Bicoastal commercial production house Moxie Pictures has entered the longform business with the sale of a theatrical feature project, Outward Blonde, to Miramax. The comedy script is being penned by Ally McBeal writer/producer Kayla Alpert. A director is not yet attached to the film which centers on a spoiled, materialistic Long Island teenager who’s caught shoplifting at Louis Vuitton and is then sent to an intensive Outward Bound program for rehabilitation.
The Miramax deal marks the initial splash made by Moxie’s motion picture/TV division, which was launched three months ago in a low-profile fashion uncharacteristic of Hollywood. Director Dan Levinson-who co-founded Moxie in ’92 with executive producer Gary Rose-brought on producers Lizzie Friedman and Francesca Silvestri to head up the new longform venture. "Lizzie and Francesca have been quietly working behind the scenes and made the successful pitch [to Miramax]," related Levinson. "I didn’t want a lot of fanfare for a division that hadn’t done anything yet. But now that we have, it feels good to be doing rather than just talking about what we’re going to do."
Friedman and Silvestri came to Moxie from Los Angeles-based Friedman/Silvestri Entertainment, a company they maintained for about a year and a half. Now based in Moxie’s Hollywood office, Friedman and Silvestri are working on a slate of projects, many of which they brought over from Friedman/ Silvestri. However, Levinson said that Friedman and Silvestri are also ready to help out on some Moxie-originated fare, including Black Monk Time, a feature script being authored by Andy Bienen, who teamed with director Kimberly Peirce to write the acclaimed Boys Don’t Cry. Black Monk Time is a project out of Killer Films, New York, in association with Moxie.
Levinson said that Moxie’s longform division should play a lead role in opening up other potential creative opportunities for the company’s commercial directors as well as those feature filmmakers who helm select spot assignments via Moxie and its sister bicoastal house, The Industry. Moxie’s directorial lineup consists of Levinson, Christopher Guest, Pam Thomas, Todd Phillips, Bob Purman, Yariv Gaber and Rohitash Rao. The Industry handles a group of feature directors for commercials that includes Wes Anderson, Wes Craven, Kevin Smith, Jim Sheridan, John Madden, John Waters, Frank Coraci, Joe Nussbaum, Allison Anders, Albert Brooks, Whit Stillman, Gary Ross and Barbet Schroeder. Helmer Al Yankovic is also on The Industry roster.
Friedman and Silvestri already have projects in the works for Coraci, Nussbaum and Thomas. Levinson himself is pursuing a TV program endeavor. Friedman said she wasn’t at liberty to discuss the property that’s being lined up for Thomas. Nussman and Coraci are currently signed to direct, respectively, The Process Server and Game; both feature projects are currently under development.
Friedman added that beyond looking to access commercial directing talent for features and TV programs, she and Silvestri hope to meet with and sound out ad agency creatives to tap into their movie and television ideas, and to help bring some of those projects to fruition. "These are obviously people who are talented and have writing skills so features and TV would represent a natural progression for them," said Friedman.
Prior to Friedman/Silvestri, Friedman had worked in development at various venues, including Los Angeles-based Jersey Films, which is Danny DeVito’s company. Before partnering with Friedman, Silvestri had a strong production background, having come up the ranks to serve as an independent producer. For example, Silvestri was a producer on the ’98 release Scotch and Milk, directed by Adam Goldberg.
Levinson was introduced to Friedman and Silvestri by his wife, Meryl Poster, who is Miramax’s president of production. Poster was not involved in the decision-making process on Outward Blonde. Poster knew Friedman and Silvestri from the successful pitch they made about a year ago under the Friedman/ Silvestri banner, resulting in the sale of a feature property, A View From The Top, to Miramax.
