Broad Green: How Wall Street Wealth, A-List Talent, and Brash Decisions Made an Indie Player Implode
It takes guts to join the indie distribution fray, especially when the market is challenged by big buyers like Netflix and Amazon Studios (which, along with Annapurna, is optimistically taking over its own theatrical distribution) and television is chasing down the hottest indie talent. Even one-time high-flyer The Weinstein Co., which once knew better than anyone how to play the indie game, is evolving to survive during these changing times.
When Wall Street billionaires Gabriel Hammond, 38, and his brother, Daniel, 34, launched independent producer-distributor Broad Green Pictures three summers ago, Hollywood was skeptical. It was a strange time to reinvent a dying economic model.
Now, after trying to use arcane algorithms to determine what movies to make, Gabriel has decided to pull the plug on production. The breaking point was the July 14 release of John Leonetti’s “Wish Upon,” which grossed $13.2 million on a $12 million budget. (Theaters return about half of the take to the distributor,...
When Wall Street billionaires Gabriel Hammond, 38, and his brother, Daniel, 34, launched independent producer-distributor Broad Green Pictures three summers ago, Hollywood was skeptical. It was a strange time to reinvent a dying economic model.
Now, after trying to use arcane algorithms to determine what movies to make, Gabriel has decided to pull the plug on production. The breaking point was the July 14 release of John Leonetti’s “Wish Upon,” which grossed $13.2 million on a $12 million budget. (Theaters return about half of the take to the distributor,...
- 8/2/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Broad Green: How Wall Street Wealth, A-List Talent, and Brash Decisions Made an Indie Player Implode
It takes guts to join the indie distribution fray, especially when the market is challenged by big buyers like Netflix and Amazon Studios (which, along with Annapurna, is optimistically taking over its own theatrical distribution) and television is chasing down the hottest indie talent. Even one-time high-flyer The Weinstein Co., which once knew better than anyone how to play the indie game, is evolving to survive during these changing times.
When Wall Street billionaires Gabriel Hammond, 38, and his brother, Daniel, 34, launched independent producer-distributor Broad Green Pictures three summers ago, Hollywood was skeptical. It was a strange time to reinvent a dying economic model.
Now, after trying to use arcane algorithms to determine what movies to make, Gabriel has decided to pull the plug on production. The breaking point was the July 14 release of John Leonetti’s “Wish Upon,” which grossed $13.2 million on a $12 million budget. (Theaters return about half of the take to the distributor,...
When Wall Street billionaires Gabriel Hammond, 38, and his brother, Daniel, 34, launched independent producer-distributor Broad Green Pictures three summers ago, Hollywood was skeptical. It was a strange time to reinvent a dying economic model.
Now, after trying to use arcane algorithms to determine what movies to make, Gabriel has decided to pull the plug on production. The breaking point was the July 14 release of John Leonetti’s “Wish Upon,” which grossed $13.2 million on a $12 million budget. (Theaters return about half of the take to the distributor,...
- 8/2/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
This Memorial Day weekend at the specialty box office is dominated by niche releases without much crossover theatrical appeal, often available for home viewing. The strongest performer: Sundance entry “Long Strange Trip: The Untold Story of the Grateful Dead” (Abramorama), which opened in two cities, combining Thursday night event shows and full-week dates to overcome its four-hour running time.
While “The Tree of Life,” “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Before Midnight” all opened on this date, since 2013 top distributors have chosen not to launch major releases over the three-day holiday.
June will bring some top releases to flesh out a slow schedule, including Sofia Coppola’s Cannes success “The Beguiled” (Focus Features). Cannes competition films from Bong Joon Ho (“Okja”) and Noah Baumbach (“The Meyerowitz Stories”) will hit Netflix and select day-and-date theaters in June, and sometime after that, respectively.
Netflix scored front-page movie-section reviews for their Brad Pitt starrer “War Machine...
While “The Tree of Life,” “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Before Midnight” all opened on this date, since 2013 top distributors have chosen not to launch major releases over the three-day holiday.
June will bring some top releases to flesh out a slow schedule, including Sofia Coppola’s Cannes success “The Beguiled” (Focus Features). Cannes competition films from Bong Joon Ho (“Okja”) and Noah Baumbach (“The Meyerowitz Stories”) will hit Netflix and select day-and-date theaters in June, and sometime after that, respectively.
Netflix scored front-page movie-section reviews for their Brad Pitt starrer “War Machine...
- 5/28/2017
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Produced during the shocking success of 1997's Buena Vista Social Club album — the phenomenally popular collection of newly recorded Cuban roots music — Wim Wenders' documentary of the same name offered both fans and newcomers the joy of seeing brilliant elderly musicians rescued from obscurity. For most Americans, the record/film was both an introduction to a genre they hardly knew and a direct encounter with its progenitors — like discovering rockabilly just in time to see Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis give their last great concerts.
Two decades later, Lucy Walker's Buena Vista Social Club: Adios offers a very...
Two decades later, Lucy Walker's Buena Vista Social Club: Adios offers a very...
- 5/26/2017
- by John DeFore
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It’s been 20 years since the Buena Vista Social Club album made Cuban music a crossover sensation in the U.S. (for the first time since the ’50s), and 18 years since Wim Wenders’ documentary of the same title played in theaters. What’s become of the gifted musicians who found renewed or belated fame and fortune as a result of those projects? Buena Vista Social Club: Adios seeks to fill in the gap, but this sequel’s subtitle is all too literal. Many of the group’s most prominent figures were already quite elderly two decades ago. Sadly, the answer to the question “Where are they now?” tends to be “dead.” Nor did they pass away recently, after taking part in the new movie. Tres player Compay Segundo and pianist Rubén González, for example, both died back in 2003. Vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer died in 2005. Adios serves as ...
- 5/25/2017
- by Mike D'Angelo
- avclub.com
David Garrett to show footage in Cannes; film currently in post.
Mister Smith Entertainment has acquired international sales rights in the run-up to Cannes to Don’t Make Me Over.
Dave Wooley and David Heilbroner are directing the documentary about the legendary singer who broke racial and gender barriers and rose from her roots in New Jersey gospel choirs to attain global superstardom.
Wooley also wrote the screenplay and is a music industry entrepreneur who has produced and directed television and tours and concerts for Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett, Bb King, James Brown, and Queen Latifah.
Mister Smith CEO David Garrett will unveil footage to Don’t Make Me Over on the Croisette. The project is currently in post and features untold stories from former Us President Bill Clinton, Quincy Jones, Burt Bacharach, Clive Davis, Gladys Knight, Cissy Houston, Smokey Robinson, and others.
The film will feature such Warwick hits as Walk On By, Do You Know...
Mister Smith Entertainment has acquired international sales rights in the run-up to Cannes to Don’t Make Me Over.
Dave Wooley and David Heilbroner are directing the documentary about the legendary singer who broke racial and gender barriers and rose from her roots in New Jersey gospel choirs to attain global superstardom.
Wooley also wrote the screenplay and is a music industry entrepreneur who has produced and directed television and tours and concerts for Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett, Bb King, James Brown, and Queen Latifah.
Mister Smith CEO David Garrett will unveil footage to Don’t Make Me Over on the Croisette. The project is currently in post and features untold stories from former Us President Bill Clinton, Quincy Jones, Burt Bacharach, Clive Davis, Gladys Knight, Cissy Houston, Smokey Robinson, and others.
The film will feature such Warwick hits as Walk On By, Do You Know...
- 4/28/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
It was baffling when distributor Broad Green Pictures pulled Lucy Walker’s “Untitled Buena Vista Social Club Documentary” from the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, the same day as its intended premiere, with a press release that said the “post production process has taken longer than expected.”
Nearly a month later, Broad Green has made no further comment on the film’s status, but its homepage still boasts that “Lucy Walker’s Buena Vista Social Club documentary will have it’s [sic] official world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival!”
That disconnect (and typo) could be a matter of sloppy site maintenance, but multiple IndieWire interviews with people familiar with Walker’s film and Broad Green suggest more complex issues dog the three-year-old would-be studio. (Walker declined to comment for this article; Broad Green executives didn’t respond to requests for comment.)
Read More: Lucy Walker’s Buena Vista Social Club Documentary Pulled From Sundance
Walker,...
Nearly a month later, Broad Green has made no further comment on the film’s status, but its homepage still boasts that “Lucy Walker’s Buena Vista Social Club documentary will have it’s [sic] official world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival!”
That disconnect (and typo) could be a matter of sloppy site maintenance, but multiple IndieWire interviews with people familiar with Walker’s film and Broad Green suggest more complex issues dog the three-year-old would-be studio. (Walker declined to comment for this article; Broad Green executives didn’t respond to requests for comment.)
Read More: Lucy Walker’s Buena Vista Social Club Documentary Pulled From Sundance
Walker,...
- 2/17/2017
- by Anne Thompson and Graham Winfrey
- Thompson on Hollywood
It was baffling when distributor Broad Green Pictures pulled Lucy Walker’s “Untitled Buena Vista Social Club Documentary” from the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, the same day as its intended premiere, with a press release that said the “post production process has taken longer than expected.” Nearly a month later, Broad Green has made no further comment on the film’s status, but its homepage still boasts that “Lucy Walker’s Buena Vista Social Club documentary will have it’s [sic] official world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival!”
That disconnect (and typo) could be a matter of sloppy site maintenance, but multiple IndieWire interviews with people familiar with Walker’s film and Broad Green suggest more complex issues dog the three-year-old would-be studio. (Walker declined to comment for this article; Broad Green executives didn’t respond to requests for comment.)
See MoreLucy Walker’s Buena Vista Social Club Documentary Pulled From Sundance
Walker,...
That disconnect (and typo) could be a matter of sloppy site maintenance, but multiple IndieWire interviews with people familiar with Walker’s film and Broad Green suggest more complex issues dog the three-year-old would-be studio. (Walker declined to comment for this article; Broad Green executives didn’t respond to requests for comment.)
See MoreLucy Walker’s Buena Vista Social Club Documentary Pulled From Sundance
Walker,...
- 2/17/2017
- by Anne Thompson and Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
The dinosaurs still making films better embrace virtual reality, according to director Lucy Walker.
Her impressive roster of documentaries have earned her two Oscar nominations: One for her feature, “Waste Land,” and one for a short, “The Tsunami and The Cherry Blossom.” She was recently tapped to direct the followup to Wim Wenders’ “Buena Vista Social Club.” Filming “Buena Vista Social Club: Adios” sparked an interest in Cuban music and dance, which led Walker to make “A History of Cuban Dance,” a lively Vr short chronicling Cuban history through its many dance styles. The feature will also have an accompanying Vr film.
Walker is also currently a creator with Chris Milk’s Vr company, Within (formerly Vrse), a prolific production house making some of the most narratively compelling virtual reality films out there.
“I love using documentary films to take the viewer on a journey to a world they’re not physically in.
Her impressive roster of documentaries have earned her two Oscar nominations: One for her feature, “Waste Land,” and one for a short, “The Tsunami and The Cherry Blossom.” She was recently tapped to direct the followup to Wim Wenders’ “Buena Vista Social Club.” Filming “Buena Vista Social Club: Adios” sparked an interest in Cuban music and dance, which led Walker to make “A History of Cuban Dance,” a lively Vr short chronicling Cuban history through its many dance styles. The feature will also have an accompanying Vr film.
Walker is also currently a creator with Chris Milk’s Vr company, Within (formerly Vrse), a prolific production house making some of the most narratively compelling virtual reality films out there.
“I love using documentary films to take the viewer on a journey to a world they’re not physically in.
- 9/2/2016
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
It’s been a couple months since the last edition of What’s Up Doc? placed Michael Moore’s surprise world premiere of Where To Invade Next at the top of this list and in the meantime much shuffling has taken place and much time has been spent on various new endeavors (namely my Buffalo-based film series, Cultivate Cinema Circle). Finally taking its rightful place at the top, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hagedus’ Unlocking the Cage is in the midst of being scored by composer James Lavino, according to Lavino’s own personal site. Though the project has been taking shape at its own leisurely pace, I’d expect to see the film making its festival debut in early 2016.
Right behind, the American direct cinema masters is a Texan soon to make his non-fiction debut with Voyage of Time. Just two weeks ago indieWIRE reported that Ennio Morricone, who scored...
Right behind, the American direct cinema masters is a Texan soon to make his non-fiction debut with Voyage of Time. Just two weeks ago indieWIRE reported that Ennio Morricone, who scored...
- 11/5/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Wim Wenders has signed on as an Executive Producer of "Buena Vista Social Club: Adios," the follow-up documentary to the Academy Award-nominated documentary "Buena Vista Social Club," which he co-wrote and directed in 1999, that put Cuban music culture on the global stage, following Ry Cooder as he brought prominent Cuban musicians out of retirement. "Adios" is being directed by two-time Academy Award nominee Lucy Walker ("The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom," "Waste Land") and produced by Christine Cowin and Zak Kilberg. The film is currently in production. Read More: Watch: Wim Wenders Reveals Terrors While Scoring 'Every Thing Will Be Fine' With the band on their final and hugely ambitious world tour, the five original band members take us on a journey revealing their personal and professional highs and lows since 1999, while remembering the infamous band members they've lost. The tour will culminate in a series of homecoming.
- 9/15/2015
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Exclusive: Deals with TWC, Sierra Affinity, Lionsgate/Summit and Mister Smith for Ascot Elite.
Swiss distributor Ascot Elite has finalised deals on a host of anticipated titles including Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, Matthew McConaughey drama Gold and Keanu Reeves action sequel John Wick 2.
Ascot Elite acquired all rights for Tarantino’s buzzed-about western from The Weinstein Company for all Switzerland.
Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh are among the ensemble cast of the feature in which a group of bounty hunters, outlaws and fugitives all wind up seeking shelter from a blizzard in the same cabin.
Among other markets understood to have already closed on the film are France, Germany, Australia, India and Benelux.
Sierra Affinity trio
Ralph Dietrich’s indie kingpins have also acquired Sierra Affinity trio Gold, Chomancheria and All I See Is You for all Switzerland.
In Gold, Matthew McConaughey, Michelle Williams and Édgar Ramírez star in the story...
Swiss distributor Ascot Elite has finalised deals on a host of anticipated titles including Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, Matthew McConaughey drama Gold and Keanu Reeves action sequel John Wick 2.
Ascot Elite acquired all rights for Tarantino’s buzzed-about western from The Weinstein Company for all Switzerland.
Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh are among the ensemble cast of the feature in which a group of bounty hunters, outlaws and fugitives all wind up seeking shelter from a blizzard in the same cabin.
Among other markets understood to have already closed on the film are France, Germany, Australia, India and Benelux.
Sierra Affinity trio
Ralph Dietrich’s indie kingpins have also acquired Sierra Affinity trio Gold, Chomancheria and All I See Is You for all Switzerland.
In Gold, Matthew McConaughey, Michelle Williams and Édgar Ramírez star in the story...
- 8/4/2015
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
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