Sony Classics and Magnolia announce two more Sundance deals

The Sundance Film Festival’s sale scoreboard can record two more deals. Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights to Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood’s documentary “Magic Trip,” while Sony Pictures Classics has picked up North American, Australian and New Zealand rights to actress-director Vera Farmiga’s “Higher Ground.”

More than three dozen Sundance movies have been sold after their screenings in Park City, Utah, and Monday’s deals are not the first for Magnolia or Sony Classics. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Magnolia previously announced its deals for Mark Pellington’s “I Melt With You” and Jason Eisener’s “Hobo With a Shotgun.” Sony Classics bought John Michael McDonagh’s “The Guard,” Jeff Nichols’ “Take Shelter” and Morgan Spurlock’s “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.”

“Magic Trip” is a look at author Ken Kesey and his Merry Prankster’s American road trip. “Higher Ground,” adapted from the memoir “This Dark World: A Memoir of Salvation Found and Lost,” centers on a woman (played by Farmiga) struggling to find meaning while growing up in an evangelical church.

— John Horn

Photo: Norbert Leo Butz and Vera Farmiga in "Higher Ground." Credit: Molly Hawkey.

Editing prize not something to cut (or count) out

What’s the most important awards ceremony remaining before the Academy Awards?

The obvious answer is Saturday’s Writers Guild of America awards, even though “The King’s Speech” isn’t eligible. But an arguably more important bellwether is Feb. 19’s Eddie Awards, the somewhat obscure trophies presented by the American Cinema Editors.

Over the last five years, the winning film of the Eddie has gone on to win the best picture Oscar. The only exception was when 2007’s “The Bourne Ultimatum” won the Eddie, a year in which “No Country for Old Men” was named the best picture. A year earlier, the editors split the prize between “Babel” and “The Departed,” with the latter film taking the top Academy Award.

Because the Eddies are presented to dramas and musicals or comedies (like the Golden Globes), the editing prizes have a better chance of predicting the Oscar winner. But a closer look at the film that wins the editing Academy Award reveals why this category is so crucial. In the last five years, the only movie that didn’t win the best picture statuette after taking the editing Oscar was “Bourne,” which was clearly a more ambitiously cut film than “No Country for Old Men.”

This year, four of the five Eddie nominees (in the drama category) are also nominated for the editing Academy Award: “The King’s Speech,” “The Social Network,” “The Fighter” and “Black Swan.” Oscar voters picked “127 Hours” for the fifth editing slot, while the Eddie voters chose “Inception.”

It’s not just its predictive powers that make the Eddies important.

If “The Social Network” doesn’t win the 61st annual Eddie honor, it likely might be on track to win only one Oscar out of eight nominations on Feb. 27—for adapted screenplay.

--John Horn

Matt Damon in "The Bourne Ultimatum." Credit: Universal Pictures

Oscar nominations: Surprises and snubs [video]

Now that the Oscar nominations are out, what to make of it all?

"The King's Speech" leads with 12 and looks poised to duke it out with "The Social Network" for best picture, but "True Grit" proved a bit of a surprise with 10 nominations, including nods for best picture, directors Joel and Ethan Coen (who also are in the running for adapted screenplay), actor Jeff Bridges and supporting actress Hailee Steinfeld. Perhaps an even bigger eyebrow-raiser is "Winter's Bone," which premiered at Sundance a year ago and walked away with four top nominations Tuesday morning.

Among the snubs: Although "Inception's" Christopher Nolan is up for original screenplay, he didn't get a nod for director, leaving him with a career shutout in that category. Also left in the cold were the documentaries "Waiting for Superman" and "Client 9."

For more surprises and snubs, watch the video above as Times film reporters Nicole Sperling and John Horn analyze the Academy Awards.

-- Scott Sandell

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Sundance 2011: Deal close for 'Margin Call' [Updated]

 
EXCLUSIVE: In what could be another big deal at the Sundance Film Festival, the producers of the Wall Street drama “Margin Call” have just concluded an all-night negotiating session with half a dozen buyers, with the winning bidder to be announced imminently.

The leading candidate is Lionsgate Films, which could release the film theatrically with its art-house partner, Roadside Attractions. The Lionsgate deal was being finalized early Sunday with the film's sales agents, Cassian Elwes and Rena Ronson of the United Talent Agency.

Executives at Lionsgate did not immediately return calls and e-mails seeking comment, nor did a spokesman for the film. [Updated, 8:14 a.m.: A person close to the negotiations said Lionsgate had closed the deal for $1 million. An announcement about the agreement is expected later Sunday.]

“Margin Call,” written and directed by J.C. Chandor, focuses on one tumultuous 24-hour period at a Wall Street firm after a math wizard ("Star Trek's" Zachary Quinto) finds out the company’s debt positions have left it technically insolvent. The film also stars Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Paul  Bettany, Stanley Tucci and Demi Moore.

Lionsgate has acquired any number of critical and commercial hits at Sundance, including "Precious," "Open Water" and "Saw."

In another prominent Sundance deal wrapped up early Sunday, Paramount Pictures and Indian Paintbrush joined forces to buy the romantic drama "Like Crazy" for an estimated $4 million. The company outbid several other companies, including Fox Searchlight and the Weinstein Co.

-- John Horn

Photo: Zachary Quinto in "Margin Call." Credit: Sundance Film Festival

 

 

Sundance 2011: 'Like Crazy' deal could be done soon

 
“Like Crazy” is getting crazy attention at the Sundance Film Festival.

In what could be the first big deal of the festival, director Drake Doremus’ long-distance-love-affair drama was nearing a sale late Saturday night, with an unusual bidder perhaps poised to grab the movie.

The film about two young lovers separated by the Atlantic Ocean attracted buyer interest from Focus Features, Summit Entertainment and the Weinstein Co. It stars Anton Yelchin of "Star Trek" and “The Tempest’s” Felicity Jones.

But the Santa Monica production company Indian Paintbrush, the backers of Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “The Darjeeling Limited” and Jason Reitman’s upcoming “Young Adult,” could be in the leading position to acquire the film. Indian Paintbrush, if it gets the movie, would release “Like Crazy” through Paramount Pictures, some of whose top executives have seen the film.

People close to the deal say the movie could fetch a sales price around $2 million. United Talent Agency, who is negotiating the deal for “Like Crazy” producers Jonathan Schwartz and Andrea Sperling, declined to comment on the status of negotiations.

The Weinstein Co., meanwhile, was very interested in “My Idiot Brother,” a comedy starring Paul Rudd as the recently jailed ne’er-do-well sibling of three sisters with some pretty big problems of their own. That movie premiered Saturday night to a mixed response at the Eccles Theater.

--John Horn

Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones in "Like Crazy": Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival

Envelope Directors Roundtable: Actor-director relationships

Being a director, it seems, means being half filmmaker and half therapist to a cast of actors. Some of them you can let go and watch them fly, and some take a lot of hand-holding. Either way, you do whatever they need to be free, even the ones that make you want to pull out your hair. 

At the Envelope Directors Roundtable, Ben Affleck ("The Town"), David Fincher ("The Social Network"), Lisa Cholodenko ("The Kids Are All Right"), Ethan Coen ("True Grit"), Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan") and Tom Hooper ("The King's Speech") addressed those issues -- in the video clips above and below.

The trick, they say, is to have your anxieties privately until you see what it is the actor is doing, but even then, you may have to recast the role.

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-- John Horn

Sundance: 'The Guard' brings in the buyers on film festival's first night

 
It’s not the kind of movie you would think would attract a ton of Sundance Film Festival buyers, but a lot of shoppers are in Park City, Utah, and they descended Thursday night on “The Guard”  like moths to a flame, making for a fitting festival  launch.

Kicking off the festival’s world cinema dramatic competition, “The Guard” is a black comedy starring Brendan Gleeson as Sgt. Gerry Boyle, an uncouth Irish policeman who’s more inclined to steal drugs from the victim of a fatal car accident or cavort with prostitutes than solve a crime. But when global drug traffickers are rumored to be in the vicinity of his otherwise sleepy coastal town, American FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) tries — and initially fails spectacularly — to join forces with Boyle.

Playing at the smallish Egyptian Theater (seating capacity: 290), the movie attracted representatives of every distributor of specialized film, and even some bigger fish, including Disney studio chief Rich Ross. “The Guard,” written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, played well and generated enthusiastic laughter, even if the film’s often-thick Irish brogue made some of the dialogue inscrutable.

An informal poll of several buyers after the screening suggested that someone will buy “The Guard” before long. Some of the dialogue might have to be re-recorded for American ears, and because “the Guard” is a  little dark and unconventional, its appeal could be limited to a niche audience.  But for setting the Sundance mood, “The Guard” delivered.

-- John Horn

Photo of Don Cheadle and Brendan Gleeson in "The Guard." Credit: Jonathan Hession

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Envelope Directors Roundtable: Ben Affleck on being an actor-director

It's no surprise that as a director, veteran actor Ben Affleck has some ideas about how to get a good performance from his cast; he's been in enough movies to see how other directors do it.

But how much freedom should you give actors and how do you earn their trust?

There are no easy answers, according to the panelists at the  Envelope Directors Roundtable, which included Affleck ("The Town"), David Fincher ("The Social Network"), Lisa Cholodenko ("The Kids Are All Right"), Ethan Coen ("True Grit"), Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan") and Tom Hooper ("The King's Speech").

— John Horn

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Oscar-contending directors gather for Los Angeles Times panel discussion

 
Just in time for the nominations, six Oscar-contending directors will get together at the Los Angeles Times to talk about their acclaimed films, their directorial visions, and whatever else is on their minds. The filmmakers -- Ben Affleck  ("The Town"), Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan"), Lisa Cholodenko ("The Kids Are All Right"), Ethan Coen ("True Grit"), David Fincher ("The Social Network") and Tom Hooper ("The King's Speech") -- will gather Saturday morning for the second annual Directors Roundtable and a closed-door conversation led by L.A. Times film writer John Horn.

And though the discussion is not open to the public, The Times welcomes questions from our readers, so please add yours to the comments section below or on the LA Times Entertainment Facebook page and Horn will select some to ask during the panel. The Envelope will be videotaping the conversation and replaying the highlights on Awards Tracker beginning Monday.

-- Elena Howe 

Photo: David Fincher, left, and Justin Timberlake. Credit: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Razzie shortlist hits 'Burlesque,' but not as hard as possible

Good movies are forever overlooked for the Oscars, but somehow �Burlesque� hasn�t been shortlisted for the top award in Hollywood�s lowliest honors, the Razzie Awards.

The critically drubbed Christina Aguilera-Cher musical wasn�t completely snubbed in nominating ballots mailed to Razzie voters: �Burlesque� is a finalist for worst screenplay, worst director, worst supporting actor (Cam Gigandet), worst supporting actress (Kristen Bell and Cher) and worst actress (Aguilera).

But the movie was spared from being nominated for the annual booby prize of worst picture. The finalists for that dishonor, with nominations set to be announced Jan. 24, are �The Bounty Hunter,� �Clash of the Titans,� �The Expendables,� �Grown Ups,� �Jonah Hex,� �Killers,� �The Last Airbender,� �Little Fockers,� �Sex and the City 2,� �The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,� �Vampires Suck� and �Yogi Bear.�

Overseen by writer John Wilson, the Razzies are adding a new category for bad work in 2010: worst eye-gouging misuse of 3-D. Among those eligible films: �Piranha 3D,� �The Nutcracker in 3D� and �Resident Evil: Afterlife.�

Among movies and actors shortlisted for the Razzies are Jessica Alba, who is eligible for worst supporting actress for four films (�The Killer Inside Me,� �Little Fockers,� �Machete� and �Valentine�s Day�), and Emily Blunt, eligible in the same category for her work in �The Wolfman� and �Gulliver�s Travels.�

George Lopez is a contender for worst supporting actor for his performances in �Marmaduke,� �The Spy Next Door� and �Valentine�s Day.� Mickey Rourke has been singled out in the same category for �The Expendables� and �Iron Man 2.�

Angelina Jolie, nominated for a lead comedy actress Golden Globe for �The Tourist,� also is up for a worst actress Razzie for the same performance. 

Last year, Sandra Bullock actually attended the Razzie ceremony, collecting her worst actress prize for �All About Steve� the same year she won the lead actress Oscar for �The Blind Side.�


� John Horn

Cher and Christina Aguilera in "Burlesque." Credit: Stephen Vaughan/Screen Gems.