EXCLUSIVE: On the eve of the virtual EFM, international sales stalwarts Vincent Maraval and Kim Fox are rebranding their foreign sales banner MadRiver International to The Veterans, we can reveal.
Maraval, Fox and Marc Butan launched MadRiver International at AFM 2019 after first creating IMR International in 2016 as an alliance between Butan’s MadRiver Pictures and Maraval’s Wild Bunch International. The two companies remain shareholders in The Veterans.
Santa Monica-based banner The Veterans will run as a stand-alone company, with Fox running operations. The plan remains to serve as a sales agent on English-language, mid- and larger-budget films for the international theatrical and streaming markets.
In addition to Maraval and Fox, the LA and Paris-based team will include sales executives Lesly Gross, Noemie Devide, and Livia Van Der Staay, who will be meeting with buyers under the new banner at the virtual EFM next month. Additional details on the slate are due to be unveiled next week.
The re-branding has largely come about to clarify the sales entity as separate from any other production or finance company. There will be a new logo “down the line.” Meanwhile, MadRiver will concentrate its activities on film development and production, with a focus on IP acquisition and development.
Maraval explained: “I have worked seamlessly with Kim for the past six years, sharing similar taste, sensibilities and passion for the films we defend. We are excited to continue our partnership with Marc under our new banner which more clearly identifies us as a standalone foreign sales company.”
Commenting on the name, former Annapurna and QED exec Fox quipped: “Everyone calls us ‘veterans’ anyway, so we thought we would just make it easier all-around.”
Butan said: “I am enthused to continue to work with Kim and Vincent, who are two of the best in the international film space. Given the myriad changes in the film production, distribution and sales spaces over the last several years, we all felt that separating the companies – but keeping them related – was key to allowing each business to focus on its strengths, while still allowing for partnership on film titles.”
The Veterans’ current slate includes Walter Salles I’m Still Here starring Mariana Lima; Shadae Lamar Smith’s Throw It Back with Tiffany Haddish and Shahadi Wright Joseph; Todd Solondz Love Child with Rachel Weisz and Colin Farrell; and Jean-François Richet’s The Plane starring Gerard Butler.
Recent productions for MadRiver include the Netflix release Worth starring Michael Keaton; the upcoming Focus Features pic Armageddon Time with Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong; and the aforementioned Plane, which will be released in North America by Lionsgate.
Wild Bunch International continues to operate as a distinct sales operation geared towards international arthouse titles. The company recently struck a deal to rep international sales on Bac Films acquisitions and last year launched genre label Wild West.
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