MATTHEW MALEK AND ANITA GOU TEAM TO LAUNCH FOXTAIL ENTERTAINMENT
First Foxtail Co-Production Will be “Assassination Nation” With David Goyer and Kevin Turen’s Phantom Four
Foxtail Also Inks Deal With Terry Rossio and Bill Marsilii To Write Original Feature Thriller “Dream Logic”
Los Angeles, CA – October 28, 2016 --- A significant new player in the world of independent film development, finance and production has emerged as producers Matthew Malek (Martin Scorsese’s upcoming “Silence”) and Anita Gou (Marti Noxon’s “To the Bone”) have partnered to launch the multinational independent label Foxtail Entertainment.
Gou and Malek met and worked together during Martin Scorsese’s upcoming film “Silence” for Paramount. Malek is executive producer of the movie, having brought together a majority of the financing, while Gou was managing her family-owned studio, Central Motion Picture Corp., in Taipei, Taiwan, where the production was based.
Their collaboration and likeminded creative visions and business philosophies led to the formation of Foxtail Entertainment, which will be dually led by Malek and Gou.
Headquartered in Los Angeles with ties and resources in Taiwan and China, Foxtail Entertainment will develop/finance/produce anywhere from three to six projects a year, with a mandate to serve as a top-tier supplier of mainstream projects for both the studios and major independent distributors worldwide. The company will also develop, finance and produce television, digital and VR content, and champion stories and projects that highlight diversity. Courtney Turk has been hired as a production executive at the company to oversee day-to-day operations of the production slate.
Budget ranges of the films on the Foxtail slate will vary depending on the size and scope of the individual projects. Above the financing of material, the company will be devoted to fostering an artist-friendly environment for top filmmakers and talent and willing to explore original stories and edgy material featuring inter-cultural concepts and heavily promote diversity.
"The first project that Foxtail will finance and produce is “Assassination Nation” – a film that follows three teenage girls in a small suburb after an anonymous hacker begins to leak inflammatory personal information about it’s residents and soon becomes the focus of unwanted, world-wide media attention.
Sam Levinson (“Another Happy Day” / upcoming HBO “Wizard of Lies”) wrote the original screenplay and will direct. David Goyer and Kevin Turen will produce the film through their Phantom Four banner, with Foxtail Entertainment. Principal photography will begin in Q1 2017.
Foxtail has also made a deal with Academy Award® nominated writer Terry Rossio (“Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, “Shrek”) and Bill Marsilii (“Déjà Vu,”) to write the feature screenplay for a hallucinatory thriller titled “Dream Logic.” Details of this project are being kept under wraps.
Pre-existing films produced by Gou and Malek that will fold into the new company’s feature film slate include Marti Noxon’s the upcoming film “To the Bone” starring Keanu Reeves and Lily Collins; and “The Last Animals” – a documentary about the illegal ivory trade and the impending extinction of the Northern White Rhino, directed by award-winning photojournalist Kate Brooks.
Said Gou, “Although Matt and I come from very different backgrounds and traveled different roads to get to where we are today, we feel like we are cut from the same fabric and have a shared sense of values that make this venture very meaningful to both of us. The structure and global nature of our company reflects how the industry is working today. We are thrilled to take on this exciting new endeavor together and work creatively and collaboratively to build something very special, alongside such gifted collaborators as the Phantom Four team, as well as writers Terry Rossio and Bill Marsilii.”
“We are a company that puts material first and will develop and explore original and unique themes and subject matters that can be fully exploited,” said Malek. “We have developed a solid business strategy encompassing a diverse portfolio of projects with worldwide appeal. We have, by design, a lot of flexibility in sourcing projects and material and collaborating with various filmmakers and distribution partners around the globe to build a diverse slate. To this point, we’re thrilled to have such accomplished partners like David and Kevin for ‘Assassination Nation,’ and beyond excited to immerse ourselves in the screenplay that Terry and Bill are crafting for ‘Dream Logic.’”
About Anita Gou
After graduating from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a bachelor degree in film and anthropology, Gou began her career in the entertainment industry working in visual effects production on films such as “Focus,” “Transformers 4: Age of Extinction,” and Martin Scorsese’s “Vinyl.” During this time, Gou also produced the feature length documentary “To the Moon”, and was a Grand Prize winner of the 2013 Beijing International Screenwriting Competition for her script “Plight of the Honeybee.”
When Gou returned to her home in Taipei, Taiwan in 2014, she became a producer at Central Motion Picture Corp. - the largest film studio in Taiwan where filmmakers such as Ang Lee and Edward Yang started their prolific careers. While at Central Motion Picture Corp., Gou produced, on behalf of the studio, numerous Taiwanese films, including Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s “The Assassin,” which won him the best director award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
Gou also helped oversee for the studio the production of Martin Scorsese’s “Silence,” which was based and shot in the studio and throughout Taiwan. It was there that Gou met business partner Matthew Malek, with whom she founded Foxtail Entertainment.
About Matthew Malek
To date, Matthew Malek has facilitated over $100 million dollars in film investments in his career.
Malek started in the entertainment industry with the feature film “Bella” in 2004, for which he procured $3 million dollars to fully finance and it would go on to be a winner at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. This began Malek’s career in consulting for individuals and companies looking to invest in the film and entertainment space.
In 2012 Malek was the lead executive producer on “Max Rose,” Jerry Lewis' first film since “The King of Comedy” in 1982, which was an official selection at the 2013 Cannes International Film Festival. This lead him to help finance and facilitate the deal for Tom Hank's first ever independently financed film “A Hologram for the King,” which was released worldwide by Lionsgate in May 2016. In the summer of 2014, Malek fully financed and was a lead producer on the independent film “The Ticket” with Dan Stevens, Malin Akerman, and Oliver Platt, which world-premiered to critical acclaim at the 2016 Tribeca International Film Festival.
Everything changed shortly after “The Ticket” wrapped production when Malek saw an opportunity to lead a consortium of investors to help make Martin Scorsese's passion project a reality- the film adaptation of “Silence,” the classic Japanese novel which the director had optioned 25 years prior. Malek worked from September 2014 until February 2015 to devise and execute the financing structure for the film, which commenced principle photography on February 5th and wrapped May 15th 2015. Paramount Pictures is releasing the picture on December 23rd.
About Phantom Four
David Goyer’s Phantom Four is an entertainment production company focused on producing powerful, provocative, and innovative visual narrative in film, television, and emerging media. Most recently, Phantom Four’s Kevin Turen produced Fox Searchlight’s The Birth of A Nation, which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and swept top prizes, including the Audience award and Grand Jury prize, Goyer served as executive producer on the project. Up next for Phantom Four is Open Road and Lakeshore Entertainment's Miles, a feature film written and directed by Oliver Daly based on his original short which started a bidding war amongst producers last year, won by Goyer and Phantom Four who then developed the script with Daly. Also upcoming is Max Landis’ Deeper, starring Bradley Cooper, 20th Century Fox’s The First Omen directed by Antonio Campos, Mike Cahill’s Doctors, Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman for New Line, and Lionsgate’s The Breach, which Goyer will direct with Lorenzo di Bonaventura producing.
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