The News: Cinetic Media, Eh?

By S.T. VanAirsdale

Some of today's movie news of note from around New York:

--Inching one step closer to the lush, sweet glow of total world conquest, Cinetic Media kingpin John Sloss on Monday closed a deal that will land his agency's films on the slate of upstart Canadian distributor Maximum Films. Variety reports that the latter company, launched by former ThinkFilm backer Robert Lantos just prior to this year's Toronto International Film Festival, will have access to roughly 50 Cinetic films per year -- adding to the pool already drawn in from deals with Magnolia Pictures, IFC and Fortissimo Films. Cinetic filmmakers approached for comment expressed momentary joy before asking, "So... what's Canada?"

--Also in Variety, Dade Hayes notes that Alexander Sokurov's Alexandra, a Cannes '07 alumnus and one of the higher-profile undistributed films of this year's New York Film Festival, landed an American buyer at last: The Cinema Guild, whose distribution director Ryan Krivoshey told the trade that US audiences should relate to the story of a woman who travels through an endless war to visit her soldier grandson. I guess we'll find out soon enough: Alexandra screens Thursday and Saturday at the NYFF.

--IndieWIRE sergeant-at-arms James Israel and his brother Jeff doubled up on the festival party beat last Friday, with Jimmy at the opening night of the NYFF and Jeff out at the outrageous burlesque meltdown that is the launch of the Coney Island Film Festival. How do they compare? The Israel brothers tell us -- in comics!

Posted at October 2, 2007 8:08 AM