Swimming With Sharks,” a documentary that explored the dark and unnerving world of people who go through a terrifying ordeal in the wild. The movie was a smash hit, grossing $1.8 million from an investment of just $5,000.
“I’m glad I had that experience, but the next time I decide to put on a show it’s going to be about something that I love,” he said. “I’m excited about the opportunity and it’s a cool thing to be part of a team like this.”
In addition to the movie’s distribution by the Sundance Institute, Honeymoon is co-distributed by Fathom, a unit of the giant entertainment company AMC Networks. It’s a co-financing and production agreement that will keep the film in Honeymoon’s hands.
Says the movie’s director, Lia Bumanis: “What’s important here is that a first-time filmmaker get to bring their vision to life, and with Fathom’s help they’ll have a partner that will make that dream a reality.”
For his part, Johnson is happy to have someone to work with who understands his vision for the film. It’s more than just a movie, he insists: “It’s not a genre film. It’s not a documentary. It’s a different thing, like a hybrid film.”
Adds Johnson: “I’m ready to make people feel the way I felt.”
The Fathom release and distribution will be handled by Tom Quinn and Mark DiCristina at Fathom. Jason Ropell will serve as an executive producer.
Honeymoon is an off-beat and unnerving coming-of-age story, featuring the relationship between a single dad and his 12-year-old daughter who has been missing for eight years. The audience never finds out why she went missing and this is partly because Johnson intended to include a scene in which she is found to have committed suicide. In the end, though, the daughter’s death is left ambiguous.
Lia Bumanis had already been searching for a movie about a “unique father/daughter dynamic” to film, and when she was shown Honeymoon the pair clicked, she said. “From the very first conversation we had, I knew this was going to be a great project for me,” she said. “After that, I was determined to get it financed and made.”
Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of the popular TV show “South Park,” have set their next project, a feature film about gay marriage that has made waves online since its unveiling Monday.
Parker and Stone revealed the news via their official website on Tuesday, saying they’ll be making “The Book of Mormon” for Warner Bros.
The script was written by Stone, Parker and frequent collaborator Robert Lopez. Lopez has experience in musical theater as a performer, screenwriter and lyricist, including the hit Broadway musical “Avenue Q.” He and Parker also worked together on an original South Park episode earlier this year.
A musical comedy, “The Book of Mormon” follows two young Mormon missionaries sent to war-torn Uganda to spread the word of Jesus Christ. Ahead of its theatrical release in December, a preview video has sparked anger among many Mormons who believe the production is blasphemous. It opens in movie theaters on Dec. 25.
Parker is the co-creator of the animated series “South Park,” which recently entered its 13th season on cable network Comedy Central. Stone is the co-creator, director and producer of the popular series, also now in its 13th season on Comedy Central.
They’re no strangers to controversy, though. “South Park” has earned criticism over several of its controversial episodes, including a 2007 episode called “Trapped in the Closet” and the 2006 film, “Team America: World Police,” which features a scene in which the late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein is executed by U.S. troops.
Warner Bros. said Tuesday that “The Book of Mormon” had already been pre-sold in more than half of the nation’s movie theaters. No other distributors have come forward to help the movie, the company said.
In addition to the movie, Parker and Stone have been busy launching their popular video series, “South Park” Movie Trailer Parody,” an internet phenomenon that continues to make headlines.
The show’s title refers to the tradition of creating movie trailers using the titles from popular films and TV series. The South Park duo parodied a number of Hollywood movies for their series, including “The Amazing Spiderman,” “Shrek,” “Twilight” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”
The pair have also become the newest producers of the hit NBC sitcom “30 Rock,” helping turn around a struggling program by putting their own brand of creativity behind it.
Cinematographer Peter Andrews is excited about working with the Oscar-nominated actress Tilda Swinton on a film he’s making with Flower Films, the production company of her longtime boyfriend.
“It’s very much a romance,” Andrews said. “We’ve also got a great script and a lot of heart and soul in the project.”
Andrews and Tilda Swinton, who became partners in their own production company in 2005, are working on a film project called “The Mercy Seat.” The film, which Andrews describes as a romantic drama, focuses on two estranged sisters who decide to spend time together.
The relationship is strained by the fact that both women have become prostitutes. It’s set against the backdrop of a small town in a western state. Andrews said it’s a project he hopes will be made available to the public once it is completed.
“It’s going to be a lovely little story and it’s lovely to work with Tilda,” he said. “She’s got quite a distinctive style, so she’s going to add something a bit different to a small company of people working together.”
Andrews, who has worked on projects such as “A Mighty Wind,” “Happiness” and “I Am Sam,” was not always sure he wanted to become a cinematographer.
He studied
