Screen Media Films has acquired U.S. rights to Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s “Ten Thousand Saints,” which stars Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Emily Mortimer, Julianne Nicholson, Emile Hirsch and Ethan Hawke.
“Ten Thousand Saints” recently premiered at Sundance and Screen Media Films will release the movie in late summer 2015 with a 25-market theatrical and day-and-date VOD release.
After certain events lead Jude (Butterfield) to withdraw from school and his family, his mother sends him to live with his estranged pot-dealing father (Hawke) in New York City. There, in the crime-riddled East Village of the late 1980’s, Jude forms an unlikely bond with his best friend’s brother (Hirsch) and the daughter (Steinfeld) of his father’s girlfriend (Mortimer). As the three dive deep in to the hardcore punk scene, they protect a secret that threatens to spoil their adolescence.
Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini adapted the novel by Eleanor Henderson. The film was produced by Anne Carey, Amy Nauiokas, Luca Borghese, Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray, and executive produced by Charlotte Ubben, Shari Springer Berman, and Pamela Hirsch.
The film was made by Maven Pictures, Archer Gray and Luca Borghese, in association with Bad Medicine Films, Raptor Films, and Tashtego Films. The Solution is handling international rights and will be selling the film at next week’s EFM in Berlin.
“This film was one of our favorites at Sundance and we immediately knew we wanted to add the film to our 2015 summer line-up,” said Suzanne Blech, president of Screen Media. “On top of the stellar performances from the ensemble cast, we have been looking for a way to work with this talented filmmaking team, as we have been fans from afar for many years, and this opportunity just seemed like the right time.”
“This is a very personal movie for us and we wanted to make sure it found a home that would give it a lot of love. Screen Media had so much passion that we are certain we made the right choice,” directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini said in a joint statement.
“’Ten Thousand Saints’ is a great testament to the vibrant film community in NYC,” producers Carey and Rattray said in a joint statement. “We producers jokingly referred to it as our ‘walk to work movie’ made during the polar vortex. We tapped into an amazing NYC talent pool and brought other talent to NYC to celebrate the city with us. ‘Ten Thousand Saints’ is a love letter to the city in which we all live and work. It celebrates that NYC offers everyone the ability to find themselves, define themselves, find love and connect.”
The deal was negotiated by Blech and Seth Needle, director of acquisitions & marketing at Screen Media, with CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.
