinson.
"I've filmed in 23 countries and pretty much every state in our country, this is my first time to film in Pittsburgh and it's been a real, real pleasure," Perry said. "And I dig that Eat'n Park place."
Training started in late January in L.A., and Perry came here for a month and a half before shooting started.
Pittsburgh has proven fertile ground for extras who are not "pretty-boy cry babies," as they sometimes can be elsewhere. "These guys have been really hard-working cats and really, really easy to get on with," Perry said.
Pittsburgh plays itself in the Lionsgate movie that is expected to be released in nexst year, possibly in the summer, although no date is set. Lionsgate made "My Bloody Valentine 3-D" here along with the TV series "The Kill Point" and steered the filmmakers this way.
"We just love the atmosphere, we love the sort of steel town quality of it," producer O'Connor said, while his brother was busy directing. "It feels very real, very working class, very salt of the earth. My dad was a cop, which was why we made 'Pride and Glory,' so we tend to like that kind of world."
The O'Connors' now-retired dad was a big boxing fan who took his boys to the Golden Gloves and joined them watching the star-studded heavyweight bouts on TV.
Still, when Greg pitched the idea to his director-brother, he needed a little convincing.
"I think his original thought was maybe it's too much of a genre movie, like it's a fighting movie. 'Is this going to feel too much like a genre, B-ish kind of movie?' And I said, that's exactly what I like about it," Greg recalled. "It's a genre, that if elevated, could be spectacular because you have elements in it that we relate to."
The brothers, who grew up playing sports and "in that whole environment of mano-a-mano," gravitate to stories with strong patriarchs and brotherly bonds, as with "Pride and Glory" and the rousing hockey story "Miracle."
Greg figured his brother, a former college football player, "would understand how to shoot masculine sports and yet bring an artist's perspective to it." The pair also had produced an HBO documentary, "The Smashing Machine," about extreme fighter Mark Kerr, so that further prepared them to enter this world.
Gavin, a stickler for authenticity, consulted with experts ranging from trainer Greg Jackson in New Mexico to apparel and gear maker Tapout.
"I think one of the things we want to do with the movie is to show the sport to a wider audience as a real sport, as an incredible skill," Greg said. The movie will demonstrate "what goes into training and how great an athlete you need to be."
Some people, he acknowledged, still think of it "as cockfighting, two guys get in the ring and beat the [expletive] out of each other, when the level of skill that's required to get into the ring at the highest level is as much as any sport there is, and you'll see this."
A few days will be spent in Atlantic City, West Virginia and Mexico, but almost all of the picture is being filmed here. Three weeks into a 10-week shoot, everyone professes happiness.
Veteran producer John Kelly, a resident of Los Angeles whose long list of credits includes "Into the Wild," has been in Pittsburgh since early March, just in time to see the St. Patrick's Day parade.
"So far, it's been wonderful," Kelly said, with the crew taking advantage of the unseasonably warm days to shoot outside late last month. The production has logged time in Ross, Downtown and the Strip and will spend the next month at the Petersen, with more filming outside the city and then back Downtown.
Kelly, who had never been here until "Warrior," has found himself giving scouting reports to outsiders.
"I can tell you, in the last three weeks, I've had four or five studios and/or directors call me to ask how Pittsburgh is. Are the people here nice? Are the crews here qualified?
"Because people want to come to Pittsburgh now because the cost of living is far less than it is in Philadelphia or New York, the incentive in Pennsylvania is wonderful, and some of the directors I've talked to are well-known directors that are coming here based on they can get more for their money here."
"Warrior" may have brought Kelly and the O'Connors to Pittsburgh, but the production net also snagged lots of locals.
Among them: Casey Stanton, a Pitt-Greensburg junior who auditioned in a bright orange bikini to be a "ring girl"; extras Jose Caraballo and Mike Pofi from Sharpsburg and Mike Migliozzi from North Versailles; and Jimmy Cvetic, a retired county police officer and goodwill ambassador who steered young athletes to the set.
"There's about 12 of my kids in this movie, and they're all great guys. It's magic for them," said Cvetic, director of the Western Pennsylvania Police Athletic League, who has squired around the O'Connors and befriended Nolte.
"You gotta give somebody a dream," Cvetic said, waving over a couple of his "boys," Mark Daley and Amonte Eberhardt, for interviews. "See, everybody isn't going to hell in a bucket, there's a lot of good kids out here."
And some of them, thanks to "Warrior," got paid as extras and could turn up on the big screen in 2010.
It's not too late to score your 15 seconds of fame.
The movie is looking for thousands of people to fill seats at the Petersen on May 30.
Although spectators won't be paid, they will watch filming and be eligible for prizes being raffled. Also, the production will donate money to the Pittsburgh Police Fallen Heroes fund for every person who shows up May 30 and stays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., although times could be subject to change.
That day will be open to the public, no registration needed, with more details to come.
Post-Gazette movie editor Barbara Vancheri can be reached at [email protected] or 412-263-1632.
First published on May 8, 2009 at 12:00 am
post-gazette.com
thanks to Briteen
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.CITAZIONE‘Bounty’ of Hollywood Stars
Atlantic City is currently Hollywood East. Two movies are being filmed in town, Bounty Hunter, co-starring Scottish hunk Gerard Butler (300, PS I Love You) and Jennifer Aniston, and The Warrior starring Nick Nolte and Jennifer Morrison (House).SPOILER (click to view)I heard that last night Butler was playing craps at the Borgata. According to my source, he needs to look like an expert for his film role and he needs a lot of work. He kept throwing the dice off the table. He was playing with his own money but being Scottish that means he was being careful with his funds. He lost his whole wad, $150. No, I didn’t miss any zeros folks. My friend reports that he was the sweetest and nicest celebrity she has ever seen on a game, without any of the “I’m a movie star” baggage. She said he was playing without getting too much attention. I guest the 300 fans don’t recognize him with without his warrior garb. He will be very big later this summer when his romantic comedy with Katherine Heigl, The Ugly Truth, opens. It was on my list of most anticipated films this summer.
Bounty Hunter is an action flick, with Butler playing a bounty hunter who’s hired to retrieve his ex-wife, a journalist who witnessed a murder and has skipped bail, played by Aniston. Bounty Hunter is scheduled to be released in late 2009.
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.CITAZIONECASTING CALL: Are you Hispanic? Do You Want to be in a Flick?
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Entertainment Editor
Charleston, WV (HNN) – Lion’s Gate Entertainment continues filming “Warrior,” starring Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison and Tom Hardy in and around Pittsburgh, Pa. However, the filmmakers come to Moundsville, WV, home of the former West Virginia Penitentiary, on June 23 and 24.
Non-speaking extras are sought, specifically 20 tall and hit Hispanic men to play Mexican prison guards. The casting call requests “professional actors only” and pays $200 per 12 hours plus per diem (travel and lodging paid).
If you are between ages 20 to 60, submit a recent professional head shot and resume to [email protected]. Subject line MUST say WARRIOR. In the body of your e-mail include your name, phone, email address, city/state and age/height/weight.
Projected for a 2010 release, “Warrior” focuses on the world of mixed martial arts, as an alcoholic former boxer (Nolte) trains his youngest son for a tournament.
huntingtonnews.net
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.CITAZIONE
Former Pen Hosts Film Crew
By JENNIFER COMPSTON-STROUGH
MOUNDSVILLE - Hollywood has turned to the Ohio Valley once again to shoot the opening sequence of the film "Warrior," set to be released in summer 2010.
The former West Virginia Penitentiary at Moundsville is the backdrop for the movie's opening scene, which Executive Producer John J. Kelly said depicts a Mexican prison. Nick Nolte stars in the flick that Kelly termed a "modern-day 'Rocky'" - a mixed martial arts film that tells the story of two brothers and their father (Nolte).
The bulk of the story is focused in Pittsburgh, where a majority of the scenes will be shot.
Kelly and his crew were on the set at the former West Virginia Penitentiary on Wednesday and plan to conclude their filming at the site today. In addition to Nolte, the cast includes Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Morrison of TV's "House" and professional wrestler Kurt Angle. The Lionsgate film directed by Gavin O'Connor will be rated PG-13.
Kelly said he is pleased the staff responsible for finding set locations for the film discovered the Moundsville prison.
"It's great," he said. "I've been to Moundsville three times, and the people here are very friendly."
Kelly commented on the region's heritage, citing he recently learned the Spirit of St. Louis landed nearby, and noted he was impressed to hear that Marshall County also is the hometown of country music star Brad Paisley. He also said he was shocked by the prison's location in the heart of Moundsville.
"I was surprised at the close proximity (of homes) to the prison," he said, adding local residents shared tales of prisoners' escapes while he has been in town.
Kelly said the movie's budget is "good sized" and that the film will be a "big theatrical release."
The 1971 movie "Fools' Parade" was filmed in Moundsville. Some scenes of "The Night of the Hunter" (1955) were shot in rural Marshall County. Across the Ohio River, Belmont County's Shadyside was the site of some plant scenes for "Gung Ho" (1986) and Bellaire was used in scenes for "Silence of the Lambs (1991.) And in Jefferson County, scenes for "The Deer Hunter" (1978) were shot in Mingo Junction.
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.CITAZIONE
Film crew shooting at former Moundsville prison
Originally published June 25, 2009 at 8:37 a.m., updated June 25, 2009 at 9:42 a.m.
MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. (AP) — The former West Virginia Penitentiary at Moundsville has a supporting role in a film starring Nick Nolte: It's the stand-in for a Mexican prison in a movie called "Warrior."
The Lionsgate film will be released next summer. Executive producer John J. Kelly calls it a modern-day "Rocky" featuring mixed martial arts and the story of two brothers. Nolte plays their father.
Most of the film is being shot in Pittsburgh, but Kelly's crew was at the prison Wednesday and expects to finish shooting Thursday.
The cast also includes Jennifer Morrison of Fox TV's "House" and professional wrestler Kurt Angle.
The Gothic 1860s prison housed inmates for 130 years until the state Supreme Court declared it uninhabitable in 1995 and ordered it closed.
victoriaadvocate
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.CITAZIONE
Hollywood In Moundsville
SPOILER (click to view)
7 News cameras get a sneak peak at actor Nick Nolte's new film.
Story by Dave Elias
MOUNDSVILLE -- 7 News Reporter Dave Elias was on the set of the new Nick Nolte film being shot in Moundsville at the old State Penn.
The movie "Warrior" is being shot at the Penn. Movie crews transformed it into a Mexican Prison today. The opening scene of the movie was shot in the old prison.
In an EXCLUSIVE interview with 7 News, Producer Greg O'Connor says the movie is best described as a modern day "Rocky". The movie depicts two brothers who specialize in martial arts and must eventually fight each other.
The bulk of the movie is being shot in Pittsburgh. After crews leave Moundsville they're heading to Atlantic City to continue filming.
The movie is expected to be released during the summer of 2010.
Copyright 2009 West Virginia Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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.CITAZIONE
Gerard Butler, Jennifer Aniston, Nick Nolte shooting in Atlantic City
by Vicki Hyman/The Star-Ledger
Wednesday July 01, 2009, 12:54 PM
Spotted around Atlantic City: "300" star Gerard Butler outside the Borgata, filming the action flick "Bounty Hunter" with Jennifer Aniston (she's also been in town, but she's apparently a little trickier to catch); and Nick Nolte at Resorts, shooting scenes for the drama "Warrior," co-starring Jennifer Morrison, best known for "House."
Butler plays the titular bounty hounter who is sent to find his ex-wife, a reporter who witnessed a murder. Aniston plays Butler's ex. The movie is also filming at Trump Taj Mahal. In "Warrior," Nolte plays a recovering alcoholic and former coach who trains his son for a mixed martial arts tournament.
NJ.com
nel link ci sono un paio di scatti di Nick Nolte mentre sta girando Warrior
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milla95.
User deleted
Grazie per le informazioni 
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.CITAZIONE (milla95 @ 24/7/2010, 00:26)Grazie per le informazioni
di niente
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.CITAZIONE
Extras Needed: Go Behind The Scenes Of Pittsburgh's 'Warrior' Movie With Nick Nolte, Kurt Angle
Thousands Of Extras Needed For Mixed Martial Arts Flick
UPDATED: 11:58 am EDT May 28, 2009
PITTSBURGH -- The new mixed martial arts movie "Warrior" is shooting in Pittsburgh, and WTAE's Michelle Wright went behind the scenes for a day on the set with star Nick Nolte and pro wrestler Kurt Angle.
Kurt Angle practices a fighting scene on the "Warrior" movie set.
Slideshow: Behind the scene photos
Nolte plays a Vietnam veteran and boxer-turned-steel mill worker whose family was torn apart by his alcoholism. After getting sober, he reunites with his youngest son and trains him to fight in an MMA tournament, which is being filmed at the Petersen Events Center on the University of Pittsburgh's campus.
The cast also includes "House" actor Jennifer Morrison and Angle, of Moon Township, who's enjoying being home and getting a break from his hectic wrestling schedule.
"My character is the complete opposite of what I portrayed in the (1996) Olympics," Angle said. "I was the American hero who won the Olympic gold medal. I am now the Russian hero who won the gold medal."
The MMA cage on the "Warrior" movie set in Pittsburgh
Currently a wrestler on Spike TV's "Total Nonstop Action" show, Angle told Wright that he has several movie roles lined up and is looking forward to a career transition.
"I'm going to continue to wrestle for a little while longer," Angle said. "But my crossover -- the appeal is coming, and it appears I'm going to start doing movies for a living, so I'm very excited about my future."
Nolte said he has been following the Stanley Cup playoffs while he's in town.
"Penguins are just brilliant. Saw some great hockey. This last series (against Washington) was just great hockey. I don't know how you top it," Nolte said.
"Warrior" producers need 14,000 extras to fill the Petersen Events Center for a day of shooting scenes on May 30. They said it's free, and there will be raffles for gift cards, concert tickets, iPods, flat-screen TVs and other prizes during the day.
For every person who shows up, the movie will donate money to the Pittsburgh Fallen Heroes Fund benefiting the families of three police officers who were killed in the line of duty last month.
"It's what we thought was a great idea. How can we be a part of the Pittsburgh community? Have a big event like this, make a movie set in Pittsburgh, taking place in Pittsburgh, and do something good for Pittsburgh while we're here," executive producer John Kelly said.
Backstage/Interviews
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.CITAZIONE
New movie preview House M.D. Jennifer Morrison becomes a Warrior
Lionsgate is working together on a new movie with Gavin O’Conner about a man who is training to be part of a mixed martial art competition. The competitors are not the only things that the Tom Conlon (Tom Harding) will be battling. Tom also has to take on the past of his drunken father and his brother.
Jennifer Morrison is taking on the role of Tess Conlon. I have a feeling that Tess Conlon is Tom Conlon’s wife in this new movie. More than likely Jennifer Morrison fans will probably see her as the wife that his always by her mans side.
Will we see something more from Jennifer Morrison and her role of Tess Conlon?
What should we expect for this new movie? If Warrior is going to be anything like Gavin O’Conner’s Miracle starring Kurt Russell then it should be a good film. Personally, I’m really hoping that Director Gavin O’Conner has a several martial art scenes.
I have a feeling that this new movie will be all about the battles between the competitors and the two brothers. Which means, that I will probably get what I’m asking for.
Are you a fan of Jennifer Morrison? Are you happy about this new movie role for Warrior or do you think that she should stick to television roles?
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.CITAZIONE
WARRIOR gets a wide release in Canada: September 17, 2010
WARRIOR cast includes, Tom Hardy (Rock N' Rolla, Bronson) & Nick Nolte (Tropic Thunder)
Two brothers face the fight of a lifetime – and the wreckage of their broken family – within the brutal, high-stakes world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighting in Maple Pictures' action/drama, WARRIOR.
An ex-Marine haunted by a tragic past, Tommy Riordan returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh and enlists his father, a recovered alcoholic and his former coach, to train him for an MMA tournament awarding the biggest purse in the history of the sport. As Tommy blazes a violent path towards the title prize, his brother, Brendan, a former MMA fighter unable to make ends meet as a public school teacher, returns to the amateur ring to provide for his family. Even though years have passed, recriminations and past betrayals keep Brendan bitterly estranged from both Tommy and his father.
But when Brendan’s unlikely rise as an underdog sets him on a collision course with Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront the forces that tore them apart, all the while waging the most intense, winner-takes-all battle of their lives.
WARRIOR is slated to hit Canadian theatres September 17, 2010!
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.CITAZIONEWARRIOR, directed by Gavin O’Connor (Pride and Glory). Starring Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton, and Jennifer Morrison. Release date: October 9th.SPOILER (click to view)
thanks to briteen. -
.CITAZIONE
Indie trends slippery at Cannes
Biz searches for new model as art, commerce diverge
By LEO BARRACLOUGH
As distribs, sales execs and producers head for Cannes, along with their passports and business cards, they'll be packing a certain amount of anxiety.
Despite the fact that some economists are seeing green shoots in the global economy, changes in consumer habits are a cause for concern, with the rise in VOD revenue failing to fill the vacuum left by the decline in DVD sales. A number of distribs have drifted toward insolvency in the past year and minimum guarantees have been falling. All of which creates nervousness among all the various parties.
Buyers have become more cautious and take their time making decisions. There is little impulse buying," says Thorsten Ritter, head of Bavaria Film Intl.
That cautiousness comes out of uncertainty about the future. It is a very transitional time for the business," says Michael Barker, co-prexy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, a partner at Films Distribution, agrees: "We are into a technological transition where the business models are not yet all stabilized."
Buyers are adapting to the shifting landscape in different ways, which has led to a lack of consensus when it comes to picking up titles. "The market has no sense of direction, because there are many different business models competing with each other," says Brigaud-Robert, whose slate includes comedy "With Love … From the Age of Reason," starring Sophie Marceau, and "L'amour fou," a docu about Yves Saint Laurent.
The two strands of the indie market -- mainstream and arthouse -- continue to diverge. Reasonably priced mainstream pics are more likely to be picked up at script stage, whereas arthouse buyers prefer to wait until there's footage to see or a festival berth secured before they'll commit.
Many buyers and sales companies have responded to the demands of this bifurcated market by having a foot in both camps.
Arthouse films have become very tough, and even some companies that are very good at arthouse movies are trying to find some more genre and commercial films that still have a kind of artistic way," says Youngjoo Suh, head of Finecut, whose slate includes genre pics, like Korean War movie "71 -- Into the Fire" and festival films like Pablo Trapero's "Carancho."
Stewart Till, CEO of the Icon UK Group, is not keen on such distinctions. 'Arthouse' is a dangerous term," he says. "We've had enormous success with films like 'A Single Man' and 'Precious' that you might call arthouse, although ironically both of them did a lot of their business in multiplexes."
Among the films Icon is showing at Cannes are Julie Taymor's "The Tempest" and Noel Clarke's heist movie "4.3.2.1," both of which are "wonderful examples of filmmaking, and accessible and commercial," Till says.
For Optimum Releasing CEO Will Clarke, each project should be judged on its own merits.
What I'm looking for is something that will make an impact from a creative, artistic and commercial point of view," he says. "I want to have my cake and eat it."
David Garrett, prexy of Summit Intl., admits to the same desire. "There are two schools of thought out there," he says. "One is you are looking for things that appear to work every time in the market, and at the same time you are looking for things that are different and original. Ideally you want some combination of the two -- it's a little bit like alchemy."
Whatever the type of film, most filmmakers are attempting to achieve the same thing. "It all goes back to finding a good story well told and that can be in any particular genre and in any particular style. The buyers and the audience are all looking for something that has a voice to it," says Garrett, whose slate includes $45 million epic tsunami drama "The Impossible," helmed by Juan Antonio Bayona ("The Orphanage"), and romantic comedy "Something Borrowed," starring Kate Hudson.
The divorce between mainstream and arthouse has not been helped by the fact that the tastes of the festivals and the market have also diverged. "Even the arthouse distributors are looking for more accessible films than the main festivals offer," says Ritter, who slate includes Paula van der Oest's drama "Black Butterflies," about South African poet Ingrid Jonker, and docu "Jane's Journey," about wildlife researcher Jane Goodall.
Sales prospects for the right kind of project remain strong, says Helen Lee Kim, president, international, at Lionsgate. She points to "Machine Gun Preacher," which has a strong director, Marc Forster, and an international star, Gerard Butler, attached, as well as genre elements, as the kind of film that is selling well.
If the projects have a clear demo in mind and cater to a mainstream audience, then buyers are willing to prebuy," she says.
Lionsgate's "Hunger Games," a teen gladiator film set in the future based on Suzanne Collins bestselling trilogy, also has sparked strong interest. "Franchise movies are definitely something that people are looking to partner up on," Kim says. "Warrior" is another property with good selling points: action, drama, up-and-coming cast (Jennifer Morrison, Tom Hardy) and seasoned vet (Nick Nolte).
As in previous years, the major auteurs are well-represented at Cannes, but not all of them carry the same attraction for distributors. While Steven Soderbergh and Ang Lee are "hit or miss," says Eagle Pictures' head of acquisitions Maria Grazia Vairo, "Woody Allen is a fantastic name to have, as are the Coen brothers. They are a kind of brand almost."
However, as is true of other buyers, Vairo needs more than a well-known director to draw her to a project. "I tend not to go after things just because of the director. I tend to look at the whole package," she says.
Harold Van Lier, StudioCanal exec VP of international sales, emphasizes that it is important to have a strong marketing hook and a particular audience in mind. "What we are doing very well with are films that have a clearly identified angle, a very strong theatrical potential and are priced sensibly," he says, citing as an example sci-fi actioner "Attack the Block," which is aimed at a multiplex audience of young males, and "Brighton Rock," an adaptation of the Graham Greene novel, with the action moved into the 1960s.
Certain territories are performing more strongly than others, sellers report. Japan is "challenging" as local content continues to play well at the expense of Hollywood and other foreign pics.
Spain and Italy are also soft, with comedies and romantic comedies a particularly tough sell in the latter. Russia is strong for action pics, but a difficult market for other films, and the state of the U.S. indie market is also a concern for most sellers, although Barker sees no reason to be alarmed.
I've been doing this for a really long time," he says, "and the fact of the matter is the people that go away get replaced by other people. It's cyclical."
Barker remains optimistic that he will be able to unearth strong films at Cannes.
We've been happy with what we've been finding at the festivals," he says. "Last year at Cannes was a very good festival for us. We always look for that gem under the rock, and occasionally we find one."
Source.
(movie) Jennifer Morrison in "Warrior"2010-2011 |
