Films
DVD
- Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland
- The Orphanage
- Silk
- Rocket Science
- The King of Kong:
A Fistful of Quarters - La Vie En Rose
- El Cantante
- Gracie
- Starter for 10
- Pan’s Labyrinth
- Who the #$&% is
Jackson Pollock? - Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
- A Prairie Home Companion
- The Notorious
Bettie Page - Tristram Shandy:
A Cock & Bull Story - Ushpizin
- The Thing About
My Folks - The Chumscrubber
- Gus Van Sant’s
Last Days - Rock School
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Latest News
Principal photography begins on HBO Films / Picturehouse production of Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Mystery
Starring Oscar© Nominee Abigail Breslin; Ensemble cast includes Stanley Tucci, Julia Ormond, Joan Cusack
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, May 31, 2007 — Academy Award©-nominee Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) has begun filming the HBO Films / Picturehouse production of Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Mystery, the first theatrical adaptation from the popular American Girl series, it was announced by Bob Berney, president of Picturehouse, and Colin Callender, president, HBO Films.
Directed by Patricia Rozema (Mansfield Park, Yo-Yo Ma Inspired by Bach) from a screenplay by Ann Peacock (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), the film tells the uplifting story of Kit Kittredge (Breslin), a clever and resourceful ten-year-old growing up in 1934 Cincinnati during America’s Great Depression.
The film is produced by HBO Films, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas (Felicity: An American Girl Adventure, Maid in Manhattan) and American Girl president Ellen L. Brothers, in association with Red Om Films’ Lisa Gillan (Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front, Felicity: An American Girl Adventure). Red Om Films’ Julia Roberts (Felicity: An American Girl Adventure, Stepmom) is the film’s executive producer, and Terry Gould (The Interrogation of Michael Crowe) and Marisa Yeres (Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front, Felicity: An American Girl Adventure) serve as co-producers.
The ensemble cast includes (in alphabetical order) two-time Oscar© nominee Joan Cusack (In & Out, Working Girl); Glenne Headly (The Namesake, Mr. Holland’s Opus); Tony Award winner and Golden Globe nominee Jane Krakowski (Broadway’s NINE, Ally McBeal); Golden Globe nominee Chris O’Donnell (Kinsey, Scent of A Woman); Julia Ormond (Smilla’s Sense of Snow, Legends of the Fall); veteran character actor Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride, My Dinner with Andre); and two-time Golden Globe winner Stanley Tucci (HBO Films’ Conspiracy, Winchell). The cast also features 10-year-old Madison Davenport (upcoming Humboldt County); 11-year-old Zach Mills (upcoming Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium); 6-year-old newcomer Willow Smith; and Young Artist Award nominee Max Thieriot (The Pacifier).
On behalf of Red Om Films and Goldsmith-Thomas Productions we are thrilled to continue our theatrical association with American Girl,” says producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas. “In addition to Abigail Breslin, we've assembled a stellar cast of principal actors, as well as four new young girls we discovered in the open call auditions held around the country. It was important to us to give the enthusiastic fans of this wonderful brand an opportunity to participate in bringing this to the screen."
The creative production team includes director of photography David Boyd (Friday Night Lights, Without A Trace); production designer Peter Cosco (upcoming Jack and Jill vs. the World); art director Michele Brady (Saw II); set decorator Odetta Stoddard (Hollywoodland); and costume designer Trysha Bakker (Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front, Samantha: An American Girl Holiday).
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Mystery will film in and around the Toronto area for five weeks. The film is scheduled for a July 2, 2008 theatrical release and will be distributed domestically by Picturehouse.
About HBO Films
HBO Films, a division of Home Box Office, produces movies for the network as well as films for theatrical release. Since 1989, HBO Films’ acclaimed movies and miniseries, which include Elizabeth I, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Angels in America, Wit and Empire Falls, have garnered 130 Emmy® Awards, winning the Outstanding Made for Television Movie Emmy® 12 of the last 14 years. HBO Films has captured 47 Golden Globe Awards since 1985, winning the Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV award for nine of the last 13 years. Most recently, Elizabeth I earned three Golden Globes, for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, Best Actress (Helen Mirren) and Best Supporting Actor (Jeremy Irons). Since 2003, HBO Films has received three Oscar® nominations – Catalina Sandino Moreno in the Best Actress category for Maria Full Of Grace, Yesterday in the Best Foreign Language Film and American Splendor for Best Adapted Screenplay. HBO Films won the Palme d’Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival for director Gus Van Sant’s Elephant; Van Sant was also honored with the award for Best Director. At the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, Rocket Science earned the Best Directing: Dramatic Award for writer/director Jeffrey Blitz; the film is scheduled to be released by Picturehouse this August.
About American Girl
American Girl Brands, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. (NYSE: MAT, www.mattel.com), the world’s leading toy company. Since American Girl’s inception in 1986, the company has devoted its entire business to celebrating the potential of girls ages 3 to 12. American Girl encourages girls to dream, to grow, to aspire, to create, and to imagine through a wide range of engaging and insightful books, age-appropriate and educational products, and unforgettable experiences. In meeting its mission with a vigilant eye toward quality and service, American Girl has earned the loyal following of millions of girls and the praise and trust of parents and educators.
American Girl dolls, books and related products are sold exclusively through the company’s consumer catalogue, online at www.americangirl.com, and at American Girl Place®, its proprietary retail stores in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. To learn more about American Girl or to request a free catalogue, call 1-800-845-0005 or visit www.americangirl.com
About Picturehouse
Picturehouse is a theatrical motion picture company that produces, acquires and releases feature films. Currently in release is Guillermo del Toro’s triple Oscar-winning gothic fairy tale Pan’s Labyrinth, which has currently grossed a record-breaking $36 million in North America. Up next is Gracie, directed by Oscar-winner Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) and starring Oscar-Nominee Elisabeth Shue, Andrew Shue and Carly Schroeder (Firewall, Mean Creek); Olivier-Dahan’s Edith Piaf biopic, La Vie En Rose; El Cantante, a music-infused biography of Puerto Rican, salsa pioneer Hector Lavoe, starring Jennifer Lopez and her husband, Marc Anthony; Rocket Science, the first narrative film from Jeffrey Blitz (Spellbound) which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival where it received rave reviews and won the Directing Prize and Francois Girard’s Silk, starring Michael Pitt, Keira Knightley, Koji Yakusho, and Alfred Molina.