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Leonid Rozhetskin; Hamlet 2 made it to Europe!

leonidrozhetskin — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:05:49 +0000

Filmdaten
Deutscher Titel:	Hamlet 2
Originaltitel:	Hamlet 2
Produktionsland:	USA
Erscheinungsjahr:	2008
Länge (PAL-DVD):	ca. 92 Minuten
Originalsprache:	Englisch
Stab
Regie:	Andrew Fleming
Drehbuch:	Pam Brady, Andrew Fleming
Produktion:	Eric Eisner, Leonid Rozhetskin, Aaron Ryder
Musik:	Ralph Sall
Kamera:	Alexander Gruszynski
Schnitt:	Jeff Freeman
Besetzung
Steve Coogan: Dana Marschz Catherine Keener: Brie Marschz Melonie Diaz: Ivonne Elisabeth Shue: Sie selbst David Arquette: Gary Marshall Bell: Schuldirektor Rocker

Check out the new Wikipedia entry

Hamlet 2 in German

Hamlet 2 ist eine US-amerikanische Filmkomödie aus dem Jahr 2008. Regie führte Andrew Fleming, der gemeinsam mit Pam Brady auch das Drehbuch schrieb.

Handlung [Bearbeiten]

Der in Tucson tätige High-School-Lehrer Dana Marschz unterrichtet Dramaturgie. Er bezeichnet sein eigenes Leben als eine Parodie einer Tragödie. Marschz erfährt, dass sein Unterricht abgeschafft werden soll. Er schreibt eine Fortsetzung des Theaterstücks Hamlet, die an der Schule aufgeführt werden soll.

Kritiken [Bearbeiten]

Duane Byrge schrieb am 23. Januar 2008 für die Zeitschrift The Hollywood Reporter, der Film sei ein Patchwork der Elemente aus mehr inspirierten Komödien wie Ace Ventura – Ein tierischer Detektiv und Borat. Sein rowdyhafter und unorthodoxer Humor könne für „fürstliche“ Einnahmen an den Kinokassen sorgen.^[1]

Hintergründe [Bearbeiten]

Der Film wurde in Albuquerque (New Mexico) gedreht.^[2] Seine Weltpremiere fand am 21. Januar 2008 auf dem Sundance Film Festival statt.^[3] Kurz nach der Festivalvorführung kaufte das Unternehmen Focus Features das Verleihrecht für fast 10 Millionen US-Dollar.^[4]

Weblinks [Bearbeiten]

Hamlet 2 in der Internet Movie Database (englisch)
Kritiken zu Hamlet 2 auf Rotten Tomatoes (englisch)

Einzelnachweise [Bearbeiten]

↑ Zitat auf uk.reuters.com, abgerufen am 25. Januar 2008
↑ Drehorte für Hamlet 2, abgerufen am 25. Januar 2008
↑ Premierendaten für Hamlet 2, abgerufen am 25. Januar 2008
↑ Finally Gets Sales Going at Sundance im Wall Street Journal vom 23. Januar 2008, abgerufen am 25. Januar 2008

Leonid Rozhetskin is back in good old Europe

leonidrozhetskin — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:44:59 +0000

Read his entry in the German Wikipedia

Leonid Borissowitsch Roschezkin (auch: Rozhetskin; russisch Леонид Борисович Рожецкин; * 4. August 1966 in Leningrad, Sowjetunion) ist ein russischer Unternehmer, Jurist und Finanzier. Er betreibt die Produktionsfirma L+E Productions in Los Angeles, USA.

Biographie [Bearbeiten]

Rozhetskins Familie emmigrierte 1980 in die USA nach New York, wo er auch zur High School ging. 1987 beendete Leonid Rozhetskin sein Studium an der Universität von Columbia mit einem Bachelor in angewanter Mathematik. 1990 schloss er sein Jura-Studium an der Harvard Law School mit einem suma com laude ab.

1990 bis 1991 arbeitete Leonid Rozhetskin als juristischer Angestellter für den Bundesrichter Sephen S. Wilson in Los Angeles, Californien, USA. 1992 bis 1994 war er bei den Kanzleien Sullivan & Cromwell und White & Case angestellt. 1992 ging Leonid Rozhetskin zurück nach Russland, um seine eigene Kanzlei zu eröffnen. Er vertrat Kunden wie Credit Suisse, Morgan Grenfell, die Moscow Times oder die International Finance Corporation (eine Abteilung der Weltbank).

1995 wechselte Leonid Rozhetskin in die Investment-Branche und gründete die Investmentbank Renaissance Capital.

1998 verließ er Renaissance Capital und wurde Mitbegründer der Risiko-Kapital Bank LV Finance. Zu seinen Kunden gehörten unter anderem der Financier George Soros und der Gründer von CNN Ted Turner. Das Unternehmern investierte in mehrere erfolgreiche StartUp Unternehmen, von denen das bekannteste die MegaFon-Gruppe ist, der drittgrößte Mobilfunk Anbieter Russlands. Seine Anteile an LV Finance hat Leonid Rozhetskin inzwischen verkauft.

Von 2001 bis 2005 war Leonid Rozhetskin Vize-Vorstandschef von Norilsk Nickel, Russlands größter Minengesellschaft. Seine Aufgabenbereiche waren Transparenz, externe Investitionen und Corporate Governance. Unter anderem investierte er in die Stillwater Mining Company (USA) und Gold Fields (Südafrika). Heute arbeitet er im Aufsichtsrat weiter.

Nebenbei ist Leonid Rozhetskin noch Anteilseigner der gratis Tageszeitung City A.M. in London. Die Zeitung behandelt hauptsächlich lokale und globale Business-Nachrichten und hat ca. 100.000 Leser in ganz London.

2007 gründete Rozhetskin zusammen mit Eric Eisner die Film Produktionsfirma -L+E Productions. Der erste Film Hamlet 2 erschien 2008 und wurde vom Sundace Film Festival in Utha, USA ausgezeichnet. Die Weiterverwertungsrechte wurden inzwischen für 10 Mio. Dollar an den Verlag Focus Features abgetreten. Die Filme „Three Woloves“ und „Electric Slide” sollen bald erscheinen.

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Leonid Rozhetskin

leonidrozhetskin — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:18:15 +0000

Leonid Rozhetskin was born August 4, 1966, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Leonid Rozhetskin is an international financier and lawyer credited with bringing significant financial and legal advances to modern Russia. Leonid Rozhetskin currently co-owns L+E Productions, a movie production company in Los Angeles, California.

Leonid Rozhetskin was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1966, but the Leonid Rozhetskin family immigrated to the United States in 1980. Leonid Rozhetskin attended high school in New York City.

In 1987, Leonid Rozhetskin received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics from Columbia University with distinction. In 1990, Leonid Rozhetskin graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School.

From 1990 to 1991, Leonid Rozhetskin was a law clerk for Judge Stephen V. Wilson, a federal judge in Los Angeles, California. From 1992 to 1994, Leonid Rozhetskin worked as an attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell and White & Case, both U.S. law firms. In 1992, Leonid Rozhetskin returned to Russia to open his own law firm, representing clients such as the International Finance Corporation (a division of the World Bank), Credit Suisse, Morgan Grenfell and The Moscow Times.

In 1995, Leonid Rozhetskin’s focus shifted from the law to financial ventures. Leonid Rozhetskin was part of a group that founded Renaissance Capital, Russia’s largest and most successful domestic investment bank. While with Renaissance Capital, Leonid Rozhetskin led the firm’s participation in listing the first Russian company on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1998, Leonid Rozhetskin left Renaissance Capital to co-found the independent venture capital firm LV Finance. The advisory clients of LV Finance included international financier George Soros and founder of CNN Ted Turner. The company invested in a number of highly successful start-up ventures in the media and telecommunications industry, most notably MegaFon, the third-largest mobile phone operator in Russia. In 2003, Leonid Rozhetskin sold his interest in LV Finance.

From October 2001 until January 2005, Leonid Rozhetskin served as Executive Vice Chairman of Norilsk Nickel, Russia’s largest mining company and the world’s largest miner of nickel and palladium metals. Leonid Rozhetskin led the company’s efforts on transparency, corporate governance and external investment, including the acquisition of a controlling interest in Stillwater Mining Company, a U.S. miner of platinum and palladium metals. Leonid Rozhetskin also pioneered an investment of $1.2 billion to acquire a 20 percent interest in Gold Fields of South Africa. Leonid Rozhetskin currently serves on the Board of Directors of Norilsk Nickel.

This Russian-American financier, Leonid Rozhetskin is also a board member and founding shareholder of City A.M., London’s first free daily business newspaper which covers news on the markets, global and local business as well as contemporary lifestyle features. City A.M. is read by over 100,000 professionals throughout London.

In 2007, Leonid Rozhetskin co-founded movie production company L+E Productions with Eric Eisner to produce feature-length films. Eisner is the son of Michael Eisner, the former Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company.

L+E Production’s upcoming film, Hamlet 2, was selected to screen at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah in January 2008. The film premiered at the festival on January 21, 2008. After the screening, an all-night bidding war took place for rights to distribution, which Focus Features won for a near-record $10 million, acquiring worldwide rights to the film. Hamlet 2 is the first Leonid Rozhetskin and Eric Eisner film to be featured at Sundance.

Leonid Rozhetskin will be producing the movie Three Wolves, a film about the Russian mafia.

Leonid Rozhetskin has one son and divides his time between London and Los Angeles.

Leonid Rozhetskin was awarded for the 1989-90 academic year, a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching from Harvard University for his special contribution to teaching the undergraduates of Harvard University and Radcliffe Colleges.

Leonid Rozhetskin

leonidrozhetskin — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:02:25 +0000

Quint dances along with Steve Coogan’s Sexy Jesus in HAMLET 2 at Sundance!

March 5th, 2008

From Ain’t it Cool News

Ahoy, squirts! Quint here finally catching up on my Sundance coverage. In the last month I’ve seen somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-60 films theatrically and another half dozen screeners to add onto that pile.

Of all those movies only about a fifth were damn good and of those only a handful that are what I’d call fuckin’ good or better.

HAMLET 2 made the cut.

Steve Coogan. If that name puts a smile on your face, then get in line now. This is Coogan at his finest. If his name got a “Huh?” response, then that’s okay, too. You’ll be a new fan of his once Hamlet 2 hits and then, I’m sure, you’ll dive into the hilarious world of Alan Partridge.

While Ricky Gervais, Martin Freeman, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost broke over here Mr. Coogan was biding his time.

In HAMLET 2, Coogan plays an Arizona drama teacher. In his mind he’s a great actor and in the opening moments of the movie we’re treated to his highlight reel, which consists of bit parts on infomercials and speaking roles in STD treatment commercials.

He gets paid next to nothing, his wife (played by Catherine Keener) is always bitchy to him (she married him and waited for his bit acting career that never came), he’s got a live-in hanger-on (played almost silently by David Arquette) and he’s struggling in a school system that doesn’t value the arts. His classroom has been moved into the cafeteria where his lectures have to compete with the lunch ladies noisily cooking.

In short, his life’s a mess, but he still has a hopeful smile on his face, an almost childlike optimism.

In his new year of teaching he is given a class of delinquents. The irony is not lost on him or the movie as he studies films like DANGEROUS MINDS in order to learn how to make the transition from his pure white-bread theater snob class to a multi-cultural class just trying to get an easy A.

This same year, he finds out that the school has finally cancelled theater and that situation brings the class together to achieve Coogan’s game plan: He’s going to put on a play that is so popular, so good, that the school board will be forced to reinstate the class.

In the past, Coogan’s plays all consisted of stage remakes of popular movies. We’re treated to a glimpse at one of his previous works, a stage version of ERIN BROKOVICH. He has a heated conversation with his biggest critic, the high school newspaper’s entertainment reviewer (a child no older than 12). He asks this kid why he always gets a negative review. The kid simply states that his shows suck. Of course, Coogan breaks down and the kid has to console him and gives him a piece of advice. Do your own thing, don’t just copy everybody else.

With that in mind, Coogan is inspired to create his masterpiece… HAMLET 2. But… everybody dies at the end of Hamlet, right? Aha! Well, that’s where the time machine comes in.

Seriously, the final version that ends up onstage is something they should tour with. You have time travel, historical figures coming in to change the events of the first HAMLET and a dance number involving Christ called SEXY JESUS.

And yes, his main inspiration to sequelize HAMLET is that he thought Shakespeare’s original was too much of a bummer and he wanted a chance to make it happier. He takes the tragedy out of HAMLET, essentially.

I can’t write this up without mentioning a particular actress. One of the secondary stories is the difficulty Keener and Coogan are having conceiving a child. So they go to a sperm bank and while they’re waiting, Coogan bumps into a cute nurse, played by Elisabeth Shue. His mouth hangs open and he says, “Excuse… but you look exactly like my favorite actress Elisabeth Shue.” She smiles and says, “I am Elisabeth Shue.”

And so it goes. She quit acting and became a sperm bank nurse in Arizona… and she’s not a throwaway joke. She is a real character in the movie, playing herself, and boy does she still have it. I’ve had a crush on her since my childhood viewings of ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING and KARATE KID. She’s looking great and is as charming as she’s ever been.

The script was whip-smart, as should be expected from Pam Brady. She works with Trey Parker and Matt Stone a lot on South Park, the South Park movie as well as TEAM AMERICA. She doesn’t disappoint here.

The flick just finished filming in November, so the cut we saw in January I’m sure is still rough. There was a little drag in the middle, but I’m sure they’ll tighten the film a bit before release. Even if they don’t, it’s already hilarious.

It was the biggest pick-up at Sundance, with Focus Features dishing a reported $10 million for it, so you know you’ll see a big release. This’ll be one Sundance movie I”m sure will be at a theater near you no matter where near you is.

Anyway, that’s it for HAMLET 2. Still more Sundance/Santa Barbara flicks to go through before I’m done. Keep an eye peeled, squirts!

-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com

Sundance: The Scoop on ‘’Ballast,’’ ‘’Hamlet 2′’

January 28th, 2008

From EW.com

By Owen Gleiberman

Read the whole article.

Sundance Q&A: The Cast of ‘’Hamlet 2′’

January 28th, 2008

From EW.com

By Missy Schwartz

Read the whole article.

Sundance Q&A: The Cast of ‘’Hamlet 2′’

January 28th, 2008

From EW.com

By Missy Schwartz

Read the whole article.

Sundance Q&A: The Cast of ‘’Hamlet 2′’

January 28th, 2008

From EW.com

By Missy Schwartz

Read the whole article.

Sundance BuzzCheck™: The festival’s top seller, ‘Hamlet 2′

January 24th, 2008

From EW.com

Popwatch Blog

The raucous comedy had been the subject of tremendous buzz coming into Sundance…before it was even completed, and without a mere mention in the event’s catalogue. Indeed, the unfinished film was such a late entry into the festival that Park City’s primary premiere location, the Eccles Center, was fully booked. But that didn’t stop Hamlet 2 from knocking Sundance out of its mid-festival doldrums with a rowdy debut screening Monday night at the Library Center theater. The room erupted in hysterics about two minutes into the show, and things stayed that way for nearly two hours.

Read the whole post.

Sundance, Day 7: Why Hamlet 2 Is Hot, Hot, Hot

January 24th, 2008

From E! Online, Reel Girl Blog

Read the whole post.

‘Hamlet 2′ is big buy at Sundance Fest

January 24th, 2008

From The Miami Herald

By Ryan Pearson

Read the whole story.

Studios cautiously open their wallets for Sundance films

January 24th, 2008

From USA Today

By Anthony Breznican

Read the whole story.

Trio of deals wakes up Sundance

January 24th, 2008

‘Hamlet 2,’ ‘Henry Poole’ and ‘Choke’ reap big sales

From The Hollywood Reporter

By Steven Zeitchik and Gregg Goldstein

Read the whole story.

PRINCELY SUM NETS ‘HAMLET’

January 24th, 2008

From The New York Post

By Lou Lumenick

A late entry to the Sundance program, “Hamlet 2″ was described by several distributors as the first indie this year to have commercial crossover possibilities like “Little Miss Sunshine.”

Read the whole story.

What a piece of work

January 22nd, 2008

From The Hollywood Reporter, Risky Biz Blog

By Gregg Goldstein and Steven Zeitchik

January 22, 2008

Throughout Sundance, distributors have been asking “Indie hit, wherefore art thou?”

The answer may have come Monday evening with “Hamlet 2,” Andrew Fleming’s frequently hilarious story of an overly dramatic high school drama teacher (played by Steve Coogan) who attempts to salvage his department by putting on a controversial musical sequel to Shakespeare’s play.

The late addition to the fest had intermitent lulls, but it also had every top film exec unreservedly gushing outside the Library screening room. The Weinstein Co., Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Focus, ThinkFilm, Paramount Vantage and other execs all openly agreeing about how funny it was.

“I heard before I came that it needed a lot of work, but it doesn’t need that much work,” said one buyer. Others said some judicious cutting could bring it big success. At a “Hamlet” dinner afterwards, veteran studio director Fleming (”Threesome,” “Nancy Drew”) said he’d be open to working with a distributor on a refined edit, despite saying he avoided the development process initially. “It”s nothing I haven’t been through before,” he deadpanned.

The film’s satirical take on theater types, modern musicals, high school and high school movies like “Dangerous Minds” resonated with the audience, as did top notch performances by Coogan and Catherine Keener (pictured above), Amy Poehler and the amazing newcomer Skyler Astin, who plays a budding drama student many will recognize.

(Full disclosure: after seeking out Astin to speak with him at the dinner, I realized he currently stars in the Tony-winning best musical “Spring Awakening,” co-produced by an old friend, Amanda Dubois. — Gregg Goldstein)

“Hamlet 2″ came together thanks to producers Eric Eisner as well as “Little Miss Sunshine” producers Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger.” Editors were still cutting the movie as late as December with the possibility that it wouldn”t have made into the festival.

But the filmmakers finished it and got it into the festival just under the wire, not unlike the way the fall’s big indie hit, “Juno,” snuck into Telluride at the last minute.

CAA is selling the title, and top distributors began gathering at their Park City house immediately after the film.

‘Hamlet 2′ Sells After All-Night Bidding War

January 22nd, 2008

From The Wall Street Journal

By Lauren Schuker, January 22, 2008

This just in: After receiving an uproarious reaction from crowds last night, “Hamlet 2” provoked the first major bidding war of the festival. After an all-night battle, the film sold early this morning, according to producer Eric Eisner who only arrived home at 7:30 a.m.

The comedy, which stars Steve Coogan as a failed actor turned high school drama teacher, tells the unpredictable, charmingly offensive tale of a high school drama class that stages a sequel to Hamlet. The film is complete with time machines and a modern-day version of Jesus Christ — with sex appeal and a cell phone.

Equal Opportunity Insults, In Five Acts

January 22nd, 2008

From The New York Times, The Carpetbagger

By David M. Halbfinger

January 22, 2008

Sundance looks to have its first unqualified hit, and a Cinderella story at that, in “Hamlet 2.” A late addition to the film festival, this bawdy romp, starring Steve Coogan as a failed actor-turned-pathetic high-school drama teacher — who stages a musical sequel to “Hamlet,” with a “sexy Jesus” Christ in a starring role — enjoyed a riotous reaction at its premiere in Park City’s library Monday night.

One of the festival’s running themes has been hope and optimism, as most evident in films about people facing down death, among them Amy Redford’s drama “The Guitar” (which didn’t wow audiences on Friday) and Mark Pellington’s lighter-hearted “Henry Poole Is Here” (which played quite well Monday afternoon and immediately drew interest from several buyers).

But “Hamlet 2,” even as it made sure to insult Christians, gays, Latinos, Jews, the A.C.L.U., Hollywood movies about inspiring teachers and one of its lead actresses (Elisabeth Shue), also managed to puncture the death-defying optimism that has hovered over Park City.

As the acquisition teams from Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Miramax and the Weinstein Company, among others, filed out into the night – some of them, presumably, to huddle and come up with offers – the non-buying audience hung around for a quick Q-&-A with Andrew Fleming, the director of “Hamlet 2,” and several members of his cast.

Mr. Fleming said he and his writing partner, Pam Brady, had been working on the script for five years, but the idea of a “Hamlet” sequel was much more recent, and the actual play-within-the-movie was written on deadline. “It was this kind of panicked, last-minute thing – ‘let’s write some songs and put on a show,’” Mr. Fleming said.

In the movie Ms. Shue plays herself, oddly enough – or a version of herself that could be so smitten by Mr. Coogan that she’d lick his face (as she did again onstage, for good measure). Why’d she take the role? “I just got the script and it said ‘a famous actress who’s a has-been, lives in Tucson and is a nurse,’” she said. “It was hilarious and I had to do it.”

Industry watching for strike-inspired bidding wars, hot films at Sundance

January 21st, 2008

From CBC News

January 18th

Hamlet 2 is cited as a movie title “that could sneak up under the radar.”

Read the whole article.

Filmmakers Look to Sundance Buying Spree

January 18th, 2008

From The Huffington Post

By Ryan Pearson, January 18, 2008

Read the whole post.

25 films creating buzz among buyers

January 17th, 2008

From Variety

By Sharon Swart

January 16, 2008

Hamlet 2
Steve Coogan toplines as a high school drama teacher who decides to stage a musical sequel to “Hamlet.” Cast includes Catherine Keener and David Arquette. (CAA)

Read the whole article.

2008 Sundance film festival

January 17th, 2008

From The Toronto Sun

By Kevin Williamson, January 17, 2008

THE BUZZ: Movies pegged as potential box-office hits include Sunshine Cleaning (Amy Adams); What Just Happened? (Robert De Niro); The Wackness (Sir Ben Kingsley and Mary-Kate Olsen); Hamlet 2 (Steve Coogan); and Assassination of a High School President (Mischa Barton).

Read the whole article.

Sundance Could Be a Sellers’ Bonanza

January 17th, 2008

From The New York Times

By David Carr, January 17, 2008

Read the whole article.

Quint and Rav preview the 2008 Sundance Film Festival!

January 17th, 2008

From Ain’t It Cool News at aintitcool.com

Read the posting.

“A Raisin in the Sun,” “Hamlet 2″ and More Play Sundance Film Fest Beginning Jan. 17

January 17th, 2008

From Playbill

By Ernio Hernandez, January 17, 2008

Also featured at the festival will be “Hamlet 2.” Andrew Fleming directs his and Pam Brady’s script for the film, which stars Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Elizabeth Shue, Amy Poehler, David Arquette and Melonie Diaz. The comedy finds “a high school drama teacher [who] injects love and passion for theatre into his students by creating a musical sequel to Shakespeare’s Hamlet.”

Read the whole article.

Sundance 2008: Let There Be Light!

January 17th, 2008

From Variety

By Sharon Swart, January 16,2008

Three films seem to be high on buyers’ radars: Premiere comedies “What Just Happened?” and “Hamlet 2,” as well as Dramatic Competition entry “Sunshine Cleaning,” starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt.

Read the whole article.

Boom looms in Sundance

January 17th, 2008

From the Hollywood Reporter

By Steven Zeitchik and Gregg Goldstein, January 16, 2008

Next week feels far away to many buyers, but distributors already are beginning to eye Plum Pictures’ intergenerational dramedy “Diminished Capacity” and “Hamlet 2,” the comedy-musical starring Steve Coogan that is a late addition to the festival.

Read the whole article.

Strike Makes Fight For Fest Films

January 17th, 2008

From The New York Post

January 16, 2008

Read the whole article.

Play It Again, Sundance

January 17th, 2008

From The Wall Street Journal

By Lauren Schuker, January 12, 2008

“Buyers say they are looking carefully at three star-packed films aimed at young audiences: “Hamlet 2″ (with Elisabeth Shue), about a high-school drama course that puts on a musical sequel to Shakespeare’s play…”

Read the whole article.

Eclectic mix practices Sundance steps

January 15th, 2008

From The Hollywood Reporter

By Steven Zeitchik and Gregg Goldstein
Jan 15, 2008

The prototypical indie producer has evolved too. One of the most buzzed-about titles this year is the last-minute addition “Hamlet 2,” an irreverent comedy musical starring Steve Coogan. It comes from new film producer Eric Eisner — yes, he’s the son of that Eisner, former Disney CEO Michael.

In another era, Eisner the younger might have gone to work as a conglomerate executive like the Murdoch sons, but he decided to branch out. “I’ve always been a little more entrepreneurial,” he said. “There’s a thrill in building a company and starting from scratch.”

Read the whole article.

Latest News

January 10th, 2008

Fleming’s ‘Hamlet 2′ added to Sundance
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Sundance adds Coogan comedy Hamlet 2 to premieres
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Labels: Leonid Rozhetskin

Leonid Rozhetskin: delayed news from Sundance!

leonidrozhetskin — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:30:15 +0000

Quint dances along with Steve Coogan’s Sexy Jesus in HAMLET 2 at Sundance!

March 5th, 2008 From Ain’t it Cool News

Of all those movies only about a fifth were damn good and of those only a handful that are what I’d call fuckin’ good or better.

HAMLET 2 made the cut.

While Ricky Gervais, Martin Freeman, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost broke over here Mr. Coogan was biding his time.

In short, his life’s a mess, but he still has a hopeful smile on his face, an almost childlike optimism.

With that in mind, Coogan is inspired to create his masterpiece… HAMLET 2. But… everybody dies at the end of Hamlet, right? Aha! Well, that’s where the time machine comes in.

Anyway, that’s it for HAMLET 2. Still more Sundance/Santa Barbara flicks to go through before I’m done. Keep an eye peeled, squirts!

Leonid Rozhetskin via Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Rozhetskin

Leonid Rozhetskin`s Homepage

http://leonidrozhetskin.net/

Add Leonid Rozhetskin as your Friend on Myspace

leonidrozhetskin — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 18:36:06 +0000

Join Leonid Rozhetskin on his various online Communities

today: -Myspace!

…more SNS Profiles:

Leonid Rozhetskins Trivia on IMdB.com

leonidrozhetskin — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 18:19:21 +0000

Date of Birth

4 August 1966, St. Petersburg, USSR

Birth Name

Leonid B. Rozhetskin

Trivia

In 2007, he co-founded a movie production company, L+E Productions, with Eric Eisner. Eisner is the son of Michael Eisner, the former Chief Executive Office of The Walt Disney Company. L+E Production’s mission is to finance and develop feature-length films.

He is also a board member and founding shareholder of City A.M., London’s first free daily business newspaper which covers news on the markets, global and local business as well as contemporary lifestyle features. City A.M. is read by over 100,000 professionals throughout London.

From October 2001 until January 2005, served as Executive Vice Chairman of Norilsk Nickel, Russia’s largest mining company and the world’s largest miner of nickel and palladium metals. He led the company’s efforts on transparency, corporate governance and external investment, including the acquisition of a controlling interest in Stillwater Mining Company, a U.S. miner of platinum and palladium metals. He also pioneered an investment of $1.2 billion to acquire a 20 percent interest in Gold Fields of South Africa. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Norilsk Nickel.

In 1998, he left Renaissance Capital to co-found the independent venture capital firm, LV Finance. The advisory clients of LV Finance included international financier George Soros and founder of CNN Ted Turner. The company invested in a number of highly successful start-up ventures in the media and telecommunications industry, most notably, MegaFon, the third largest mobile phone operator in Russia. He sold his interest in LV Finance in 2003.

In 1995, his focus shifted from the law to financial ventures. He was part of a group that founded Renaissance Capital, Russia’s largest and most successful domestic investment bank. While with Renaissance Capital, he led the firm’s participation in listing the first Russian company on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1992, Leonid Rozhetskin returned to Russia to open his own law firm, representing clients such as the International Finance Corporation (a division of the World Bank), Credit Suisse, Morgan Grenfell, and The Moscow Times.

From 1992 to 1994, Leonid Rozhetskin worked as an attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell and White & Case, both U.S. law firms.

From 1990 to 1991, Leonid Rozhetskin was a law clerk for Judge Stephen V. Wilson, a federal judge in Los Angeles, California.

In 1990, he graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School.

Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics from Columbia University with distinction in 1987.

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Chek out Leonid Rozhetskins Cast Members on "Boogie Woogie" and get as excited as I am

leonidrozhetskin — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:15:42 +0000

“Boogie Woogie”, co-produced by Leonid Rozhetskin, is supposed to be relaesed this Year. Currently the movies status is in “post production” and there arent a lot of details yet. But just have a look at the casting and find all these famous names such as Christipher Lee or Heather Graham and I think you will waite as desperate as me for the final release.

Directed by
Duncan Ward

Writing credits

(in alphabetical order)

Danny Moynihan

novel

Danny Moynihan

screenplay

Cast (in alphabetical order)

Heather Graham	…	Beth Freemantle
Amanda Seyfried	…	Paige Prideaux
Gillian Anderson	…	Jean Maclestone
Christopher Lee	…	Alfred Rhinegold
Stellan Skarsgård	…	Bob Maccelstone
Alan Cumming	…	Dewey
Charlotte Rampling	…	Emille
Danny Huston	…	Art Spindle
Jaime Winstone	…	Elaine
Joanna Lumley	…	Alfreda Rhinegold
Alfie Allen	…	Photographer
Gemma Atkinson	…	Charlotte Bailey
Simon McBurney	…	Robert Freign
Jack Huston	…	Joe
Meredith Ostrom	…	Joany
Stephen Greif	…	Bobs Lawyer
Rosie Fellner	…	Rachel Leighton
Michael Culkin	…	Beth’s Father
Jenny Runacre	…	Mrs. Havermeyer
Sidney Cole	…	Cabbie
Jan Uddin	…	Art’s Partner
Gaetano Jouen	…	Himself

Produced by
Katrine Boorman	….	executive producer
Steve Daly	….	associate producer
Matthew Hobbs	….	executive producer
Danny Moynihan	….	producer
Kami Naghdi	….	producer
Leonid Rozhetskin	….	executive producer
Christopher Simon	….	producer
Julia Stannard	….	co-producer
Valentine Stockdale	….	executive producer
Cat Villiers	….	producer

Cinematography by
John Mathieson

Film Editing by
Kant Pan

Casting by
Gary Davy

Production Design by
Caroline Greville-Morris

Art Direction by
Nick Dent

Production Management
Emma Pike	….	production manager
Alex Sutherland	….	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alexander Fielding	….	floor assistant director
Caroline Hatchman	….	floor assistant director
Mark Hopkins	….	second assistant director
Alex Oakley	….	first assistant director
Emily Perowne	….	third assistant director

Art Department
Joe Borowski	….	stand-by props

Sound Department
Ken Lee	….	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Sam Garwood	….	camera operator
Paul Hatchman	….	key grip
Mark Tillie	….	still photographer

Other crew
Lorraine Edwards	….	production secretary
Daniel Fellows	….	location manager
Lewis Partovi	….	production coordinator
Alex Sutherland	….	production supervisor
Brigitte Ward-Holmes	….	assistant accountant

Related;

Leonid Rozhetskin Co-Founder of the L+E Productions Production Company

Leonid Rozhetskin | L+E Productions Film Production

Category:Film producers – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

L+E Productions : Leonid Rozhetskin

Leonid Rozhetskin – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leonid Rozhetskin is doing the "Electris Slide" via NY Times

leonidrozhetskin — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 10:43:01 +0000

Leonid Rozhetskin is doing the Electric Slide

and I am not talking about the dance, but the freshly announced Movie.

Check it out

on New York Times

on IMdB

Director: Tristan Patterson
Cast: Romain Duris
Rating: NR

Review Summary

Biopic on charmer, Eddie Dodson, who ran a Melrose art deco store owner as a cover for his exploits as a bankrobber. In 1984, Dodson robbed 64 banks in less than a year. Arrested, Dodson served a 12-year sentence and once released, went on to work as caretaker for Jack Nicholson’s Malibu home. Eventually, though, Dodson was again arrested in 1999 for bank robbery and died at the age of 54 due to a failed liver. ~ Baseline StudioSystems

Movie Details

Title: The Electric Slide
Status: Announced
Country: United States
Genre: Drama, Crime, Biopic

Acting Credits & Production Credits

Director – Tristan Patterson
Source Material – Timothy Ford
Screenplay – Tristan Patterson
Executive Producer – John Wells

Executive Producer – Timothy Ford
Production Executive – Christine Vachon
Producer – Eric D. Eisner
Producer – Leonid Rozhetskin

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Leonid Rozhetskin Co-Founder of the L+E Productions Production Company

Leonid Rozhetskin | L+E Productions Film Production

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Leonid Rozhetskin; Hamlet2 via Reuters

leonidrozhetskin — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:44:29 +0000

“Hamlet 2″ sends up suburbia in rowdy fashion

Hamlet 2

By Duane Byrge

PARK CITY, Utah (Hollywood Reporter) – If art-house theatres still do weekend midnight showings where everyone dresses up as characters from the film, “Hamlet 2″ would be a fitting selection. An erratic, freewheeling satire of Middle American mores, it should thrive as a festival curio, appealing to anti-establishment sensibilities.

The film’s marketers will face a challenge inducing the word-snobs of the smart set to slum with slapstick entertainment. Still, there’s enough rowdy and off-the-wall humour in “Hamlet 2″ to perform princely at the box-office, particularly in college-city venues.

A slam-bang patchwork of more inspired comedies, such as “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” and “Borat,” “Hamlet 2″ centres on Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan), who attempts to teach drama in a Tucson, Arizona, high school. With delusions that he is soaring to great heights like Icarus, this doofus presents high school plays based on his favourite movies, including “Dead Poets Society” and “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” which appeal to his inflated ego but leave his charges flat. His productions are major fiascos, rightfully skewered by a ninth-grade drama critic.

In one of the movie’s many funny lines, Marschz admits that his life is like a parody of tragedy: He’s infertile, his wife is having an affair with their roommate, he has father issues, and he’s a recovering alcoholic. Not to mention, he’s talent-less.

Dramatically, “Hamlet 2″ is a twist on the formula of let’s-put-on-a-show, with the twist being that no one wants the show, least of all the administration, which has chopped the school’s art funds. Even arts-funding advocates would notice that Marschz’s grandiose piffles are a major waste. As such, the film unwittingly makes a case for slashing funds for the arts. Lo, and unfortunately we behold, Marschz does smite the school board Philistines (not exactly a difficult target) with a last-ditch rally and a from-the-rafters opus.

Unlike Ace Ventura, Inspector Clouseau or other lovable loonies, Marschz is merely a knucklehead errant. He’s a creep, but he’s nicely endeared to us by Coogan’s funny, fey performance. Among the players, Elisabeth Shue delivers a winning rendition of herself; her appearance as a Tucson nurse who has rejected her show business career is one of the film’s best absurdities. Similarly, Amy Poehler is hilarious as a WASP-y, anti-Semitic ACLU lawyer.

Screenwriters Andrew Fleming and Pam Brady have slapped together a string of gags in a hit-and-miss dither. Some of it is quite brainy. There’s an appealing anarchic tone and anti-authority bent as well. There also are zany surrealistic moments and a devilish eye for incongruity, especially a rousing rendition of Elton John’s “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” as belted out by the Tucson Gay Chorus for the boondocks high school audience.

Director Fleming blasts the production along with keen comic pacing, which performs double duty in masking some of the more dim-witted moments.

Technically, “Hamlet 2″ is distinguished by production designer Tony Fanning’s sendup of Southwestern suburbia.

Cast:

Dana Marschz: Steve Coogan

Brie Marschz: Catherine Keener

Herself: Elisabeth Shue

Cricket Feldstein: Amy Poehler

Gary: David Arquette

Principal Rocker: Marshall Bell

Octavio: Joseph Julian Soria

Rand Posin: Skylar Astin

Director: Andrew Fleming; Screenwriters: Andrew Fleming, Pam Brady; Producers: Eric Eisner, Leonid Rozhetskin, Aaron Ryder; Executive producers: Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, Michael Flynn; Director of photography: Alexander Gruszynski; Editor: Jeff Freeman; Production designer: Tony Fanning; Music: Ralph Sall.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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Join Leonid Rozhetskin on Xing.com

leonidrozhetskin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:30:55 +0000

Discover the Benefits of Xing.com and join Leonid Rozhetskins Network

More Leonid Rozhetskin online on;

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Leonid Rozhetskin; Sundance: The Scoop on ''Hamlet 2''

leonidrozhetskin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:00:49 +0000

Via Entertaiment Weekly

If you’re a fan of Steve Coogan, that King Leer of a motormouth British comedian who starred in 24 Hour Party People, came to Hollywood (remember his glorious performance as his own trumped-up self in Jim Jarmusch‘s Coffee and Cigarettes?), and saw his crossover American career do a nosedive before it had even gotten off the ground, then you won’t want to miss Hamlet 2, in which he’s like the son of Peter Sellers crossed with a more handsome version of Tiny Tim. This is the movie that Coogan cultists have been waiting for — the one that finally lets him cut his inner wildman loose, only within a structure that lends method to his madness.

He plays a godawful failed actor, despised by his wife (a scalding Catherine Keener), who has become a self-loathing high-school drama teacher, and Coogan turns this pathetic yet insistently egomaniacal creature into a loser-nerd of genius. He mugs, he glowers, he hams up his telling of jokes too corny-horrible to print, and — most mesmerizingly — he comes on like a sarcastic geek acting like a swishy queen trying to pass himself off as a ”normal” heterosexual Middle American.

Make no mistake: The gay/not gay camp-theatrical weirdness is built right into Hamlet 2, which Andrew Fleming has directed and cowritten like a broader, more looney-tunes version of Waiting for Guffman. To save his job, Coogan’s lowly drama instructor writes and stages a musical sequel to Hamlet 2, in which a time machine returns the great Dane to life, so that he can save himself and everyone else in the play. As opening night approaches, the show becomes hugely controversial, because it is blasphemous (and demented) in almost every way. Yet really, it’s a high school musical that would make John Waters proud. You may wonder what could possibly be funny about a song called ”Raped in the Face,” but when you see this and other numbers, such as ”Rock Me Sexy Jesus,” they give off such a happy blast of cluelessness that the show seems to be rediscovering — through its very offensiveness — the unhinged glory of showbiz.

Hamlet 2 doesn’t have the exquisiteness of Guffman; with Coogan as its maestro/vamp in chief, it’s more like a one-man demolition derby of bad taste. But you will laugh, and, with any luck, you will become a believer in Steve Coogan, who in this film proves as uproarious an anarchist as Sascha Baron Cohen. At Sundance 2008, that’s what independence looked like.

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Leonid Rozhetskin; Party For Sundance Success

leonidrozhetskin — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:54:41 +0000

Party For Sundance Success

Via PageSix.com

Posted Fri. Jan. 25, 2008 9:56am by Page Six

Filed Under Courtney Love, Fiona Apple, Fresh Ink, Michael Eisner, Owen Wilson

FORMER Disney chief Michael Eisner‘s son, Eric, has done good. Eric and his partner in L+E Productions, Leonid Rozhetskin, just sold their first film, “Hamlet 2,” at Sundance to Focus Features for a whopping $10 million. The duo celebrated over the weekend with the cast, including Steve Coogan, whom Courtney Love notoriously accused of being Owen Wilson‘s drug buddy last year. Coogan arrived with his new girlfriend, China Chow, and the two hung out with another odd couple: author Jonathan Ames and his new lady friend, singer Fiona Apple. Also on hand was Eric’s girlfriend, alice+olivia designer Stacey Bendet, who just bought a house with her pal Moby in the Hollywood Hills, to be closer to her West Coast-based beau. Bendet will now be splitting her time between Los Angeles and New York – where she is unveiling her collection on Feb. 7 at her West 40th Street showroom.

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Leonid Rozhetskin announces to produce "Three Wolves"

leonidrozhetskin — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:07:43 +0000

After the huge succes of Hamlet2 at the sundance film festival. Leonid Rozhetskin co-founded Production Company L+E Productions announces to produce ” Three Wolves” a tale of the Russian Mafia.
We are excited!

Full Acting Credits for Three Wolves »

Full Production Credits »

Production Credits

Screenplay – Matthew Michaud
Story By – Zach Jerome
Producer – Eric D. Eisner
Producer – Leonid Rozhetskin

Full Production Credits for Three Wolves »

Leonid Rozhetskin; Hamlet2 via Miami Herald

leonidrozhetskin — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:24:08 +0000

‘Hamlet 2′ is big buy at Sundance Fest

By RYAN PEARSON, MIAMI HERALD

AP Entertainment Writer

Dan Steinberg / AP Photo

Actress Elisabeth Shue poses for a portrait during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Monday, Jan. 21, 2008. Shue is at Sundance promoting the feature film “Hamlet 2” in which she has a starring role.

PARK CITY, Utah

Steve Coogan is the toast of Sundance. The British actor stars in the biggest acquisition of the film festival, “Hamlet 2,” a bawdy comedy directed by Andy Fleming that takes politically incorrect jabs at inspirational teacher flicks like “Mr. Holland’s Opus.”Focus Features bought the film for a reported $10 million in the wee hours of Tuesday after a premiere the night before at which it was greeted with loud laughter.

Catherine Keener co-stars as Coogan’s unhappy wife, and Elisabeth Shue plays herself, under the concept that she has given up on Hollywood and moved to Tucson, Ariz., to become a nurse.

“Choke,” starring Sam Rockwell, sold to Fox Searchlight with trade papers putting the deal at $5 million. Actor-director-writer Clark Gregg adapted the screenplay from “Fight Club” author Chuck Palahniuk’s 2001 novel.

In announcing the buy, the studio described the dark comedy’s themes as “mothers and sons, sexual compulsion, and the sordid underbelly of Colonial theme parks.”

“Henry Poole is Here,” a spiritual comedic drama starring Luke Wilson, sold for a reported $3.5 million to Overture Films. “We think we managed to find a little gem,” Overture CEO Chris McGurk said Wednesday.

Before the festival, filmmakers and sellers had hoped the halt in production due to the writers strike would put pressure on buyers. It turned out that distributors were actually more reticent than usual.

“There did seem to be more caution this year, I guess, as opposed to prior years,” McGurk said. “There were some instances of buys that were made last year that with 20/20 hindsight, that amount of money shouldn’t be paid.”

Among documentaries, HBO Documentary Films purchased “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired” for U.S. distribution, while the Weinstein Co. got international rights. “The Black List” sold to HBO, and “American Teen,” a cinema verite crowd favorite tracking four high school seniors, went to Paramount Vantage for about $1 million.

The Sundance Film Festival runs through Sunday.

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Interview with the Cast of Leonid Rozhetskins co-produced Hamlet2

leonidrozhetskin — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:01:00 +0000

Via Entertaiment Weekly

Sundance Q&A: The Cast of ”Hamlet 2”

Steve Coogan, Elisabeth Shue, and David Arquette talk about their high-school-set comedy, likely to remain the fest’s biggest acquisition

STEVE COOGAN (left, with Catherine Keener) on Hamlet 2: ”Ours is a film that makes you laugh. It’s not a film that makes you think. But if you want to think, you can”

By the eighth day of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, director Andrew Fleming’s comedy Hamlet 2 remained the biggest acquisition, selling to Focus Features for $10 million. The comedy revolves around a high-school drama teacher (Steve Coogan) who stages a sequel to Shakespeare’s play in order to save his department from budget cuts.

On the afternoon before the film’s premiere, EW.com chatted with Coogan and his fellow cast members David Arquette and Elisabeth Shue at EW’s photo studio. (Sadly, Hamlet 2 costar Catherine Keener did not make the trip to Sundance this year.)

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Are you excited for tonight’s premiere?
DAVID ARQUETTE: I haven’t seen it yet, so I’m nervous. It seems like people have been enjoying it, though.

And you play…?
ARQUETTE: I play Gary. I’m the guy who lives at [Steve Coogan and Catherine Keener's] house. They only let me live there because I have a car. They don’t have a car. I drive them everywhere. I think I’m supposed to be a trainer in it. I’m very fitness-oriented, but I don’t have any actual clients. I have a small part. I only have about 10 lines in it. And I think one of my scenes got cut, too. I was sad. I play a dumb guy in it. Which I tend to do well.

Well, you’re playing against type.
ARQUETTE: I hope so. [Laughs] Or maybe I’m just dumb.

[Arquette gets called to get his picture taken. Elisabeth Shue steps up.]

Hello. Are you enjoying Sundance?
ELISABETH SHUE: It’s really fun to be back. The most moving time I’ve had at Sundance was two years ago because Davis [Guggenheim, Shue's husband] premiered An Inconvenient Truth [which he directed] here. That will go down as the most meaningful trip to Sundance. I remember the first screening of An Inconvenient Truth, they gave it a standing ovation. I was crying so much. It still makes me cry thinking of it.

It’ll be hard to measure up to that ever again.
SHUE: I know, it’ll never measure up to that, but it doesn’t have to. I love this movie, actually. It’s really funny. Unique and different. And I just think Steve is a brilliant comedian. I want to do another comedy — and with him. [She points to Coogan, who's been sitting nearby, ostensibly minding his own business.] I want him to write me a movie where we can be lovers. [Laughs]

[To Coogan] Would you like to join our conversation?
SHUE: Don’t you think he’s hot?

He’s not bad.
STEVE COOGAN: I’m not too pale for a Brit.
SHUE: With his new haircut! He’s got really funny hair in the movie.
COOGAN: It’s kind of ’80s: long, wavy. I had this long, fair hair. It was dyed and bleached and straightened. And then it got so brittle I just had to get rid of it all.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: [To Shue] How did you like working with the great Steve Coogan?
ELISABETH SHUE: Ah…. It was really incredible. It’s so easy.
STEVE COOGAN: We had great chemistry.
SHUE: We did.
COOGAN: We still have great chemistry.
SHUE: I want him.
COOGAN: I want her.

Well, don’t let me stand in the way. [To Coogan] So, what about working with the wonderful Elisabeth Shue?
COOGAN: It was tremendous and stupendous and chemically…
SHUE: Destabilizing.
COOGAN: Destabilizing!
SHUE: He plays this has-been actor whose most important role was being in the background of a herpes commercial.
COOGAN: I was in the foreground of a herpes commercial! The herpes commercial was all about me. And I’ve had a cold sore in real life. Carry on.
SHUE: And then, I play myself, Elisabeth Shue. I’ve quit the business and I’ve gone to Tucson, Ariz., to become a nurse. He comes into the fertility clinic where I work and he’s so excited to see me, because he’s a great lover of film and he thinks I’m just so wonderful.
COOGAN: I’m obsessed with Elisabeth Shue. I metaphorically and literally kiss her ass. And I invite her to my school to give a talk. It’s very exciting. She says some very explicit things. I won’t tell you what they are. But they’re shocking for fans of Elisabeth Shue.

You play yourself — or a version of yourself?
SHUE: It was definitely a version of myself. The first day, I was really self-conscious and nervous because I didn’t know anybody. There were no rehearsals so I just showed up and started shooting. But Steve made me feel comfortable because he was so excited to see me in the scene that it just made me laugh every single time. [She laughs just talking about it] I felt like I understood the version I was supposed to play once he started to react to me.

[To Coogan] And your character — was he fun to play?
COOGAN: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I play kind of a heroic fool whose heart’s in the right place, but he’s a bit of a jackass and he tries to save the drama department at his school by writing a sequel to Hamlet.
SHUE: It’s a musical!
COOGAN: It’s a happy version. He figures that the original Hamlet — Hamlet 1 — it’s a bit depressing when everyone dies at the end. So he wants he want to do a more uplifting, positive, Hollywood version.
SHUE: Jesus is in it. He comes in a time machine.
COOGAN: Jesus Christ. And Albert Einstein. He travels through time and meets a bunch of people.

Wow, so it’s like Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure?
COOGAN: It is like that, except that…it doesn’t star Keanu Reeves.

How does it feel to be at Sundance with a comedy?
COOGAN: Great. [At film festivals, there tends to be a lot of] interesting, quirky, odd, individualistic, kind of esoteric films that make you sad. Ours is a film that makes you laugh. It’s not a film that makes you think. But if you want to think, you can. It’s a kind of optional-thinking movie. You don’t have to think too much.
SHUE: Not at all.
COOGAN: Not at all, actually

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Leonid Rozhetskin on Hamlet2 via Eonline.com

leonidrozhetskin — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:47:17 +0000

Sundance, Day 7:

Why Hamlet 2 Is Hot, Hot, Hot

Categories: sundance, hamlet 2

Finally, there’s a huge sale at Sundance. Hamlet 2 is a satirical comedy about a failed actor turned high school teacher (Steve Coogan) who stages a musical sequel to Hamlet. And it screened so well that Focus Features snapped it up for $10 million. That’s the second-biggest sale in history, the first being Little Miss Sunshine.

So, what are the ingredients to the most appetizing Sundance spread?

1. Set the Table with Mickey Mouse-Themed Place Mats! Hamlet 2 producer Eric Eisner has a dad named Michael Eisner. You might have heard of Michael? He worked for some company called Disney or something. Anyway, Eisner didn’t make the deadline for Sundance. But he used his pull to secure a last-second screening of the rough cut so that the film could be shown. Well done, Eric.

2. Break Open a Bottle of Superexpensive 1787 Château Lafite! Hamlet 2 is classy. Even common folk moviegoers will hear the title and think, Dang, Shakespeare, that’s probably good.

3. Open Up a Box of Twinkies! Hamlet 2 sends up Dangerous Minds. Phew. It’s not all about Shakespeare.

4. Garnish with Eight Packs of NutraSweet! Everyone at Focus should send a fruit basket as a gesture of gratitude to Paris Hilton. The reformed party girl has been ditzing about, helping remind buyers we need Shakespearean-themed entertainment to distract us from, well, Paris.

5. Laugh So Hard That You Spit the Wine All over the Twinkies! Hamlet 2 star Elisabeth Shue had this to say to the New York Times: “I just got the script and it said, ‘A famous actress who’s a has-been, lives in Tucson and is a nurse.’ I had to do it.” Ha.

6. Light Estrogen-Scented Candles! Catherine Keener costars, which is reason enough to think seriously about buying or seeing any movie. Plus, Hamlet 2 is cowritten by South Park vet Pam Brady. And while less than 30 percent of the WGA is women, fortysomething percent of this year’s Oscar-nominated screenwriters are women. Neat!

Leonid Rozhetskin is very happy - Hamlet2 is sold for $10 Million

leonidrozhetskin — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:09:20 +0000

iW NEWS | Focus Gets “Hamlet 2″ for $10 Million

- highest Acquisition ever achieved at Sundance! -

Andrew Fleming‘s “Hamlet 2” has been acquired by Focus Features in a $10 million worldwide deal swiftly sealed within 12 hours of the film’s world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was produced by L+E Pictures‘ Eric Eisner & Leonid Rozhetskin and Aaron Ryder, from an original script by Fleming and Pam Brady. In the words of a description, “In the irreverent comedy, a failed actor-turned-worse-high-school-drama teacher (Steve Coogan) rallies his Tucson, AZ students as he conceives and stages a politically incorrect musical sequel to Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Cast joining Coogan include David Arquette, Melonie Diaz, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler and Elisabeth Shue (appearing as herself). Calling the film “an amazing New Year’s present,” in a statement, Focus’ James Schamus and Andrew Karpen, added, “We can’t wait to share this riotously inventive movie with the whole world.” [Eugene Hernandez]
[permalink]

Leonid Rozhetskin is happy - Hamlet 2 Sells After All-Night Bidding War

leonidrozhetskin — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:47:42 +0000

‘Hamlet 2′ Sells After All-Night Bidding War

The cast of “Hamlet 2.” (Credit: Getty Images)

Sundance Selects Leonid Rozhetskin’s and L+E Productions’ Hamlet II

Leonid Rozhetskin; News from Sundance – Screening Dates are out!

Sundance Review on Leonid Rozhetskins Hamlet2

Leonid Rozhetskin on the New York Times Website

Leonid Rozhetskin at Wkipedia

Leonid Rozhestkin on IMdB

LeonidRozhetskin.net

Leonid Rozhetskin´s Blog

Leonid Rozhetskin is excited - Bidding for Hamlet Gets Off to a Start

leonidrozhetskin — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:17:44 +0000

Bidding for Hamlet Gets Off to a Start

After “Hamlet 2” premiered tonight, every major distributor, from The Weinstein Co. to Focus Features, huddled outside the theater in the cold, discussing plans and trying to decide whether to make a bid. Harvey Weinstein declined to comment on his plans, talking to two friends outside the theater.

But all signs point to a late-night bidding war tonight.

John Lyons of Focus Features huddled with the company’s acquisition team outside the Library theater, discussing the film — specifically the line: “I was raped in the face” — and their plans to bid.

“This is finally the hit that everyone’s been waiting for — it’s wickedly smart and funny,” Mr. Lyons said after the huddle. “It’s the hit of the festival — this is it.”

The bidding war will begin tonight and may last until dawn if the offers are well received. It may be the only major bidding war of this year’s festival, which has been unusually quiet in terms of deals. CAA is representing the film.

The other major picture open for bids tonight is “Choke,” which premieres later in the evening. Top distributors say they will attend that screening, as well. It will be one of the final big premieres of the festival, as many of the executives are flying out tomorrow

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Leonid Rozhetskin; Hamlet 2 made it to Europe!

Check out the new Wikipedia entry

Hamlet 2 in German

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Leonid Rozhetskin is back in good old Europe

Read his entry in the German Wikipedia

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‘Hamlet 2,’ ‘Henry Poole’ and ‘Choke’ reap big sales

Leonid Rozhetskin: delayed news from Sundance!

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Leonid Rozhetskins Trivia on IMdB.com

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Chek out Leonid Rozhetskins Cast Members on "Boogie Woogie" and get as excited as I am

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Leonid Rozhetskin is doing the Electric Slide

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Leonid Rozhetskin; Hamlet2 via Reuters

“Hamlet 2″ sends up suburbia in rowdy fashion

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Party For Sundance Success

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Leonid Rozhetskin announces to produce "Three Wolves"

After the huge succes of Hamlet2 at the sundance film festival. Leonid Rozhetskin co-founded Production Company L+E Productions announces to produce ” Three Wolves” a tale of the Russian Mafia. We are excited!

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Leonid Rozhetskin; Hamlet2 via Miami Herald

‘Hamlet 2′ is big buy at Sundance Fest

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Interview with the Cast of Leonid Rozhetskins co-produced Hamlet2

Sundance Q&A: The Cast of ”Hamlet 2”

Steve Coogan, Elisabeth Shue, and David Arquette talk about their high-school-set comedy, likely to remain the fest’s biggest acquisition

Leonid Rozhetskin on Hamlet2 via Eonline.com

Sundance, Day 7:

Why Hamlet 2 Is Hot, Hot, Hot

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Leonid Rozhetskin is very happy - Hamlet2 is sold for $10 Million

Leonid Rozhetskin is happy - Hamlet 2 Sells After All-Night Bidding War

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Leonid Rozhetskin is excited - Bidding for Hamlet Gets Off to a Start

After the huge succes of Hamlet2 at the sundance film festival. Leonid Rozhetskin co-founded Production Company L+E Productions announces to produce ” Three Wolves” a tale of the Russian Mafia.
We are excited!