Film News Roundup: Sony Pushes ‘Broken Hearts Gallery’ Back a Week

Dave McNary
·5 min read

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In today’s film new roundup, “Broken Hearts Gallery” moves back, “Burnt Orange Heresy” gets a release date, “Summertime,” “2 Hearts” and “The Mechanic” find homes and Helen Mirren is narrating “Escape from Extinction.”

RELEASE DATES

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Sony Pictures has moved back the release of romantic comedy “The Broken Hearts Gallery” from July 10 to July 17.

The studio said Tuesday that the movie will still be the first wide release of the summer. Last week, Warner Bros. moved Christopher Nolan’s spy thriller “Tenet” off July 17 and on to July 31.

“The Broken Hearts Gallery” stars Geraldine Viswanathan, Dacre Montgomery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Molly Gordon, Phillipa Soo, Suki Waterhouse, Arturo Castro, Ego Nwodim, Taylor Hill and Bernadette Peters.

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Sony Pictures Classics will release Giuseppe Capotondi’s “The Burnt Orange Heresy” in theaters on Aug. 7. Based on the novel by Charles Willeford with a screenplay by Scott B. Smith, the film stars Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki, Mick Jagger, Donald Sutherland, Alessandro Fabrizi and Rosalind Halstead.

Sony Pictures Classics acquired the film shortly after it premiered as the closing night film of the 2019 Venice Film Festival, where Capotondi, Jagger and Sutherland won the Fondazione Mimmo Rotella Award. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival later that month.

Bang stars as a charming and ambitious art critic who is contracted by a wealthy art dealer, played by Jagger, who summons him to his villa on Italy’s Lake Como and asks him to steal a painting from a legendary reclusive artist, portrayed by Sutherland.

ACQUISTION

Good Deed Entertainment has acquired North American distribution rights from Los Angeles Media Fund to Carlos López Estrada’s “Summertime,” the opening film of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Variety has learned exclusively.

“Summertime” chronicles the intersecting stories of 25 young spoken-word poets over a day in Los Angeles. Estrada directed from a script written by 27 poets from the literary organization Get Lit, who also star in the film, and playwright Dave Harris. The film marks Estrada’s follow-up to “Blindspotting.”

Kimberly Stuckwisch, Jeffrey Soros, Alisa Tager, Simon Horsman, Diane Luby Lane and Carlos López Estrada produced the film. In addition to producing, Los Angeles Media Fund fully financed the project.

“It’s rare these days to find something so impactful and wholly unique,” said Scott Donley, CEO and founder of Good Deed Entertainment. “But ‘Summertime’ is just that. We’re beyond excited to be able to share this heartfelt viewing experience with audiences across the country.”

Good Deed’s Kristin Harris and Robbie Chernow negotiated the deal with United Talent Agency on behalf of the filmmakers.

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Freestyle Releasing has bought the romantic independent feature “2 Hearts,” starring Jacob Elordi, Tiera Skovbye Adan Canto and Radha Mitchell.

Freestyle will release “2 Hearts,” directed by Lance Hool, in theaters on Sept. 11. The film is based on the true stories of Leslie and Jorge Bacardi, of the famous Bacardi Rum family company, and Christopher Gregory, whose struggles and triumphs led to greater acts of kindness and giving than any of them knew were possible.

“We believe ‘2 Hearts’ is the kind of heartwarming and uplifting love story that audiences need right now and will want to experience,” said Freestyle’s head of acquisitions Chris Charalambous. “Director Lance Hool and his team have created a beautiful, memorable movie about romance and the pure power of connection based on real events that is not only heartfelt, but the perfect film for this moment. For all of us who are fans of love stories, ‘2 Hearts’ is cast with rising stars in unforgettable roles.”

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Amblin Partners has closed a deal for rights to “The Mechanic,” a novella by Ben Mezrich, who wrote the books “Accidental Billionaires,” which was adapted into “The Social Network,” and “Bringing Down the House,” which was adapted as “21.”

The story centers on an enigmatic card shark looking for an easy score, an ex-con with an inside track on a priceless haul of stolen art and a professor who uncovers a secret that could change the world. They unwittingly find themselves entangled in a mystery as old as the country itself — a mystery that someone is willing to kill for.

Mezrich will write the screenplay. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are attached as co-executive producers. CAA brokered the rights deal on behalf of Mezrich. The news was first reported by Deadline.

NARRATION

American Humane has announced that Helen Mirren has narrated its soon-to-be released documentary, “Escape from Extinction.”

The film is the organization’s first feature documentary. “Escape from Extinction,” directed and produced by Matthew Brady of MRB Productions, showcases the critical efforts of certified zoos and aquariums to preserve millions of species on the verge of disappearing forever.

“During this current global crisis, we are seeing an uptick in poaching and slaughtering of some of the world’s most endangered megafauna, which underscores the critical need to rapidly increase conservation efforts across the world,” said Dr. Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of American Humane, who is also an executive producer on the film.

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