Film News Roundup: Coldplay Documentary ‘Head Full of Dreams’ Grosses $3.5 Million in One Day

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – In today’s film news roundup, Coldplay documentary “A Head Full of Dreams” performs well, Jon Heder’s “When Jeff Tried to Save the World” gets distribution and shooting has begun on transgender drama “Gossamer Folds.”

BOX OFFICE

Trafalgar Releasing has reported more than $3.5 million in box office revenue in one day for the documentary “” from director Mat Whitecross.

Trafalgar said the film sold more than 300,000 tickets in over 70 countries worldwide and across 2,650 movie theaters on Nov. 14. It was the no. 1 title in the Netherlands, no. 2 in the UK, Australia and Italy and no. 5 in the US.

The release was in collaboration with Coldplay’s management team at Warner Music, Parlophone and Dave Holmes Management. The film showcases live performances and backstage footage from the global stadium tour A Head Full of Dreams, alongside archive material captured over 20 years.

Coldplay manager Dave Holmes said, “We saw Coldplay fans from every corner of the globe heading to cinemas to experience the film together, and the feedback has been incredibly positive.”

ACQUISITION

Gunpowder & Sky has acquired the worldwide rights to “When Jeff Tried to Save the World,” starring Jon Heder in the title role.

Maya Erskine, Jim O’Heir, Brendan Meyer, Anna Konkle, Steve Berg and Candi Milo also star. The film is directed by first­-time filmmaker Kendall Goldberg. It will be distributed under the company’s FilmBuff label, and will be available on all major VOD platforms on Dec. 7.

Heder plays the manager of an old­ school bowling alley called Winky’s World as he tries to save the community staple from its impending sale. Goldberg co­-wrote the script with Rachel Borgo. The film, which was shot in Chicago, is produced by Goldberg, Shane Simmons, Jimmy Seargeant and Burn Later Productions’ Sam Slater.

PROJECT LAUNCH

Paperclip Ltd, the production company co-founded by Yeardley Smith and Ben Cornwell, has started principal photography on transgender drama “Gossamer Folds.”

The film is co-produced by Paperclip Ltd and Mill House Motion Pictures and tells the story of Gossamer, a transgender woman, who befriends her new neighbor. Lisa Donato, whose credits include “Signature Move” and “There You Are,” is directing. The cast includes Jackson Robert Scott, Sprague Grayden, Shane West, Ethan Suplee, Franklin Ojeda Smith and transgender actress Alexandra Grey.

The 1986-set project tells the story of a 10-year-old, uprooted from the big city and unceremoniously moved to a small town where he is forced to spend a lonely summer bearing witness to his parents’ disintegrating marriage. He ends up befriending his new next-door neighbors, a recently retired English professor and his transgender daughter, Gossamer.

Nick Adams, director of Transgender Media & Representation at GLAAD, advised the project during pre-production.

“It is gratifying that the TRANSform Hollywood guide is helping filmmakers find the resources they need to tell authentic, accurate stories about transgender people,” Adams said. “‘Gossamer Folds’ is a rare story about a friendship between a young boy and a trans woman. I look forward to seeing a film that moves beyond the typical transition narrative and explores a trans woman’s relationship with her father, her friends, and her community.

“Gossamer Folds” is financed by Paperclip Ltd, with Smith and Cornwell producing alongside Jordan Foley and Jonathan Rosenthal of Mill House Motion Pictures and Adam Carl. It’s based on an original screenplay by Bridget Flanery. Smith is best known for voicing Lisa Simpson in the animated television series “The Simpsons.”