Founded in 2004 by Kevin Frakes and Stephan Paternot, PalmStar Entertainment (www.palmstar.com), is focused on developing literary driven properties and true stories, and has over a dozen projects in development including two Bret Easton Ellis projects, “Golden Suicides” which is being developed in conjunction with Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Milk), as well as “Lunar Park.” which they will be producing alongside with Oliver Simon and Daniel Baur through K5 Film. Earlier this year PalmStar also hired William Morris Endeavor Entertainment Global to represent the company and its films for packaging. This effort is spear headed by Graham Taylor, who said of his relationship to PalmStar “I think Kevin and Stephan have demonstrated excellent taste in material that speaks to today’s generation, and which I know we can really capitalize on. We believe that K5 is the new powerhouse out of Europe combining production and world sales. I think the partnership of Palmstar with K5 International and K5 Film is a great combination.”

Oliver Simon, Daniel Baur and Bill Stephens established K5 International a sales, distribution and financing company in January 2007 with offices in Germany and the UK. Bill handles sales and marketing from London, Oliver and Daniel oversee development, financing and production from Munich. K5 International’s first break out hit was “The Visitor” produced by Michael London and Participant Productions where Richard Jenkins was nominated for best actor for the Academy Awards in 2009. K5 International is uniquely positioned in being able to offer co-productions through its sister company K5 Film, offering producers a wide range of financing, production and international sales opportunities. With a resolute strategy of quality over quantity, K5 International seeks to represent 5 to 6 feature films per year with budgets up to $30 million. K5 Film was established in 2001 by Oliver Simon. In January 2006 Daniel Baur joined the company as his partner in all respects. K5 Film also has offices in Berlin and Cologne.

PalmStar Entertainment has optioned Bret Easton Ellis’ latest novel, Lunar Park, says Variety.

Lunar Park is Ellis’ most autobiographical work, in which the author-narrator is a narcissistic, self-pitying drug fiend who gets a shot at redemption when movie star Jayne Dennis, an old flame, offers to marry him. The deal is that he must now connect with Robby, the son he has shunned for 11 years.

Lunar Park will be the fifth of Ellis’ novels to be adapted to the big screen. Less Than Zero, American Psycho and The Rules of Attraction have all been released, and Glamorama is in development.

In Lunar Park, Ellis spins a story of his own contentious and haunted real life, is the author’s latest novel to receive rave reviews around the world and is listed as the New York Times’ 100 Most Notable Books of the Year. Author to bestsellers Less Than Zero, The Rules of Attraction, American Psycho and Glamorama, Lunar Park will be the fifth of Ellis’ novels to be adapted to film. Ellis’ first book, Less Than Zero (1987) was filmed for Fox, American Psycho (2000) and The Rules of Attraction (2002) were released by Lions Gate Entertainment and Glamorama in development.

Less Than Zero established Ellis reputation as one of publishing’s brashest young writers, but it was American Psycho that earned him the term “controversial” and shot him to literary stardom. From the moment it was published by Knopf in 1998, the book attracted condemnation from womens’s groups and religious conservatives. The film version had a rocky start, with various directors and stars attached as the publicity increased over the book. Ultimately green-lit by Lions Gate, American Psycho was directed by Mary Harron and produced by Ed Pressman and starred Christian Bale, Chloe Sevingny, Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto and Willem Dafoe. With a budget of less $7 Million, the film went on to earn over $50 million worldwide for Lions Gate including videocassette and DVD sales.

“We believed in Lunar Park so strongly that we put in a pre-emptive bid the very next day after it came to us”, said Kevin Frakes, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of PalmStar Entertainment. “We were in a bit of a battle, but it was personal for our company and we went the extra mile to close the deal”. PalmStar has been fielding interest from producers, directors and writers, but are taking their time in packaging the project.

“Lunar Park is the most personal book I’ve written even if on the surface it reads like a thriller. It took a long time to complete and PalmStar has known about the book from the beginning. And they witnessed the usual complaints, anxieties, and excitement that occur when you’re completing a novel.” Concedes author Bret Easton Ellis. “Now it’s their turn to move through that process.”

About PalmStar Entertainment

Based in New York and Los Angeles, PalmStar Entertainment was founded in 2004 by Kevin Frakes, an NYU Film and Yale MBA graduate. The Company co-produces and co-finances low budget independent films and has recently completed production on its first two feature films: 50 Pills starring Kristen Bell and Lou Pucci and Premium starring Zoe Saldana, Hill Harper and Frankie Faison. For more information please visit the site: www.palmstar.com