Have a great break and we’ll see you in the new year.  Our offices are closed through January 4 2009.

There’s rather nice coverage in yesterday’s Guardian; and we are in very good company – including companies I love like Spotify, my friend Brent Hoberman’s MyDeco, MoonPig and Mind Candy.  I blogged a while ago that Richard Wray, the Guardian’s communications editor had interviewed me about innovation. Turns out this is why. Here’s the soundbite:

“In the film industry, Arvind Ethan David, chief executive of Slingshot Studios, can see the same changes coming: “There exists a large and widening disjunction between how audiences want to consume films – when, where and how they want – and how the film industry insists on providing them, according to rigid windowing patterns, fixed price points and non-coordinated marketing between the platforms. Companies that actually work with consumers can reap benefits.”

The full piece is here; and here’s a funny image that the photo editor has chosen to represent what early adopters look like!

…and what a month it is promising to be…

On Monday, 11th May, we commence principal photography on THE INFIDEL, slingshot’s 5th film and a glorious funny collaboration with Omid Djalili and David Baddiel. The film represents a number of firsts – Omid’s first lead, David’s first feature, Uzma Hasan’s first film as producer and the first time anyone has ever made a comedy about a fundamentalist Muslim cleric. More info is leaking across the interweb.

On Friday, 15th May, oh calloh callay, our dearly treasured second movie FRENCH FILM finally hits selected cinemas across the UK. We launched it last night at BAFTA to a wonderfully receptive audience, and are now crossing all our bits that reviewers will be as enthusiastic as audiences have been so far. In a joyous co-incidence of timing, Ash Ditta, the film’s writer became a father for the first time last night, launching both his movie and baby Nancy into the world. Find out where you can see FRENCH FILM here (Nancy is being kept under wraps for a bit longer)

and finally, on Friday 22nd May, screens across the nation TORMENTED comes out.

Somewhere amidst that we have to pop to Cannes for a few days…. so yes, its May, its glorious, every lad will be a cad and blog service will resume in June… xx

Oh yes he is. on 15 May, FRENCH FILM arriveth, and with it: The King.  Click on the photo, thanks to FutureMovies.

The news will hit the press this week, but as ever I wanted loyal blog-readers to hear it first here. We’re announcing a new string to our movie-bow, here at slingshot (god that’s an awful mix of weapon metaphors).

Building on what we’ve learnt about developing great scripts for low budget movies, we are launching, with some top-draw, super-deluxe, heap impressive partners (Salt, Ingenious and Optimum and with the continued support of Skillset) a new development strand – SECOND PICTURE SYNDROME – a process for making a slate of mid budget ($10-25m) commercial, genre pictures designed to cross over into the US and internationally.
More information, including who can apply and how, here.