GFM links up with Seven Arts

Industry veterans Guy Collins, Michael Ryan and Fred Hedman (all ex-IAC and Handmade) are back in Cannes as part of a new company, GFM, which has struck an alliance with Peter Hoffman’s Seven Arts.

Here on the Croisette, they have already been striking deals on new projects on their slate while announcing further details of some of the older titles with which they have been associated at markets past.

Outside of GFM, Collins and Ryan have the mandate from Handmade to act as producers setting up remakes of two old jewels in the Handmade crown – gangster classic The Long Good Friday and Time Bandits. Here in Cannes, details emerged about a new TV series of The Long Good Friday. This will be directed by Paul McGuigan and will star Ray Winstone, and will be the prelude to a feature film version of the project. Meanwhile, GFM will soon start re-packaging Time Bandits.

Michael Ryan also explained how the GFM hook-up with Seven Arts now works.

“Peter Hoffman and Kate [Hoffman, of Seven Arts] came us to and said, look, we think we can be a great team. We need some help with sales and marketing,” Ryan explains the origin of the joint venture, announced earlier this year.

GFM is helping Seven Arts with sales, marketing and financing on its projects like Neuromancer and the long gestating Winter Queen (due to shoot in August) while pushing ahead with its own titles. GFM and Seven Arts will also be doing some films together.

Buyers seem entranced by Neuromancer, written and directed by Vincenzo Natali. Adapted from the best-selling William Gibson novel it has secured brisk sales from distributors in the first three days of Cannes. Territories licensed include South Korea and Thailand (Noori), Taiwan (SSG), China (HGC), Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India (PT Parkit), CIS (Luxor), Poland (Vision) and the Middle East (Phars).