RELATIVITY STUDIOS ACQUIRES U.S. DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS TO HALLE BERRY THRILLER, KIDNAP from lotus entertainment
-Relativity Studios announced today that it has acquired U.S. distribution rights from Lotus Entertainment to the thriller KIDNAP, starring Academy Award® winner Halle Berry (X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, MONSTER’S BALL).
-This is the second acquisition announced by the studio this week, along with WOMEN IN BLACK 2. It is also yet another step in building out Relativity Studios’ action thriller genre, which has seen recent profitable grosses in 3 DAYS TO KILL and THE NOVEMBER MAN and begins production this month on D.J. Caruso’s THE DISAPPOINTMENTS’ ROOM.
-Lotus Entertainment and Gold Star Films financed the film with Lotus handling international sales. This is the second significant domestic deal for Lotus and Gold Star in recent weeks, after Lionsgate acquired the North American rights to Henry Hobson’s film “Maggie” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Abigail Breslin.
-Luis Prieto (PUSHER) is attached to direct the film, based off Knate Gwaltney’s first screenplay. The film is set to begin production in late fall 2014.
Di Bonaventure Pictures’ Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Erik Howsam are producing the film. Executive producers are Lotus Entertainment’s Bill Johnson, Jim Seibel, D.J. Gugenheim and Ara Keshishian alongside Gold Star¹s Joey Tufaro and Colin Bates, Knate Gwaltney, Halle Berry and her producing partner Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas through their 606 Films production banner.
-The film is a heart-stopping action thriller following a mother (Berry) who will stop at nothing to rescue her kidnapped son.
-Berry is represented by CAA, Vincent Cirrincione Associates, and attorney Doug Stone with Stone, Meyer, Genow, Smelkinson and Binder. Luis Prieto is represented by CAA, and Knate Gwaltney is represented by CAA and attorney Darren Trattner at Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Klein.
-CAA packaged the project and reps the domestic rights.
-Relativity Studios had the highest-grossing acquisition out of TIFF 2013 with OCULUS.
-Looking forward, Relativity Studios will release Hector and the Search for Happiness (in theaters September 19, 2014), author Nicholas Sparks’ The Best of Me (in theaters October 17, 2014) and Beyond the Lights (in theaters November 14, 2014).
-Lotus’ current film slate includes: Tom Tykwer’s “A Hologram for the King” starring two-time Academy Award® Winner Tom Hanks; Scott Hicks’ Fallen based on the best-selling YA novel; Craig Zobel’s “Z For Zachariah” with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine; and Song One starring Anne Hathaway.
