Allison Janney
Academy Award® nominee Ellen Page (“Juno,” “Inception”) and Emmy® winner Allison Janney (Spy, CBS’ “Mom”) have signed on to star in the dramatic comedy “Tallulah.” Sian Heder (Netflix’ “Orange is the New Black”) wrote the screenplay and will direct the film. Route One Entertainment is financing the film, and Heather Rae (“Frozen River”) is producing along with Route One’s CEO Russell Levine, Maiden Voyage’s Chris Columbus and Eleanor Columbus and Todd Traina. Ocean Blue Entertainment is co-financing the picture. Good Universe will handle international sales. Production is slated to start in June.
“Tallulah” tells the story of a free-spirited young urban adventurer who rescues a baby girl from her spoiled and reckless mom. Page stars as TALLULAH or “Lu” who quickly learns that the rest of the world thinks she kidnapped the child. She passes the baby off as her own with the mother of her ex-boyfriend, MARGO, a middle aged divorcé played by Janney. By the time the baby is returned to her rightful owner, all three women will forge an unbreakable bond of motherhood.
“We believe in emotionally charged stories with universal themes,” said Route One’s CEO Russell Levine. “This project has award-winning talent teamed up with a gifted young writer/director who wrote a brilliant script. Ellen Page and Allison Janney will give this film the nuanced comedic and dramatic strength it needs and we’re thrilled to move this project forward.”
The deal was negotiated by Route One’s COO Chris Lytton and ICM Partners, who represent the domestic rights. Page is represented by WME and Vie Entertainment and Janney by Gersh and Thruline Entertainment.
Route One Entertainment’s current projects include Billy Ray’s “The Secret in their Eyes,” starring Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Chiwetel Ejiofor and Gary Ross’ “The Free State of Jones,” with Matthew McConaughey. Route One co-financed both projects with STX Entertainment who will release the films domestically with IM Global handling international sales. Route One is also in post-production on Drake Doremus’ “Equals” starring Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult. Route One’s first project “A Walk in the Woods” starring Robert Redford, Nick Nolte and Emma Thompson, will be distributed domestically by Broad Green Pictures in September.
About Route One Entertainment
Route One is a project-based entertainment financing company founded by CEO Russell Levine in 2008 and backed by Jeffrey W. Ubben, founder and CEO of ValueAct Capital, a San Francisco- based $16B investment fund. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Route One’s mission is to finance a diversified portfolio of highly marketable, premiere entertainment properties within a venture capital structure to align the interests of investors, partners and producers. Route One formed Route One Fund I (“ROF I”) in 2011 to finance and co-finance entertainment projects, and ROF I made a $20M fund-to-fund investment in the Seoul-based $120M Union Global Contents Investment Fund (“UGF”).
Route One has successfully executed on a strategy to accelerate investments in the last year, financing or co-financing five feature films. The company will finance three projects in 2015 along with the UGF and will independently finance projects through ROF I. The company focuses on talent-driven properties with universal themes and visually dynamic storytelling that support broad distribution in the U.S. and around the world.