PARK CITY — Davis Entertainment Classics, the independent film branch of John Davis’ 20th Century Fox-based Davis Entertainment, has changed its moniker to Davis Entertainment Filmworks.
First up in the coming year is writer-director Nicholas Racz’s “The Burial Society,” now casting and set for a February shoot in Vancouver. Filmworks president J. Todd Harris and actor-producer Tim Daly are prepping Robin Swicord’s “The Mermaids Singing.” Jessica Lange, Natalie Portman and Hugh Jackman are in talks to star for a summer production in Ireland.
Also in the mix is Robert Celestino’s “Yonkers Joe,” which Filmworks will be producing with Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas’ Green Moon Prods. Griffith also will star.
“The Classics label was sending a ‘small movie’ signal,” said Harris, “and that’s simply not an accurate reflection of the independent film business nor our evolving business plan.”
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Davis and Harris hatched the Davis Entertainment Classics division after the success of the company’s first film, “Denise Calls Up,” which won a special mention for the Camera d’Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. The Davis Classics division since has produced such films as “Digging to China,” “Urbania” and “Bad Manners.”
Davis Filmworks currently is delivering “29 Palms,” starring Rachael Leigh Cook, Chris O’Donnell and Jeremy Davies, to Alliance Atlantis. Company also is completing post on writer-director Mike Bencivenga’s “Happy Hour,” starring Anthony LaPaglia and Eric Stoltz.
Harris’ Filmworks staff is headed up by production vice president Craig Davis Roth, co-producer of several of the division’s films, and includes creative exec Corey C. Witte and story editor Nicholas Thurkettle.
