Screen is rounding up the key packages launched before and during this year’s Cannes Marche du Film (which runs May 17-25).
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May 18
Stone Mattress
Julianne Moore and Sandra Oh have signed on to star in Lynne Ramsey’s new thriller. The project is based on a short story by Margaret Atwood and is produced by John Lesher and JoAnne Sellar. Amazon are handling domestic rights. Studiocanal and Film4 are in final negotiations to board the project.
Intl sales: Studiocanal
The Hypnosis
Swedish director and writer Ernst De Geer’s social satire co-stars buzzy Nordic actors Herbert Nordrum (The Worst Person In The World) and Asta August (The Kingdom). It is De Geer’s first feature after short films and Wimbledon and the 2021 eight-part Disney+ Norwegian drama After Party.
Intl sales: Totem Films
May 17
One Winter
Julian Dennison and Minnie Driver are set to star in this coming-of-age rugby film. Paul Middleditch and Hamish Bennett are directing, whilst James Rolleston and Erna James also star.
Into sales: Blue Fox Entertainment
Emmanuelle
French director and Venice Golden Lion winner Andrey Diwan will make her English-language directorial debut with an adaptation of the cult erotic novel with Léa Seydoux in the titular role.
Intl sales: Wild Bunch International, CAA
May 16
Boudica
Olga Kurylenko will star as the legendary and fearsome warrior queen in Bleiberg Entertainment and Picture Perfect’s Boudica. The project, from, writer-director Jesse V. Johnson, is scheduled for an August production start in Wales.
May 13
The Tiger
Ukrainian filmmaker Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy will direct The Tiger starring Alexander Skarsgard and to be produced by Darren Aronofsky and Protozoa. Slaboshpytskiy has adapted the screenplay from the book by John Vaillant set in eastern Russia in the late 1990s as a group of men called Tiger Team work to protect endangered tigers from poachers and logging operations.
Intl sales: The Veterans/CAA Media Finance
Swimming Home
Ariane Labed, Christopher Abbott and Mackenzie Davis have signed to star in Justin Anderson’s directorial debut Swimming Home. The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Deborah Levy, a dark comedy about a troubled married couple and their teenage daughter whose holiday is transformed by the naked stranger they find floating in the pool of their villa. It is set to shoot in Greece in October.
Intl sales: Bankside Films/UTA ndependent Film Group and WME Independent.
Boudica
Olga Kurylenko will star as the legendary and fearsome warrior queen in Jesse V. Johnson’s film inspired by events in A.D. 60. Boudica follows the eponymous Celtic warrior who rules the Iceni people alongside her husband Prasutagus. When he dies at the hands of Roman soldiers, Boudica’s kingdom is left without a male heir and the Romans seize her land and property.
Intl sales: Bleiberg/Dimbort
May 12
This Is Spinal Tap sequel
Director Rob Reiner returns alongside original cast members Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer return as the buffoonish British rockers. Will open to coincide with the 40th anniversary of This Is Spinal Tap in early 2024.
Intl sales: CAA Media Finance
The Black Kaiser
Mads Mikkelsen will star in Jonas Akerlund’s action spy thriller about the world’s most lethal hitman who becomes the number one target of a syndicate of killers when he uncovers a deadly conspiracy.
Intl sales: XYZ Films
Pain Hustlers
Emily Blunt will star as a young mother and high school dropout who lands a job with a failing pharmaceutical start-up, only to find herself at the centre of a criminal conspiracy. Harry Potter director David Yates will direct. CAA Media Finance represents US rights.
Intl sales: The Veterans
May 11
Magpie
Daisy Ridley and Shazad Latif will star in this thriller based on an original idea from Ridley. Screen Star Of Tomorrow Sam Yates makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Tom Bateman. CAA Media Finance represents the US.
Intl sales: The Veterans
Breathe
Action thriller starring Jennifer Hudson, Milla Jovovich, Sam Worthington, Quvenzhané Wallis and Common. Stefon Bristol will direct from the Black List screenplay by Doug Simon. CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group will jointly represent US rights alongside Capstone.
Intl sales: Capstone Global
May 10
Irena’s Vow
Louise Archambault’s Second World War drama stars Sophie Nélisse (Yellowjackets), and Dougray Scott star in the true story of Polish hero Irena Gut Opdyke that is now shooting in Warsaw.
Intl sales: WestEnd Films
Magpie
Daisy Ridley and Shazad Latif to star in noir thriller about a couple whose lives are thrown into disarray when their daughter is cast opposite a controversial major star.
Int’l sales: The Veterans
Breathe
Sam Worthington, Jennifer Hudson, Milla Jovovich, Quvenzhané Wallis and Common star in thriller set on Earth which is left uninhabitable due to lack of oxygen.
Int’l sales: Capstone Global
May 9
‘Sinner V. Saints’
Maisie Williams and Freddie Highmore are set to star in Tim Kirkby’s comedy, based on the true story of former beauty queen Joyce Mckinney who made headlines after she kidnapped a Mormon missionary.
Intl sales: WestEnd Films
The End We Start From
An environmental crisis submerges London in flood waters, and tears a young family apart. Jodie Comer stars, with Mahalia Belo directing. UTA Independent Film Group is handling the US sale.
Intl sales: Anton
May 6
Knox Goes Away
Michael Keaton will star in and direct the noir thriller about a contract killer diagnosed with a fast-moving form of dementia who gets the chance to redeem himself by saving the life of his estranged adult son. ICM Partners and Verve Ventures jointly represent US rights.
Intl sales: FilmNation
Consecration
The latest genre title by Christopher Smith (The Banishing, Detour, Severance) stars Jena Malone, Danny Huston and Janet Suzman and takes place in a Scottish convent, where a woman goes to investigate the suspicious death of her priest brother. It shot entirely in the UK last autumn.
Intl sales: AGC Studios
The Convert
Guy Pearce has signed to star in Lee Tamahori’s action feature about a lay preacher who arrives at a British settlement in 1830s New Zealand and is caught in the middle of a war between Māori tribes.
Intl sales: Mister Smith Entertainment
Femme
George McKay and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett star in Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon’s UK thriller about a drag queen who seeks revenge on his homophobic but closeted attacker. It is based on the co-directors’ award-winning short film of the same name.
Intl sales: Anton
Knox Goes Away
Michael Keaton to star in and direct the story of a hitman with onset dementia who gets the chance to redeem himself by saving the life of his estranged adult son.
Intl sales: FilmNation
Sting
Kiah Roache-Turner’s Australian arachnophobia horror is set for a late 2022 shoot in Sydney, with New Zealand-based Weta Workshop creating the physical puppet effects.
Intl sales: Cornerstone Films
Wild Four O’Clocks
Michelle Pfeiffer stars in Peter Craig’s drama, about a woman who must care for her two estranged grandsons, after their father is sent to prison. CAA Media Finance is handling domestic rights.
Intl sales: Protagonist Pictures
2 Win
Italian filmmaker Stefano Mordini is to direct this motorsport drama inspired by true-life events around the 1983 Rally World Championships, starring Riccardo Scamarcio, Daniel Brühl and Volker Bruch. Rai is the Italian distributor.
Intl sales: HanWay Films
May 5
American Star
Ian McShane stars in Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego’s thriller about an assassin on a final assignment in Fuerteventura to kill a man he has never met. The film is produced by Michael Elliott for Emu Films and McShane for his Tamariska Inc.
Intl sales: Altitude
A Mistake
Elizabeth Banks is set to star in medical drama A Mistake, from New Zealand-born writer-director Christine Jeffs, as a surgeon who has navigated years of casual sexism at the hospital where she works. UTA Independent Group is repping US sales.
Intl sales: Cornerstone Films
Branded
Alex Pettyfer, Maria Bakalova, Tom Hopper and Frank Grillo will lead the cast of Kieron Hawkes’ crime drama, based on an article by David Grann. CAA Media Finance is selling for the US.
Intl sales: HanWay Films
Canary Black
Taken director Pierre Morel is to direct Kate Beckinsale in this spy thriller for Anglo-French producer and financier Anton. UTA Independent Film Group will oversee domestic rights in conjunction with Anton
Intl sales: Anton
The Dagon
Brad Anderson’s thriller stars Frank Grillo as a father controlling his isolated family’s rural life. When his eldest daughter comes of age, they must confront the terrifying and deadly creatures that surround them every night. CAA co-reps North American rights with Independent.
Intl sales: Independent Entertainment
Dangerous Waters
Odeya Rush, Eric Dane, Saffron Burrows and Ray Liotta star in John Barr’s thriller, which is currently shooting in the Dominican Republic. A sailing holiday spirals out of control when a teenage daughter uncovers the dark past of her mother’s new boyfriend. US-UK firm Signature Films is producing the title.
Intl sales: Capstone Global
Maria
Felicity Jones, Jonathan Bailey and Jason Isaacs have signed on to star in Simon Amstell’s Maria about a young woman who hits it off with her new stepbrother on her father’s wedding day.
Intl sales: Independent Entertainment
May 4
Birchanger Green
Screen Star of Tomorrow writer-director Moin Hussain has just wrapped production on this sci-fi about a man living a small, lonely life working nightshifts at a motorway service station. The cast is led by Faraz Ayub as well as Natalie Gavin, Ali & Ava’s Claire Rushbrook, Simon Nagra, Steve Oram and Jeff Mirza.
Intl sales: Bankside
May 3
Artist In Residence
Diane Keaton, Andy Garcia and Josh Hutcherson have signed to star in Raymond De Felitta’s comedy Artist In Residence, from a script by De Felitta and produced by Lauren Versel for Lucky Monkey Pictures and Joe Pichirallo. WME Independent is handling the North American sales.
Intl sales: Protagonist Pictures
Untitled John Galliano documentary
Kevin McDonald directs this as yet untitled feature doc about the controversial UK fashion designer John Galliano. It is produced by France’s TF1 Studio.
Intl sales: Newen Connect – TF1 Studios sales
What Happens Later
Meg Ryan will direct and star with David Duchovny in this romantic comedy. Bleeker Street has pre-bought US rights.
Intl sales: HanWay Films.
May 2
Jeanne Du Barry
French filmmaker Maïwenn will direct and star in this feature inspired by the life of Jeanne Bécu, an impoverished seamstress who went on to rise through the Court of Louis XV (Johnny Depp) to become his last official mistress.
Intl sales: Wild Bunch
The Old Oak
Ken Loach’s latest tells the story of a former coal-mining village that has never fully recovered from the closure of the mines reacting to an influx of Syrian refugees.
Intl sales: Wild Bunch
April 29
Land of Bad
Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth will star in Will Eubank’s action thriller about an Air Force drone pilot who must try to fix a botched special ops mission in the Philippines.
Intl sales: Highland
April 28
The Empire
Lily-Rose Depp, Anamaria Vartolomei and Camille Cottin star in Bruno Dumont’s sci-fi drama about two opposing forces from outer space who unleash an apocalyptic conflict on Northern France’s picturesque Opal Coast.
Intl sales: Memento
The Return
Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche will lead the cast of Uberto Pasolini’s retelling of Homer’s epic Greek poem The Odyssey, about the return of hero Odysseus from the war.
Intl sales: HanWay
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