07.21.11
New York, NY (July 19, 2011) – ATO (Art Takes Over) Pictures announced today that it has acquired U.S. theatrical rights to THIN ICE (formerly titled THE CONVINCER) starring Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Billy Crudup, Lea Thompson, David Harbour, and Bob Balaban.
THIN ICE is a thriller about an insurance agent (Kinnear) looking for a way to jump-start his business, reunite with his estranged wife (Thompson) and escape from the frigid Wisconsin weather. This self-proclaimed master of duplicity believes that salesmanship is all about telling a story – all he needs is a sucker willing to buy it. He hits pay dirt with a lonely retired farmer (Arkin) who is sitting on something much bigger than an insurance commission but, after meeting a local locksmith (Crudup) who traps him in his own game of deceit, mayhem insues.
ATO has slated a fall 2011 release.
Werc Werk Works’ Elizabeth Redleaf and Christine Walker and Spare Room Productions’ Mary Francis Budig produced. Directed by Jill Sprecher (THIRTEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING, CLOCKWATCHERS), the writers are Sprecher and her sister Karen Sprecher (“Big Love,” THIRTEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING).
According to ATO co-founders Johnathan Dorfman and Temple Fennell: “THIN ICE is an incredibly fun and entertaining film. Greg, Alan, Billy and the rest of the talented cast do a magnificent job and are sure to delight audiences this fall.”
“We are very happy to have found a terrific partner in ATO who sees the same potential in THIN ICE as we do,” says Elizabeth Redleaf, CEO of Werc Werk Works. “The film embodies the Werc Werk Works philosophy of guiding distinctive and diverse projects, and we are confident that ATO’s mutual enthusiasm and dedication will help bring the film to a broad audience.”
Sarah Lash and Vicki Cherkas, the latter acting as legal counsel, negotiated on behalf of ATO with CAA and Werc Werk Works’ attorney, Stephen Clark, representing the producers.
Currently, ATO has the Sundance hit, TERRI starring John C. Reilly, in release.
About Werc Werk Works
Werc Werk Works is an independent film production and finance company founded by Elizabeth Redleaf and Christine Kunewa Walker. Launched in August 2008 and based in Minnesota, the company is dedicated to the production and financing of high caliber, story-driven films with wide appeal. In addition to ‘Thin Ice,” Werc Werk Works productions include; the upcoming “Darling Companion,” directed by Lawrence Kasdan and starring Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline; “HOWL,” written and directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman and starring James Franco as Allen Ginsburg; “Life During Wartime,” written and directed by Todd Solondz and Bela Tarr’s award winning “The Turin Horse.”