DAS partners Susan H. Bodine, Andrea F. Cannistraci, Marc H. Simon, CDAS Of Counsel Janis C. Nelson and attorney David E. Ashley attended the Toronto International Film Festival, (Thursday, September 6 through Sunday, September 16). Popular premieres of clients’ films and newsworthy deals marked an enjoyable and successful festival.
Deadline Hollywood’s news from TIFF features the upcoming The Unknown Known: The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld, directed by Errol Morris (and highlights Susan H. Bodine’s negotiation of the deal on behalf of History Films). Ms. Bodine also visited the set of the highly-anticipated Robocop reboot helmed by her client, director José Padilha (Bus 174, the Elite Squad series), which began shooting in Toronto yesterday.
Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp made its premiere at TIFF. Directed by Jorge Hinojosa, the documentary explores the life of legendary pimp/author Iceberg Slim (aka Robert Beck), whose gritty, poetic books helped launch the Street Lit movement. Slim’s debut novel — the provocative and raw Pimp — went on to sell over two million copies and influenced audiences that ranged from literary critics to street hustlers. Hinojosa weaves never-before-seen archival footage of Slim, interviews with his friends, family, and artists, along with pulp fiction iconography, to explore the contradictions, complexity and impact of Iceberg Slim and his work. “Excellent,” writes The Los Angeles Times, “Slim teases out a portrait of a troubled soul and the way art can be used to redeem it.” Marc H. Simon represents Jorge Hinojosa and the film’s producers ICE DNA LLC.
With a powerhouse cast — Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener — A Late Quartet, premiered at TIFF; a chamber drama that looks inside the world of an illustrious string quartet on the verge of celebrating its 25th season.
But the celebration in Quartet soon turns into a flashpoint for ambition and jealousy and tests the deep affection and bond they share. Marc H. Simon represents the film’s producer Spring Pictures.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is Mira Nair’s acclaimed adaption of Mohsin Hamid’s celebrated novel, which centers on a young Pakistani man torn between chasing the American Dream on Wall Street, a love affair, and the call of his family’s homeland. And in The Place Beyond the Pines, directed by Derek Cianfrance, Ryan Gosling is a motorcycle stunt rider who sets to commit a crime to provide for his family, one that puts him on a collision course with a local cop-turned-politician. In its look back at TIFF, Movieline applauded Pines as “the movie that defined The Toronto International Film Festival”. Andrea F. Cannistraci represents the casting director — Cindy Tolan — of both these festival premieres.
Filed in: News
September 16, 2012