Macy gets 'Deal'
Actor co-wrote Ryan starrer
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Macy co-wrote the script with his longtime collaborator Steven Schachter ("The Wool Cap," "Door to Door"), who's directing.
Muse Entertainment is producing in association with Dogpond/Sydnyk Works and Union Square Entertainment. Peace Arch Entertainment reps worldwide distribution rights.
Shooting begins in South Africa in March.
Macy will play a down-on-his-luck Hollywood producer who cons a major studio into financing a $100 million action adventure script about 19th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. When the leading man gets kidnapped, and the picture is shut down, the producer and a Hollywood studio exec use the studio's blocked funds to make a completely different picture without telling the studio.
The film is a passion project for Macy, who's spent the last two years raising the almost $8 million budget with all non-Hollywood investors.
Pic was originally written for Showtime, but when the cabler drastically cut down on the number of original movies it produced Macy and Schachter decided to reconceive the project for the bigscreen.
Through contacts they'd met at the Sarasota Film Festival, they began raising funds and teamed with Keri Nakamoto, who came aboard as a producer. Later they hooked up with Muse's Irene Litinsky and Michael Prupas, who are also producing. Litinsky was a producer on "The Wool Cap."Macy, Schachter, Gary Howsom, Lewin Webb, Jason Berk and Matt Lane are exec producing.
After the team opened up an office in Bucharest, where they initially planned to shoot the film, the production collapsed when one of the film's Canadian financiers fell through.When Macy apprised his investors of the snafu, he was surprised when they said, "You keep that money, Billy! You think that's bad? Let me tell you about the time...," Macy explained.
In the end, all the investors remained in place.Macy and Co. hooked up with Peace Arch Entertainment at the Toronto Film Festival.
At this point there's no distributor for "The Deal," but Macy said that was always the plan. "We wanted to be creatively independent and financially independent," he said. "We wanted to make sure we drove the bus. The new paradigm in Hollywood is to make the movie, and if it's good, you'll get a distributor."
Macy will next branch into directing with the comedy "Keep Coming Back," which he'll shoot after "The Deal." Meanwhile, he'll next be seen in Disney buddy comedy "Wild Hogs."
Ryan will next be seen in Warner Bros.' "In the Land of Women," directed by Jonathan Kasdan. She recently wrapped Nu Image/Millennium Films' "Homeland Security."
