Sundance Does the 'Hustle'
Posted by anastasia on 01-24-2005
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the first and the biggest movie deal in Sundance history is for John Singleton-produced (Boyz in the Hood) film "Hustle & Flow." From the article:
"Paramount Pictures and MTV Films acquired the John Singleton-produced "Hustle & Flow" for $9 million plus a two-picture commitment. The deal, which includes two future Singleton productions at $3.5 million each, carried a price tag of $16 million."
The article goes on to say that this deal is "the beginning of a new architecture for Paramount's specialty films subsidiary — which has yet to be named — that will focus on smaller-budget, youth-oriented films."
The movie is an urban drama centering on the hip-hop dreams of a Memphis pimp. Hmmm. Not quite "Napoleon Dynamite" or "Garden State"…But it sounds like it will now have a shot at reaching a younger urban audience.
Another teen-oriented flick getting Sundance buzz is "Pretty Persuasion." From the Sundance description:
"Marcos Siega's film about some high school girls who claim that their teacher sexually harassed them is already gathering buzz. And why wouldn't it? A dark, funny look at the emptiness of status and celebrity and the manipulations of teenage girls? Sounds like a meaner "Clueless" — or a less clueless "Mean Girls."
