April 27, 2000
FINE LINE JOINS JENNIFER JASON LEIGH AND ALAN CUMMING FOR THE ANNIVERSARY PARTY
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Fine Line President Mark Ordesky announced today that the company has finalized a deal for worldwide distribution of The Anniversary Party, a project brought to the Fine Line by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming. The pair co-wrote the script and will co-direct and star in the film. The producers are in talks with a talented ensemble cast including Jane Adams, Mina Badie, Jennifer Beals, Phoebe Cates, John Hickey, Kevin Kline, Denis O'Hare, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael Panes and John C. Reilly. Leigh and Cumming will also produce the film along with Ghoulardi Film Company's JoAnne Sellar (Boogie Nights, Magnolia). Arianna Bocco, Vice President of Acquisitions and Production, will shepherd the project for the studio with Creative Executive Mike Macari. Attorney Andrew Hurwitz, who will Executive Produce the film, negotiated the deal on behalf of the producers with Jamie Kershaw, Fine Line's Vice President of Business Affairs. Scheduled to begin production in late July, The Anniversary Party will be shot on digital video and is anticipated for release in early 2001.
An emotionally stirring story about the complexity of love and the deterioration of relationships, The Anniversary Party tells the tale of 24 hours in the life of Joe (Cumming) and Sally (Leigh). The couple, having recently reconciled after a year's separation, is hosting a 6th wedding anniversary party in their honor and have invited a few close friends. The well-meaning event quickly begins to unravel when one intoxicating gift turns friendly banter into an adult version of truth or consequences. As true confessions, unfiltered and unwelcome, turn the friendly gathering into a minefield of raw emotion, Joe and Sally must face their fears, exposed to all their friends, or lose their tender truce forever.
Commenting on the deal, Ordesky said, "Jennifer and Alan brought this project to us and we loved the concept. They are both incredibly talented and extremely passionate about the film. Their passion and their commitment to the picture are evidenced not only by the quality of the script, but by the caliber of actors that they are talking with to participate. We look forward to working with the entire creative team to bring their vision to the screen."
Jennifer Jason Leigh added, "We are thrilled to be working with Fine Line. This is a very personal project for Alan and me and we feel fortunate that Mark and Arianna are behind us. They read it in one night and met with us the next day. Nothing on this town happens that quickly and honestly."
Jennifer Jason Leigh is best known for her chameleon like ability to inhabit the characters she portrays. Breakthrough roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Paul Verhoeven's Flesh and Blood would provide the catalyst for a prodigious film career. Film roles were offered to her steadily afterwards, bringing leading and supporting performances in The Men's Club, The Hitcher, Heart of Midnight, and the industry insider spoof The Big Picture. Leigh's career reached a new plateau with her performance in Last Exit to Brooklyn. Leigh went on to give equally moving performances in Rush and Single White Female. Leigh followed up with performances in Robert Altman's critically acclaimed Short Cuts and opposite Kathy Bates in Dolores Claiborne. She also starred in the Coen Brothers film The Hudsucker Proxy before taking on Dorothy Parker in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle. Winning awards from the National Society of Film Critics and Chicago Film Critics for Best Actress, and being nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress, Leigh turned in a commanding, emotionally raw performance that sparked renewed interest in the Algonquin Circle, and Dorothy Parker's works.
Leigh's next dramatic turn was Sadie in Georgia, which she also co-produced. Critics again hailed her performing abilities, with Leigh winning Best Actress awards from the Montreal World Film Festival and the New York Film Critics Circle. Not one to rest on the laurels of her success, Leigh brought new and believable female characters to the screen again and again with Bastard Out of Carolina, Kansas City, Washington Square, and the ensemble piece, based on Jane Smiley's novel, A Thousand Acres.
This past year also saw Leigh in critically lauded David Cronenberg's, eXistenZ. Last fall, Leigh graced Broadway in "Cabaret" as Sally Bowles. Not a newcomer to theater, Leigh has previously been seen on the stage in Picnic at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles, and in Sunshine with the Circle Repertory group. Leigh will next be seen in the Dogme film, The King is Alive, directed by Kristian Levring. Leigh also stars in Tamra Davis' next feature Skipped Parts, which will be released by Trimark Pictures.
Cumming, a veteran stage actor, and Leigh first crossed paths when they both starred on Broadway in the smash hit "Cabaret." Cumming's performance as the mercurial Emcee earned him his first Tony in 1998 (Best Actor in a Musical) as well as the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Circle Award for outstanding lead actor in a musical. He has also given award-winning performances on stage in "Hamlet" and "Accidental Death of an Anarchist."
Educated at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Cumming made his professional debut in television and theatre while still a student. His first feature film was in a project titled Passing Glory. After three years of theatre and television work in Scotland, Cumming made his West End debut in 1998 at the Royal Court in "The Conquest of the South Pole" and was nominated most promising newcomer for that year's Lawrence Olivier Awards. In total, Cumming has been nominated for a record four Olivier Awards.
Cumming's film credits include his recent starring role in Julie Taymore's stylish Titus, Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, Buddy, Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, Emma, Goldeneye, Circle of Friends, Black Beauty, and Prague. Upcoming he will be seen in Viva Rock Vegas, Company Men, and Get Carter, all due this year. He is currently in production on Spy Kids for Robert Rodriguez. Cumming has worked extensively in film, television and on stage and has written and directed several works including his own short film, Butter.