"Universal Pictures has picked up "Mr. Machine," a high-concept family comedy pitch by David Gordon Green and Danny McBride. Brian Grazer and Jon Heder will produce via their Imagine & Greasy Entertainment banners. "Machine," described as a throwback to the high-concept Amblin family comedies of the 1980s, revolves around three brainy slackers who build a robot that wants to take over the world..." (full details)
"Magnolia Pictures has nabbed North American rights to Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's documentary "Jesus Camp," which takes an objective look at a born-again Christian children's retreat. The A&E IndieFilms feature, which won top jury awards at this year's Tribeca Film Festival and AFI SilverDocs Film Festival, revolves around three young Christians who attend Rev. Becky Fischer's "Kids on Fire" summer camp in Devil's Lake, N.D. It details their training to "take back America for Christ" and hone "prophetic gifts" in a mission as political as it is religious..." (full details)
"Universal Pictures and Focus Features have inked a three-year first-look production pact with helmer Fernando Meirelles ("The Constant Gardener," "City of God") to bring Portuguese and English-language pics by Brazilian helmers to the studio. Focus Features would handle domestic release, Universal in Latin America, and the rest of the world would split between the two..." (full details)
