indieWIRE BizindieWIRE's coverage of indie and speciality film business news, part of our award-winning coverage of indie film."Eggleston" Paints a Solid Box office Opener; "Penguins" Continue to Charm- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Palm Pictures' "William Eggleston in the Real World" is the latest doc to canvas the specialty box office summit, taking the number one position as ranked on a per screen basis last weekend. Empire Pictures' "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" expanded and weaved further up the iW BOT chart, increasing its screen average well into its initial release, while TLA rolled out "Three Dancing Slaves" at an exclusive engagement, placing third on the chart. Also...http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_050908boxoffice.html D.I.Y. Distribution Dealmaking Today, An Emerging Case Study: "Four Eyed Monsters"- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Frustrated by a lack of distribution prospects following successful festival screenings of their first feature at Slamdance, SXSW, and then Gen Art -- and facing mounting credit card debts this spring -- "Four Eyed Monsters" directors Susan Buice & Arin Crumley questioned whether they should have ever made their personal, low-budget movie. The path that Buice & Crumley have taken since that exasperated email nearly four months ago is evidence of the sort of clever strategizing.http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_050822four.html Egoyan's "Where The Truth Lies" Faces Restrictive Rating Situation- (Found June 24, 2008 ) In a summer when 'R' rated comedies from Hollywood have become a media sensation, indie distributor ThinkFilm finds itself in the midst of another ratings flap over a new release. After facing a potentially restrictive rating for the foul-mouthed doc "The Aristocrats," and ultimately releasing the movie unrated and uncut, the distributor is appealing a recent 'NC-17' rating for its new acquisition, Atom Egoyan's "Where The Truth Lies." The trouble for the Cannes '05...http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_050823think.html "El Crimen Perfecto" and "Emmett Till" Debut Moderately in Limited Release; "Broken Flowers" Expands- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Vitagraph's sex-comedy "El Crimen Perfecto" heisted the premiere position on the specialty box office list last weekend, opening at one location with the highest per screen average in a three-day period that saw moderate averages overall. THINKFilm's doc "The Untold Story of Emmett Till" also rolled out on one screen, placing second on the iW BOT chart, ranked on a per screen basis. Tartan's "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" and Wellspring's "Reel Paradise"...http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_050824boxoffice.html Biz Vets Make A Commotion For Indiewood- (Found June 24, 2008 ) In Beverly Hills one night during April 2003, Tracy McKnight knew no one was going to give her a deal. An established and respected music supervisor, she hosted a soundtrack screening for the Paramount Classics release, "The United States of Leland." According to McKnight, about 10% of those invited bothered to show up. She was unsure of what to do, because she knew that the film's music deserved a release. "We had an amazing soundtrack but the movie was too small," she...http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_050830comm.html "Emmett Till" Doc Shows Box Office Light On Slow Weekend- (Found June 24, 2008 ) THINKFilm's "The Untold Story of Emmett Till" took over the specialty box office in a rather lackadasical weekend, which saw the indie screen average decline after a month of robust numbers. Sony Pictures Classics' "The Memory of a Killer" had the strongest debut of the weekend, taking the second position on the chart, although its screen average was only moderate. "March of the Penguins" continued as the chart's moneymaking champ, but its screen average dropped...http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_050831boxoffice.html Strand Releasing Takes U.S. Rights to Cannes '05 Opener "Lemming"- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Strand Releasing has acquired U.S. rights to Dominik Moll's psychological thriller, "Lemming," which opened the 2005 Cannes Film Festival in May, the company announced Thursday evening. The film, which stars Laurent Lucas ("Harry, He's Here to Help!"), is in this year's Telluride Film Festival line up. Charlotte Mickie of Paris-based film sales agency Celluloid Dreams negotiated the deal with Jon Gerrans of Strand. Brian Brooks reports. (090605)http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_050906strand.html IFP Eyes The Public with New "Independent Film Week" Brand Tied To Annual IFP Market Event- (Found June 24, 2008 ) With just weeks to go before the annual IFP Market & Conference, the Independent Feature Project (formerly IFPNew York) has announced a new initiative that will re-brand its yearly event, while targeting some of its efforts toward stimulating public interest in independent film. Now called Independent Film Week, consumers will be encouraged to see more films at first-run independent theaters. Launching the initiative is the New York premiere of Magnolia Pictures' "Nine Lives" by...http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_050907ifp.html Egoyan's "Truth" Coming to Toronto After MPAA Rating Appeal Rejection- (Found June 24, 2008 ) The version of "Where The Truth Lies," Atom Egoyan's new film, screening here at the Toronto International Film Festival is the "Cannes cut" or the version seen before Egoyan attempted to appease the Motion Picture Association of America by re-editing the picture. Egoyan, en route to Toronto for the North American debut of his new film, lost his appeal to the MPAA in Los Angeles Thursday, with an NC-17 rating upheld by the organization according to distributor ThinkFilm. For.http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_050908where.html IFC Films Joins Weinsteins "Transamerica" Release- (Found June 24, 2008 ) IFC Films has announced plans to partner on the release of Duncan Tucker's "Transamerica" with The Weinstein Company (TWC). IFC will jointly release the film, starring Felicity Huffman as a pre-op transsexual, debuting it at the new IFC Center in downtown Manhattan. In the film, Huffman's character discovers that she has a son and pretends to be a Christian missionary, driving across the country to deliver him to his father. Alongside Huffman, the cast includes Kevin Zegers, Fionnula..http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_050819ifc.html |