SPINNING INTO BUTTER

Spinning into Butter is currently filming on Governors Island in New York City.  Sarah Jessica Parker will be joined by Beau Bridges (The Ballad of Jack and Rose, The Fabulous Baker Boys), Miranda Richardson (The Hours, The film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera) and Mykelti Williamson (Forrest Gump, Waiting To Exhale, Ali) in the film adaptation of SPINNING INTO BUTTER, based on the hit play by Rebecca Gilman. The cast also features: James Rebhorn (Independence Day, The Talented Mr. Ripley), Peter Friedman (I Shot Andy Warhol, Ragtime on Broadway), Victor Rasuk (Raising Victor Vargas), and Paul James (Cry Wolf). The film is directed by Mark Brokaw. Set in a New England college, SPINNING INTO BUTTER tells the story of Sarah Daniels (Parker) a Dean of Students who is thrust into a racial hate crime investigation against an African-American student. As the campus is thrown into an uproar...Read the full article

“What A Wonderful Place” to be Opening Night film at The 21^st Annual Israel Film Festival. DAVID LINDE, JAMES SCHAMUS OF FOCUS FEATURES; AMOS GITAI ADDED AS HONOREES   ON OPENING NIGHT DECEMBER 1, 2005

LOS ANGELES, California- Focus Features Co-Presidents David Linde and James Schamus and Israeli Filmmaker Amos Gitai will be honored at the Opening Night Gala of the 21st Annual Israel Film Festival, it was announced today by Festival Chairman Meyer Gottlieb, COO of Samuel Goldwyn Films.  The festival’s opening night film is “What A Wonderful Place,” written and directed by Eyal Chalfon.  The movie is Israel’s foreign language film entry for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ Oscars.Manager/Producer/Best-Selling Author Bernie Brillstein will also be honored that evening, with Jerry Weintraub introducing Mr. Brillstein. The festival, the largest showcase of Israeli films in the U.S. and one of the oldest film festivals in California, will run from December 1-15, 2005 with the Opening Night Gala to be held at Grauman's Chinese Theater.  The Opening Night film, “What a Wonderful Place,” directed by Eyal Halfon, centers on an ex-cop and family man whose career was ruined by compulsive gambling.  He is forced to work off his gambling debt providing muscle, aiding illegal immigrants forced into prostitution and collecting money for a heartless, cruel racketeer.  His conscience is reawakened by a desperate Russian woman he befriends.  The film evokes sympathy for foreign workers assimilating into Israeli society.All other films in the Festival will screen at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 (corber of Sunset and Crescent Heights), Laemmle’s Town Center 5 (17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino) and Laemmle Fallbrook 7 in West Hills.  Opening night tickets are $100.  To purchase tickets and for further information on all screenings and events, cal 1-877-966-5566 or go to www.israelfilmfestival.com. A complete list of the over 40 titles to be screened at  including features, documentaries, television dramas and selected student films, will be announced shortly. David Linde and James Schamus are Co-Presidents of Focus Features, a motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company committed to bringing moviegoers the most original stories from the world's most innovative filmmakers. The duo formed Focus in May 2002.  Mr. Linde is one of the specialized film world's most experienced executives, with his expertise coming from his informed perspectives on both the domestic and international film businesses as well as his longstanding relationships with a host of filmmakers. Mr. Linde has executive-produced such notable films as Happiness; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Y Tu Mamá También; and several award-winning nonfiction features.

 An integral contributor to the American independent film business for over a decade, Mr. Schamus has the unique distinction of being an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and producer who is also a film executive. Mr. Schamus has had a long collaboration as writer and producer with Ang Lee on nine feature films, with the director's Brokeback Mountain, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, due for release worldwide through Focus Features this winter.  Brokeback Mountain, which Mr. Schamus produced, recently won the Golden Lion Award for Best Picture at the Venice International Film Festival.  Focus' top-grossing film to date is Lost in Translation, which grossed over $100 million worldwide and won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The company's most-honored release to date is The Pianist, which won 3 Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Actor. Focus' other celebrated releases have included two more Academy Award winners, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Motorcycle Diaries; Far from Heaven; Swimming Pool; and 21 Grams. Current and upcoming Focus Features releases, in addition to Brokeback Mountain, include Fernando Meirelles' The Constant Gardener, starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz; Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers (winner of the Grand Prix at the 2005 Cannes International Film Festival), starring Bill Murray; Harold Ramis' The Ice Harvest, starring John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, and Connie Nielsen; and Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley. Amos Gitai is known worldwide as Israel's most acclaimed director. Four of his films have been nominated for major prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, with Kippur winning an honor at the 2000 Festival. He has been nominated six times for awards at the Venice Film Festival, winning the Cinema for Peace Award in 2004 for Promised Land and the UNESCO Award in 2002 for September 11. His latest film, Free Zone, earned the Best Actress Prize for Hana Laszlo at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, as well as a nomination for the Golden Palm. Free Zone, which also stars Natalie Portman, will be released in the United States on December 16, 2005.  "David and James have helped bring to the screen some of the most innovative, powerful and provocative films of the past decade, while Amos is widely hailed as Israel's premier filmmaker. All three men have helped shape the face of modern cinema, and we are proud that they will be part of a festival that helps bring the voice of Israeli film to American audiences" said Gottlieb. Over the past 21 years, the Israel Film Festival has welcomed to the United States hundreds of premieres and helped to bring Israel's finest film talents to American audiences. Prior honorees of the festival include Arnon Milchen, Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, Adam Greenberg, Sidney Lumet, Milos Forman, Larry King, Laura Ziskin, Elie Wiesel, Michael Fuchs, Tom Rothman, Mike Medavoy, Norman Jewison, Gale Anne Hurd and Penny Marshall. Under the skillful supervision of Founder/Director Meir Fenigstein, the Israel Film Festival and its parent company, The IsraFest Foundation, Inc., a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, has showcased more than 550 of the best of Israel's growing film and television industry for the past 21 years. Introducing Israeli life and culture to American audiences through the powerful medium of film and providing a comprehensive intercultural exchange. Through the years, more than 700,000 filmgoers in Los Angeles, New York and Miami have experienced the best of Israeli cinema. All films in the Festival other than the opening night gala film will screen at Laemmle's Sunset 5 and Laemmle's Town Center in Encino. For sponsorship and for further information on all screenings and events, call 1-877-966-5566 or visit www.israelfilmfestival.com <http://www.israelfilmfestival.com/>  Following the Los Angeles festival, the 21st Israel Film Festival continues in New York from February 23-March 9 and in Miami from March 26-29, 2006.  Contacts:  Monique Moss/Jeff Sanderson/Warren Cowan & Associates      (310) 275-0777

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