Exclusive Media To Produce CAN A SONG SAVE YOUR LIFE? Starring Mark Ruffalo And Scarlett Johansson

Academy Award Nominee Mark Ruffalo (upcoming THE AVENGERS, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, ZODIAC) and Scarlett Johansson (upcoming THE AVENGERS, IRON MAN 2, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA) are set to star in CAN A SONG SAVE YOUR LIFE? written and to be directed by John Carney (ONCE), it was announced today by Exclusive Media Co-Chairmen Nigel Sinclair and Guy East.

Exclusive Media will produce and finance the feel good romance.

Seduced by dreams of making it in the big city, Gretta (Johansson) and her long-time boyfriend move to New York to pursue their passion for music. She’s heartbroken when he dumps her for the fame and fortune of a big solo contract, leaving Gretta all on her own. Her world takes a turn for the better when a down-on-his-luck record producer (Ruffalo) stumbles upon her singing in a local bar and is immediately captivated by her raw talent and inspiring authenticity – they may be each other’s last chance to turn their lives around. Somewhere between friendship and their love of music, the two strangers strike a chord that captures the hearts of everyone around them, proving that every great story has its own soundtrack.

Likely Story’s Anthony Bregman (ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, OUR IDIOT BROTHER, Sundance hit LAY THE FAVORITE) is attached to produce the film with Judd Apatow (BRIDESMAIDS, KNOCKED UP, SUPERBAD) attached as Executive Producer of the Exclusive Media production.

Exclusive Media’s Head of Production, Tobin Armbrust, will oversee production on the film, which will begin shooting in June 2012. Alex Walton, President of International Sales and Distribution, will handle international sales and will unveil the film at the upcoming European Film Market.

“This is a beautiful and soulful story which we are honored to help John bring to life” said Tobin Armbrust.

Writer/director John Carney will be working with Grammy-award winning songwriter, Gregg Alexander (New Radicals), on the music for the film.

John Carney wrote and directed the award-winning music film, ONCE, which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song as well as an Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film. He recently wrote/directed the Irish film, THE RAFTERS which is in post-production and is attached to direct the drama DOGS OF BABEL starring Steve Carell. 

Mark Ruffalo was nominated for an Oscar in 2010 for his role in the critically acclaimed THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT. His previous roles include starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s SHUTTER ISLAND, as well as opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. in David Fincher’s ZODIAC. He will next be seen as “The Hulk” in Disney’s upcoming THE AVENGERS and is attached to star in Ryan Murphy’s A NORMAL HEART.

Scarlett Johansson’s numerous screen credits include roles in Woody Allen’s MATCH POINT and VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, Christopher Nolan’s THE PRESTIGE and GIRL WITH THE PEARL EARRING. She starred as “Black Widow” in Paramount Pictures’ IRON MAN 2 and will reprise her role in Disney’s THE AVENGERS. She can currently be seen in Cameron Crowe’s WE BOUGHT A ZOO opposite Matt Damon.

Johansson has also launched a successful singing career with the debut of her album, “Anywhere I Lay My Head” in 2008 featuring covers of Tom Waits’ songs which she followed up with a collaborative album with singer/songwriter Pete Yorn titled “Break Up” in 2009.

Anthony Bregman is a BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated producer with an enviable list of acclaimed film credits including ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, Indie Spirit winner SYNECDOCHE NEW YORK, FRIENDS WITH MONEY, OUR IDIOT BROTHER, Sundance Film Festival premiere LAY THE FAVORITE and the upcoming DARLING COMPANION.  He is the founder of the NY-based production company Likely Story.

Executive Producer Judd Apatow is the Producer behind many of Hollywood’s comedy hits including THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN, KNOCKED UP, SUPERBAD, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL and this year’s hugely successful BRIDESMAIDS starring Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy.

Exclusive Media is a major force in the production and international distribution arena. Production titles include THE WOMAN IN BLACK starring Daniel Radcliffe set for its wide theatrical release today through CBS Films, and George Clooney’s THE IDES OF MARCH produced by Smokehouse Pictures and co-produced by Exclusive Media with Cross Creek Pictures.

Exclusive Media’s current production slate also includes Ron Howard’s epic RUSH starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl and produced with production partners Cross Creek Pictures, Revolution Films, Imagine and Working Title; END OF WATCH starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick and America Ferrera; SO UNDERCOVER starring Miley Cyrus; SNITCH starring Dwayne Johnson and Susan Sarandon in post production;  and BONESHAKER to be produced with Cross Creek Pictures.

Recent titles from Exclusive Media’s documentary film division, Spitfire Pictures, include the Academy Award Nominated UNDEFEATED set for release through The Weinstein Company on February 17th and Martin Scorsese’s award winning GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD produced by Martin Scorsese, Nigel Sinclair and Olivia Harrison.

Ruffalo is repped by UTA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Keith Klevan.  Johansson is repped by CAA.  Carney is repped by CAA and Casarotto Ramsay & Associates. Apatow is repped by UTA. Bregman is repped by Craig Emanuel at Loeb & Loeb.

ABOUT EXCLUSIVE MEDIA

Exclusive Media is a vertically integrated global filmed entertainment company, founded in May 2008 with the backing of the strategic investment group Cyrte Investments.  Exclusive Media develops, finances, produces, markets and distributes prestige and talent driven commercial and documentary feature films on a global basis. Exclusive Media is run by a five member Executive Board with Nigel Sinclair as Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Guy East as Co-Chairman, Simon Oakes as Vice Chairman and President of Hammer, Marc Schipper as Chief Operating Officer, and Randy Hermann as Chief Financial Officer. Supporting the Executive Board in both the operational management and strategic expansion of the business is a strong team of highly skilled professionals who have a broad range of complementary experience. Exclusive Media’s development and production activities operate through three specialist labels: UK based Hammer for genre titles, Spitfire Pictures for documentary features and the flagship label Exclusive Media for all other feature film production. Exclusive Media’s international sales & distribution division maintains a strong marketing presence and represents the group’s in-house productions plus its growing library of over 550 titles, as well as actively acquiring third party feature films to further strengthen its international distribution slate. For further information about the company, our slate of films, library and our experienced management team please visit www.exclusivemedia.com