EXCLUSIVE: Following Weinstein Co.’s Kevin Hart-Bryan Cranston movie The Upside going to STX in a distribution deal, another former TWC title is being rescued.
Bleecker Street and ShivHans Pictures are co-acquiring domestic rights to Australian director Anthony Maras’ Hotel Mumbai prior to the pic’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The deal was negotiated by Verve and Endeavor Content.
The pic, which reps Maras’ directorial debut, follows the victims and survivors in the Nov. 26, 2008 Jihadist terrorist attacks on the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, whose guests and staff became trapped in a heroic, days long fight for survival.
Armie Hammer, Dev Patel, Nazanin Boniadi, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, with Anupam Kher, and Jason Isaacs star. John Collee co-wrote with Maras. Basil Iwanyk, Gary Hamilton, Mike Gabrawy, Julie Ryan, Andrew Ogilvie, and Jomon Thomas produce.
We hear Hotel Mumbai is full acquisition by Bleecker and ShivHans and that it is not a distribution deal akin to what STX has with new Weinstein Co. owner Lantern Capital. Deadline’s Dominic Patten reported that the producers of Hotel Mumbai went after TWC in bankruptcy court to have the film removed as an asset and reached a settlement in less than two months. Hence, Hotel Mumbai never wound up with Lantern when they absorbed TWC.
We hear that following the pic’s play at TIFF, a date will be determined which will likely be next year. TWC never dated the movie previously. Word of mouth from early screenings have been quite positive.
ShivHans has financed a number of Bleecker Street features before including the Oscar-nominated Trumbo and Golden Globe-nominated Danny Collins. Bleecker Street has two other releases at TIFF including Wash Westmoreland’s Colette starring Keira Knightley and Dominic West and Elizabeth Chomko’s What They Had starring Hilary Swank, Taissa Farmiga, Michael Shannon, and Josh Lucas. Both premiered at Sundance back in January. Bleecker currently has the documentary McQueen in theaters about fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen and it’s currently closing in on a stateside gross of $1M.
Arclight Films International is handling foreign on Hotel Mumbai. Hotel Mumbai is a Screen Australia and Xeitgeist Entertainment production in association with the South Australian Film Corporation and Arclight Films, and Adelaide Film Festival, Double Guess and Screenwest. Hamilton Entertainment/Thunder Road Films/Electric Pictures/Xeitgeist Entertainment Group/Cyan Films are also producers on Hotel Mumbai.
Source: Read Full Article