Nothing Like the Holidays, an Overture Films release which debuted in theaters last week, is a sensitive, multidimensional story of Latino family life in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. Directed by Alfred De Villa, the movie has a cast that includes John Leguizamo, Freddy Rodriguez, Debra Messing, Alfred Molina, Elizabeth Pena, Melonie Diaz and Luis Guzmán.
The feature film also represents the fruition of an alliance formed relatively recently between 2DS Productions, headed by Chicago businessman Reid Brody and financier Paul Kim, and State Street Pictures, the production unit led by Bob Teitel, George Tillman Jr., and Matt Pritzker producers of the Barbershop movies.
“The partnership between 2DS and State Street is a chance to gain ownership in the film projects we create together,” said Teitel.
The group has a commitment to making quality films and ambitious plans to roll out a slate of titles over the next few years. Their ultimate aim is to carve out a niche in the independent film market.
Attaining that goal would satiate a lifelong aspiration for Brody who is known in industry circles as president and cofounder of Filmworkers Club, a post/edit/visual effects house with studios in Chicago, Nashville and Dallas, as well as sister shops Filmworkers Club/Astro Lab, motion graphics house Lift and design firm Vitamin.
Nothing Like the Holidays tapped into these resources. For example, Filmworkers Club/Astro Lab provided dailies processing services while Vitamin produced the main title sequence. Brody noted that “having so many great resources available to us allows us to operate like a small film studio. That gives us a lot of latitude to produce the kind of films we believe in.”
Partners Brody, Teitel and Tillman have known each other since the early 1990s when the latter two were working on the film Soul Food (with Teitel as producer and Tillman as director) starring Vanessa Williams. Brody operated a film processing laboratory at the time and provided services for the movie. “We didn’t have much money and asked Reid for a lot of favors and he always came through,” recalled Teitel.
Three years ago, Brody formed a partnership with Kim, who had experience in financing and investments. Brody then reconnected with Teitel and Tillman, who added their Hollywood connections to the venture. Their first joint development effort was the script that became Nothing Like the Holidays.
“It is very much like Soul Food, only with a Latino family,” said Teitel. “It’s a story people haven’t seen because the studios have neglected it. It’s also the reason we were able to put together such a strong cast–the actors felt the same way about it that we did,”
And so, it turned out, did Overture Films, the studio formed last year by former MGM chairman Chris McGurk. The studio bought the film after one reading–a feat almost unheard of in Hollywood. “It’s been a wonderful partnership,” said Teitel, “and it’s terrific to come out of the box with a film like this.”
Even as they are anticipating the premiere of Nothing Like the Holidays, the group is moving forward with more projects. Soon after the new year, they plan to begin production of their second film Julito Maraña, a drama about Puerto Rican gang life. Rodriguez, Molina and Guzmán have already signed on for that feature. Several other films are in varying stages of development.
