With no interest from the IFCs, SPCs and the Magnolia Pictures of the business, Ted Hope has turned inwards to distribute Todd Solondz’s Dark Horse. Open to new platforms, ventures and theatrical possibilities, Hope is actually going the traditional art-house release route, beginning with a June 8th release in New York and with the help of VOD label, Brainstorm Media’s newly minted theatrical arm and with a team comprised of behind the scenes players such as Ruth Vitale, David Shultz, Margot Gerber, Barbara Javitz and Marian Koltai-Levine.
Gist: This is about Abe (Jordan Gelber), a 30-something who lives with his parents, reluctantly works for his father (Christopher Walken), and avidly collects toys. When Abe isn’t playing backgammon with his mother (Mia Farrow), he’s trying to romance Miranda (Selma Blair), another 30-something who has moved back in with her parents after her literary/academic career crashed.
Worth Noting: Dark Horse was shown at the 2011 Venice and the Toronto Film Festivals.
Do We Care?: Our own Nicholas Bell who caught the film at TIFF actually thought the comedy noir pic holds a special distinction in Solondz’s library of films and fans shoudl definitely look forward to it — “while it’s not Solondz’s strongest or best feature, it’s an earnestly rendered film and it is of course, filmed with his offbeat, trademark style.“
