Red Bull Media House (RBMH), the co-organizer of San Sebastian’s Festival’s Savage Cinema, a sixtitle selection of extreme sports, outdoor and adventure cinema, has closed a U.S. deal on its centerpiece 2014 production: Motorcycle culture docu-feature On Any Sunday - The Next Chapter, which world premieres Sept. 26 at San Sebastian.
Directed by Dana Brown (Step Into Liquid), and a follow-up to father Bruce Brown’s seminal 1971 docu, The Next Chapter is an insider’s look at the pursuit of excitement, passion and life in the world of motorcycle raiding. It is produced by Freeride Entertainment (Where the Trail Ends) for RBMH, which handles international sales.
Featuring two-wheel superstars –MotoGP rider Marc Marquez, Robbie Maddison, the modern-day Evel Knievel, just for starters– On Any Sunday - The Next Chapter will be released Nov. 7 on 250 theaters in the U.S., Philipp Manderla, RBMH head of feature films said at San Sebastian.
In further deals, Italy’s Space Cinemas will open The Next Chapter on 120 screens. Wanda Films has Spanish rights.
The Next Chapter is RBMH’s first movie shot entirely in 4K Ultra HD. The U.S. deal also raises the bar for action sports movies’ Stateside theatrical distribution. As does Savage Cinema, a noncompetitive, curated section. “It’s a great opportunity to give our films, whether produced out of headquarters in Austria or North American productions, to give them an excellent start in Europe,” Manderla said.
Also, as a media house we have a constant need for content and high quality content. RBMH is constantly growing. Savage Cinema is unrivalled in the action sports world in terms of how many world and European premieres of the champions of the genre.”
Savage Cinema movie producers include sector leaders such as Teton Gravity Research (Higher), Sender Films (Valley Uprising) and Matchstick Productions (Days of My Youth, a RBMH production).
Other outfits are up-and-coming indies, such as Petit Dragon (Dangerous Dave).
The action/adventure sports sector is “a sleeping giant,” Manderla said. There’s a “huge potential” audience out there, he argued, citing one fact: the Winter Olympics’ most watched event used to be female figure skating. As of 2010, it’s half-pike snowboarding. For Manderla, action sports movies’ funding mechanisms and viewing habits are changing. Theatrical is gaining ground. Cerro Torre, one of RBMH’s flagship 2013 productions, is the third biggest Austrian box office hit in Austria last year, and did “solid” B.O. in Germany. Thanks in part to Savage Cinema, also opened in Japan (Synca) and Italy (Space Cinemas). It will open the Banff Mountain Festival Nov.1. Polar Star has bought Latin American rights, Vendetta closed Australia. Russia and other markets are under negotiations. iTunes will release “Cerro Torre” mid-October. JOHN HOPEWELL, EMILIANO DE PABLOS