Eric Newman’s Grand Electric Seals Multi-Year Pact With Studiocanal

Producer Eric Newman’s newly-launched Grand Electric has inked a multi-year co-venture with Studiocanal.

Under the deal, Grand Electric will acquire, develop, and produce films for the European and U.S. markets, while Studiocanal will act as a creative partner, financier and will handle international sales as well as distribute the movies in France, the U.K., Germany, Australia/New Zealand.

Says Newman, “I am extremely fortunate to be able to formalize what has been an incredibly important relationship to me. I look forward to being a part of the continuing expansion of Studiocanal as a stand-alone film content provider”.

Grand Electric will be based in L.A. and will continue to develop and produce Newman’s staple elevated genre fare.

Newman, who has been in the film business for over 20 years, has produced a flurry of highly successful films via Strike Entertainment, a production and finance shingle based at NBC/Universal that he co-founded in 2002. His best-known credits include Zack Snyder’s re-imagining of “Dawn of the Dead,” Alfonso Cuaron’s “Children of Men,” James Gunn’s directorial debut “Slither,” Andrew Niccol’s “In Time” and Jose Padilha’s “Robocop.”

“We are thrilled to be able to partner with Eric as he launches Grand Electric. Eric has great taste and knows how to make quality commercial films that play to audiences throughout the world,” said Courson.

Courson added that “(Studiocanal) was in advanced development with Eric and Jose Padilha on ‘Revenge’ and (looks) forward to many more films together, some may come from our large library, that comprises more than 5000 titles and is a great source of IP.”

Newman first collaborated with Studiocanal on “The Last Exorcism” which the Paris-based studio financed and distributed. Based on an original idea by Newman, the movie was produced by Strike with Eli Roth. Released domestically by Lionsgate in 2010, the $1.6 million film went on to gross $70 million worldwide and spawned a sequel in 2013.

Newman has recently expanded into television. He is the executive producer of the Netflix series “Hemlock Grove,” which has been reupped for a third season. He is also the exec producer of “Narcos,” another Netflix series which is currently lensing its first season this summer in Colombia.

Studiocanal’s slate currently includes “Paddington” with Nicole Kidman and Pierre Morel’s “The Gunman” with Sean Penn, Javier Bardem and Idris Elba.

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