First Independent Pictures acquires Mail Order Wife

Jeremy Kay in Los Angeles

09 August 2004

Gary Rubin's fledgling distribution outfit First Independent Pictures has picked up domestic rights to Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland's comedy Mail Order Wife (formerly Mail Order Bride) and plans to release it in theatres on Feb 11 2005.

The picture stars Eugenia Yuan, Adrian Martinez, and Gurland, who co-wrote with Botko, and follows the misadventures of a lonely man from Queens, New York, who gets more than he bargains for when he orders an Asian bride.

Cherry Road Films chief executive officer Bo Hyde and president Kendall Morgan produced and financed with Nina Yang and Bob Sheng's Double Edge Entertainment, and Ithaka creator Andrew Weiner also served as producer with Avram Ludwig.

Hypnotic co-founders Doug Liman and David Bartis served as executive producers. Rubin acquired US theatrical rights earlier this week.

"Mail Order Wife is unlike any other film I have seen," Rubin said in a statement. 'It is a film that defies genre. It has everything a modern movie-goer is looking for: laughs, social commentary, a compelling story and tons of surprises."

Mail Order Bride will be First Independent's first release since Rubin, a former executive vice president of sales and acquisitions at Artisan Entertainment, launched the Santa Monica-based company at the AFM in February.

First Independent aims to release four to six pictures a year and focuses on pre-buying domestic rights to features while acquiring finished films, and selectively providing P&A and finishing funds.

Rubin will also release Kristoffer Tabori's corporate thriller Pursued, which stars Christian Slater, Michael Clarke Duncan and Estella Warren.