Wednesday, 11 June 2008

Hilary Swank, Molly Smith form 2S Films

Company signs two-year, first-look deal with Alcon





Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank and executive-turned-producer Molly Smith have formed 2S Films and signed a two-year, first look agreement with Warner Bros.-based Alcon Entertainment.


2S will develop and produce movies and already has begun putting together a development slate. Two projects on the docket are adaptations based on novels the company has recently optioned for co-production with Alcon:


-- "You're Not You," Michelle Wildgen's debut novel about a woman suffering from a fatal illness and an aimless young woman who enters her life as a personal caregiver. Swank and Smith are producing and are in negotiation to co-produce with Di Novi Pictures.


-- "Falling Out of Fashion," a first novel by Karen Yampolsky about a young woman who leaves a Georgia hippie commune for New York with dreams of becoming a magazine editor.


2S will produce both projects, currently out to writers, and potentially for Swank to topline.


Swank has a long history with Alcon's co-founders and co-presidents Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, dating back to the 2001 drama "The Affair of the Necklace" and 2002's Christopher Nolan thriller "Insomnia," both in which she starred.


Swank most recently toplined the company's romantic comedy "P.S. I Love You" with Gerard Butler. Smith was a producer on the film, which has grossed $145 million worldwide. Swank and Smith met when the former was working as a production exec at Alcon and Swank was starring in Alcon's "Necklace."


"I'm thrilled to be collaborating with Molly on this endeavor," Swank said. "It's always reassuring to work alongside someone with whom you have already established a great professional relationship. I also look forward to the opportunity to collaborate further with a company like Alcon, where there is also a great shared history."


Swank, repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment, was a partner in Accomplice Films, a production outfit she ran with her then-husband, Chad Lowe.



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