Sony Classics lands rights to Oscar contender The Notebook
In a good portent for Hungary’s prospective Academy Award nominee “The Notebook,” representatives of distributor Sony Pictures Classics yesterday announced the company’s acquisition of the film’s North American rights.
Based on the 1986 French-language novel “Le Grand Cahier” by Hungarian author Ágota Kristóf, “The Notebook” was named the country’s official selection for consideration in the “Best Foreign Language Film” category at Hollywood’s 86th Academy Awards ceremony in February. According to the trade industry publication Variety, “The Notebook” has been shortlisted with eight others for one of the five slots on the Oscar ballot.
The film’s international premiere came at this summer’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in Prague, where “The Notebook” was awarded with the Crystal Globe for best film. In September, “The Notebook” premiered in North America as part of the 2013 Toronto Film Festival’s “Contemporary World Cinema” screenings, likely where the work first caught Sony Classics’ attention.
Sony Pictures Classics has been recently releasing around 15 independently-produced films annually, with an accent on movies made outside the U.S.; its most recent big box office success, however, was Woody Allen’s own Oscar-nominated film “Midnight in Paris.”
“The Notebook” is considered Hungary’s strongest contender for Academy Award nomination – and possibly even Oscar-winning – since director István Szábo’s 1980s heyday. Even an acknowledgement among Hollywood’s top five choices for foreign-language film would represent a major victory for the burgeoning Hungarian National Film Fund founded by former Hollywood producer Andrew Vajna.
“The Notebook” represents the first full-length feature film produced with Fund money; another 26 film projects have received some or all budget coverage from the Fund.
The movie described in Karlovy Vary PR as “A fascinating and hard-hitting adaptation of the controversial debut novel by Hungarian writer Ágota Kristóf about 13-year-old twins forced to spend the last years of the Second World War with their cruel grandmother somewhere near the Hungarian border. The term bewitching was never so apt as in the case of this new film…”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ list of five nominees in the “Best Foreign-Language Film” category will be announced on January 16.
Hungary CPI Drop Acknowledged at IMF/World Bank Spring Meeti...
Hungary to Address Future of Cohesion Policy During EU Presi...
AI may Save Hungarian Healthcare, Says Leading Doctor
Time Out Market to Open in Budapest Next Year
SUPPORT THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
