2 - FILM NEWS
Verve, Bellevue Painting the Town with Spec “HAPPY LITTLE TREES” Centered on the Feud Between Bob Ross & Bill Alexander
Broken Road Productions, Unique Features, and Alexa Faigen are all among the producers taking this into studios!
The untold true story about the rivalry between painting gurus Bill Alexander and Bob Ross; after Alexander’s long-running show “The Magic of Oil Painting” was cancelled by PBS and replaced with Ross’s show “The Joy of Oil Painting,” Alexander accused the soft-spoken, afro’d Ross of stealing his act, inciting a bitter dispute that changed the lives of both men forever. AMADEUS set in the world of 1980s TV painting culture.
Lawrence Grey, DeVon Franklin, Bill Gerber & Matt Tolmach amongst the producers taking this one into every studio! 
The studio will set-up a specific label for the genre films curated and produced by del Toro with Scott Cooper’s Antlers being the first film under the deal.
The former member of The State comedy group previously co-wrote and starred in Wet Hot American Summer and directed Sally Field in Hello, My Name is Doris.
The story of Erwin van Haarlem, a Cold War secret agent whose stolen identity broke the heart of an innocent woman who thought she’d found her long-lost son. To maintain his cover, the spy deceived the woman, Johanna, for 11 years, until MI5 agents caught him red-handed transmitting coded messages.
While most of the Hollywood contingent at Sundance has already left Park City, there are still plenty of festival deals being made, chief among them one for Dee Rees’ acclaimed drama Mudbound, which is the hottest acquisition title left on the board.
The highly publicized spec Keeper of the Diary from Evan Kilgore and Samuel Franco has sold to Fox Searchlight for a six figure amount. Matti Leshem and Lynn Harris will produce under their Weimaraner Republic Pictures shingle.
As the Toronto market starts to heat up in the festival’s final days, Fox Searchlight in closing a deal to buy the North American distribution rights to A United Kingdom, director Amma Asante’s romantic drama starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike.
A major deal has been brokered at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival, with Fox Searchlight picking up the U.S. distribution rights to Jackie starring Natalie Portman.
In a competitive situation, Fox Searchlight has won The Aftermath, the adaptation of the 2013 novel by Rhidian Brook. Ridley Scott is producing, with Keira Knightley and Alexander Skarsgard in talks to star. 
