Park Pictures, the commercial production house founded by director Lance Acord and executive producer Jackie Kelman Bisbee, has formed a narrative feature company, Park Pictures Features, with film producers Galt Niederhoffer and Sam Bisbee. Park Pictures Features’ first project is the family comedy Robot & Frank, marking the theatrical feature directorial debut of Park Pictures’ Jake Schreier. The film’s cast includes Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, Jeremy Strong and Liev Schreiber. Written by Christopher Ford, the feature is being produced by Niederhoffer, Bisbee, Kelman Bisbee and Acord and has begun shooting in New York with Matt Lloyd serving as DP.
Set in the future, Robot & Frank follows aging curmudgeon, Frank (Langella), a confused loner with a love for books. His one friend is the librarian Jennifer (Sarandon) that he regularly visits. Other than his library outings, and weekly visits from his son, Frank lives a quiet, lonely life, until his grown-up kids (Marsden, Tyler) install a caretaker robot to look after their dad and an unlikely friendship begins.
Next on the Park Pictures Features’ slate are the theatrical film directing debut of Acord and a new project from director Ringan Ledwidge. The company will also produce the adaptations of Sam Lipsyte’s best-selling novel, “The Ask,” to be directed by Steven Shainberg, and the late David Foster Wallace’s short story, “Little Expressionless Animals.”
Niederhoffer thus far has produced 21 features, eight of which have been shown in competition at the Sundance Film Festival–with seven winning awards, including Grace Is Gone which garnered the Sundance Audience Award in 2007.
Sam Bisbee’s film debut as a producer–The New Tenants directed by Park Pictures’ Joachim Back–won the Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short last year. Bisbee executive produced and co-wrote the screenplay and songs for the slasher musical Don’t Go In the Woods, directed by Vincent D’onofrio (who starred in The New Tenants). Bisbee additionally has screenwriting and singer/songwriter/composer credentials.
Park Pictures plans for two movies in its first year. The company will draw on its directing talent (which includes Acord, Schreier, Niederhoffer, Ellen Kuras, Joachim Back, Gary Freedman, Steven Shainberg, 300ml and Alison Maclean) as well as local NYC directors to make films with strong visual, narrative, and commercial appeal.
Acord, partner in Park Pictures and Park Picture Features, related that the former is “a company comprised of filmmakers, so as we grow and evolve it only makes sense to develop and produce their feature projects. Being a commercial production company, we have a unique opportunity to utilize our resources within the industry to economically and efficiently make long form films. Having Galt on board has been great. Her knowledge and expertise is such an amazing asset. I have been excited to see Robot and Frank go into production. Jake and C.D. Ford have been working on this for quite some time now and I must admit it has been a bit surreal to sit on set and see the film actually take shape. Jake is a very talented guy. His confidence on set and insights into working with actors far exceeds that of a ‘first time director,’ I think his years of experience as a commercial and music video director have served him well.”
“The Brutalist” and “The Wild Robot” Score Top Honors At Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards
The Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) has unveiled the winners of the 6th Annual SCL Awards® held on Wednesday evening (2/12) at Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Top honors for film scoring went to Oscar-nominated composers Kris Bowers, who won Original Score For A Studio Film for The Wild Robot, and Daniel Blumberg, winner of Outstanding Original Score For an Independent Film on the strength of The Brutalist.
Oscar, Golden Globe, and Grammy-winning composer Atticus Ross took home two awards. He received Outstanding Original Song For a Comedy Or Musical Visual Media Production for “Compress/Repress,” co-written for the film Challengers with frequent collaborator Trent Reznor, along with Luca Guadagnino. Ross and collaborators Leopold Ross and Nick Chuba also won Outstanding Original Song For A Television Production for the series Shōgun.
Another SCL Award for songwriting went to Diane Warren who won Outstanding Original Song For A Dramatic or Documentary Visual Media Production for her song “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight. Warren is a 16-time Oscar nominee and three-time SCL Award winner--the two previous honors recognizing “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman in 2023 and the SCL’s special Ambassador Award in 2016.
The SCL’s 2025 Spirit of Collaboration Award honored composer Harry Gregson-Williams and legendary director Ridley Scott, who have collaborated on seven films including Gladiator II, The Martian, and Kingdom of Heaven. Last year, Martin Scorsese accepted the Spirit of Collaboration Award for his work with the late composer Robbie Robertson. Other past award recipients include Thomas Newman and Sam Mendes, Terence... Read More