Helmer Laufenberg to Bubble up
iFilm helps director get deal
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Company has also closed deals with helmers Bill Dear and Ken Kwapis ("The Beautician and the Beast") to direct, respectively, the comedies "Tom" and "That Curse Thing" (which is being developed with Glenn Close to produce).
"Thou Shalt Not" will be produced by Bubble Factory principals Sid, Jon and Bill Sheinberg and exec produced by Lloyd Segan, Tom Prince and Gerard Bocaccio.
Laufenberg's "Sunday Game," one of the most popular shorts on iFilm, centers on a group of elderly women who come together to gossip, reminisce and play Russian roulette.
"I thought Gene's short was simply outrageous," said Sheinberg, who while at Universal gave Steven Spielberg his first break. "It showed a flair for the absurd that seemed refreshing to me, and it's a point of view that I felt our project would benefit from."
"We love the fact that one of our directors got exposure through iFilm," said iFilm chairman Skip Paul, who had served on the board of directors at MCA with Sheinberg and Lew Wasserman. "Sid Sheinberg has a long track record of supporting new talent and giving them breakthrough opportunities."
Originally written by "King of the Hill" co-exec producers Alan Freedland and Alan Cohen, "Thou Shalt Not" follows a personal injury lawyer who spirals his car into Lake Michigan. As the water rises, he comes face to face with God, who lays out a deal to save his life: Go a full week without breaking the Ten Commandments.
Laufenberg's credits include an Emmy nomination for an episode of "Duckman" and stints on the series "Clueless" and "Nick Freno." He recently completed his latest short, "Frankz & Beans," shot on digital video.
Close on 'Curse'
"That Curse Thing," which Bubble will likely produce in conjunction with Close's Gotham-based Trillium Prods., is a romantic comedy from first time scribes Nina Giovannitti and Jeannie Elias. Gerard Bocaccio will exec produce along with TBF's Tom Prince; Trillium's Beth Nathanson will join Close in producing the pic, which will start lensing in the spring.
Set in Boston's North End, story focuses on a woman who finds herself the victim of the Italian evil eye, the Mal'occhio, which precludes her from ever falling in love -- or so she thinks. Into her world comes someone who for the first time compliments her and in so doing shows he isn't afraid of her "curse."
Kwapis' feature credits include "Dunston Checks In" for Fox, for which he was awarded the "Prix du Public Cannes Junior" -- the Special Jury Prize at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival for Children.
Piloted 'Sanders'
He also co-directed "He Said, She Said" with wife Marisa Silver; his first feature was "Vibes." In addition to his recent television work, Kwapis directed the pilot to HBO's groundbreaking "The Larry Sanders Show" and went on to garner two Cable Ace nominations for best director.
Penned by Peter Lenkov and slated for a spring start, "Tom" follows a White House communications director who gets himself into trouble when he's caught with his girlfriend in a more than compromising position inside the Oval Office.
Producers on this project are TBF partners Sid, Jon and Bill Sheinberg. Exec producers are Bocaccio and Prince.
'Fate' for future
TBF is in post-production on "A Fate Totally Worse Than Death," which the company self-financed. Its pic "Playing Mona Lisa" will be released later in the year.
Laufenberg is repped by Chris Prince at the Rothman Agency and Brian Inerfeld at Pure Entertainment.
Kwapis was repped by Writers and Artists; scribes Elias and Giovannitti were repped by Loeb & Loeb attorney Leah Antonia Ketchum.
Dear is repped by UTA and the Machine's Chris Rehr.
