The bad news for smaller studio imprints keeps piling up. Paramount Vantage, the artier, boutique arm of Paramount pictures is being absorbed by the larger studio including all areas of marketing, distribution and physical production. While only three people will be laid off (it’s a small wing), the consolidation speaks to a larger and growing trend of major film studios cutting back on spending and downsizing their indie tentacles (what so now it’s all blockbusters from here in? Well, we’ll continue to wish the hex of “Speed Racer” on all of them then). Hopefully it won’t change the agenda or operation too much. PV’s had a rash of great films in recent years including, “There Will Be Blood,” “Margot At the Wedding” and “Babel” to name just a few. Apparently PV’s first-look deal with Will Ferrell and Adam McKay will be moved over to the Paramount proper, but no word about “No Country For Old Men,” producer Scott Rudin’s who did move over to Disney/Miramax, but still co-produced ‘Country’ and ‘Blood’ with Paramount Vantage. Maybe that means even less fine co-productions to be made [Variety]
After a ton of seemingly catastrophic funding issues, David O. Russell’s political satire “Nailed” somehow seems to still have legs. The film has had avery disjointed start and stop production process because unions have balked and walked off set anytime they weren’t properly paid. But filming will resume today thanks to a late-breaking financing deal with Comerica Bank and the film’s financier, Capitol Films. The overall budget for the project is $25 million and the film has three more weeks of shooting left at which time principal actors Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal have to wrap. “One more shutdown will kill the movie, not to mention cause hair loss and ulcers, and Capitol knows that,” one principal business exec said. As for the notoriously mercurial Russell? “David has been an absolute dream, literally the glue that’s held the film together,” said one of the film’s producers. He was paid to say that. [Hollywood Reporter]
With a possible impending actors strike, indie films are lucky enough to be getting a waiver this summer from SAG (Screen Actors Guild). The strike, however unlikely, could happen June 30 and SAG has carved out 300 waiver deals indie producers that will allow features to continue shooting after the deadline by agreeing in advance to adhere to whatever deal SAG negotiates. A few films already protected under this deal are Oliver Stone’s George W. Bush drama “W,” Werner Herzog’s “Bad Lieutenant” remake with Nicolas Cage, “Killing Pablo,” with director Joe Carnahan (“Narc”). [Variety]