SIDEWAYS Pair Rolls to Searchlight
Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor team up with Jim Burke to for Ad Hominem Enterprises, which will now be set up at Fox Searchlight.
Source: FilmStew.com
The Oscar-winning writing team behind Sideways, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, have stepped into the Searchlight. According to Daily Variety, Payne and Taylor, who also collaborated on Oscar-nominated films such as About Schmidt and Election, have signed a three-year, first-look production deal with Fox Searchlight, the specialty arm of 20th Century Fox. In the process of the deal, Payne and Taylor will partner up with Jim Burke to form the production shingle Ad Hominem Enterprises.
In a statement released by the filmmakers, Payne said, "Since we typically write our screenplays in Latin, then translate them into English, the name seemed like a natural fit." The statement joked, "The moniker for the Santa Monica-based company, taken literally from the Latin 'to the man' and meaning in rhetoric 'to appeal to the feelings rather than the intellect,' is meant to be pretentious."
Searchlight released Sideways, co-written by Payne and Taylor and directed by Payne, in 2004. The film earned the pair the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, while also earning Payne a nod as Best Director.
"Alexander and Jim are unique, special talents with a proven track record. We're thrilled to see what corner of humanity they'll choose to illuminate next...as long as they keep the budget low," noted Searchlight President Peter Rice.
Burke, who served as a co-producer on Election, has producing credits that include Kingpin, The Breed and Walking Tall, among others.
