The Academy Award-nominated producer behind Up In the Air and Juno has set up an Australian production office and acquired the film rights to two crime autobiographies.
Daniel Dubiecki's The Allegiance Theater production company, based in the US, has opened a Melbourne branch, which will be led by his Australian partner, Torus Tammer. Dubiecki's father was Australian and he holds dual Australian-US citizenship.
The Allegiance Theater has already acquired the film rights to Damian Marrett’s best-selling true crime autobiographies, Undercover and White Lies, which Dubiecki and Tammer will produce. Patrick Hughes (Red Hill) is attached to direct and Justin Monjo (Farscape, Bait) will adapt Undercover.
“The new Australian division of The Allegiance Theater makes movies for audiences around the world, putting the Australian artists at its centre and drawing from the deep pool of vibrant talent and rich stories that exist in there,” Dubiecki said in a statement.
Undercover's development was financed by Screen Australia and Film Victoria. The production's finance plan includes government support, traditional presales and an equity raising. The Allegiance Theater plans to tap into the 40 per cent Producer Offset rebate for all of its Australian projects, according to Tammer.
“We have the benefit of being able to utilise some of the very smart incentives offered by Australia’s state and federal film bodies," he said in a statement. "So our focus is on making films with substance that have universal themes and global appeal."
The Producer Offset rebate has returned more than $300 million to 78 feature films between its inception in 2008 and the end of last year, according to Screen Australia data. The bulk of that money is understood to have been returned to big-budget films such as Australia, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, and Happy Feet Two.
Undercover is a true crime story based on the autobiography of former police officer Damian Marrett, a young man responsible for some of the biggest drug busts in Australian law enforcement history.
The Allegiance Theater is currently producing several features including Money Monster; Serial Killer Days (starring Anton Yelchin and Amanda Seyfried); Dance of the Mirlitons (starring Kristen Bell and Bailee Madison); and Relanxious (starring Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis).
Contact this reporter at bswift@www.if.com.au or on Twitter at @bcswift.