News

Company to distribute roster of completed titles in US.

Vertical Entertainment continues to grow its international business and is in talks on a virtual Cannes market slate led by thriller Last Survivors starring Alicia Silverstone and civil rights drama Son Of The South executive produced by Spike Lee.

Head of international sales and distribution Ryan Keller and his team have been taking meetings this week on the international sales roster, which includes sci-fi thriller Risen, horror Shook, thriller Stalker, and The Resort. All titles are completed and Vertical will distribute in the US.

Drew Mylrea directed the thriller Last Survivors,...

Mikey Alfred’s debut also stars Ryder McLaughlin, Miranda Cosgrove.

UK sales and distribution company Blue Finch Films has boarded international sales rights on coming-of-age comedy North Hollywood starring Vince Vaughn.

Blue Finch is selling the film at the ongoing Pre-Cannes Screenings.

North Hollywood is Alfred’s directorial debut; he was a co-producer on Jonah Hill’s Mid90s, as well as skate consultant on Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart.

The film is a coming-of-age comedy about a kid who must choose between the future his father wants, or his dream of becoming a professional skater.

Mid90s star Ryder McLaughlin...

Expansion move follows distribution pact with Altitude for the UK and Ireland.

US distributor Saban Films has accelerated its global expansion plans, striking distribution partnerships with several European firms ahead of the Cannes Film Festival.

After entering the UK and Ireland distribution market last September in a pact with Altitude Media Group, Saban has now partnered with distributors in key European territories and plans to release at least 15 titles annually through their new associates.

They include Splendid in Austria and Germany; Ace Entertainment in France; Mis.Label in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland; Key2Media in Spain; and Defiant Screen Entertainment...

Hamilton, who became Studiocanal UK CEO last year, talks libraries, windows and a new Apple channel.

It has been a turbulent year for UK distribution veteran Alex Hamilton, who became CEO of Studiocanal UK in April 2020, early on in the Covid-19 pandemic.

With cinemas closed and production suspended, it was a challenging period to take up the reins. However, Hamilton’s strategy is now beginning to come into focus.

The Railway Children Return, the first UK production made by the company since he arrived, has just finished shooting and post-production is now steaming ahead. The film, directed by Morgan Matthews...

Ashanti McIntosh will take part in the upcoming virtual Marche.

Studiocanal UK has hired former eOne executive Ashanti McIntosh to head its acquisitions team ahead of this month’s Cannes virtual Marché (June 22-26).

McIntosh, who joined on June 1, will be providing maternity cover for Alison Meese, senior vice president UK acquisitions and production.

She will be actively looking for films to acquire during the Marche for Studiocanal UK, which also appointed another former eOne executive, Alex Hamilton, as CEO in March.

Studiocanal UK’s recent acquisitions have included Saint Maud, Blithe Spirit, Train To Busan sequel Peninsula and Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round.

Exclusive: Wilco Wolfers takes over role as Jan Kouwenhouven retires from post.

International production and distribution outfit Entertainment One (eOne) has promoted Wilco Wolfers into a role that will see him head up the company’s film business across Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg.

He takes over the position of managing director, Benelux, from eOne executive Jan Kouwenhoven following the latter’s retirement.

Wolfers joined eOne in 2014 as COO of eOne Benelux having previously served as CEO of film distributor A-Film Benelux and chairman of organisation Nederlandse Vereniging van Filmdistributeurs. He has also held roles as managing director for Warner Bros Pictures and commercial director for Disney’s Buena Vista Home Entertainment branch.

Alex Hamilton, eOne managing director, film, Emea, commented: “Wilco is a dynamic and insightful leader with a strong understanding of the film marketplace, both locally and globally. He is well-known and trusted by our partners and has a talented team behind him as he formally...

Exclusive: Mini-major confirms £109.2 haul, placing it ahead of two studios.

Entertainment One (eOne) scored its biggest ever UK/Ire box office in 2016, grossing £109.2m for an 8.3% market share (source: comScore) between Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2016.

Mini-major eOne finished the year with the UK’s fourth-biggest market share among distributors, ahead of two studios: Sony and Paramount.

The £109m haul is double that of its closest independent competitor - Lionsgate - and means that the company is the only independent to have crossed £100m in the past decade, a feat it has achieved twice in that time.

The last independent to have crossed £100m prior to eOne was Entertainment Film Distributors, which took £115m in 2003 (and £137m in 2002), fuelled by The Lord Of The Rings movies.

eOne has now outstripped its indie rivals in four of the last five years and five times in the last eight.

The company’s hits this year have included Steven Spielberg’s [link...

Exclusive: The promotion sees the executive extend her UK remit, Emea managing director of film Alex Hamilton announced on Thursday.

In her expanded role, Roberts will drive and oversee strategic publicity campaigns across European territories for the theatrical slate, which includes acquisitions and original productions.

She will work closely with film publicity teams across Europe and around the world including Sierra/Affinity, which handle sales and publicity for eOne productions outside the territories where it distributes directly.

The appointment is effective immediately and Roberts will continue to be based in London.

“Over many years and countless successful campaigns, Theresa’s leadership, expertise and many contributions have been invaluable to the growth of our business,” said Hamilton.

“I’m delighted that she will bring her sharp instincts, deep relationships and bold approach to champion our film publicity efforts across the Emea region.”

Roberts has led film publicity efforts in the UK since 2008 and oversaw publicity campaigns on such...

Troy Lum.

eOne has promoted Troy Lum as it introduces a new regionally-focused leadership structure across its Global Film Group..

According to a statement, the realignment is designed to further support partnership activities globally, and reflects the film group.s increasing number of multi-territory relationships from leading suppliers including Amblin Partners and The Mark Gordon Company. It also builds upon eOne.s global production and sales alliance with Sierra Pictures..

.Alex, Troy and Patrick are dynamic leaders with deep industry experience, and have been instrumental in growing our business and broadening our great partnerships around the world," said by Steve Bertram, President, Global Film Group, Entertainment One..

"We are looking forward to continued success from them in their expanded regional roles as we prepare for an exciting film slate in the year ahead...

As Managing Director, Film, Asia-Pacific, Lum extends his role from Australia and New Zealand to now include...

Exclusive: Entertainment One has promoted Alex Hamilton, Troy Lum and Patrick Roy in a move that will introduce a new regionally focused leadership structure across the global film group. The realignment is designed to further support partnership activities, reflecting an increasing number of multi-territory relationships. Those include Amblin Partners and the Mark Gordon Company. The new structure also builds on eOne's global production and sales alliance with Sierra…...

The content giant that has come under intense scrutiny from prospective suitors has reorganised the way it runs its international regions and promoted Alex Hamilton, Troy Lum and Patrick Roy.

Hamilton led eOne’s UK film operation and now oversees Europe, the Middle East and Africa as managing director of film, Emea.

Lum previously supervised Australia and New Zealand and as managing director of film, Pacific Asia, will now oversee that entire region.

He will continue to produce through his Hopscotch Features, which has strategic ties to eOne.

Roy’s purview expands from Canada to North America and will now encompass Momentum Pictures as president of film, North America, and president of Les Films Séville.

Michal Steinberg has left The Weinstein Company to join eOne where she will serve as executive vice-president of business affairs, global group.

Disney juggernaut set to play in a host of UK independent cinemas but some venues are resisting.

As UK independent cinemas increasingly bite on blockbusters and studio-level films, the majority of London’s independent cinemas will be screening Star Wars: The Force Awakens from Thursday, December 17.

A fleet of London independents, including most of the capital’s Picturehouse and Curzon venues, are due to show the film, helping to boost the site count beyond an expected 600+ venues.

For some, however, it wasn’t an easy decision.

Kate McCarthy, head of business operations at single screen indie stalwart The Phoenix, told Screen:

“The decision was taken to show Star Wars after quite a bit of discussion with our trustees, because obviously it’s not the regular choice for us.”

“We felt we wouldn’t do Star Wars and Spectre because it makes the ‘independent cinema’ tag slightly less true…but we hope it will enable us to show...

Disney juggernaut set to play in a host of UK independent cinemas but some venues remain defiant.

As UK independent cinemas increasingly bite on blockbusters and studio-level films, the majority of London’s independent cinemas will be screening Star Wars: The Force Awakens from Thursday, December 17.

A fleet of London independents, including most of the capital’s Picturehouse and Curzon venues, are due to show the film, helping to boost the site count beyond an expected 600+ venues.

For some, however, it wasn’t an easy choice.

Kate McCarthy, head of business operations at single screen indie stalwart The Phoenix, told Screen:

“The decision was taken to show Star Wars after quite a bit of discussion with our trustees, because obviously it’s not the regular choice for us.”

“We felt we wouldn’t do Star Wars and Spectre because it makes the ‘independent cinema’ tag slightly less true…but we hope it will enable us to show...

eOne Films UK managing director to speak at Screen Film Summit next week.

Speaking in advance of his appearance at next week’s Screen Film Summit (Dec 10), in which he will take part in the Question Time panel addressing big challenges facing the industry and what can be done to tackle them in the next five years, eOne Films UK managing director Alex Hamilton discussed key issues facing his company in the current distribution landscape.

Click here to Book Now

“The bullseye seems to be getting smaller for the underdog that breaks out,” Hamilton told Screen.

“Even if you have a five-star, critically acclaimed film, the market can be capricious. Sometimes we have films that are good but the reviews aren’t effusive. That can be a challenge.”

“The gap between the big wide-release model and the specialised-release model is a large one,” he added. “It’s a dangerous place to be but also tends to be where...

Award-winning director and producer to join execs from BBC Films, StudioCanal, See-Saw Films, eOne and more at annual summit.

Asif Kapadia, director of documentaries Amy and Senna, and Working Title co-founder Tim Bevan have joined the line-up of this year’s Screen Film Summit, which will be held at London’s Picturehouse Central on Dec 10.

Click here to Book Now

Kapadia, the BAFTA-winning director behind The Warrior, Far North, Senna and the most successful documentary of the year, Amy, will be the subject of a Director in Focus session to give a unique insight into his process and discuss the creation of a sustainable film industry for new filmmakers.

Bevan, co-founder of Working Title with Eric Fellner, will be the subject of a Producer in Focus session and will discuss the genesis and growth of his company as well as the challenges it faces in the current climate.

The company, now owned by...

Exclusive: Marketing head Kezia Williams promoted into newly created role.

Entertainment One Films UK head of theatrical marketing Kezia Williams has been promoted to the newly created role head of theatrical distribution.

Effective immediately, Williams will oversee all cross-functional theatrical activity and will also retain her oversight of marketing for the division.

Williams joined eOne in 2013 and has since overseen marketing campaigns for films including 12 Years a Slave, Dallas Buyers Club and Mr. Turner.

Prior to eOne, Williams served as deputy marketing director for film at Warner Bros. UK, where she led the cross-divisional marketing campaigns for titles including Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit.

Williams started her career in the agency world directing media planning for Sony Pictures before joining Universal Pictures as marketing manager in 2006.

“I am delighted to see Kezia take on this expanded role,” said Alex Hamilton, MD of Entertainment One Films UK.

“Since joining...

Troy Lum has laid much of the blame for the virtual demise of mid-level theatrical films on the Us majors. blockbusters mentality.

Speaking during a panel session at the Cannes Film Festival, the MD of eOne Australia also complained that most scripts he reads lack emotional resonance.

.The middle ground all over the world has fallen out of the marketplace,. Lum said during a session on distribution in English-speaking markets moderated by the UK.s Film Council's Ben Luxford and Screen Australia.s Richard Harris.

.The films that were doing £2-5 million in the UK and Australia aren.t really there anymore. That.s unfortunate because that.s where the independent market sits.

.There has been a lack of respect of audiences from the studios just making shit, over and over again, so it meant there's a whole audience that wasn.t being served.

.That coincided with a great boost in TV drama,...

London-based publicity exec promoted to senior vice president role.

Entertainment One (eOne) has announced the promotion of Theresa Roberts to senior vice president of publicity – production, international & UK film.

The new role will see Roberts extend her publicity expertise into the company’s growing film production business, whilst still overseeing UK publicity activities.

Roberts’ appointment is with immediate effect and she will continue to be based in London, reporting into film production president Xavier Marchand and eOne Films UK MD Alex Hamilton.

The new role will see Roberts drive and oversee strategic global publicity campaigns across the slate from production through to distribution, working closely with film publicity teams across all eOne territories.

Roberts has headed up film publicity for eOne in the UK since 2008 and during that time has overseen the publicity campaigns for films including The Twlight Saga and Oscar winners 12 Years a Slave and Dallas Buyers Club.

Prior to that...

The Walking Dead distributor Entertainment One (eOne) has restructured its London-based sales division to merge its TV and film arms.

Charlotte Thorp, head of television sales and business development, will oversee all UK sales to traditional broadcasters and digital platforms following the change.

It follows the departure of Prentiss Fraser, who left eOne to join Fox International Channels as senior vice president of global entertainment sales in September.

Thorp will now report to Stuart Baxter, president of eOne Television International and Alex Hamilton, managing director of eOne Films UK, which is distributing films such as Steve Carell and Channing Tatum’s Foxcatcher.

Meanwhile, Joey Sabella, director of sales, will lead eOne’s Us sales efforts reporting to Baxter and Larry Greenberg, senior vice president of acquisitions, eOne Films Us.

Separately, the company has brought in former Warner Bros exec Graham Spencer as sales director, eOne Television International. Spencer will manage sales across central Europe, Africa, Middle...

“We can compete with some of the studios,” says MD of eOne UK, which is aiming to release around 35 films per year.

eOne UK is aiming to release around 35 films per year going forward as it looks to cement its position as one of the top five distributors in the UK.

Upcoming films on the slate include The Rover (August 15), A Walk Amongst the Tombstones (September 19), The Homesman (October), Mr Turner (October 31), Nativity 3: Dude Where’s My Donkey? (November), Foxcatcher (January 9) and The Water Diviner (January).

Also on the impressive roster are Steven Spielberg’s The Bfg (July 22, 2016), J.A Bayona’s A Monster Calls, Denis Villeneuve’s A Story Of Your Life, Gus Van Sant’s Sea of Trees, Gavin Hood’s Eye in the Sky, Jay Roach’s Trumbo, Alex Proyas’ Gods of Egypt, John Hillcoat’s Triple Nine, Daniel Espinosa’s Child 44, court-room drama The Whole Truth and franchise sequel Insurgent.

eOne...

Exclusive: UK, France among multi-million dollar buyers of Lionsgate’s Liam Neeson fantasy.

Lionsgate’s J.A. Bayona fantasy A Monster Calls has been one of the market’s hottest scripts, with multi-million dollar deals recently locking in a major territories including UK (eOne) and France (Metropolitan).

The former is believed to have closed for around $4.8m and the latter for around $3.8m.

“After the amazing success of The Impossible and with this truly lovely script, how could we not want to get into business once more with J.A. Bayona, Belen, and Patrick,” Alex Hamilton, managing director, eOne Films UK, told Screen.

Liam Neeson and Felicity Jones are set to star in the fantasy about a boy who seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mother’s terminal illness.

Exclusive: Six-project pilot will see UK distributors and BFI-backed producers split MGs and revenues.

The BFI is rolling out a new initiative to stimulate investment in British independent films, which will see BFI-backed UK producers split minimum guarantees and revenues with UK distributors.

The BFI will initially launch a six-project pilot test of the optional scheme in order to gauge interest and viability.

Under the terms of the new agreement, a producer would invest part of a Lottery production award from the Film Fund as its contribution of up to 50% of the UK distribution minimum guarantee for the film in question.

In return for sharing the distribution risk, the distributor would allow a 50% share [providing producer investment had been 50%] of its net revenues to be held in a Locked Box by the BFI for re-investment by the producer in their future productions.

From the date that distributor’s gross receipts are first received and throughout the recoupment period a ‘Distributor Base Fee...

Exclusive: Six-project pilot will see UK distributors and BFI-backed producers split MGs and revenues.

The BFI is rolling out a new initiative to stimulate investment in British independent films, which will see BFI-backed UK producers split minimum guarantees and revenues with UK distributors.

The BFI will initially launch a six-project pilot test of the optional scheme in order to gauge interest and viability.

Under the terms of the new agreement, a producer would invest part of a Lottery production award from the Film Fund as its contribution of up to 50% of the UK distribution minimum guarantee for the film in question.

In return for sharing the distribution risk, the distributor would allow a 50% share [providing producer investment had been 50%] of its net revenues to be held in a Locked Box by the BFI for re-investment by the producer in their future productions.

From the date that distributor’s gross receipts are first received and throughout the recoupment period a ‘Distributor Base Fee...

London -- Canadian producer/distributor Entertainment One on Tuesday unveiled its European leadership in the aftermath of its acquisition of Alliance Films, from affiliates of Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Investissement Québec for approximately $228 million (Cad$225 million). The enlarged group, which merges the global operations of the two companies, means more responsibility for Alex Hamilton, eOne's current U.K. managing director. Hamilton will oversee the combined U.K. team, including Alliance's Momentum Pictures business, as managing director. Jorge Vazquez will serve as managing director for the company's operations in Spain. Patrice Theroux, who leads eOne’s global film business, announced the management decisions.

read more...

Cannes premieres can sometimes take years to reach theaters worldwide, but we’ve got news today on one that is expected to arrive in just a few months. Entertainment One, or eOne, has picked up the North American rights to David Cronenberg‘s Cosmopolis. Based on the novel by Don DeLillo, the film stars Robert Pattinson and Sarah Gadon in the story of a young multi-billionaire named Eric Parker who journeys across Manhattan in his luxurious, hi-tech stretch limo to get a haircut.

With a cast also including Samantha Morton, Juliette Binoche, Paul Giamatti and Kevin Durand, the press release below indicates the company plans to release the film before summer is over in Us, Canada and UK. Considering eOne’s lack of distribution experience in the states, we’d have to imagine they’ll link up with a bigger distributor to release this one, but nonetheless we’re excited...

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 has broken the record for the biggest opening for an American film at the UK box office. The fourth part in the vampire franchise grossed £13.9 million over the three-day weekend period. Its Friday figure of £6.35 million surpassed the non-3D opening record set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 last year. Director of film at Entertainment One Alex Hamilton said: "We have the highest three-day opening ever for an American film in the UK. "I'd like to thank all the fans of Twilight (more)...

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn–Part 1 which stars Taylor Lautner, Kristen Sterwart, Robert Pattinsion and is based on the books by Stephanie Meyer has opened over the weekend to a rather impressive opening weekend bringing in a Massive $283.5m according to info from our friends at THR. In the Us, the movie brought in $139.5m with the rest of the planet bringing in $144m. Although the Us opening was smaller than New Moon (which brought in $142.8m), it’s still rather an impressive total for the movie which hasn’t done amazingly well in the review stakes (although our Laura gave it ****~ (4/5)!).

THR tell us that the movie also set two ‘key’ records becoming the fifth largest opening ever at the domestic (Us) box office and the tenth largest worldwide opening ever! Nuts!

The movie opened on Friday to 54 different countries (one of which was the UK) and it seems...

Although watching Twilight New Moon for some may be worse than pulling teeth, it appears to appeal to many as the second instalment of Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Twilight’ series opened in the UK and Ireland at 12.01am Friday night and has broken the all-time midnight opening record for a film with a staggering £486,210 box office.

Tens of thousands of fans flocked to the cinema as it played at midnight in selected venues only. 134 screenings were sell outs and 88 of those were from the Vue circuit alone. The film which has also broken the record for advance sales in the UK and Ireland as reported by the three leading cinema chains – Vue, Odeon and Cineworld – was released on a massive 1100 screens.

Head of Film at E1 Entertainment Alex Hamilton commented, ‘We are very excited and encouraged by this fantastic result and can’t wait to see what the rest of the weekend brings.

LONDON -- Icon Film Distribution U.K. said Tuesday that it has appointed Alex Hamilton as president. He will report to newly appointed CEO Martin Bigham. Hamilton joins the U.K. distribution outpost of Bruce Davey and Mel Gibson's Icon Entertainment from Momentum Pictures, where he was in sales and business development. He is scheduled to start at Icon later this month. "I'm delighted to be joining Icon and very much look forward to working with the talented and experienced team there," Hamilton said. He joins Icon in the wake of the unexpected departure of former U.K. chief Nick Hill in recent weeks and last month's exit of Icon Film Distribution president Sally Caplan, who left to head up the U.K. Film Council's Premiere Fund.

LONDON -- Momentum Pictures, the U.K. independent film distributor owned by Canada's Alliance Atlantis, said Monday that it has restructured its staffing to allow managing director David Kosse to concentrate on expanding its international business. The changeover sees Sam Nichols, currently director of marketing, become head of theatrical distribution; Alex Hamilton, director of sales, upped to head of sales and business development; and Dee Poku, director of publicity, made head of international marketing and publicity. Kosse said that Nichols, as head of theatrical distribution, will be ultimately responsible for all aspects of the business.