The latest news from the current chess match between Neon and MUBIapparently the only distribution buying festival films at the moment, plus cannes acquisitions: Neon has bought James Gray‘s”paper tiger”for North American distribution, as Variety first reported. IndieWire confirmed the sale with Neon.
That also leads to the news that Gray “very independent” latest drama (according to Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux, who has been chasing the movie) will now compete in the Cannes Film Festival competition. “Paper Tiger” brings the total number of movies competing for the Palme d’Or up to 22nd place. It is presented as a police thriller and stars Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver and Miles Teller. (All are Gray debutants, although Johansson and Driver co-starred together in Noah Baumbach’s 2019 “Marriage Story.”)
In other words, Neon really, In fact he wants that seventh consecutive Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival; After all, the company released previous winners “Parasite,” “Titane,” “Triangle of Sadness,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Anora” and “It Was Just an Accident” in the United States.
IndieWire has contacted representatives in Cannes.
The film, according to an official synopsis, centers on two brothers who “become entangled in a plan that turns out to be too good to be true… As they try to make their way through an increasingly dangerous world of corruption and violence, they find themselves and their family brutally terrorized by the Russian ‘Mafiya.’ Their bond begins to fray and betrayal, once completely unthinkable, now becomes very possible.”
Neon already has several competition titles scheduled for the festival, including Na Hong-Jin’s “Hope,” Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Sheep in a Box,” Arthur Harari’s “The Unknown,” Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord,” and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden.”
Gray is a Cannes classic, having premiered “Armageddon Time,” “The Immigrant,” “Two Lovers,” “We Own the Night” and “The Yards” in competition. He is now one of two American directors in competition this year, along with Ira Sachs with “The Man I Love,” in an otherwise international-only lineup.
“Paper Tiger” producers include Rodrigo Teixeira of RT Features and Anthony Katagas of AK Productions, as well as Raffaella Leone, Gary Farkas, Marco Perego, Carlo Salem and Andrea Bucko. Executive producers include Lee Broda, Jeff Rice, Riccardo Maddalosso and Emily Salveson.
The other company that has caused a big stir so far in terms of pre-purchases at Cannes has been Mubi, with “Minotaur” and “Fatherland,” as well as “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” in Una Certain Regard.