Fox Searchlight Pictures : Press

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FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES TO BASK IN “LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE”

Specialty Arm Acquires Worldwide Rights To Film That Inspired Standing Ovation Last Night.

PARK CITY, UT January 21, 2006 – Fox Searchlight Pictures President Peter Rice today announced that the company has acquired worldwide rights to the hilarious and heartfelt LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, which received a rare standing ovation following its world premiere last night at the Sundance Film Festival. Marking the feature film directorial debut for renowned music video directors (and husband and wife team) Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and the first feature script penned by Michael Arndt, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE stars an award-winning ensemble cast led by Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano and Greg Kinnear. The film was financed by Big Beach and produced by Big Beach and Bona Fide Productions, with Marc Turtletaub, David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa serving as producers. Jeb Brody and Michael Beugg served as Executive Producers. It is scheduled to be released in summer 2006.

Said Fox Searchlight Pictures President Peter Rice, “This is what Sundance is all about…To find this perfect gem of a movie that can be experienced with an enraptured audience. We look forward to sharing it with the world.”

Added Fox Searchlight Pictures Chief Operating Officer Nancy Utley, “From the first frame of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, we knew we were seeing a startlingly original film. As the movie unfolded, we fell in love with it and knew that we just HAD to be the company to distribute it.”

Said Producer Marc Turtletaub, “Premiering the film at Sundance after the terrific experience of making it with Jon, Val, Michael and the extraordinary cast was a dream come true. Now, with Fox Searchlight, we’ve found the perfect distribution partner.”

Added Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, “We are absolutely thrilled to be a part of Fox Searchlight and that they will be distributing LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. We love what Searchlight has done with other films and look forward to working together.”

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE tells the story of the Hoovers, one of the most endearingly fractured families ever seen on motion picture screens. Together, the motley six-member family treks from Albuquerque to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, California, to fulfill the deepest wish of 7-year-old Olive, an ordinary little girl with big dreams. Along the way the family must deal with crushed dreams, heartbreaks, and a broken-down VW bus, leading up to the surreal Little Miss Sunshine competition itself. On their travels through this bizarrely funny landscape, the Hoovers learn to trust and support each other along the path of life, no matter what the challenge.

The production team for LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE includes Director of Photography Tim Suhrstedt, Production Designer Kalina Ivanov, Costume Designer Nancy Steiner, Pamela Martin as Editor, Mychael Danna as composer, and the up-and-coming band DeVotchKa.

The deal was brokered on Fox Searchlight’s side by Executive Vice President Joseph De Marco and Senior Vice President of Acquisitions Tony Safford with Big Beach’s Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf and Jeb Brody and Cinetic Media’s John Sloss.

The husband and wife team of Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton have built a successful joint career as music video and commercial directors widely renowned for their ability to craft simple, emotional stories with evocative visuals and music. The two met at UCLA where Faris was a dance major and Dayton was in the film department. They were part of the team assembled to create the pioneering MTV show “The Cutting Edge” in 1983, which showcased many of the most famous early videos on that network. The duo produced documentaries, including THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION II: THE METAL YEARS, and directed music videos for a wide variety of artists including Janet Jackson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction, Macy Gray, Oasis, Weezer and The Ramones. Their work in this field has earned them nine MTV Music Video Awards, two Grammy awards, and a Director of the Year award from Billboard Magazine.

In 1998, Dayton and Faris founded Bob Industries to handle their commercial work, which has included spots for Sony Playstation, Target, Apple, Ikea, The Gap, ESPN, and Volkswagen, including the famous commercial for the Volkswagen Cabrio set to the Nick Drake song “Pink Moon.” In 2002, the duo was named by Creativity Magazine in their listing of the top 10 commercial directors. In addition, Dayton and Faris have directed episodes of “Mr. Show with Bob and David” for HBO and produced the film GIFT, co-directed by Perry Farrell.

Fox Searchlight Pictures is a filmmaker-oriented company that focuses on distinctive films helmed by world class auteurs and exciting newcomers. It has its own marketing and distribution operations, and its films are distributed internationally by Twentieth Century Fox.

Fox Searchlight Pictures is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group.

Big Beach was founded to finance and produce independent feature films and documentaries. With an eye toward intelligent, character-driven material, the company’s overall mission is to showcase films that inspire, engage and entertain.