FilmFour Snags 5 Miramax Pics

LONDON — Bolstering its film slate with key U.S. indie titles, FilmFour has acquired U.K. distribution rights to five high-profile films from Miramax.

The deal marks the first time Miramax has sold a substantial number of key titles to a U.K. distributor outside its ongoing relationship with Buena Vista International, which in the past has handled U.K. distribution on the majority of Miramax films.

FilmFour will handle the U.K. release of Kevin Smith’s “Dogma” starring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Linda Fiorentino; Robert Iscove’s teenage hit “She’s All That”; Jane Campion’s “Holy Smoke” starring Kate Winslet, Harvey Keitel and Pam Grier; Chris Eyre’s “Smoke Signals”; and Brad Anderson’s “Next Stop Wonderland.”

Ah, the Virgin Lounge

Sounds far more intriguing than it is, but Virgin Airlines does throw together a nice lounge for its international passengers. If you ever get a chance, fly Virgin (I’m cashing a check as we speak).

Onto other stuff…

First off, the Premiere piece (which most haven’t seen yet) talked about in Jeff Wells’ ‘Mr. Showbiz’ article is about as close to the truth as one could get, save the ‘demanding cuts’ part. At no time has anyone ever demanded any cuts to be made in ‘Dogma’. Also, the portion of Jeff’s piece that mentions ‘re-shoots’ isn’t entirely accurate. If folks will recall, we shot ‘pick-ups’ that weekend; in other words, we shot things we never shot during the bulk of production (to wit, they were exteriors, a shot of Loki inserting a c.d., Jay and Silent Bob in a shadowy, slo-mo shot, and a shot with Linda that I’m reluctant to detail because it’d be something of a spoiler). None of that material changed or altered the film in any way; it merely filled in spaces being held by black or took over for temp shots. If we were doing any re-shoots, believe me – you’d have known about it, because I would’ve been kicking and screaming, and bitching up a storm… quite publicly, too.

But in regards to Jeff’s piece (which is more-or-less an ‘I told you so’, with all due respect), he’s not entirely right. At press time of his first ‘Mr. Showbiz’ piece (and indeed, at the time he was originally attempting to contact me about the piece – while we were still in production – for what he was then alleging was the L.A. Times)there were no such rumblings and no hint that Disney even knew we existed. Now mind you, I’ve never had Michael Eisner’s ear (well, except during the ‘Clerks’ animated series pitch), I have had Harvey Weinstein’s; and in all that time, Harvey never once mentioned a problem with the parent company (Disney, for those who came in late). If there was an issue with the content, we’d have heard it much earlier. We didn’t. No story.

We’ve since gotten the film into a watchable condition (minus all the final touches and the score, which we just completed this week), and it’s been screened for some Disney brass whose opinion of the film beyond “Great job,” and “You’ve taken a leap in craft, here,” I’ve not been privy to. Remember though – for what it’s worth, I have a halfway decent track record in the business, and I seem to attract a degree of name talent these days, and I work in a business of folks who’ll never burn a bridge unless they’re absolutely positive the German infantry is halfway across it.

Meaning?

If folks are pissed, scared, or ready to cut us loose, I’ll be among the last to know.

Have I heard rumors? Sure – I read ‘Premiere’ and ‘Mr. Showbiz’ too. Is it conceivable that Disney may be nervous about the flick? Of course. Do I find it odd that we’re not on Miramax’s release schedule yet? Oh yes. But does this all add up to disaster?

I don’t think so.

I trust I make myself obscure?

When the dust (if there truly is any) settles, you’ll be the second to know (gotta tell the cast first). Until that time, let’s see what happens together.

On a final note, in regards to the articles, or any others like them that may surface – I’d ask that you not resort to petty name-calling in regards to the authors. Has it ever occurred to any of you, that – aside from getting a scoop or filling some columns – they might just be looking out for the film as well? If they’re getting my back, I’d rather not discourage that sort of thing (and to their credit, both authors – Wells and John Horn at ‘Premiere’ – tried to get in touch with me for their respective pieces, at one time or another).

Getting on a plane relatively soon (less than an hour), so I’ll be chatting at you next from the good ol’ U.S. of A. (where I hope to find out more about the fate of my film).

Greetings from Blighty, where we exist in the future (until Sunday, I believe we’re six hours ahead of you east coasters across the pond; nine ahead of you west coast tossers). Just thought I’d check in with the ol’ update (as uneventful, yet eventful as it is).

As most of you are aware, we’ve been recording the score all week (well, it’s not really WE; it’s Howard and a scaled-down version of the London Symphony Orchestra). It sounds nothing short of tremendous, thanks to Howard and Co.’s tireless efforts. We’ve been recording at this old church that’s been renovated and turned into a studio (Air Studios, to be precise); quite fitting, actually. Tomorrow, we head over to Abbey Road (yes – THAT Abbey Road) to record the choral parts of the score, as well as the ‘Mooby March’ theme song (lyrics by yours truly).

With the daily schedule we’ve been keeping, I haven’t seen that much of the town (though I’ve been here a few times before, so it’s cool). I’ve been able to pop into a few comic book stores, and was pleased to find the comics and the shirts and such have traveled across the Atlantic. Kinda cool, that.

In the bizarre celebrity sightings department, Jen (whose here as well) saw Denise Richards jogging in Hyde Park (presumably here for the Bond flick);and we saw Billy Zane (the ‘Phantom’!) in a comic book store. Spoke to neither; but short of the scoring, it’s just been THAT uneventful a week, that it warranted a mention (I feel like NewsAskew, searching for anything Askew-related during a dry spell).

We head home Sunday for two weeks before we head back to Skywalker for the final mix. The Cannes screening (for fest-head Gilles Jacob) was moved to this coming Tuesday, so hopefully we’ll know then if we’re in or out at that point.

That’s about it, I guess…

With the exception of the Premiere piece that some of you have been hearing about. To that, at this point in time, I can only suggest staying tuned: it’s going to be an inter [END OF MESSAGE CUT OFF]