Optimum And Big Talk Forge Co-Finance Co-Production Pact

The team behind such hit films as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are moving on to further projects.
Will Clarke and Danny Perkins of Optimum Releasing and Nira Park and Matthew Justice of Big Talk have announced a substantial co-financing and co-production agreement, which will also include Film4, with whom Big Talk have had a partial first look deal for the last two years.
As part of the deal, Optimum will contribute to Big Talk's overhead costs and their development budget as well as a commitment to co-financing and co-producing projects over an initial two-year period, with Film4 extending its first look deal with Big Talk enabling them to do the same. Studio Canal will handle international sales on the titles, and the films will be distributed directly through its divisions Optimum in the UK, Studio Canal in France and Kinowelt in Germany. Film4 will take its customary UK TV and associated rights.
The first project to benefit from the agreement is to be Joe Cornish's highly anticipated feature directorial debut Attack The Block, developed by Big Talk as part of their deal with Film4 and the UK Film Council.
Co-Writer of Spielberg's upcoming The Adventures of Tintin: the secret of the Unicorn, Cornish's screenplay is the story of a gang of South London teenagers defending their tower block against an alien attack, with a South London shoot expected to start in February next year. Producers are Nira Park and James Wilson, with Edgar Wright, Matthew Justice, Tessa Ross, Will Clarke and Jenny Borgars as Executive Producers. StudioCanal will launch Attack The Block at the upcoming AFM.
Harold van Lier, Executive Vice President, International Sales at StudioCanal, said: "The AFM is the absolute perfect market to launch a film of this magnitude. It is a hilarious action-packed script with enormous commercial appeal supported by one of the most creative teams out of the UK. Buyers won't know what's hit them."
Building on the new arrangement, Big Talk have boosted their development team with the appointment of Rachael Prior from Working Title as Head of Development (Film), working alongside existing Development Executive Tamzin Cary.
Producer Nira Park said: "Big Talk has grown up around its close relationship with talent. Through this deal, we have even more capacity to bring our focus and attention to detail to new projects. I am thrilled with the team we have assembled, and we should be able to have some serious fun in the coming years. We have enjoyed a fantastic relationship with Working Title over the past seven years, and that will of course continue across a number of projects, but this deal will help us on the way to realising our ambitions and those of the talent we are lucky enough to be working with."
Matthew Justice, Managing Director of Big Talk, said: "Will and Danny have achieved amazing things over the past ten years at Optimum. Being in business with them, Studio Canal and Film 4 is a great opportunity for Big Talk and we are very excited about the future."
Will Clarke, Chief Executive Officer of Optimum Releasing, said: "We are very excited to be working with such a talented group of people as Big Talk. We are finding their creativity truly inspiring, and we value our existing strong relationship with Film 4 very highly - both are great companies to be working with.
"Attack The Block is one of the most inventive and entertaining scripts we have ever read and a great project to kick off the relationship. We look forward to seeing the film come alive and thrilling audiences around the world."
Tessa Ross, Head of Film 4, said: "Film 4 is excited to be extending its very productive relationships with both Big Talk and Optimum within this new partnership and look forward to working together on what already feels like an outstanding slate of films with Attack The Block brilliantly leading the way."
(KMcA/BMcC)