I see a new trend with the people over at Universal. Find some non-actors and take a painful memory from the news headlines and package it with popcorn. Variety report that Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment are going the U93 route and have picked Oliver Hirschbiegel to direct and Braulio Mantovani to write the drama.
Miramax Films are prepping for next year's Oscar race, boarding on filmmaker Noam Murro's Smart People and buying the North American rights. This is one of the first productions from Michael London's new Groundswell Prods. London is of course the producer behind such films as Sideways and The Illusionist.
Protagonist didn’t pick up any prizes at the fest, but it remains one of my favorite docs viewed during the more than 25 films I saw at Sundance. Apparently the folks at IFC Films and Netflix's Red Envelope Entertainment label are moments away from closing a deal on the pic from filmmaker Jessica Yu.
The top troupes at Magnolia Pictures are rallied up for one of the bigger projects on slate for the 07’ calender year. After years of studio projects, Brian De Palma’s next will be distribed by one of the indie studios. Magnolia Pictures will release the pic day-and-date next fall in theaters.