By MCN Editor editor@moviecitynews.com
LIDDELL ENTERTAINMENT AND ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS PARTNER ON ALBERT NOBBS
Glenn Close starrer due Fall 2011
(Los Angeles, July 5) – Liddell Entertainment and Roadside Attractions have acquired all U.S. rights to ALBERT NOBBS, directed by Rodrigo Garcia and starring five-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close as a woman passing as a man in order to work and survive in 19th century Dublin. Close won an Obie Award in 1982 for playing the Nobbs character Off-Broadway in Simone Benmussa’s theatrical interpretation of the same George Moore novella that the film is based upon, “The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs,” and she has been passionate to bring the character to the screen for almost 30 years. The New York Times raved of Close on stage, “The performance is transforming.” Industry pundits already rank her among those likely to be vying for an Oscar this season.
Rodrigo Garcia (MOTHER AND CHILD) directs ALBERT NOBBS from a script that Gabriella Prekop, Man Booker prize-winning novelist John Banville and Glenn Close wrote based on a story by Istvan Szabo, adapted from the Moore novella. ALBERT NOBBS marks Close’s first screenplay credit, as well as her feature film producing debut. The film also stars Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, Janet McTeer, Pauline Collins, Brenda Fricker, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Brendan Gleeson. Producers are Glenn Close, Bonnie Curtis, Julie Lynn and Alan Moloney. Production companies are Trillium Productions, Mockingbird Pictures and Parallel Film Productions, with support from WestEnd Films and Chrysalis Films, as well as the participation of the Irish Film Board. The director of photography is Michael McDonough, the production designer is Oscar-winner Patrizia Von Brandenstein, the transformative make-up is by Oscar-winner Matthew Mungle, the editor is Steven Weisberg, the costume designer is Pierre-Yves Gayraud, and the composer is Brian Byrne.
The domestic deal was announced jointly by Mickey Liddell of Liddell Entertainment and Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff, Co-Presidents of Roadside Attractions. The two companies will co-venture on a fall 2011 release, as they did on this past year’s Oscar-nominated BIUTIFUL. WestEnd is handling international sales.
“Glenn Close appears in nearly every frame as Albert Nobbs, and her performance is masterful,” said Liddell. “This is an intimate film full of big ideas in the tradition of GOSFORD PARK and SENSE AND SENSIBILITY.”
d’Arbeloff added, “This great story about a woman forced to hide in plain sight will resonate with contemporary filmgoers. Glenn Close is one of the true leading ladies of American cinema, and her vision for this film is incredibly inspiring.”
Liddell and attorney Chad Reineke negotiated for Liddell Entertainment. Cohen negotiated on behalf of Roadside Attractions. CAA represented the filmmakers.
ABOUT LIDDELL ENTERTAIMENT
Liddell Entertainment is a film production company focused on developing and producing high quality films in multiple genres. With THE GREY starring Liam Neeson and directed by Joe Carnahan, SILENT HOUSE starring Elizabeth Olsen and THE COLLECTION in post production, Liddell Entertainment is prepping a September shoot for DISCONNECT. Past acquisitions and productions include BIUTIFUL starring Javier Bardem and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, THE HAUNTING OF MOLLY HARTLEY, THE COLLECTOR, GOOD HAIR, and I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS. Liddell Entertainment recently sold THE DETAILS starring Tobey Maguire and Elizabeth Banks to The Weinstein Company.
ABOUT ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS
Roadside Attractions is a film distribution company committed to championing independent films with a willingness to entertain. The company’s 2009 release, THE COVE, captured the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary, and in 2010, its 6 Oscar nominations — four, including Best Picture, for Debra Granik’s WINTER’S BONE, and two, including Best Foreign Language Film, for Alejandro González Iñárritu’s BIUTIFUL, — solidified its major position on the distributor landscape. The company recently released Robert Redford’s THE CONSPIRATOR starring James McAvoy and Robin Wright and, in partnership with Lionsgate, Dan Rush’s EVERYTHING MUST GO starring Will Ferrell and Rebecca Hall. Other films on its 2011 slate include Oscar-winning filmmaker James Marsh’s PROJECT NIM; Miranda July’s THE FUTURE; J.C. Chandor’s MARGIN CALL starring Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany and Jeremy Irons; Maryam Keshavarz’s CIRCUMSTANCE; and THUNDER SOUL, directed by Mark Landsman and executive produced by Jamie Foxx.
###