UK actor Sam Riley is to play the title role in Iain Softley’s epic adaptation of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe which is being developed by Berlin-based Egoli Tossell Film New GmbH (ETF) with Spain’s Morena Films as a European co-production with partners from Belgium and the UK.

Riley recently worked with Neil Jordan on the fantasy thriller Byzantium and was seen in German cinemas last Christmas in Detlev Buck’s German-language comedy Woman In Love (Rubbeldiekatz) which was headlined by Riley’s wife Alexandra Maria Lara.

Ivanhoe, which has been scripted by John Brownlow and James Jacks, will be be shot on 65mm in cooperation with ARRI.

Moreover, this week saw ETF awarded €750,000 in production support for the action-packed and romantic adventure film from the Leipzig-based regional fund MDM. This was the highest sum awarded at a session which also allocated funding to new projects from George Ovashvili (Corn Island),Volker Koepp (Neues aus Sarmatien), Ute Wieland (Besser als nix) and Mahmut Fazil Coskun (Yozgat Blues).

2012 has already been a busy year for ETF which served as co-producer on Jon S. Baird’s adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s bestseller Filth and Ron Howard’s Rush about the real-life rivalry between Formula One champions James Hunt and Niki Lauda (played by Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl).

In addition, preparations are underway for the German-Canadian co-production of Peter Chelsom’s globe-trotting feelgood film Hector  And The Search For Happiness, which will have Simon Pegg in the title role.

The company was discharged at the beginning of June from insolvency after 1 ½ years of restructuring which saw Frankfurt-based Film House Germany come onboard as a majority shareholder.

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