Swiss film producers and financiers Karl Spoerri and Viviana Vezzani have been Sundance regulars for more than 15 years, but this edition is special.
The pair, who were driving forces behind the Zurich Film Festival (Zff) up until 2019, are in Park City this year with Thelma, which is the first feature from their new company Zurich Avenue to make it into Sundance.
Josh Margolin’s action-comedy-drama, starring 94-year-old June Squibb as a L.A. grandmother who sets off on a friend’s mobility scooter on a mission to track down an Internet scammer, is proving one of the early hits of the festival.
“On a personal level, it’s very meaningful because Sundance was always a big influence for us at the Zurich Film Festival from the start,” says Vezzani.
“We always loved going as programmers so getting Thelma accepted at Sundance was a dream come true.”
Former Zff co-founder and...
The pair, who were driving forces behind the Zurich Film Festival (Zff) up until 2019, are in Park City this year with Thelma, which is the first feature from their new company Zurich Avenue to make it into Sundance.
Josh Margolin’s action-comedy-drama, starring 94-year-old June Squibb as a L.A. grandmother who sets off on a friend’s mobility scooter on a mission to track down an Internet scammer, is proving one of the early hits of the festival.
“On a personal level, it’s very meaningful because Sundance was always a big influence for us at the Zurich Film Festival from the start,” says Vezzani.
“We always loved going as programmers so getting Thelma accepted at Sundance was a dream come true.”
Former Zff co-founder and...
- 1/20/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire and The Green Knight leads the cast of Rabbit Trap, the latest horror film from Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah’s production company SpectreVision, and Deadline reports that the project recently completed filming on location in Wales. This film marks the feature directorial debut of Bryn Chainey and has the following synopsis:
Set in 1973, Rabbit Trap charts the story of married musicians Daphne and Darcy Davenport, who have relocated from London to an isolated cabin in Wales in order to complete their new record. When they accidentally make a field recording of a mystical sound never before heard by human ears, a strange child enters their lives who gradually untethers them from reality, and the couple soon find themselves caught between the ancient spirits of the natural world and the lives they once knew.
Patel is joined in the cast by Rosy McEwen (Blue Jean...
Set in 1973, Rabbit Trap charts the story of married musicians Daphne and Darcy Davenport, who have relocated from London to an isolated cabin in Wales in order to complete their new record. When they accidentally make a field recording of a mystical sound never before heard by human ears, a strange child enters their lives who gradually untethers them from reality, and the couple soon find themselves caught between the ancient spirits of the natural world and the lives they once knew.
Patel is joined in the cast by Rosy McEwen (Blue Jean...
- 10/20/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
The conference is taking place from September 26-28.
Mubi’s Bobby Allen, Blueprint Pictures’ Peter Czernin, Killer Films’ Christine Vachon, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates’ Anna Higgs and Netflix’s Teresa Moneo will all attend the second annual Creative Investors’ Conference at the San Sebastian International Film Festival this month.
Organised in collaboration with CAA Media Finance, it is taking place at the festival from September 26-28 and will comprise of a series of panels and discussions open to industry badge holders, under the Spanish Screenings: Financing & Tech strand.
Scroll down for the full list of participants
Roeg Sutherland, Benjamin Kramer and...
Mubi’s Bobby Allen, Blueprint Pictures’ Peter Czernin, Killer Films’ Christine Vachon, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates’ Anna Higgs and Netflix’s Teresa Moneo will all attend the second annual Creative Investors’ Conference at the San Sebastian International Film Festival this month.
Organised in collaboration with CAA Media Finance, it is taking place at the festival from September 26-28 and will comprise of a series of panels and discussions open to industry badge holders, under the Spanish Screenings: Financing & Tech strand.
Scroll down for the full list of participants
Roeg Sutherland, Benjamin Kramer and...
- 9/5/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Netflix’s Teresa Moneo, Mubi’s Bobby Allen, Cinetic Media’s John Sloss, and Jeb Brody, President of Production at Amblin Partners, are among the names set for CAA Media Finance and the San Sebastian Film Festival’s second annual Creative Investors’ Conference.
The conference will take place September 26-28 and include a series of panels and discussions. Roeg Sutherland, Benjamin Kramer, and Sarah Schweitzman from CAA Media Finance will participate in the conference and moderate alongside journalist and San Seb advisor Wendy Mitchell.
Organized in collaboration with CAA Media Finance, other high-profile execs set to attend include Vincent Maraval, President of Goodfellas; Mariano César, SVP of Content Ge Content Latin America at HBO Max; Sarah Colvin, Director of Acquisitions at Neon; Liesl Copland, Executive Vice president, Content and Platform Strategy at Participant Media; Phil Hunt, CEO of Head Gear Films and Co-managing Director of Bankside Films; Fionnuala Jamison, Managing...
The conference will take place September 26-28 and include a series of panels and discussions. Roeg Sutherland, Benjamin Kramer, and Sarah Schweitzman from CAA Media Finance will participate in the conference and moderate alongside journalist and San Seb advisor Wendy Mitchell.
Organized in collaboration with CAA Media Finance, other high-profile execs set to attend include Vincent Maraval, President of Goodfellas; Mariano César, SVP of Content Ge Content Latin America at HBO Max; Sarah Colvin, Director of Acquisitions at Neon; Liesl Copland, Executive Vice president, Content and Platform Strategy at Participant Media; Phil Hunt, CEO of Head Gear Films and Co-managing Director of Bankside Films; Fionnuala Jamison, Managing...
- 9/5/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
CAA has upped eight to agent and executive.
Kate Arenson, who joined CAA as an intern in 2017, has been elevated to agent in the Music Touring department.
Jessica Brown, Emmett Gordon and Peter Morton have been promoted to executives in CAA Sports Property Sales and will advise clients that include Major League Baseball, Formula 1, the Atlanta Braves and the L.A. Clippers.
Sydney Chance has been promoted to executive in Baseball, where she will advise the agency’s MLB clients on their digital media strategies and off-the-field brand architecture.
Ron Jordan has been promoted to agent in the Music Touring department and will continue working with Ardn, Jean Deaux and tobi lou, among others.
Sydney Lipsitz, who joined CAA in 2018 as a mailroom clerk, has been upped to executive and chief of staff for the Sports Broadcasting department, led by Matt Kramer and Tom Young.
CAA has upped eight to agent and executive.
Kate Arenson, who joined CAA as an intern in 2017, has been elevated to agent in the Music Touring department.
Jessica Brown, Emmett Gordon and Peter Morton have been promoted to executives in CAA Sports Property Sales and will advise clients that include Major League Baseball, Formula 1, the Atlanta Braves and the L.A. Clippers.
Sydney Chance has been promoted to executive in Baseball, where she will advise the agency’s MLB clients on their digital media strategies and off-the-field brand architecture.
Ron Jordan has been promoted to agent in the Music Touring department and will continue working with Ardn, Jean Deaux and tobi lou, among others.
Sydney Lipsitz, who joined CAA in 2018 as a mailroom clerk, has been upped to executive and chief of staff for the Sports Broadcasting department, led by Matt Kramer and Tom Young.
- 12/9/2022
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CAA has promoted eight employees to agent or executive ranks, including Kate Arenson, Jessica Brown, Sydney Chance, Emmett Gordon, Ron Jordan, Sydney Lipsitz, Peter Morton and Andi Wong.
Arenson has been elevated to agent in the music touring department and will be based in New York. She began her career at CAA as an intern in 2017, and joined the agency as a full-time assistant the following year. She was promoted to coordinator and entered the CAA Elevate training program in 2022. Arenson works with Glass Animals, Leon Bridges, Yoke Lore, Mumford & Sons, The Head and the Heart, The 502s and more. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama.
New York-based Brown, Gordon and Morton have all been promoted to executives in CAA sports property sales.
Brown, who works on behalf of clients MLB, Formula 1 and the Atlanta Braves, started at CAA as a receptionist in 2019. She later served as a mailroom clerk,...
Arenson has been elevated to agent in the music touring department and will be based in New York. She began her career at CAA as an intern in 2017, and joined the agency as a full-time assistant the following year. She was promoted to coordinator and entered the CAA Elevate training program in 2022. Arenson works with Glass Animals, Leon Bridges, Yoke Lore, Mumford & Sons, The Head and the Heart, The 502s and more. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama.
New York-based Brown, Gordon and Morton have all been promoted to executives in CAA sports property sales.
Brown, who works on behalf of clients MLB, Formula 1 and the Atlanta Braves, started at CAA as a receptionist in 2019. She later served as a mailroom clerk,...
- 12/8/2022
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) today announced that it has promoted eight to agent/executive, including Kate Arenson, Jessica Brown, Sydney Chance, Emmett Gordon, Ron Jordan, Sydney Lipsitz, Peter Morton, and Andi Wong.
Arenson has been elevated to Agent in the Music Touring department. She began her career at CAA as an intern in 2017 and later joined fulltime as an assistant in 2018. She was promoted to a Coordinator role, and entered the Elevate program in 2022. She works with Glass Animals, Leon Bridges, Yoke Lore, Mumford & Sons, The Head and The Heart, and The 502s, among others. Arenson earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing from The University of Alabama. She will be based in New York.
New York-based Jessica Brown, Emmett Gordon, and Peter Morton have been promoted to Executive in CAA Sports Property Sales. Brown, who works on behalf of clients Major League Baseball, Formula 1,...
Arenson has been elevated to Agent in the Music Touring department. She began her career at CAA as an intern in 2017 and later joined fulltime as an assistant in 2018. She was promoted to a Coordinator role, and entered the Elevate program in 2022. She works with Glass Animals, Leon Bridges, Yoke Lore, Mumford & Sons, The Head and The Heart, and The 502s, among others. Arenson earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing from The University of Alabama. She will be based in New York.
New York-based Jessica Brown, Emmett Gordon, and Peter Morton have been promoted to Executive in CAA Sports Property Sales. Brown, who works on behalf of clients Major League Baseball, Formula 1,...
- 12/8/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Lee Schroder has been named an executive in the motion picture marketing department at CAA.
Schroder joins the powerhouse agency from Netflix. Reporting to department head Megan Crawford, she will help advise clients on all aspects of a film marketing and distribution strategy for theatrical and streaming releases. The marketing team works closely with CAA Media Finance, led by Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer, which funds and packages many indies and mid-budget commercial fare.
Schroder will also advise the CAA roster on festival and awards campaign strategies, and curating the agency’s effective tastemaker screenings.
At Netflix, Schroder worked on campaigns for Peter Chernin’s inventive “Fear Street” trilogy; Ryan Reynolds’ time travel film “The Adam Project”; the blockbuster “Red Notice” starring Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson, and Gal Gadot; and the soon-to-stream Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington project “The School for Good and Evil.” She also handled release and awards campaigns for the Oscar players “Mank,...
Schroder joins the powerhouse agency from Netflix. Reporting to department head Megan Crawford, she will help advise clients on all aspects of a film marketing and distribution strategy for theatrical and streaming releases. The marketing team works closely with CAA Media Finance, led by Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer, which funds and packages many indies and mid-budget commercial fare.
Schroder will also advise the CAA roster on festival and awards campaign strategies, and curating the agency’s effective tastemaker screenings.
At Netflix, Schroder worked on campaigns for Peter Chernin’s inventive “Fear Street” trilogy; Ryan Reynolds’ time travel film “The Adam Project”; the blockbuster “Red Notice” starring Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson, and Gal Gadot; and the soon-to-stream Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington project “The School for Good and Evil.” She also handled release and awards campaigns for the Oscar players “Mank,...
- 10/4/2022
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
The challenge and opportunity of transatlantic production was the subject of a session at the Zurich Summit this morning, with the panel comprising Bert Hamelinck, head of films and global MD at Belgian-u.S. film and TV group Caviar, CAA Media Finance’s Benjamin Kramer, Elysian Film Group CEO Danny Perkins and Hype Studios founder Ilya Stewart.
Russian producer Stewart is riding high with latest production Sanctuary, which this week sold to Neon label Super for the US. The genre film, starring Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott, is an example of a US-European collaboration.
“Sanctuary started out with Rumble Films in the U.S. We came aboard with French sales firm Charades, putting together pre-sales and equity. It was a relatively low-budget and a great festival premiere was essential.”
The movie world-premiered at Toronto, where it earned strong reviews (it currently holds a 93 “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes).
Stewart acknowledged...
Russian producer Stewart is riding high with latest production Sanctuary, which this week sold to Neon label Super for the US. The genre film, starring Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott, is an example of a US-European collaboration.
“Sanctuary started out with Rumble Films in the U.S. We came aboard with French sales firm Charades, putting together pre-sales and equity. It was a relatively low-budget and a great festival premiere was essential.”
The movie world-premiered at Toronto, where it earned strong reviews (it currently holds a 93 “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes).
Stewart acknowledged...
- 9/24/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Former Lionsgate film chief Patrick Wachsberger, Carol producer Christine Vachon, Neon CEO Tom Quinn and SPC bosses Michael Barker and Tom Bernard will be among industry executives taking part in the Zurich Summit on Saturday in Switzerland.
The Zurich Film Festival’s flagship industry event, an all-day confab about the state of the independent film business, will gather around 100 top film professionals. Scroll down for the lineup and schedule in full.
For a full rundown of the day’s schedule click here.
As the Zurich Summit’s official media partner, Deadline will be on the ground covering and moderating panels, as well as providing exclusive interviews with key executives via the Deadline Studio. We’ll also have video from key panels.
The conference kicks off with the discussion “How to Finance Independent Films in the Age of Streamers” and a panel comprising UTA agent Alex Brunner, Memento International/Paradise City CEO Emilie Georges,...
The Zurich Film Festival’s flagship industry event, an all-day confab about the state of the independent film business, will gather around 100 top film professionals. Scroll down for the lineup and schedule in full.
For a full rundown of the day’s schedule click here.
As the Zurich Summit’s official media partner, Deadline will be on the ground covering and moderating panels, as well as providing exclusive interviews with key executives via the Deadline Studio. We’ll also have video from key panels.
The conference kicks off with the discussion “How to Finance Independent Films in the Age of Streamers” and a panel comprising UTA agent Alex Brunner, Memento International/Paradise City CEO Emilie Georges,...
- 9/23/2022
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
No feature film has it easy in the modern theatrical and digital landscape, but 2022 has been particularly fraught. Warner Bros. is outright shelving pricey titles like “Batgirl,” Netflix has gone back to the drawing board thanks to its stock stumble and Amazon is focusing its resources on the almost-billion-dollar rollout of its “Lord of the Rings” TV series.
For fledgling indie movies that come to film markets, like the one currently underway in Toronto, the streamers used to be a safe and lucrative bets for distribution. As these now-legacy companies scramble to cut costs and boost subscriptions to please stockholders, the indie film industrial complex has once again been forced to pivot.
“It feels like we’re at the tail end of a wait-and-see period,” said John Sloss, founder and CEO of the sales agency Cinetic. “I think there was a reset this summer, and we’re all waiting for...
For fledgling indie movies that come to film markets, like the one currently underway in Toronto, the streamers used to be a safe and lucrative bets for distribution. As these now-legacy companies scramble to cut costs and boost subscriptions to please stockholders, the indie film industrial complex has once again been forced to pivot.
“It feels like we’re at the tail end of a wait-and-see period,” said John Sloss, founder and CEO of the sales agency Cinetic. “I think there was a reset this summer, and we’re all waiting for...
- 9/10/2022
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Margarethe Von Trotta To Receive Lifetime Achievement Honor At The European Film Awards
German filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 35th European Film Awards. von Trotta will receive the honor at a ceremony in Reykjavik, Iceland, on December 10 where she will be an honorary guest. Born in Berlin and raised in Düsseldorf, von Trotta started her career as an actress, in theatre and appeared in films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Volker Schlöndorff before moving behind the camera in 1978 with The Second Awakening of Christa Klages, her solo debut as a director. In 1981, her film Marianne and Juliane about the “German Sisters” Christiane and Gudrun Ensslin won the Golden Lion in Venice as well as two German Film Awards and an Italian David di Donatello. Previous winners of the European Film Academy’s lifetime achievement award include Agnès Varda and Judi Dench.
German filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 35th European Film Awards. von Trotta will receive the honor at a ceremony in Reykjavik, Iceland, on December 10 where she will be an honorary guest. Born in Berlin and raised in Düsseldorf, von Trotta started her career as an actress, in theatre and appeared in films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Volker Schlöndorff before moving behind the camera in 1978 with The Second Awakening of Christa Klages, her solo debut as a director. In 1981, her film Marianne and Juliane about the “German Sisters” Christiane and Gudrun Ensslin won the Golden Lion in Venice as well as two German Film Awards and an Italian David di Donatello. Previous winners of the European Film Academy’s lifetime achievement award include Agnès Varda and Judi Dench.
- 8/23/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Co-organized with CAA Media Finance, a new San Sebastian Festival Creative Investors’ Conference will see many of the good and great of the international film business descend on September’s fest edition to be pitched 10 higher-budget Spanish movies by their producers.
The Conference will run Sept.19-20. In a cosmopolitan lineup, titles pitched include international co-productions such as “Whalemen (At the Ends of the Earth)” from “Everest” director Baltasar Kormákur as well as the latest from “Amama” helmer Asier Altuna and “Raqa,” from Gerardo Herrero, an Academy Award wining producer for “The Secret in Their Eyes.”
The conference’s high-profile international investors, producers, agents and executives take in Mubi’s Bobby Allen, Piers Wenger at A24 Europe, Focus Features’s Kiska Higgs, 30West’s Trevor Groth, Vincent Maraval at Wild Bunch International and Netflix’s Teresa Moneo.
Also confirmed are the Elysian Film Group’s Danny Perkins, Neon CEO Tom Quinn,...
The Conference will run Sept.19-20. In a cosmopolitan lineup, titles pitched include international co-productions such as “Whalemen (At the Ends of the Earth)” from “Everest” director Baltasar Kormákur as well as the latest from “Amama” helmer Asier Altuna and “Raqa,” from Gerardo Herrero, an Academy Award wining producer for “The Secret in Their Eyes.”
The conference’s high-profile international investors, producers, agents and executives take in Mubi’s Bobby Allen, Piers Wenger at A24 Europe, Focus Features’s Kiska Higgs, 30West’s Trevor Groth, Vincent Maraval at Wild Bunch International and Netflix’s Teresa Moneo.
Also confirmed are the Elysian Film Group’s Danny Perkins, Neon CEO Tom Quinn,...
- 8/23/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
CAA has promoted Chris Burrus, Inder Gill, Sophie Kavanagh, Zakaria Laaboudi, Arlen Papazian and Kara Petit to Agent following the participation of each in CAA Elevate, the agency’s program for agents and executives in training.
The Nashville-based Burrus will work within CAA’s Music Touring department. He represents many of the world’s leading musicians, including Nate Smith, Tyler Booth, Erin Kinsey and After Midtown, and is on the teams that support Jake Owen, Matt Koziol and Brandon Ratcliff.
Gill will serve on the Media Finance team, led by Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer, specializing in the representation of independently financed films. He was one of the lead agents helping to sign Anupam Tripathi, who played Ali Abdul in Netflix’s South Korean smash Squid Game, and is based in Los Angeles.
Kavanagh has been promoted to Agent in the Commercial Endorsements department, and will be based in the agency’s New York office.
The Nashville-based Burrus will work within CAA’s Music Touring department. He represents many of the world’s leading musicians, including Nate Smith, Tyler Booth, Erin Kinsey and After Midtown, and is on the teams that support Jake Owen, Matt Koziol and Brandon Ratcliff.
Gill will serve on the Media Finance team, led by Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer, specializing in the representation of independently financed films. He was one of the lead agents helping to sign Anupam Tripathi, who played Ali Abdul in Netflix’s South Korean smash Squid Game, and is based in Los Angeles.
Kavanagh has been promoted to Agent in the Commercial Endorsements department, and will be based in the agency’s New York office.
- 6/22/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The rise of streamer content has created anxiety for talent and their reps, because of models that require ownership of a project in perpetuity. Because product starts on a streaming site and then never leaves, there is no chance of backend windfalls. Just look at the creators and cast of Squid Game to see what that can mean: a billion-dollar property for Netflix, embarrassingly tiny paydays for the artists who made it, and little hope of making up the shortfall in subsequent seasons.
While some of Hollywood’s top dealmakers and lawyers are trying to create fair compensation formulas, one growing way to turn shifting sands into an upside is a trend of artists and their agents gambling on themselves and coming to the market with fully fleshed-out projects, packaged with script, director and star. The result has been auctions that bring greenlights and sometimes career-best paydays.
The biggest recent...
While some of Hollywood’s top dealmakers and lawyers are trying to create fair compensation formulas, one growing way to turn shifting sands into an upside is a trend of artists and their agents gambling on themselves and coming to the market with fully fleshed-out projects, packaged with script, director and star. The result has been auctions that bring greenlights and sometimes career-best paydays.
The biggest recent...
- 5/24/2022
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
The Berlin Film Festival has staged its first in-person edition since 2020, soldiering on amid a wave of the Covid omicron variant in Germany and a last-minute virtual pivot for the European Film Market. Here are our main takeaways below:
Film Industry Pining For In-Person Meetings
Despite the EFM being online, a clutch of buyers and sellers made the trek to Berlin where they held a mix of online and physical meetings in the Marriott and a very bare Gropius Bau. Though the fest nixed parties due to omicron concerns, film delegations held dinners for select outsiders that felt like clandestine wartime get-togethers. “Enough with the Zooms! We need the human contact to make deals,” said Vision Distribution’s Catia Rossi, a veteran Italian sales agent, during the dinner for Panorama title “Swing Ride.” “I never thought I’d say this, but give me back the AFM!”
Technical difficulties
The opening...
Film Industry Pining For In-Person Meetings
Despite the EFM being online, a clutch of buyers and sellers made the trek to Berlin where they held a mix of online and physical meetings in the Marriott and a very bare Gropius Bau. Though the fest nixed parties due to omicron concerns, film delegations held dinners for select outsiders that felt like clandestine wartime get-togethers. “Enough with the Zooms! We need the human contact to make deals,” said Vision Distribution’s Catia Rossi, a veteran Italian sales agent, during the dinner for Panorama title “Swing Ride.” “I never thought I’d say this, but give me back the AFM!”
Technical difficulties
The opening...
- 2/16/2022
- by Manori Ravindran and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
For most of those involved in the film pre-sales business, the virtual Pre-Cannes Screenings, running June 21-25, is the main event, with the in-person Cannes festival and market in July almost a sideshow. The mood of those approaching this month’s bazaar is mostly upbeat, but with a note of sober caution.
“I would say that [the independent film business] is back on track in a way that is almost boring, in how — but for a few quirks of things like travel — it would be hard to distinguish it from many of the years prior. It’s a very adaptable business by nature because producers, financiers, sales agents and distributors in this space are used to being entrepreneurial and flexible and quick to react. And that’s just the nature of the business,” Benjamin Kramer, co-head, CAA Media Finance, says.
In the territories where movie theaters have reopened, the box office numbers are “encouraging,...
“I would say that [the independent film business] is back on track in a way that is almost boring, in how — but for a few quirks of things like travel — it would be hard to distinguish it from many of the years prior. It’s a very adaptable business by nature because producers, financiers, sales agents and distributors in this space are used to being entrepreneurial and flexible and quick to react. And that’s just the nature of the business,” Benjamin Kramer, co-head, CAA Media Finance, says.
In the territories where movie theaters have reopened, the box office numbers are “encouraging,...
- 6/21/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer, who co-lead CAA Media Finance, have been working on the agency-led virtual market in Cannes, and spoke to Variety about the prospects for the independent film scene.
CAA Media Finance’s projects in the market include Antoine Fuqua’s “Emancipation,” starring Will Smith; Dan Gilroy’s “Faster, Better, Cheaper”; Ric Roman Waugh’s “Kandahar,” starring Gerard Butler; “Rebel,” directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah; and Michael Mann’s “Ferrari.”
What was the thinking behind having a uniform, united market rather than every company just doing their own thing?
Roeg Sutherland: In a time where everything seems a little decentralized and complicated, it was important to have the agencies and foreign sales agents band together to present product in an organized manner and not have buyers being pulled in 15 different directions.
The best part about what has happened is that you’ve seen buyers...
CAA Media Finance’s projects in the market include Antoine Fuqua’s “Emancipation,” starring Will Smith; Dan Gilroy’s “Faster, Better, Cheaper”; Ric Roman Waugh’s “Kandahar,” starring Gerard Butler; “Rebel,” directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah; and Michael Mann’s “Ferrari.”
What was the thinking behind having a uniform, united market rather than every company just doing their own thing?
Roeg Sutherland: In a time where everything seems a little decentralized and complicated, it was important to have the agencies and foreign sales agents band together to present product in an organized manner and not have buyers being pulled in 15 different directions.
The best part about what has happened is that you’ve seen buyers...
- 6/25/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
In normal times, the notion of rival Hollywood agents collaborating would be dismissed as ludicrous. Yet that’s what CAA Media Finance co-heads Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer set out to do when helping to organize the virtual Cannes sales market led by CAA, UTA Independent Film Group, ICM International and Endeavor Content, as well as several indie production and sales operations, including STX Entertainment, AGC Studios and Sierra/Affinity.
Sutherland and Kramer’s group handles the packing and representation of independently financed films, television and digital content. On the movie side, films packaged and/or sold by CAA Media Finance ...
Sutherland and Kramer’s group handles the packing and representation of independently financed films, television and digital content. On the movie side, films packaged and/or sold by CAA Media Finance ...
- 6/24/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
In normal times, the notion of rival Hollywood agents collaborating would be dismissed as ludicrous. Yet that’s what CAA Media Finance co-heads Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer set out to do when helping to organize the virtual Cannes sales market led by CAA, UTA Independent Film Group, ICM International and Endeavor Content, as well as several indie production and sales operations, including STX Entertainment, AGC Studios and Sierra/Affinity.
Sutherland and Kramer’s group handles the packing and representation of independently financed films, television and digital content. On the movie side, films packaged and/or sold by CAA Media Finance ...
Sutherland and Kramer’s group handles the packing and representation of independently financed films, television and digital content. On the movie side, films packaged and/or sold by CAA Media Finance ...
- 6/24/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CAA has unveiled a new leadership structure for its Motion Picture department, moves that include promoting Todd Feldman, Risa Gertner, Joel Lubin and Jack Whigham to co-heads of the Motion Picture Group. A total of 12 were upped as part of the revamp, which will also see Motion Picture agent Maha Dakhil and head of CAA Finance Roeg Sutherland taking on oversight of CAA’s International Film Group.
In the newly created roles, the group will be tasked with guiding the overall strategic direction of the agency’s film activities and jointly oversee collaborations.
“Our leadership team has been instrumental to the Motion Picture department’s tremendous success,” CAA president Richard Lovett said in a release announcing the news. “They have pioneered ground-breaking deal structures and activated all areas of the agency to service clients in the best way possible. This new role provides an opportunity for them to execute on...
In the newly created roles, the group will be tasked with guiding the overall strategic direction of the agency’s film activities and jointly oversee collaborations.
“Our leadership team has been instrumental to the Motion Picture department’s tremendous success,” CAA president Richard Lovett said in a release announcing the news. “They have pioneered ground-breaking deal structures and activated all areas of the agency to service clients in the best way possible. This new role provides an opportunity for them to execute on...
- 2/6/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
CAA has set new leadership group structure in its motion picture group starting by tapping Todd Feldman, Risa Gertner, Joel Lubin, and Jack Whigham as the new co-heads of the department.
In addition, motion picture agent Maha Dakhil and Roeg Sutherland, head of CAA Media Finance, have assumed leadership positions overseeing CAA’s international film group, focusing on expanding the motion picture group’s global footprint. In their newly created roles, this collective will guide the overall strategic direction of the agency’s motion picture activities and jointly oversee its ongoing collaborations, on behalf of storytellers, across the entertainment landscape.
Dave Bugliari and Franklin Latt have been promoted to motion picture talent department co-heads. Bugliari and Latt, who both began their careers at CAA, collectively represent such artists as Academy Award nominees Bradley Cooper and Glenn Close, in addition to Margot Robbie and Lucas Hedges, among others.
The motion picture...
In addition, motion picture agent Maha Dakhil and Roeg Sutherland, head of CAA Media Finance, have assumed leadership positions overseeing CAA’s international film group, focusing on expanding the motion picture group’s global footprint. In their newly created roles, this collective will guide the overall strategic direction of the agency’s motion picture activities and jointly oversee its ongoing collaborations, on behalf of storytellers, across the entertainment landscape.
Dave Bugliari and Franklin Latt have been promoted to motion picture talent department co-heads. Bugliari and Latt, who both began their careers at CAA, collectively represent such artists as Academy Award nominees Bradley Cooper and Glenn Close, in addition to Margot Robbie and Lucas Hedges, among others.
The motion picture...
- 2/6/2019
- by Justin Kroll
- Variety Film + TV
Creative Artists Agency (CAA) announced a new leadership structure for its Motion Picture department on Wednesday.
Todd Feldman, Risa Gertner, Joel Lubin and Jack Whigham have been elevated to co-heads of the Motion Picture Group. In addition, motion picture agent Maha Dakhil and Roeg Sutherland, head of CAA Media Finance, have assumed leadership positions overseeing CAA’s International Film Group, focusing on expanding the Motion Picture Group’s global footprint. In their newly created roles, this collective will guide the overall strategic direction of the agency’s motion picture activities and jointly oversee its ongoing collaborations – on behalf of storytellers – across the entertainment landscape.
Dave Bugliari and Franklin Latt have been promoted to Motion Picture Talent department co-heads. Bugliari and Latt, who both began their careers at CAA, collectively represent such celebrated artists as Academy Award nominees Bradley Cooper and Glenn Close, in addition to Margot Robbie and Lucas Hedges,...
Todd Feldman, Risa Gertner, Joel Lubin and Jack Whigham have been elevated to co-heads of the Motion Picture Group. In addition, motion picture agent Maha Dakhil and Roeg Sutherland, head of CAA Media Finance, have assumed leadership positions overseeing CAA’s International Film Group, focusing on expanding the Motion Picture Group’s global footprint. In their newly created roles, this collective will guide the overall strategic direction of the agency’s motion picture activities and jointly oversee its ongoing collaborations – on behalf of storytellers – across the entertainment landscape.
Dave Bugliari and Franklin Latt have been promoted to Motion Picture Talent department co-heads. Bugliari and Latt, who both began their careers at CAA, collectively represent such celebrated artists as Academy Award nominees Bradley Cooper and Glenn Close, in addition to Margot Robbie and Lucas Hedges,...
- 2/6/2019
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Foresight Unlimited handles international sales on thriller formerly known as Category 5.
Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures (Esmp), the theatrical distribution division of Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios, has acquired North American rights to The Hurricane Heist.
Rob Cohen directed from a screenplay he co-wrote with Scott Windhauser, Jeff Dixon, Anthony Fingleton, and Carlos Davis.
Esmp plans a theatrical launch in the first quarter of 2018 for the story about a team of hackers who target a $600m coastal Us Mint robbery at the same time a Category 5 hurricane is due to make landfall.
Tony Kebbel, Maggie Grace and Ryan Kwanten play a meteorologist, a Treasury agent and the scientist’s ex-Marine brother who try to thwart the heist.
Moshe Diamant produces with Foresight founder Mark Damon, Chris Milburn, Cohen, Karen Baldwin, Michael Tadross, Jr., Damiano Tucci, Danny Roth, and Bill Immerman.
Esmp is riding high following the success of 47 Meters Down, which continues...
Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures (Esmp), the theatrical distribution division of Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios, has acquired North American rights to The Hurricane Heist.
Rob Cohen directed from a screenplay he co-wrote with Scott Windhauser, Jeff Dixon, Anthony Fingleton, and Carlos Davis.
Esmp plans a theatrical launch in the first quarter of 2018 for the story about a team of hackers who target a $600m coastal Us Mint robbery at the same time a Category 5 hurricane is due to make landfall.
Tony Kebbel, Maggie Grace and Ryan Kwanten play a meteorologist, a Treasury agent and the scientist’s ex-Marine brother who try to thwart the heist.
Moshe Diamant produces with Foresight founder Mark Damon, Chris Milburn, Cohen, Karen Baldwin, Michael Tadross, Jr., Damiano Tucci, Danny Roth, and Bill Immerman.
Esmp is riding high following the success of 47 Meters Down, which continues...
- 7/18/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Saban Films has acquired the Us distribution rights to sci-fi horror film Cell starring Golden Globe nominee John Cusack (Love & Mercy, Being John Malkovich, 2012), Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction) and Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan, The Hunger Games).
Directed by Tod Williams (Paranormal Activity 2, The Door in the Floor), Cell is based on the apocalyptic novel of the same name by Stephen King, who adapted the screenplay along with Adam Alleca (The Last House on the Left).
When a mysterious cell phone signal is broadcast across the network and turns the population into mindless animals, struggling graphic artist Clay Riddell (Cusack) bands together with a small group of fellow survivors to trek across a decimated New England to seek answers and reunite with his son.
Saban Films President Bill Bromiley said, “Stephen King is widely recognized as a master of the horror genre.
Directed by Tod Williams (Paranormal Activity 2, The Door in the Floor), Cell is based on the apocalyptic novel of the same name by Stephen King, who adapted the screenplay along with Adam Alleca (The Last House on the Left).
When a mysterious cell phone signal is broadcast across the network and turns the population into mindless animals, struggling graphic artist Clay Riddell (Cusack) bands together with a small group of fellow survivors to trek across a decimated New England to seek answers and reunite with his son.
Saban Films President Bill Bromiley said, “Stephen King is widely recognized as a master of the horror genre.
- 3/31/2016
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Though it started as a very insider thing, The Black List has recently become more popular and mainstream. For those who may not know, it's an annual list of the year's best unproduced screenplays as voted on by about 300 Hollywood development executives and high-level assistants. We recently posted the 2010 list [1] and looking back at some previous years (2007 [2], 2008 [3], 2009 [4]), films such as Recount, The Beaver and The Social Network all sat near the top of the list. Skim over any of them and you'll see names of films that are out, are coming out and more. It's a big deal. This year, a new Black List of sorts has come out. Dubbed Viewfinder, it's supposed to do for directors what The Black List did for screenwriters. Viewfinder is a compilation of "the top commercials, shorts and/or music videos of 2010." Several of the directors on the list already have deals or are in production on films.
- 12/17/2010
- by Germain Lussier
- Slash Film
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