“DOUCHEBAG” Gets Picked Up

RED DRAGON ACQUIRES U.S. RIGHTS TO SUNDANCE HIT “DOUCHEBAG”

MARK URMAN'S PALADIN TO

DISTRIBUTE THEATRICALLY

LOS ANGELES (May 17, 2010) - DOUCHEBAG, the edgy comedy about two brothers whose reluctant reunion after years of estrangement takes them on a riotous pre-wedding road trip, has been acquired for U.S. distribution by Red Dragon, it was announced today.  Founded in 2008 by entrepreneur investor Franck Dubarry, Red Dragon will partner on the project with former William Morris Independent head Cassian Elwes, along with Mark Urman, whose company, Paladin, will handle the film’s theatrical release and marketing.  A September release is planned.

DOUCHEBAG debuted in competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival to wide acclaim from audiences and critics alike, and marked the second feature for director Drake Doremus, whose first film, SPOONER, debuted in competition at the 2009 Slamdance Film Festival.  DOUCHEBAG was produced by Jonathan Schwartz through his Super Crispy Entertainment shingle (which also produced SPOONER), along with Marius Markevicius. The film, which stars Andrew Dickler and Ben York Jones as the brothers, received rave reviews from top critics, including Los Angeles Times' Kenny Turan, Entertainment Weekly’s Owen Gleiberman and KCRW’s “The Treatment” critic Elvis Mitchell, among numerous others.

About the deal producer Schwartz says, “Drake and I are ecstatic to have Mark Urman and Franck Dubarry pushing this film and believing in it so much. Mark has always had amazing taste, and we’ve seen his success in the past with Sundance films like HALF NELSON. It’s exciting to have people on board who share our enthusiasm for the genuine laughs and emotions that our beloved DOUCHEBAG provides.”

Urman adds, “I am extremely excited to be teaming with Franck and Red Dragon, as well as Cassian, who brought us all together, in such an innovative distribution arrangement, which is only fitting given how fresh and original DOUCHEBAG itself is. Drake is a very accomplished filmmaker, wise beyond his years, and I think we are pretty wise ourselves for helping him further what will doubtless be a great career.”

The deal was negotiated by UTA’s Independent Film Group, which represented the film on behalf of the producers, along with attorney Lawrence Kopeikin of the firm Barnes Morris.

ABOUT RED DRAGON

Red Dragon Independent Film Company is focused on the creation, development, and production of genre films, particularly thriller and action, in the $10-$35 million range.  The company has already completed the production of Gela Babluani's “13” with Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Ray Winstone, and Sam Riley.  It is currently developing Alex Litvak’s penned action story FIVE AGAINST A BULLET.  Also in development is a psychological thriller FOCAL POINT scripted by Craig Garber, as well as the Israeli spy thriller LAND OF OUR FATHERS, written by Soo Hugh and based on a true story.

ABOUT PALADIN

Formed in the summer of 2009 by independent film veteran Mark Urman, Paladin’s first release was the award-winning DISGRACE, based on the acclaimed novel by Nobel Laureate J.M. Coetzee, and starring two-time Oscar nominee John Malkovich.  Other titles distributed by the company include Tennessee Williams’ THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND, starring Bryce Dallas Howard and Ellen Burstyn, THE GREATEST, starring Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, and Carey Mulligan, HANDSOME HARRY, starring Jamey Sheridan, Steve Buscemi, Campbell Scott and Aidan Quinn and, coming in July, Angela Ismailos’ documentary, GREAT DIRECTORS, starring Bernardo Bertolucci, Ken Loach, John Sayles, and Agnes Varda, among others. Paladin recently announced the May 21st release of KITES, a Bollywood romantic adventure that it will distribute in association with Reliance Big Pictures, followed by the May 28th release of the English-language version of the film entitled, KITES: THE REMIX, which Brett Ratner supervised and will officially present.

ABOUT SUPER CRISPY ENTERTAINMENT

DOUCHEBAG producer Jonathan Schwartz’s Super Crispy Entertainment produced previous Sundance and critical faves WRISTCUTTERS A LOVE STORY and Michael Haneke’s FUNNY GAMES, as well as three other films this year, including THE WAY BACK, directed by Peter Weir and starring Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell, and Ed Harris, and the Cannes-bound KABOOM directed by Gregg Araki.

 ABOUT UNITED TALENT AGENCY

United Talent Agency is one of the entertainment industry’s premier talent and literary agencies, representing many of world’s most widely-known figures in every current and emerging area of entertainment, including motion pictures, television, books, music, digital media and live entertainment.  The agency is also globally recognized in the areas of film finance, film packaging, corporate consulting, branding & licensing, endorsements and the representation of production talent.  The DOUCHEBAG sale marks the fourth Sundance deal this year for UTA’s Independent Film Group which also sold Rodrigo Cortes’ BURIED to Lionsgate, Sebastian Junger’s RESTREPO to National Geographic, and David Michod’s World Cinema Jury Prize winner ANIMAL KINGDOM to Sony Pictures Classics.