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ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS BUYING BINGE CONTINUES WITH PRE-EMPTIVE TIFF BUY, COOL IT

Posted Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 - Comments Off on ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS BUYING BINGE CONTINUES WITH PRE-EMPTIVE TIFF BUY, COOL IT
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS PRE-EMPTIVELY ACQUIRES TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL SELECTION COOL IT
**Global warming doc takes issue with AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH**

(Los Angeles, Sept. 1) Roadside Attractions has acquired U.S. rights to filmmaker Ondi Timoner’s hot-topic doc COOL IT, which will have its world premiere at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. The only filmmaker to win the Sundance Grand Jury prize twice, Timoner trains her camera on controversial economist/political scientist Bjorn Lomborg, who came to prominence with the book The Skeptical Environmentalist (1998), and went on to challenge the conventional wisdom of Al Gore’s AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH with lectures and the publication of Cool It (2007). The announcement was made by Roadside Attractions co-presidents Eric d’Arbeloff and Howard Cohen, who plan a fall 2010 release. Maple Pictures will distribute in Canada.

“Many docs we see are satisfied to introduce yet another problem to fret about,” said d’Arbeloff, “but COOL IT is so exciting because it’s radically structured toward solutions. In the same way our movie THE COVE demonstrated that a small group of activists can change the world, we think that this brave film could help start real progress on global warming.”

“Cool It blasts through the polarizing logjam of the climate change debate to bring a solid plan for solutions,” echoes Timoner. “Bjorn is fascinating, because in his attempt to make the world a smarter, better, more efficient place, he’s threatened the status quo, and been vilified by both the right and the left simultaneously. His story is riddled with conspiracy, controversy and politics surrounding a subject matter that truly affects us all.”

“Bjorn ‘s message is extremely provocative”, added producer Terry Botwick. “He brings a refreshing perspective on how we think about solving, not just global warming, but also other major problems facing the world. When I first heard him lecture I knew 1019 had to help introduce him to as wide an audience as possible.”

COOL IT was produced by 1019 Entertainment, with 1019 principals Terry Botwick and Ralph Winter as executive producers. Producers are Terry Botwick, Sarah Gibson and Ondi Timoner. Director is Ondi Timoner, who captured the Grand Jury prize in Sundance for DIG! (2004) and WE LIVE IN PUBLIC (2009).

The deal was negotiated by d’Arbeloff and attorney Greg Bernstein on behalf of Roadside Attractions and Botwick and attorney Steve Fayne of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld on behalf of 1019 Entertainment.

ABOUT ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS
Roadside Attractions is a film distribution company committed to championing independent films with a willingness to entertain. The company works with filmmakers to devise innovative marketing strategies that encourage audiences to see films that are not typical studio fare. Roadside Attractions’ 2009 release THE COVE captured the Academy Award for best feature documentary. Among its 2010 releases is Debra Granik’s critically-hailed WINTER’S BONE, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, the outrageous Jim Carrey/Ewan McGregor starrer I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s acclaimed BIUTIFUL, for which star Javier Bardem captured the Best Actor Award in Cannes and Ondi Timoner’s COOL IT documentary, which will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Previous theatrical releases include Chris Rock’s GOOD HAIR; RJ Cutler’s THE SEPTEMER ISSUE; Ramin Bahrani’s GOODBYE SOLO, winner of the 2008 Venice Film Festival’s FIPRESCI International Critics’ prize; Patrick Creadon’s Sundance sensation I.O.U.S.A; Toronto Film Festival People’s Choice winner, BELLA; Andrew Wagner’s Spirit Award-nominated STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING; Tarsem’s groundbreaking visual marvel THE FALL; the outrageous comedy SARAH SILVERMAN: JESUS IS MAGIC; Cannes Directors Fortnight hit CARAMEL; Academy Award® nominee SUPER SIZE ME; Spirit Award winner THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO, as well as box office hits such as AMAZING GRACE, LADIES IN LAVENDER and WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW?

ABOUT 1019 ENTERTAINMENT

1019 Entertainment is a film production and finance company formed by Terry Botwick and Ralph Winter. 1019 Entertainment has more than 25 projects in development, both internally and at the studios, including DEAN KOONTZ FRANKENSTEIN, TRIXIE also with Koontz, Paul Verhoeven’s SURROGATE starring Halle Berry and the action thriller MAN AND WIFE in conjunction with Peter Chernin.

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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