September 18, 2003
FINE LINE FEATURES IS HOT FOR JOHN WATERS’ A DIRTY SHAME
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NEW YORK (September 18, 2003) – President of Fine Line Features/Executive Vice President/COO New Line Productions Mark Ordesky announced the acquisition of worldwide rights to A DIRTY SHAME, written and directed by John Waters. A DIRTY SHAME starts shooting in Baltimore on September 24.
Tracey Ullman stars in A DIRTY SHAME as a blue-collar convenience store owner who suffers a concussion and experiences carnal lust she cannot control. Chris Isaak, Johnny Knoxville and Selma Blair will also star in this outlandish comedy. John Waters has a history of more than 30 years with New Line Cinema and Fine Line Features, including the movies PINK FLAMINGOS, FEMALE TROUBLE, DESPERATE LIVING, POLYESTER, HAIRSPRAY and PECKER. New Line Cinema is also one of the producers of the smash-hit Tony Award-winning Broadway musical "Hairspray". Christine Vachon and Ted Hope will produce A DIRTY SHAME with executive producers John Wells and The Fisher Brothers. Merideth Finn and Mark Kaufman will oversee the production for Fine Line Features.
"John Waters is a maverick director with a unique comic sensibility, and an important member of the New Line/Fine Line family," said Ordesky. "It’s great to be working with him on A DIRTY SHAME."
"I came to New Line in 1971 when it was just Bob Shaye and a staff of about five people, and I've, well... spiritually never left. New Line continues to be my cinematic home," said John Waters.
The deal was negotiated by Carolyn Blackwood for Fine Line Features and Sue Bodine (Epstein, Levinsohn, Bodine, Hurwitz and Weinstein, LLP), Paul Brennan (Sloss Law Office), Jason Hendler (Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Sloane and Richman, LLP) and CAA on behalf of Waters and the producers.
THIS IS THAT was formed in 2002 by former Good Machine producers Ted Hope, Anthony Bregman and Anne Carey. Good Machine's former VP of Business Affairs, Diana Victor also joined. In its first year, the company has produced 21 GRAMS by Alejandro González Iñárritu starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro; and ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry, and starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst and Elijah Wood; THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR based on a novel by John Irving, written and directed by Tod Williams starring Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger; and THUMBSUCKER based on the novel by Walter Kim, written and directed by Mike Mills starring Tilda Swinton, Keanu Reeves, Vincent D’Onofrio and Vince Vaughn. Ted Hope also produced AMERICAN SPLENDOR, written and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, which won the Grand Jury prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival as well as the International Critics Prize at both the 2003 Cannes International Film Festival and Deauville Film Festival, and is currently being distributed by Fine Line Features.
Killer Films is one of the leading New York independent production companies headed by Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler, and Katie Roumel. Partially funded through a unique partnership with John Wells Productions, Killer has a first look deal with Warner Bros. and is responsible for over two dozen films including FAR FROM HEAVEN (4 Academy Award ® nominations), ONE HOUR PHOTO, BOYS DON’T CRY (1999 Academy Award ® Winner), HAPPINESS, STORYTELLING, VELVET GOLDMINE, KIDS, SAFE, and HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (2001 Sundance Audience Award Winner). Currently in release are PARTY MONSTER, starring Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green, and CAMP, Todd Graff’s Sundance hit. Upcoming releases include Robert Altman’s THE COMPANY starring Neve Campbell and A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD, starring Colin Farrell.
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