By MCN Editor editor@moviecitynews.com

THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY IS UNTOUCHABLE

Posted Friday, July 8th, 2011 - Comments Off on THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY IS UNTOUCHABLE
Be Sociable, Share!

TWC Acquires All Rights For North America, U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, South Africa And China, Plus Pan-Asian Satellite TV Distribution And Remake Rights

New York, NY, July 8, 2011 – The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that it has acquired from Gaumont all rights to UNTOUCHABLE, the French language film produced by Quad Films. The deal covers all rights in North America, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, South Africa, China and distribution rights for pan-Asian satellite TV.  TWC also has remake rights, to co-finance and co-produce an English language remake with Gaumont and the film’s original producers Quad Films.  The announcement was made by TWC’s Executive Vice President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions Peter Lawson.

UNTOUCHABLE is directed by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, produced by Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou and Laurent Zeitoun, and written by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache.  It stars acclaimed actor François Cluzet (IN THE BEGINNING, TELL NO ONE) and Omar Sy (THOSE HAPPY DAYS).  A 2012 US theatrical release is expected.

Based on a true story, UNTOUCHABLE follows the unlikely friendship between wealthy paraplegic Philippe (Cluzet) and Driss (Sy), a guy from the street.  When Philippe appoints Driss as his right-hand aide, he counts on Driss’ pitiless, strong-arm approach to keep their relationship functional and straightforward.  What neither expects is the friendship that develops between the two men.  Inspiring, heartbreaking and outright hilarious at points, UNTOUCHABLE follows their journey of self discovery, as both men uncover aspects of themselves that they never would have believed existed.

Said Toledano and Nakache: “We are extremely proud to entrust our film with Harvey Weinstein and his dream team and look forward to presenting our untouchable and unexpected buddy duet to the world.”

Said Cecile Gaget, Gaumont Head of International Sales, “We are very thrilled to have UNTOUCHABLE released by The Weinstein Company, who will be able to do a great campaign and bring this amazing emotional movie to a wide audience.”

Said Lawson, “UNTOUCHABLE is a breathtakingly moving piece of filmmaking with performances that speak straight to the heart.  Acquiring this film was an opportunity we did not want to miss — and we spent the holiday weekend making sure that we didn’t!”

Said Harvey Weinstein, TWC Co-Chairman, “Occasionally, you find a story that translates universally, and UNTOUCHABLE is a perfect example.  We look forward to bringing this beautiful and entertaining film to a worldwide audience.”

The deal was negotiated for TWC by COO David Glasser and Lawson; and for Gaumont by Gaget.

ABOUT THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY

The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979.  TWC also encompasses Dimension Films, the genre label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, which has released such popular franchises as SCREAM, SPY KIDS and SCARY MOVIE.  Together TWC and Dimension Films have released a broad range of mainstream, genre and specialty films that have been commercial and critical successes, including Tom Hooper’s THE KING’S SPEECH, winner of four 2011 Academy Awards®, including Best Picture.  Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as GRINDHOUSE; I’M NOT THERE; THE GREAT DEBATERS; VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA; THE READER; THE ROAD;  HALLOWEEN; THE PAT TILLMAN STORY; PIRANHA 3D; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS; A SINGLE MAN; BLUE VALENTINE, THE COMPANY MEN; MIRAL; and SCRE4M.  Upcoming releases include SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD IN 4D, APOLLO 18, OUR IDIOT BROTHER, I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT, THE DETAILS and MY WEEK WITH MARILYN.   Recently wrapping is COGAN’S TRADE.

TWC is also active in television production, with credits including the Emmy® Award-winning hit reality series “Project Runway,” the new VH1 reality series “Mob Wives,” and the critically acclaimed HBO comedy/crime series “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.”  The company is producing two “Project Runway” spinoffs, “Project Runway: All Stars” and “Project Runway: Accessories,” which are expected to debut in 2011.  The company currently has 17 series in different stages of development, including: “Marco Polo,” a scripted historical series about the great explorer; “The Nanny Diaries,” based on the hit book; and “The Mad Ones,” adapted from the Mafia novel of the same name.

www.weinsteinco.com

# # #

Be Sociable, Share!

Posted in Movie City News, Press Releases | Comments Off on THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY IS UNTOUCHABLE

Comments are closed.

Quote Unquotesee all »

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