TORONTO – SEPTEMBER, 12 2014 – Haim Saban, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Saban Capital Group, Inc., announced today that Saban Films is closing in on a deal to acquire the U.S. distribution rights to Sarik Andreasyan action thriller AMERICAN HEIST starring Hayden Christensen, Academy Award Winner® Adrien Brody, Jordana Brewster, Tory Kittles and Aliaune “AKON” Thiam. The film had its world premiere last night at the .
Saban Films is emerging as an aggressive buyer in Toronto, acquiring the U.S. rights to John Travolta’s THE FORGER and the action thriller TRACERS starring Taylor Lautner and Marie Avgeropoulos from Temple Hill Entertainment.
“We were eager to see AMERICAN HEIST coming into Toronto and the film lived up to our expectations. It’s just the type of commercial talent driven film we are looking for at Saban,” said Saban Films President Bill Bromiley.”
Glacier Films’ Tove Christensen said: “Sarik pulled together a very exhilarating and commercial film with a brilliant ensemble cast. We are excited to be in business with Saban Films and make a deal in our hometown of Toronto.”
Written by Raul Inglis, the film follows two brothers with troubled pasts who become embroiled in a high-stakes bank robbery. Ness Saban negotiated on behalf of Saban Films and Ben Weiss at Paradigm on behalf of the producers. Voltage is handling international sales.
Saban Films is the new venture, which is headed by President Bill Bromiley, and launched just prior to Cannes where they acquired THE HOMESMAN, starring Academy Award® winners Tommy Lee Jones and Hilary Swank. The film had its world premiere in competition at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, and Saban Films will release stateside with Roadside Attractions on November 14th.
AMERICAN HEIST is a Glacier Films production in association with Maple Leaf Capital, Primeridian Entertainment and NGN Productions. The film is produced by Glacier’s Tove Christensen, Georgy Malkov, Sarik Andreasyan, Gevond Andreasyan and Vladimir Poliakov. Executive producers include Michael Wexler, George Castrounis, Hayden Christensen, Adrien Brody, Aliaune “Akon” Thiam, Jojo Ryder, Arcadiy Golubovich, Jack Nasser and Joseph Nasser
Glacier Films recently launched a $100m fund to ramp up production with a slate that includes: COOTIES starring Elijah Wood, Alison Pill and Rainn Wilson and Kellie Madison’s THE TANK.
Saban Films
Saban Films, an affiliate of Saban Capital Group (“SCG”), is a film acquisition and distribution company which acquires high-quality, feature films to distribute in North . Focusing on commercial, talent driven films, the company looks at projects in all stages of production for release across multiple platforms, including a day and date theatrical/VOD release strategy. Based in Los Angeles, Saban Films was established by Haim Saban, SCG Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and is led by Bill Bromiley who serves as president, Shanan Becker, Chief Financial Officer and Ness Saban, Director of Business Development.
