Anthropology boards Philip Noyce’s For The Dogs, starring Sam Worthington

Anthropology principal Gregory Browne told ScreenDaily that the action thriller, starring Sam Worthington (who is also one of the film’s producers) and Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit, Enders Game), will have interiors shot at the Babelsberg Studios and the MPN studios near Cologne, with location work in Spain and Belgium.

For The Dogs centres on college freshman Ella Hatto (Steinfeld), on vacation overseas, who learns her entire family has been murdered. Saved from the same fate by a reformed hitman (Worthington), Ella enlists his services to help track down those responsible.

Browne added that funding applications have been submitted to German regional funds and the DFFF incentive programme, and he is looking to cast some parts with local German actors for the $32m production with FilmEngine entertainment.

Sierra/Affinity is handling international sales and introduced the project to the market at Cannes last month.

Director Noyce is best known for films including Patriot Games and more recently spy thriller Salt, starring Angelina Jolie.

Oren Moverman wrote the script based on an adaptation of the Kevin Wignall novel by Paul Leyden.

Pamplemousse trilogy

With more than 20 years of experience in structuring film financing deals, most recently for Belgium’s Corsan on such projects as The Devil’s Double, Browne initially set up Anthropology to acquire the rights to Rupert Kingfisher’s Madame Pamplemousse trilogy.

He intends to combine the first two Pamplemousse books - Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles and Madame Pamplemousse and The Time-Travelling Cafe – into one story for a family film.

Slate

Other projects in Anthropology’s slate of English-language projects aimed at the international market include Exit Berlin, which Browne has co-developed with UK writer Roy Mitchell (creator of BBC series New Tricks) over the past eight years.

The dark comedy centres on two private detectives in 1930s Berlin who are hired separately by both the SS chief Heinrich Himmler and his arch-enemy Ernst Röhm of the Nazis’ private army to investigate the murder of Hitler’s niece Geli Raubal. Gradually, the two come to realise that Geli’s death was not just murder, but the catalyst for a devious and cunning conspiracy that is set to alter the course of history.

Browne is also packaging End Zone, an action film akin to The Magnificent Seven, which sees a British SAS unit sent on a mission to war-torn Bosnia to track and record Serbian military movements without taking sides.

In addition, Anthropology is open as a local German partner to come onboard third party productions intending to shoot in Germany.

“At the moment, Germany is very good for filming,” Browne said. “People are very straight here and really reliable.”

He is keeping a lean operation at Anthropology with only five staff, including US-born Melanie Flemming who is responsible for coordinating film funding applications.

Browne is also drawing on the services of ex-Bavaria Film executive Oliver Huzly whose previous credits also include that of co-screenwriter with Reinhard Klooss on the successful animation feature Animals United.