Exclusive: Joyous Aretha Franklin music doc Amazing Grace has sold around the world for Endeavor Content.
The stirring Doc NYC and Berlin Film Festival title charts the Queen of Soul’s brilliant 1972 performance at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles. Neon released the film in U.S.
Deals have closed with Metropolitan in France, Weltkino in Germany, You Planet and Caramel Films for Spain, NonStop Entertainment in Scandinavia, Iceland and Baltic States, Paradiso in Benelux, Alambique in Portugal, Seven Films in Greece, and Salim Ramia in the Middle East.
The film has also landed with Edko in Hong Kong, Shaw in Singapore, Jinjin in South Korea, Movie Cloud in Taiwan, Spi International in Eastern Europe, Bulgaria, Former Yugoslavia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Turkey and Czech, and Captive for airlines.
Neon released stateside on April 5 and StudioCanal released in the UK on May 10 and will launch Australia/Nz later this year.
The stirring Doc NYC and Berlin Film Festival title charts the Queen of Soul’s brilliant 1972 performance at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles. Neon released the film in U.S.
Deals have closed with Metropolitan in France, Weltkino in Germany, You Planet and Caramel Films for Spain, NonStop Entertainment in Scandinavia, Iceland and Baltic States, Paradiso in Benelux, Alambique in Portugal, Seven Films in Greece, and Salim Ramia in the Middle East.
The film has also landed with Edko in Hong Kong, Shaw in Singapore, Jinjin in South Korea, Movie Cloud in Taiwan, Spi International in Eastern Europe, Bulgaria, Former Yugoslavia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Turkey and Czech, and Captive for airlines.
Neon released stateside on April 5 and StudioCanal released in the UK on May 10 and will launch Australia/Nz later this year.
- 5/17/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
The newly merged suite of Disney networks held its first ever “Disney Upfront Experience” on Tuesday, featuring segments devoted to ESPN, FX, Freeform, ABC News and ABC. Highlights included comedic bits from ESPN’s Kenny Mayne and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, while singer John Mayer closed the show with two numbers. Here are some tidbits gleaned from the festivities:
FX reveals Chris Rock’s “Fargo” character name: There’s still plenty of secrecy behind Noah Hawley’s long-awaited fourth season of “Fargo,” but we now know the name of the character that Rock will be playing: Loy Cannon. Cannon is the head of a Kansas City crime syndicate in the 1950s. According to FX Networks CEO John Landgraf, production starts this fall on the new “Fargo,” with an early 2020 premiere.
In a pre-taped video, Rock said he had long been a fan of the “Fargo” TV show, and even his...
FX reveals Chris Rock’s “Fargo” character name: There’s still plenty of secrecy behind Noah Hawley’s long-awaited fourth season of “Fargo,” but we now know the name of the character that Rock will be playing: Loy Cannon. Cannon is the head of a Kansas City crime syndicate in the 1950s. According to FX Networks CEO John Landgraf, production starts this fall on the new “Fargo,” with an early 2020 premiere.
In a pre-taped video, Rock said he had long been a fan of the “Fargo” TV show, and even his...
- 5/14/2019
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The Estate of Aretha Franklin has joined Genius: Aretha, the third installment of National Geographic’s Genius scripted anthology series. Sabrina Owens, representative of The Estate, will serve as a producer on the series.
It was announced at TCA in February that the upcoming season of Genius would be devoted to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, who died in August at age 76.
Suzan-Lori Parks, Pulitzer Prize award-winning playwright of Topdog/Underdog, will be executive producer and showrunner of the series, from Imagine Television and Fox 21 TV Studios. Music mogul and longtime Franklin collaborator Clive Davis as well as Atlantic Records chairman and CEO Craig Kallman also executive produce.
The idea of doing a Franklin-centered Genius came together quickly following the music icon’s August 16, 2018 death, spearheaded by Imagine’s Brian Grazer. The project had been moving full steam ahead since, with securing access to Franklin’s music considered...
It was announced at TCA in February that the upcoming season of Genius would be devoted to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, who died in August at age 76.
Suzan-Lori Parks, Pulitzer Prize award-winning playwright of Topdog/Underdog, will be executive producer and showrunner of the series, from Imagine Television and Fox 21 TV Studios. Music mogul and longtime Franklin collaborator Clive Davis as well as Atlantic Records chairman and CEO Craig Kallman also executive produce.
The idea of doing a Franklin-centered Genius came together quickly following the music icon’s August 16, 2018 death, spearheaded by Imagine’s Brian Grazer. The project had been moving full steam ahead since, with securing access to Franklin’s music considered...
- 5/14/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
The long-shelved Aretha Franklin concert film Amazing Grace will receive a nationwide release in early 2019. Following the Queen of Soul’s death in August, the 1972 film was finally unveiled at the Doc NYC festival ahead its Oscar-qualifying run in Los Angeles and New York.
Franklin’s estate and film distributor Neon announced an agreement for the North American release of Amazing Grace, which captures the then-29-year-old Franklin teaming with the choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles.
“Amazing Grace is the heart and soul of Aretha Franklin,...
Franklin’s estate and film distributor Neon announced an agreement for the North American release of Amazing Grace, which captures the then-29-year-old Franklin teaming with the choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles.
“Amazing Grace is the heart and soul of Aretha Franklin,...
- 12/8/2018
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Neon has acquired the North American rights to “Amazing Grace,” the Aretha Franklin documentary film that made its world premiere at Doc NYC and then screened at the AFI Film Festival in November, the distributor announced.
The company is planning a March 2019 theatrical release, and it has already opened in New York and Los Angeles for an Oscar-qualifying run.
Directed by the late Sydney Pollack and produced by Alan Elliott, the 1972 concert film presents Aretha Franklin with a choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts back when the legendary queen of soul was 29 years old and at the peak of her vocal powers.
The late soul singer previously brought legal action against the film in 2015, successfully blocking it from screening at several film festivals and arguing that the concert footage couldn...
The company is planning a March 2019 theatrical release, and it has already opened in New York and Los Angeles for an Oscar-qualifying run.
Directed by the late Sydney Pollack and produced by Alan Elliott, the 1972 concert film presents Aretha Franklin with a choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts back when the legendary queen of soul was 29 years old and at the peak of her vocal powers.
The late soul singer previously brought legal action against the film in 2015, successfully blocking it from screening at several film festivals and arguing that the concert footage couldn...
- 12/7/2018
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Late singer’s estate rep and niece says, ’This film is authentic and is my aunt to her core.’
After decades of delays and an eleventh-hour intervention by the late singer herself, Us viewers will finally get the chance to see the Aretha Franklin concert doc Amazing Grace in theatres. Neon announced on Friday (7) it had picked up North American rights and has set an Oscar-qualifying run in New York and Los Angeles
Amazing Grace premiered at Doc NYC and went on to play AFI Fest. Neon, who launched awards contender and box office hit Three Identical Strangers earlier in...
After decades of delays and an eleventh-hour intervention by the late singer herself, Us viewers will finally get the chance to see the Aretha Franklin concert doc Amazing Grace in theatres. Neon announced on Friday (7) it had picked up North American rights and has set an Oscar-qualifying run in New York and Los Angeles
Amazing Grace premiered at Doc NYC and went on to play AFI Fest. Neon, who launched awards contender and box office hit Three Identical Strangers earlier in...
- 12/7/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Neon has acquired the North American rights to the Aretha Franklin documentary “Amazing Grace,” a month after the movie premiered at Doc NYC.
Neon said it’s planning an early 2019 theatrical release.
The film, shot in 1972 by Sydney Pollack at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, was originally planned by Warner Bros. Pictures as a companion documentary to the double live album “Amazing Grace,” which became Franklin’s best-selling album, but technical issues prevented the release of the pic.
Producer Alan Elliott acquired the movie rights in 2007 and worked with a team of producers, including Joe Boyd, Robert Johnson, Chiemi Karasawa, Sabrina Owens, Jerry Wexler, Tirrell D. Whittley, and Joseph Woolf. Franklin, who died in August, went to court repeatedly to stop its release. “Amazing Grace” is being launched with the support of Franklin’s estate.
The movie includes an 11-minute version of “Amazing Grace,” “Mary Don’t You Weep,...
Neon said it’s planning an early 2019 theatrical release.
The film, shot in 1972 by Sydney Pollack at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, was originally planned by Warner Bros. Pictures as a companion documentary to the double live album “Amazing Grace,” which became Franklin’s best-selling album, but technical issues prevented the release of the pic.
Producer Alan Elliott acquired the movie rights in 2007 and worked with a team of producers, including Joe Boyd, Robert Johnson, Chiemi Karasawa, Sabrina Owens, Jerry Wexler, Tirrell D. Whittley, and Joseph Woolf. Franklin, who died in August, went to court repeatedly to stop its release. “Amazing Grace” is being launched with the support of Franklin’s estate.
The movie includes an 11-minute version of “Amazing Grace,” “Mary Don’t You Weep,...
- 12/7/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Boutique Neon has picked up the North American rights to “Amazing Grace,” the long-delayed concert documentary that follows Aretha Franklin during a seminal 1972 show. The film had its world premiere at Doc NYC and also screened at AFI Fest. Neon will release the film theatrically in 2019, although it has already received an Oscar-qualifying run in New York and Los Angeles.
Per its official synopsis, the long-awaited documentary has now been “realized by Alan Elliott” and “presents Aretha Franklin with choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, when the legendary queen of soul was 29 years-old and at the peak of her vocal powers. Elliott produced alongside Joe Boyd, Chiemi Karasawa, Rob Johnson, Sabrina Owens, Tirrell D. Whittley, Jerry Wexler and Joseph Woolf.” A young Sydney Pollack was hired to direct the project, though it remained unfinished for decades.
As IndieWire’s Anne Thompson wrote earlier this year, “Pollack captured...
Per its official synopsis, the long-awaited documentary has now been “realized by Alan Elliott” and “presents Aretha Franklin with choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, when the legendary queen of soul was 29 years-old and at the peak of her vocal powers. Elliott produced alongside Joe Boyd, Chiemi Karasawa, Rob Johnson, Sabrina Owens, Tirrell D. Whittley, Jerry Wexler and Joseph Woolf.” A young Sydney Pollack was hired to direct the project, though it remained unfinished for decades.
As IndieWire’s Anne Thompson wrote earlier this year, “Pollack captured...
- 12/7/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Neon has acquired North American rights to Amazing Grace, the Aretha Franklin concert film that has taken 45 years to get to a big screen. The 1972 concert documentary, shot by Sydney Pollack, chronicles Franklin’s famed performance with the choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts when she was 29, which became the genesis of the biggest-selling gospel album of all time. It has been mired in legal technicalities ever since.
The pic finally had its world premiere at Doc NYC and then screened at AFI Fest as part of an Oscar-qualifying run that began last month in L.A. It continues that run beginning today in New York at the Film Forum. Neon is now planning an early 2019 theatrical release.
Alan Elliott produced alongside Joe Boyd, Chiemi Karasawa, Rob Johnson, Sabrina Owens, Tirrell D. Whittley, Jerry Wexler and Joseph Woolf.
“Amazing Grace is the heart and soul of Aretha Franklin,...
The pic finally had its world premiere at Doc NYC and then screened at AFI Fest as part of an Oscar-qualifying run that began last month in L.A. It continues that run beginning today in New York at the Film Forum. Neon is now planning an early 2019 theatrical release.
Alan Elliott produced alongside Joe Boyd, Chiemi Karasawa, Rob Johnson, Sabrina Owens, Tirrell D. Whittley, Jerry Wexler and Joseph Woolf.
“Amazing Grace is the heart and soul of Aretha Franklin,...
- 12/7/2018
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
A bit of a miracle has crashed this awards season, one that has been 46 years in the making, after managing to qualify for an Oscar run with just minutes to spare in October. “Amazing Grace” is an infamous documentary that is a companion to Aretha Franklin’s same-titled, biggest-selling album – a Grammy winner with more than 2 million copies sold — that was recorded at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles over two days in January 1972. The film, directed by Sydney Pollack, was kept in a vault by Warner Bros. when sound syncing problems prevented its release. But even when those flaws were erased thanks to digital technology,the Queen of Soul herself refused to allow the doc to see the light of day.
That is, until now. Producer Alan Elliott, who bought the rights to the footage that captures the then-29-year-old performer wailing the gospel music of...
That is, until now. Producer Alan Elliott, who bought the rights to the footage that captures the then-29-year-old performer wailing the gospel music of...
- 12/7/2018
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
In 1972, a year after their massive hit “Woodstock,” Warner Bros. set out to produce an Aretha Franklin performance documentary. It took 43 years, but producer Alan Elliott completed the film shot by Oscar-winning director Sydney Pollack (“Out of Africa”) over two nights at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. Now, after decades of setbacks both technical and emotional, after Franklin’s long illness and death from pancreatic cancer on August 16, Elliott clinched a deal with her estate to release the movie — and submitted the paperwork in time for Academy’s October 1 submission deadline.
Elliott has booked the film for week-long Oscar-qualifying runs in Los Angeles and New York. And by dropping the mic on November 5 with the announcement that the movie would show November 12 (introduced by Reverend Al Sharpton) at Doc NYC, he’s set in motion the next phase of his campaign. The movie still needs to land a sales agent,...
Elliott has booked the film for week-long Oscar-qualifying runs in Los Angeles and New York. And by dropping the mic on November 5 with the announcement that the movie would show November 12 (introduced by Reverend Al Sharpton) at Doc NYC, he’s set in motion the next phase of his campaign. The movie still needs to land a sales agent,...
- 11/6/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Aretha Franklin will be honored with a special tribute at the 2018 American Music Awards, hosted by Tracee Ellis Ross and broadcasting live on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. Et.
Soul and gospel stars Gladys Knight, Ledisi, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin and CeCe Winans will headline the evening with a group performance honoring the late Queen of Soul’s iconic gospel album, “Amazing Grace.” Composer and producer Rickey Minor has signed on as musical director for the tribute.
“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the American Music Awards, dick clark productions and American Music Awards producer, Larry Klein, for honoring Aretha Franklin with a musical tribute for this year’s broadcast,” said Sabrina Owens, Franklin’s niece and executor of the Aretha Franklin Estate, in a statement. “We still remember when Aretha won her first American Music Award in...
Soul and gospel stars Gladys Knight, Ledisi, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin and CeCe Winans will headline the evening with a group performance honoring the late Queen of Soul’s iconic gospel album, “Amazing Grace.” Composer and producer Rickey Minor has signed on as musical director for the tribute.
“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the American Music Awards, dick clark productions and American Music Awards producer, Larry Klein, for honoring Aretha Franklin with a musical tribute for this year’s broadcast,” said Sabrina Owens, Franklin’s niece and executor of the Aretha Franklin Estate, in a statement. “We still remember when Aretha won her first American Music Award in...
- 9/27/2018
- by Margeaux Sippell
- Variety Film + TV
The American Music Awards have announced that they will pay tribute to the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, who died in August at age 76. The star-studded performance will bring together Gladys Knight, Ledisi, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin, CeCe Winans and musical director Rickey Minor to celebrate the late singer’s gospel roots, particularly her 1972 album “Amazing Grace.” The awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday night, October 9.
Franklin herself won six AMAs during her career, including four prizes for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist. She also won 18 Grammys, a Kennedy Center Honor, a National Arts Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And she was the first woman ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Sabrina Owens, Franklin’s niece and the executor of her estate, said in a statement, “We would like to express our...
Franklin herself won six AMAs during her career, including four prizes for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist. She also won 18 Grammys, a Kennedy Center Honor, a National Arts Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And she was the first woman ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Sabrina Owens, Franklin’s niece and the executor of her estate, said in a statement, “We would like to express our...
- 9/27/2018
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Gladys Knight will lead a tribute to Aretha Franklin at the American Music Awards, which will air live October 9th on ABC, The Associated Press reports.
Dick Clark Productions confirmed the tribute, which will also feature Ledisi, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin, CeCe Winans and musical director Rickey Minor. The performance will focus on Franklin’s gospel roots and her seminal 1972 album, Amazing Grace.
“When I heard some of the initial ideas for the tribute, I knew without a doubt that this tribute will go down as one of the best in American music,...
Dick Clark Productions confirmed the tribute, which will also feature Ledisi, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin, CeCe Winans and musical director Rickey Minor. The performance will focus on Franklin’s gospel roots and her seminal 1972 album, Amazing Grace.
“When I heard some of the initial ideas for the tribute, I knew without a doubt that this tribute will go down as one of the best in American music,...
- 9/27/2018
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Aretha Franklin died without a will, according to legal documents filed in a Michigan court following the Queen of Soul’s death at the age of 76.
The Detroit Free Press reports that Franklin’s four sons filed a document in the Oakland County Probate Court listing themselves as interested parties in the singer’s estate. The document acknowledged that Franklin died without a formal will; under Michigan law, her estate will be divided equally among her four descendants.
“The decedent [Franklin] died intestate and after exercising reasonable diligence, I am unaware...
The Detroit Free Press reports that Franklin’s four sons filed a document in the Oakland County Probate Court listing themselves as interested parties in the singer’s estate. The document acknowledged that Franklin died without a formal will; under Michigan law, her estate will be divided equally among her four descendants.
“The decedent [Franklin] died intestate and after exercising reasonable diligence, I am unaware...
- 8/22/2018
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Legendary singer Aretha Franklin died without leaving behind a will or trust, according to court documents filed by her sons that were cited by the Detroit Free Press.
In the document, her four sons list themselves as interested parties, and another document filed with the court and signed by her son Kecalf, and her estate attorney, David Bennett, check a box acknowledging the absence of a will, according to the report. The singer’s niece, Sabrina Owens, asked the court to appoint her as personal representative of the estate. A rep for the late singer did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment or confirmation.
Frankin died on Aug. 16 in her hometown of Detroit after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
“I was after her for a number of years to do a trust,” attorney Don Wilson, who was Franklin’s entertainment attorney for nearly 30 years, told the paper.
In the document, her four sons list themselves as interested parties, and another document filed with the court and signed by her son Kecalf, and her estate attorney, David Bennett, check a box acknowledging the absence of a will, according to the report. The singer’s niece, Sabrina Owens, asked the court to appoint her as personal representative of the estate. A rep for the late singer did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment or confirmation.
Frankin died on Aug. 16 in her hometown of Detroit after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
“I was after her for a number of years to do a trust,” attorney Don Wilson, who was Franklin’s entertainment attorney for nearly 30 years, told the paper.
- 8/22/2018
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
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