Criterion and IFC

[Jeff]

IFC does seem to have North American rights.

Sounds like a done deal. In the Sundance festival guide, Sehring is listed as an executive producer and IFC's Lauren Schwartz is the media contact.

[Jeff]

IFC does seem to have North American rights.

Sounds like a done deal. In the Sundance festival guide, Sehring is listed as an executive producer and IFC's Lauren Schwartz is the media contact.

Not so fast, says Deadline:

IFC has been involved in this since the beginning, but I am hearing that buyers will be there anyway. If there’s some big offer for theatrical distribution, conversations will ensue.

[flyonthewall2983]

Off-topic, but what's the over-under on IFC changing their name since the channel has pretty much admitted that it doesn't stand for "Independent Film Channel" anymore?

[Yaanu]

Off-topic, but what's the over-under on IFC changing their name since the channel has pretty much admitted that it doesn't stand for "Independent Film Channel" anymore?

About the same as A&E, Bravo, TLC, or History Channel changing their names.

[Minkin]

Off-topic, but what's the over-under on IFC changing their name since the channel has pretty much admitted that it doesn't stand for "Independent Film Channel" anymore?

Channel Drift

[flyonthewall2983]

I mean the film studio.

[Ashirg]

IFC Films/MPI is releasing Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy? on May 13, 2014. No Criterion for that title.

[bainbridgezu]

MPI is releasing DVD editions of Claire Denis' Bastards and Michael Winterbottom's Everyday on April 8th.

[ianungstad]

While Criterion has mostly ignored IFC's genre offerings; word on Jennifer Kent's The Babadook has been excellent. After Sundance it's sitting at a pretty lofty 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and 88% on metacritic. I haven't read a less than excellent review yet.

Trailer

[Ashirg]

MPI/IFC is releasing Koreeda's Like Father, Like Son on July 1. DVD only

[manicsounds]

Still don't see a listing for the "Like Father Like Son" DVD anywhere yet, but the Arrow Blu-ray is out. Unfortunately with non removable subtitles and no extras. Since Criterion already announced their July releases and this wasn't included, what are the chances now of a Criterion edition? Then again, Koreeda's previous "I Wish" is still DVD only in the US, right?

[RyanGallagher]

Still don't see a listing for the "Like Father Like Son" DVD anywhere yet, but the Arrow Blu-ray is out. Unfortunately with non removable subtitles and no extras. Since Criterion already announced their July releases and this wasn't included, what are the chances now of a Criterion edition? Then again, Koreeda's previous "I Wish" is still DVD only in the US, right?

Right here

[FrauBlucher]

IFC has signed Kristian Levring's The Salvation from Cannes

[bainbridgezu]

MPI will release Polanski's Venus in Fur on October 14

[tavernier]

^ so no Blu-ray, I guess

[swo17]

At least Artificial Eye is putting out a Blu-ray next week.

[rrenault]

Why did Venus in Fur do so poorly? It wasn't completely panned or anything, was it?

[ianungstad]

Reviews were solid. Check out IFC's trailer on youtube. It's horrid.

[FerdinandGriffon]

I don't know about the trailer, but the film has its charms. Seigner and Amalric are very dextrous, agile, and funny, past the instant pleasures of the very meta casting. They're so good, in fact, that they carry the script at times I suspect it would like to limp a bit. But even if it's not as clever as it would like to be, it's still good fun, and the wordless coda is pure Polanski. I have no idea why it's flopped, as it's easily my favorite of his stage adaptations after Macbeth, and has a lot more personality than his last couple films in general.

[ianungstad]

From Hollywood Reporter:

More than a year ago in Cannes, IFC Films picked up rights to Abel Ferrara's Welcome to New York — a retelling of the downfall of former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn starring Gerard Depardieu. But now the controversial director known for such sexually explicit films as Bad Lieutenant is speaking out against his distributor, accusing executives of trying to compromise his film.

Ferrara is bristling at a letter he says he received from IFC svp Arianna Bocco telling the filmmaker to deliver an R-rated version of Welcome so that it could match the version to be released on Showtime during its pay TV window. The film, which screened in Cannes in May, is currently beyond the R-rated threshold (The Hollywood Reporter's review described it as a cross “between performance piece and soft-core porn").

For Ferrara, there's no backing down. “Welcome to New York is not being distributed in the U.S. because of this company, IFC, which I'm totally disgusted with," Ferrara tells THR in Venice, where he’s promoting his latest film, Pasolini, a biopic of Italian filmmaker, poet and novelist Pier Paolo Pasolini. "They knew from day one when they bought this film that they had the final version and that it wasn’t going to be changed."

But sources say sales agent Wild Bunch, which sold the film to IFC based on a 10-minute trailer, is contractually obligated to deliver an R-rated cut.

Ferrara, 63, who’ll be in Toronto for the Sept. 8 screening of Pasolini, sees the issue as indicative of a larger problem facing independent filmmakers. "I've f—ing had it with this corporate assault on the artists and the freedom of the artist, period. It's like a war against movies," he says. "Because 90 percent of the marketplace is owned by five guys masquerading as corporations. They're vultures and they're vampires, and they're trying to suck the blood out of the life of the filmmaking community."

IFC Films is owned and operated by AMC Networks.

“F— them and f— IFC and the Center. Any filmmaker that's worth anything should go and burn that theater down," he continued, referencing the New York cinema owned by IFC, which has been home to many of his works in the past.

"And as for my brother and sister filmmakers, don’t roll over to these punks,” he continued. “And don’t let Arianna Bocco and (Sundance Selects/IFC Films president) Jonathan Sehring and the other thousand just like them come on as big friends of the independent film community. They don’t give a shit about movies or the people that make them."

IFC wouldn't address Ferrara's accusations directly. But Sehring says IFC still plans to bring the film to the big screen despite the filmmaker's criticism. “We have been fans of Abel Ferrara for years and think he is an incredible filmmaker," Sehring said. "We supported his work on this particular film over several years in the production process and plan to release this riveting film early next year for U.S. audiences."

But Ferrara sees parallels between his own struggle and his latest subject, Pasolini. “If there’s anything to learn from Pasolini, it’s that he died for his films, man,” says Ferrara. “To re-cut these films is to destroy them. And to not give back to the film community is to destroy it."

[zedz]

A non-graphic version of Welcome to New York would be completely pointless (and probably run under an hour!) What film did IFC think they were buying?

[ianungstad]

Some acquisition news out of Toronto:

Duke of Burgundy(Peter Strickland). This has been getting rave reviews. Hopefully Criterion releases it. I was sort of surprised they passed Berberian Sound Studio off to MPI.
Phoenix (Christian Petzoid). Another film that's been getting fantastic reviews.
The Riot Club (Lone Scherfig). Hardly a disaster but reviews have been pretty middle of the road.

[domino harvey]

Nice! I'd love to see Petzold join the Criterion roster and hopefully get some good critical appraisal of his work in the extras

[colinr0380]

The Riot Club (Lone Scherfig). Hardly a disaster but reviews have been pretty middle of the road.

Kim Newman's film notes on this one are fun to read: "Eden Lake for Socialists"!

[bainbridgezu]

IFC acquires David Gordon Green's Manglehorn with Al Pacino