Elissa Federoff: Celebs Rumors

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Locarno Film Festival’s StepIN think tank on the state of the indie film industry is set to take the pulse of the theatrical landscape, the flow of production, how film festivals and markets are faring and where things stand on gender equality and social impact.After a taking a break last year from its strictly business focus to zero in mainly on mental health and envisioning a more humane work environment, the Swiss fest’s unique initiative is back to delving into the industry’s most pressing operational issues and what lies ahead.“Now that the worst moments of the global pandemic seem behind us — and after a Cannes Film Festival in full gear — the film industry is questioning its future,” said StepIN project manager Marcello Paolillo, who is an Italian producer. As Paolillo puts it in his introduction, the basic overarching theme at StepIN is “Putting The Pieces Together in a Post-Pandemic Puzzle.”Now in its tenth year, StepIN is an interdisciplinary and international think tank, where some fifty European and international invited industry players — distributors, exhibitors, producers, sales agents, film institutions, financiers, streaming platforms, broadcasters, and film festival and markets reps — participate in closed working sessions to exchange thoughts on practices and business models and propose new ideas and strategies.The day-long event on Aug.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Over the past few months, a twisted killer, a nonagenarian avenger and a talk show host with a deadly interest in the occult have reinvigorated an indie film business that had been in a prolonged slump. The success of movies like “Longlegs,” “Thelma” and “Late Night With the Devil” have helped a sector of the entertainment industry — crushed by COVID, strikes and streaming — mount a box office comeback.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Longlegs,” an occult-tinged horror mystery about an FBI agent on the trail of a serial killer, opened to a phenomenal $22.6 million, easily outgrossing “Fly Me to the Moon,” a $100 million dollar rom-com featuring two of Hollywood’s brightest stars. To pull off that upset, “Longlegs” got a lift from some sensational reviews, as well as a creepy performance by Nicolas Cage. The film’s opening weekend results are a record-breaking debut for Neon, the indie distributor that did an outstanding job of generating word-of-mouth for “Longlegs” thanks to a viral marketing campaign.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Neon, the indie studio behind “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Parasite,” has made a pair of key promotions. Elissa Federoff has been named chief distribution officer, having previously served as president of distribution, while Ryan Friscia has been upped to chief financial officer, having previously served as the company’s EVP of finance and business development.

Ava DuVernay’s Origin’s theatrical debut grossed a solid $875k on 130 screens with a $7k per-theater average said to be better than Neon anticipated.

Studio brass wowed theater owners this week with Maverick: Top Gun, Avatar: The Way of Water and Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse among other tentpoles. But they were also clear at the just-wrapped CinemaCon that a reviving box office requires a wide breadth of content.

Spider-Man and Black Adam may get the headlines, CinemaCon continued its efforts to highlight all forms of movies with Tuesday’s presentation by indie distributor Neon, whose team led by distribution chief Elissa Federoff showcased a pair of films that defined the phrase “shock and awe.”On the “shock” side was “Crimes of the Future,” a disturbing return by “Videodrome” filmmaker David Cronenberg to the body horror genre that he is considered to be the master of. Cronenberg himself appeared on the CinemaCon stage to present what he jokingly called the start of his “attack on the world.”Starring Viggo Mortensen, Kristen Stewart, and Lea Seydoux, the provocative film takes place in a distant future where environmental degradation has begun to affect human evolution, causing the body to grow extra organs.

Films from Belfast to Drive My Car, from The Worst Person In The World to Nightmare Alley saw ticket sales pop after Academy Award nominations and as distributors kick into high gear for this weekend and beyond, juggling theater counts and ramped up media campaigns that now have a shiny new imprimatur.

Neon’s racked up a few bests this weekend with a cume of $135,042 at four NY/LA theaters for a popping per screen average of $33,768.

William Earl Executives Elissa Federoff, President Distribution, Neon; Arianna Bocco, President, IFC Films; Marissa Hanafi, Head of OTT, Pops; Thomas Hughes, CEO of The Americas, Vuulr; and Lauren DeVillier, Co-Founder and CEO, Struum, will join “The State of Independent Film in the Streaming Era” panel on July 13 in the first-ever Variety & Indiewire Streaming Room presented by Vuulr. The conversation, moderated by Eric Kohn, Executive Editor, IndieWire, will take place at 9:30 a.m.

Dave McNary Film ReporterThe top distribution executive at Neon, which handled best picture winner “Parasite,” has expressed guarded optimism that audiences will return when the COVID-19 crisis begins abating.“People truly want to get out of the house,” said distribution president Elissa Federoff during Monday’s Future of Film Conference at the start of the virtual American Film Market.She was interviewed by Brent Lang, executive editor of film and media for Variety, a few hours after pharmaceutical company Pfizer said early data from its coronavirus vaccine shows it is more than 90% effective.

Manori Ravindran International EditorWarner Bros.’ game-changing plans for the international-led roll-out of Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” are helping distributors such as Neon hammer out their own release strategies into the fall.Speaking as part of a Variety Streaming Room event with the Locarno Film Festival’s StepIn industry program, Neon president of distribution Elissa Federoff said the global release — which will see the thriller launch in countries such as the U.K., France, Korea and Turkey a week ahead of the Sept. 3 U.S.

Variety Staff Follow Us on TwitterThe Locarno Film Festival StepIn 2020 will take place virtually in the Variety Streaming Room August 5-7 with three 50-minute sessions covering the future of theatrical experience, the state of independent film production and the future of film festivals and markets.Speakers include Rodrigo Teixeira, Producer (‘Call Me By Your Name’, ‘Port Authority’); Kasi Lemmons, Director/Writer (‘Harriet’); Elissa Federoff, President Distribution, NEON; Daniel Battsek, Director, Film4; Alberto Barbera, Director, Venice Film Festival; Jérôme Paillard, Executive Director, Marche du Cannes; Tabitha Jackson, Director, Sundance Film Festival and many more. Each session will be moderated by a Variety journalist.

Parasite distributor Neon on Wednesday said it has signed a revolving credit facility with Japan's MUFG Union Bank. A Neon spokesperson declined to disclose the size of the credit line but added it was "significant." The move to raise fresh debt follows Neon securing a best picture Oscar victory for Bong Joon Ho's Parasite.

Neon has promoted Elissa Federoff and Christina Zisa to president of distribution and president of publicity, respectively, the company said Tuesday. The promotions follow Parasite's historic Oscar victory and dazzling box office performance.

By Dave McNary

By Anthony D'Alessandro

Dino-Ray Ramos Associate Editor/ReporterFilm Independent has unveiled their keynotes, conversations and panelists for the 15th annual Film Independent Forum. The Forum, which is traditionally a weekend event, will now be a week-long virtual event that will reach all corners of the globe from July 31 to August 7.The event has set a roster of banner names in the industry, featuring a U.S.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterFull credit to organizers of the Cannes virtual Marche (June 22-26), who by and large pulled off with relative smoothness day one of what will be a technically challenging and largely unprecedented event.There were a few hitches here and there, however, which caused scattered moments of frustration and, in one particularly bizarre incident, some hilarity among delegates.Earlier today, Neon aces Tom Quinn and Elissa Federoff logged on for an insightful discussion into the company’s still brief history. The pair recounted their remarkable journey with Parasite, which saw them take a record-breaking $53M domestic on the Korean-language title and ultimately culminated in Oscar glory.

By Variety Staff