In a record-breaking sale, said to be one of the biggest ever festival acquisitions, HBO has acquired the global rights to Cory Finley’s (Thoroughbreds) critically acclaimed sophomore feature Bad Education, starring Academy Award® Nominee Hugh Jackman (The Greatest Showman, Les Misérables), Academy Award® Winner Allison Janney (I, Tonya), Golden Globe® Nominee Ray Romano (The Big Sick, The Irishman), Geraldine Viswanathan (Blockers) and Alex Wolff (Hereditary).

Produced by Automatik and Sight Unseen. Fred Berger, Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Oren Moverman, and Mike Makowsky produced. Executive Producers are Leonid Lebedev and Caroline Jaczko.

Bad Education made its World Premiere as a Special Presentation at the Toronto international Film Festival. The film earned rave reviews – noting career-best work by Jackman and Janney - and was listed on Variety’s, IndieWire’s, and Rolling Stone’s best films of fall festivals lists.

In a highly competitive situation, HBO beat out a number of theatrical distributors and is planning a 2020 release. The WarnerMedia-owned company will air the feature globally where it has networks and streaming services and is planning an award push in 2020.

Inspired by true events, Bad Education follows Frank Tassone (Jackman) and Pam Gluckin (Janney) who reign over a popular Long Island school district on the verge of the nation’s top spot, spurring record college admissions and soaring property values. But when an embezzlement scheme surfaces that threatens to destroy all they’ve built, Frank is forced to maintain order and secrecy — by whatever means necessary. Jackman’s performance as the charismatic Tassone has been praised as a career-high by multiple critics.

Bad Education is written by Mike Makowsky (I Think We’re Alone Now), who grew up in Roslyn, Long Island during the scandal and drew from the New York Magazine long read article “The Bad Superintendent” by Robert Kolker.

CAA Media Finance and Endeavor Content represented the filmmakers on the deal.

First Feature From Financing Company LINE 200; Production Is Currently Underway in Canada

Alex Wolff (Hereditary, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) and Imogen Poots (Green Room, Frank & Lola) will star in writer/director Joey Klein’s (The Other Half) upcoming crime drama Castle in the Ground. William Woods under his Woods Entertainment banner will produce alongside Michael Solomon under Band With Pictures. Andra Gordon of American Entertainment Investors developed the project with Woods and Solomon and is executive producing alongside Tom Spriggs, Rob McGillivray, Ben Stranahan, George Stranahan, John Hansen, Mark Gingras, and John Laing. The film is financed by Line 200, Ontario Creates, NOHFC and Telefilm.

After the untimely death of his mother (Rebecca), a teenager (Henry) befriends his charismatic but troubled next-door neighbor (Ana), who embroils Henry in a world of addiction and violence just as the opioid epidemic takes hold of their small town. Principal photography is currently underway in Sudbury, Canada. Matthew Lessall is casting and Bobby Shore is the cinematographer.

Wolff boasts an impressive slate. Most recently he starred in Ari Aster’s Hereditary alongside Toni Collette, House of Tomorrow opposite Asa Butterfield, My Friend Dahmer, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle alongside Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart and Peter Berg’s Patriot Day. He also stars in the recently wrapped untitled Jumanji sequel, the upcoming Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney starrer Bad Education, and Human Capital opposite Liev Schreiber and Marisa Tomei. Wolff recently wrote and directed his first feature film, The Cat and the Moon, for which he also stars.

Since her breakthrough performance in the critically acclaimed, 28 Weeks Later, Poots has continued to impress critics and audiences alike in films such as Jane Eyre, A Late Quartet, Filth, Greetings from Tim Buckley, Green Room, Frank & Lola, Sweet Virginia, I Kill Giants, Mobile Homes, Friday’s Child and The Art of Self-Defense. Next, she will star in Melina Matsoukas’ post-apocalyptic series “Y” for FX.

Klein is an award-winning filmmaker and actor known for directing the acclaimed The Other Half, starring Tom Cullen and Emmy-winner Tatiana Maslany. As an actor, recent credits include Through Black Spruce and We’re Still Together.

Wolff is represented by CAA, Untitled and Definition Entertainment; Poots is represented by CAA and Troika; and Klein is represented by Amanda Rosenthal Talent Agency and 3 Arts Entertainment.
ABOUT WOODS ENTERTAINMENT

Woods Entertainment is a Toronto based production company that has a focus on fiction film with both commercial and philosophical merit. The prodco’s second feature, Mean Dreams starring Sophie Nélisse, Josh Wiggins, Colm Feore & Bill Paxton made its premiere in the 2016 edition of the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes and had its North American premiere at TIFF. The company is currently in post-production on three features, Spinster (2019) starring Chelsea Peretti and The Rest of Us (2019) starring Heather Graham, Sophie Nélisse & Jodi Balfour and Hammer starring Mark O’Brien & Will Patton.