Drake & Altitude Jointly Acquire Reinaldo Marcus Green’s ‘Monsters And Men’ For UK Distribution
In an unusual but intriguing partnership, UK distributor Altitude is teaming up with singer Drake to jointly acquire UK distribution rights to Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Sundance and Toronto drama Monsters And Men.
Details on Drake’s commitment here are thin but Altitude said it hoped the film is “the first of many projects” on which it collaborates with the Canadian rapper. Drake was previously reported as an executive producer on the movie and was due to present the film’s Toronto Film Festival screening earlier this week but he cancelled his appearance late in the day.
The deal was negotiated between Altitude Film’s Will Clarke, Gabrielle Stewart from HanWay Films, and Endeavor Content.
Shot in Brooklyn, NY, the police brutality drama features John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman), up-and-coming actor Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Mudbound) and star of Broadway’s Hamilton Anthony Ramos. Pic charts the aftermath of a police killing of a black man, told through the eyes of the bystander who filmed the act, an African-American police officer and a high-school baseball phenom inspired to take a stand.
Will Clarke, chairman and joint CEO of Altitude Film Entertainment said, “The film is powerful, emotionally provocative and highly relevant and the combined resources of Drake and ourselves is a unique and potent combination to reach the largest audience in the UK and Ireland. We look forward to Monsters And Men being the first of many projects on which we work together.”
Adel ‘Future”’ Nur, Drake’s long-time manager and business partner stated, “Drake and I are incredibly proud of Monsters And Men and what we know it will accomplish. We are also honoured to work with remarkable first-time filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green on this important project that helps to continue the conversation around an important issue facing communities everywhere.”
Elizabeth Lodge Stepp (Brimstone & Glory) and Josh Penn (Beasts Of The Southern Wild) of The Department of Motion Pictures, Sight Unseen’s Eddie Vaisman (The Dinner), Julia Lebedev (Dear White People), and Luca Borghese (Gabriel) of AgX produced the film. Executive producers are Sight Unseen’s Leonid Lebedev and Oren Moverman, Chiara Bernasconi, Charles Miller and The Department of Motion Pictures’ Noah Stahl. Sight Unseen fully financed the film.
Monsters And Men will be released via Altitude in the UK and Ireland on 11 January 2019, and Neon will release the film in the U.S. this fall. HanWay Films are handling the international sales rights. Altitude has previously released Fruitvale Station, The Florida Project, I Am Not Your Negro and Moonlight in the UK and Ireland.
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