Latest in Open Road

EXCLUSIVE: It was only a year ago in Berlin that newly minted Global Road Entertainment CEO Rob Friedman told international buyers on the first day of the European Film Market that Global Road planned to spend $1 billion in film production over three years. The company would exploit an East-meets-West company that…

Raven Capital Management, which had offered a stalking-horse bid of $87.5 million for Open Road last month, will take control of the company after no other bidders emerged in the company’s bankruptcy proceeding. The auction in Delaware bankruptcy court originally scheduled for November 7 has been canceled (read the…

“What I loved about the script when I read it is it didn’t feel like I had to know who Thurgood Marshall was in order to enjoy the story,” said Chadwick Boseman of what attracted him to the lead role in Marshall. “Once I saw that, I was like, now I have a certain amount of freedom to explore who was he in this time…

EXCLUSIVE: Rob Friedman, the former co-chairman of Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group, former vice chair of Paramount Pictures and a former longtime exec at Warner Bros., is taking the reins of TMP Entertainment — the combined company Tang Media Partners has formed with IM Global, Open Road Films and IM Global TV. He…

BREAKING, updating with writethrough: Tang Media Partners has formalized its acquisition of Open Road Films, the indie movie distribution company that steered Spotlight to a Best Picture win in 2016. Deadline reported last week that the deal was imminent. The company’s founding CEO, Tom Ortenberg, continues in that…

Open Road Films has acquired U.S. rights to Duck Duck Goose, an animated family comedy produced and financed by Original Force. The pic features the voices of Jim Gaffigan, Zendaya and Lance Lim and the distributor has set an April 20, 2018 release date. Directed by Christopher Jenkins and written by Jenkins and Rob…

UPDATED with Helfgot info, 9:06 AM: In what marks three presidents of marketing in one year, Open Road has moved Loren Schwartz into the lead role replacing Jonathan Helfgot, who replaced Jason Cassidy just a year ago. Helfgot is leaving the company to join 20th Century Fox as EVP Theatrical Marketing, reporting to…

Open Road has picked up U.S. rights to the heist movie Finding Steve McQueen, directed by Mark Steven Johnson and starring Travis Fimmel, Forest Whitaker, William Fichtner and Rachael Taylor. The deal was announced as the European Film Market gets underway in Berlin. Open Road is planning a wide release in 2018. The…

Open Road Films has picked up domestic rights to Spark, an animated sci-fi feature by Canadian filmmaker Aaron Woodley that headlines the voice-over talent of Hilary Swank, Susan Sarandon, Patrick Stewart, Jessica Biel and Jace Norman of Nickelodeon’s Henry Danger. The pic will hit theaters on April 14. Spark is…

Open Road has announced two release-date changes. Its Jamie Foxx Las Vegas cop movie Sleepless will debut January 13 during MLK weekend, and teen drama Before I Fall now will open on March 3. Open Road originally had Sleepless dated for February 24, but given the number of African-American moviegoers who head to the…

EXCLUSIVE: Veep‘s Reid Scott has been cast in Home Again starring Reese Witherspoon along with Candice Bergen and Michael Sheen. The indie comedy is written and helmed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer and is set to begin production later this month.  Open Road will release the pic domestically in late 2017. Witherspoon plays a…

“You touch my son, I’ll kill you,” promises Jamie Foxx’s Las Vegas homicide detective Vincent Downs in Open Road’s Sleepless. Downs’ teenage son has just been snatched by chief gangsta Rob Novak (Scott McNairy in a mean turn). What’s going down in this crime thriller by director Baran bo Odar?  Vincent is a crooked…