One year after Relativity Media and EuropaCorp announced their coproduction and co-financing deal the parties are they will look to extend the relationship with a new slate of product.
EuropaCorp CEO Christophe Lambert and Relativity president Tucker Tooley expect to announce a new title soon after partnering on Malavita, Three Days To Kill and Brick Mansions since the 2012 announcement.
Relativity handles US distribution and EuropaCorp releases in France, while both companies channel the films through their combined network of international output partners. EuropaCorp can still elect to set films at other studios like the Taken films at Fox.
“The deal was a turning point for us,” Lambert told Screen. “For the first time we have a very strong partnership with a big US player. We knew they had the home video deal with Fox and they have a strong p&a capacity and Tucker is a highly respected producer.
“We make English-language films and work with US actors and directors and writers so it’s crucial for us to get access to the US audience. We have been impressed by the quality of the Relativity team and we share a strong chemistry.”
“Christophe and Luc and the team at EuropaCorp are incredible partners,” said Tucker [pictured at right on set with Relativity founder and CEO Ryan Kavanaugh]. “There aren’t that many studios like that in Europe. It was like looking in the mirror in France.
“We knew we could benefit from their strength in the French market and their producing skills. We got a chance to get into the trenches early with them on Malavita and realised that we saw eye-to-eye creatively.”
Besson directed the darkly comedic action title Malavita, which stars Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones and will open in the US on Sept 20 and in France on Oct 23.
McG directs the thriller Three Days To Kill starring Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld and Kevin Costner, while Parkour action thriller Brick Mansions stars Paul Walker and is directed by Camille Delamarre. The last two films are targeted for a 2014 release. Besson wrote the screenplay to all three titles.
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