"CHUCK," the biopic of former heavyweight boxer CHUCK WEPNER that stars LIEV SCHREIBER, ELISABETH MOSS and NAOMI WATTS, premieres in select cities Friday, and it comes as the movie’s producer recently signed a deal to make more sports movies. Mandalay Sports Media and IMG this week unveiled a partnership to develop, finance and produce at least 10 sports movies over the next three to five years. Right now MSM, which produced “Chuck,” is gearing up for what portends to be a busy May. “Chuck” will play at four theaters in N.Y. and L.A. Friday and is scheduled to show in more than 100 theaters by the end of the month. Initial reviews for the film have been positive during screenings at film festivals in Tribeca, Venice and Toronto, and the film currently holds a 74% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Schreiber and director PHILIPPE FALARDEAU will be doing Q&A’s in L.A., while Wepner will be doing the same in N.Y. The film’s production budget ended up costing around $5M, a notably low figure for a movie. “We have to reinvent the economic model for sports movies because the scarcity of them in the marketplace is not because it’s a diminished appetite,” said MSM co-Chair MIKE TOLLIN. “(Rather) because the balance has shifted from domestic to foreign and these movies don’t travel as well, you have to make these movies at a different price where you can survive."
NEXT ON THE AGENDA: The first film through the MSM-IMG partnership will be “THE ART OF FIELDING,” based on the ’11 novel by CHAD HARBACH that focuses on a small college baseball team and its star player. Tollin had previously tried to buy rights to the book but had been unsuccessful. CRAIG JOHNSON will serve as the film’s director, while TRIPPER CLANCY is currently writing the script. Filming is targeted to begin in the second half of ’17. Tollin said MSM is looking to announce titles for the other sports films in the near future.
