Afm films

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar nominated producer David Permut and Jamie Cohen of Australian-based Clockwork Films have acquired the narrative motion picture and television rights to award winning journalist and author David Kushner ’s book, The . The book tells the true story of the birth of the internet and two men’s ensuing battle over who controlled the rights to the multi-million dollar domain name: “sex.com.” This epic, decade long war took them from the boardrooms of Silicon Valley to a gun fight on the bordellos of Mexico – and to the edges of their sanity. Along the way involving the likes of an eclectic cast of porn stars and programmers, billionaires and brainiacs, goons and gangsters. In one corner is the hapless in-love, visionary tech entrepreneur Gary Kremen, who in 1994 used a $2,500 loan to create the first online dating service, Match.com, in hopes of driving love and connection over the internet. Seeing the value of domain names, he quickly bought several … [Read more...] about David Kushner’s ‘Players Ball’ Book About Sex.com Rights Fight Acquired By David Permut & Clockwork Films

EXCLUSIVE : AGBO , the film and TV company founded by Anthony and Joe Russo , has a new President of Film. Michael Disco , fresh from producing superhero film The Flash , has joined the company in that role. He will oversee the creative and business strategy for AGBO’s film activities. He reports to AGBO’s Chief Creative Officer Angela Russo-Otstot, who was promoted to that role in November. It comes eight months after the company expanded its senior team with hires including Scott Nemes as President of Television. AGBO is behind films including Oscar nominated Everything Everywhere All At Once and Ryan Gosling-fronted The Gray Man as well as the upcoming Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt film The Electric State. For the last couple of years, Disco has been running his own production banner The Disco Factory, in addition to producing The Flash , alongside the Muschietti siblings. Before that he had a 20-year run at New Line, including as EVP, … [Read more...] about Michael Disco Joins Russo Bros’ AGBO As President Of Film

Belgian directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne , Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, French filmmaker Alice Diop and Romanian director Cristian Mungiu have demanded that Iran ’s Fajr International Film Festival remove their films from the line-up of its current edition, running from February 1 to 11. The filmmakers said in separate statements that they discovered by chance that their respective films Tori And Lokita , Saint Omer , Rebel and R.M.N. had been included in Fajr’s selection without their personal permission. The issue only came to light as the festival kicked off because it had kept its line-up under wraps in a bid to head off boycotts by directors and producers, due to the brutal crackdown of ongoing protests related to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in September. Paris-based sales agent Wild Bunch International which handles the titles said their inclusion in the Fajr line-up was also a surprise to them. Two other … [Read more...] about Dardennes, Alice Diop, Cristian Mungiu, Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah Demand Iran’s Fajr Film Fest Remove Titles From Line-Up

EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, Sony Pictures has acquired feature rights to Gnomes , based on Dutch filmmakers Richard Raaphorst and Ruwan Heggelman’s breakout horror short film. The project is currently in early development with 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen & Dan Levine producing with Raaphorst. Emily Feher overseeeing for 21 Laps.  Heggelman will direct the feature. Plot details are under wraps. The short film had its North American premiere at the 2022 Fantastic Fest as well as featured in the official selection of the 2022 Frontières Platform at the Marché du Film at Cannes. Gnomes is written by Heggelman, Jasper ten Hoor, and Richard Raaphorst and produced by art department master Raaphorst ( Frankenstein’s Army ). Next up for 21 Laps is the 20th Century adaptation of Stephen King’s The Boogeyman , which they are producing. That film bows this June in theaters. Heggelman and Raaphorst are repped by 3 Arts Entertainment and Ziffren … [Read more...] about Sony Pictures Lands Rights To Richard Raaphorst and Ruwan Heggelman Short Film ‘Gnomes’ With 21 Laps Producing

EXCLUSIVE: The Kinoteka Polish Film Festival has set the lineup for its 21st edition, running March 9 — April 27 at venues across London. The festival will open at the Institute of Contemporary Arts with the UK Premiere of Polish filmmaker Damian Kocur’s debut feature, Bread and Salt . Inspired by true events, the pic follows Tymek, a young and talented student of the Warsaw Academy of Music who returns to his provincial hometown for vacation. Upon his return, he discovers that the central meeting point for local youth is a newly created kebab bar. Tymek witnesses a growing conflict between the shop workers, who are Arabs, and his friends from the neighborhood, leading to a conflict that will turn out to be tragic. The film debuted at Venice last year. The festival will close with a gala screening of the 1977 film Top Dog (Wodzirej) at the Cine Lumiere in South Kensington. Causing much debate in Poland on its original release, Top Dog follows the story of … [Read more...] about London’s Kinoteka Polish Film Festival Unveils 2023 Lineup Including BFI-Backed Jerzy Skolimowski Retrospective

EXCLUSIVE: It’s a happy Fourth of July in Hollywood. After nearly two months of talks and three last-minute 24-hour extensions, a tentative agreement has been reached on a new three-year SAG-AFTRA film and television contract. Terms were not announced. Here is the sides’ verbose joint statement: “Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) today reached tentative agreement for motion picture production. Negotiations, which began on May 5th, resulted in a new 2014 Producers-SAG-AFTRA Codified Basic Agreement and an industry-wide 2014 SAG-AFTRA Television Agreement as the successor agreement to Screen Actors Guild Television Agreement, Exhibit A of the AFTRA National Code of Fair Practice for Network Television Broadcasting, The CW Supplement, and the basic cable agreements. The terms of the new agreements will be presented to the SAG-AFTRA National Board of Directors at its … [Read more...] about SAG-AFTRA, Producers Reach Tentative Agreement On New Film & TV Contract

Bleecker Street has picked up North American rights to Laurel Parmet ’s feature directorial debut The Starling Girl following its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, slating it for release in theaters later this year. Financials weren’t disclosed. The film written and directed by Parmet follows 17-year-old Jem Starling (Eliza Scanlen), who struggles to define her place within her fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky. Even her greatest joy — the church dance group — is tempered by worry that her love of dance is actually sinful, and she’s caught between a burgeoning awareness of her own sexuality and an instinctive resistance to her mom’s urging that the time has come to begin courting. She finds respite from her confusion in the encouragement of her youth pastor Owen (Lewis Pullman), who is likewise drawn to the blossoming Jem’s attention. Jimmi Simpson ( Westworld ), Wrenn Schmidt ( For All Mankind ) and Austin Abrams ( Paper Towns … [Read more...] about ‘The Starling Girl’: Bleecker Street Acquires Laurel Parmet’s Feature Directorial Debut – Sundance

As talks are about to resume Monday on the final elements that many hope will lead to a new deal for the Writers Guild Of America, we wanted to lend some perspective and give voice to the TV and feature writers whose fortunes will be tied directly to the deal their union makes. This is the second in a quick succession of five questions we asked a panel of 10 writers. Here are their responses, and hopefully other writers will be moved to comment about the issues that worry them most as their work is monetized in this fast-changing digital age. Related: WGA: Why Gains, Lessons From 2008′s Strike Will Keep Hollywood From Another War DEADLINE: As a working writer, what is the biggest hardship right now facing you (i.e., one-step deals for feature writers, exclusivity clauses for TV writers), the one that gives you the greatest amount of worry for you and your WGA brethren? WRITER #1: I think the biggest setback from the strike was one-step deals. One-step deals were a … [Read more...] about Writers Rail As Talks Resume – Second Question In A Deadline Survey

As talks are about to resume Monday on the final elements that many hope will lead to a new deal for the Writers Guild Of America, we wanted to lend some perspective and give voice to the TV and feature writers whose fortunes will be tied directly to the deal their union makes. This is the first in a quick succession of five questions we asked a panel of 10 writers. Here are their responses, and hopefully other writers will be moved to comment about the issues that worry them most as their work is monetized in this fast-changing digital age. (Note: Writer #2 didn’t reply to this question.) Related: WGA: Why Gains, Lessons From 2008′s Strike Will Keep Hollywood From Another War DEADLINE: How has your ability to make a living improved or deteriorated since the WGA strike and why? WRITER #1: Directly, I lost at least one job so, for me, that is a loss of over $1 million. I was fortunate to survive the strike without the terrible ramifications that hit … [Read more...] about Writers Rail As Talks Resume – First Question In A Deadline Survey

Oscar-nominated All Quiet on the Western Front director Edward Berger has launched a production outfit and struck a first-look deal with Fremantle. Berger has forged Nine Hours with partner Luke Rivett ( The Tomorrow Man) and producer Jeanne Tremsal ( So Long Daddy, See You in Hell) and the indie will make global TV and film projects. Fremantle will house Nine Hours’ TV projects for the next two years as well as being given second-look access to Berger’s new film pipeline. Berger is fresh off the back of nine Oscar nominations for critically-acclaimed Netflix adaptation All Quiet on the Western Front , which has also secured a record 14 BAFTA noms. Other high-profile credits include Patrick Melrose, Your Honor, The Terror and Deutschland 83 , the latter of which he made with Fremantle. “Great drama comes from filmmakers who have an undeniable urge to tell their story,” said Berger. “We intend to find and nourish these filmmakers in their endeavors to … [Read more...] about ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’s Edward Berger Launches Production Outfit & Partners With Fremantle