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FIRST PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN IFC MIDNIGHT AND FANTASTIC FEST TO BRING FILMS FROM THE LARGEST U.S. GENRE FESTIVAL TO A NATIONAL AUDIENCE

Posted Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 - 6 Comments »
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‘Direct From Fantastic Fest’ to Premiere Four New IFC Midnight Acquisitions Simultaneously at Fantastic Fest and Nationally via IFC Films’ On Demand

New York, NY (September 12, 2010) – IFC Midnight, the new genre label of IFC Films, today announced its first partnership with Austin’s Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the U.S. which was voted “one of 10 film festivals we love” by Variety. Four brand new IFC Midnight acquisitions will screen at Fantastic Fest (Sept 23-30) and will simultaneously be available nationwide via the movies-on-demand platform of major national cable systems, including Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable and Bright House, and will be available in approximately 40 million homes. The films include: Philip Ridley’s demonic thriller HEARTLESS (making its US debut); Abel Ferry’s mountain climbing nightmare HIGH LANE (making its US debut); Josh Reed’s Ozploitation horror flick PRIMAL (making its US debut); and Simon Rumley’s hard-core RED WHITE & BLUE.

IFC Midnight will also make three acclaimed films from Fantastic Fest 2009 available on demand as part of this initiative including: Tom Six’s THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE, Kim Ji-Woon’s THE GOOD THE BAD THE WEIRD, and Jake West’s DOGHOUSE. PRIMAL director Josh Reed and RED WHITE & BLUE director Simon Rumley will be in attendance at Fantastic Fest screenings.  RED WHITE & BLUE and HEARTLESS will also have select theatrical engagements nationwide in the fall.

Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment, said, “Following our successful day-and-date on demand partnerships with SXSW and Sundance, which have included several genre films, a partnership with Fantastic Fest is the next logical step. Tim League has cultivated some of the genre’s most enthusiastic fans, and Fantastic Fest is an ideal festival with which to launch these four amazing films nationwide.”

Tim League, CEO of Alamo Drafthouse and Co-Founder of Fantastic Fest said, “We’re very excited to be a part of this new on demand partnership with IFC Midnight.  As a long term friend of Fantastic Fest, IFC Films has an excellent eye for acquiring the very best of genre entertainment and distributing them to viewers in unique and innovative ways.  Their new IFC Midnight label is the perfect partner for Fantastic Fest.
Said Simon Rumley, “IFC Films has constantly proved themselves to be innovators in an ever-changing distribution marketplace and has never shied away from working on some of the most interesting and ground-breaking films of our time.  Similarly, in a very short period of time, Fantastic Fest has shown itself to be a leader in the world of daring but quality movie programming.  To have IFC Films and Fantastic Fest back RED WHITE & BLUE is a natural fit and it’s with much excitement that I anticipate their collective championing and distribution of it.”

The deal for RED WHITE & BLUE was negotiated by IFC Films’ SVP of Acquisitions and Productions Arianna Bocco and Travis Stevens of Celluloid Nightmares.  HEARTLESSwas negotiated by IFC Films’ Bocco with Cinetic Media. The deal for PRIMALwas negotiated by IFC Films’ Manager of Acquisitions and Productions Jeff Deutchman with Gavin Braxton of AV Pictures.  HIGH LANE was negotiated by IFC Films’ Director of Acquisitions and Co-Productions Lizzie Nastro and Cecile Gaget of Gaumont.

IFC Midnight was launched in May as IFC Films’ new home for the very best in international genre cinema, including horror, sci-fi, thrillers, erotic arthouse, action and more.  Recent genre cinema from IFC Films include ANTICHRIST, DEAD SNOW, 7 DAYS, THE KILLER INSIDE ME, VENGEANCE and VALHALLA RISING.

ABOUT THE FILMS IN ‘Direct From Fantastic Fest’:

RED WHITE & BLUE (directed by Simon Rumley)

Erica (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER’s Amanda Fuller) is a tough, troubled nymphomaniac with wounds across her soul.  For Erica, sleeping with multiple men forms the core of her life, until she meets the mysterious Iraq vet Nate (THE PROPOSITION’s Noah Taylor).  Despite his quiet air of danger, Nate’s the only guy who doesn’t immediately want to sleep with her, and the two form a hesitant bond. But in a shocking twist, one of Erica’s earlier sexual encounters, with wannabe rock star Franki (Mark Senter), will have unexpected – and devastating – consequences on both of their lives.  Hard-edged and uncompromising, RED WHITE & BLUE, from director Simon Rumley (THE LIVING AND THE DEAD), has already been compared to the works of such disparate filmmakers as Larry Clark and Sam Peckinpah. The film had its US premiere at SXSW, and was produced by Rumley and Bob Portal, and executive produced by Tim League, Judy Lipsey, Doug Abbott, and Adam Goldworm.  It is the first film from Celluloid Nightmares, a new partnership between Paris-based Celluloid Dreams and Los Angeles-based XYZ Films, with the shared goal of bringing commercial, elevated genre films to audiences around the world.  The film will have several theatrical screenings throughout the US and Canada this fall.

HEARTLESS (directed by Philip Ridley)

Jim Sturgess(21, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE)leads a hugely-talented ensemble cast in this sublime British psychological thriller from cult UK director Philip Ridley (THE REFLECTING SKIN, THE PASSION OF DARKLY NOON), who returns to the screen after a 14-year absence. The film follows Jamie Morgan (Sturgess), born with a disfiguring birthmark across his face, which leaves him an outcast in rough East London. While wandering abandoned yards taking photographs, he comes across a gang of thugs and soon discovers that they are something other than human.  He then is led into a Faustian deal that will see him become a party to the terrifying chaos around him.  Part DONNIE DARKO, part Guillermo del Toro, this dark urban tale takes its audience to the darkest and most violent corners of the human heart. The filmalso stars Clémence Poésy, Noel Clarke, Joseph Mawle, Eddie Marsan, LukeTreadaway and Timothy Spall, and was produced by Pippa Cross and Richard Raymond.  The film recently won the Best Independent Film Award at the Toronto After Dark Festival.  HEARTLESS will open at the IFC Center in New York on 11/21 followed by select national dates.

PRIMAL (directed by Josh Reed)

Primordial nature runs amuck in this expertly-played slice of neo-Ozploitation from Australian director Josh Reed. The film follows six friends on a field trip who set up camp in the remote wilderness of Australia. When one person takes a late-night skinny dip in a nearby waterhole, she becomes incredibly feverish and agitated, and soon regresses to a crazed predatory state in which her companions suddenly become the hunted. When another begins the same beastly transition, terror descends on the remainder as they realize it’s now kill or be killed. A frenzied visceral nightmare in the vein of CABIN FEVER, PRIMAL is a hugely enjoyable rollercoaster ride through primitive panic.

HIGH LANE (directed by Abel Ferry)

Towering heights and beautiful vistas turn into a haunting mindtrip in Abel Ferry’s gripping French scarefest that will definitely make you think twice about your next mountain climbing trip.  In the film, a group of friends on vacation in Eastern Europe embark on an ambitious mountain expedition along a trail that they discover – way too late – is closed for repair.  The thrill of this foolish challenge quickly turns sour as it becomes clear that not only is the path a lot more dangerous than they thought, but also that they are not alone. Fear exposes old traumas and brings up hidden emotions to the surface, and soon, everyone is fighting tooth-and-nail for their survival.

About IFC FILMS

Established a decade ago, IFC Films – a division of Rainbow Media’s IFC Entertainment – is the leading U.S. distributor of independent and foreign film. Its unique day and date distribution modelmakes independent films available to a national audience by releasing them simultaneously in theaters as well as on cable’s On Demand platform and through Pay-Per-View, reaching nearly 50 million homes. IFC Films’ “IFC Midnight” label, launched in 2010, offers the very best in international genre cinema, including horror, sci-fi, thrillers, erotic arthouse, action and more.  Some of the company’s successes over the years have included MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, TOUCHING THE VOID, ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW, 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS, GOMORRAH, CHE, SUMMER HOURS, IN THE LOOP, ANTICHRIST, THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK, and WORDPLAY. IFC Films has worked with established and breakout auteurs including Steven Soderbergh, Gus Van Sant, Spike Lee, Richard Linklater, Miranda July, Lars Von Trier, Gaspar Noe, Todd Solondz, Cristian Mungiu, Susanne Bier, Olivier Assayas, Jim McKay, Larry Fessenden, Gregg Araki, Jacques Rivette, Claude Chabrol, as well as more recent breakouts such as Andrea Arnold, Mia Hansen Love, Corneliu Porombiou, Joe Swanberg, Barry Jenkins, Lena Dunham, Aaron Katz, Daryl Wein and Abdellatif Kechiche.  IFC Entertainment’s companies are subsidiaries of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.

About Fantastic Fest

Dubbed “The Geek Telluride” by showbiz bible Variety, Fantastic Fest is also known as the “Comic Con of film festivals.”  Fantastic Fest is the largest genre film festival in the United States, showcasing eight days of offbeat cinema from independents, international filmmakers and major Hollywood studios. The 2009 edition hosted over 70 world, U.S. and regional premieres of the latest sci-fi, horror, fantasy and cult films from around the world.

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Posted in Movie City News, Press Releases | 6 Comments »

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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