News

U.S. and U.K.-based global sales outfit Palisades Park Pictures has revealed a star-studded slate for Hong Kong’s film rights market FilMart.

John Travolta, Katherine Heigl and Christopher Walken lead romantic comedy “That’s Amore!,” which is in pre-production. Written and directed by “Green Book” writer Nick Vallelonga, the film follows two emotionally damaged people who attempt to date one another, and when their families get involved, comedy ensues.

The producers are Vallelonga (Vallelonga Prods.), Cassian Elwes (Elevated Films), Brenda Emmett and Vince Emmett (American Troubadours), David Polemeni; Tamara Birkemoe and Mark Damon, for Palisades Park Pictures, serve as executive producers.

Director Phillip Noyce has completed action-thriller “Fast Charlie,” starring Pierce Brosnan, Morena Baccarin and James Caan, and adapted from Victor Gischler’s novel “Gun Monkeys” by Richard Wenk (“The Equalizer”).

Brosnan plays Charlie Swift, a hitman who has been working for his aging mob boss, Stan (Caan), for two decades.

Charlotte Kirk starrer to screen at market next week; international talks ongoing.

On the eve of AFM Palisades Park Pictures has announced key territory sales on Neil Marshall’s crime thriller Duchess, with Saban Films acquiring the US and Vertigo Films taking UK rights.

Palisades Park Pictures CEO Tamara Birkemoe has concluded a raft of deals on the Charlotte Kirk starrer.

Amazon has taken Benelux rights, Videomite has acquired the film for Turkey, Selim Ramia for the Middle East, Cinemundo for Portugal, Premiere 9 Entertainment for India, Myndform for Iceland, Daro Film Distribution for Central Eastern Europe, M-Net for South Africa,...

Charlotte Kirk starrer to screen at market next week; international talks ongoing.

On the eve of AFM Palisades Park Pictures has announced key territory sales on Neil Marshall’s crime thriller Duchess, with Saban Films acquiring the US and Vertigo taking UK rights.

Palisades Park Pictures CEO Tamara Birkemoe has concluded a raft of deals on the Charlotte Kirk starrer.

Amazon has taken Benelux rights, Videomite has acquired the film for Turkey, Selim Ramia for the Middle East, Cinemundo for Portugal, Premiere 9 Entertainment for India, Myndform for Iceland, Daro Film Distribution for Central Eastern Europe, M-Net for South Africa, and Top Film Distribution for Ukraine.

Exclusive: Palisades Park Pictures (Ppp) will be representing global sales for action-thriller Duchess from director Neil Marshall (Hellboy).

Post production recently wrapped with Ppp screening for buyers at the Cannes market next week.

Duchess stars Charlotte Kirk (Vice) in the titular role as she navigates the world of diamond smuggling. Philip Winchester (Strike Back), Colm Meaney (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Sean Pertwee (Event Horizon), and Stephanie Beacham (Dracula A.D. 1972) also star.

Duchess follows Kirk’s no-nonsense Scarlett Monaghan and her rise from a working-class petty criminal to becoming a ruthless organized crime leader in the seedy underbelly of the diamond smuggling circuit of Tenerife.

Marshall and Kirk co-penned the screenplay, with Emily Corcoran of Cork Films and Kristyna Sellnerova as producers.

Joe Simpson, Simon Williams, Jonathan Bross and Matthew E. Chausse of Ashland Hill Media Finance and Norman Merry and Peter Hampden of Lip Sync executive-produced along with Jon Dean,...

Variety has been given exclusive access to the first-look images from Neil Marshall’s action crime thriller “Duchess,” starring British actor Charlotte Kirk, who was linked to the downfall of two Hollywood moguls. Principal photography is in its third week on the movie, which is shooting in Tenerife.

The film is co-written by Marshall and Kirk, the creative duo behind “The Lair,” which opens London’s horror and fantasy film festival Frightfest next month.

Marshall’s credits include “Game of Thrones,” for which he received an Emmy nomination, “The Descent,” for which he won best director at the British Independent Film Awards, and, most recently, 2019’s “Hellboy” and 2020’s “The Reckoning,” which also starred and was co-written by Kirk.

Kirk became front-page news in Hollywood after her extramarital affairs with Kevin Tsujihara, at that time CEO of Warner Bros., and Ron Meyer, the then vice chairman of NBCUniversal, led to their dismissals.

Ingenious Media, Ashland Hill Media Finance funding the action-horror.

Production has begun in Hungary on UK genre ace Neil Marshall’s action-horror and Highland Film Group sales title The Lair starring Jonathan Howard from Thor: The Dark World, Charlotte Kirk from The Reckoning and Jamie Bamber from Battlestar Galactica.

The Lair follows Sgt. Tom Hook as he is tasked with leading a unit to find Lt. Kate Sinclair after the Royal Air Force fighter pilot was shot down in Afghanistan. Pursued by insurgents, Sinclair has sought shelter in an abandoned bunker where she unwittingly releases the Ravagers – a half human-half alien man-made biological weapon.

In today’s film news roundup, Romola Garai’s “Amulet” and crime drama ”Punching And Stealing” find homes and the Human Rights Watch Film Festival unveils a digital edition.

Acquisitions

Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired North American rights to the horror movie “Amulet,” the feature directorial debut of actress-turned-filmmaker Romola Garai.

The film, starring Carla Juri, Alec Secareanu, Imelda Staunton and Angeliki Papoulia, premiered in January in the Midnight section at Sundance. Magnet plans to release the film in theaters and on demand July 24.

“Amulet’ follows a former soldier who is left homeless after an accident and takes refuge in the decaying home of a lonely young woman in desperate need of help as she cares for her ailing mother. As he gets closer to and begins to fall in love with the young women, he notices strange and unexplainable phenomena.

“Amulet” is produced by...

Magnet Releasing, the genre film arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired the North American rights to “Amulet,” a horror film that premiered in the Midnight section at Sundance this past year, the distributor announced Tuesday.

“Amulet” is the feature directorial debut of Romola Garai, an actress turned filmmaker, and it stars Carla Juri, Alec Secareanu, Imelda Staunton and Angeliki Papoulia. Magnet will release the film in theaters and on demand on July 24.

“Amulet” follows Tomaz (Secareanu), a former soldier who is left homeless after an accident and takes refuge in the decaying home of Magda (Juri), a lonely young woman in desperate need of help as she cares for her ailing mother. At first hesitant, Magda soon welcomes Tomaz into their lives. But as he gets closer to and begins to fall for Magda, Tomaz notices strange and unexplainable phenomena. Something seems very wrong with the mysterious old woman who never leaves the top floor,...

Exclusive: Days after acquiring his film Mowgli from Warner Bros, Netflix has doubled down with Andy Serkis by acquiring rights to the George Orwell novel Animal Farm. Serkis will direct a performance-capture film. 6th & Idaho’s Matt Reeves, Rafi Crohn and Adam Kassan will produce with The Imaginarium’s Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish.

The Netflix deal reunites Serkis with Reeves after they worked together on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes. Reeves made an overall Netflix deal in January.

Orwell’s allegorical novella was published in 1945, and the author said it was informed by the Russian revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Stalinist regime of the Soviet Union. If you didn’t read it in school, the premise involves a group of animals who rebel against the humans who own their farm and win their independence. The architects of the revolution create...

Exclusive: Production underway on feature produced by Matthew James Wilkinson and Maggie Monteith.

Principal photography has begun in London on UK psychological thriller Kaleidoscope, which will star Toby Jones (Dad’s Army), Anne Reid (The Mother) and Sinead Matthews (Happy-Go-Lucky).

Described as a modern day Psycho, Kaleidoscope explores the destructive relationship between a middle-aged man and his mother and is written and directed by Toby Jones’ brother Rupert Jones.

The latter previously directed his brother in 2006 short The Sickie and more recently took the reins on well-received 2013 musical-drama The Answer To Everything, Streetwise Opera’s 10th anniversary production starring a cast of 120 homeless people, which was distributed by the BFI.

Producers are Matthew James Wilkinson (The Call Up) of Stigma Films and Maggie Monteith (Searching For Sugar Man) of Dignity Film Finance under the production banner of Longships Films Ltd.

Executive producers are Chris Reed and Phil Rymer with Roopesh Parekh (Poldark) co-producing.

BAFTA TV and...

Exclusive: Metrodome International to officially launch at Cannes, with former Av staff

UK distributor Metrodome is to launch a new sales arm, which will incorporate the library and some staff from UK sales outfit Av Pictures, which will cease to actively acquire after an 11-year run in the industry.

Metrodome International will officially launch at Cannes next month, with former Av staff

Caroline Couret-Delègue is joining as head of sales and acquisitions and Jane Carolan will join as distribution manager.

Both will report in to Metrodome Distribution managing director Jezz Vernon who will take up the position of MD at the new agency in addition to his current role.

Av MD Chris Hainsworth and director of acquisitions and production Lee Brazier will manage the partnership on behalf of Av and its producer clients, and will focus on the nascent development slate of Cinescope Entertainment, Av’s sister production company.

Av chairman Angad Paul will retain a stake...

"Harry Potter" Producer David Barron ("Harry Potter" series of films) and his Runaway Fridge Films have joined forces with Pria Viswalingam's Fork Films to develop as well as co-produce "Bulldog Drummond." The big-budget film will be based on the British action hero created by Sapper, a.k.a. Herman Cyril McNeile back in 1920. The pic will be based on the story by Dennis Kleinman and John Collee and Phil Rymer, of Rymer Media Law will serve as an executive producer. The character of "Bulldog Drummond" was a World War II veteran who was bored with his life as a civilian and was one of the most popular literary characters of the 1920s. Character even influenced the creation of James Bond due to his British gentleman demeanor...