DEADLINE:Its a challenging time.
How are things going at AGC right now?
Thats our modus operandi.
From left: ‘Hit Man’, ‘Poolman’ and ‘Woman of the Hour’AGC
DEADLINE:How did you come to the three movies that are launching at Venice and Toronto?
FORD:Woman of the HourandHit Manhad been in development at streamers.
The former at Netflix, and the latter with Apple.
John Cena in ‘Freelance’AGC
We were very quick to pounce on both of them.
Chris movie was originated and developed wholly by Chris and his partner Ian Gotler.
It was a project that was taken to the market as a package.
DEADLINE:What attracted you to each project?
FORD:Poolmanis a fast paced, left-field comedy.
Its a stylish and visually arresting homage to L.A. film noir.
The end product absolutely justifies that financial and creative risk.
Anna Kendrick took a very different path to directingWoman of the Hour.
She also had seasoned and reliable genre producers Roy Lee and Miri Yoon.
Its a stunningly sophisticated piece of genre filmmaking from a first-time director.
Hit Manfilmmaker Richard Linklater is the antithesis of a novice, of course.
DEADLINE:Were assuming these are $10 million-$20 million movies, would that be right?
FORD: Yes, all mid-teens.
FORD:Every project is different.
We take on projects of all shapes and sizes.
One of the ways weve achieved that is by being very active in this sort of mid-teen budget space.
DEADLINE:You mentioned promotion a little earlier.
Thats key on all movies, naturally.
FORD: Nothing is officially confirmed yet.
The situation is a confused mess.
I feel most sorry for the marvelously committed and talented writers, actors and directors across our three films.
The audiences will be loudly enthusiastic.
The impact of the strikes on the fall 2023 festival environment is just another obstacle along the course.
We all keep on going.
FORD:Genuine holding patterns, because theres genuine confusion.
As I say, I dont think SAG intended to burn these movies.
Talent may make last-minute decisions to go or they may not.
It really is that sort of mood right now.
DEADLINE:All three of these movies are looking for a U.S. buyer?
And they will all find U.S. buyers.
DEADLINE:Each of these movies would qualify, in theory, for an interim agreement, right?
Yes, they would.
DEADLINE:And you didnt apply or sign one because…?
When youve invested millions of dollars in a film, you have to protect its commercial prospects.
So, were trying to obtain clarity.
Were trying to find a path forwards.
DEADLINE:Presumably the cast want the best deals for their films too…
FORD:Yes.
These are among the most high-profile and hotly anticipated films, commercially speaking, at the festivals.
DEADLINE:Would the optics of such a sale during the strike be an issue, do you think?
FORD:I havent had anyone voice any concern as to the optics of that.
These were films that went into production around a year ago.
DEADLINE:TIFF was very quiet last year in terms of dealmaking.
DEADLINE:Recognized acting talent is still essential to getting these independent movies made, though, right?
They drive the foreign pre-sales, and hopefully, theyll drive the domestic and the international marketing campaigns.
DEADLINE:Are you having to alter sales contracts due to the strike and potential project/delivery delays?
DEADLINE:You also have Roland Emmerichs mega-budget sword-and-sandalTV seriesThose About To Diein production.
Tell us about that…
FORD:It will be in production until November.
It went into production at the top of the year and has fallen outside any strike restrictions.
DEADLINE:Did the experience ofMoonfallgive you pause about jumping into another huge-budget indie like this?
Thus far, that has proven to be a successful strategy.
DEADLINE:Peacock has the U.S. rights?
DEADLINE:How lucrative was the deal with Peacock?
DEADLINE:Whats next on the film side?
FORD: In the fall well be launching completed filmDesert Warriors.
Thats a $100M+ Arabian epic from Rupert Wyatt starring Anthony Mackie and Ben Kingsley.
Were going to start production on Ron Howards filmOrigin of Species, which we launched earlier this year.
We are going to start production in the fall on Neill Blomkamps alien abduction thrillerThey Found Usstarring Joel Kinnaman.
Im very excited about that one.
DEADLINE: What needs to happen on Ron Howards movie to get it into production?
FORD: It has an IA from SAG, so does Neills film.
Both have their casts in place.
Thats all Ill say.
DEADLINE:Bautista is still in?
FORD: No one is in right now.
DEADLINE:Right…In terms of AGC, doyou still have the same three backers as before?
Its a great relationship.
DEADLINE:How profitable is AGC?
FORD:We have a profitable business.
So, were very happy with that trajectory.
DEADLINE:Would you like additional investors in the company?
FORD:We carry forward a very entrepreneurial mentality, and were open to all sorts of strategic opportunities.
Weve been approached by a number of both institutional and strategic investors.
Successes likeThe Tinder Swindlerhelp.
But were in no hurry.
We anticipate our scripted TV business to continue to grow at pace.
We launched our unscripted company AGC Unwritten no more than 18 months ago.
