By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
PARK CITY, Utah (AP) --The "Groundhog Day"-esque comedy "Palm Springs," by Andy Samberg and the Lonely Island, has set an acquisition record at the Sundance Film Festival by 69 cents.
The indie distributor Neon and the streaming service Hulu bought "Palm Springs" for exactly $17,500,000.69 in a sale announced Monday evening at the Park City festival. The previous record Sundance sale was the $17.5 million Fox Searchlight paid for Nate Parker's "The Birth of a Nation" in 2016.
In a statement, Samberg and his Lonely Island partners Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, along with producer Becky Sloviter, joked that the financial terms of the deal were unfavorable.
"We spent over $85 million of our own money on this movie, WE ARE TAKING A BATH on this deal," they said. "We hope Neon and Hulu are happy but we definitely have a lot of explaining to do to our families."
"Palm Springs," directed by Max Barbakow, stars Samberg and Cristin Milioti as a pair of wedding guests who are trapped living the same day over again in the Southern California desert town. The film, one of the most obviously commercial at this year's Sundance, drew acclaim after its premiere Sunday for its clever twist on the "Groundhog Day" premise.
Neon will give "Palm Springs" a theatrical release, with Hulu taking the film's streaming rights. No release date was announced.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More