Hello again, dx313 --
Although I and you won't know for sure until you try to make the
contact, I am reasonably confident that I can get you close enough to
the target to justify posting this information as an answer. Let me
know if I am wrong.
As of the release date of "Spanglish" in 2004, Julie Ansell was the
President of Motion Pictures at Gracie Films, which produced that
film. Gracie Films was created as the production company of
producer/writer/director James Brooks (of "The Simpsons" fame), and it
is now under the aegis of Sony Pictures in one of those relationships
that only Hollywood insiders can understand.
Here is spposedly current contact information for Gracie Films:
Gracie Films
c/o Sony Film Corp
10202 W Washington Blvd
Culver City, California 90232
USA
Tel: 310 244 4222
Fax: 310 244 1530
Keemps Film and Television: Gracie Films
http://www.kftv.com/company-25865.html
Here is a link to one of the sites identifying Ms. Ansell as the
President of Motion Pictures for Gracie Films:
"Gracie Films
Julie Ansell
President, Motion Pictures"
TV Spy: Alphabetical List of Production Companies
http://www.tvspy.com/researchdb/research.cfm?page=4&PARENT_CAT_ID=1841
Additional Information (found along the way):
Julie Ansell is a 1988 graduate of Northwestern University, has been
associated with James Brooks and Gracie Films for some time, and was
its Vice President of Development in 2001:
"Thanks to the NUEA (Northwestern University Entertainment Alliance)
West, alumni in the entertainment field gleaned the latest information
on the behind-the-scenes decisions of the film and television
industry. In August the club held a panel discussion, Sales and
Seasons: From Pitch to Production, featuring Julie Ansell (S88), vice
president of development for Gracie Films, screenwriter Eric Bernt
(S86) and producer/writer Ira Ungerleider (S90)."
Northwestern U.: Alumni News: Winter 2001
http://www.northwestern.edu/magazine/northwestern/winter2001/alumninews/special.htm
Here is a short bio of Ms. Ansell, which has been machine-translated
from a French website, but is generally understandable:
"After having obtained her diploma of Northwestern University, Julie
Ansell starts her career at Gracie Films in 1989, initially like in
charge of development then at various stations before becoming
vice-president. She works on films like the WAR OF the ROSE de Danny
DeVito, I' LL C the ANYTHING and FOR WORST AND BEST of James L Brooks,
BOTTLE ROCKET of Wes Anderson, JERRY MAGUIRE of Cameron Crowe. She
directs the offices of Gracie Films to New York during two years
before becoming president de Barry Mendel Productions at Disney,
working on RUSHMORE of Wes Anderson and SIXIEME SENS of Mr. Night
Shyamalan. She returned to Gracie Films in 1998 as president of the
department full-length films and producing. She then produced
MISDEMEANOURS of Penny Marshall."
Comme au Cinema: Julie Ansell
http://www.commeaucinema.com/news.php3?nominfos=38834&cinenews=7
Finally, here is a link to a quirky Gracie Films/Spangler website that
contains some clever animation:
Gracie Films/Spangler
http://www.graciefilms.com/
Search Strategy:
I began with a straightforward Google search on Ms. Ansell's name:
"julie ansell"
://www.google.com/search?
num=100&hl=en&c2coff=1&safe=off&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-01,GGLD:en&q=%22julie+ansell%22&spell=1
Because the name is fairly unusual and the search's "hits" were
limited, I decided to scan them all looking for helpful information.
(References to other Julie Ansells were limited and included a doctor,
a 19th century North Carolinian and, most interestingly, a
receptionist from Australia being frantically sought by a gentleman
who met her on a South Asian beach.)
This review quickly led to the Brooks/Gracie Films connection and
eventually to the conclusion that all of the information from the
search was consistent.
I then did a similarly straightforward search on the term "Gracie
Films" which led to the contact information:
"gracie films"
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-01,GGLD:en&q=%22gracie+films%22
Finally, in order to make sure I hadn't missed anything, I performed
various other Google searches that failed to reveal any additional or
conflicting information.
Again, I am reasonably confident that this is the information you
need. But if anything is unclear, please asl for clarification before
rating the answer.
markj-ga |
Clarification of Answer by
markj-ga
on
05 Apr 2005 11:40 PDT
dx --
This is a very tough one, primarily because of Polly Platt's long,
varied and somewhat notorious career, but I have one lead for you to
consider checking out, and I will keep looking for more.
Here is a description of a February 5, 2005 Master Class at the
University of Texas:
"Producer/Production Designer/Screenwriter Polly Platt has been at the
vanguard of some of the most important movements in recent American
cinema, from her early collaborations with Peter Bogdanovich on The
Last Picture Show and Paper Moon to her role as producer of Wes
Anderson's debut feature Bottle Rocket. In Austin for development of
the upcoming Burnt Orange Productions feature A West Texas Children's
Story, Polly Platt will screen excerpts from her work and discuss a
brilliant career that ranges from working as Nancy Sinatra's stunt
double on Roger Corman's Wild Angels, to her crucial role in
developing the much-admired visualaesthetic of 1970s American cinema,
and beyond. RTF lecturer and Austin Chronicle film writer Spencer
Parsons will moderate. This week's Master Class is co-sponsored by the
UT Film Institute."
U. of Texas: Department of Radio, Television and Film
http://rtf.utexas.edu:16080/pdf/newsletter/archive/2005/feb5-11.pdf
Note the reference to Platt's current association with a film produced
by Burnt Orange Productions, the film-making arm of the U. of Texas.
Here is contact information for that company:
Burnt Orange Productions, LLC
710 W. 5th Street
Austin, TX 78701
Main line: 512.232.5943
Fax: 512.322.9195
Burnt Orange Productions: Contact Info
http://www.burntorangeproductions.com/location.htm
If you haven't already tried to reach Platt through the thriving
Austin film community, you might try following this lead because it
involves a very recent "sighting" of Ms. Platt, and Burnt Orange and
the U. of Texas Radio, Television and Film depertment must have
current information on how to contact her.
Let me know what happens.
markj-ga
|
Clarification of Answer by
markj-ga
on
06 Apr 2005 06:28 PDT
dx --
It appears to me that direct contact information for Polly Platt is
unlike to be found online. All the available evidence points to the
notion that Ms. Platt has scaled back her career in the last few years
and has not been involved recently in the sort of high-visibility
projects that marked the heyday of her producing/set
designing/scriptwriting fame.
That leads to believe that your best bet is to focus on her current
film production project under the aegis of the University of Texas.
That project, which I alluded to in my last clarification, is titled
?West Texas Kids? or ?A West Texas Children?s Story? (both titles
appear to refer to the same project). In burrowing a little deeper
into the facts surrounding that project, I have found a few new
potential leads that you might follow up on.
The first is Thom Mount, a former president of Universal Pictures, who
apparently was involved in the project:
"?A West Texas Children's Story? was brought to UT Film Institute by
Thom Mount, former president of Universal Pictures.?
The Daily Texan: UT Film Institute To Begin Shooting in June (2/10/05)
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2005/02/10/University/Ut.Film.Institute.To.Begin.Shooting.In.June-858875.shtml
Here is 2004 contact information for Thom Mount:
Mount Film Company
9169 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90069
310-288-5990
310-288-5991 fax
Done Deal: Production Companies (10/12/94)
http://www.scriptsales.com/DDProdCoMZ.html
The next lead is Brad Isaacs, who is the director and scriptwriter for
the current project:
?[Brad Isaacs?]His screenwriting career has included re-writes of such
films as Tommy Boy. Isaacs is currently involved with A West Texas
Children's Story, an original script he wrote and is directing, with
Polly Platt serving as producer.?
Entertainment Magazine: Adam Sandler's 8 Crazy Nights
http://emol.org/film/archives/8crazynight.html
Isaacs is currently spending a lot of time in Austin on the current
project, and might well be contactable through the U. of Texas Film
Institute and/or Burnt Orange Productions (see contact information in
my previous post):
?Burnt Orange Productions seeks interns to work with Director Brad
Isaacs during Pre-Production and Production on our summer film, A West
Texas Children's Story.
?At various times February-May Brad will be in town scouting locations
and casting and will need part-time help. Once official
pre-production begins (mid-May) he will need a full-time assistant.?
U. of Texas Film Institute
http://utfi.utexas.edu/intern/
One last lead in connection with this project is a little more
tenuous, but may be worth a try as a last resort. The European
distribution of the upcoming Polly Platt film is apparently being
handled by Entera Entertainment:
?Pics [to be distributed by Entera] join the announced "West Texas
Kids," from producer Polly Platt, toplining Rory Culkin and Hayden
Panettiere. "We've survived the first year, which is always the
hardest for any company, and some of the financing on the movies is
really advanced right now," Simmons says.?
Kundalini Pictures: Variety: Entera plans pan-Euro distrib op, by John
Hopewell (11/9/03)
http://www.kundalinipictures.com/press/14.php
Here is a link to contact information for Entera?s slate of officers,
including CEO Jeff Simmons, who was quoted above:
Entera Entertainment: Contact Info
http://www.enteraent.com/english_contact.htm
I have given your follow-up inquiry my best shot, but it seems to me
that current direct contact information for Ms. Platt is not available
online. I hope that one of the leads I have provided pans out. If it
doesn?t, you may want to tap the collective skills of the researcher
community by filing a new question for the information.
markj-ga
|
