Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions announced recently that they've acquired the film "Arbitrage", which recently has its world premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The film is directed by Nicholas Jarecki, who making his directorial debut. Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth star in the film.

Press Release:

LIONSGATE® (NYSE: LGF), a leading global entertainment company, and Roadside Attractions have together acquired U.S. distribution rights to Nicholas Jarecki’s ARBITRAGE. The announcement was made jointly by Steve Beeks, President and Co-COO of Lionsgate, and by Roadside Attractions’ Co-Presidents Howard Cohen and Eric d'Arbeloff. The acquisition was made following the well-received world premiere of the film at the Sundance International Film Festival.

ARBITRAGE is a taut and alluring suspense thriller about love, loyalty, and high finance starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth, Brit Marling, Laetitia Casta, and Nate Parker. The film was written and directed by Nicholas Jarecki, and is his first narrative feature. It was produced by Laura Bickford (Traffic, Duplicity), Kevin Turen, Justin Nappi, and Robert Salerno (A Single Man), and executive produced by Brian Young, Mohammed Al Turki, Lisa Wilson, Stanislaw Tyczynski, Lauren Versel, Maria Teresa Areda and Ron Curtis.

ARBITRAGE will be a Lionsgate / Roadside Attractions release, continuing the strong partnership between the two companies that led to the success of last year's MARGIN CALL, also released by both companies.  Also acquired at Sundance, that film struck a chord in the zeitgeist and was a commercial success in both its theatrical and VOD release formats.  It was also nominated for an Oscar® for Best Original Screenplay.  The two companies have also jointly acquired EVERYTHING MUST GO and FRIENDS WITH KIDS.

“We are thrilled that we’ve found another film that is such a perfect fit for a Lionsgate / Roadside partnered release,” said Lionsgate’s President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions Jason Constantine.” ARBITRAGE is an incredible directorial debut by Nicholas Jarecki.  Richard Gere gives one of the best performances of his extraordinary career.  Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth, Nate Parker, Brit Marling and Laetitia Casta all turn in incredible supporting performances.  The film is an intense thriller set against the backdrop of a very specific time and place on Wall Street, but it’s also more than that- it shows so poignantly how interconnected we all are, and how a series of choices by a few people can affect so many.”

"This is a knockout performance by Richard Gere in Nicholas Jarecki's smart and twisty Wall Street thriller. Following our great experience on MARGIN CALL, Roadside is thrilled to partner again with Lionsgate on another zeitgeisty film for grownups," said Roadside Co-Presidents Howard Cohen and Eric d'Arbeloff.

Added director Nicholas Jarecki, "I am overjoyed to be working with Roadside and Lionsgate and their pioneering teams. From the first day of this film I've felt an invisible hand guiding our luck forward; it was the collective dedication of our actors, crew, and now our new releasing partners. I can't wait for people to see Richard and the cast's beautiful, hauntingly electric work on-screen."

Graham Taylor at WME Global negotiated deal on behalf of the filmmakers, with attorney Linda Lichter of Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler & Feldman. The deal was negotiated on behalf of Lionsgate by Beeks and Constantine with Eda Kowan, SVP of Acquisitions, Wendy Jaffe, EVP Business and Legal Affairs, and Ron Schwartz, General Manager and EVP of Home Entertainment Distribution.

About ARBITRAGE
ARBITRAGE, the feature directorial debut of writer Nicholas Jarecki, is a taut and alluring suspense thriller about love, loyalty, and high finance. When we first meet New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller (Richard Gere) on the eve of his 60th birthday, he appears the very portrait of success in American business and family life. But behind the gilded walls of his mansion, Miller is in over his head, desperately trying to complete the sale of his trading empire to a major bank before the depths of his fraud are revealed. Struggling to conceal his duplicity from loyal wife Ellen (Susan Sarandon) and brilliant daughter and heir-apparent Brooke (Brit Marling), Miller's also balancing an affair with French art-dealer Julie Côte (Laetitia Casta). Just as he's about to unload his troubled empire, an unexpected bloody error forces him to juggle family, business, and crime with the aid of Jimmy Grant (Nate Parker), a face from Miller's past. One wrong turn ignites the suspicions of NYPD Detective Michael Bryer (Tim Roth), who will stop at nothing in his pursuits.  Running on borrowed time, Miller is forced to confront the limits of even his own moral duplicity. Will he make it out before the bubble bursts?

ARBITRAGE is written and directed by Nicholas Jarecki and stars Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth, Brit Marling, Laetitia Casta and Nate Parker. Stuart Margolin, Chris Eigeman and Bruce Altman co-star and Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter appears as James Mayfield.  Laura Bickford, Kevin Turen, Justin Nappi and Robert Salerno produced the project, with Brian Young, Mohammed Al Turki, Lisa Wilson, Stanislaw Tyczynski, Lauren Versel, Maria Teresa Areda and Ron Curtis serving as executive producers. The Arbitrage creative team includes director of photography Yorick Le Saux (I Am Love, Carlos), production designer Beth Mickle (Drive), editor Douglas Crise (Babel), costume designer Joe Aulisi (Charlie's Angels, Taking Woodstock) and composer Cliff Martinez (Drive, Contagion).

Mott Street Pictures has recently released stills and the official poster for their film "28 Hotel Rooms, which is playing at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The film is the feature film debut for director Matt Ross, who has appeared as an actor in such TV shows as "Big Love" and "American Horror Story". The film stars Chris Messina and Marin Ireland.

Plot Synopsis:

While traveling for work in a city far from their homes, a novelist and a corporate accountant find themselves in bed together. Although she’s married, and he’s seeing someone, their intense attraction turns a one-night stand into an unexpected relationship and a respite from the obligations of daily life. Through a series of moments—some profound, some silly, some intensely intimate—we see a portrait of an evolving relationship that could become the most significant one of their lives.

Upcoming Screenings:

1/27/2012  6:00 pm      Egyptian Theatre    Park City      Box Office Only

The filmmakers behind "Nobody Walks" has released some stills regarding the film that is playing at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The film is the third film by Ry Russo‐Young, whose last film "You Won't Miss Me" played at the 2009 Sundance Festival. The film stars John Krasinski, Olivia Thirlby, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Dylan McDermott.

Plot Synopsis:

Martine, a 23-year-old artist from New York, arrives in Los Angeles to stay in the pool house of a family living in the hip and hilly community of Silver Lake. Peter, the father, has agreed to help Martine complete sound design on her art film as a favor to his wife. Martine innocently enters the seemingly idyllic life of this open-minded family with two kids and a relaxed Southern California vibe. Like a bolt of lightning, her arrival sparks a surge of energy that awakens suppressed impulses in everyone and forces them to confront their own fears and desires.

Upcoming Screenings:

1/27/2012  2:30 pm  Library Center Theatre   Park City   Box Office Only

Super Crispy Entertainment has recently released stills for their film "Smashed", which is playing at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The film is the second feature film from director James Ponsoldt, who directed "Off the Black" starring Nick Nolte back in 2006. The film stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Paul, Octavia Spencer and Nick Offerman..

Plot Synopsis:

Kate and Charlie like to have a good time. Their marriage thrives on a shared fondness for music, laughter . . . and getting smashed. When Kate’s partying spirals into hard-core asocial behavior, compromising her job as an elementary schoolteacher, something’s got to give. But change isn’t exactly a cakewalk. Sobriety means she will have to confront the lies she’s been spinning at work, her troubling relationship with her mother, and the nature of her bond with Charlie.

Upcoming Screenings:

1/27/2012 3:30 pm Eccles Theatre Park City Box Office Only

Watching Steven Soderbergh’s “Haywire” brought back memories of watching action heroes kicking serious ass in movies. I grew up watching Steven Seagal snap arms in half in “Hard To Kill” and “Marked For Death” among other flicks, and there is indeed something satisfying about seeing somebody taking hits and then dishing them out with twice the punishing force. It feels like it’s been awhile since we’ve had a movie like that.

With “Haywire,” Soderbergh introduces us to Gina Carano, a now retired mixed martial arts fighter. As he did with Sasha Grey in “The Girlfriend Experience,” he throws Carano into her first mainstream acting role to see how she swims in the competitive world of Hollywood. But whereas Grey had unknown actors to deal with, Carano is placed in a sea of top notch actors like Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, and Michael Douglas. Taking this into account, it seems like Grey had it a lot easier.

The movie is another one of those innocent people framed for a crime they didn’t commit stories with Carano playing Mallory Kane, a black ops agent who is assigned to covert operations. Kane is quick to discover that she’s been set up to take a fall, and she plots her revenge against those who foolishly underestimated her. You know she will eventually get the upper hand on her betrayers, and seeing her take them on is terrific fun as she performs stunts you don’t see Stallone or Statham doing.

Carano’s acting range only goes so far, but she does have a strong presence whenever she’s onscreen. She manages to hold her own against actors who could have effortlessly run her over. Where she really comes alive is during the action sequences which are exhilarating as she doesn’t have some stunt person filling in for her. It should be no surprise that, being MMA fighter, that she can really take a punch.

When you think about it, having Carano gives all the actors opposite her a tough acting challenge as they have to appear as tough (if not tougher) than she is. Certain actors (you’ll know them when you see them) look inescapably sheepish around her and even worse when they prepare to throw punches in her direction. Even when she’s not strangling a guy with her legs, those eyes of her stare at you like shiny daggers asking you not to mess with her. The one actor who gives Carano a run for her money is Fassbender with whom she shares a dynamo fight scene where they literally beat the crap out of each other.

“Haywire” isn’t going to be ranked among Soderbergh’s greatest movies, but it is diverting fun as it plays around with the conventions set up by the Bourne trilogy and various spy movies. It also allows Soderbergh to team up again with his “Ocean’s Eleven” composer David Holmes for another groovy music score that’s always great to listen to. It’ll be interesting to see where Carano’s career goes from here. Will she advance to action star status? Or will she end up in straight to DVD hell? It’ll be interesting to see as she does create a memorable presence here onscreen. At least she has better luck in the movies than Howie Long ever did.

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