Chris Ferguson and his studio Oddfellows banner have signed a first-look deal with the Warner Bros. Picture Group, the studio announced Tuesday. TheWrap also learned that Chernin, Neon and Blumhouse actively pursued Ferguson.
Oddfellows is a diverse studio focused on filmmaker-driven theatrical features with a sharp expertise in producing smartly budgeted genre films. The studio works closely with established and emerging talent, building unique creative ecosystems allowing them to make their films at the highest level.
Warner Bros. Clockwork spearheaded the deal with Ferguson and will collaborate to produce films that reinforce their mission to work with the best filmmakers in an aggressively priced theatrical film model. According to an insider, the Clockwork team has successful ties to Ferguson dating to their time at Neon, where they worked together on the hit films “LongLegs” and “The Monkey.”
As part of the deal, the Oddfellows studio in Vancouver will be utilized by Warner Bros. for projects Ferguson brings to the studio, in addition to projects WB brings to him from across the Motion Picture Group’s various labels, including Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema.
“The future of theatrical depends on a slate with real range — films of every size, style and ambition, from world-class established filmmakers to the bold new voices who will define what comes next,” Warner Bros. Pictures Group’s Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy said in a statement. “Chris Ferguson and the team at Oddfellows have built a filmmaker-first creative engine with a proven ability to discover, support and elevate original talent, and this partnership gives us an exciting new way to bring distinctive, smartly produced films to audiences across the theatrical landscape.”
Ferguson added: “Pam and Mike have fostered Warner Brothers into the kind of studio environment that invites filmmakers to create their best work. It was obvious right away that we’re driven by the same passion for talent. Together we are going to be able to be ambitious and take the risks we need to elevate the next generation of filmmakers while continuing to forge new ground with the greatest artists of today.”
Osgood Perkins added: “Chris Ferguson and his merry band of brilliant collaborators at Oddfellows did nothing less than teach me what it actually means to be a filmmaker; we discovered LONGLEGS as a collective and without their inspiration and impact I’d still be just some guy.”
Kane Parsons added: “I cannot stress enough how integral Chris and the Oddfellows team were to the creation and success of BACKROOMS. The level of intense care, focus, and trust I found from every individual we worked with was incredibly heartening. Chris is a fantastically meticulous creative partner and has done a stand-out job of curating a well-oiled, human-centric production system over the last decade. I am very excited to continue collaborating with this lot. They’re great.”
Since its formation in 2013, Oddfellows has been instrumental in asserting Vancouver as an important destination for independent film production, and under Ferguson’s leadership the company has produced many of the highest grossing independent films of the last few years including “Backrooms” from writer/director Kane Parsons, as well as “Longslegs” and “The Monkey” from writer/director Osgood Perkins.
Oddfellows was repped in the deal by Dean Bahat, Ben Rubinfeld and Mike Hartmann at Ziffren Brittenham.