It was announced today that new indie production and finance shingle Werc Werk Works is fully financing and producing acclaimed writer/director Todd Solondz’s (“Happiness” “Welcome to the Dollhouse” “Storytelling” “Palindromes”) next film – the highly anticipated part-sequel/part-variation of his controversial, award winning dark comedy “Happiness,” which starred Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Werc Werk Works is an independent film production and finance company founded by Elizabeth Redleaf and Independent Spirit Award nominated producer Christine Kunewa Walker (“American Splendor” “Factotum”). Dedicated to the production and financing of high caliber, story-driven films with wide appeal, the company will initially produce three to four films a year.
Todd Solondz’s new project (yet to be titled) is the debut feature project for the company. The film tells the story of a group of people struggling to find a place for themselves in an unpredictable and volatile world. The past haunts the present and imperils the future: ghosts circle and loom, trouble and console. The question of forgiveness and its limits threads throughout a series of intersecting love stories, offering clarity and possibly alternatives to the comforts of forgetting.
Producing the film are Christine Kunewa Walker and Derrick Tseng (“Palindromes”). Executive Producer is Elizabeth Redleaf.
The film is scheduled to begin principal photography in October 2008 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Casting is currently underway with announcements expected to be made in the coming weeks.
Commented Redleaf, “Werc Werk Works is a company of like-minded partners founded on the idea that success and profit in the film business can be achieved in new ways. We believe that financing, marketing and distribution can be creative, transparent and forward-thinking. The company operates on a new economic model that recognizes, champions, honors and rewards the artistic efforts of filmmakers as well as their investors.”
Redleaf added, “The process of selecting our debut film project was made extremely easy when we were introduced to Todd Solondz and his new feature project. He is an incredibly gifted writer and director and has crafted a very entertaining screenplay that will showcase his filmmaking genius.”
Said Walker, “We are passionate filmmakers dedicated to real and dynamic collaboration. We believe Werc Werk Works has an extremely bright future and we look forward to forming important and successful alliances with filmmakers and distributors around the globe.”
Werc Werk Works will be a consistent supplier of commercial projects for both the studios and strong independent distributors worldwide. In addition to traditional film production, Werc Werk Works is set up to take advantage of digital convergence in the entertainment arena and become a vertically integrated film production, distribution and financing operation. Accordingly, the company embraces new and emerging technologies and utilizes them to achieve artistic and economic success through the acquisition and development of entertainment brands which can develop a separate presence within the emerging digital platforms and communities.
