AKA & Bow Street Films Announce Merger

AKA and Bow Street Films announced today that they will merge into a new production outfit that will be named AKA/Bow Street Films (AKA/BSF). The new entity will allow filmmakers at the company to make high quality films for under $3 million. The slate at AKA/Bow Street Films will consist of two primary tranches of films, all with budgets between $500k and $3 million: genre films such as suspense, thriller, horror and contained action and, second, dramatic features of upcoming directors with strong casts that are made for a sensible price.

An AKA/Bow Street Films project scheduled to go before the cameras between Thanksgiving and Christmas of this year is PARTS PER BILLION starring Frank Langella (“Robot and Frank”), Gena Rowlands (“Yellow”), Rosario Dawson (“Sin City”) and Josh Hartnett (“Black Hawk Down”). Acclaimed writer Brian Horiuchi is directing from his own screenplay, with Molly Hassell (“Edmond”), Jennifer Levine (“Delirious”), Michael Benaroya (“Lawless”) and David Dickson producing. Joe Jenckes (“Margin Call”) will be executive producing with Rosario Dawson, Cotty Chub and AriAnne Fraser. Benaroya Pictures, through its AKA/BSF label, is financing the ensemble film which tells the story of three couples dealing with the same reality shaking event that threatens to tear them apart.

World sales rights are being handled by Celluloid Nightmares, the international sales venture between LA-Based XYZ Films and Paris based Celluloid Dreams.

The first project financed and produced under the AKA/BSF label was THE RAMBLER with Dermot Mulroney (New Girl, “The Grey”) and LINDSAY PULSIPHER (True Blood). The film has already completed production. Written and directed by CAlvin Lee Reeder (“The Oregonian”), the film tells the story of a man known as The Rambler (Mulroney) who, after being released from prison, stumbles upon a strange mystery as he attempts to reconnect with his long lost brother. The film was also produced by XYZ Films, with their partners Celluloid Nightmares handling world sales rights.

“Benaroya Pictures doesn’t often make films for under $3million. AKA/Bow Street Films will focus on this part of the marketplace, becoming specialists at delivering top quality product with great stars for a sensible price. This will allow us, between Benaroya and AKA/Bow Street Films, to really have a home for good material of any budget size,” said Michael Benaroya, CEO of Benaroya Pictures.

Co-founders of Bow Street Films, Joe Jenckes and David Dickson, will work alongside Benaroya on the new venture. Jenckes continues his role as Head of Production for Benaroya Pictures.

Benaroya Pictures, as the parent company, also focuses on producing and financing larger budget films such as the romantic mystery THE WORDS starring Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, and Ben Barnes, which was released by CBS Films earlier this year. Also released recently was the thriller LAWLESS, staring Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska from The Weinstein Company. The company’s financial thriller MARGIN CALL was recently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Best First Feature Award at the recent Independent Spirit Awards.

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