When I started receiving early press screening invites for the theatrical release of Disgrace via a new label called “Paladin”, I had no clue until today that this was former ThinkFilm topper Mark Urman’s new venture. The newly formed distribution company who’ll, from the look of it, will stick to smaller film fair has already mounted a slate that pushes the company into next year. As mentioned before, the J.M. Coetzee novel adaptation (Disgrace) is the first film to launch the label, this will be followed by Brant Sersen’s comedy called Splinterheads in November, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond in New York and Los Angeles in late December and they’ll begin the new year with Bette Gordon’s Handsome Harry early next year. Our advice to Urman: start off slow, bid low and think quality not quantity.
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond is based on the undiscovered screenplay by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Tennessee Williams, and sees a young and rebellious socialite Fisher Willow, tainted by a family scandal, boldly hires farm hand Jimmy Dobyne to be her escort for the elaborate party season. As her passion for Jimmy grows, Fisher defies social convention and the burden of history to risk everything for a chance at real love… until the loss of a priceless diamond sets off a series of accusations and betrayals that threaten to shatter their hopes for the future. With his indelible characters and breathtaking Southern backdrops, Williams paints a heartbreaking tale of seduction and loss.
