The buyers who’ll be combing Cannes theaters for new projects over the next two weeks include a trio bankrolled by the Dave Matthews Band, and newly expanded from a production company to an independent distributor.
ATO Pictures (Art Takes Over) announced on Wednesday that it is expanding from financing and production into domestic distribution, with deals in place with Samuel Goldwyn Films’ Independent Distribution Partners and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
The company plans to release four to six films per year, with distribution encompassing a theatrical release along with subsequent entry into the DVD, Blu-Ray, video on demand and digital download markets.
ATO was started in 2002 by Dave Matthews and his manager, Coran Capshaw, as an attempt to bring to the film business some of the internet-based marketing strategies that made the Dave Matthews Band one of the top-grossing attractions worldwide. As a production company, its relatively small output included “Choke,” with Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston, and “Savage Grace,” with Julianne Moore.
The expansion will take place under the stewardship of CEO Temple Fennell and principals Johnathan Dorfman, Peter Newman and Greg Johnson. Its first release will be “Mao’s Last Dancer” (left), a film about Chinese dancer Li Cunxin from Australian director Bruce Beresford (“Breaker Morant,” “Tender Mercies”).
Doftman, Newman and ATO’s new acquisitions chief, Sarah Lash, are at Cannes looking for projects to both finance and distribute in the U.S.
In the release announcing ATO’s expansion into distribution, Fennell commented, “There is incredibly strong demand for films that are an alternative to the studio blockbusters. Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer companies that have the wherewithal to finance and release these films … We believe this is the time to step into the ring as so many companies step out.”
(Photo: Chi Cao and Camilla Vergotis in "Mao’s Last Dancer.")
