The veteran publicist looks back on 50 years in the business.
Celebrating 50 years in the business with the company he founded, Dda, veteran publicist Dennis Davidson is taking the leap into production.
Davidson is currently in Tbilisi preparing for thriller Deadline Belgrade, which is due to shoot in the first half of 2021. He is producing the project, which is to be directed by Florian Frerichs from a script by Jane Meikle and Victoria Aitken.
In the film, an investigative journalist is determined to expose the ugly truth behind a former street thug from her native Belgrade who has recast himself as a respected philanthropist.
Celebrating 50 years in the business with the company he founded, Dda, veteran publicist Dennis Davidson is taking the leap into production.
Davidson is currently in Tbilisi preparing for thriller Deadline Belgrade, which is due to shoot in the first half of 2021. He is producing the project, which is to be directed by Florian Frerichs from a script by Jane Meikle and Victoria Aitken.
In the film, an investigative journalist is determined to expose the ugly truth behind a former street thug from her native Belgrade who has recast himself as a respected philanthropist.
- 9/7/2020
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
The veteran publicist looks back on 50 years in the business.
Celebrating 50 years in the business with the company he founded, Dda, veteran publicist Dennis Davidson is taking the leap into production.
Davidson is currently in Tbilisi preparing for thriller Deadline Belgrade, which is due to shoot in the first half of 2021. He is producing the project, which is to be directed by Florian Frerichs from a script by Jane Meikle and Victoria Aitken.
In the film, an investigative journalist is determined to expose the ugly truth behind a former street thug from her native Belgrade who has recast himself as a respected philanthropist.
Celebrating 50 years in the business with the company he founded, Dda, veteran publicist Dennis Davidson is taking the leap into production.
Davidson is currently in Tbilisi preparing for thriller Deadline Belgrade, which is due to shoot in the first half of 2021. He is producing the project, which is to be directed by Florian Frerichs from a script by Jane Meikle and Victoria Aitken.
In the film, an investigative journalist is determined to expose the ugly truth behind a former street thug from her native Belgrade who has recast himself as a respected philanthropist.
- 9/7/2020
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Updated with Academy statement: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has responded to complaints about the exclusion of some entertainment figures from its annual In Memoriam segment on Sunday’s Oscar telecast.
“The Academy receives hundreds of requests to include loved ones and industry colleagues in the Oscars In Memoriam segment,” the organization said in a statement obtained by Deadline. “An executive committee representing every branch considers the list and makes selections for the telecast based on limited available time. All of the submissions are included on Oscar.com and will remain on the site throughout the year.”
Previously: Kobe Bryant led off the Oscar telecast’s In Memoriam segment and Kirk Douglas was the last film personality it honored.
The annual portion late in the show, introduced this time by Steven Spielberg and accompanied by a rendition of “Yesterday” by Grammy winner Billie Eilish, appeared to avoid major controversy.
“The Academy receives hundreds of requests to include loved ones and industry colleagues in the Oscars In Memoriam segment,” the organization said in a statement obtained by Deadline. “An executive committee representing every branch considers the list and makes selections for the telecast based on limited available time. All of the submissions are included on Oscar.com and will remain on the site throughout the year.”
Previously: Kobe Bryant led off the Oscar telecast’s In Memoriam segment and Kirk Douglas was the last film personality it honored.
The annual portion late in the show, introduced this time by Steven Spielberg and accompanied by a rendition of “Yesterday” by Grammy winner Billie Eilish, appeared to avoid major controversy.
- 2/11/2020
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Here’s a list of some of the notable celebrities and industry professionals in film, TV, music and sports who have passed away in 2019.
Carol Channing
The legendary Broadway and musical actress died Jan. 15. Channing was 97.
Kevin Barnett
The comic and “Rel” co-creator, the Lil’ Rel Howery-led sitcom, died Jan. 22 due to a hemorrhage. Barnett was 32.
Joe Stapleton
The New England broadcaster who appeared in several Oscar-winning films like “Spotlight” and “Mystic River,” died Jan. 1. Stapleton was 55.
Daryl Dragon
One half of pop duo Captain and Tennille died Jan. 2 of renal failure, according to Reuters. He was 76.
Gene Okurland
The famed WWE announcer, who frequently interviewed the likes of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant at their peak, died Jan. 2. Okurland was 76.
Bob Einstein
The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Arrested Development” actor (and brother of actor-filmmaker Albert Brooks) died Jan. 2. Einstein was 76.
Verna Bloom
The “Animal House” and “The Last Temptation of Christ...
Carol Channing
The legendary Broadway and musical actress died Jan. 15. Channing was 97.
Kevin Barnett
The comic and “Rel” co-creator, the Lil’ Rel Howery-led sitcom, died Jan. 22 due to a hemorrhage. Barnett was 32.
Joe Stapleton
The New England broadcaster who appeared in several Oscar-winning films like “Spotlight” and “Mystic River,” died Jan. 1. Stapleton was 55.
Daryl Dragon
One half of pop duo Captain and Tennille died Jan. 2 of renal failure, according to Reuters. He was 76.
Gene Okurland
The famed WWE announcer, who frequently interviewed the likes of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant at their peak, died Jan. 2. Okurland was 76.
Bob Einstein
The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Arrested Development” actor (and brother of actor-filmmaker Albert Brooks) died Jan. 2. Einstein was 76.
Verna Bloom
The “Animal House” and “The Last Temptation of Christ...
- 12/2/2019
- by Omar Sanchez and Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Eager as ever to attend Tiff, a festival I have missed only once in the last 29 years, because a cat bite sent me to the hospital, I am looking forward to discoveries and have booked my calendar tight with films!
I am lucky to have seen three films already, two in Cannes, both wonderful, memorable funny and absurd films, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, So. Korea’s submission for Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and a likely winner, as well as So. Korea’s first-ever Palm d’Or winner in Cannes this year; and Elia Suleiman’s This Must Be Heaven, sweetly surreal, as funny as a Jacques Tati film, wryly observing our human race and with a funny little cameo with Gael Garcia Bernal introducing Suleiman to his agent. The third, Synonyms, won this year’s Berlinale Golden Bear. A coproduction of France, Israel and Germany, it...
I am lucky to have seen three films already, two in Cannes, both wonderful, memorable funny and absurd films, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, So. Korea’s submission for Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and a likely winner, as well as So. Korea’s first-ever Palm d’Or winner in Cannes this year; and Elia Suleiman’s This Must Be Heaven, sweetly surreal, as funny as a Jacques Tati film, wryly observing our human race and with a funny little cameo with Gael Garcia Bernal introducing Suleiman to his agent. The third, Synonyms, won this year’s Berlinale Golden Bear. A coproduction of France, Israel and Germany, it...
- 9/3/2019
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The Independent Filmmaker Project announced on Wednesday that it has tapped film producer Jeffrey Sharp as the institution’s new executive director.
Sharp, an award-winning producer for “You Can Count on Me,” will bring decades of experience to Ifp, including his other work producing films such as “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Evening and The Yellow Birds” and digitally publishing authors such as William Styron, Pat Conroy and Pearl Buck as co-founder and president of Open Road Integrated Media.
“We are delighted to have Jeff join Ifp as its leader. His credentials and background are a perfect fit with our organization,” Ifp co-chairs Anthony Bregman and Jim Janowitz said in a statement. “He has developed and produced prestigious independent films. He has extensive non-profit experience as a co-founder and Chair of the Hamptons International Film Festival Advisory Board. He has broad contacts across foundations, arts organizations, and government.”
“I am tremendously...
Sharp, an award-winning producer for “You Can Count on Me,” will bring decades of experience to Ifp, including his other work producing films such as “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Evening and The Yellow Birds” and digitally publishing authors such as William Styron, Pat Conroy and Pearl Buck as co-founder and president of Open Road Integrated Media.
“We are delighted to have Jeff join Ifp as its leader. His credentials and background are a perfect fit with our organization,” Ifp co-chairs Anthony Bregman and Jim Janowitz said in a statement. “He has developed and produced prestigious independent films. He has extensive non-profit experience as a co-founder and Chair of the Hamptons International Film Festival Advisory Board. He has broad contacts across foundations, arts organizations, and government.”
“I am tremendously...
- 3/6/2019
- by Trey Williams
- The Wrap
Updated with more info: Stanley Donen, the legendary director of classics like Singin’ in the Rain, whose death at age 94 was just confirmed a day and a half before the Oscars, was the most prominent omission of the annual “In Memoriam” reel in tonight’s telecast.
Other notables left out included Star Wars and American Graffiti producer Gary Kurtz, actress Carol Channing, experimental filmmaker Jonas Mekas and marketing and distribution executive Mark Urman. Despite a petition urging her inclusion, Stand and Deliver and ER actress Vanessa Marquez also did not make the cut. Also missing were actors Dick Miller, whose work included Gremlins and The Terminator, and Julie Adams, known for Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The Academy did post a more comprehensive photo gallery on its site tonight that included Donen and Channing. A total of 211 photos are included.
Donen was a renowned figure whose films spanned decades and...
Other notables left out included Star Wars and American Graffiti producer Gary Kurtz, actress Carol Channing, experimental filmmaker Jonas Mekas and marketing and distribution executive Mark Urman. Despite a petition urging her inclusion, Stand and Deliver and ER actress Vanessa Marquez also did not make the cut. Also missing were actors Dick Miller, whose work included Gremlins and The Terminator, and Julie Adams, known for Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The Academy did post a more comprehensive photo gallery on its site tonight that included Donen and Channing. A total of 211 photos are included.
Donen was a renowned figure whose films spanned decades and...
- 2/25/2019
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
For 34 years, Robert Redford opened the Sundance Film Festival with a freewheeling press conference in which he juggled questions from the press. This year, after a brief introduction, he stepped aside to let the programming staff handle the hard part. The move had symbolic resonance: Redford is the Sundance’s founder and figurehead, but the festival’s reputation has evolved far beyond the long-standing appeal of the white male artist. So has the lineup.
Thirty years ago, Steven Soderbergh created the Sundance breakout with “Sex, Lies, and Videotape;” a decade later, the honor fell to Darren Aronofsky with “Pi.” While those success stories remain key aspects of the festival’s mythology, they don’t carry the same charge for audiences, or for the marketplace.
However, Sundance remains vital. Reflecting the concerns of the industry as a whole, the festival has moved beyond the notion of diversity as a buzzword to...
Thirty years ago, Steven Soderbergh created the Sundance breakout with “Sex, Lies, and Videotape;” a decade later, the honor fell to Darren Aronofsky with “Pi.” While those success stories remain key aspects of the festival’s mythology, they don’t carry the same charge for audiences, or for the marketplace.
However, Sundance remains vital. Reflecting the concerns of the industry as a whole, the festival has moved beyond the notion of diversity as a buzzword to...
- 1/25/2019
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Four-day gap between Park City and Berlinale of concern to some international sales agents.
Kicking off on Thursday (24), Sundance Film Festival offers the first real opportunity of 2019 for buyers – be they established, reconfigured, reinvented, or simply new – and sellers to test the waters on a new crop of material and get a sense of what might register with industry and audiences in the months ahead.
International sales agent in attendance will then have to scramble across the Atlantic to attend the Berlinale and Efm market. A dovetailing of scheduling eccentricities means there are only four days between the end of...
Kicking off on Thursday (24), Sundance Film Festival offers the first real opportunity of 2019 for buyers – be they established, reconfigured, reinvented, or simply new – and sellers to test the waters on a new crop of material and get a sense of what might register with industry and audiences in the months ahead.
International sales agent in attendance will then have to scramble across the Atlantic to attend the Berlinale and Efm market. A dovetailing of scheduling eccentricities means there are only four days between the end of...
- 1/24/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The following remembrance was written by Deborah Davis, Mark Urman’s wife.
From Anatole Litvak’s “Anastasia,” the first movie he saw as a child at a picture palace in the Bronx, to Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” (his choice for this year’s Best Picture), Mark Urman was a man with a boundless passion for cinema. In the course of his nearly 50 years in film, Mark felt blessed to work with some of the greatest luminaries in the business, from Joseph Losey, David Lean, and Bernardo Bertolucci to Roman Polanski, Sydney Lumet, and Julian Schnabel.
He also delighted in encouraging talents as they emerged, including Ryan Gosling, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Lynette Howell, Jamie Patricof, Christian Bale, Liv Tyler, Marc Forster, Natasha Richardson, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Kevin Smith, Cary Fukunaga, Lee Daniels, and Bill Condon.
Mark was born in the Bronx on November 24, 1952, the...
From Anatole Litvak’s “Anastasia,” the first movie he saw as a child at a picture palace in the Bronx, to Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” (his choice for this year’s Best Picture), Mark Urman was a man with a boundless passion for cinema. In the course of his nearly 50 years in film, Mark felt blessed to work with some of the greatest luminaries in the business, from Joseph Losey, David Lean, and Bernardo Bertolucci to Roman Polanski, Sydney Lumet, and Julian Schnabel.
He also delighted in encouraging talents as they emerged, including Ryan Gosling, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Lynette Howell, Jamie Patricof, Christian Bale, Liv Tyler, Marc Forster, Natasha Richardson, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Kevin Smith, Cary Fukunaga, Lee Daniels, and Bill Condon.
Mark was born in the Bronx on November 24, 1952, the...
- 1/20/2019
- by Deborah Davis
- Indiewire
Mark Urman, the film publicist, marketer, distributor, father and husband, was one of the significant figures of the indie film boom of the 1990s and 2000s, participating directly in its rise and adapting to its shifts over the decades. His death last weekend at the age of 66 came as a shock to his colleagues in the industry and a great loss to his friends and family. “We’ve all been shedding tears,” says Jamie Patricof, producer of Half Nelson, one of the breakthrough indies Urman shepherded. “He was such a unique voice in our business, and he was really able […]...
- 1/16/2019
- by Anthony Kaufman
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Mark Urman, the film publicist, marketer, distributor, father and husband, was one of the significant figures of the indie film boom of the 1990s and 2000s, participating directly in its rise and adapting to its shifts over the decades. His death last weekend at the age of 66 came as a shock to his colleagues in the industry and a great loss to his friends and family. “We’ve all been shedding tears,” says Jamie Patricof, producer of Half Nelson, one of the breakthrough indies Urman shepherded. “He was such a unique voice in our business, and he was really able […]...
- 1/16/2019
- by Anthony Kaufman
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Mark Urman, a veteran independent film distributor who headed Paladin Films for the past decade, died on Saturday after a short illness. He was 66.
Urman executive produced “Monster’s Ball” and “Murderball,” and was involved in campaigns for Oscar contenders “Half Nelson,” “Affliction,” and “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.” He broke into the entertainment business in the 1980s by working in publicity at United Artists in New York, followed by Columbia Pictures’ Triumph Films and Dennis Davidson Associates.
In 1997, he became a distribution executive at Cinepix Film Properties, which became Lionsgate. He moved to ThinkFilm in 2001 to head theatrical distribution and oversaw the release of “Half Nelson,” for which Ryan Gosling received a best actor Academy Award nomination; Oscar-winning documentaries “Taxi to the Dark Side” and “Born Into Brothels”; and docs “Spellbound,” “The Story of the Weeping Camel,” “Murderball,” and “War/Dance.”
After a brief stint at Senator,...
Urman executive produced “Monster’s Ball” and “Murderball,” and was involved in campaigns for Oscar contenders “Half Nelson,” “Affliction,” and “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.” He broke into the entertainment business in the 1980s by working in publicity at United Artists in New York, followed by Columbia Pictures’ Triumph Films and Dennis Davidson Associates.
In 1997, he became a distribution executive at Cinepix Film Properties, which became Lionsgate. He moved to ThinkFilm in 2001 to head theatrical distribution and oversaw the release of “Half Nelson,” for which Ryan Gosling received a best actor Academy Award nomination; Oscar-winning documentaries “Taxi to the Dark Side” and “Born Into Brothels”; and docs “Spellbound,” “The Story of the Weeping Camel,” “Murderball,” and “War/Dance.”
After a brief stint at Senator,...
- 1/14/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Updated with reaction. Mark Urman, a prominent figure in the independent film business who headed Paladin Film for the past decade, has died at age 66 after battling cancer.
Word of his passing circulated over the weekend, especially among the many film and media professionals who live (as did Urman) in Montclair, N.J. Urman’s family has so far declined to make a statement. We will update all this as more information comes in.
Early on, Urman worked in publicity for Columbia Pictures and United Artists before joining PR firm Dennis Davidson Associates in the 1980s, where he got some of his first tastes of championing specialty film titles. He spearheaded several publicity campaigns for Miramax and other indie outfits, and later told a few memorable tales about Bob and Harvey Weinstein in Peter Biskind’s 2004 book Down and Dirty Pictures.
Urman would go on to become a noted tastemaker in the sector,...
Word of his passing circulated over the weekend, especially among the many film and media professionals who live (as did Urman) in Montclair, N.J. Urman’s family has so far declined to make a statement. We will update all this as more information comes in.
Early on, Urman worked in publicity for Columbia Pictures and United Artists before joining PR firm Dennis Davidson Associates in the 1980s, where he got some of his first tastes of championing specialty film titles. He spearheaded several publicity campaigns for Miramax and other indie outfits, and later told a few memorable tales about Bob and Harvey Weinstein in Peter Biskind’s 2004 book Down and Dirty Pictures.
Urman would go on to become a noted tastemaker in the sector,...
- 1/14/2019
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Distribution ace helped Ryan Gosling secure first Oscar nod for Half Nelson.
Mark Urman, the eloquent independent cinema champion who served as distribution president of THINKFilm and founded Paladin Films, has died. He was 66 and had been suffering from cancer.
Urman was a fixture of the circuit and could often be seen at the start of the year at Sundance Film Festival, huddled with friends or colleagues in a restaurant or theatre lobby, debating the merits of a premiere or pursuing an acquisition.
He began his film career as a publicist at United Artists in New York prior to stints...
Mark Urman, the eloquent independent cinema champion who served as distribution president of THINKFilm and founded Paladin Films, has died. He was 66 and had been suffering from cancer.
Urman was a fixture of the circuit and could often be seen at the start of the year at Sundance Film Festival, huddled with friends or colleagues in a restaurant or theatre lobby, debating the merits of a premiere or pursuing an acquisition.
He began his film career as a publicist at United Artists in New York prior to stints...
- 1/14/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Veteran indie film distributor Mark Urman, most recently president and CEO of New York-based Paladin Films, died Saturday following a bout with cancer, a rep for Paladin confirmed. He was 66.
Urman began his career in the international publicity department at United Artists, followed by publicity positions with Columbia Pictures and the studio’s Triumph Films. In 1997, he left the PR firm Dennis Davidson and Associates to join Cinepix Film Properties as its head of U.S. distribution.
While serving as distribution president at ThinkFilm in the early 2000s, Urman steered seven films to Oscar nominations in six years, with “Taxi to the Dark Side” and “Born Into Brothels” both winning the gold for Best Documentary Feature.
Also Read: Verna Bloom, 'Animal House' and 'Last Temptation of Christ' Actress, Dies at 80
He also shepherded successful Oscar campaigns for the films “Monsters Ball,” “Affliction,” “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” and “Gods and Monsters,...
Urman began his career in the international publicity department at United Artists, followed by publicity positions with Columbia Pictures and the studio’s Triumph Films. In 1997, he left the PR firm Dennis Davidson and Associates to join Cinepix Film Properties as its head of U.S. distribution.
While serving as distribution president at ThinkFilm in the early 2000s, Urman steered seven films to Oscar nominations in six years, with “Taxi to the Dark Side” and “Born Into Brothels” both winning the gold for Best Documentary Feature.
Also Read: Verna Bloom, 'Animal House' and 'Last Temptation of Christ' Actress, Dies at 80
He also shepherded successful Oscar campaigns for the films “Monsters Ball,” “Affliction,” “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” and “Gods and Monsters,...
- 1/14/2019
- by Rosemary Rossi
- The Wrap
Veteran independent film executive Mark Urman died Saturday after a short bout with cancer, IndieWire has confirmed. He was 66. His family requests privacy, and advised a statement will be coming in the next few days.
The Union College graduate started out in the international publicity department at United Artists in New York, followed by publicity posts at Columbia Pictures and the studio’s Triumph Films, and PR firm Dennis Davidson and Associates. In 1997, he left Dda to join Cinepix Film Properties, then just acquired by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., as the head of U.S. distribution.
That was the start of a passionate career in specialized film, including multiple Oscar contenders like “Monsters Ball,” “Affliction,” and “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.”
As distribution president at New York indie distributor ThinkFilm, Urman delivered seven Academy Award nominations in six years. Alex Gibney’s “Taxi to the Dark Side” and...
The Union College graduate started out in the international publicity department at United Artists in New York, followed by publicity posts at Columbia Pictures and the studio’s Triumph Films, and PR firm Dennis Davidson and Associates. In 1997, he left Dda to join Cinepix Film Properties, then just acquired by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., as the head of U.S. distribution.
That was the start of a passionate career in specialized film, including multiple Oscar contenders like “Monsters Ball,” “Affliction,” and “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.”
As distribution president at New York indie distributor ThinkFilm, Urman delivered seven Academy Award nominations in six years. Alex Gibney’s “Taxi to the Dark Side” and...
- 1/13/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Veteran independent film executive Mark Urman died Saturday after a short bout with cancer, IndieWire has confirmed. He was 66. His family requests privacy, and advised a statement will be coming in the next few days.
The Union College graduate started out in the international publicity department at United Artists in New York, followed by publicity posts at Columbia Pictures and the studio’s Triumph Films, and PR firm Dennis Davidson and Associates. In 1997, he left Dda to join Cinepix Film Properties, then just acquired by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., as the head of U.S. distribution.
That was the start of a passionate career in specialized film, including multiple Oscar contenders like “Monsters Ball,” “Affliction,” and “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.”
As distribution president at New York indie distributor ThinkFilm, Urman delivered seven Academy Award nominations in six years. Alex Gibney’s “Taxi to the Dark Side” and...
The Union College graduate started out in the international publicity department at United Artists in New York, followed by publicity posts at Columbia Pictures and the studio’s Triumph Films, and PR firm Dennis Davidson and Associates. In 1997, he left Dda to join Cinepix Film Properties, then just acquired by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., as the head of U.S. distribution.
That was the start of a passionate career in specialized film, including multiple Oscar contenders like “Monsters Ball,” “Affliction,” and “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.”
As distribution president at New York indie distributor ThinkFilm, Urman delivered seven Academy Award nominations in six years. Alex Gibney’s “Taxi to the Dark Side” and...
- 1/13/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Veteran indie film executive Mark Urman died Saturday in a hospital in Newark, New Jersey, after a bout with cancer. He was 66.
On Monday, his wife, author Deborah Davis, wrote on Facebook that Urman died "after a ridiculously short illness … he told a dear friend that his life was rich because he had done everything he wanted to do." Survivors also include his children Oliver and Cleo.
Urman most recently founded New York-based distribution company Paladin Films in 2009.
Known for his loquacious style, Urman began his career in the film business as a publicist for ...
On Monday, his wife, author Deborah Davis, wrote on Facebook that Urman died "after a ridiculously short illness … he told a dear friend that his life was rich because he had done everything he wanted to do." Survivors also include his children Oliver and Cleo.
Urman most recently founded New York-based distribution company Paladin Films in 2009.
Known for his loquacious style, Urman began his career in the film business as a publicist for ...
- 1/13/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Veteran indie film executive Mark Urman died Saturday in a hospital in Newark, New Jersey, after a bout with cancer. He was 66.
On Monday, his wife, author Deborah Davis, wrote on Facebook that Urman died "after a ridiculously short illness … he told a dear friend that his life was rich because he had done everything he wanted to do." Survivors also include his children Oliver and Cleo.
Urman most recently founded New York-based distribution company Paladin Films in 2009.
Known for his loquacious style, Urman began his career in the film business as a publicist for ...
On Monday, his wife, author Deborah Davis, wrote on Facebook that Urman died "after a ridiculously short illness … he told a dear friend that his life was rich because he had done everything he wanted to do." Survivors also include his children Oliver and Cleo.
Urman most recently founded New York-based distribution company Paladin Films in 2009.
Known for his loquacious style, Urman began his career in the film business as a publicist for ...
- 1/13/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Paladin has U.S. distribution rights to Billboard, the latest film from Zeke Zelker. The movie starring John Robinson, Heather Matarazzo and Eric Roberts will begin its theatrical run April 5 in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, with plans to expand later in the month.
The theatrical release will be one prong of a multi-platform push for the film, written, directed and produced by Zelker. The plot centers on a struggling radio station in Pennsylvania that hosts a billboard-sitting contest in a last-ditch attempt to stay on the air.
Zelker via his iDreamMachine production banner also created a 25-episode web series that follows a day in the life of the four contestants in the film, which co-stars Leo Fitzpatrick, Darlene Cates and Oakes Fegley. The series will be available to digital audiences February. There also will be a virtual radio station that parallels the station portrayed in...
The theatrical release will be one prong of a multi-platform push for the film, written, directed and produced by Zelker. The plot centers on a struggling radio station in Pennsylvania that hosts a billboard-sitting contest in a last-ditch attempt to stay on the air.
Zelker via his iDreamMachine production banner also created a 25-episode web series that follows a day in the life of the four contestants in the film, which co-stars Leo Fitzpatrick, Darlene Cates and Oakes Fegley. The series will be available to digital audiences February. There also will be a virtual radio station that parallels the station portrayed in...
- 12/11/2018
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
This year’s Sundance Film Festival will have to make some room for a brand new distributor, as UK-based media fund manager Great Point Media has announced they’re getting jumping into the market, and are planning to release 8-12 titles per year in theaters across the country. Per an official release, the company has already assembled a full slate for 2018, with $10 million in P&A committed to date. The Great Point team will be on the ground at Sundance, scouting possible projects to round out their 2019 slate.
“At a time of great change in the market, we’re proud to be giving filmgoers the chance to experience exceptional independent films in some of the best theatres around the U.S.,” Gpm co-founder Robert Halmi said in an official statement. “We’re very excited to launch this division and to deliver compelling stories from great filmmakers with casts audiences know and love,...
“At a time of great change in the market, we’re proud to be giving filmgoers the chance to experience exceptional independent films in some of the best theatres around the U.S.,” Gpm co-founder Robert Halmi said in an official statement. “We’re very excited to launch this division and to deliver compelling stories from great filmmakers with casts audiences know and love,...
- 1/12/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Acquisitions team Sundance-bound to scout for 2019 releases.
Heading into Sundance, London-based Great Point Media is launching a Us distribution arm and has set its first release Submission for March.
Company co-founders Robert Halmi and Jim Reeve plan to release eight to 12 titles a year and have committed $10m in P&A to a full 2018 slate. The acquisitions team will attend Sundance to scout for 2019 releases.
The company has partnered with distribution veterans Mark Urman of Paladin, Jeff Lipsky of Glass Half Full, and Michael Silberman. Commercial manager Matt Stevens oversees the releases from the company’s London office.
Richard Levine’s (Nip/Tuck) Submission is an adaptation of Francine Prose’s novel Blue Angel that stars Stanley Tucci and Kyra Sedgwick. It will open on March 2 in New York and expand a week later into multiple markets.
The pipelines includes Judy Greer’s directorial debut A Happening Of Monumental Proportions, an all-star comedy...
Heading into Sundance, London-based Great Point Media is launching a Us distribution arm and has set its first release Submission for March.
Company co-founders Robert Halmi and Jim Reeve plan to release eight to 12 titles a year and have committed $10m in P&A to a full 2018 slate. The acquisitions team will attend Sundance to scout for 2019 releases.
The company has partnered with distribution veterans Mark Urman of Paladin, Jeff Lipsky of Glass Half Full, and Michael Silberman. Commercial manager Matt Stevens oversees the releases from the company’s London office.
Richard Levine’s (Nip/Tuck) Submission is an adaptation of Francine Prose’s novel Blue Angel that stars Stanley Tucci and Kyra Sedgwick. It will open on March 2 in New York and expand a week later into multiple markets.
The pipelines includes Judy Greer’s directorial debut A Happening Of Monumental Proportions, an all-star comedy...
- 1/12/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
We all know the story: Filmmakers break out at Sundance and the next thing you know they’re juggling $120 million tentpole-superhero-blockbusters, hoping to emerge unscathed. Taika Waititi, director of “Thor: Ragnarok,” spent a decade dodging that fate.
“Being around these studio things wasn’t even really a big dream of mine,” said the New Zealand director of “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” and “What We Do in the Shadows,” now in the midst of a mad scramble to promote the Marvel release. “I kind of didn’t know how to approach it — or whether I wanted to, because I was very comfortable in my small little world where I had complete control over everything, being the toast of the town for a while.”
Read More:‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Trailer: It’s the End of the World as We Know It, and Thor Feels Fine — Watch
Waititi has lived many creative lives. Once...
“Being around these studio things wasn’t even really a big dream of mine,” said the New Zealand director of “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” and “What We Do in the Shadows,” now in the midst of a mad scramble to promote the Marvel release. “I kind of didn’t know how to approach it — or whether I wanted to, because I was very comfortable in my small little world where I had complete control over everything, being the toast of the town for a while.”
Read More:‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Trailer: It’s the End of the World as We Know It, and Thor Feels Fine — Watch
Waititi has lived many creative lives. Once...
- 11/3/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Netflix has acquired the worldwide Svod rights to Drake Doremus’ “Newness,” Deadline reports. The film stars Nicholas Hoult and Laia Costa as a couple in contemporary Los Angeles navigating the world of online dating and social media–driven hookup culture. The film was a last-minute addition to the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and co-stars Matthew Gray Gubler, Courtney Eaton, Danny Huston and Courtney Eaton. Netflix acquired the rights in a reported seven-figure deal.
– Gravitas Ventures has acquired writer-director Angus MacLachlan’s second feature film, “Abundant Acreage Available.” The film premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Best Screenplay Award in the U.S. Narrative Competition. The film focuses on siblings Tracy (Amy Ryan) and Jesse...
– Netflix has acquired the worldwide Svod rights to Drake Doremus’ “Newness,” Deadline reports. The film stars Nicholas Hoult and Laia Costa as a couple in contemporary Los Angeles navigating the world of online dating and social media–driven hookup culture. The film was a last-minute addition to the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and co-stars Matthew Gray Gubler, Courtney Eaton, Danny Huston and Courtney Eaton. Netflix acquired the rights in a reported seven-figure deal.
– Gravitas Ventures has acquired writer-director Angus MacLachlan’s second feature film, “Abundant Acreage Available.” The film premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Best Screenplay Award in the U.S. Narrative Competition. The film focuses on siblings Tracy (Amy Ryan) and Jesse...
- 6/16/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– L.A.-based outfit Strand Releasing has acquired U.S. rights to Michael O’Shea’s Cannes premiere “The Transfiguration.” The film was sold by Protagonist Pictures at Toronto, and it marks the feature debut of writer-director Michael O’Shea. The atmospheric feature puts a new spin on the vampire movie.
“Mr. O’Shea’s film is a unique hybrid that audiences and critics will be compelled by,” said Strand Releasing’s partner Jon Gerrans, who discovered the film at Cannes. No word yet on release plans.
– Oscilloscope Laboratories has announced that Joel Potrykus’s latest dark comedy, “The Alchemist Cookbook,” will be available worldwide for pay-what-you-wish via BitTorrent Now on October 7, before it screens in select theaters across the country.
– L.A.-based outfit Strand Releasing has acquired U.S. rights to Michael O’Shea’s Cannes premiere “The Transfiguration.” The film was sold by Protagonist Pictures at Toronto, and it marks the feature debut of writer-director Michael O’Shea. The atmospheric feature puts a new spin on the vampire movie.
“Mr. O’Shea’s film is a unique hybrid that audiences and critics will be compelled by,” said Strand Releasing’s partner Jon Gerrans, who discovered the film at Cannes. No word yet on release plans.
– Oscilloscope Laboratories has announced that Joel Potrykus’s latest dark comedy, “The Alchemist Cookbook,” will be available worldwide for pay-what-you-wish via BitTorrent Now on October 7, before it screens in select theaters across the country.
- 9/16/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Stephen Brown’s Y Production just sealed a distribution deal with Mark Urman's Paladin for the war epic The Ottoman Lieutenant, likely the first movie to look at those on the other side of World War I. The film will be released for an Oscar-qualifying run in December before going wide in February of 2017. Starring, Michiel Huisman (Game of Thrones, Age of Adeline), Hera Hilmar (Anna Karenina), Josh Hartnett and Ben Kingsley, the film was lensed at the famed…...
- 9/9/2016
- Deadline
Michel Gondry made his first movie 15 years ago, and he never really stopped, although most moviegoers will struggle to name them all. It’s a pretty short list — he’s directed another feature every two to three years—but his playful oeuvre, which includes large-scale and minuscule productions in both English and French, follows such a jagged path that Gondry has himself become a living paradox: While his name conjures a unique handmade aesthetic and surreal, dreamlike experiences of lost souls, his output wanders so much that his films easily slip below most people’s radars.
“I feel forgotten sometimes,” he said during a conversation in New York last week. “It’s a bit disorienting.” The occasion for the conversation provided a perfect example of that disconnect: a new Gondry movie few people have heard about. At the end of last year, “Microbe and Gasoline,” Gondry’s eighth feature, had yet to land U.
“I feel forgotten sometimes,” he said during a conversation in New York last week. “It’s a bit disorienting.” The occasion for the conversation provided a perfect example of that disconnect: a new Gondry movie few people have heard about. At the end of last year, “Microbe and Gasoline,” Gondry’s eighth feature, had yet to land U.
- 7/15/2016
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The potential of controversial documentary India’s Daughter making it to the Oscar documentary shortlist could help change its perception at home in India, the film’s Us distributor said.
Mark Urman, the industry veteran who runs New York-based boutique distribution and marketing company Paladin, has worked on the team that spearheaded an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run for the film in Los Angeles and New York (starting earlier this month), also with select regional releases. PBS broadcast the film nationally in America last week.
“Even if it makes the shortlist it’s such an acknowledgement that the film isn’t what the [Indian] censor board says it is,” Urman told Screen. “It could be very important for the message of the film.”
The censors in India had said India’s Daughter was, in Urman’s words, “a hatchet job” that portrayed India in a negative light. It was banned from Indian release in March, partly over fears...
Mark Urman, the industry veteran who runs New York-based boutique distribution and marketing company Paladin, has worked on the team that spearheaded an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run for the film in Los Angeles and New York (starting earlier this month), also with select regional releases. PBS broadcast the film nationally in America last week.
“Even if it makes the shortlist it’s such an acknowledgement that the film isn’t what the [Indian] censor board says it is,” Urman told Screen. “It could be very important for the message of the film.”
The censors in India had said India’s Daughter was, in Urman’s words, “a hatchet job” that portrayed India in a negative light. It was banned from Indian release in March, partly over fears...
- 11/23/2015
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Mark Urman’s distribution company and the film’s producer will release the farce in October.
Friends And Romans stars Michael Rispoli and Annabella Sciorra and features eight cast members from The Sopranos including Tony Sirico, Paul Ben-Victor, Anthony DeSando and Katie Stevens. Christopher Kublan directed.
The Staten Island-set story charts an aspiring actor’s bid for respectability as he and his friends stage Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, only for the FBI to mistake the production for a mafia front.
The film opened the 2014 Woodstock Film Festival and won the audience award for best narrative feature at the Boston International Film Festival.
The film will open in late October in Philadelphia and Providence, Rhode Island, before heading to New York in November.
Friends And Romans stars Michael Rispoli and Annabella Sciorra and features eight cast members from The Sopranos including Tony Sirico, Paul Ben-Victor, Anthony DeSando and Katie Stevens. Christopher Kublan directed.
The Staten Island-set story charts an aspiring actor’s bid for respectability as he and his friends stage Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, only for the FBI to mistake the production for a mafia front.
The film opened the 2014 Woodstock Film Festival and won the audience award for best narrative feature at the Boston International Film Festival.
The film will open in late October in Philadelphia and Providence, Rhode Island, before heading to New York in November.
- 9/2/2015
- ScreenDaily
Dark Frames, a new distribution company dedicated to bringing high-quality, non-Bollywood Indian films to North American and international audiences through theatrical and digital channels, will release its first title, Unfreedom, on May 29, it was announced today by Dark Frames’ founder, Raj Amit Kumar. Veteran film marketer and distributor Mark Urman of Paladin is partnering with Dark Frames to lead the marketing and distribution of its release slate. Dark Frames will also partner with Film Buff to distribute Unfreedom at the same time on Cable VOD and other digital platforms.
Unfreedom juxtaposes two powerful and unflinching contemporary stories about religious fundamentalism and intolerance. Shifting between New York and New Delhi, one tale follows a Muslim terrorist who kidnaps a liberal Muslim scholar in order to silence him, while the other charts the travails of a young woman whose devout father tries to force her into an arranged marriage, which she resists...
Unfreedom juxtaposes two powerful and unflinching contemporary stories about religious fundamentalism and intolerance. Shifting between New York and New Delhi, one tale follows a Muslim terrorist who kidnaps a liberal Muslim scholar in order to silence him, while the other charts the travails of a young woman whose devout father tries to force her into an arranged marriage, which she resists...
- 2/13/2015
- by Press Releases
- Bollyspice
Sundance Selects has acquired North American rights to the Berlinale selection 45 Years starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay. Separately, The Orchard has acquired Cartel Land while monterey media will release Runoff.
Andrew Haigh directed and adapted the screenplay from the short story by David Constantine about a couple whose 45th anniversary celebrations are stymied when the body of the man’s former girlfriend is found frozen in ice 50 years after her death in the Swiss Alps.
Tristan Goligher of London-based The Bureau produce, while the executive producers are Christopher Collins, Lizzie Francke, Sam Lavender, Tessa Ross, Richard Holmes and Vincent Gadelle.
The BFI, Film4 and Creative England financed 45 Years and Film4 and the BFI jointly developed the film.
IFC distributed Haigh’s 2011 SXSW entry Weekend.
Arianna Bocco brokered the deal with Match Factory on behalf of the film-makers.
The Orchard has acquired North American theatrical and digital rights to Matthew Heineman’s Cartel Land, winner of the...
Andrew Haigh directed and adapted the screenplay from the short story by David Constantine about a couple whose 45th anniversary celebrations are stymied when the body of the man’s former girlfriend is found frozen in ice 50 years after her death in the Swiss Alps.
Tristan Goligher of London-based The Bureau produce, while the executive producers are Christopher Collins, Lizzie Francke, Sam Lavender, Tessa Ross, Richard Holmes and Vincent Gadelle.
The BFI, Film4 and Creative England financed 45 Years and Film4 and the BFI jointly developed the film.
IFC distributed Haigh’s 2011 SXSW entry Weekend.
Arianna Bocco brokered the deal with Match Factory on behalf of the film-makers.
The Orchard has acquired North American theatrical and digital rights to Matthew Heineman’s Cartel Land, winner of the...
- 2/12/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Kino Lorber has taken all Us rights to the documentary It’s Hard Being Loved By Jerks, about a legal battle between the French magazine and the Muslim French Council.
The film charts the legal dispute that arose when the Paris-based magazine and target of the January massacre by Islamist terrorists re-printed Danish cartoons first published in 2005 depicting the prophet Muhammad.
Daniel Laconte directed the film, which includes interviews with Charlie Hebdo cartoonists such as Cabu, Charb, Tignous and Wolinski, who were killed on January 7.
Kino Lorber CEO Richard Lorber brokered the deal with Pyramide International sales director Lucero Garzon and CEO Éric Lagesse.
Arc Entertainment has acquired all North American rights to thriller The Squeeze from Terry Jastrow about a gambler who exploits a gifted small-town man.
Jeremy Sumpter, Christopher McDonald, Katherine Lanasa, Jillian Murray, Michael Nouri and Jason Dohring star.
The Squeeze will open in the Us on premium VOD and in select markets on April...
The film charts the legal dispute that arose when the Paris-based magazine and target of the January massacre by Islamist terrorists re-printed Danish cartoons first published in 2005 depicting the prophet Muhammad.
Daniel Laconte directed the film, which includes interviews with Charlie Hebdo cartoonists such as Cabu, Charb, Tignous and Wolinski, who were killed on January 7.
Kino Lorber CEO Richard Lorber brokered the deal with Pyramide International sales director Lucero Garzon and CEO Éric Lagesse.
Arc Entertainment has acquired all North American rights to thriller The Squeeze from Terry Jastrow about a gambler who exploits a gifted small-town man.
Jeremy Sumpter, Christopher McDonald, Katherine Lanasa, Jillian Murray, Michael Nouri and Jason Dohring star.
The Squeeze will open in the Us on premium VOD and in select markets on April...
- 2/10/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Following the success of last year’s Dallas Buyers Club, director Jean-Marc Vallée returns with another high profile title and a big Hollywood star that should easily be this week’s Specialty Box Office go-getter, Wild. Starring Reese Witherspoon, who also produces with Bruna Papandrea under their Pacific Standard label, the Fox Searchlight title will open in a comparatively wider release by this weekend (it opened in NY and La Wednesday) than some of its more recent high-profile brethren including last week’s The Imitation Game or last month’s Foxcatcher. Liv Ullmann returns to the director’s chair after a long absence with her take on Strindberg’s Miss Julie with Jessica Chastain, Collin Farrell and Samantha Morton via Wrekin Hill Entertainment. IFC Films and Magnolia Pictures will each open features Comet and Life Partners respectively which have at their center two people in an intense relationship. And two...
- 12/5/2014
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline
Mark Urman’s distributor is orchestrating a qualifying release for The Barefoot Artist, Glenn Holsten and Daniel Traub’s documentary about installations artist Lily Yeh.
The film will open in New York on December 5 at the IFC Film Center and in Los Angeles on December 18 prior to expanding to select markets.
The Barefoot Artist chronicles the community-based work of the Philadelphia-based artist and a return trip to China, where she reconnects with her roots and reveals the motivating force behind her work.n
Flame Distribution has acquired international rights to Clique Pictures’ documentary Traceable and will launch sales at Mipcom in October. Jennifer Sharpe’s film traces the disconnect between clothing consumers and producers.
Traceable was produced in association with Bell Media, NBCUniversal Canada and Rogers Telefund with the assistance of the Omdc and television tax credit and the Canadian Film Or Video Production Tax Credit.
The film will open in New York on December 5 at the IFC Film Center and in Los Angeles on December 18 prior to expanding to select markets.
The Barefoot Artist chronicles the community-based work of the Philadelphia-based artist and a return trip to China, where she reconnects with her roots and reveals the motivating force behind her work.n
Flame Distribution has acquired international rights to Clique Pictures’ documentary Traceable and will launch sales at Mipcom in October. Jennifer Sharpe’s film traces the disconnect between clothing consumers and producers.
Traceable was produced in association with Bell Media, NBCUniversal Canada and Rogers Telefund with the assistance of the Omdc and television tax credit and the Canadian Film Or Video Production Tax Credit.
- 9/22/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Paladin has acquired U.S. rights to The Man on Her Mind, Alan Hruska's adaptation of his own play, which debuted in London in 2012. Bruce Guthrie and Hruska co-directed the film version, which stars Amy McAllister and Samuel James, who created their roles on stage. Paladin, headed by president Mark Urman, will open the film theatrically in select markets in the fall. The Film Sales Company, which is handling foreign sales, will distribute it across digital platforms and home video. The cast also includes Georgia Mackenzie and Shane Attwooll. Jamin O'Brien, Steven Levy, Sirad Balducci and Jonathan Gray produced,
read more...
read more...
- 6/11/2014
- by Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paladin has picked up Us rights from Andrew Herwitz of the Film Sales Company to The Man On Her Mind, the latest film by filmmaker, author, and playwright Alan Hruska, it was announced by company president, Mark Urman.
The film will open theatrically in New York and select markets in autumn and is based on Hruska’s (pictured) play, which ran at London’s Charing Cross Theater last year.
After the theatrical release, The Film Sales Company will distribute the film across digital platforms and on DVD and commence international sales.
The Man On Her Mind charts the unusual courtship of two lonely people, each of whom has a particularly active fantasy life. Amy McAllister and Samuel James star alongside Georgia Mackenzie and Shane Attwooll.
Bruce Guthrie co-directed with Hruska, who also wrote the screenplay. Hruska’s credits include Nola and Reunion.
Jamin O’Brien, Steven Levy, Sirad Balducci and Jonathan Gray produced, while [link=nm...
The film will open theatrically in New York and select markets in autumn and is based on Hruska’s (pictured) play, which ran at London’s Charing Cross Theater last year.
After the theatrical release, The Film Sales Company will distribute the film across digital platforms and on DVD and commence international sales.
The Man On Her Mind charts the unusual courtship of two lonely people, each of whom has a particularly active fantasy life. Amy McAllister and Samuel James star alongside Georgia Mackenzie and Shane Attwooll.
Bruce Guthrie co-directed with Hruska, who also wrote the screenplay. Hruska’s credits include Nola and Reunion.
Jamin O’Brien, Steven Levy, Sirad Balducci and Jonathan Gray produced, while [link=nm...
- 6/11/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Victor Salva’s horror thriller starring Tobin Bell will open theatrically through Paladin in New York and Los Angeles on March 14 with additional markets to follow.
Cinedigm is on board to launch the film in North America across cable, VOD, Blu-ray and DVD on March 11.
Dark House follows a prodigal son’s journey back to the heart of his family’s sinister past and marks the first film from Los Angeles-based Charles Agron Productions.
Luke Kleintank, Alex McKenna, Zack Ward and Lesley-Anne Down round out the key cast.
Producer Charles Agron expects to announce an international distribution deal shortly and is in the early stages of pre-production on horror title Monday At 11:01Am.
Salva directed the Jeepers Creepers films and co-wrote the Dark House screenplay with Agron based on a story by Agron.
Agron, Paradigm and attorney Leigh Leshner brokered the distribution deals with Mark Urman for Paladin and director of acquisitions Kristin Harris for Cinedigm...
Cinedigm is on board to launch the film in North America across cable, VOD, Blu-ray and DVD on March 11.
Dark House follows a prodigal son’s journey back to the heart of his family’s sinister past and marks the first film from Los Angeles-based Charles Agron Productions.
Luke Kleintank, Alex McKenna, Zack Ward and Lesley-Anne Down round out the key cast.
Producer Charles Agron expects to announce an international distribution deal shortly and is in the early stages of pre-production on horror title Monday At 11:01Am.
Salva directed the Jeepers Creepers films and co-wrote the Dark House screenplay with Agron based on a story by Agron.
Agron, Paradigm and attorney Leigh Leshner brokered the distribution deals with Mark Urman for Paladin and director of acquisitions Kristin Harris for Cinedigm...
- 2/13/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Paladin will release the Hitchcockian thriller "The Maid's Room" in theaters and on digital platforms in the spring, company president Mark Urman announced today. The film, which was written and directed by Michael Walker ("Chasing Sleep," "Price Check"), had its world premiere last fall at the Hamptons International Film Festival. Set and filmed on Long Island, "The Maid's Room" follows Drina (Paula Garces), an immigrant who takes a job for the season as live-in maid to the Crawfords, a privileged New York family who maintain a splendid home in the Hamptons. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford spend most of their time in the city, but their teenage son, Brandon, spends the summer on the beach, and Drina must look after him and his spoiled friends. The maid’s room is next to the garage, and Drina overhears Brandon when he returns late one night, noisily and obviously drunk. The next day,...
- 2/6/2014
- by Max O'Connell
- Indiewire
Former war correspondent Michael Maren’s feature directorial debut A Short History Of Decay stars Bryan Greenberg, Linda Lavin, and Harris Yulin.
Paladin will release the film in spring and Arc Entertainment will handle all post-theatrical Us rights.
A Short History Of Decay premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival last autumn and centres on a disillusioned Brooklyn writer who gets a new lease on life when he visits his ailing father in Florida.
Kathleen Rose Perkins, Benjamin King and Emmanuelle Chriqui round out the key cast.
Paladin’s Mark Urman brokered the deal with producer and attorney Alfred Sapse.
Paladin will release the film in spring and Arc Entertainment will handle all post-theatrical Us rights.
A Short History Of Decay premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival last autumn and centres on a disillusioned Brooklyn writer who gets a new lease on life when he visits his ailing father in Florida.
Kathleen Rose Perkins, Benjamin King and Emmanuelle Chriqui round out the key cast.
Paladin’s Mark Urman brokered the deal with producer and attorney Alfred Sapse.
- 1/17/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Paladin Pictures has acquired "A Short History of Decay", the directorial debut by author journalist, and war correspondent Michael Maren ("The Road to Hell"). The film debuted last fall at the Hamptons International Film Festival. The film follows Nathan Fisher (Bryan Greenberg of "Prime" and "One Tree Hill"), a thirtysomething Brooklyn hipster whose ambitious girlfriend (Emmanuelle Chriqui) leaves him after his writing career stalls. Nathan soon gets a call from his brother in Florida that their father (Harris Yulin) has been hospitalized. Nathan arrives home to find his father recovering, if grouchy, and his mother (Linda Lavin) in a hazy state. While there, he meets his mother's manicurist (Kathleen Rose Perkins), the polar opposite of his girlfriend, but perhaps what he needs to recover. The acquisition was announced by the Paladin's president, Mark Urman. The company previously released Michel Gondry's "The We and the I" and acquired last year's Sundance.
- 1/17/2014
- by Max O'Connell
- Indiewire
On Monday September 9th, The Creative Coalition held their annual Gala for the Spotlight Initiate Awards during the Toronto International Film Festival. Created in 2008, the Spotlight Initiative has served to support independent films that utilize the medium not only as an outlet for artistic expression but simultaneously as a relevant tool to create awareness and inspire society.
This year the honorees were Hill Harper, star and executive producer of Tommy Oliver's Tiff entry 1982, and star of "Covert Affairs", For Colored Girls, "CSI: NY" and Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films (Jobs, Side Effects, End of Watch), a co-venture between Regal Theaters and AMC (now owned by Chinese mogul Wang Jianlin, the wealthiest man in China, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group Corp., who just announced plans to create the world's largest movie studio in his home country).
Tom and Robin Bronk CEO of The Creative Coalition both attended Penn State University. And speaking of education, Robin made a point of reiterating the Creative Coalition's stand on public education, stating that the public schools are failing terribly in arts education and that the education of every child is a basic human right.
Robin Bronk also said, “We are pleased and quite proud to be honoring Hill Harper, star of CSI:ny and Executive Producer and star of Tommy Oliver's new film 1982, and Tom Ortenberg who is now CEO of Open Road, two individuals who – throughout their respective careers – have used their influential platforms within the entertainment industry to serve the common good.”
We had a great time catching up with old friends as well: Cotty Chubb whose next film The Dinner with Cate Blanchett was just announced and makes us all quite happy for him. Carol Polakoff was with Cotty and we made our usual promise to catch up with each other in L.A. We did catch up with Mark Urman of Paladin whose pick-up Metro Manila is U.K.’s Foreign-Language Oscar Entry.
We also spoke of his merger with 108 Media which is doing well. Sharing the dinner table with him and us were Susan Margolin, co-President of Cinedigm as well as old friends Paul Cohen, producer Bruce Weiss and Denise Kasell who has left the Coolidge Theater in Boston to return to her home in New York. Also spotted were Mark Amin who reminded me of those old days when video was king and he started the long-gone Trimark.Now head of Sobini Films, he has many projects happening.
The Creative Coalition is so gracious in hosting great events in Toronto, Sundance and having a weekly 5 minute session with President Obama. Based in New York City, the non-profit and non-partisan organization was founded in 1989 by important figures in the arts and entertainments fields. The group advocates for the importance of creative works to influence change in crucial social issues. For more information click Here.
This year the honorees were Hill Harper, star and executive producer of Tommy Oliver's Tiff entry 1982, and star of "Covert Affairs", For Colored Girls, "CSI: NY" and Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films (Jobs, Side Effects, End of Watch), a co-venture between Regal Theaters and AMC (now owned by Chinese mogul Wang Jianlin, the wealthiest man in China, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group Corp., who just announced plans to create the world's largest movie studio in his home country).
Tom and Robin Bronk CEO of The Creative Coalition both attended Penn State University. And speaking of education, Robin made a point of reiterating the Creative Coalition's stand on public education, stating that the public schools are failing terribly in arts education and that the education of every child is a basic human right.
Robin Bronk also said, “We are pleased and quite proud to be honoring Hill Harper, star of CSI:ny and Executive Producer and star of Tommy Oliver's new film 1982, and Tom Ortenberg who is now CEO of Open Road, two individuals who – throughout their respective careers – have used their influential platforms within the entertainment industry to serve the common good.”
We had a great time catching up with old friends as well: Cotty Chubb whose next film The Dinner with Cate Blanchett was just announced and makes us all quite happy for him. Carol Polakoff was with Cotty and we made our usual promise to catch up with each other in L.A. We did catch up with Mark Urman of Paladin whose pick-up Metro Manila is U.K.’s Foreign-Language Oscar Entry.
We also spoke of his merger with 108 Media which is doing well. Sharing the dinner table with him and us were Susan Margolin, co-President of Cinedigm as well as old friends Paul Cohen, producer Bruce Weiss and Denise Kasell who has left the Coolidge Theater in Boston to return to her home in New York. Also spotted were Mark Amin who reminded me of those old days when video was king and he started the long-gone Trimark.Now head of Sobini Films, he has many projects happening.
The Creative Coalition is so gracious in hosting great events in Toronto, Sundance and having a weekly 5 minute session with President Obama. Based in New York City, the non-profit and non-partisan organization was founded in 1989 by important figures in the arts and entertainments fields. The group advocates for the importance of creative works to influence change in crucial social issues. For more information click Here.
- 9/26/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Paladin and FilmBuff are to team up on the release of Spark: A Burning Man Story from filmmakers Steve Brown and Jessie Deeter.
The documentary charts the annual artistic gathering taking place every year in Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
Paladin will release the film theatrically in New York and Los Angeles on Aug 16 and expand before this year’s edition of the Labor Day festival kicks off.
FilmBuff will release on iTunes and all other digital platforms on Aug 17. Brown negotiated the deal with Mark Urman at Paladin and Steve Beckman at FilmBuff.
The documentary charts the annual artistic gathering taking place every year in Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
Paladin will release the film theatrically in New York and Los Angeles on Aug 16 and expand before this year’s edition of the Labor Day festival kicks off.
FilmBuff will release on iTunes and all other digital platforms on Aug 17. Brown negotiated the deal with Mark Urman at Paladin and Steve Beckman at FilmBuff.
- 6/17/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Paladin and FilmBuff are to team up on the release of Spark: A Burning Man Story from filmmakers Steve Brown and Jessie Deeter.
The documentary charts the annual artistic gathering taking place every year in Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
Paladin will release the film theatrically in New York and Los Angeles on Aug 16 and expand before this year’s edition of the Labor Day festival kicks off.
FilmBuff will release on iTunes and all other digital platforms on Aug 17. Brown negotiated the deal with Mark Urman at Paladin and Steve Beckman at FilmBuff.
The documentary charts the annual artistic gathering taking place every year in Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
Paladin will release the film theatrically in New York and Los Angeles on Aug 16 and expand before this year’s edition of the Labor Day festival kicks off.
FilmBuff will release on iTunes and all other digital platforms on Aug 17. Brown negotiated the deal with Mark Urman at Paladin and Steve Beckman at FilmBuff.
- 6/17/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Mark Urman of Paladin, 108 Media's U.S. Distribution arm has acquired Sean Ellis’ Sundance Audience Award Winner Metro Manila for No. America. Urman and 108 CEO Abhi Rastog negotiated the deal with Abigail Walsh, Head of Sales at Independent, who are handling international sales on the film, and Jessica Lacy, on behalf of ICM partners, who represent Ellis.
The North American deal on Metro Manila follows a number of other major sales, including France (Haut et Court), Spain (Festival Films), Scandinavia (NonStop), Japan (New Selects), Middle East (Front Row), Latin America (HBO), Hungary (Vertigo), Greece (Seven Group), Ex Yugoslavia (Cinemania), Singapore (indies Entertainment), and the Philippines (Captive).
Urman characterizes Metro Manila as "a smashing thriller--as smart and stylish as it is suspenseful—that I found impossible to shake-off. We look forward to working with Sean on its release and, even more so, to sharing it with audiences.” Rastogi adds, “this is undoubtedly one of the most exciting films to have emerged on the festival circuit this year, and we are confident that moviegoers and media alike will be blown away by it.”
Ellis produced, directed, photographed, and co-wrote the screenplay of Metro Manila, with Frank E. Flowers, based on his original story. Mathilde Charpentier also produced, and Ellis, Celine Lopez, and Enrique Y. Gonzalez served as executive producers.
Metro Manila centers around Oscar Ramirez, a poor rice farmer from the Northern Philippine mountains, who moves his family to the capital mega-city of Metro Manila in search of a better life. The sweltering capital’s bustling intensity soon overwhelms the Ramirezes, and they fall prey to the manipulations of hardened locals. Left penniless, Oscar gets a lucky break when he is offered steady work at an armored truck company and is taken under the wing of its friendly senior officer, Ong. Grateful for the job, Oscar doesn’t realize how dangerous it is; after all, Manila is a city where machine gun-wielding security guards are seen in every shop, from banks and jewelry stores to Starbucks, and where armed robbery has become a daily occurrence. Driving a cash-laden armored truck makes Oscar a moving target, but robbery isn’t the only danger he faces: when it becomes apparent that Ong was lying in wait for someone just like Oscar for some time, and that his motives for hiring him were far from altruistic, Oscar finds himself ensnared in a web of intrigue far more perilous than anything he faces on the mean streets of Manila
About 108 Media and Paladin:
108 Media is a Toronto-based international sales and distribution company that announced its partnership with Paladin at last year’s Toronto Film Festival. Together Rastogi and Urman have acquired such titles as Michel Gondry’s “The We And The I” and the Deepa Mehta/Salman Rushdie collaboration, “Midnight’s Children,” both currently in release. Also on-screen now are the award-winning British drama, “My Brother The Devil” and the Canadian comedy “And Now A Word From Our Sponsor,” starring Bruce Greenwood and Parker Posey, which was released last week both in select theaters and on cable VOD.
The North American deal on Metro Manila follows a number of other major sales, including France (Haut et Court), Spain (Festival Films), Scandinavia (NonStop), Japan (New Selects), Middle East (Front Row), Latin America (HBO), Hungary (Vertigo), Greece (Seven Group), Ex Yugoslavia (Cinemania), Singapore (indies Entertainment), and the Philippines (Captive).
Urman characterizes Metro Manila as "a smashing thriller--as smart and stylish as it is suspenseful—that I found impossible to shake-off. We look forward to working with Sean on its release and, even more so, to sharing it with audiences.” Rastogi adds, “this is undoubtedly one of the most exciting films to have emerged on the festival circuit this year, and we are confident that moviegoers and media alike will be blown away by it.”
Ellis produced, directed, photographed, and co-wrote the screenplay of Metro Manila, with Frank E. Flowers, based on his original story. Mathilde Charpentier also produced, and Ellis, Celine Lopez, and Enrique Y. Gonzalez served as executive producers.
Metro Manila centers around Oscar Ramirez, a poor rice farmer from the Northern Philippine mountains, who moves his family to the capital mega-city of Metro Manila in search of a better life. The sweltering capital’s bustling intensity soon overwhelms the Ramirezes, and they fall prey to the manipulations of hardened locals. Left penniless, Oscar gets a lucky break when he is offered steady work at an armored truck company and is taken under the wing of its friendly senior officer, Ong. Grateful for the job, Oscar doesn’t realize how dangerous it is; after all, Manila is a city where machine gun-wielding security guards are seen in every shop, from banks and jewelry stores to Starbucks, and where armed robbery has become a daily occurrence. Driving a cash-laden armored truck makes Oscar a moving target, but robbery isn’t the only danger he faces: when it becomes apparent that Ong was lying in wait for someone just like Oscar for some time, and that his motives for hiring him were far from altruistic, Oscar finds himself ensnared in a web of intrigue far more perilous than anything he faces on the mean streets of Manila
About 108 Media and Paladin:
108 Media is a Toronto-based international sales and distribution company that announced its partnership with Paladin at last year’s Toronto Film Festival. Together Rastogi and Urman have acquired such titles as Michel Gondry’s “The We And The I” and the Deepa Mehta/Salman Rushdie collaboration, “Midnight’s Children,” both currently in release. Also on-screen now are the award-winning British drama, “My Brother The Devil” and the Canadian comedy “And Now A Word From Our Sponsor,” starring Bruce Greenwood and Parker Posey, which was released last week both in select theaters and on cable VOD.
- 5/18/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Paladin and 108 Media have partnered to acquire all North American rights to Sean Ellis' Sundance Film Festival prize winning "Metro Manila." The film -- which won the audience award in the World Cinema Dramatic program at Sundance -- has been picked up internationally , including France (Haut et Court),Spain (Festival Films), Scandinavia (NonStop), Japan (New Selects), Middle East (Front Row), Latin America (HBO), Hungary (Vertigo), Greece (Seven Group), Ex Yugoslavia (Cinemania), Singapore (indies Entertainment), and the Philippines (Captive). Full press release below. Cannes (May 18, 2013) - Distribution partners 108 Media and Paladin have acquired all North American rights to Sean Ellis’ acclaimed thriller, Metro Manila, it was announced by 108 CEO Abhi Rastogi and Paladin President Mark Urman. The film had its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for “Best Film” in the World Cinema dramatic competition. Urman and...
- 5/18/2013
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
108 Media is not only an international sales agent but works with U.S. Distribution Guru Mark Urman. They recently opened Michel Gondry's The We And The I, the Sundance-prize-winning drama My Brother the Devil, and Deepa Mehta's Midnight’s Children in the U.S.
Now 108 Media has picked up international sales for Jug Face which won the Slamdance Grand Prize for Best Screenplay by Chad Crawford Kinkle in January 2013. When producer Andrew van den Houten stated his confidence that "no stone outside the U.S. market will be left unturned", I wondered (and still am wondering) whether the same is not going to be true within the U.S. Market.
The film was produced by Andrew van den Houten and Robert Tonino for Modernciné, with Lucky McKee, Arrien Schiltkamp, and Loren Semmens serving as Executive Producers. The deal was negotiated by Rastogi and van den Houten. Gravitas Ventures has domestic VOD distribution and the film will be distributed in theaters by Modernciné.
“Working with a company that only takes select films to the international market each year allows for each film to have a unique campaign in finding the right home,” said van den Houten. “Modernciné has always enjoyed being represented by the passion and enthusiasm that people like Mr. Rastogi and his team exude. We look forward to this new collaboration and are confident no stone outside the U.S. market will be left unturned.”
Expanding the slate of films in its international sales operation, 108 Media has acquired the terrifying feature Jug Face, it was announced by 108 CEO Abhi Rastogi. Based on the Slamdance Grand Prize Winning screenplay by Chad Crawford Kinkle, international sales will commence at the Cannes Market this month.
Written and directed by Kinkle, Jug Face thrilled audiences and critics at its Slamdance premiere in January with its dark story of a demonic power worshipped by an isolated rural community. The monster offers health and protection in exchange for human sacrifices, identified when their faces materialize on ceramic jugs fabricated by an entranced potter. Bloody chaos ensues when the newest victim is hidden from the monster. The ensemble cast features Sean Young (Blade Runner), Larry Fessenden (The Last Winter), Lauren Ashley Carter (The Woman, Premium Rush), Daniel Manche (The Girl Next Door), and Sean Bridgers (The Woman, Sweet Home Alabama).
“Chad Kinkle has created a masterfully creepy film with Jug Face,” said Rastogi. “I’m looking forward to introducing his talent and this film to the world and we’ve already started to receive strong interest from multiple buyers in territories spanning the globe.”...
Now 108 Media has picked up international sales for Jug Face which won the Slamdance Grand Prize for Best Screenplay by Chad Crawford Kinkle in January 2013. When producer Andrew van den Houten stated his confidence that "no stone outside the U.S. market will be left unturned", I wondered (and still am wondering) whether the same is not going to be true within the U.S. Market.
The film was produced by Andrew van den Houten and Robert Tonino for Modernciné, with Lucky McKee, Arrien Schiltkamp, and Loren Semmens serving as Executive Producers. The deal was negotiated by Rastogi and van den Houten. Gravitas Ventures has domestic VOD distribution and the film will be distributed in theaters by Modernciné.
“Working with a company that only takes select films to the international market each year allows for each film to have a unique campaign in finding the right home,” said van den Houten. “Modernciné has always enjoyed being represented by the passion and enthusiasm that people like Mr. Rastogi and his team exude. We look forward to this new collaboration and are confident no stone outside the U.S. market will be left unturned.”
Expanding the slate of films in its international sales operation, 108 Media has acquired the terrifying feature Jug Face, it was announced by 108 CEO Abhi Rastogi. Based on the Slamdance Grand Prize Winning screenplay by Chad Crawford Kinkle, international sales will commence at the Cannes Market this month.
Written and directed by Kinkle, Jug Face thrilled audiences and critics at its Slamdance premiere in January with its dark story of a demonic power worshipped by an isolated rural community. The monster offers health and protection in exchange for human sacrifices, identified when their faces materialize on ceramic jugs fabricated by an entranced potter. Bloody chaos ensues when the newest victim is hidden from the monster. The ensemble cast features Sean Young (Blade Runner), Larry Fessenden (The Last Winter), Lauren Ashley Carter (The Woman, Premium Rush), Daniel Manche (The Girl Next Door), and Sean Bridgers (The Woman, Sweet Home Alabama).
“Chad Kinkle has created a masterfully creepy film with Jug Face,” said Rastogi. “I’m looking forward to introducing his talent and this film to the world and we’ve already started to receive strong interest from multiple buyers in territories spanning the globe.”...
- 5/9/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
It has yet to premiere at a major film festival, but Markus Blunder’s Autumn Blood starring up-and-comer actress Sophie Lowe (Two Mothers) and vet Peter Stormare (Fargo) will have drawn some early support from Mark Urman’s Paladin as Variety reports that the indie label picked up the alp set thriller over the weekend at the Efm. A theatrical release will occur later in the year.
Gist: High in the mountains, a widowed mother dies, leaving her two children alone and orphaned (Sophie Lowe & Maximilian Harnisch). Fearing being split up they keep their mother’s death a secret. They survive together until the mayor’s son and his friends brutally destroy their innocence when they assault and rape the girl. A social worker from a distant city arrives to investigate, but ultimately it is the siblings who must come of age to protect each other and survive.
Worth Noting:...
Gist: High in the mountains, a widowed mother dies, leaving her two children alone and orphaned (Sophie Lowe & Maximilian Harnisch). Fearing being split up they keep their mother’s death a secret. They survive together until the mayor’s son and his friends brutally destroy their innocence when they assault and rape the girl. A social worker from a distant city arrives to investigate, but ultimately it is the siblings who must come of age to protect each other and survive.
Worth Noting:...
- 2/12/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
108 Media has acquired U.S. theatrical rights to "Fugly!," an autobiographical comedy written by and starring John Leguizamo. The film is a fictional adaptation of his one-man Broadway show, "Ghetto Klown," which follows Leguizamo's journey to fame. The film stars Rosie Perez, Radha Mitchell, Griffin Dunne, Yul Vasquez, Tomas Milian and Ally Sheedy. "I'm very honored to be working with 108 Media's honcho Mark Urman, who I have always looked up to in the independent scene," the actor said in a statement. "This was my first foray into screenwriting and in trying to up-end a format by making an anti-romantic comedy." 108 Media plans to open it this summer.
- 2/7/2013
- by Cristina A. Gonzalez
- Indiewire
Further flexing the muscles of its worldwide sales and distribution operation at this year’s European Film Market, 108 Media has just sealed a deal on Fugly!, an autobiographical comedy written by and starring John Leguizamo, it was announced by 108 CEO Abhi Rastogi. With foreign sales commencing immediately in Berlin, the film will also see a theatrical release in North America via 108 Media and it’s distribution partner, Paladin. Fugly! Is slated to open in the third quarter of this year. A fictionalized rendering of his acclaimed one-man show, “Ghetto Klown,” (which played on Broadway prior to an extensive international tour), Fugly! casts Leguizamo as Jesse Sanchez, a Latino comic who has a near-death experience that forces him to revisit his personal and professional highs and lows. Told in a style that befits the envelope-pushing Jesse–and Leguizamo–the film blends past, present, fantasy, and reality to tell of one man’s hilarious quest for fame,...
- 2/7/2013
- by hnblog@hollywoodnews.com (Hollywood News Team)
- Hollywoodnews.com
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