Abramorama Leashes Music Docu ‘Breaking A Monster’; Janus Films Hires ‘Cameraperson’
Abramorama has acquired theatrical rights to Luke Meyer’s music documentary Breaking a Monster and will release it next month. The film, which premiered at last year’s SXSW, is a coming-of-age story following the breakout of Unlocking the Truth, a teen heavy metal trio from Brooklyn that skyrockets to fame after a video of their performance in Times Square goes viral. The pic opens June 24 In NYC, followed by Los Angeles a week later and other cities to be added during the summer. Breaking a Monster begins as the three band members are all in seventh grade, spending their weekends playing a blend of heavy metal and speed punk in Times Square. They take on a manager: a 70-year-old industry veteran. With his guidance they are soon on their way to a $1.8-million record deal and a precarious initiation into the music industry. The boys are coming of age, not only as they make the leap to being professional musicians but also as they transcend childhood and take their first steps into the complexities of adulthood. “This is an exceptional, crowd-pleasing, insightful film crafted with great thought and sensitivity,” Abramorama president Richard Abramowitz said. “It appeals to a cross-section of demographics that make us excited about broadening the traditional art-house audience. It’s films like this that give us all hope about the future of the moviegoing experience.”
Janus Films has picked up all North American rights to Cameraperson, a first-person documentary from Kirsten Johnson. Shot over the course of her ongoing 25-year career, the film follows the process exposing the intricacies of her role as the cinematographer for such documentaries as Citizenfour, The Invisible War and Darfur Now. Produced by Marilyn Ness of Big Mouth Productions, the film premiered at Sundance and was the closing-night selection at New Directors/New Films. “Cameraperson will change the way you see documentaries forever,” Janus’ Peter Becker said. “Quietly, persistently, Kirsten Johnson reveals that even in the most objective-seeming footage there is a hidden life being lived behind the camera, an emotional story that ranges from delight to horror, one that has never been told with such elegance and poignancy. Juxtaposing moments that have transfixed her since the moment she first witnessed them, Johnson has made a riveting film that will stand the test of time.” The deal for the film was negotiated between Janus Films and Submarine Entertainment.
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