Archstone Entertainment has acquired worldwide distribution rights to “Don Q”, a comedic tribute to mob movies starring Armand Assante, no stranger to the genre from his work on HBO’s “Gotti” and “American Gangster”. The film was written and directed by Claudio Bellante. Sales for the film began this week at the AFM.
The film follows Assante’s character, who sees himself as a Don Corleone, but is actually more of a Don Quixote. A longtime resident of Little Italy, Don Q believes himself to be a powerful Mafia figurehead, feeding off decades of delusion, and is on a mission to reclaim the neighbourhood and its fleeting values. It’s only the return of a ruthless ex-con that puts Q’s delusions to the test, embroiling the self-proclaimed mob boss and a loyal recruit in an ensuing turf war. The film also stars the cast of TV’s most iconic mob series, The Sopranos, including Vincent Pastore, Federico Castelluccio and Saundra Santiago.
The film was produced by Assante, Bellante and Michael Domino. It was executive produced by Ante Novakovic, Rob Simmons, Kresh Novakovic and Robert Mladinich. The deal was negotiated by Novakovic and Simmons on behalf of the film. Archstone’s President of Worldwide Sales, Jack Sheehan, represented the company.
“As a die-hard ‘Sopranos’, Scorsese and Coppola fan, representing a new Mafia classic that celebrates the genre and adds a fun, heartwarming self-awareness with some of its most recognisable actors is an honour I liken to as close to ‘being made’ as a sales agent can achieve. Assante is a legend who has perfected this Little Italy godfather persona, and the icing on the cannoli is working with Ante and Rob, who I’ve been talking to for years,” said Sheehan.
“We are thrilled to be working with Jack and Archstone and are very excited about the release of Don Q,” said Novakovic and Simmons.
Archstone’s AFM slate includes post-apocalyptic thriller Year 10, horror film Deep Web: Murdershow” and “The Stoic” starring Jason Flemyng. It is also in pre-sales for “The December Cross,” a faith-based film starring Kellan Lutz, Jennifer Esposito, Judd Hirsch, Neal McDonough and Dermot Mulroney.
