HBO has picked up North American TV rights to James Toback’s new feature documentary Seduced and Abandoned, which will have its world premiere May 20 as a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival.
Shot at last year’s festival, the film follows Toback and Alec Baldwin as they make the rounds at Cannes seeking financing for a film they proposed to make. What results is a survey of the state of the film business that includes interviews with Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski, Francis Ford Coppola, Jessica Chastain and Ryan Gosling.
The film, from Michael Mailer Films, was produced by Michael Mailer, Baldwin and Toback and exec produced by Morris Levy, Alan Helene, Larry Herbert and Neal Schneider.
The deal was negotiated by Resolution’s Jeff Berg on behalf of the filmmakers. International sales are being handled by Hanway.
“When James and Alec set out to make this documentary, it took a different turn,” said Michael Lombardo, president of programming at HBO. “What resulted is something uniquely special and wonderfully entertaining.”
“I am thrilled to be in business with HBO,” Toback said. “Richard Plepler’s and Michael Lombardo’s enthusiasm for our film has been incredibly gratifying, and I am looking forward to audiences getting to share our cinematic journey.”
Added Baldwin: “HBO has long been a home for unique documentary films. I’m grateful that they have chosen to present ours.”
Toback’s most recent film was the documentary Tyson. An Academy Award nominee for his screenplay for Bugsy, he has written and directed such films as Fingers, Love & Money, Exposed, The Pick-Up Artist and Black and White.
