AFM sees solid, careful biz

'The Words''The Words'The arrival of Daylight Savings Time today, getting an additional hour towards the day, couldn't came in a better time for purchasers and retailers using the American Film Market at its midpoint."We are attempting to cram whenever possible in to the next couple of days before we leave town," stated Christopher Woodrow, topper of NY-based financer Worldview Entertainment. He believed that he'll did about 90 conferences in four days before departing Tuesday."I am so glad that people obtain the extra hour because I'll utilize it acquire some badly needed sleep," noted Sierra/Affinity Boss Nick Meyer. "At this time, the demand is really strong permanently product and it is very competitive."Though purchasers have held off on making bulletins throughout the very first four days, many state that lots of deals have been in the whole shebang, adding that they have been as active because they were throughout the Cannes Film Festival. The most popular theme that emerges -- identifiable casts are what comfort purchasers, a lot more than every other factor.Therefore the solid degree of transactions already going ahead is really a promising sign for that market. A few of the key deals to date include: Parlay Films saw solid sales because of its literary drama "WhatInch and financial thriller "Arbitrage" with sales to many European marketplaces."The company continues to be with an upswing since Cannes, but you need films that react to the marketplace conditions," stated Parlay Films' Lisa Wilson. Exclusive Media started drawing major curiosity about racing drama "Hurry," getting in Ron Howard on the very first day to satisfy with purchasers. "It's fantastic to possess someone of Ron's quality here as we introduced this in Toronto," stated Exclusive Media sales prexy Alex Walton. "That's something which really impressed purchasers from Asia and europe.Inch Stuart Ford's IM Global introduced a quartet of projects. It's financing Jason Statham's actioner "Hummingbird" and "Dead Guy Lower," starring Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace co-financing dramatic thriller "Bloodstream," starring Paul Bettany, John Cox and Stephen Graham and coming onto sell Vertigo Films' three dimensional musical "Walking on Sunshine" FilmNation Entertainment has offered nearly all worldwide areas on Steven Soderbergh's "Miracle Mike," which lately wrapped production. Hannibal Classics set Michael Katleman to direct the experience film "Red-colored Squad" with production slated to start within the first quarter. Endgame Entertainment introduced an ambitious P&A funding plan."Financing is difficult to obtain nowadays -- but it is not possible,Inch stated CineTel chief Paul Hertzberg, recently drawn on as chairman from the Independent Film & Television Alliance.Hertzberg stated business at AFM continues to be steadily consistent to date. Hertzberg also gave props to indie gamers like Summit and Nu Image/Millennium topper Avi Lerner, for walking as the economic crisis reduced. He asserted the indie sector's been skilled at developing game titles using the important elements -- identifiable stars and styles."People want our movies," he declared from the CineTel game titles. "We have experienced business for 31 years therefore we are usually careful even when that limits our upside."Indomina Group, which setup an in-house worldwide sales division throughout Cannes, designed a splash at its first AFM with Melissa Leo and Hayden Panettiere joining Nick Stahl and Freddy Rodriguez in dramatic thriller "Within the Wall." Panettiere and Rodriguez met with purchasers on Thursday in an Indomina event."Obtaining the cast available like we did implies that we are competitive for the reason that space," stated Vice president of worldwide sales Catherine Quantschnigg."The ones need product now so we are getting a great response to date," noted Indomina consultant Carole Siller.Lightning Entertainment held a Saturday event with Stephen Dorff for "Brake" because the action star -- representing a Secret Service agent within the pic -- pressed the flesh about 150 purchasers in the Viceroy."It is important to exhibit the purchasers that Lightning and Stephen are behind this film," stated Lightning prexy Robert Beaumont. "I believe it's sufficiently strong even without Stephen there to market, but getting him there really makes purchasers remember it."Maya Entertainment, which started an overseas sales business 4 years ago, found AFM having a dozen game titles. It clicked up domestic privileges to action-thriller "La hora cero," the greatest grossing local film in Venezuelan history.Elias Axume, Maya's prexy of worldwide distribution, noted that "Hora" is a little of the gamble since the cast is not well-known -- often a tough sell."The market's become very selective," he stated. "You are able to still sell Dvd disks around australia, Germany and also the U.K. The answer is getting the best cast." Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com