Fox Searchlight Pictures presidents Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula announced that the company has acquired worldwide distribution and remake rights to director and producer Amanda Lipitz’s inspiring documentary Step, featuring Blessin Giraldo, Cori Grainger, Tayla Solomon, Gari McIntyre and Paula Dofat. The film is a Stick Figure, Impact Partners, Vulcan and Scott Rudin production and produced by Lipitz and Steven Cantor with Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous, Jenny Raskin, Scott Rudin, Paul G. Allen, Carole Tomko, Micheal Flaherty, Valerie McGowan, Barbara Dobkin, Regina K. Scully, Debra McLeod, Jay Sears, Ann Tisch and Andrew Tisch serving as executive producers. Step will be released in 2017.
“This film was made as a tribute to the bravery and conviction of the young women in the film and to the courage they demonstrated in their willingness to share their story. We are thrilled to partner with Fox Searchlight on the release of the film throughout the world and are very grateful for their enthusiasm and passion. We hope that the heroes of Step will inspire girls everywhere to do what they have done, which is to prove that nothing is impossible when you surround yourself with a group of powerful women,” said Lipitz.
Step documents the senior year of a girls’ high-school step dance team against the background of inner-city Baltimore. As each one tries to become the first in their families to attend college, the girls strive to make their dancing a success against the backdrop of social unrest in the troubled city.
The production also received generous support from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Baltimore Ravens. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to sold out screenings with show-stopping performances by the team, who were greatly supported by the local Park City community.
The deal was brokered by Fox Searchlight’s EVP of business affairs Megan O’Brien and SVP of acquisitions & co-productions Ray Strache, with WME Global on behalf of the filmmakers.
Fox Searchlight Pictures is a specialty film company that both finances and acquires motion pictures. It has its own marketing and distribution operations, and its films are distributed internationally by Twentieth Century Fox. Fox Searchlight Pictures is a unit of 21st Century Fox.
Director Ben Steiger Levine Joins Lord Danger For U.S. Spot Representation
Lord Danger, the creative production company that’s part of the Monstera Group, has added director Ben Steiger Levine to its talent roster for U.S. commercial representation. He joins a Lord Danger directorial lineup which includes Mike Diva, Cache Bunny, MP Curtet, and Parker Seaman.
Steiger Levine shared that he was drawn in part to Lord Danger in that it’s a small, close-knit group of creative pros producing standout work. “They’re not a huge fish but rather a stealthy, nimble piranha made of beautiful rainbow colors that can adapt on a dime and devour,” Steiger Levine said. “All the directors on the roster have a voice. Lord Danger makes original images. Images with impact. Maintaining voice all while effectively selling products is the killer combination that makes work iconic, and this is Lord Danger’s priority.”
Known for his flair for design and visual effects, complemented by his strengths as a storyteller, Steiger Levine burst onto the scene after earning a slot in the 2009 Saatchi and Saatchi New Directors’ Showcase unveiled at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity. He was also named a Young Gun by the Art Directors Club. Prior to joining Lord Danger, Steiger Levine was most recently with production house Greencard.
His reel includes a visually arresting campaign for Jack Links, a campaign for Core Water featuring actress Hailee Steinfeld, work for Nintendo, and the oddly-moving “Intolerance” project for Natrel, the Canadian lactose-free dairy product line, which uses a faux documentary to tell the story of a giant of a man who owes his status to drinking Natrel milk. The effect of a towering man in his too-small house was achieved without any CGI, just using in-camera tricks and compositing. Steiger... Read More