Three team up for 'Hollywood'

By Stuart Kemp

May 19, 2007, ET

CANNES -- U.S. outfit Magnolia Pictures, antipodean distributor Madman Entertainment and StudioCanal-owned U.K. indie distributor Optimum Releasing have united to ink a presale buy of roustabout docu "Not Quite Hollywood" for their territories.

The deal marks the fourth collaboration for the three companies this year following the acquisition of "The Signal," during Sundance in January. Previous joint buys include Bong Joon-Ho's "The Host" and Johnny To's "Exiled."

Billed as "a high-octane thrill ride" through Australian genre cinema of the 1970s and early 1980s," "Not Quite" splices together a story of the movies made in Australia in the aftermath of the introduction of the R-certificate which saw censorship go from repressive to progressive.

Magnolia Pictures chief Tom Quinn said the documentary "blows the lid on full bore genre flicks that have largely gone unseen in the States. (It's) packed with blood-drunk mayhem, adrenaline rush erotica and some of the biggest stars working today. It's sure to knock audiences' socks off across the globe."

Madman Entertainment managing director Paul Wiegard said: "To capture the zeitgeist and crazed imagination of Aussie genre cinema is an exciting proposition and we've assembled a great team to make it happen."

The so-called cultural explosion gave birth to art house classics such as "Picnic at Hanging Rock" and "My Brilliant Career," but also spawned a group renegade filmmakers.

Currently in production, "Not Quite" is directed by music video director and filmmaker Mark Hartley and will be released in Australia in 2008 with the U.K. and U.S. rollout to follow.

Three team up for 'Hollywood'

By Stuart Kemp

May 19, 2007, ET