Aug. 14, 2017
Lexus International and the Weinstein Company Announce
Patty Jenkins and Antoine Fuqua to Join Taylor Sheridan as Members
of the Lexus Short Films Season 4 Selection Committee
August 14, 2017―After an exciting launch in June at Tokyo Short Shorts for Season 4 of Lexus Short Films, Lexus International and The Weinstein Company have now announced Patty Jenkins, best known for directing Warner Bros. and DC Comics Wonder Woman and her debut feature Monster, and Antoine Fuqua, best known for directing the films The Magnificent Seven, The Equalizer and Training Day, to join Taylor Sheridan for the film program's selection committee.
The selection committee will be analyzing these aspiring filmmakers' work to find the best of the best to move forward and bring their new films produced by The Weinstein Company to life. As a part of the selection committee, Patty Jenkins, Antoine Fuqua and Taylor Sheridan will be reviewing submissions and recommending the top four films collected on Withoutabox, the premier submission service for film festivals and filmmakers. The selected finalists will also get the opportunity to meet with Patty, Antoine and Taylor during the course of their short film production. Lexus International and The Weinstein Company hope to cultivate and transform the next wave of film makers by connecting them with the very best in the industry.
The film selection committee will be looking to identify which filmmakers took this year's theme of TRANSFORMATION to heart to illustrate that amazing things happen when you transform the ordinary into extraordinary. Submissions will be accepted worldwide through Withoutabox until August 31st.
To accompany Jenkins, Fuqua and Sheridan, top executives of The Weinstein Company and Lexus International will also be reviewing these filmmakers' commendable work to narrow down the four finalists. Joey Horvitz with The Weinstein Company will again be producing the films.
"We are opening doors for young talent that will help guide them in the right direction for their film careers," added The Weinstein Company COO and President David Glasser.
The Lexus Short Films program supports the new generation of emerging filmmakers. With the help of Lexus International and The Weinstein Company, the program helps these filmmakers bring their imagination to life and realize their dream.
"Our esteemed selection committee and The Weinstein Company bring an enormous amount of filmmaking expertise so we are confident that Season 4 of Lexus Short Films will be even more successful than the award-winning Season 3," said Spiros Fotinos, Global Head of Brand Management & Marketing at Lexus.
To find out more about The Weinstein Company and Lexus International's Lexus Short Films, please visit www.LexusShortFilms.com.
Patty Jenkins is a writer/director best known for directing Warner Bros. and DC Comics Wonder Woman, her debut feature Monster, based on the life of convicted serial killer Aileen Wuornos, and helming the pilot episode of AMC's hit show The Killing.
Patty began her career as a painter at The Cooper Union in New York City. Upon transitioning to filmmaking, she spent eight years as a First Assistant Camera Person/Focus Puller. After attending the AFI in Los Angeles, she wrote and directed Monster.
Roger Ebert named Monster as the Best Film of the Year and Third Best Film of the Decade. AFI named it on the Ten Best Films of the Year. Charlize Theron went on to sweep the awards circuit for her performance in the film, winning the Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG Award, and numerous critics' awards in the Best Actress category. Patty also garnered a number of awards and nominations, including winning Best First Feature at the 2004 Independent Spirit Awards.
Jenkins went on to direct many commercials and TV programs including the pilot and finale episode for AMC's The Killing for which she received and Emmy nomination, and won the DGA award for best dramatic directing. She directed several other pilots and episodes including Fox's Arrested Development and HBO's Entourage. She was nominated for another Emmy for the final segment of FIVE - a series of short films about breast cancer for Lifetime she shared with fellow directors Jennifer Aniston, Alicia Keys, Demi Moore and Penelope Spheeris.
In 2017, Jenkins broke the record for Biggest Grossing Live-Action Film Directed by a Woman, Domestic and Worldwide, with Wonder Woman. The film simultaneously smashed box office records and received critical acclaim, it has grossed a worldwide total of more than $788.6 million to date.
Antoine Fuqua is one of the most sought-after filmmakers of his generation, effortlessly blending action and character-driven storytelling.
Most recently, Fuqua helmed The Magnificent Seven, a remake of the 1960 western of the same name and an homage to Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. With The Magnificent Seven, Fuqua brought his modern and stylish vision to a classic story that starred a diverse and international cast, which included Chris Pratt, Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. Fuqua's next film, The Equalizer 2, will reunite him with Denzel Washington for the fourth time, and is set to be released by Sony on September 14, 2018.
Previously, Fuqua directed the boxing drama Southpaw with The Weinstein Company, starring Jake Gyllenhaal in a heralded performance, and the smash hit The Equalizer for Sony. Fuqua's critically acclaimed drama Training Day earned an Academy Award® for Denzel Washington for Best Actor, and a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Ethan Hawke. He has also directed the films Olympus Has Fallen starring Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman; Brooklyn's Finest with Richard Gere; international hit King Arthur starring Clive Owen; and acclaimed blues documentary, Lightning in a Bottle, executive produced by Martin Scorsese.
Through his production company, Fuqua Films, Fuqua is busy generating projects and content for both film and television. He is currently executive-producer on the new FOX medical drama The Resident and is executive-producing, with Lebron James, an untitled HBO Entertainment multi-part documentary film about the life and career of Muhammad Ali that he is also set to direct.
Fuqua is also a highly regarded commercial and music video director, having worked with such brands as Nike, Armani and Pirelli, amongst others, and earning numerous awards. He is deeply passionate about supporting underprivileged youth in the community and gives back through filmmaking. He was recently honored for his charitable work by The Opportunity Network.
In 2012, Taylor Sheridan sold his original screenplay for HELL OR HIGH WATER (fka COMANCHERIA) to Sidney Kimmel Entertainment. The film, a drama set in the struggling rural areas of West Texas, was released by CBS films in August 2016 and stars Chris Pine, Ben Foster, and Jeff Bridges. The script, which was on the Black List in 2012, has earned Taylor nominations for Best Screenplay at the 2016 Gotham Awards, 2016 Critics' Choice Awards, and 2017 Independent Spirit Awards.
His previous screenplay for SICARIO―directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt and Josh Brolin―was released in September 2015 to critical acclaim and box office success. The film was produced by Basil Iwanyk, Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill, Thad Luckinbill and Ed McDonnell and released by Lionsgate. The film was also nominated for several awards including Best Theatrical Motion Picture by the PGA, Best Original Screenplay by the WGA, and was awarded the Spotlight Award for Outstanding Collaborative Vision by the National Board of Review.
A sequel to SICARIO, called SOLDADO, is currently in production. The film will be directed by Stefano Sollima, and both Del Toro and Brolin will reprise their roles.
Sheridan is adapting DISORDER, based on the French film, for Escape Artists and Sony Pictures and previously adapted DARK INVASION, Howard Blum's non-fiction novel, for Warner Bros., with Bradley Cooper, John Lesher and Adam Kassan attached as producers on the project. Sheridan has also worked on two projects for Andrew Lauren. In television, Sheridan is in pre-production on his series "Yellowstone" for the Paramount Network alongside producers Art and Jon Linson.
In 2013, Lexus Short Films was launched with the goal of supporting and nurturing a new generation of emerging filmmakers. These aspiring directors and writers have received a unique opportunity supported by Lexus to collaborate with acclaimed film studio The Weinstein Company to produce and showcase their work on an international stage. For more information, visit www.lexusshortfilms.com and follow #LexusShortFilms
Since its U.S. market debut in 1989, Lexus has earned a worldwide reputation for high-quality products and exemplary customer service. Renowned for the superior reliability of its vehicles, Lexus is the luxury hybrid leader, offering hybrids that combine innovative technology and premier luxury. To date, Lexus has grown into 90+ markets worldwide. The evolution of Lexus is not only reflected in the progressive designs of its latest vehicles, but also in the brand's mission to captivate the next generation of luxury consumers with consciousness, products, and services that are visionary, original and exciting. http://www.lexus-int.com/
The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005. TWC also encompasses Dimension Films, the genre label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein.
Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA; THE READER; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS; SCRE4M; SPY KIDS: THE KING'S SPEECH; UNDEFEATED; THE ARTIST; THE MASTER; SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK; DJANGO UNCHAINED; SCARY MOVIE 5; LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER; PHILOMENA; THE IMITATION GAME; PADDINGTON; WOMAN IN GOLD; SOUTHPAW; CAROL; THE HATEFUL EIGHT; SING STREET, THE FOUNDER and LION. Upcoming releases include WIND RIVER, LEAP!, TULIP FEVER, MARY MAGDALENE, and THE CURRENT WAR.
TWC boasts an active television production division with critically acclaimed projects in both scripted and non-scripted series. Weinstein Television produces the reality powerhouse Project Runway, with its spin-off series Project Runway All Stars, hosted by Alyssa Milano, as well as the critically acclaimed docu-series TIME: The Kalief Browder Story which premiered on Spike in March 2017. Scripted series include the critically acclaimed miniseries War & Peace, which debuted on Lifetime, A&E and HISTORY in 2016, Scream with MTV, which premiered its second season in May 2016, Peaky Blinders on Netflix, Julian Fellowes' Doctor Thorne with Amazon, Stephen King's The Mist for Spike TV and the military drama Six for HISTORY. Upcoming series include for Waco for Paramount TV, starring Michael Shannon and Taylor Kitsch, a new series from David O. Russell, starring Robert DeNiro and Julianne Moore for Amazon, Matthew Weiner's The Romanoffs for Amazon, and an epic reimagining of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables with the BBC. TWC will also launch several new projects in 2017 across several networks, including MTV, Lifetime, and AMC. For more information on The Weinstein Company, please visit:
Withoutabox (https://www.withoutabox.com) is the premier submission service for film festivals and filmmakers. Since 2001, Withoutabox has enabled nearly 3 million festival submissions to the leading film festivals in the world, and more than 150 of these titles went on to receive an Academy Award® nomination with dozens eventually winning an Oscar®. To learn more about Withoutabox or to sign up, visit https://www.withoutabox.com. Withoutabox is owned and operated by IMDb, the #1 movie website in the world.
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