2 Merry Christmas

The Cannes Film Festival is currently in full swing and while the rest of us wait at home to hear the news and see the reviews of the films currently playing, we do have two treats to share with you. First is the trailer for director Arnaud Desplechin’s “Jimmy P.” which stars Benicio Del Toro as Jimmy Picard, a Native American WWII vet who is diagnosed with schizophrenia.  When his diagnosis is called into question, French psychoanalyst George Devereux (Mathieu Amalric) is brought in to assess the situation. This film will mark Desplechin’s first feature length project since 2008's "A Christmas Tale." The second trailer is for “A Touch of Sin” which is playing in competition for the Palme d’Or at Cannes.  This is the highest award that can be given at Cannes and is presented to the director of the best feature film in competition.  “A Touch of Sin” is directed by Jia Zhangke and takes a hard look at four separate lives in China that are on a path towards violence....

[LOS ANGELES, CA, May 17, 2013] – Open Road Films announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Ketchup Entertainment to handle distribution for Ketchup Entertainment’s theatrical titles across multiple windows including home entertainment, pay television, free television and non-theatrical lines of business.  In addition to ancillaries, the deal includes the opportunity to partner on theatrical distribution for upcoming Ketchup Entertainment titles.  The deal was announced today by Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films, and Gareth West, CEO of Ketchup Entertainment.Founded in 2008 by principals Gareth West, Artur Galstian, and Vahan Yepremeyan as a private equity and senior lending fund, Ketchup Entertainment has acquired several films including – most recently – SAVANNAH, starring Jim Caviezel and Chiwetel Ejiofor and VEHICLE 19 starring Paul Walker, and also financed the acclaimed Emmy Award-winning BBC movie LOST CHRISTMAS starring Eddie Izzard. Ketchup Entertainment launched a domestic film distribution division in May of 2012 and is actively acquiring and distributing films, including titles expected to be announced during the upcoming 2013 Cannes Film Festival.  This new agreement with Open Road Films will give Ketchup Entertainment the opportunity to capitalize on Open Road’s existing non-theatrical partners as well as find new opportunities in ancillary areas. The deal was negotiated on behalf of Open Road Films by Ben Cotner, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions, and Elliott Kleinberg, General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Operations and Business Affairs and by Gareth ... Read More »