23 March, 2009
ContentFilm International has been appointed international sales agent for “I KNEW IT WAS YOU: Rediscovering John Cazale”.
Directed by Emmy-Award winning Richard Shepard (“The Matador”, “The Hunting Party”) and produced along with Stacey Reiss and Brett Ratner, this 40-minute documentary film explores the life of a brilliant but little-known actor whose work has inspired generations of film makers and stars.
John Cazale appeared in just 5 movies but they were 5 of the greatest films of his generation. Each film earned a Best Picture Oscar (r) nomination and teamed him with some of the most acclaimed actors and directors of the 20th Century. Between 1972 and 1978, Cazale co-starred in ‘The Godfather’, ‘The Godfather: Part II’ in the role of Fredo Corleone, ‘The Conversation’, ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ and ‘The Deer Hunter’. Many of his contemporaries remember him as one of the brightest talents of his day and he is venerated by some of today’s most celebrated actors and directors. Yet just 30 years after his untimely death at the age of 42, actor John Cazale is largely unknown to the general public.
Interspersed with clips from Cazale’s movies and rarely seen photos and home video, I KNEW IT WAS YOU features candid interviews with a pantheon of Hollywood royalty, including his best friend Al Pacino, Gene Hackman, Robert De Niro, Richard Dreyfuss, Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet and his girlfriend at the time Meryl Streep, many of whom befriended and worked alongside the Massachusetts-born actor. The film also includes insights from a younger generation of actors and filmmakers inspired by Cazale, among them Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi and Brett Ratner, who produced the film. Toby Melling, Head of TV and DVD Sales for ContentFilm International commented: “I am delighted to be distributing such a high quality documentary film, which will appeal to movie fans everywhere”. Director Richard Shepard said: ‘I was thrilled to bring John Cazale’ story to the screen, and to study the very best of film acting under a microscope. To have Al Pacino and Meryl Streep talk about how much they learned about acting from working with John, to having Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Steve Buscemi talk in such explicit detail about what they learned from watching his movies, I think I KNEW IT WAS YOU shines a much needed light on the secret of one of the best film actors ever. I’m excited Content is involved in getting the movie seen by film fans everywhere.’
I KNEW IT WAS YOU premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2009 and HBO hold the US premiere Pay TV rights.
ContentFilm will be selling the film at MIPTV next week.
