London's Blue Star shines with $42mil, 3-film slate
Posted: May 18, 2005
By: Blake Murdoch, the hollywood reporter

CANNES -- Pete Maggi's London-based production and financing entity Blue Star Movies has unveiled a three-film, $42 million slate with initial presales being sought at the Festival de Cannes, the company said Tuesday.

The slate includes "Tracker," a $20 million dramatic thriller co-produced with the U.K.'s Eden Films; "Stand by Love," set to be directed by Simon Wells; and "My Favorite Game," a low-budget feature from Italian writer-director team Fabio Guaglione and Fabio Resinaro.

Set in the early 1900s in New Zealand's South Island, "Tracker" tells the story of two men pitted against each other. Temuera Morrison is attached to star, and other cast announcements are expected shortly.

"Stand by Love" follows two ex-lovers reunited on a flight between New York and London and is scripted by Vincent Angell. Final cast negotiations are under way.

"My Favorite Game" tells the story of a group of city friends who are forced to change their lives because of an act of nature. Blue Star is producing, financing and selling the project, which begins shooting in September in Italy.

"We're delighted to be handling quality product with worldwide market appeal, and we will be making further announcements about projects that continue to establish Blue Star Movies as a significant, international European player," Blue Star head of international sales Daniel Wuthrich said.

Maggi, co-founder of leading Italian independent distributor Eagle Pictures, will produce all three films. Blue Star, which has worked with British fund Movision and has access to various sources of equity finance, is developing two new investment funds.

The company also has a production joint venture in Italy, Blue Spice, with British production and financing outfit the Spice Factory. It has four Italian projects in preproduction.