Coming off their successful collaboration on the Peabody Award-winning documentary Listen To Me Marlon, Showtime will once again team up with acclaimed filmmakers R.J. Cutler (The September Issue, The World According to Dick Cheney) and John Battsek (Searching For Sugar Man, The Tillman Story) on a feature-length documentary about the extraordinary life and times of comic legend John Belushi. For the first time, Belushi's widow Judith Belushi Pisano has agreed to cooperate with the making of a film about the late comedian's life, and provided the exclusive photo of John from her private collection. Directed by Cutler and produced by Battsek, the documentary is set to begin production in the fall, with long-time Belushi collaborator Sean Daniel serving as executive producer along with Bill Couturie. Cutler will also produce. The film will be produced in association with Sky Atlantic.
"Belushi was one of my very first heroes. At a time when film, television, and music were undergoing tectonic shifts within American culture, he was at the center of it all," said Cutler. "At that moment, he had the number one show on television, the number one film at the box office, and the number one record on the charts. We plan to explore his unique genius and how his creative influence is still making an impact to this moment."
"This is a film I have wanted to make for many years as John was a great hero of mine. Having Judy cooperation for the first time on a feature documentary of his life is very special and means we know we will be making a truly authentic film," commented Battsek. "We plan to assemble a deep and three-dimensional look into the life of a man of great complexity and talent who went on to become an American comedic icon."
"John Battsek and I have been discussing the possibility of making this film for over a decade," added Judy Belushi. " I'm thrilled to finally embark upon that journey together with him and director RJ Cutler. Passion Pictures is poised to make the definitive documentary on John Belushi - a man who not only had a profound effect on the comedy landscape of America, but also made an indelible mark on the social fabric of his time which continues to reverberate today."
About
Showtime Networks:
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of
CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, and also offers
Showtime ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND and FLIX ON DEMAND®, and the network's authentication service
Showtime ANYTIME®.
Showtime Digital Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SNI, operates the stand-alone streaming service SHOWTIME®.
Showtime is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Apple®, Roku®, Amazon and Google. Consumers can also subscribe to
Showtime via Hulu, Sony PlayStation®Vue and Amazon Prime Video. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™, and offers Smithsonian Earth™ through SN Digital LLC. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a
Pay-Per-View basis through
Showtime PPV. For more information, go to www.SHO.com.
About Sky: Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company, serving 21 million customers across five countries: UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. We offer the best and broadest range of content, deliver market-leading customer service and use innovative new technology to give customers a better TV experience, whenever and wherever they choose. Sky has annual revenues of over £11 billion and is Europe's leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of £4.9 billion. The group employs 30,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY). For more information visit corporate.sky.com.
About Passion Pictures: PASSION PICTURES is one of the most successful and prolific independent documentary production companies in the international marketplace. Starting with Academy Award-winning One Day In September in 1999, Passion Pictures has been involved with over thirty five feature documentaries, including: Academy Award nominated Restrepo; Academy shortlisted The Tillman Story (Winner: Best Historical Doc Emmy 2012); Prime Time Emmy winning Manhunt; BAFTA Outstanding Debut Winner The Imposter, and Academy Award and BAFTA winning Searching For Sugar Man. Most recently Passion Pictures produced two new acclaim films; Listen to Me Marlon (Shortlisted: Academy Award 2016, Winner: IDA Creative Recognition for Best Writing 2015, Winner: 2016 Peabody Award) and the 2016 Academy Award Nominated Winter On Fire.
Image courtesy of Showtime
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