The Toronto Film Festival opens this week. Last year, one of the two opening night films was Michael Moore’s “Where to Invade Next.”
You may recall that “Where to Invade Next” was bought with a lot of hoopla by Tom Quinn and Jason Janego, formerly of Weinstein’s Radius division. In August 2015, Janego and Quinn exited The Weinstein Company after producing two back to back Oscar winners in the documentary category, “20 Feet from Stardom” and “Citizenfour.” TWC declared that Radius would continue, and wished the pair of former Magnolia execs the best.
No one explained what happened. But sources said Janego and Quinn wanted more than TWC had to offer. Then they bought the Moore film.
A year later, Janego and Quinn are MIA. They never named their company. The Moore film went out under Moore’s company name. It made just $3.8 million despite great reviews. Also, despite its world view and global themes, “Where to Invade Next” never had a foreign release. It just came and went, even though Moore did everything he could to promote it.
A source tells me of Janego and Quinn, “there never was a company.” That’s all I know. The pair has vanished. At the time of the release, they were working out a deal with Alamo Drafthouse. In fact, “Where to Invade Next” is listed under that indie’s aegis.
When “Where to Invade Next” played the New York Film Festival last fall, the talk at dinner was that William Morris Endeavor had financed the film through its new purchase of IMG. The Moore film might have been the beginning of IMG Films. That was certainly the understanding I got from everyone involved. WME, Moore’s talent rep, has always been loyal to him. But it does seem like everything fizzled.
A head scratcher for sure. Any ideas? Email me at showbiz411@gmail.com. PS I wish Michael Moore had a surprise Trump movie coming. Meantime, “Where to Invade Next” is on DVD from Anchor Bay.
