HOLLYWOOD — Paramount Pictures has announced that it will distribute the film Top Five, written and directed by Chris Rock, worldwide.
This news came right after the film received excellent reviews at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
In a press release, Paramount Pictures Chairman and CEO Brad Grey talked about his working relationship with Chris, saying that they ”go back decades, both personally and professionally.”
“I am particularly proud to have watched his career grow to its highest heights over many decades,” he said, adding that the film showcases how brilliantly talented Rock is as a writer and a filmmaker. Paramount Pictures will be partnering with Rock, film producer Scott Rudin and IACF colleague Barry Diller.
Rock is not only the film’s writer and director but its star as well.
Top Five is a movie about a comedian, known as Andre Allen, who turned out to be a film star. The character’s chance encounter with a journalist forces him to come to terms and face his comedy career and the past that he left behind.
The movie also stars Rosario Dawson, Tracy Morgan, Kevin Hart, Cedric the Entertainer and many more. The film is produced by Scott Rudin and Eli Bush and is co-produced by Shawn “Jay Z” Carter and Kanye West. Barry Diller and Scott Rudin’s IACF both financed the film.
UTA negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers with Paramount’s Rona Cosgrove, EVP of Business Affairs, and Eben Davidson, SVP of Acquisition and Production.
Among many positive reviews, The Hollywood Reporter’s Jordan Mintzer said the film was like “watching a first-rate standup routine transformed into fiction, or in this case auto-fiction, as Rock has more on his mind than just making us laugh, offering up a witty celebrity satire that doubles as a love story set during one long and eventful New York City day.”