New York, NY (August 9, 2012) — IFC Films announced today the company is acquiring all U.S. rights to director Bill Guttentag’s (SOUNDTRACK FOR A REVOLUTION) political drama KNIFE FIGHT. Guttentag wrote the screenplay with political consultant Chris Lehane, who served as White House advisor to President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and served as Vice President Al Gore’s press secretary. The film stars Rob Lowe, Jaime Chung, Julie Bowen, Richard Schiff, Saffron Burrows, Jennifer Morrison, David Harbour, EricMcCormack, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Guerrino De Luca and Catherine and Daniel Davila produced the film, with Lowe and William Green executive producing. KNIFE FIGHT had its world premiere earlier this year at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.
If a political candidate is personally flawed, but stands to make a positive difference in millions of lives, would you help him win? That question looms over the life of “true believer” Paul Turner (Lowe), a savvy strategist sharply maneuvering politicians out of scandal and into public office in KNIFE FIGHT. With the help of a bright young assistant (Chung) and a seedy operative (Schiff), Turner spins every news cycle and a shrewd reporter (Bowen) on behalf of his clients: a philandering Kentucky governor (McCormack), a blackmailed California senator (Harbour), and an idealistic doctor turned gubernatorial candidate (Moss). When the ugly side of Turner’s work begins to haunt him, he learns that even in the bloodiest of battles, sometimes you have to fight clean.
Jonathan Sehring, President of Sundance Selects/IFC Films, said: "The entire IFC Films team is thrilled to be working with Bill Guttentag, Chris Lehane and their all-star cast on the release of KNIFE FIGHT. With the 2012 election around the corner, this film, which provides an unmatched look what happens behind closed doors in politics,shouldn’t be missed."
Commented Guttentag: “We are thrilled to be partnering with IFC Films — the scope and quality of their films is extraordinary, and we are honored to be in such company. With KNIFE FIGHT we hope to take audiences behind the curtain, where it’s only the candidate and their most trusted advisors — and show what truly happens in American politics — where brutal blows are common, and the noblest ends are used to justify the darkest means.”
Added Lehane: “KNIFE FIGHT takes you into the room behind the room – the room where the press isn’t allowed; the room where the cameras are never in; the room that no one ever tweets about – but the room where the real decisions are made. In taking you into the room where the real decisions are made, the film shows that to win in politics you sometimes have to use the hardest blows to get people in office who will achieve the highest ends. This is politics not how you wish it were played, but how it really is played — a knife fight in a telephone booth.”
The deal for the film was negotiated by Arianna Bocco, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Productions for Sundance Selects/IFC Films with WME Independent on behalf of the filmmakers.
IFC Films is a sister label to IFC Midnight and Sundance Selects, and is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc.
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About IFC FILMS
Established in 2000 and based in New York City, IFC Films is a leading U.S. distributor of quality talent-driven independent film. Its unique distribution model makes independent films available to a national audience by releasing them in theaters as well as on cable’s Video On Demand (VOD) platform, reaching nearly 50 million homes. Some of the company’s successes over the years have included My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Touching the Void, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Gomorrah, Che, Summer Hours, Antichrist, In the Loop, Antichrist, Wordplay, Cairo Time, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Tiny Furniture and Carlos. Over the years, IFC Films has worked with established and breakout auteurs, including Steven Soderbergh, Gus Van Sant, Spike Lee, Richard Linklater, Miranda July, Lars Von Trier, Gaspar Noe, Todd Solondz, Cristian Mungiu, Susanne Bier, Olivier Assayas, Jim McKay, Larry Fessenden, Gregg Araki, Jacques Rivette, Claude Chabrol, as well as more recent breakouts such as Andrea Arnold, Mia Hansen Love, Corneliu Porombiou, Joe Swanberg, Barry Jenkins, Lena Dunham, Aaron Katz, Daryl Wein and Abdellatif Kechiche. Recent releases include PEACE, LOVE, AND MISUNDERSTANDING starring Jane Fonda and Catherine Keener; and YOUR SISTER’S SISTER starring Emily Blunt and Mark Duplass. Upcoming releases include Walter Salles’ Cannes competition film ON THE ROAD starring Kristen Stewart, Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund (which will be released jointly with Sundance Selects) and Josh Radnor’s LIBERAL ARTS starring Elizabeth Olsen and Radnor. IFC Films is a sister label to Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight, and is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc.
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