February 1st, 2007
By DAVE MCNAIR DAVE@READTHEHOOK.COM
In yet another Dave Matthews/Coran Capshaw success story, the duo's ATO Pictures wowed audiences and studio fat-cats at the Sundance Film Festival Saturday, January 27 with their feature film, Joshua, staring Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga. In fact, by Monday, ATO had inked a deal with Fox Searchlight Pictures for $4 million.
"We found out we got into Sundance the Tuesday before Thanksgiving," says ATO executive producer Temple Fennell. "Then we found out we got the 8:30 Saturday night screening... which was the perfect time."
Joshua, an original script by novelist David Gilbert and director George Ratliff, tells the story of a brilliant, precocious nine-year old, played by Jacob Kogan, who wreaks psychological havoc on his family, especially his father (Rockwell) and mother (Farmiga), after the birth of a new sister. As one reviewer explains, "It's a total horror film in the vein of The Omen, but without the supernatural elements. It's all very realistic and plausible.