Nichols’ Screenplay to be Produced by Everest Entertainment, Sarah Green & FilmNation
(Los Angeles, CA) August XX, 2011 – Matthew McConaughey (The Lincoln Lawyer, A Time to Kill), Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line), and Tye Sheridan (The Tree of Life, “One Tree Hillâ€) are in discussions to star in MUD, which is based on an original screenplay by Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter), who will also direct. Everest Entertainment is fully financing with Lisa Maria Falcone from Everest producing alongside Sarah Green (Untitled Terrence Malick Project, Take Shelter, The Tree of Life, Frida) and FilmNation Entertainment’s Aaron Ryder. Glen Basner from FilmNation is executive producing. FilmNation will be handling international sales, with CAA and FilmNation to handle U.S. sales.
FilmNation also handled international sales on Jeff Nichols’ acclaimed feature Take Shelter, which stars Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain. Take Shelter won Critic’s Week at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
MUD is the powerful, redemptive tale of a charismatic fugitive named Mud (Matthew McConaughey) and his unlikely friendship with fourteen year old Ellis (Tye Sheridan). Ellis is determined to help his new friend escape from both the law and some very serious bounty hunters, in order to reunite Mud with his soul mate, Juniper (Reese Witherspoon).
“Jeff Nichols has written a beautiful story with rich characters learning valuable lessons through life-changing circumstances. With Jeff’s vision, this will be a work of art,†says Lisa Maria Falcone, founder of Everest Entertainment. “It’s an incredible script which Jeff, along with Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon and Tye Sheridan, will bring to life. We’ve been privileged to work with incredible filmmakers like Danny Boyle, Tom McCarthy and Rodrigo Garcia and are thankful to add Jeff Nichols to that list.â€
“I knew the moment I read MUD that I wanted to make this film. Jeff is a rare talent and this exciting, heartfelt story is impossible to resist,†said Producer Sarah Green. “It’s thrilling to me that actors of this caliber are drawn to the material; it’s a testament to the strength and appeal of MUD. I am also delighted to be joining forces once again with my friends at FilmNation, and with the amazing team at Everest.â€
“Jeff wrote a visceral story full of compassion, innocence and memorable journeys,†said FilmNation’s head of production Aaron Ryder. “We are thrilled to partner once again with Jeff and add new talent to the FilmNation roster.â€
Everest Entertainment’s credits include Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, nominated for six Academy Awards©, and the acclaimed Tom McCarthy film Win Win, starring Paul Giamatti. FilmNation recently completed House at the End of the Street starring Jennifer Lawrence (X-Men First Class) and The Raven starring John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe.
About Everest Entertainment
Everest Entertainment collaborates with independent filmmakers who create with passion and integrity to bring distinctive, moving, memorable windows on life into the public domain. The company is global in scope and in the identification, support and recognition of great talent. Everest’s credits include Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, which was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture. The company also produced the acclaimed Tom McCarthy film Win Win, starring Paul Giamatti, and Rodrigo Garcia’s Mother and Child, starring Naomi Watts and Samuel L. Jackson. Founded in 2008 by Lisa Maria Falcone, Everest Entertainment is a New York City-based production company committed to developing high quality entertainment, with film and television divisions based on strong writing, complex characters and meaningful subjects, and a music division creating ground-breaking cross-genre records in collaboration with the most outstanding producers and artists of our time. The legacy of Everest Entertainment projects continues long after the release of a film or series or record through a substantial investment in ongoing philanthropic programs related to the theme of each work.
About FilmNation Entertainment
One of the leading independent international sales & distribution and production companies in the world, FilmNation Entertainment was founded in 2008 by veteran international sales executive Glen Basner.
FilmNation Entertainment’s international sales slate includes: Relativity Media’s untitled Snow White project starring Julia Roberts, Lily Collins and Armie Hammer; Lola Versus starring Greta Gerwig; director Steve Soderbergh’s untitled film starring Alex Pettyfer and Channing Tatum; director Zhang Yimou’s Heroes of Nanking starring Christian Bale; Wettest County starring Shia LaBeouf; Gambit starring Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz; Seeking Justice starring Nicolas Cage; Looper starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt; Terrence Malick’s untitled love story starring Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, and Rachel McAdams; Under the Skin with Scarlett Johannson; The Oranges with Hugh Laurie, Catherine Keener, and Leighton Meester; and Midnight’s Children, based on Salman Rushdie’s award-winning international bestselling novel.
In addition, they handled international sales on Academy Award® Best Picture winner The King’s Speech and Pedro Almodóvar’s La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I Live In).
FilmNation has delivered on its philosophy of providing an unrivaled level of “added value†for its clients across all aspects of its business and serves as the exclusive international sales agent for Relativity Media, Media Rights Capital (MRC), Samuels Media Group, Greenstreet Films and a non-exclusive multi-picture deal with Endgame Entertainment. For more information please go to: www.wearefilmnation.com.