Film Farm to produce new works from Egoyan and De Palma

Screendaily
by Denis Seguin in Cannes
May 16, 2008

Toronto-based production outfit The Film Farm is set to produce Atom
Egoyan’s untitled next picture, an original screenplay, and two films from
Brian de Palma.

Headed by producing partners Simone Urdl and Jennifer Weiss, Film Farm
produced Egoyan’s Cannes competition entry Adoration as well as de Palma’s
2007 Venice title Redacted and Sarah Polley’s Oscar-nominated Away From Her.
As with Adoration, Egoyan will also produce through his Ego Arts Films
shingle.

First up from de Palma will be Print The Legend, a film that continues in
the verite vein of Redacted, exploring the process of "selling" the Iraq war
to the US home-front. It follows a story similar to that of US female
soldier Jessica Lynch, whose heroic battlefield exploits were later revealed
to be concocted by the US military. The budget will be between $5m and $10m.
The second project, also untitled, is a political thriller in the $15m-$20m
range.

Urdle and Weiss also revealed they have landed a privately-financed
development fund, a luxury rarely seen in Canada. While the duo declined to
name their benefactors, Urdl said it is a Canadian company with a long
history in the film and entertainment business.

Said Urdl, "This will allow us to jump on projects and pay for them without
going through the [public sector investment] application phase."

Added Weiss, "It gives us a lot of leeway we never had. And it’s a
tremendous endorsement from people who are interested in making their money
back."