Miramax joins team on Beaufoy's 'Dry'
'Monty' scribe takes on competition hairdressing
The $215 million worldwide gross of the $3.5 million-budgeted "Monty" has inspired the two companies to greenlight the next Beaufoy pic without a script, director, budget or cast.
Intermedia and Miramax will co-finance "Dry," with Miramax distributing it in North America and the U.K., and Intermedia handling it in the rest of the world.
The U.K.-set film -- which is based on an idea by producer Ruth Jackson -- will be a co-production between Jackson's West Eleven Films and Sydney Pollack's Mirage Enterprises (Daily Variety, Jan. 14).
Exact story for "Dry" is not known, but pic is described as a "social" comedy set in the world of competition hairdressing.
Beaufoy, who received an Oscar nomination for original screenplay for "Monty," is working on the screenplay for a tentative fall start.
Fox Searchlight backed "Monty." It has also acquired North American, U.K. and Australian rights to the Beaufoy-scripted romance "Among Giants" (Daily Variety, March 9).
The "Dry" deal highlights the number of collaborations that Mirage, Miramax and Intermedia have in the works.
Mirage produced the Gwyneth Paltrow comedy "Sliding Doors," which Intermedia, Miramax and Paramount Pictures are co-distributing. Miramax and Paramount are also co-distributing Mirage's forthcoming "The Talented Mr. Ripley," starring Matt Damon.
Another Intermedia/Miramax project is the ensemble drama "Dancing With Architecture," which is being written and directed by Willard Carroll.
Intermedia and Miramax are also in talks for Intermedia to take foreign rights to a number of Miramax productions.
Finally, Intermedia and Mirage are developing the drama "Dark Grace," to be directed by Shekhar Kapur ("Bandit Queen").
