By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com

LEADING CANADIAN DISTRIBUTOR ELEVATION PICTURES LAUNCHES PRODUCTION ARM

Posted Wednesday, November 16th, 2016 - Comments Off on LEADING CANADIAN DISTRIBUTOR ELEVATION PICTURES LAUNCHES PRODUCTION ARM
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[PR] Leading Canadian distributor Elevation Pictures has announced the launch of a production division as Canada’s production business continues to grow at an unprecedented rate.  Canadian film production veteran Christina Piovesan will partner with Elevation on the new division, which will build on Elevation’s existing distribution business by providing best-in-class production services to all types of projects shooting in Canada, from U.S. and international to Canadian productions, and to multi-territory co-productions.

 

Studios have long recognized the benefits of shooting in Canada – and independent productions are increasingly looking to take advantage of the strong American dollar, first rate crews and unparalleled tax incentives.

 

“As more producers from around the world have come to recognize the unmatched appeal of Canada as a production destination, and with the growing success of homegrown content as well as international co-productions, a move into production was a natural next step for the company,” says Elevation Pictures’ CEO, Daniel Steinman. “And Christina, who has tremendous production savvy and relationships and taste, is the perfect complement to Elevation as we execute this move.”

 

Piovesan, a prolific Canadian producer, has produced The Whistleblower starring Rachel Weisz, Regression starring Emma Watson and Ethan Hawke, and Red Lights starring Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver and Robert DeNiro – among others.

 

Elevation has quickly established itself as one of the leading film distributors in Canada since its inception just over two years ago. This partnership marks the next stage in Elevation’s growth after having signed a multi-year slate co-financing deal with Anton Corp. in May, which includes 20-25 pictures per year, made up of elevated commercial and prestige driven films, including from its output deals with Black Bear Pictures, Bleecker Street Films and Bold Films.

 

Upcoming Elevation releases include: Stephen Gaghan’s Gold starring Matthew McConaughey and The Founder directed by John Lee Hancock and starring Michael Keaton.

 

About Elevation Pictures

 

Founded in 2013 with finance partner Teddy Schwarzman of Black Bear Pictures, Elevation Pictures has established itself as one of Canada’s premier film and television companies. Elevation’s team of seasoned production and distribution executives are committed to bringing an elevated and robust film and television slate to audiences. Elevation was named Playback Magazine’s Distributor of the Year for 2015.

Past releases include Oscar-winning titles such as The Imitation Game, directed by Morten Tyldum and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and Room, directed by Lenny Abrahamson and starring Brie Larson. Most recently Elevation has released Oliver Stone’s Snowden, starring Joseph Gordon Levitt; Deepwater Horizon, directed by Peter Berg and starring Mark Walhberg; Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins and starring Trevante Rhodes and Naomie Harris; and Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson and starring Andrew Garfield and Vince Vaughn.

 

Website:        www.elevationpictures.com

Twitter:          @Elevation_Pics

Facebook:     Elevation Pictures

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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