Paltrow mines 'Diamond' under Owen pact
Paltrow 's pact
May 16, 2004
U.K. indie producer Alison Owen has sealed a deal with star Gwyneth Paltrow to establish an unnamed joint venture to develop movies for Paltrow to produce and star in.
Paltrow's move into producing -- which sees her follow in the footsteps of her late father, Bruce -- comes out of a long-standing friendship with Owen. The first film to come through the as-yet-unnamed venture is likely to be "Diamond," according to Owen.
Penned by Lewis Mellis and David Scinto ("Sexy Beast"), the picture is based on a book that details the story of an internationally renowned female jewel thief. Owen is in Cannes piecing together the financing for the $25 million-budgeted pic.
Owen ("Elizabeth") said Paltrow's move to set up a joint venture in London makes sense because of the star's increasing time spent in England. The need to develop projects for herself to produce and star in also grew from "frustration" at some of the material offered. "It makes sense to develop the sort of projects she wants to be in herself," Owen said.
Owen has produced a clutch of movies with Paltrow in them, including "Moonlight and Valentino," "Proof" and "Sylvia."
The producer also has brought a slate of three other films to be produced under her Ruby Films banner, headlined by "Rachel's Holiday," which Owen hopes to start shooting "early next year." Currently in negotiations with Catherine Zeta-Jones to star, the movie is billed as a comedy and is set in Ireland and New York. It is based on Marian Keyes' novel of the same name.
Owen also will produce "Brideshead Revisited" alongside U.K. indie production company Ecosse Films. Developed at Ecosse, Owen and Ecosse chief Douglas Rae will produce the project, directed by David Yates ("State of Play"). The duo is in negotiations with Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly to star in the movie, penned by Andrew Davies from the book by Evelyn Waugh.
Owen said she hopes that the project will start shooting by the fall, depending on schedules. Owen is also aiming to refinance the project "Tulip Fever," which collapsed a week before the shoot was due to start after changes to British tax laws hit the cash structure. Owen said the package of stars Jude Law, Keira Knightly and Jim Broadbent along with director John Madden is unlikely to remain on the collapsed project. But Owen remains upbeat that the project can and will be repositioned. DreamWorks has North American rights to the Tom Stoppard-penned movie.
Paltrow's move into producing -- which sees her follow in the footsteps of her late father, Bruce -- comes out of a long-standing friendship with Owen. The first film to come through the as-yet-unnamed venture is likely to be "Diamond," according to Owen.
Penned by Lewis Mellis and David Scinto ("Sexy Beast"), the picture is based on a book that details the story of an internationally renowned female jewel thief. Owen is in Cannes piecing together the financing for the $25 million-budgeted pic.
Owen ("Elizabeth") said Paltrow's move to set up a joint venture in London makes sense because of the star's increasing time spent in England. The need to develop projects for herself to produce and star in also grew from "frustration" at some of the material offered. "It makes sense to develop the sort of projects she wants to be in herself," Owen said.
Owen has produced a clutch of movies with Paltrow in them, including "Moonlight and Valentino," "Proof" and "Sylvia."
The producer also has brought a slate of three other films to be produced under her Ruby Films banner, headlined by "Rachel's Holiday," which Owen hopes to start shooting "early next year." Currently in negotiations with Catherine Zeta-Jones to star, the movie is billed as a comedy and is set in Ireland and New York. It is based on Marian Keyes' novel of the same name.
Owen also will produce "Brideshead Revisited" alongside U.K. indie production company Ecosse Films. Developed at Ecosse, Owen and Ecosse chief Douglas Rae will produce the project, directed by David Yates ("State of Play"). The duo is in negotiations with Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly to star in the movie, penned by Andrew Davies from the book by Evelyn Waugh.
Owen said she hopes that the project will start shooting by the fall, depending on schedules. Owen is also aiming to refinance the project "Tulip Fever," which collapsed a week before the shoot was due to start after changes to British tax laws hit the cash structure. Owen said the package of stars Jude Law, Keira Knightly and Jim Broadbent along with director John Madden is unlikely to remain on the collapsed project. But Owen remains upbeat that the project can and will be repositioned. DreamWorks has North American rights to the Tom Stoppard-penned movie.
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