CANNES — In its first hookup with DreamWorks, Good Machine Intl. has licensed all international rights to Shirley Barrett’s $3.5 million “Walk the Talk.”
The film is described as a “labor of love” for DreamWorks principal David Geffen, who saw it early and fell in love with the picture. Good Machine is an ideal home for the pic, which carried too low a budget for DreamWorks to put it through its UPI deal internationally.
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Pic, in post-production in Australia, is Barrett’s second after “Love Serenade,” which won the Camera d’Or in Cannes in 1996. It’s being produced by Jan Chapman (“The Piano,” “Love Serenade”) to roll out in time for the fall fests: Venice, Toronto and Telluride.
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Good Machine was eager to cut a deal with DreamWorks, one of the few big players the company hasn’t worked with as it continues to build its sales side under GMI prexy David Linde. Also, DreamWorks may be a potential home for Good Machine when its deal with Universal lapses later this year.
Fostering relationship
On its growing production side, Good Machine also wanted to foster its relationship with up-and-coming Barrett.
“Walk the Talk” concerns a well-meaning but misguided young talent agent who uses the government funds given to his paraplegic girlfriend to resurrect a faded club singer’s career.
Barrett, who directed Australian TV dramas and docus for eight years, had her first script taken up by Chapman, who works with helmers Gillian Armstrong and Jane Campion.
“Walk the Talk” toplines Salvatore Coco (with whom Barrett worked on drama series “Heartbreak High”), Sacha Horler (“Praise”) and newcomer Nikki Bennett.
GMI heads into its third Cannes fest with four films in the Official Selection: Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” Lars von Trier’s “Dancer in the Dark,” Kristian Levring’s “The King Is Alive” and Barbara Kopple’s “A Conversation With Gregory Peck.”
Mark Woods in Sydney contributed to this report.