Film producer looks to 'The Trials of Maria Barbella'

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Producer Hart Sharp Entertainment, basking in the Oscar buzz of Kenneth Lonergan's contemporary small-town drama, "You Can Count on Me," has optioned rights to a historical big-city drama, Idanna Pucci's "The Trials of Maria Barbella."

It's the true story of a turn-of-the century Italian immigrant who became the first woman ever sentenced to die in the electric chair and an expat American aristocrat -- the author's great-grandmother -- who spearheaded a campaign to save her.

Despite the project's broad scope, Hart Sharp production head Robert Kessel describes it as a story hinging on the sort of nuanced, personal relationship that's become a Hart Sharp hallmark. "To us, the film tackles the great themes of women's rights, immigration and the death penalty," he said. "But ultimately this is the true story about an extraordinary relationship between two women from very different worlds."

Published by the small press Four Walls Eight Windows in 1996, "Barbella" was optioned by Fox for Winona Ryder but the rights lapsed.

It's not the first time a small production shingle has harvested material from the overstuffed production slates of a major.

"Many times studios like the books they option," said Hart Sharp partner Jeff Hart. "But once they control the rights, they are not sure how to make them at a price point, which makes sense for the scope of the book. As a result, the book just sits there." Hart Sharp, which plans to make three to four films from a production fund totaling $12 million (its Sundance entree, "Lift," is from that fund), hopes that "Barbella" can be brought in at a reasonable budget. But a Victorian costumer like "Barbella" is inherently costly. Hart Sharp plans to go outside the fund for the project. It is currently out to a European co-production partner and to writers and directors.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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November 13, 2000

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