Screen Media Films

  • Deadline: Film Mode Takes On U.S. Distributor Screen Media’s International Sales Slate — EFM

    • Posted on 5th Feb
    • Category: Acquisition

    U.S. distributor Screen Media and Clay Epstein’s sales outfit Film Mode have struck a deal whereby the latter will represent Screen Media’s international sales titles. Where possible, the duo will also look to acquire world rights on projects going forward.

    The partnership gets underway at this week’s EFM in Berlin, where Film Mode will handle sales of Screen Media’s lineup including movies Stray, A Very Nutty Christmas and You Might Be The Killer. Film Mode will also represent Screen Media’s 600-strong international sales library.

    “Screen Media has been looking for new strategic partnerships as we begin to aggressively grow our business,” explained Screen Media President David Fannon. “Partnering with Film Mode not only allows us to work with a top-notch sales company and maximize our foreign presence, but we can now actively pursue more worldwide acquisition and co-production opportunities.”

    “We’re delighted to be working more closely with the Screen Media team,” said Film Mode President Clay Epstein. “They have an excellent track record in distribution and a valuable catalogue that provides a competitive advantage in the marketplace, enabling us to better service our clients and producers.”

    The two companies previously collaborated on 2016 thriller Sugar Mountain, starring Jason Momoa, Cary Elwes and Anna Hutchison.

    Screen Media, acquired in 2017 by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, is due to domestically release Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote in April. The firm’s sales library includes Monster and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. 

    Film Mode’s recent slate includes The Good Neighbor with James Caan and Gangster Land starring Milo Gibson and Jason Patric. Upcoming releases include Crypto starring Beau Knapp, Alexis Bledel and Kurt Russell, and the remake of David Cronenberg’s Rabid.

  • Deadline: Screen Media Adds Pair Of Distribution Execs Amid Slate Ramp-Up – Sundance

    • Posted on 24th Jan
    • Category: Acquisition

    Indie film distributor Screen Media has hired Michael Messina as EVP Distribution and Lisa Burgueno as VP Digital Distribution. The moves from the company, acquired in 2017 by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, comes at it plans to increase its release slate to 20 films or more per year.

    Both execs are on the ground in Park City with the Sundance Film Festival kicking off today.

    Messina, most recently VP Global Distribution & Acquisitions in Starz’s digital distribution division, has been consulting with Screen Media and now takes on oversight of domestic distribution, sales and marketing. Burgueno, previously at Lionsgate/Starz Digital and before that in distribution positions at Cinedigm and Microsoft Movies & TV, will manage Screen Media’s transactional partnerships and media planning across digital and on-demand services.

    They will join Screen Media SVP Worldwide Acquisitions Seth Needle and Director of Marketing Abbey Warner at Sundance.

    “Screen Media has been building a robust slate over the past year as we continue to aggressively expand our distribution business,” said Screen Media president David Fannon. “Mike has an excellent reputation for working with filmmakers and delivering revenue growth. Lisa brings a wealth of knowledge and experience marketing and distributing film and television series in the digital space. Together they greatly expand our distribution capabilities and we are thrilled to add them to the team.”

    Screen Media’s recent releases include Paul Weitz’s Bel Canto, and it just acquired Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote starring Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce. Other 2019 pics include Adult Life Skills with Jodie Whittaker and A Violent Separation toplined by Brenton Thwaites and Ben Robson.


  • Deadline: Terry Gilliam’s ‘Don Quixote’ Rides To North America With Screen Media

    • Posted on 17th Dec
    • Category: Acquisition

    Screen Media has picked up North American rights to Terry Gilliam’s long-in-the-works drama The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, starring Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce, Stellan Skarsgard, Olga Kurylenko and Jordi Molla.

    Screen Media, in partnership with event cinema specialist Fathom Events, is planning a theatrical release for March 2019. The deal was negotiated by Seth Needle, SVP of Worldwide Acquisitions at Screen Media with the filmmakers.

    The film had its world premiere as the Closing Night Film at Cannes 2018. Directed and written by Gilliam, the film is co-written by Tony Grisoni and produced by Mariela Besuievsky, Amy Gilliam, Gerardo Herrero and Gregoire Melin.

    In Gilliam’s tale, Adam Driver plays Toby, a frustrated filmmaker and disillusioned advertising executive who becomes pulled into a world of time jumping fantasy when a Spanish cobbler (Pryce), who believes he is Don Quixote, mistakes Toby for his trusted squire Sancho Panza. Pulled further into the cobbler’s world, Toby gradually becomes unable to tell his dreams from reality.

    “Terry Gilliam is a true auteur and his latest film does not disappoint. It is the perfect pairing of a film with a filmmaker, the story of Don Quixote, a man who believes in things that seemingly no one else believes in, until finally, they share his vision,” said David Fannon, President of Screen Media. “Screen Media is thrilled that U.S. audiences will finally get to see Terry Gilliam’s quest.”

    It has indeed been quite the ride for the filmmakers. After a tortured journey to production, the film was a hot button topic at Cannes where a producer tried to block the film’s distribution, leading to Amazon’s exit as U.S. partner and additional legal issues.

  • Hollywood Reporter: AFM: Screen Media Takes 'Deep Murder' for North America

    • Posted on 5th Nov
    • Category: Acquisition

    Jerry O’Connell and Katie Aselton star in the comedy-horror film from director Nick Corirossi.

    Screen Media has snatched up North American rights to Deep Murder, a comedy-horror film that marks Nick Corirossi's directorial debut.

    Jerry O’Connell, Katie Aselton and Chris Redd star in the feature, which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in September.

    Screen Media plans to give the film a multiplatform release in the first half of 2019.

    Deep Murder is in the alternate reality of a tacky soft-core porn film, where a group of increasingly self-aware stock characters are up against a mysterious killer offing them one by one.

    "I set out to make a film both funnier and more successful than Billionaire Boys Club and I have 100 percent accomplished that,” said Corirossi, citing Kevin Spacey's recent thriller, which infamously flopped. "Deep Murder is the The Phantom Menace of soft-core porn comedy horrors."

    Deep Murder is produced by Dark Web Productions, Defiant Studios and Life Entertainment, in association with Slated. Eric B. Fleischman, Andrew Swett, Jesse Berger, Brent Johnson, Drew Foster, and Patrick McErlean produced, with Teddy Cabugos, Michael Yedwab, Craig Dobbin, Alan Sliper, Cary Anderson and Christopher McDonald as executive producers. Carl Braid is a co-executive producer and Josh Berger is co-producer.

    The deal for Deep Murder was negotiated by Seth Needle at Screen Media, with ICM and CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.

  • Deadline: Screen Media Acquires Brenton Thwaites Crime Thriller ‘A Violent Separation’ – AFM

    • Posted on 2nd Nov
    • Category: Acquisition

    Screen Media has acquired North American rights to A Violent Separation, the crime thriller directed by Kevin and Michael Goetz and starring Brenton Thwaites, Alycia Debnam-Carey and Ben Robson. With the deal, struck at the American Film Marketwith sales agent Double Dutch International, a first-half 2019 day-and-date theatrical release is planned.

    Claire Holt, Francesca Eastwood, Gerald McRaney and Ted Levine also star in the pic, which is set in a small Midwestern town and centers on two brothers (Thwaites and Robson) who struggle with the terrible truth behind a tragedy that aims to tear three generations of family apart. Michael Arkof penned the script.

    Dan Clifton produced via his Mortem Aut Triumphum along with Catapult Entertainment Group’s Kevin Goetz and Christopher Watkins. Screen Media’s Seth Needle made the deal with Double Dutch’s Mark Padilla.

  • Screen Daily: Screen Media International kicks off AFM sales on supernatural thriller 'Stray'

    • Posted on 31st Oct
    • Category: Acquisition

    Screen Media International kicks off worldwide sales excluding China here on supernatural neo-noir Straystarring Karen Fukuhara from the Suicide Squadfranchise.

    The story centres on an orphaned teen who teams up with a detective to investigate her mother’s murder and confront the ghosts of her family’s past.

    Screen Media plans a day-and-date North American release for the first half of 2019. Joe Sill’s makes his directorial debut and the cast includes Christine Woods, Ross Partridge, and Japanese singer-songwriter Miyavi.

    J.D. Dillard and Alex Theurer co-wrote the screenplay, while the producers are Eric B. Fleischman, Sean Tabibian, Dillard and Theurer.

    “With Stray, I wanted to tell a universal story about a struggling family that was inspired by the science-fiction and noir genres that I love — and just so happens to feature Asian characters at the forefront,” said Sill.

    “I think it’s important that stories that are more mainstream represent more people of different voices and ethnicities, simply because there aren’t enough of them out there yet.”

    “Joe Sill is someone you need to be watching for,” said Screen Media’s Seth Needle. “What he accomplished with Stray – between the mythos, storytelling and the stunning visuals – is mesmerising. Audiences are going to love it.”

    Needle negotiated the deal with CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.

  • Variety: Screen Media Buys Horror Film ‘Luz’ for 2019 Release

    • Posted on 25th Sep
    • Category: Acquisition

    Screen Media has acquired all North American rights for Tilman Singer’s psychotropic horror film “Luz” and is planning a first quarter 2019 release in theaters across the U.S.

    “Luz” premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and has screened at the Fantasia Film Festival. It will have its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest this week and will screen as a part of the Sitges Film Festival next month.

    “Luz” stars Luana Velis as a young cabdriver who drags herself into a run-down police station while being pursued by a woman (played by Julia Riedler) who is possessed by a demonic entity. Singer also wrote the script. Singer and Dario Mendez Acosta produced.

    Seth Needle and Conor McAdam of Screen Media negotiated the deal with Joe Yanick, Hugues Barbier and Justin Timms on behalf of Yellow Veil Pictures.

    “Every so often there’s a film that really unnerves, and just flat-out scares us,” Needle said. ”Luz’ does exactly that. Tilman has made a beautiful but truly terrifying movie that people are going to be talking about for sure.”

    Singer said, “To see this kind of reaction to our film, visit festivals and now release it in North America is a little bit like shooting a movie itself; It’s hard to fully grasp. Producing ‘Luz,’ I had no idea where it would go and I am excited for the life that it will have.”

    Dennis Harvey gave the film a strong review for Variety at Berlin: “Comparisons do not come easy with ‘Luz,’ an arresting first feature for German writer-director Tilman Singer that is equal measures demonic-possession thriller, experiment in formalist rigor, and flummoxing narrative puzzle-box. Done, almost incredibly, as a film-studies thesis project, this modestly scaled yet slick and conceptually audacious enterprise commands attention. At the very least, it’s an auspicious debut."

  • Media Play News: Screen Media Signs Distribution Deal with Comedy Dynamics

    • Posted on 29th Aug
    • Category: Acquisition

    Screen Media Films has signed a first-look deal to distribute content from Comedy Dynamics on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States.

    Among the first titles slated under the new agreement are two stand-up comedy specials: Jim Gaffigan: Noble Ape and Kevin Smith: Silent But Deadly are scheduled to arrive on DVD and Blu-ray later in 2018.

    In 2019 and beyond, Screen Media will annually release Comedy Dynamics’ comedy specials, feature films and TV shows, such as “The Toys That Made Us,” an eight-part documentary series that can currently be seen on Netflix about the history of iconic toy brands.

    “Screen Media Films is very excited to work with and distribute Comedy Dynamics titles,”  said Laura Giampino, VP of sales at Screen Media Films. “Their properties are second to none and we are thrilled to bring these top-of-line features and stand-up specials to market. Our market base is still hungry for this type of physical product and it’s a win/win for both of our companies.”

    “Partnering with Screen Media to release our content is symbiotic for so many reasons,” said Brian Volk-Weiss, CEO of Comedy Dynamics. “We are more than ecstatic to have them as an integral part of our company and its journey.”

  • Variety: Josh Hutcherson’s ‘Elliot: The Littlest Reindeer’ Sold to Screen Media

    • Posted on 29th Aug
    • Category: Acquisition

    Screen Media has bought U.S. distribution rights to Josh Hutcherson’s animated movie “Elliot: The Littlest Reindeer” and set a holiday-season release for Nov. 30, Variety has learned exclusively.

    The voice cast includes Josh Hutcherson as Elliot, Samantha Bee as Hazel the goat, John Cleese, Martin Short, Jeff Dunham, and Morena Baccarin. The animated film is directed by Jennifer Westcott from her own script, and produced by Lucas Lynette-Krech and Awesometown Entertainment in association with Elgin Road Productions.

    “Elliot: The Littlest Reindeer” centers around Blitzen announcing his retirement on Dec. 21, giving a miniature horse three days to fulfill his lifelong dream of earning a spot on Santa’s sleigh during the North Pole tryouts. Elliot and his friend Hazel set out to prove that no dream is too big if you believe in yourself.

    “‘Elliot’ is an awesome inspirational tale of overcoming the odds and dreaming big to achieve your goals — all of which is what we strive for at Screen Media. ‘Elliot’ is the perfect family holiday movie and we know audiences nationwide are going to love it,” said Seth Needle, senior VP of worldwide acquisitions at Screen Media.

    The deal was negotiated by Needle and Double Dutch International’s Jason Moring and Mark Padilla. Elevation Pictures will release the pic in Canada.

  • Variety: ‘Bel Canto’ With Julianne Moore, Ken Watanabe Sells to Screen Media (EXCLUSIVE)

    • Posted on 8th May
    • Category: Acquisition

    Screen Media has acquired North American rights to “Bel Canto,” Paul Weitz’s adaptation of the acclaimed Ann Patchett novel. The drama about a hostage crisis stars Julianne Moore and Ken Watanabe. Opera legend Renée Fleming contributes vocals to the film. A national theatrical release is planned for September.

    “Bel Canto” centers on Roxane Coss (Moore), a famous American soprano, who travels to South America to give a private concert at the birthday party of a Japanese mogul (Watanabe). The festivities are interrupted by guerrillas demanding the release of their imprisoned comrades. A lengthy standoff ensues, and as talks drag on bonds are formed between hostages and captors.

    Sebastian Koch, Christopher Lambert, Ryo Kase, Tenoch Huerta and María Mercedes Coroy round out the cast. The film was written by Anthony Weintraub and Weitz. It is produced by Caroline Baron and Anthony Weintraub of A-Line Pictures; Weitz and Andrew Miano of Depth of Field; and Lizzie Friedman, Karen Lauder and Greg Little, who are producing and financing through their company Priority Pictures.

    “I’m so happy with Screen Media’s passion for the movie,” said Weitz. “It was a joy filming it, and working with actors from such disparate backgrounds”

    Seth Needle of Screen Media negotiated the deal. Endeavor Content represented the filmmakers.

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