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By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com

New Genius baby: Weinsteinco's vid arm embraces Tartan

Indie vid distribution is one bigger family as another mini-distrib aligns itself with the Genius label and Tartan Video USA moves its US home-ent distribution of 60 library titles and future releases to the Weinsteinco-affiliated concern that recently shuttered the distribution activities of Wellspring. tartanlogo283075.gifAs Tartan PRs, they’re “continuing the momentum established by its landmark agreement with The Weinstein Company in December 2005,” as described by Genius Products CEO Trevor Drinkwater and Tartan Video USA President Tony Borg. Tartan’s library, they say, “generated approximately $6 million of net revenue in 2005 and is expected to grow to $9 million in 2006.” The titles include upcoming releases of The Death of Mr. Lazarescu and Lady Vengeance. Dropping names and jargon, Drinkwater is quoted: “The Tartan Video library is a remarkable line-up of films that have been recognized around the world as not only entertaining and inspiring, but thought-provoking as well. The titles represent another example of the ever-increasing quality of content distributed by Genius through the expanded infrastructure we created to handle major titles from The Weinstein Company. With our newly implemented Vendor Managed Inventory system, we anticipate even greater success for Tartan’s library.” [The loser in this deal is Tartan’s former distrib, TLA Releasing; the release’s “Safe Harbor” statement is below.]


Safe Harbor Statement
Except for historical matters contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements reflect assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that may affect Genius Products’ business, forecasts, projections and prospects, and cause actual results to differ materially from those in these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the Genius Products’ newly implemented Vendor Managed Inventory system, the anticipated timing and financial performance of the Tartan library including CELLO, THE HIDDEN BLADE, OLDBOY, A TALE OF TWO CITIES, MAREBITO, THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU, LADY VENGEANCE, DERAILED, HOODWINKED, MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS, WOLF CREEK, THE MATADOR, DOOGAL, THE LIBERTINE and any other statements relating to such new release that are not historical statements of fact. Actual results could vary for many reasons, including but not limited to, the unpredictability of audience demand, the effect of technological change and the availability of alternative forms of entertainment. Other such risks and uncertainties include the matters described in Genius Products’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Genius Products assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.

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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon