Courtesy of New Line
Why a Tiny New Production Company Might Be Taking Up Carrie Bradshaw’s Mantle
Remember just a few months ago when Sex and the City came out and when the media was all “This just in: Women go to the movies, too� It was shocking — “This is well beyond my expectations,†number-cruncher Paul Dergarabedian told the Daily News — but then no one in Hollywood seemed to do anything about it. Leave it to the New Yorkers! According to The Hollywood Reporter, a Tribeca-based production company is launching that aims to “develop a slate of sophisticated and uplifting romantic comedies and dramas,†and lest you misunderstand the target viewer, the company is called Princess Productions. The team is already at work on four adaptations and an original screenplay, starting with My Legendary Girlfriend, based on Mike Gayle’s novel about “a prep school teacher who self-imposes a deadline to get over his girlfriend, who haunts his every move three years after their breakup.†Other prospective titles include Wolves in Chic Clothing and Strapless.
So what? New production companies crop up all the time. But it’s worth noting that even in the wake of Sex and the City’s success, the studios haven’t exactly been falling all over themselves to green-light more upscale, woman-centric comedies. They barely know how to release the ones they’ve already made! So if Princess has success raising capital for their modestly budgeted movies — at a time when other, more prominent New York producers are facing money troubles — it might suggest that at least someone in the movie business is heeding the lessons of Carrie Bradshaw. —Lori Fradkin