Film Stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Christina Hendricks, and John Turturro
PARK CITY, UTAH (January 22, 2014) – IFC Films announced today from the 2014 Sundance Film Festival that the company is acquiring U.S. rights to John Slattery’s directorial debut film, GOD’S POCKET. The film, with a screenplay by Slattery and Alex Metcalf, stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Christina Hendricks, and John Turturro. GOD’S POCKET was produced by Sam Bisbee, Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Lance Acord, and Emily Ziff, along with Hoffman and Slattery. The film made its world premiere at this week’s festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section.
Based on the novel by Pete Dexter, the film is set in the gritty, blue-collar neighborhood of GOD’S POCKET. When Mickey Scarpato’s crazy stepson, Leon, is killed in a construction “accident,” Mickey quickly tries to bury the bad news with the body. But when a local columnist comes sniffing around for the truth, things go from bad to worse. Mickey finds himself stuck in a life-and-death struggle compounded by a body he can’t bury, a wife he can’t please, and a debt he can’t pay.
“John Slattery has made a remarkable debut here as a director, proving that he is as talented behind the camera as he is in front of it,” says Sundance Selects/IFC Films President Jonathan Sehring. “On behalf of IFC Films and AMC Networks, we are really proud to be releasing this tremendous film, and to get the chance to work with John, the producers and this terrific cast.”
Director John Slattery added, “I’m thrilled to be working creatively with IFC, and very happy to continue my ongoing and successful relationship with AMC. We’re very proud of this film and excited to partner with IFC Films to bring it to a wide audience.”
Producer Jackie Kelman Bisbee added, “It was an honor to produce John’s first feature as a director. He’s a natural actor’s director. Watching him work with the cast and crew was utterly exciting. John created characters of God’s Pocket with soulful hearts and criminal minds. Always at odds with each other as they try to get to the other side. But never getting too far.”
Festival programmer Trevor Groth said this of the film: “Acclaimed actor John Slattery makes an impressive jump behind the camera with an assured directorial debut that shows he has a razor-sharp eye for conveying the absurdity, cruelty, desperation, and tragic optimism of the people he portrays. Like life, his scenes seamlessly fuse humor and heartbreak, but it’s Slattery’s wit and confident style that make the portrait so authentic. Featuring a top-shelf cast and impeccable cinematography, God’s Pocket oozes with talent and marks the emergence of an inspired directorial presence.”
The deal for the film was negotiated by Arianna Bocco, SVP of Acquisitions at Productions, at Sundance Selects/IFC Films, with Jay Cohen at the Gersh Agency, and attorney Marc H. Simon of Cowan DeBaets Abrahams and Sheppard, 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 Park Picture Features
Launched in the summer of 2010, Park Pictures’ features division is led by producer Sam Bisbee, Jackie Kelman Bisbee and Lance Acord. Kelman Bisbee and Acord are owners of Park Pictures, an award winning commercial production company with offices in New York, Los Angeles, and London. Park’s debut into narrative film was the 2010 Academy Award Winning Short, “The New Tenants”by acclaimed Park director Joachim Back. Park Pictures Features first film, Robot & Frank, starring Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, Peter Sarsgaard, James Marsden, and Liv Tyler, directed by Park Picture’s Jake Schreier, premiered at Sundance 2012 where it won the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize and was acquired by Sony Worldwideand Samuel Goldywn. Following the successful release of Robot and Frank, Park Pictures Features completed two feature films in 2013: Infinitely Polar Bear, produced with Paper Street and Bad Robot, starring Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana, directed by Maya Forbes, and God’s Pocket, starring Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins, Emmy nominee Christina Hendricks and John Turturro, directed by John Slattery. Both films are 2014 Sundance Film Festival Dramatic Competition selections.
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. Some of the company’s successes over the years have included MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, TOUCHING THE VOID, GOMORRAH, CHE, SUMMER HOURS, IN THE LOOP, ANTICHRIST, WORDPLAY, CAIRO TIME, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK, TINY FURNITURE, YOUR SISTER’S SISTER, CARLOS, THE TRIP, SLEEPWALK WITH ME, FRANCES HA, THE CANYONS, AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS and CRYSTAL FAIRY. 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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