Just off their success with "The King's Speech," FilmNation and Alliance Films are partnering again with a deal on "Gambit," which stars Colin Firth, who plays King George VI in the Oscar nominated royal film, and Cameron Diaz.
The deal, which closed Thursday, is the first major deal of the European Film Market in Germany.
Under the deal, Alliance will release "Gambit" in all of its territories via Alliance in Canada, Momentum Pictures in the UK and Aurum Productions in Spain. FilmNation is handling the sales outside the U.S.
In a written statement, FilmNation Entertainment CEO Glen Basner said, “Alliance has established itself as the premiere independent distribution company and we feel very fortunate to have secured such strong distribution for Gambit in these three territories.”
"Gambit," written by Joel and Ethan Coen and directed by Michael Hoffman, is about Harry Deane (Firth), a London art curator who puts together an elaborate con to scam a rich collector into buying a phony Monet. Part of the ruse involves a Texas steer roper (Diaz), who claims that her grandfather liberated the painting after World War II.
The film begins shooting in London in May.
Mike Lobell (The Freshman; Honeymoon in Vegas) is producing alongside Crime Scene Pictures partners Adam Ripp and Rob Paris, who are also financing.
Alliance and FilmNation collaborated on the lauded feature The King’s Speech. Alliance financed through their first-look deal with See-Saw Films and distributed in its territories while FilmNation handled international sales.
FilmNation, an independent sales and distribution company and production company, is handling the international sales on the following other titles in Berlin: Wettest County; Hungry Rabbit Jumps starring Nicolas Cage; Pedro Almodóvar’s La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I Live In); Looper starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt; Sanctum by executive producer James Cameron; Terrence Malick’s untitled love story starring Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams; Under the Skin with ScarlettJohannson; Ceremony starring Uma Thurman; The Oranges with Hugh Laurie, Catherine Keener, Leighton Meester; Midnight’s Children; House at the End of the Street; James McTeigue's The Raven; F*cking Engaged; and Message from the King.
