Overture Films

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[edit] Overview

Overture Films [1], a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation[1], is a fully-integrated studio that produces, acquires, markets, and distributes theatrical motion pictures. Through its affiliated companies, Anchor Bay, Starz Entertainment, Starz Media, and Vongo Internet download service, Overture Films’ motion pictures are made available domestically to viewers across multiple platforms via home video, premium television, and internet. Paramount Vantage has an exclusive relationship with Overture for the international distribution of its content. With $500 million in funding, Overture Films was founded in Fall of 2006 and run by industry veterans Chris McGurk (CEO) and Danny Rosett (COO). The President of Worldwide Theatrical Marketing, Distribution and New Media is Peter Adee. Executive Vice Presidents of Production and Acquisitions are Sean Furst and Robert Kessel and Bryan Furst is Senior Vice President of Production and Acquisitions.

[edit] Mission

Overture Films is adopting an independent film model not unlike New Line Cinema, aiming to produce mainstream commercial films under the $30 million mark targeted at distinct marketing niches. “I believe that this economic model is favorable for setting up a business that can take creative risks,” McGurk said. “We will forge the kind of alliances that made UA so strong years ago. We will create a haven for great filmmakers and let them make movies.”[2]

In keeping with Overtures objective to be a company dedicated to empowering filmmakers and to produce films outside of the boundaries of the big studio system, McGurk and Rosett hired Kessel and the Fursts because of their unique hands on filmmaking and acquisitions experience and felt that their experience was crucial to meeting their filmmaker-friendly objective.[3] That same philosophy is why they hired Adee to run marketing and distribution because of his creativity, strong leadership ability and deep talent relationships as well as his cutting-edge marketing campaigns and talent-friendly approach.[4]

In setting up the studio, McGurk and Rosett have taken a “distribution centric” approach. Overture has five-year deals in place for pay-TV at Starz and home video distribution at Anchor Bay Entertainment, both part of Liberty Media Corporation.

[edit] Movies

[edit] Righteous Kill

Long time partners Detectives David Fisk and Thomas Cowan investigate a series of vigilante killings in a gritty and sophisticated New York City crime thriller. Righteous Kill stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino.[5] and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, who will play a drug dealer.[6] It will be directed by Jon Avnet.[7] The film is being written by Russell Gewirtz who previously scripted Inside Man.

[edit] Mad Money

Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes star as three ordinary women who form an unlikely friendship and decide to do something extraordinary — rob one of the most secure banks in the world. Mad Money is written and directed by Thelma and Louise writer Callie Khouri.[8]

[edit] Sleepwalking

Sleepwalking tells the story of a young girl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s AnnaSophia Robb) who comes to terms with her mother’s abandonment by forming an unlikely bond with her Uncle (Nick Stahl), who is struggling to deal with his own troubled life. Woody Harrelson and Dennis Hopper co-star. Academy Award-winner Charlize Theron, who stars as the mother, produced the film.

[edit] The Visitor

A college professor (Six Feet Under’s Richard Jenkins) becomes embroiled in the lives of a young immigrant couple living in New York City and stumbles into an unexpected romance as a result. As these strangers struggle to deal with their individual lives in a changed world, their shared humanity is revealed in awkward, humorous and dramatic ways. The Visitor was written and directed by Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent). The Visitor is distributed in the foreign territories by K5 International.

[edit] Henry Poole Is Here

The funny, poignant and uplifting story of a disillusioned man who attempts to hide from life in a rundown suburban tract home only to discover he cannot escape the forces of hope. Starring Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Old School), Academy Award® nominee Adriana Barraza (Babel) and Radha Mitchell (Finding Neverland) and directed by Mark Pellington (U2 3D, The Mothman Prophesies).

[edit] Traitor

A rogue former US Special forces operative is aiding terrorists to carry out acts against the West; however, it's unclear where the man's loyalties lie. Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce have signed to topline. Jeffrey Nachmanoff will direct from his own script, which is based on an original idea from Steve Martin.[9]

[edit] Humboldt Park

Freddy Rodriguez (Grindhouse, Bobby) is set to executive produce and star alongside John Leguizamo (The Happening, The Take) in this heartwarming family dramedy about three siblings’ return to their parent’s home for the holidays in Humboldt Park on Chicago’s northwest side.

[edit] Last Chance Harvey

A struggling New York jingle writer (Dustin Hoffman) and a lonely British bureaucrat (Emma Thompson) meet by chance in London and transform one another’s lives. Joel Hopkins ("Jump Tomorrow") will direct from his own script. Hopkins penned the screenplay with Hoffman and Thompson in mind for the characters.[10]

[edit] Sunshine Cleaning

Amy Adams and Emily Blunt star as sisters who earn their keep as a cleaning team that mops up crime scenes. Sunshine Cleaning also stars Alan Arkin, Steve Zahn and Clifton Collins Jr., and was directed by Christine Jeffs. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

[edit] Pandorum

Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster star as crewmen on an abandoned space craft who must discover what's happened to them and to the planet they're orbiting.

[edit] Untitled Michael Moore project

The next documentary by Michael Moore, described as “a searing and provocative follow-up to his groundbreaking 2004 documentary ‘Fahrenheit 9/11.’"

[edit] 105 Degrees and Rising

Lives intersect—American diplomats, reporters, military officers, as well as Vietnamese civilians—as they all struggle to leave Saigon in 1975 as the US prepares to evacuate. Jon Amiel ("Entrapment") is slated to direct William M. Akers' script.[11]

[edit] Staff

[edit] Miscellaneous

In 2008, The Hollywood Reporter named Chris McGurk and Danny Rosett #10 on their Indie Power 50.[12]

In 2007, The Hollywood Reporter named Chris McGurk and Danny Rosett #37 on their Indie Power 50.[13]

[edit] Notes and References

  1. ^ "An Upstart in Films With Many Fast Moves"; David M. Halbfinger; The New York Times; January 10, 2008
  2. ^ Malone taps McGurk to run new studio-distrib; Anne Thompson; The Hollywood Reporter; November 14-20, 2006
  3. ^ Overture Films announces production and acquisition leadership team; Starz Media Press Release; January 22, 2007
  4. ^ Peter Adee joins Overture Films; Starz Media Press Release; February 21, 2007
  5. ^ "De Niro and Pacino pair up again", BBC, 2007-05-18. Retrieved on 2007-05-18. 
  6. ^ Rap Basement - 50 Cent Lands Role In New De Niro/Pacino Flick
  7. ^ Hayes, Dade. "De Niro, Pacino reunite for 'Kill'", Variety, 2007-05-17. Retrieved on 2007-05-18. 
  8. ^ Overture happy to nab Mad Money; Dave McNary; Daily Variety; Tuesday, May 01, 2007
  9. ^ Cheadle, Pearce go undercover
  10. ^ Hoffman, Thompson take a 'Chance' - Entertainment News, Los Angeles, Media - Variety
  11. ^ Overture, Echo 'Rising' for film - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety
  12. ^ The Indie Power 50; Hollywood Reporter; January 17, 2008
  13. ^ Rule makers: The Hollywood Reporter's Indie Power 50; Hollywood Reporter; January 18, 2007
v • d • e
Starz, LLC (a division of Liberty Media)
Starz Entertainment:
Encore · Encore Action · Encore Drama · Encore Love · Encore Mystery · Encore Wam · Encore Westerns · MOVIEplex · Overture Films · INDIEplex · RETROplex · Starz! · Starz Cinema · Starz Comedy · Starz Edge · Starz inBlack · Starz Kids & Family · Starz on Demand · Starz HDTV · Vongo
Starz Media:
Anchor Bay Entertainment · Film Roman · Manga Entertainment · New Arc Entertainment
Website: www.starz.com