NEW YORK, NY (May 19, 2017) – McLaren the incredible true story of motorsports legend and engineering visionary Bruce McLaren, will make its U.S. premiere in a special screening for motorsports VIPs on the eve of America’s most iconic racing weekend.
Gunpowder & Sky Distribution, the award-winning, independent content sales and distribution division of global content studio Gunpowder & Sky, today announced that it has acquired the U.S. rights to the film. The film’s rollout will continue with the U.S. Festival premiere in Michigan’s Henry Ford Big Screen Experience at Cinetopia Film Festival on June 2nd at 8 p.m. ET. Additional targeted events across the country are being planned throughout the Summer, with the biopic’s digital release scheduled to launch after the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August.
Premiering less than 48 hours before the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500, the eagerly awaited film recounts the New Zealander’s life from his humble beginnings at his father’s auto shop in Auckland, to revolutionizing Formula One racing by becoming the youngest driver ever to win a Grand Prix, to his death at 32 in a racing accident. Featuring interviews from his closest friends and family members, the documentary is an unprecedented window into the life of a true genius.
Directed by Roger Donaldson, McLaren was written by Matthew Metcalfe, Tim Woodhouse and James Brown, with Fraser Brown and Metcalfe producing. The film was made by General Film Corporation and Universal Pictures in association with the New Zealand Film Commission, Images & Sound, The Giltrap Group and FB Pictures, with funding through the New Zealand Government’s Screen Production Funding Grant and financing from the ANZ Bank.
“It’s an honor to tell Bruce McLaren’s story,” Metcalfe said. “Myself, my fellow producer, Fraser, Roger and the whole filmmaking team are excited to partner with Gunpowder & Sky to bring this tale of accomplishment and following your dreams to U.S. audiences.”
“Bruce McLaren is a legend in the automotive world,” said Jake Hanly, Gunpowder & Sky’s VP of Acquisitions. “Roger’s film paints a compelling portrait of not just the man, but also his outsized influence on Formula One and automotive culture as a whole – it’s a story of vision, audacity, and entrepreneurial grit.”
The deal was negotiated by XYZ Films with Gunpowder & Sky Distribution planning a multiplatform release for the film. This deal completes the sale of the film’s rights across the globe.
Outside of the U.S., McLaren will be released by Transmission Films in New Zealand and Australia, and by Universal Pictures in all other global territories. The film will be launched in the U.K. in late May.
ABOUT GUNPOWDER & SKY DISTRIBUTION
Gunpowder and Sky Distribution (formerly FilmBuff) is the New York-based, award-winning, independent content sales and distribution division of Gunpowder & Sky.
Gunpowder & Sky is an award-winning independent global studio, dedicated to creating, marketing and distributing video content independent of form, genre or platform. Gunpowder & Sky collaborates with both emerging and established talent to generate premium video content ranging from 90-second to 90-minute stories on all platforms. With in-house development, production, marketing and distribution capabilities, the company operates as a full 360-studio and oversees a library of over 1500 titles.
Working with numerous creative partners such as Hyde Park, Blumhouse, Caviar, DIGA, Full Fathom Five, Bona Fide Productions, Adaptive Studios and Den of Thieves, with investments and strategic partnerships with leading social video studios Cut and Shareability, Gunpowder & Sky has recently released or launched projects including Spotify’s most viewed series Drawn & Recorded, the Herbalife exposé documentary, Betting on Zero, which debuted as the number one Documentary in the iTunes store, multi-platform sci-fi destination, DUST, and Ben Young’s Hounds of Love which just won the Overlook Film Festival’s Jury and Audience Awards for Best Feature with Emma Booth winning Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival.
Upcoming projects include Jeff Baena’s (I Heart Huckabees) The Little Hours, starring Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Fred Armisen, Jemima Kirke and Nick Offerman, the film adaption of Jeff Hart’s novel Eat, Brains, Love, Sarah Benincasa’s DC Trip, Summer of 84 with award-winning directors RKSS, and the Jackass-style, next generation stunt series, Too Stupid To Die.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in NY and London, Gunpowder & Sky was founded by Van Toffler, former CEO of Viacom’s Music Group, Floris Bauer, former Global Head of Corporate Development & Strategy Endemol, and Otter Media, a joint venture of AT&T and The Chernin Group.
