Rage
is now available for PRE-ORDER
through Amazon. This title will be released on November 24, 2009.
SYNOPSIS
FROM THE BERLINALE SITE:
Seven days, fourteen characters, a schoolboy and his website. An accident, a murder
and a crisis in New York’s fashion industry. Broken dreams, bitter conflict and
secret confessions: Sally Potter’s film is a tragicomedy about the effects of
globalisation in the age of information. Over seven days, Michelangelo, a young
blogger, shoots behind-the-scenes interviews on his cell-phone at a New York fashion
house while Merlin, a designer of Middle-Eastern origin, prepares to show his
latest collection. Interviews with a group of people including Minx (a celebrity
supermodel), Tiny Diamonds (the financial backer), Anita de Los Angeles (a seamstress),
Vijay (who delivers pizzas), Frank (a war photographer) and Mona Carvell (a critic),
build a bitterly funny exposé of an industry in crisis as the effects of globalization
and a faltering economy polarize working conditions and produce an ever-increasing
gap between appearance and reality. Meanwhile Michelangelo becomes the person
everyone turns to: when the death of a model on the runway becomes a murder investigation,
the interviews become confessionals. A world which fetishises appearance over
humanity turns upside down under the quiet gaze of a child armed only with the
tools of his generation: the internet and the cell-phone.
SUMMARY:
An expose of the lives of employees at a New York fashion house, “Rage” is shot
in cell-phone style over the space of seven days as an accident on a fashion show
runway sparks a murder investigation. This production is in post-production.
Independent web TV service Babelgum and Cinetic Rights Management have
announced a unique deal for multi-territory online and mobile release for Sally
Potter’s “Rage,” timed to coincide with traditional media release worldwide.
The film, which stars Simon Abkarian, Steve Buscemi, Lily
Cole, Judi Dench, Eddie Izzard, Jude Law, John Leguizamo and Dianne Wiest, premiered
at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival and will be released by Babelgum online and via
mobile through the Fall/Winter of 2009. Set at a New York fashion house, it
focuses on a young blogger shooting behind-the-scenes interviews on his cell-phone
with a diverse mix of people - including a celebrity supermodel, a seamstress,
a man who delivers pizzas, and a war photographer.
“We always wanted to
incorporate new media platforms into our release strategy,” director Sally Potter
and producers Christopher Sheppard and Andrew Fierberg jointly said in a statement.
“We worked closely with CRM to find the most appropriate and novel approach to
take the film to both new and traditional film audiences and we are delighted
with the partnership set up with Babelgum, who we see as a true partner in crafting
an innovative distribution approach.”
Babelgum will be releasing the film
as a series of episodes, timed to coincide with the film’s release in each territory.
Additionally, Babelgum offers a dual platform approach on both broadband and mobile
with its custom tailored programming for smart phones in the United States, United
Kingdom and Italy.
“We are thrilled to be working with CRM, and to partner
with the filmmakers, on this revolutionary deal for the rollout of ‘Rage,’” Babelgum’s
Karol-Martesko Fenster, stated. “It highlights the true potential of online and
mobile acting as complementary platforms in an overall distribution strategy.
Babelgum’s exclusive premiere of ‘Rage’ reaffirms our mission to be the leading
online and mobile destination for timely and cutting-edge independent film.”
“‘Rage’
features a series of interviews with people involved in a fashion show that are
filmed as if they were shot on a mobile phone, so it is a film perfectly suited
to new distribution platforms,” said Janet Brown, COO of Cinetic Rights Management,
in a statement. “This deal highlights the steady and accelerating growth
of digital platforms and the ability of a smart digital strategy to garner both
eyeballs and revenue in a very real way.”
Rage will premiere at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival.
The Berlinale kicks off on February 5th and continues through February 15th next
year in the German capital.