Cannes Market Dailies

Arianne Fraser - Highland Film Group CEO. Richard Alan Reid, Head of Studio at BuzzFeed, Inc

Highland Film Group and their U.S. distribution arm The Avenue are announcing a new partnership with BuzzFeed Studios
Inaugural Motion Picture will be Rom-Com “Manville” from Director Lea Thompson

Leading Los Angeles based sales company Highland Film Group (HFG) and premier digital media company BuzzFeed Studios have launched an innovative partnership, they announced today. This unique collaboration will leverage both companies’ strengths in entertainment as they develop, produce, acquire and distribute three to five feature films per year in the $5-12 million range.

BuzzFeed Studios will lead film production and creative, internally developing properties stemming from their IP, brands and audience data.  All motion pictures will be released in the U.S. by HFG’s The Avenue, with BuzzFeed Studios building innovative marketing campaigns via their robust digital network. Highland Film Group will handle foreign distribution rights on select titles, and BuzzFeed will leverage its international editions to drive awareness to those titles locally.

The deal was negotiated by Arianne Fraser, Highland Film Group CEO, JJ Caruth President of Domestic Marketing and Distribution for The Avenue and Richard Alan Reid, Head of Studio at BuzzFeed, Inc.         

The first production under the new partnership is the rom-com Manville, directed by Back to the Future’s Lea Thompson, whose directing credits include The Year of Spectacular Men, CBS’s “Star Trek: Picard,” Amblin Television’s “Resident Alien” and ABC’s “The Goldbergs.”  Written by Delaney Buffett and Katie Corwin, the feature film will be produced by Richard Alan Reid, Kia Jam and Dean Altit. Manville tells the story of Alice, a selective woman who swipes left on her 1,000,000th potential match and receives an invitation to Manville: a matchmaking retreat guaranteed to end in marriage. But when she arrives, Alice realizes that nothing is really as it seems. The film is scheduled to start principal photography this fall.   

Also included in the partnership is the romance One True Loves, targeted for release in Q1 2023. The film is an adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s best-selling novel by the same name, directed by Andy Fickman (Paramount’s Playing With Fire, Disney’s The Game Plan) and starring Simu Liu of Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, Phillipa Soo (Hamilton) and Luke Bracey (Baz Luhrman’s Elvis). The film is produced by Volition Media’s Adam Beasley and Michael Jefferson (Saban’s Supercell, Sam & Kate), Willie Kutner (Netflix’s Sundown, Showtime’s “Rebel Highway”), Fickman (Disney’s You Again), Betsy Sullenger (Paramount Pictures’ The Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse), Sarah Finn (Disney +’s “WandaVision”), Highland Film Group’s Arianne Fraser and R.U. Robot’s Petr Jákl.  In One True Loves, high school sweethearts Emma (Soo) and Jesse (Bracey) have built an exciting life together traveling the world. But when Jesse disappears in a helicopter crash, a heartbroken Emma returns home to pick up the pieces of her life. After four years, Emma is newly engaged to her childhood best friend, Sam (Liu). However, when Emma suddenly learns that Jesse is alive, she is unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiancé who has brought her back to life.

“This exciting new partnership with BuzzFeed Studios is a beautiful marriage of formidable marketing might plus savvy distribution, a true 50/50 partnership which we are certain will lead to box office gold,” said JJ Caruth President, Domestic Marketing and Distribution for The Avenue. “BuzzFeed Studios brings to this collaboration a much sought-after set of distinctive assets which can be tailored to enhance our marketing campaign.”

“We’re proud to team up with Highland Film Group to continue delighting audiences worldwide with more engaging, premium entertainment,” said Richard Alan Reid, EVP of Global Content and Head of Studio for BuzzFeed, Inc. “Through our partnership with Highland, BuzzFeed Studios will for the first-time extend its capabilities into global film sales and acquisitions.”

Highland Film Group’s current sales slate of films also includes the action thriller Land of Bad starring Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth;  Neil LaBute’s Fear the Night starring Maggie Q; Daniel Casey’s  Wardriver starring Dane DeHaan and Sophie Turner; Rusty Cundieff’s 57 Seconds starring Morgan Freeman and Josh Hutcherson; the horror thriller Felix starring Benjamin Evan Ainsworth; John Stalberg Jr.’s Muzzle starring Aaron Eckhart; One True Loves starring Shang-Chi’s Simu Liu, Phillipa Soo and Luke Bracey; Adrian Grünberg’s thriller The Black Demon starring Josh Lucas; James Cullen Bressack’s Hot Seat starring Mel Gibson and Kevin Dillon; K. Asher Levin’s Slayers starring Thomas Jane, Abigail Breslin and Malin Akerman; Renny Harlin’s The Misfits starring Pierce Brosnan, Nick Cannon and Tim Roth; Allan Ungar’s Bandit starring Josh Duhamel, Mel Gibson and Elisha Cuthbert; Stephan Rick’s The Good Neighbor starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Luke Kleintank and Avan Jogia’s Door Mouse starring Hayley Law, Famke Janssen and Keith Powers.

ABOUT HIGHLAND FILM GROUP

Check out the new website: https://highlandfilmgroup.com/

Led by founding partners Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, Highland Film Group (HFG) is an independent worldwide sales, film financing, production and distribution company. Launched in 2010, HFG has had success across a wide range of film genres and platforms, building a reputation for handling high-octane films in the action/thriller/horror space, focusing on cast, director, and filmmaker driven content.

HFG’s diversified production and sales slate includes the action thriller Land of Bad starring Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth; Neil LaBute’s Fear the Night starring Maggie Q; Daniel Casey’s Wardriver starring Dane DeHaan and Sophie Turner; Rusty Cundieff’s 57 Seconds starring Morgan Freeman and Josh Hutcherson; horror thriller Felix starring Benjamin Evan Ainsworth; John Stalberg Jr.’s Muzzle starring Aaron Eckhart; Andy Fickman’s One True Loves starring Simu Liu, Phillipa Soo and Luke Bracey; Adrian Grünberg’s The Black Demon starring Josh Lucas; James Cullen Bressack’s Hot Seat starring Mel Gibson and Kevin Dillon; Mark Earl Burman’s Ambush starring Aaron Eckhart; K. Asher Levin’s Slayers starring Thomas Jane, Abigail Breslin and Malin Akerman; Casey Tebo’s Black Friday! starring Devon Sawa and Bruce Campbell; Mauro Borelli’s Warhunt starring Mickey Rourke; Stephan Rick’s The Good Neighbor starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Luke Kleintank; Andrew Baird’s One Way starring Colson Baker, Kevin Bacon and Travis Fimmel; Edward Drake’s Gasoline Alley starring Bruce Willis, Luke Wilson and Devon Sawa; Mark Neveldine’s Panama starring Mel Gibson and Cole Hauser; Fortress starring Bruce Willis; Avan Joglia’s Door Mouse starring Hayley Law, Famke Janssen and Keith Powers; Allan Ungar’s Bandit starring Josh Duhamel, Mel Gibson and Elisha Cuthbert; The Lair directed by Neil Marshall; Randall Emmett’s Wash Me In The River starring Robert De Niro, Jack Huston and John Malkovich; Herbert James Winterstern’s Supercell starring Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche; Petr Jakl’s Medieval starring Ben Foster and Michael Caine; John D. Eraklis’ and Tara Whitaker’s Pierre the Pigeon-Hawk with the voices of will.i.am, Jennifer Hudson, Snoop Dogg, Whoopi Goldberg and Howie Mandel and The Tiger Rising starring Queen Latifah and Dennis Quaid.

Previous titles include Joe Carnahan’s Boss Level starring Naomi Watts, Mel Gibson and Frank Grillo; Dimitri Logothetis’ Jiu Jitsu starring Nicolas Cage and Tony Jaa; Lin Oeding’s thriller Braven starring Jason Momoa; Scott Mann’s Final Score starring Dave Bautista and Pierce Brosnan; Berlin, I Love You with Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Jim Sturgess, Mickey Rourke, Diego Luna and Jenna Dewan Tatum; Vaughn Stein’s Terminal starring Margot Robbie and Renny Harlin’s The Misfits starring Pierce Brosnan, Nick Cannon and Tim Roth.

ABOUT THE AVENUE

Launched in 2020, The Avenue is HFG’s US distribution division and handles all aspects of distribution, from theatrical through home entertainment to television/SVOD. The Avenue is dedicated to partnering with filmmakers and leading them into innovative ways of marketing and distribution so their stories can reach the widest audience. The Avenue has also signed an agreement with Paramount Home Entertainment to handle Blu-ray™, DVD, VOD, and Digital distribution. Films released under The Avenue label will be a combination of film titles from Highland Film Group as well as third party acquisitions.

The first feature film title released under the new stand-alone distribution banner was the martial arts sci-fi film Jiu Jitsu starring Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas) and Frank Grillo (Boss Level, Avengers: Endgame). The film was released in November 2020. The Avenue also released Renny Harlin’s The Misfits, starring Pierce Brosnan, Nick Cannon, and Tim Roth, which had a theatrical joint release with Paramount Pictures in June 2021. Upcoming titles include Dallas Jackson’s action-thriller The System starring Tyrese Gibson, Terrence Howard, Jeremy Piven and Lil Yachty as well as HFG’s romance One True Loves starring Phillipa Soo, Simu Liu and Luke Bracey for director Andy Fickman.