Search Results for: “Noomi Rapace”

Magnolia Manager Vs UTA, Round Two

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday May 17, 2013 @ 2:50pm PDTTags: Joel Kinnaman, Magnolia Entertainment, Noomi Rapace, UTA

Previous: Magnolia Client Rachel McAdams Fires UTA

UPDATE: Magnolia Entertainment manager Shelley Browning’s inexplicable and one-sided battle against UTA co-owner Tracey Jacobs rages on. Last month, Browning was behind Rachel McAdams firing UTA after a seven-year stint with Jacobs. Now two Swedish actors who are both Magnolia clients follow McAdams out the door for no reason: Joel Kinnaman and Noomi Rapace. Since becoming Browning’s client, Rapace has bounced between Hollywood agencies: first UTA, then WME, then back to UTA, and now out of UTA. Among the only Magnolia clients left at UTA is Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) who is directing Kinnaman and Rapace with Tom Hardy in Child 44.

Comments (10)

Scott Free Bolsters Production Ranks; Hires Michael Pruss, Ups Elishia Holmes

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday May 15, 2013 @ 3:39pm PDTTags: Elishia Holmes, Michael Pruss, Ridley Scott, Scott Free
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Scott Free Productions has hired Indian Paintbrush executive Michael Pruss to be senior vice president of Production. Scott Free has separately promoted production executive Elishia Holmes to senior vice president of Production. Both report to Scott Free President Michael Schaefer. Pruss joins Scott Free from Indian Paintbrush where he served as vice president and oversaw the acquisition of the Drake Doremus-directed Like Crazy at the 2011 Sundance Festival. He co-produced the director’s followup, Breathe In, which will be released in the fall. Pruss also developed A Murder Foretold with Chris Terrio, The Signal with Brad Ingelsby, Off The Grid with Chris Cantwell and Chris Rogers and he is a producer on Hold On To Me, the James Marsh-directed thriller that stars Carey Mulligan and Robert Pattinson. Before that he was a Focus Features exec who worked on Milk, The American and Coraline. He was raised in London.

Holmes has been a rising star at Scott Free, where she is part of the team working on the Daniel Espinosa-directed Child 44 with Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, Joel Kinnaman and Gary Oldman, with production beginning June 10. She is an exec producer of that film and is working on the J. Blakeson-directed Wool, as well as the mammoth Moses movie Exodus at Fox and the Blade Runner sequel at Alcon Entertainment, both of which will be directed by Scott Free principal Ridley Scott. She joined Scott Free … Read More »

Comments (11)

Cannes TOLDJA! Al Pacino Set For David Gordon Green’s ‘Manglehorn’; Worldview Funding

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday May 14, 2013 @ 4:00am PDTTags: Al Pacino, Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Wrap-Up, Manglehorn, Worldview Entertainment

Deadline’s Mike Fleming revealed May 1 that Worldview Entertainment would finance and produce David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn with an offer going out to Al Pacino for the lead role. Pacino has now signed to play A.J. Manglehorn, an aging, ordinary guy in a small town who’s more than meets the eye. Here’s the official release on the title that’s likely to be a hot seller in Cannes:

May 14, 2013 (Cannes)—Academy Award winner Al Pacino has signed on to star in David Gordon Green’s drama, “Manglehorn,” financed and produced by Worldview Entertainment. Pacino will play the lead character of A.J. Manglehorn from a screenplay written by Paul Logan, based on an original story by Green and Logan. This is Worldview’s second collaboration with Green and his production team, following the drama, “Joe,” starring Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage. Worldview CEO, Christopher Woodrow, and COO, Molly Conners, will produce alongside Lisa Muskat and Green. Worldview’s Maria Cestone, Sarah Johnson Redlich and Hoyt David Morgan will executive produce alongside Todd Labrowski, Brad Coolidge and Melissa Coolidge for Dreambridge Films, which is making an investment in the film. Jody Hill and Danny McBride will executive produce for Rough House.

“Manglehorn” is the story of an eccentric man who tries to come to terms with a past crime that cost him the love of his life. Principal photography is scheduled to begin in the early fall in Los Angeles. London-based WestEnd Films will handle international sales and introduce the film to foreign buyers this week in Cannes while CAA, who arranged financing for the film, is repping domestic rights.

Read More »

Comments (4)

Cannes: Protagonist, Thunder Road Set Matthias Schoenarts, Noomi Rapace For ‘Alive Alone’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday May 13, 2013 @ 10:25am PDTTags: Alive Alone, Cannes Wrap-Up, Matthias Schoenarts, Noomi Rapace, Protagonist Pictures, Thunder Road
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a movie package that should be a hot one at Cannes. Protagonist and Thunder Road have teamed on Alive Alone, a drama that marks the feature directing debut of Khurram Longi. Bullhead star Matthias Schoenarts and Noomi Rapace are attached to play the leads in a thriller that focuses on the relationship between an ex-detainee of Guantanamo Bay, and a woman who is on the run from a crime boss. Longi’s script made both the Black List and the UK-centric Brit List. Thunder Road’s Basil Iwanyk is producing and Peter Lawson is exec producing, with production to start January in New York City. Protagonist Pictures will sell territories in Cannes while CAA reps domestic rights.

The teaming is intriguing: the Belgian Schoenarts made his breakthrough playing the tragic protagonist in Bullhead and followed starring with Marion Cotillard in Rust And Bone, and next appears in Bullhead helmer Mikael Roskam’s Animal Rescue for Fox Searchlight, the film that also stars Rapace and Tom Hardy. Since playing Lisbeth Salander in the Millennium trilogy in Sweden, Rapace has been building up her global profile in Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows, Dead Man Down with … Read More »

Comments 28

‘Oz’ Wizardry Powers Great $150.2M Global: $80.3M Domestic Is 2013′s First Huge Weekend And Third Highest March Debut

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday March 10, 2013 @ 7:30am PDTTags: Disney, Oz: The Great and Powerful, Sam Raimi

Box Office WeekendSUNDAY AM, 6TH UPDATE:  Disney‘s 3D wizardry Oz The Great And Powerful was magic for the U.S. and Canadian box office just like advance tracking showed it would be. Little wonder that the studio has gone into development of a first sequel and expects this new franchise to spin off not just films but mucho merchandising and park attractions for years to come. All after naysayers said no one could mess with a classic like The Wizard Of Oz. The $215M-costing Sam Raimi-directed fantasy was by far the biggest domestic film debut of what has been a disappointing 2013 start for Hollywood pics and opened to the third biggest March. It scored an $80.3M domestic debut – it isn’t even a holiday weekend. Overseas it made a good but not great $69.9M but that’s still a giant $150.2M worldwide. Reviews were lukewarm but a “B+” CinemaScore from audiences helped word of mouth so domestic grosses increased +25% from Friday to Saturday’s $33M for the all-important family fare bump. And that’s even with Friday’s $24.1M including $2 million from select theaters in Thursday pre-midnights and Friday post-midnights. (Friday’s early matinees also were ahead of Universal’s megahit toon Lorax.) Sunday’s gross is an estimated $23.1M. Disney played live-action Oz in traditional 2D, as well as Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D formats. Of all filmgoers, 3D formats drew 54% and 2D 46%. In North America, audience exit polling showed that moviegoers over 25 years old made up 55% while under 25 were 45%. Couples comprised 48%, families 35%, and teens 17%. Females outnumbered males 52% to 48%. The studio ensured its TV ads for PG-rated Oz were omnipresent as part of a $100M marketing spend and mirrored the colorful chaos of those for its 2010  Alice In Wonderland mega-hit. Oz even released the same weekend as Alice. But that Tim Burton pic offered not only worldwide star Johnny Depp but also one of the first truly rich 3D experiences and scored a $116 million domestic debut and went on to earn a superb $1 billion worldwide, making 2/3s of its money overseas. This Oz wizardry was less appealing with James Franco who struggles to open box office solo. Whether this pic earns back its hefty cost depends largely on overseas grosses - and I’ve been warning that the Land Of Oz is not the globally familiar place in literature Wonderland was and is.

Oz released day and date in 80% of the international marketplace. It began with Russia, Germany, Australia, Korea and Italy on Thursday, and then Friday expanded into a total 46 territories, including UK, Spain, Mexico, Japan, Brazil. Talent and filmmakers did a global press tour across 8 major markets which helped Russia become the lead market with $15M followed by the UK ($5.7M), Mexico ($5.1M), Australia ($5.0M), and Germany ($4.2M).

For IMAX, the domestic performance of Disney’s Oz delivered a robust $8.2M on 307 screens, second best for its March 3D titles. IMAX’s international box office on 135 screens hit $4Ml for the weekend, setting a new record for a March opening. The Fri-Sun result in Russia was a territory 3-day record of $1.4M (per screen of $50K). IMAX’s global weekend gross for Oz is an estimated $12.2M from 442 digital only screens, which is a second-best for a March opening (bested only by Alice In Wonderland‘s extraordinary performance in 2010)..

Meanwhile, FilmDistrict’s R-rated action thriller Dead Man Down also opened but to an anemic first weekend of $5.3M from 2,188 theaters. FilmDistrict acquired the U.S. rights from IM Global, Original Film, and Frequency Films for no minimum guarantee and had a P&A backstop. Marketed to an adult audience with a focus on urban and ethnic moviegoers, the film grossed on the low end of expectations. That despite the trailer debuting on Django Unchained and promos highlighting director Niels Arden Oplev who helmed the original The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo also starring Noomi Rapace. This is yet another loser for Colin Farrell who continues to demonstrate he can’t open a movie. Pic was scripted by J.H. Wyman and earned a ‘B-’ CinemaScore from audiences who were 60% male and 40% female and 75% aged 25 and older.

So Oz faced no competition at this weekend’s cineplex, especially after Warner Bros’ Jack The Giant Slayer (another $200M budgetbuster) bombed last weekend and fell apart this one. And DreamWorks Animation’s family toon The Croods doesn’t open until March 22nd. Expectedly, the Disney marketing machine was in high gear for its witches/wizards and put together a really spectacular campaign that worked. Tracking services stayed steady in the weeks leading up to release with the pic expected to earn from the $70sM to $80sM even with box office down significantly since Christmas/New Year. A high-profile Super Bowl spot with Disney online homepage takeover, followed by digital takeovers on Moviefone, Fandango, IMDb, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter) and presence in major broadcast events like the Academy Awards, Rockin’ New Year’s Eve, and Rose Parade did the trick. Trailers accompanied 2012 blockbusters while the world premiere was held February 13th at Disney’s El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood followed by international premieres in Tokyo, Moscow, London, and Paris. Talent and filmmakers were out in force in support of the film, with appearances across daytime and late-night, print media (10+ cover stories), an E! movie special that aired March 7, and exclusive screenings and special events including Comic-Con (featuring buzzed-about Hall H panel and footage debut), CinemaCon and Daytona 500 (with James Franco serving as Grand Marshal). And end-credit song “Almost Home” by Mariah Carey released February 19th via Island Def Jam while the music video directed by longtime Carey collaborator David LaChapelle debuted on American Idol. in terms of innovation, Google Chrome Experiment “Find Your Way to Oz” designed by Disney and Google created an immersive experience and included an unprecedented Google homepage takeover on February 7th. The “Journey to Oz” Balloon Tour, sponsored by HSN and IMAX, launched February 12 while Disney theme park integrations included an exclusive 8-minute 4D sneak peek of the film throughout March and a large-scale Oz garden with entry portal, carnival area, and Yellow Brick Road through May 19.

The pre-release pressure on Disney was enormous. First came months of bad buzz. Then Wall Street was understandably nervous about another movie costing $200 million. Some business media even wrote headlines like “Oz The Great And Powerful Could Be Disney’s Next John Carter Flop”. (Granted, tracking is less and less an accurate indicator of actual theatrical performance. But John Carter, which also cost $200M, only opened to $30.1M and made just $73M domestically all-in.) This weekend success for Oz cements director Raimi as the real deal when it comes to helming blockbusters. Read More »

Comments 159

Tom Hardy, Solar Pictures Tackle Post Traumatic Stress Disorder With ‘Samarkand’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday February 27, 2013 @ 7:47am PSTTags: Greg Williams, Samarkand, Solar Pictures, Tom Hardy
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE:Tom Hardy has teamed with Solar Pictures to develop Samarkand, a drama that will be directed by Greg Williams and tackles the topical hot button issue of post traumatic stress disorder.

Hardy will portray an SAS soldier returning from operations in the Middle East. Suffering from PTSD, he has a most difficult time reintegrating from the battlefield back into society. The script was written by Greg and Olly Williams, brothers who developed the picture with Hardy and Solar Pictures’ Bobby Paunescu.

Williams, a celebrated photographer, makes this his feature debut. His 2011 short film Sergeant Slaughter, My Big Brother starred Hardy and it won Williams Best Director honors at the New York, Chicago and San Francisco Short Film Festivals.

Hardy is attached to the Steven Knight-directed Locke, the Daniel Espinosa-directed Child 44, and the Doug Liman-directed Everest. He’ll next star with Noomi Rapace in an adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s Animal Rescue for Fox Searchlight, with Michael R. Roskam directing. He’s repped by CAA.

Comments (18)

OSCARS: Who Went Where This Weekend

By NIKKI FINKE AND MIKE FLEMING JR | Sunday February 24, 2013 @ 1:20am PSTTags: Hollywood agencies, Oscar Parties

4TH UPDATE: An eclectic mix of current and former moguls, executives, producers, directors, and of course actors attended the marquee pre-Oscar parties as well as famed artists, museum directors, fashion designers, music icons, and star athletes. Barry Diller’s luncheon for Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter Saturday was smaller than usual. That night, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s ‘Night Before’ Oscar MPTF fundraiser avoided a union picket line. The agency parties dominated Thursday and Friday nights. CAA‘s was bigger than in past years when 200-300 guests crowded Bryan Lourd’s home. This time about 500 gathered at luxe Greystone Mansion for Old Hollywood glamour with men dressed ascots (well, Bryan Lourd) and women given gardenia corsages. WME‘s was held at Ari Emanuel’s home as usual and UTA‘s at Jim Berkus’ house again. ICM Partners‘ was held at the home of agent Hildy Gottlieb. Few of these names need introductions and most are in random order:

Harvey Weinstein’s Oscar Pre-Party Saturday night: Jennifer Lawrence, Zoe Kravitz, Lisa Bonet, Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bradley Cooper, Lukas Haas, Emmy Rossum, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Salma Hayek, Robert De Niro, Chace Crawford, Ian Somerhalder, David O Russell, Dermot Mulroney, Julia Stiles, Crispin Struthers, Nina Garcia, Kerry Washington, Don Johnson, Quentin Tarantino, Christoph Waltz, Russell Simmons, Matthew Morrison, Chris Tucker.

Jeffrey Katzenberg’s ‘Night Before’ Oscar MPTF Fundraiser Saturday night: Robert Iger, Jim Gianopulos, Brad Grey, Rupert Murdoch, Wendi Murdoch, Ryan Kavanaugh, David O Russell, Brett Ratner, Chris Albrecht, Jerry Bruckheimer, Ari Emanuel, Jim Berkus, Ron Perelman, Ron Meyer, Steve Tisch, Ron Burkle, Brian Grazer, Alan Horn, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Bryan Cranston, Chris Evans, Hugh Jackman, Ed Helms, Ed Westwick, Emily VanCamp, Eric Stonestreet, George Clooney, Will Smith, Jean Dujardin, Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jessica Chastain, Jim Parsons, Kristin Davis, Liam Hemsworth, Michael Keaton, Michael Strahan, Octavia Spencer, Robin Thicke, Rita Wilson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jack Black, Theresa Palmer, Viola Davis, Aaron Paul, Adrien Brody, Ahna O’Reilly, Alexander Skarsgard, Alyssa Milano, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Nathan Fillion, Anna Faris, Chris Pratt, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Armie Hammer, Brittany Snow, Camryn Manheim, Carla Gugino, Chace Crawford, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Day Lewis, Don Johnson, Emily VanCamp, Ellie Kemper, Emma Watson, Paul Rudd, Gerard Butler, Henry Cavill, Jacki Weaver, James Marsden, James Spader, John Hawkes, Judy Greer, Julie Bowen, Kate Capshaw, Steven Spielberg, Kerry Washington, Laura Dern, Malin Ackerman, Marcia Gay Harden, Marisa Tomei, Matthew Morrison, Michael Chiklis, Michael Sheen, Nina Dobrev, Olivia Munn, Patrick Stewart, Robert DeNiro, Rebel Wilson, Rashida Jones, Russell Crowe, Salma Hayek, Samuel L. Jackson, Sam Rockwell, Sean Hayes, Seth Rogan, Taylor Lautner, Tommy Lee Jones, Zooey Deschanel

Disney/Pixar Celebration Saturday night: John Lasseter, Mark Andrews, Katherine Sarafian, John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Kevin McKidd, Alan Bergman, Robert Iger, Steve Purcell, Alan Horn, John Ratzenberger.

Sony Pictures Classics Dinner Saturday night: Pablo Larrain, Michael Barker, Dror Moreh, Tom Bernard, Michael Haneke, Gael Garcia Bernal, Antonia Zegers, Malik Bendjelloul

Zavala-Kahane-Sugar-Wald Party Saturday night: Jean Dujardin, Emma Watson, Joaquin Phoenix, Eric Stonestreet, Diablo Cody, Russell Brand, Greta Gerwig, Chris Terrio, Tobey Maguire, Pamela Anderson, Michael B. Jordan, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Krasinski, Chris Pratt, Taylor Lautner, James Schamus, Ed Westwick, Russell Brand, Emma Watson, Liam Hemsworth, Johnny Galecki, Adam Scott, Joel Kinnaman, January Jones, Felicity Jones, Nicholas Jarecki, Michael Sucsy, Wolfgang Hammer, Jim Stern, Jeb Brody, Edgar Wright, Sean Avery, Steve Gaghan, Ari Graynor, Lizzy Caplan, Nick Kroll, Ben Barnes, Kimba, Emile Hirsch, E.L. James, Morrissey, Adrianne Palicki, Miranda Cosgrove, Imogen Poots, Anna Faris, Sue Kroll, Greg Silverman, Joel Madden, Ryan Coogler, Baron Davis, Michael Bacall, Lorene Scafaria, Kelli Garner.

Barry Diller’s Party Saturday luncheon: John Burnham, Russell Simmons, Tom Brokaw, Fran Leibowitz, Andy Lack, Les Moonves, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Michael Eisner, Ron Perelman, Eric Schmidt, Penny Marshall, Brett Ratner, Rupert Murdoch, Wendy Murdoch, Irwin Winkler, Quincy Jones, Larry Mark, Steve Gaghan, Kevin McCormick, Jim Berkus, Joel Silver, Jim Brooks, Steve Martin, Jane Fonda, Richard Perry, Terry Semel, Bob Daly, Valentino, Jonathan Dolgen, Larry Gordon, Jim Wiatt, Brian Grazer, Scott Berg, Rick Rubin, Warren Beatty, Jeremy Thomas, George Hamilton, Donald DeLine, Dawn Hudson, Eric Fellner, Brad Grey, Ron Meyer, Tobey Maguire, Stacey Sher, Philippe Dauman, Gus Van Sant, Mitch Glazer, Steve Tisch, Harvey Weinstein, Tom Freston, Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane, Bob Evans, Vivi Nevo, Kelly Lynch, Tom Hooper.

WME Party Friday night: Charlize Theron, Michael Moore, Russell Simmons, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis, Ryan Coogler, Ahna O’Reilly, Michael B. Jordan, Harvey Weinstein, Gael Garcia Bernal, Chris Tucker, Dermot Mulroney, Catherine Zeta Jones, Shawn Levy, Joel Silver, Emma Watson, Jake Hoffman, Dustin Hoffman, Lara Spencer, Amber Heard, Morrissey, Kenny Sharpe, Mark Bradford, Jeffrey Deitch, Adam Scott, Molly Simms, Taylor Lautner, Larry David, Diablo Cody, Jay Roach, Tyra Banks, Amy Adams, Chloe Moretz, Benh Zeitlin, Tom Shadyac, Albert Brooks, Liam Hemsworth, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Garrett Hedlund, James Marsden, Michael Bay, Jack Black, Jonah Hill, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Les Moonves, Julie Chen, Brian Grazer, Tom Thayer, Joaquin Phoenix, Rob Riggle, Kelsey Grammer, Tracey Ullman, Conan O’Brien, Octavia Spencer, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Tobey Maguire, David Spade, Hugh Jackman, Jenna Elfman, Armie Hammer, Joel McHale, Emile Hirsch, John C Reilly, Shepard Fairey, Philipe Dauman, Brad Grey, Lupe Fiasco, Russell Brand, Neill Blomkamp, Jeff Robinov, Jennifer Garner, Casey Affleck, Allen Hughes, Patrick Stewart, Joel McHale, Randall Emmett.

UTA Party Friday nght: Daniel Radcliffe, John Gatins, Stephen Gaghan, Will Forte, Neve Campbell, Mark Ruffalo, Amy Pascal, Brian Grazer, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Naomi Campbell, John Gatins, Paul Rudd, Kirsten Dunst, Joachim Ronning, Espen Sandberg, Brad Grey, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kevin Tsujihara, Adam Goodman, Lorne Michaels, Jeffrey Deitch, David Ellison, Sean Bailey, Brad Bird, Philippe Dauman, Paul Walker, Joel Kinnaman, Olivia Munn, Mike White, Li Bing Bing, Tom Freston, Jerry Bruckheimer, Les Moonves, Rashida Jones, Noomi Rapace, Stephen Gaghan, Sue Naegle, Steve Levitan, Will Forte, Scott Burns, Jai Courtney, Lake Bell, John Krokidas, James Ponsoldt, Juno Temple, Michael Angarano, Reid Carolin, Jack Rapke, Greg Silverman, Steve Tisch, Jerry Weintraub, Robert Kyncl, Darren Star, Jeff Robinov, Victor Garber, Vivi Nevo.

CAA Party Friday night: Lorne Michaels, George Clooney, Bill Maher, J.J, Abrams, Vivi Nevo, Les Moonves, Philippe Dauman, Brad Grey, Alexander Payne, Jason Statham, Madonna, Graydon Carter, Jim Gianopulos, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Downey Jr, Madonna, Gerard Butler, Valentino, Eric Schmidt, Naomi Watts, Anne Hathaway, Robert De Niro, Matt Weiner, Helen Hunt, Chris Pine, Amy Adams, Sandra Bullock, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, Bradley Cooper, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Barkin, Barry Diller, Bob Daly, Harvey Weinstein, Jeff Robinov, Jessica Chastain, Jane Rosenthal, Jerry Bruckheimer, Emma Watts, Tom Rothman, Elizabeth Gabler, Greg Silverman, Kevin Tsujihara, Donna Langley, David O Russell, Harvey Weinstein, Reese Witherspoon, Eva Longoria, Chris Paul, Valentino, Tom Ford, Diane von Furstenberg.
Read More »

Comments (6)

Tom Hardy Teams With ‘Safe House’ Helmer Daniel Espinosa For ‘Child 44′

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday January 30, 2013 @ 12:30pm PSTTags: Big Deals Film, Daniel Espinosa, Tom Hardy
Mike Fleming

BREAKING: Tom Hardy is in talks to star in Child 44, the adaptation of the Tom Rob Smith novel that will be directed by Safe House helmer Daniel Espinosa for Scott Free. Hardy, who wrapped Mad Max: Fury Road for director George Miller, will star in Child 44 after he completes Animal Rescue, the Fox Searchlight drama that Michael R. Roskam is directing, with Noomi Rapace his co-star. He will shoot Animal Rescue in March, then move right on to Child 44.

Child 44 takes place in Stalin’s Soviet Union, and Hardy plays a security officer and war hero who believes in the Soviet system and the law. That is until he uncovers the existence of a mass murderer, and he is thwarted by that system he has sworn to serve because they have no interest in acknowledging that murders are taking place in a country perpetuating the myth of a crime-free utopia. The book is part of a trilogy.

Hardy, who last starred in The Dark Knight Rises, is repped by CAA.

Comments (10)

‘Scarface’s Al Pacino, Brian De Palma Tackle Penn State Coach Joe Paterno In Feature

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday January 16, 2013 @ 2:24pm PSTTags: Al Pacino, Big Deals Film, Brian De Palma, Joe Paterno
Mike Fleming

Joe Paterno Movie Al Pacino Brian DePalmaEXCLUSIVE: The Scarface team of director Brian De Palma and Al Pacino are re-teaming for Happy Valley, the working title of a film that will tell the story of Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno. Paterno’s legend was undone by revelations he and others in the football program were aware that former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was molesting children, and did little to stop it, supposedly fearing bad publicity for the powerhouse gridiron program they presided over. Wall Street producer Edward R. Pressman has optioned the bestselling book Paterno by Joe Posnanski. Dave McKenna (American History X and Blow) is making a deal to write the script. The Edward R. Pressman Film Corporation is backing the project.

Pacino became attached to play Paterno when a package including the book was shopped by ICM last fall. Pressman will produce with Pacino’s manager, Rick Nicita, who was part of that original package. They are keeping a somewhat low profile on the focus of the film for now. “Happy Valley reunites the Scarface and Carlito’s Way team of De Palma & Pacino for the third time and I can’t think of a better duo to tell this story of a complex, intensely righteous man who was brought down by his own tragic flaw,” said Pressman in confirming the deal to Deadline.

Paterno’s fall from grace was Shakespearean and when he died shortly after his firing, many felt it was from a broken heart as much as cancer. He was in the twilight of a coaching career that left him the winningest coach in college football history, an iconic and beloved campus figure. Until his former defensive coordinator Sandusky was revealed to be a prolific pedophile, something that Paterno had been told about. While he informed an administrator, they did not call police, even after a graduate assistant and future assistant coach witnessed Sandusky in an encounter that looked like an act of sodomy with a child in the locker room showers. Read More »

Comments 195

Hot Trailer: ‘Dead Man Down’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday January 2, 2013 @ 1:09pm PSTTags: Colin Farrell, Dead Man Down, FilmDistrict, Noomi Rapace

The first trailer for the Colin Farrell-starring Dead Man Down dropped today. Niels Arden Oplev directed the crime thriller, about a professional killer and right-hand man to an underground New York crime lord who’s seduced and blackmailed by a crime victim seeking retribution. The latter juicy role is being played by Noomi Rapace, who did the Swedish Girl With The Dragon Tattoo pic with Oplev. Terrence Howard and Dominic Cooper co-star in Dead Man Down, which was penned by J.H. Wyman, who co-produced with Neal H. Moritz. FilmDistrict has set a March 8 release for the movie, a month earlier than originally planned.


Watch it on YouTube: Dead Man Down Official Trailer

Comments (13)

Open Road Near Deal To Release ‘Jobs’, With Ashton Kutcher As Apple’s Steve Jobs

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday January 2, 2013 @ 10:26am PSTTags: Ashton Kutcher, Big Deals Film, Jobs, Open Road Films
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Open Road is near a deal to distribute Jobs, the film that stars Two And A Half Men star Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs, the late high-tech visionary leader of Apple. Joshua Michael Stern directed a film that focuses on the trials and tribulations that Jobs encountered in his younger years as an innovator, from 1971-2000. The project was made independently by Five Star Features and is slated to close the upcoming Sundance Film Festival.

I’m told that Open Road will take on the film in a service deal with the producers, who’ll put upward of $10 million in P&A to release the picture; CAA negotiated the arrangement. Matt Whiteley wrote the script. I’ll provide more details when the distributor gets back to me, but I believe this deal will close imminently. It’s unclear exactly when the film will be released, but it will certainly precede the biopic that Aaron Sorkin is scripting, based on the Walter Isaacson bestseller Steve Jobs. That book was done in close collaboration with Jobs. While Sony acquired the book in fall 2011, just as Jobs succumbed to cancer, the studio has been moving at a deliberate pace.

Related: Ashton Kutcher-Starring ‘Jobs’ To Close Sundance Read More »

Comments (13)

Tom Hardy In Talks For ‘Animal Rescue’ As Fox Searchlight Eyes Noomi Rapace

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday December 17, 2012 @ 10:49am PSTTags: Big Deals Film, Dennis Lehane, Fox Searchlight, Michael R. Roskam, Noomi Rapace, Tom Hardy
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Fox Searchlight is in final talks with Tom Hardy to star in Animal Rescue, and is offering the female lead to Noomi Rapace. Searchlight is eyeing a March start date in New York for a film that was scripted by Gone Baby Gone author Dennis Lehane from a short story first published in the collection Boston Noir. Animal Rescue will be directed by Michael R. Roskam, whose breakout film Bullhead was a nominee for Best Foreign Language film last year. He was set earlier this fall. Chernin Entertainment is producing.

The drama focuses on a man who wants to shed his criminal path but somehow gets mixed up in a bad heist and a killing resulting from a lost and contested pit bull. As he has done with all his books, Lehane set the short story in the outskirts of Boston. But so many movies have been set there lately–including his Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone and Shutter Island–that they’ve relocated the action to New York. The project originated at Fox 2000, but later moved over to Searchlight, and numerous pedigreed directors have circled it over the past two years. Hardy sparked to the chance to create the character and work with a director whose film he admired.

… Read More »

Comments (12)

Angelina Jolie Hosts UK Screening Of ‘The Impossible’ To Stump For Ewan McGregor

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday November 19, 2012 @ 3:46pm PSTTags: Angelina Jolie, Ewan McGregor, The Impossible

Joe Utichi contributes to Deadline’s UK coverage

Angelina Jolie stepped out in London on Sunday night to mark an endorsement for her friend Ewan McGregor and his turn in Juan Antonio Bayona’s tsunami story The Impossible. She laid on drinks at the Soho Hotel along with a private screening of the film for about 30 invited guests — including fellow thesps Noomi Rapace, Peter Capaldi and Game Of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie. These sorts of third-party-endorsed “influencer” campaigns are increasingly popular in Hollywood, where recently Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land received similar airings by the unaffiliated likes of Cameron Crowe and Aaron Sorkin. But they’re new to the UK, where most awards screenings follow the traditional actor and director Q&A format. At the event, Jolie said, “Ewan, I’ve known you for years and you’re one of my favorite actors. But I watched this and I didn’t recognize you. It’s strange; to say it’s one of the best performances of the year doesn’t really give it credit. It doesn’t feel like a performance; it comes from such an honest place.” Representing The Impossible ahead of its UK premiere on Monday were 16-year-old co-star Tom Holland, screenwriter Sergio G. Sanchez and composer Fernando Velázquez.

Related: ‘The Impossible’ Exclusive Featurette: Video

Comments (4)

EOne Acquires Brian De Palma’s ‘Passion’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday September 28, 2012 @ 9:11am PDTTags: Brian De Palma, Entertainment One, Passion, Venice Film Festival

Passion played in competition at Venice and also hit Toronto this year. Entertainment One has acquired North American rights from SBS Productions and is aiming for an early 2013 release for the thriller. Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace star in a remake of the 2010 French film Love Crime, about a deadly power struggle between two women in the dog-eat-dog world of international business. Brian De Palma wrote and directed. The deal was negotiated by ICM Partners along with SBS’ Saïd Ben Saïd and eOne’s David Reckziegel and Sejin Croninger; ICM Partners also reps De Palma.

Comments (1)

‘Dead Man Down’ Gets New Release Date

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday September 27, 2012 @ 4:50pm PDTTags: Colin Farrell, Dead Man Down

FilmDistrict has re-set the release date for the Niels Arden Oplev-helmed Dead Man Down to March 8, 2013, nearly a month earlier than its original April 5 date. It will now open against Buena Vista’s Oz: The Great And Powerful and Focus Features’ Admission. The film stars Colin Farrell as Victor, a professional killer and the right-hand man to an underground crime lord in New York City who’s seduced and blackmailed by Beatrice (Noomi Rapace), a crime victim seeking retribution. The cast also features Terrence Howard and Dominic Cooper. J.H. Wyman penned and co-produced the film with Neal H. Moritz. IM Global and WWE Studios financed.

Comments (3)

Toronto 2012: Mike Fleming On Fest Films With Highest Wanna-See From Buyers

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday September 6, 2012 @ 5:02pm PDTTags: TIFF Wrap-Up, Toronto Film Festival
Mike Fleming

PART I: Toronto 2012: High Optimism As Business Reshaped By Filmmaker-Driven Fare And Shifting Formats Reinvigorates Indie Biz

Hot acquisition titles as the Toronto Film Festival kicks off tonight:

Imogene Toronto 2012IMOGENE – Directors: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini. Cast: Kristen Wiig, Annette Benning, Matt Dillon. Seller: UTA/Voltage. A playwright stages a suicide in an attempt to win back her ex, only to wind up in the custody of her gambling-addict mother. 1st Screening: Friday, September 7, 3 PM (Ryerson)

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES – Director: Derek Cianfrance. Cast: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, Rose Byrne. Seller:CAA/WME/Sierra-Affinity. A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime to provide for his wife and child, which puts him up against a cop-turned-politician. 1st Screening: Friday, September 7, 6 PM (Princess of Wales)

GINGER AND ROSA – Director-writer: Sally Potter. Cast: Annette Benning, Elle Fanning, Christina Hendricks, Timothy Spall, Oliver Platt. Seller: Cinetic/Match Factory. Set in the 1960′s, two teenage girls born on the day of the Hiroshima bomb become involved in the Ban the Bomb movement and the sexual revolution. 1st Screening: Friday, September 7, 9 PM (Elgin)
Read More »

Comments (2)

Venice Preview: What’s On Deck At Season’s First International Festival

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Wednesday, 29 August 2012 10:37 UKTags: Michael Mann, The Master, Venice Film Festival

The 69th Venice Film Festival gets underway today as Alberto Barbera debuts his first selection effort since returning to run the show. Venice’s artistic director from 1998 to 2002, he stepped back in when Marco Muller was ousted late last year.

Venice’s position as the first international fall festival means it can have an impact on awards season. Last year, it thrust Michael Fassbender into the spotlight with the best actor Volpi Cup for Shame. (Fox Searchlight’s Shame pick-up was confirmed in Toronto, though the deal was all but signed in Venice.) Other recent films and talent to see their stock rise from a Venice bow include Brokeback Mountain, The Wrestler, Black Swan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Helen Mirren (The Queen) and Colin Firth (A Single Man). Then again, two years ago, Quentin Tarantino’s jury gave his ex-girlfriend Sofia Coppola the Golden Lion for Somewhere, a film that was a non-factor in that year’s Oscar race. Michael Mann is jury president this year.

The MasterThe highest-profile pic on the premieres bill here this year is Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, regarded as a thinly veiled reference to Scientology with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Joaquin Phoenix which The Weinstein Company will release Sept. 14 in the U.S.

Films on deck without a domestic deal include Mira Nair’s opening night film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist with Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland and Liev Schreiber, handled in North America by Hal Sadoff for the Doha Film Institute and Bart Walker of Cinetic; Terrence Malick’s love story To The Wonder with Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams which FilmNation is handling; and Brian De Palma’s Euro-produced Passion also with McAdams and Noomi Rapace. Read More »

Comments (0)

Hot Trailer: Brian De Palma’s ‘Passion’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday August 23, 2012 @ 1:56pm PDTTags: Brian De Palma, Noomi Rapace, Passion, Rachel McAdams, Toronto Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival today posted this trailer for Brian De Palma’s new thriller starring Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace. De Palma wrote the screenplay based on the 2011 French movie Love Crime directed by Alain Corneau. The movie is screening this month at the Venice Film Festival ahead of its Toronto unspooling next month:


Watch This Trailer On YouTube!

Comments (10)

Toronto Adds Three More Galas, Sets ‘A Song For Marion’ As Fest Closer

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday August 14, 2012 @ 8:15am PDTTags: Toronto Film Festival
Mike Fleming

Toronto – The Toronto International Film Festival® announces the addition of 3 Galas and 18 Special Presentations, including 8 World Premieres, to its slate. The Festival will close with Paul Andrew Williams’ A Song For Marion, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp. Festival-goers will be treated to an exciting programming lineup of diverse titles and genres from around the globe, including works from Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iraqi Kurdistan, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the UK, and the USA.
Toronto audiences will be among the first to screen remarkable pieces of cinema by directors Dan Algrant, Paul Thomas Anderson, Dante Ariola, Yvan Attal, Susanne Bier, Nick Cassavetes, Daniele Ciprì, Lee Daniels, Brian De Palma, Bahman Ghobadi, Harmony Korine, Patrice Leconte, Spike Lee, Scott McGehee, Claude Miller, Henry-Alex Rubin, Walter Salles, Valeria Sarmiento, Pablo Trapero, Peter Webber, and Paul Andrew Williams.
This announcement brings the final number of Galas to 20, and the final number of Special Presentations to 70, including 48 world premieres. The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2012.
GALAS
Closing Night Film
Song for Marion Paul Andrew Williams, UK World Premiere
A feel-good, heart-warming story about how music can inspire you. Song for Marion stars Terence Stamp as Arthur, a grumpy pensioner who can’t understand why his wife Marion (Vanessa Redgrave) would want to embarrass herself singing silly songs with her unconventional local choir. But choir director Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton) sees something special in the

… Read More »

Comments (0)
More Deadline | Hollywood »