NEW YORK, NY (September 8, 2010) – Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired all US rights to BARNEY’S VERSION from producer Robert Lantos (EASTERN PROMISES, BEING JULIA, SUNSHINE). BARNEY’S VERSION is directed by Richard J. Lewis and based upon Mordecai Richler’s prize-winning comic novel. The film is In Competition at the Venice Film Festival and will be featured as a Gala Presentation at this year’s Toronto Film Festival.
BARNEY’S VERSION stars Academy Academy Award ® nominees Paul Giamatti and Minnie Driver, Award ® winner Dustin Hoffman, Rosamund Pike, Rachelle Lefevre and Scott Speedman. In the film, Barney Panofsky (Giamatti) is a seemingly ordinary man who lives an extraordinary life. Barney’s candid confessional spans three decades and two continents, and includes three wives, one outrageous father and a dangerously dissolute best friend.
“Very rarely does a major novel come to life so completely and so richly on the screen as it does here with BARNEY’S VERSION. Featuring wonderful performances by Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Rosamund Pike, and Minnie Driver, producer Robert Lantos more than fulfills his multi year dream of filming Mordecai Richler’s masterpiece. We look forward to presenting the film to the American audience,” says Sony Pictures Classics.
“Several years before starting production on BARNEY’S VERSION, I approached Michael Barker and Tom Bernard. I told them about my relationship with Mordecai Richler and about how important this project was for me and that I would not trust anyone other than Sony Classics to distribute it in America. I was determined to make BARNEY’S VERSION the beneficiary of their skill and experience. I am now delighted to place my film in their talented hands,” said producer Robert Lantos.
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 25 Academy Awards® (22 of those at Sony Pictures Classics) and have garnered over 100 Academy Award® nominations (85 at Sony Pictures Classics) including Best Picture nominations for 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 (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services, and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in more than 100 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found at http://www.sonypictures.com.
ABOUT SERENDIPITY POINT FILMS
Robert Lantos’ Serendipity Point Films is a boutique motion picture production company. BARNEY’S VERSION is the 36th film of Robert Lantos’ distinguished producing career. His films have been nominated for Academy Awards, Golden Globes and BAFTA’s. They have won prizes at most of the world’s major film festivals including The Grand Prix and The International Critics Prize in Cannes, The Silver Bear in Berlin and the Best Actor Prize in Rome. In Canada, his films have won the Genie Award for Best Picture four times. His recent credits include EASTERN PROMISES, BEING JULIA, FUGITIVE PIECES, SUNSHINE, EXISTENZ and THE SWEET HEREAFTER. www.serendipitypoint.com
