Neoclassics boards St. Trinian’s

Neo Classics – the new distribution arm that will be offering their first two titles (a Slamdance drama and Berlin Film Festival winner) later this fall, have picked up the U.S rights to St. Trinian’s. Deemed as a Harry Potter counter-programming type of pic, the Brit comedy, which also happens to be a remake, has taken in 20 plus million in box office receipts and is now making strides towards a franchise with a sequel now in the works called, St. Trinians 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold. Variety reports that rights for Spain and Canada have also been picked up.

A paycheck role for thesps Colin Firth and Rupert Everett, the two have both been working with the director and producer team of Oliver Parker and Ealing Studios’ Barnaby Thompson on films such as The Importance of Being Earnest and the upcoming Dorian Gray, now in production. This now makes it two days in a row that a Colin Firth film has been picked up for U.S release, yesterday, Winterbottom’s Genova was bought by THINKfilm.

While the notion of naughty school girls usually has a wider reach, the appeal for a pic like St Trinian’s, lies somewhere between the girls above primary school age to the mid range high school category. Written by Piers Ashworth and Nick Moorcroft, this is originally inspired by books and cartoons by Ronald Searle. The infamous school for ‘young ladies’, St Trinian’s, is once again facing dire financial crisis. While unorthodox headmistress Camilla Fritton (Everett) struggles to deal with the new Education Minister Geoffrey Thwaites’ tireless advances and his unyielding objective of transforming her chaotic establishment into a ‘respectable’ ladies’ college, the responsibility for saving St Trinian’s from its creditors falls to the anarchic pupils. The fearless girls gather together a motley crew of teachers, associates, and the rest of the school‘s ungovernable and uninhibited pranksters, who, using their wit, sass, determination and ingenuity, attempt to pull off the heist of the century and save the school from impending bankruptcy.

We should see this release stateside somewhere in 2009.