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SHOWMAN STILL SHOWING
ARROW LAUNCHES SVOD SERVICE
QUENTIN LOVES IT, FANS TOO
BFI: ADMISSIONS FALL IN 2020…
…UK PRODUCTION SPEND DOWN TOO
BFI UNVEILS Q2 SLATE…
…AS BFI PLAYER ADDS EXCLUSIVES…
IN THE MOOD FOR WONG
SAM RAMS HOME THE MESSAGE
SIGNATURE'S POSSESSOR ARRIVES
NETWORK UNVEILS MARCH SLATE
A GLITCH IN TIME…
ORIGINAL SIN
I WANT MUSCLE
AT THE MOVIES
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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The upper echelons of the charts are looking good for UK-made horror hit Saint Maud, one of 2020’s best films, not just in genre terms, but overall. The Studiocanal title made its debut on February 1 and was at number two in the Official Film Chart this week, beaten only by perennial favourite The Greatest Showman. In the physical charts, it’s sitting pretty at number one, no mean feat for a debut film with little real star power behind it – but a testament to not just the quality of the film (it really is as good as everyone says), but also the efforts made by Studiocanal, first at theatrical and then on home entertainment. Commenting on its performance, the company’s Carys Gaskin said: “After a successful campaign to celebrate Saint Maud’s Day on February 1 complete with candles, popcorn and a new t-shirt exclusive to Last Exit to Nowhere, we were ecstatic that Maud came out top of the physical charts. One of the most talked about films of the year is now available for all to watch at home and the release came ahead of the Critics’ Circle Awards last weekend where it won Best British/Irish Film of the Year, Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker and Best British/Irish Actress for Morfydd Clark. With the BIFAs and the BAFTAs still to come we have high hopes for Maud to continue to win over more hearts as a must-see film.”
Trade association BASE has given a new look to its council, with the refreshed body aiming to organise and drive plenty of activity through 2021 and into next year and beyond. As well as adding new members, it has also announced a new chair. Rob Marsh, vp commercial for home entertainment at Sony Pictures Entertainment, takes up the role immediately, working alongside co-vice chairs, BBC Studios’ home entertainment director Lesley Johnson and Elevation md Kevin Dersley. The other appointees to the council include Joe Braman, vp for international account management at Universal, Warner’s vp and head of digital distribution Ruth Sharp and executive director for sales and marketing at Warner Bros Entertainment Sima Westley. Marsh said: “I am honoured to have been appointed as the new BASE Chair and am excited to get to work to advance the bold agenda that Council, working through Liz Bales and the team at BASE, has set out to deliver. Although we would all agree to never having experienced a year like 2020, there is much to be optimistic about and it is a pro-active approach to the opportunities available to us – be they in digital transactional, the performance of premium formats, or the resilience of the TV sector – that will most readily bear fruit and optimise the category at large to drive continued engagement and growth. That pro-activity means ensuring that the category remains front and centre with retail partners and consumers. It means ensuring that opportunities for and engagement with digital and physical media are maximised and that members have access to market insights and consumer analysis needed to shape the conversation. Perhaps most crucially of all, it means that BASE and its members maintain the thoughtfulness, agility and adaptability needed as the category undoubtedly continues to evolve.”
Further comment on Marsh’s appointment and looking forward to BASE’s work in the coming months, ceo Liz Bales said: “Rob alludes to the ambitious plans that are in place to drive continued engagement and growth. Across BASE Council and the wider BASE team, we feel his commercial, insight-led approach, coupled with his unfettered passion for the category, makes him a perfect fit when it comes to stepping up to help drive those plans. Rob’s presence since joining Council has been instrumental in driving key projects to successful outcomes and energising robust discussion on the issues that matter. 2021 will undoubtedly see further category evolution and BASE is well-structured to find the opportunities in that change, especially with the support of the pro-active leadership group that is 2021’s BASE Council, and with the consistent input of our wider members, all of which shapes our future vision alongside our in-year priorities. As well as welcoming Rob to the position of Chair, we invite any industry colleagues not already doing so to join the conversation with BASE and explore the opportunities to support growth across the category.”
We’re now in the thick of Q2 presentations, this week was the turn of the fine folk at Signature to talk us through the slate for the quarter. As ever, it’s a diverse selection of titles, with an ever-increasingly strong acquisitions strategy adding bigger, better titles, with plenty of bases covered and genres featured, the kind of strategy that the company’s success was built on. It kicks off with a release finishing off Q1 and moving into the second part of the year, as Synchronic’s assorted releases across VOD, EST and physical straddle the quarters at the end of March and beginning of April. What’s more, it lands after its successful home premiere, the Jamie Dornan and Anthony Mackie starrer earning lots of fans through the premium VOD bow. “It’s gone down really well,” said Signature’s Emilie Barra. We think it’s going to become a sci-fi genre classic. It’s one of those films that will stick around, with its directors going from strength to strength. We’re looking at a host of great extras for the Blu-ray too, with a commentary, alternative ending and deleted scenes.” Next biggie, in early April, is Come Away, which will have plenty of awareness after Signature’s “unprecedented” PR campaign for the wide theatrical release in December. Currently riding high on interest around its home premiere is another title due in April, the bonkers Willy’s Wonderland, Nic Cage’s latest over-the-top adventure. “It’s got everything you want in terms of Nic Cage freak-out moments,” said Emilie Barra. “It’s got a really strong marketing and PR campaign behind it too.” It follows hot on the heels of Jiu Jitsu, Cage’s Q1 hit for the company. The month ends with the EST release of Wrong Turn (DVD and TVOD is a week later, May 3), with big things expected of the reboot of the much-loved horror franchise. Here Are The Young Men is an Irish coming of age drama about a gang of Dublin teens in the early 2000s, based on the bestseller of the same name with an outstanding cast including star of Netflix’ breakout hit The Queen’s Gambit Anya Taylor Joy. “It’s got a great pedigree behind it and it’s great fun, but it also really packs a punch,” said Barra. The Auschwitz Escape is one of those titles that Signature always works well with – a based-on-a-true-story of a daring breakout from the concentration camp, given the added boost of being Slovakia’s entry for the 2021 Oscars. Brit stars Jonathan Rhys Myers and Dominic Monaghan team up for some Last Of The Mohicans style action in Edge of the World.
Of course, there’s plenty of strong genre fare in Signature’s Q2 slate, with first up Rose (April 5, EST, TVOD), a festival hit that is somewhere between Let The Right One In and Relic. The homegrown title sees Signature furthering its support for British-made genre fare from exciting young talents. There’s plenty of topical post-apocalyptic, pandemic stories due too, among them Final Days (fka Alone), which is set to attract plenty of interest. Portal (April 19) is a high concept sci-fi tale that falls between Annihilation and Stranger Things. On the same date comes an addition to the ongoing FrightFest Presents… imprint with the release of For The Sake Of Vicious. The film played at the organisation’s digital autumn event. Emilie Barra said: “It’s a homage to grind house cinema, it’s very gory, very gruesome. It’s a great addition to the label.” Fear Of Rain is a horror thriller with a strong 90s feel featuring Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up) who is in the middle of a renaissance. Released on the same day is F.E.A.R.(Forget Everything and Run) – April 26 – another post-apocalyptic tale featuring zombies. More timely horror comes in Safer At Home, a quarantine-style tale of being alone, with a touch of Zoom action thrown in for good measure. Equally serendipitous is ecological thriller Red Soil (May 10), an official Cannes selection about a toxic waste disaster and the fall-out from it. Initiation is a fresh and thought-provoking twist on the campus-based slasher that has always worked well on home entertainment platforms, while No Man’s Land is another politically charged thriller, albeit one set in border country between Mexico and the US. Horror legend Adrienne Barbeau (the star of John Carpenter classics The Fog and Escape From New York) stars in body horror Unearth (June 28). Some Like It Rare, on the same date, is a cannibal horror comedy set in rural France, with a pitch black sense of humour Drama-wise, there's The Bike Thief, which sees a Romanian family living in London desperately trying to retrieve the stolen two-wheeler of the title, it boasts an original soundtrack from Young Fathers and stars indie powerhouses Alec Secareanu (God’s Own Country) and Anamaria Marinca (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) . And this being Signature, there has to be some wartime action – Betrayed (May 20) us a World War II story. Triumph is an uplifting tale of a student with cerebral palsy aiming to become a wrestling champ, starring RJ Mitte from Breaking Bad alongside Terrence Howard. And it wouldn’t be a Signature line-up without a smattering of strong children’s titles. There’s A Dragon’s Adventure due on EST and TVOD on April 5, followed a week later by Space Dogs: Return To Earth.
One of the more enjoyable and slightly daft programmes we’ve seen recently is Two Weeks To Live, a truly out there comes on Sky which features former Game Of Thrones Maisie Williams giving it large alongside Fleabag’s Sian Clifford in a bonkers comedy. Commenting on the release, Acorn’s Helen Squire said: “As 2021 continues under lockdown wouldn’t we all really like to be off-grid and breaking the rules like mother and daughter team, Kim and Tina, played by Maisie Williams and Sian Clifford in Two Weeks To Live? From Monday we can do just this as this irresistible stupid-funny series releases on DVD with great press support from Debbie at Aim Publicity who loves the show as much as we do! Brace yourselves or, as Tina likes to remind us, ‘Gloves and a gun if you want to have fun, I mean it rhymes for f*** sake’.'
It's been a relatively quiet start to the year for Universal in terms of new release titles, but there’s a brace coming to market on Monday courtesy of the major. First up is a new adaptation of family favourite The Secret Garden, with star turns from Julie Walters and Colin Firth and brought to the screen with the help of super-producer David Heyman, whose credits include the Harry Potter and Paddington franchises. Universal is positioning the release across Blu-ray, DVD and digital, as the perfect family film for half term. So its campaign is focusing on reaching families while they’re watching screens at home. There’s also a press drop going out to key influencers and publications to ensure interest and further social media coverage. Commenting on the film, senior product manager Emily Evans said: “This is the film that we all need right now. It’s a must-have magical escape.” Universal’s other release due on Monday February 15 is Two By Two: Overboard, a sequel to the 2015 animated hit, which has some homegrown talent guesting in the shape of voice-over cameos from Queen of the Jungle Giovanna Fletcher and her husband, McFly star and children’s book author, Tom Fletcher.
A bunch of forthcoming title announcements have passed across our desk over the past week or two, one of the latest sis a new release from independent imprint Lightbulb, which is adding to its growing roster with the release of Come True, a sci-fi horror that has wowed audiences at genre festivals. It arrives on March 12 at cinemas, March 15 on digital download and April 5 as a limited edition Blu-ray. Commenting on the release, the company’s sales and acquisitions director Peter Thompson said:“We are thrilled to be bringing this ground-breaking feature to UK, Ireland and ANZ audiences. Come True was the most talked about film at Fantasia last year and Anthony Scott Burns is truly a visionary director. This film doesn’t just require repeat viewings – it demands it."
Announced this week for the end of March is a local acquisition from indie Bulldog Films and the latest from producer and Raygun reader Jonathan Sothcott, returning to the fray with his Shogun Films production outfit and a new title. Nemesis, out on March 29, stars Billy Murray and Nick Moran, among others and follows in the wake of Sothcott home entertainment hits such as We Still Kill The Old Way and The Krays Dead Man Walking. Announcing the release, Sothcott said: “For the first Shogun Film we're pulling no punches - Nemesis is an intelligent, morally ambiguous London crime thriller with career-best performances from some of the best actors in the genre including Billy Murray and Nick Moran. This is gritty, uncompromising British independent film at its best.”
April will see a new distribution and production company entering the market as Saints & Savages is set to launch not one, nor two but three different titles across the month. The company is launching with bold aims and strong backing, the former sees it pledging to shake up the market, while its founders producer John Pavlakos and Savvas D Michael are supported by US distributor SP Releasing. First title is the Michael-directed Original Gangsters, which stars, among others, Adam Deacon and Vas Blackwood alongside Steve Guttenberg. Chief executive Pavlakos said: "We are delighted to be bringing Original Gangster, written and directed by Savvas D. Michael and starring Steve Guttenberg, to the UK market place on DVD and digital. It is the first of three titles releasing across consecutive weeks in April with Red Rage, starring Steven Berkoff and Vas Blackwood, and Righteous Villains, starring Adam Deacon and Gary Dourdan, also coming to digital and DVD. Saints and Savages is a young, dynamic company whose core desire is to revolutionise the film industry and bring it to the 21st Century. In partnership with our American brothers in arms - SP Releasing - and with the innovative PR and marketing of the hard working Strike Media, we are looking forward to doing just that.”
The first title from Saints & Savages, Original Gangster, us due on April 5 and the company has further announced its second, Righteous Villains, another title starring Adam Deacon. Commenting on that release, the company’s John Pavlakos added: “We’ve been delighted with the response to our first title Original Gangster, and we’re equally excited to reveal our upcoming title, Righteous Villains. Dourdan, Brabin-Platt and Deacon are hugely talented and the work of the iconic Steven Berkoff speaks for itself. Angels and Demons, Heaven and Hell, Clandestine Cults, what’s not to love?” Another relatively recent entrant in to the market, ILY Films, has also announced a new acquisition. The company, which launched with Bruce Willis actioner Hard Kill, is looking to acquire titles to release on digital in the UK, and has signed on the dotted line with Highland Film Group, It has acquired the debut film from Louise Linton, US politician Steven Mnuchin’s Scottish born wife (and the subject of a massive feature in one of this weekend’s glory broadsheet supplement, discussing the film). Commenting on the release, Richard Lechartier, ceo of ILY Films said: “As soon as our friends at HFG showed us Me You Madness we knew straight away we wanted it. It has all the ingredients: it is edgy, funny and romantic.” Louise Linton added: “This film is a very self-aware, playful and colourful homage to the 80’s and to the films that inspired me such as Flashdance, Footloose, and Dirty Dancing. It is glamorous and consummately wilful in its decadent style and neon aesthetic. It is heavily driven with dance-along 80’s hits, choreography, fight sequences, and beautiful locations. My hope for this film is that it makes people laugh at a time when we could all use some more laughter in our lives.” Delphine Perrier of Highland Film Group says, “We are thrilled for the top-notch team at ILY Films to be bringing Me You Madness to audiences at home in the UK, France, and French speaking Europe. The film is super fun, glamorous, action packed, and all sewed up with a romantic twist. It has all the right ingredients we want to enjoy at home right now! We cannot wait for audiences to discover it and enjoy the film as much as we do.”
AT THE MOVIES
More Marvel news and as production ramps up across Disney’s assorted franchises and different arms, there’s always some new superhero or villain being unveiled. Latest, according to Deadline, is Brit actor Zawe Ashton, who burst to prominence in Fresh Meat and has been wowing critics and audiences across film and TV in pretty much everything she’s been in ever since. And now, further highlighting just how bold some of Marvel’s decisions are within its hiring for its franchises, she is set to become the villain in the forthcoming Captain Marvel sequel. It’s not set to appear until November 2022…
Not appearing going forward, however, is Gina Carano, the ass-kicking star of The Mandalorian. Seems her outspoken views – pro-Trump, right-wing – have set the powers that be against her and Disney has confirmed that she won’t be appearing further in the series. Cue howls of protest from wounded right-wingers, eschewing their normal protests against liberal snowflakes getting upset about something by getting upset about her contract renewal. More power to Disney’s elbow, we say…
Unlikely sequel news of the week – well, it was at first rumoured to be a reboot or remake until Adam Wingard stepped in to give more detail following much gossip – is the classic 90s action flick Face/Off. The ridiculously enjoyable amp saw John Travolta and Nic Cage chewing the scenery with each other’s faces on. Now director Wingard has confirmed it will be a sequel to John Woo’s classic, although little detail about who’s got who’s face on (or off for that matter).
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun…
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
First from Shogun Films…
A MUBI exclusive…
Marvel business due on Disney+
https://youtu.be/IWBsDaFWyTE Arriving on Disney+ offshoot Star…
Simon sequel of sorts…
An actual Disney feature film…
THE OBLIGATORY GDPR BIT
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