By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com
Bubbling under: Winterbottom works some Revolution
Michael Winterbottom [pictured] and producer Andrew Eaton are working a Revolution in the afterfroth of Bubble, reports Variety’s Adam Dawtrey. With The Road to Guantanamo, debuting Tuesday in Berlin and on UK’s Channel 4 on March 9, will then have March 10 cinema, DVD and internet bows. Eaton says, “When Channel 4 decided to broadcast it so quickly after Berlin — which was the right thing to do—we thought it was worth a crack to copy what Steven Soderbergh was doing…” “Eaton even consulted Soderbergh for advice on how to proceed. He is work[ing] with Tony Jones, head of the arthouse City Screen circuit, to book the movie on 20 to 30 screens, mostly utilizing the new Digital Screen Network set up by the UK Film Council… Eaton is planning a more intensive release across Yorkshire and Lancashire, the region where the three protagonists of the movie come from. Road to Guantanamo is based on the true story of the Tipton Three—three British Asians who were captured in Afghanistan and whisked away to Camp X-Ray for two years before being released without charge.” Eaton is working deals on downloads and is near a DVD agreement. “Most of the theatrical screenings will be digital, but there will be three or four 35mm prints for major cities such as Birmingham which don’t yet have any digital screens. Channel 4 … has agreed to waive the contractual one-month holdback between the pic’s TV premiere and internet release.Eaton says he has “absolutely no idea” how the multiple release will work. “That’s why we’re doing it. We’re all curious to know what will happen,” he said…. According to Eaton, Soderbergh told him that he regrets not being able to make [Bubble] available via the Internet as well.”