By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com

SONY PICTURES CLASSICS ACQUIRES FOR NO GOOD REASON

Posted Thursday, January 31st, 2013 - Comments Off on SONY PICTURES CLASSICS ACQUIRES FOR NO GOOD REASON
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                        

NEW YORK (January 30, 2013) – Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired all North American rights to Charlie Paul’s directorial debut, FOR NO GOOD REASON from Itch Film.   Foreign sales are being handled by Independent Film Sales.  Charlie Paul, who has been a director in advertising for years and is a former artist himself, spent 10 years making FOR NO GOOD REASON. Produced by Itch Film’s co-founder Lucy Paul, the intimate documentary portrait focuses on Ralph Steadman and features Johnny Depp observing Steadman’s fascinating working process at his home studio.

 

Ralph Steadman is most frequently celebrated for his brilliant illustrations accompanying the writings of Hunter S Thompson, and their collaborations defined the Gonzo school of journalism that emerged to pick at the scabs of the American establishment during the turbulent eras of Vietnam and Nixon. Among his many achievements, Steadman has drawn political and satirical work informed by a deep social conscience, illustrated classics such as Alice in Wonderland and Animal Farm, printed etchings on writers from Shakespeare to Burroughs, and published books on the lives of Sigmund Freud, Leonardo da Vinci and God. FOR NO GOOD REASON presents Steadman as a driven artist with a voracious creative instinct.

 

The film also features a phenomenal and inventive soundtrack with collaborations from Slash, All American Rejects, Jason Mraz, Lynval Golding, Ed Harcourt, James Blake, Crystal Castles and more. Grammy nominated and two time Ivor Novello winner, Sacha Skarbek is the music director.

 

“Working with Ralph Steadman and using his art as the palette to construct this film, created the perfect canvass for me to make something personal, profound and very beautiful,” says Director Charlie Paul.

 

Producer Lucy Paul adds, “We are thrilled to be working with Sony Pictures Classics, whose love of the film and inventive approach to marketing will ensure our film finds the exposure and audience it deserves.”

 

“Ralph Steadman is one of the most profound and innovative artists of our generation.  We have always admired his work and in this wonderful film, Charlie Paul opens Steadman’s studio and unique creative process to both his admirers and new fans in the process,” states Sony Pictures Classics.

 

 

 

 

‘For No Good Reason Pic1’ – Ralph Steadman and Johnny Depp in Ralph’s Studio, Kent, UK.

Photographer:Charlie Paul

 

 

‘HUNTER-Vintage DR. GONZO’ – Ralph Steadman art created for Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas

 

 

ABOUT SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

 

Michael Barker and Tom Bernard serve as co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics—an autonomous division of Sony Pictures Entertainment they founded with Marcie Bloom in January 1992, which distributes, produces, and acquires independent films from around the world.

 

Barker and Bernard have released prestigious films that have won 29 Academy Awards® (25 of those at Sony Pictures Classics) and have garnered 135 Academy Award® nominations (109 at Sony Pictures Classics) including Best Picture nominations for AMOUR, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, AN EDUCATION, CAPOTE, HOWARDS END, AND CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.

 

 

ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT

 

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; a global channel network; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 142 countries. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com/.

 

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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?

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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

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