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While Europe has always lured Hollywood filmmakers, there are more opportunities today for transatlantic collaborations due to a number of factors, according to leading European industry reps taking part in the Zurich Summit on Saturday.

Outlining the many advantages and unique opportunities Europe offers at the Zurich Film Festival’s industry forum were Goodfellas’ Vincent Maraval, Mediawan Pictures CEO Elisabeth d’Arvieu, Constantin exec Martin Bachmann, Fremantle’s Christian Vesper and Karl Spoerri of Zurich Avenue.

While collaborations have always existed between the European industry and American filmmakers who wanted to do different kinds of films, the current situation has created more opportunities, Maraval said.

U.S. studios are becoming “more and more conservative,” he pointed out, adding that for creators today who feel frustrated or are looking for more freedom and more creativity, it’s easier to travel and work elsewhere.

It’s also becoming increasingly expensive to shoot Stateside,...

How many indie movies make money? was one of the questions posed to top European film financiers and producers today at the Zurich Summit, which takes place during the Zurich Film Festival.

Vincent Maraval, President Goodfellas / The Veterans; Christian Vesper, CEO of Global Drama and Film Fremantle; Elisabeth d’Arvieu, CEO Mediawan Pictures; Karl Spoerri, Co-Founder & Managing Director Zurich Avenue Ag; and Constantin board member Martin Bachmann, all took part in the session.

Film sales vet Maraval, who has recently handled high profile movies such as Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez starrer Emilia Perez and Audrey Diwan’s Emmanuelle, responded: “I can only speak to what I know about our films. It’s different between independent American film and independent international film, but in terms of independent local [to Europe] film, I would say that probably 60 to 70% make money, or at least recoup and don’t lose money, because they are in...

Und gleich noch ein Hochkaräter auf dem Zurich Summit im Dolder Grand am Rand des 20. Zurich Film Festival: Ein stark besetztes Panel, darunter Martin Bachmann und Karl Spoerri, diskutierte die Globalisierung des Filmmarktes und wie sehr es möglich ist, Filme im Stil eines Hollywood-Studios aus Europa heraus zu produzieren.

Das vierte Panel beim Zurich Summit: Melanie Goodfellow, Christian Vesper, Karl Spoerri, Vincent Maraval, Elisabeth d’Arvieu, Martin Bachmann (Credit: Spot)

Moderatorin Melanie Goodfellow von Deadline hieß auf dem Podium Karl Spoerri, Co-Founder & Managing Director Zurich Avenue Ag, Vincent Maraval, President GoodFellas / The Veterans, Christian Vesper, CEO of Global Drama and Film Fremantle, Elisabeth d’Arvieu, CEO Mediawan Pictures, und Constantin-Kinochef Martin Bachmann willkommen. Bachmann war kurzfristig für den eigentlich angekündigten Oliver Berben eingesprungen, der krankheitsbedingt absagen musste.

Als wir das Festival 2005 gründeten, geschah das auch aus Liebe zum Hollywoodfilm. In den 15 Jahren, in denen wir das Festival leiteten, haben wir viele Kontakte geknüpft,...

Christian Jungen und Roger Crotti riefen – und ganz Zürich kam. Auch weil sich am Eröffnungsabend zum 20. Jubliäum des Zurich Film Festivals keiner den Auftritt von Superstar Jude Law entgehen lassen wollte, der die Hauptrolle im Eröffnungsfilm „The Order“ spielt und einen Golden Eye Award erhielt.

Christian Jungen und Jude Law (Credit: Spot)

Ein rauschendes Fest hatten Artistic Director Christian Jungen und der neue Präsident Roger Crotti im Interview mit Spot angekündigt. Ein rauschendes Fest ist die Eröffnung der 20. Jubiläumsausgabe des Zurich Film Festival geworden. Im Kongresshaus hatte sich die Society von Zürich versammelt, um dem Ruf des Zff, es bringe Hollywood an die Limmat, zu entsprechen. Gut gelaunt stimmte man sich bei kleinen Köstlichkeiten und Getränken von Sponsor Moët Chandon ein auf den Main Event, die feierliche Gala, mit der der Startschuss gegeben wurde für zehn Tage Kino pur, „ein Once-in-a-lifetime-Festival“, wie Roger Crotti verspricht.

Die Bühne gehörte zunächst Christian Jungen,...

CAA Media Finance co-head Roeg Sutherland, FilmNation Entertainment CEO Glen Basner, Mediawan Pictures Elisabeth d’Arvieu and Constantin Film CEO Oliver Berben will be among the industry executives participating in the 10th Zurich Summit this weekend.

Dubbed by organizer the Zurich Film Festival (Zff) as “the Davos of the film industry”, in reference to the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps, the event will gather more than 100 top film professionals from North American and Europe at the city’s luxury Dolder Grand hotel.

Over the course of Saturday, they will discuss key issues including AI, monetization of indie films, financing, distribution, representation, and the awards season.

As the Zurich Summit’s official media partner, Deadline will be on the ground covering and moderating panels, as well as providing exclusive interviews with key executives via the Deadline Studio. We’ll also have video from key panels.

Sutherland, a long-time supporter of the meeting,...

Netflix has tied up a deal in the $34M range for the John Lee Hancock-directed package Monsanto, we can reveal. The pic will star Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie and Oscar winner Laura Dern.

CAA Media Finance cut the presale after launching with Rocket Science last week. Netflix has been quieter at recent markets but is back at the table with the splashy deal.

This and Apple’s WW deal for Everest sherpa pic Tenzing are the two biggest deals to emerge from the Cannes market so far. The latter is understood to be in the $40M range.

Monsanto tells the true story of young, untried attorney Brent Wisner (Powell), who takes on a seemingly insurmountable case against the giant U.S. chemical company Monsanto on behalf of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson (Mackie) who used Monsanto’s best-known product Roundup, a wildly financially successful weed and grass pesticide killer, as part...

Magnolia Pictures has released a brand new trailer for "Thelma." This film may not be on your radar just yet, but after watching this trailer, it probably should be. Serving as the feature directorial debut of Josh Margolin, the big hook here is that Oscar-nominee June Squibb is getting to lead a revenge thriller at the age of 94. More than that, it marks the first time that Squibb has been given a leading role in a movie in her long, storied career. Check the trailer out for yourself above.

The trailer is impossibly charming, even though there is an insidious plot at the center of it all. Squibb's character gets scammed out of a bunch of money and, with no options left, she sets out on a path of revenge. It's not unrealistically action-packed or anything like that, but it comes off as quite delightful. Squibb is paired with the late Richard Roundtree,...

Rocket Science and CAA Media Finance are launching foreign sales out of Cannes for the John Lee Hancock directed Monsanto starring Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie and Oscar winner Laura Dern.

Monsanto tells the true story of young, untried attorney Brent Wisner (Powell) who takes on a seemingly insurmountable case against the giant U.S. chemical company Monsanto on behalf of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson (Mackie) who used Monsanto’s best-known product Roundup, a wildly financially successful weed and grass pesticide killer, as part of his job as a high school groundskeeper. During the trial, Dr Melinda Rogers (Dern), the chief toxicologist of the Monsanto Company, testifies with certainty that Roundup is safe.

Pic’s screenplay was developed in association with Karl Spoerri’s Zurich Avenue and penned by Michael Wisner, Alexandra Duparc, Ned Benson and Hancock. Producers are Moritz Borman, Eric Kopeloff, Philip Schulz-Deyle and Jon Levin alongside HyperObject Industries’ Adam McKay and Kevin Messick.

Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie, and Laura Dern will star in the drama Monsanto from writer-director John Lee Hancock, which Rocket Science and CAA Media Finance will introduce to Cannes buyers next week.

Powell, coming off the box office hit Anyone But You and star of Richard Linklater’s upcoming Hit Man, will play Brent Wisner, a young untested attorney who agrees to represent Dewayne “Lee” Johnson (Mackie) in a case against Monsanto after Johnson was diagnosed with cancer following years of he using the agrochemical giant’s weed killer in his job as a high school groundsman.

During the trial,...

Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie, and Laura Dern are set to star in “Monsanto,” a drama based on the true story of an upstart lawyer who took on one of the most powerful and controversial chemical corporations in the U.S.

“Monsanto” is being co-written and directed by John Lee Hancock, and it’s also being produced by Adam McKay, who has long been vocal about the climate crisis and the impact corporations like Monsanto in particular have had on the environment.

The film is being introduced to buyers at the Cannes Film Festival Marché du Film beginning next week, with CAA Media Finance handling domestic rights and Rocket Science handling international sales.

“Monsanto” tells the true story of young, untried attorney Brent Wisner (Powell) who sues the giant U.S. chemical company on behalf of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson (Mackie), who used Monsanto’s weed and pesticide product Roundup for his...

Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie and Academy Award winner Laura Dern have signed on to star in “Monsanto,” the latest film from writer-director John Lee Hancock.

The film follows the true story of young, untried attorney Brent Wisner (Powell), who in 2019 took on a seemingly insurmountable case against the giant U.S. chemical company Monsanto on behalf of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson (Mackie) who used the company’s best-known product Roundup, a wildly financially successful weed and grass pesticide killer, as part of his job as a high school groundskeeper. Dern plays Dr. Melinda Rogers, the Monsanto Company’s chief toxicologist, who testifies with certainty that Roundup is safe during the landmark cancer trial.

“I was drawn to this contemporary David vs. Goliath true story because I found it dramatic, moving, quite funny and of critical importance in today’s world,” said Hancock. “My ambitions are to deliver a smart, thoughtful and...

Exclusive: At 94 years old, June Squibb may not be the most conventional of action heroes. But by gum, she’s the one we need. The Nebraska Oscar nominee is poised to save the summer with Thelma, the nonagenarian action comedy marking the first feature of writer-director Josh Margolin, which Magnolia Pictures has set for a wide release in North America on June 21.

Check out a new clip, teasing the film’s theatrical debut, above.

Marking the first lead film role of Squibb’s accomplished 70+ year career, Thelma is based on a real-life experience of Margolin’s grandmother, Thelma Post, and world premiered to critical acclaim at Sundance, where Magnolia landed rights in a competitive situation. In the film, the 93-year-old Thelma (Squibb) gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson, then setting out on a treacherous quest across the city to reclaim what was taken from her.

Magnolia Pictures has landed the North American rights to June Squibb comedy Thelma, which premiered out of the Sundance Film Festival. A wide theatrical release is planned.

Josh Margolin directed the feature that follows a 93-year-old grandmother (Squibb) who gets conned by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson (Fred Hechinger) and sets out on a treacherous quest across Los Angeles, accompanied by an aging friend (the late Richard Roundtree, in one of his final roles) and his motorized scooter, to reclaim what was taken from her.

Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, and Malcolm McDowell also star.

Reads THR‘s review of the film, “Thelma is sweet and poignant, sentimental without getting sappy. Just the fact that it gives Squibb the first leading screen role of her seven-decade career makes it a satisfying watch.”

Zoë Worth and Chris Kaye of Bandwagon produced the film, alongside Nicholas Weinstock of Invention Studios,...

Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights to Sundance action comedy Thelma, which stars June Squibb as a grandmother who sets out to reclaim what was taken from her.

‘Thelma’: Sundance Review

Josh Margolin’s film debuted in Premieres on the opening day in Park City and immediately sparked interest from buyers. Magnolia prevailed in what it called a competitive situation with multiple offers.

Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, and Malcolm McDowell round out the key cast on Thelma, which playfully imbues the film with a Mission: Impossible vibe as the titular nonagenarian falls for a...

Following its breakout as one of the more highly discussed titles of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, nonagenarian action comedy Thelma, starring Oscar nominee June Squibb (Nebraska) in her first leading role, has been snapped up for North American distribution by Magnolia Pictures.

The deal came together following a competitive situation with multiple offers. Pic is slated for a wide theatrical release at a date still to be announced.

Marking the feature directorial debut of Josh Margolin, who directed from his own script, Thelma stars Squibb as a feisty 93-year-old grandmother who gets conned by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson (Fred Hechinger). In the aftermath, she sets out on a treacherous quest across Los Angeles, accompanied by an aging friend (Richard Roundtree) and his motorized scooter, to reclaim what was taken from her. The film features the final performance of Shaft icon Roundtree and co-stars Parker Posey, Clark Gregg,...

After years acting and making short-form content and collaborating on 2018 LA Film Festival entry Deep Murder, Los Angeles native Josh Margolin’s feature directorial debut Thelma has premiered at Sundance where it received a rousing reception.

June Squibb, Oscar-nominated in Nebraska and now 94, stars in her first lead role as a grandmother who gets scammed and stops at nothing to take back what belongs to her, employing an impressive array of nonagenarian spycraft along the way.

Margolin was inspired to make the Sundance Premieres selection after his own grandmother Thelma nearly fell for a scam. The action comedy shot in...

After years acting and making short-form content and collaborating on 2018 LA Film Festival entry Deep Murder, Los Angeles native Josh Margolin’s feature directorial debut Thelma has premiered at Sundance where it received a rousing reception.

June Squibb, Oscar-nominated in Nebraska and now 94, stars in her first lead role as a grandmother who gets scammed and stops at nothing to take back what belongs to her, employing an impressive array of nonagenarian spycraft along the way.

Margolin was inspired to make the Sundance Premieres selection after his own grandmother Thelma nearly fell for a scam. The action comedy shot in...

Swiss film producers and financiers Karl Spoerri and Viviana Vezzani have been Sundance regulars for more than 15 years, but this edition is special.

The pair, who were driving forces behind the Zurich Film Festival (Zff) up until 2019, are in Park City this year with Thelma, which is the first feature from their new company Zurich Avenue to make it into Sundance.

Josh Margolin’s action-comedy-drama, starring 94-year-old June Squibb as a L.A. grandmother who sets off on a friend’s mobility scooter on a mission to track down an Internet scammer, is proving one of the early hits of the festival.

“On a personal level, it’s very meaningful because Sundance was always a big influence for us at the Zurich Film Festival from the start,” says Vezzani.

“We always loved going as programmers so getting Thelma accepted at Sundance was a dream come true.”

Former Zff co-founder and...

Zurich Avenue, headed by producers and former Zurich Film Festival execs Karl Spoerri and Viviana Vezzani, has quickly amassed an impressive slate of projects since launching last year, including Annette Bening starrer “Nyad.”

Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s film, which chronicles the attempt by 64-year-old swimmer Diana Nyad to swim from Cuba to Florida, unspools at the Zurich Film Festival. Zurich Avenue co-developed the Netflix film, which was produced by Black Bear Pictures and Mad Chance.

Part of financing group SPG3 Entertainment, likewise co-founded by Spoerri along with Urs Wietlisbach and Alfred Gantner in 2020, Zurich Avenue has provided the producers with a more hands-on approach, allowing them to create their own slate. The company’s recent films include Bill Pohlad’s critically-acclaimed “Dreamin’ Wild,” starring Casey Affleck and Zooey Deschanel; Coky Giedroyc’s Take That musical “Greatest Days”; and the forthcoming Josh Margolin action-comedy “Thelma,” starring June Squibb...

Casey Affleck is continuing his comeback, and he’s bringing his guitar. Roadside Attractions is proud to present the studio’s Dreamin’ Wild trailer, featuring Affleck as singer/songwriter Donnie Emerson, for a story about music, hope, redemption, and keeping dreams alive. Bill Pohlad directs from a script he wrote based on actual events, with a cast of greats tapping their toes, to an inspiring tale that hits struggling musicians where they live.

Here’s the official synopsis for Dreamin’ Wild, per Roadside Attractions:

Dreamin’ Wild, the true story of love and redemption, is about what happened to singer/songwriter Donnie Emerson and his family when the album he and his brother recorded as teens was rediscovered after thirty years of obscurity and was suddenly hailed by music critics as a lost masterpiece. While the album’s rediscovery brings hopes of second chances, it also brings long-buried emotions as Donnie,...

Exclusive: The Exchange has added Bill Pohlad’s Dreamin’ Wild starring Casey Affleck, Noah Jupe and Zooey Deschanel to its Cannes slate.

Roadside Attractions, which snapped up North American rights for the film following its Out of Competition Venice premiere, will release the film theatrically on August 4.

Dreamin’ Wild is the third film from Pohlad, who is also known for his Academy Award and Emmy Award-nominated work as a producer including 12 Years A Slave, The Tree Of Life and A Monster Calls.

The drama is inspired by the real-life story of Donnie and Joe Emerson, two brothers living in the Washington State rural town of Fruitland, who were catapulted to fame in the 2010s after an album they self-recorded in the 1970s was re-discovered by music critics.

Oscar-winning Manchester By The Sea actor Affleck plays Donnie, a working dad who tries to keep his dreams of rock stardom alive...

Is Take That back for good?

“Greatest Days” — the screen adaptation of the British pop act’s stage musical “The Band” — has unveiled its first trailer, with a U.K. and Ireland release date set for June 16.

News of the movie’s release comes just a week after the band was revealed as one of the acts set for King Charles’ coronation concert next month.

The group will also perform at a London premiere for “Greatest Days” on June 15. The performance will be broadcast alongside previews of the movie, which will screen at cinemas around the country on June 15.

Starring Aisling Bea (“The Way Up”), Alice Lowe (“Black Mirror”), Jayde Adams (“The Outlaws”) and Amaka Okafor (“The Responder”), “Greatest Days” follows five best friends who have the night of their lives seeing their favorite boy band in concert.

Twenty-five years later, their lives have changed in many different ways as...

Distributor plans exclusive nationwide theatrical release on August 4.

Roadside Attractions has acquired North American rights to 2022 Venice entry Dreamin’ Wild starring Casey Affleck and Noah Jupe.

‘Dreamin’ Wild’: Venice Review

The distributor plans an exclusive nationwide theatrical release on August 4 for director Bill Pohlad’s (Love & Mercy) drama about real-life musician brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson, who find fame 30 years after their rediscovered album was seemingly consigned to oblivion.

Casey plays the older Donnie Emerson and Jupe plays the younger version. The cast includes Zooey Deschanel, Walton Goggins, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Beau Bridges.

Serving as producers are Jim Burke,...

Roadside Attractions has picked up the North American rights to Dreamin’ Wild, the Casey Affleck and Zooey Deschanel-starring music biopic that debuted in Venice.

Bill Pohlad directed the film that is set to hit theaters Aug. 4. Roadside released Pohlad’s 2014 feature Love & Mercy, a portrait of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys that marked his feature directorial debut.

Dreamin’ Wild captures the real-life story of musical duo Donnie and Joe Emerson, whose family leveraged their farm in the 1970s to produce the brothers’ record Dreamin’ Wild. The album languished until it was rediscovered nearly 30 years after its release, creating an unexpected music career for the Emerson brothers.

“I’m honored to be back with Roadside Attractions for my next film since Love & Mercy. I’m hoping that audiences will connect with this family’s heart-felt story as much as with Donnie’s extraordinary music,” Pohlad said in a statement on Thursday.

Roadside Attractions has acquired North American rights to “Dreamin’ Wild,” a drama about the rediscovery of singer and songwriter Donnie Emerson after years spent in obscurity. The film, which was directed by Bill Pohlad, a filmmaker who unearthed gold from another music industry saga with his 2014 Brian Wilson film “Love & Mercy,” premiered at Venice. “Dreamin’ Wild,” a reference to an album that Donnie released with his brother Joe Emerson, will open nationwide only in theaters on Aug. 4.

Roadside previously released “Love & Mercy,” making this a reunion for the filmmaker and distributor. The film centers on the critical reevaluation of “Dreamin’ Wild,” and the impact that second chance has on Donnie, his wife Nancy, brother Joe, and father Don Sr. as they must come to terms their new fame. Pohlad uses two different actors to explore the real-life characters in different time periods, just as he did in “Love & Mercy...

Roadside Attractions has nabbed North American rights to the drama Dreamin’ Wild, telling the true story of musician brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson, slating it for release in theaters nationwide on August 4th.

Related Story Venice Review: Casey Affleck In ‘Dreamin’ Wild’ Related Story Sundance Prize Winner 'The Pod Generation' Starring Emilia Clarke & Chiwetel Ejiofor Set For Release By Roadside Attractions & Vertical Related Story Michael Stuhlbarg Joins Matt Damon And Casey Affleck In 'The Instigators'

The film starring Academy Award winner Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Noah Jupe (Honey Boy) and Emmy and Golden Globe nom Zooey Deschanel (500 Days of Summer) puts Oscar- and Emmy-nominated writer-director Bill Pohlad back in business with Roadside, which with Lionsgate released his last acclaimed film Love & Mercy on Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson.

Its central question is, what if a childhood dream suddenly came true — but 30 years later? That...

Exclusive: Good Deed Entertainment has acquired North American and UK rights to the indie drama Midday Black Midnight Blue, starring 2x Emmy winner Merritt Wever (Godless), slating it for a day-and-date release in June.

The first feature from writer-directors Samantha Soule and Daniel Talbott, also starring Chris Stack (AMC’s Interview with the Vampire) and Soule (Godless), follows Ian (Stack) as he grapples with his shifting memories of Liv (Soule), a woman he once loved. For Ian, it’s a chance run-in with Liv’s sister (Wever) that sparks a journey in which he has a chance to reconnect to the light and fight his way back to life.

The film, which world premiered at last year’s Seattle Film Festival, is produced by Soule, Talbott and Stack, as well as Lovell Holder and Addie Johnson Talbott. Exec producers are Timothy Farrell, Conner Marx and Will Pullen. Gde’s EVP...

Exclusive: 93-year-old Oscar nominee June Squibb (Nebraska) has found her first, long overdue leading role in Thelma, an upcoming “action” comedy written and directed by Josh Margolin, which has wrapped production. The actress is joined in the ensemble by Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus), Richard Roundtree (Shaft), Parker Posey (The Staircase), Clark Gregg (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange).

Margolin’s first feature, based on a real-life experience involving his grandmother, is (half-jokingly) billed as Nebraska meets Mission: Impossible. It centers on 90-year-old grandmother Thelma Post (Squibb), who gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson and sets out on a uniquely treacherous quest to reclaim what was taken from her.

Zoë Worth, a longtime collaborator of Margolin’s, and producing partner Chris Kaye started developing Thelma after reading an early draft in their writer’s group, Rock & Roll Universe. The film will be their first produced together.

Exclusive: Picture Perfect Federation and Zurich Avenue have teamed to acquire Jeneva Rose’s bestselling psychological thriller debut novel The Perfect Marriage. The film will be directed by Sigal Avin (Losing Alice), and the script is by Oscar-nominated scribe William Broyles (Apollo 13 and Cast Away).

The film will be produced by Patrick Wachsberger, who’s coming off Best Picture for Coda, and Ashley Stern for Picture Perfect Federation. Zurich Avenue’s Karl Spoerri and Viviana Vezzani are exec producing alongside Broyles and Lenore Entertainment Group’s Adam Berkowitz, Avin’s manager. Olivia Wachsberger is co-executive producer.

Sarah Morgan is a successful defense attorney whose life gets flipped upside down when her husband is accused of murdering his mistress. She decides to take her husband’s case and at trial, the couple is pulled into a twisted game of cat and mouse as they re-examine their relationship while dealing with life-changing consequences.

Casey Affleck heaped praise on Andrew Dominik’s forthcoming Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde during a press conference for his latest film Dreamin’ Wild at the Venice Film Festival Wednesday.

“I’ve seen Blonde and it’s incredible,” Affleck told press corps. “I’ve seen a couple of versions of Blonde and it’s taken him [Dominik] a long time to get it out into the world. But that’s just how he is. He’s so slow with it. And it’s an amazing, beautiful film.”

Affleck began discussing the Nc-17-rated flick after he was asked about his relationship with the film’s director Andrew Dominik whom he worked with on The Assassination of Jesse James, which also debuted in Venice.

Later during the presser, Affleck continued to discuss his work with Dominik on The Assassination of Jesse James when he was asked about his personal regrets and how they...

Exclusive: Karl Spoerri, Viviana Vezzani and Tobias Gutzwiller are officially launching production label Zurich Avenue, which will sit under the banner of their finance company SPG3.

Based in Zurich and LA, the production-specific label will focus on film and TV and currently has ten English and German-language projects in different stages of production.

Among the slate is Bill Pohlad’s Venice Film Festival title Dreamin’ Wild, which stars Casey Affleck, Zooey Deschanel, Walton Goggins, Chris Messina, Noah Jupe, Jack Dylan Grazer and Beau Bridges, and tells the true story of musicians Donnie and Joe Emerson.

Pic was produced in partnership with River Road Entertainment and Innisfree Pictures while SPG3 co-financed with River Road. Kim Roth, Bill Pohlad, Jim Burke, Karl Spoerri and Viviana Vezzani served as producers.

Currently in production are Greatest Days and Nyad. Coky Giederoic directs the former, the big screen adaptation of UK comedy musical The Band,...

Aisling Bea, Jayde Adams and Alice Lowe will star.

Canada’s Bron Releasing has taken worldwide sales rights to Coky Giedroyc’s UK feature Greatest Days, based on stage musical The Band, which is set to the music from boy band Take That.

Karl Spoerri and Viviana Vezzani’s Switzerland and Los Angeles-based SPG3, is financing and producing the feature, alongside Danny Perkins’ nascent UK outfit Elysian Film Group.

Aisling Bea, Jayde Adams, Alice Lowe, Amaka Okafor and Marc Wootton will star, with the UK shoot taking place in London and Clitheroe, plus Athens.

Giedroyc’s credits include How To Build A Girl...

Exclusive: Relight My Fire! It required a little Patience but Take That movie Greatest Days, which will star Aisling Bea, has set its cast and financiers ahead of shoot next month. The question now is: Could It Be Magic?

Cast confirmed for the feel-good UK comedy-musical includes comedian and 2020 BAFTA winner Bea (This Way Up), Alice Lowe (Black Mirror), Amaka Okafor (The Responder), Jayde Adams (Serious Black Jumper), Marc Wootton (Nativity), Lara McDonnell (Belfast), Jessie Mae Alonzo (Little Joe), Nandi Hudson (Army of Thieves), Carragon Guest and Eliza Dobson.

The film’s boy band, modeled on Take That, will comprise newcomers Aaron Bryan, Dalvin Cory, Joshua Jung, Mark Samaras and Mervin Noronha.

Bron Releasing has boarded worldwide sales on the project, which heralds from Danny Perkins’ Elysian Film Group. Filming is set to get underway next month on location in London, Lancashire (Clitheroe) and Athens.

Karl Spoerri and Viviana Vezzani...

Director Bill Pohlad has enlisted a starry ensemble for “Dreamin’ Wild,” his upcoming indie movie about musicians Donnie and Joe Emerson.

Casey Affleck, Zooey Deschanel and Walton Goggins will lead the call sheet, with Beau Bridges, Jack Dylan Grazer, Noah Jupe and Chris Messina rounding out the cast.

“Dreamin’ Wild” tells the true story of the Emerson family and the tumult that followed the success of their self-recorded pop-funk album of the same name, which went largely unnoticed until critics rediscovered and reappraised it decades later. Now, as an adult, Donnie is forced to confront the ghosts from the past and grapple with the emotional toll his dreams have taken on the family who supported him.

Affleck is playing Donnie in the present day, while Jupe will portray him in his teenage years. Goggins will portray Joe as an adult, and Grazer will play him in his younger days. Deschanel...

Oscar winner Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Emmy and Grammy winner Beau Bridges (One Night in Miami…), Emmy nominees Zooey Deschanel (New Girl) and Walton Goggins (The Righteous Gemstones), Jack Dylan Grazer (We Are Who We Are), Noah Jupe (Ford v Ferrari) and Chris Messina (I Care a Lot) have signed on to star in Dreamin’ Wild, a film from writer-director Bill Pohlad, which has entered production in Spokane, Washington.

Like Pohlad’s critically acclaimed second feature, Love & Mercy, which told the story of Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, Dreamin’ Wild is set in the world of music, telling the true story of instrumental and vocal duo Donnie and Joe Emerson and their family.

When Dreamin’ Wild – the album Donnie self-recorded as a teenager in 1979, with his brother Joe – is re-discovered decades later and meets critical acclaim, adult Donnie is forced to confront ghosts from the past and...

Casey Affleck, Beau Bridges and Zooey Deschanel have been cast in Dreamin’ Wild, an indie drama from Bill Pohlad centered on a recently rediscovered and reappraised musical act, Donnie and Joe Emerson.

Walton Goggins, Jack Dylan Grazer, Noah Jupe and Chris Messina have also been cast in the project, which is now in production in Spokane, Washington.

Pohlad, who previously tackled Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson in the biopic Love & Mercy, wrote the screenplay and is directing.

Innisfree Pictures’ Jim Burke (Green Book) is producing with River Road’s Kim Roth (Mudbound) and Pohlad. SPG3’s Viviana Vezzani (Moonfall) and Karl Spoerri (The Old Man and the ...

Casey Affleck, Beau Bridges and Zooey Deschanel have been cast in Dreamin’ Wild, an indie drama from Bill Pohlad centered on a recently rediscovered and reappraised musical act, Donnie and Joe Emerson.

Walton Goggins, Jack Dylan Grazer, Noah Jupe and Chris Messina have also been cast in the project, which is now in production in Spokane, Washington.

Pohlad, who previously tackled Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson in the biopic Love & Mercy, wrote the screenplay and is directing.

Innisfree Pictures’ Jim Burke (Green Book) is producing with River Road’s Kim Roth (Mudbound) and Pohlad. SPG3’s Viviana Vezzani (Moonfall) and Karl Spoerri (The Old Man and the ...

The 17th Zurich Film Festival concluded Saturday with wins for Jonas Carpignano‘s “A Chiara” and Fred Baillif’s “La Mif,” with Renato Borrayo Serrano’s “Life of Ivanna” named best documentary.

The jury, led by Daniel Brühl, and featuring director Stéphanie Chuat, former Berlinale chief Dieter Kosslick and producer Andrea Cornwell, decided to award “A Chiara” with the prize for the best film of the Feature Film Competition. The Italian-French-Swedish-Danish co-production sees a teenage girl in a Calabrian town discovering her father’s criminal involvement.

“We were swept away by the modern take on the Italian neorealist tradition, the exceptional use of music and sound design and the outstanding performances by Swami Rotolo and her family, all making their film debuts. This film is nothing less than a cinematic masterpiece,” argued the jury, calling the decision “unanimous.”

Clint Bentley’s “Jockey” – praised for “an incredible performance” by Clifton Collins Jr.,...

Moritz Borman is producing with Karl Spoerri and Philip Schulz-Deyele.

Robert Schwentke, the German director of US films including Flightplan, Red and The Time Traveller’s Wife, is attached to direct a film about the collapse of German firm Wirecard in 2020. It was the result of the biggest corporate fraud scandal in the country’s history.

The as-yet-untitled film will be based on a tell-all expose called ‘Bad Company’ by Jörn Leogrande, a former top executive at the company.

It is being developed by Karl Spoerri’s Zurich and Los Angeles-based SPG3 Entertainment with Moritz Borman and Philip Schulz-Deyle’s German-based development company Pier 89 Content.

In today’s Global Bulletin, a two-parter on the BBC’s controversial 1995 interview with Princess Diana sells around the world; “Catfish U.K.” plans to premiere four episodes on MTV U.K. this spring; See-Saw Films ups Simon Gillis to COO; Wirecard scandal film being developed; and Women in Film and Television U.K. is to expand its mentoring programs for mid-career women to Scotland and Wales.

U.K. production funding and distribution agency Drive has sold two-part documentary series “The Diana Interview: Revenge of a Princess” to Channel Nine in Australia, Reelz in the U.S., TV 2 in Norway, Servus TV in Austria, Rtl Netherlands and Tvnow in Germany, to broadcast this year.

Produced by Minnow Films for U.K. broadcaster ITV, the series focuses on the controversial 1995 interview when Diana, Princess of Wales, poured her heart out on current affairs show “Panorama” to BBC journalist Martin Bashir.

Exclusive: Michael Peña, Carolina Bartczak, Maxim Roy and Stephen Bogaert are on board for the Roland Emmerich-helmed sci-fi epic Moonfall, joining an A-list ensemble that includes Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Eme Ikwuakor, Charlie Plummer and Donald Sutherland.

The space drama takes off with a mysterious force that knocks the Moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. With mere weeks before impact, and against all odds, a ragtag team launches an impossible last-ditch mission into space, leaving behind everyone they love and risking everything to land on the lunar surface and save our planet from annihilation.

Peña is taking over the role previously held by Stanley Tucci, who had to exit the project due to government-imposed travel restrictions banning UK flights into Canada. Peña will play Tom Lopez, a wealthy car dealer who is married...

Exclusive: Donald Sutherland (Ad Astra) and Eme Ikwuakor (Marvel’s Inhumans) are joining Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, Stanley Tucci, John Bradley and Charlie Plummer in Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi epic Moonfall, which has started principal photography in Montreal.

The $136M-budgeted independent film will see a mysterious force knock the Moon from its orbit around Earth and send it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. With only weeks before impact, a ragtag team launches a last-ditch mission into space to land on the lunar surface and save the planet from annihilation.

Screen legend Sutherland will play the gatekeeper of NASA’s secret archives, who struggles with his conscience whether to tell the world the truth about what really happened during the Apollo moon landings in the early seventies. Ikwuakor will play a high-ranking military official and estranged father to the son of Halle Berry’s character.

Exclusive: Zurich Film Festival co-founder and former artistic director Karl Spoerri is launching film and TV production and finance company SPG3 Entertainment (SPG3), which will be based in Zurich and Los Angeles.

SPG3 is co-founded by CEO Spoerri and Urs Wietlisbach and Alfred Gantner, founders of global private equity house Partners Group, which has close to $100Bn in assets under management.

SPG3 will manage “significant capital” on behalf of institutional investors and high net worth individuals. Over the next five years, the company says it is aiming to finance and/or produce or co-produce six to eight films or TV series per year with budgets in the $5-60M range.

The company will also develop up to ten micro-budget projects per year with budgets of up to half a million dollars.

SPG3’s executive ranks will include Viviana Vezzani, Spoerri’s partner and former management executive at the Zurich Film Festival,...

The Zurich Summit has, over the years, become a major industry gathering at the film festival, attracting Hollywood players and entertainment business reps from both sides of the Atlantic.

Running Sept. 28-29 at the palatial Dolder Grand Hotel, the summit focuses on current business trends and the pertinent issues and challenges facing the industry. This year’s hot topics include the streaming war, the growing demand for local-language films and the global prospects of family entertainment.

Launched in 2014, the Zurich Summit grew out of the fest’s Film Finance Forum with an expanded scope that covered technological developments including augmented and virtual reality and business areas such as marketing and distribution.

“For us, it’s a great thing because we always get great speakers,” says Zurich Film Festival co-director Karl Spoerri While Zurich can’t compete with Cannes or Toronto, the festival and summit nevertheless offer a high level of...

The 15th Zurich Film Festival (Sept. 26-Oct. 6) is marking a major changing of the guard while again presenting an impressive selection of high-profile international works and showcasing the

latest in Swiss cinema.

Todd Phillips’ “Joker,” Rupert Goold’s “Judy” and James Mangold’s “Le Mans ’66” (aka “Ford v Ferrari”) are among the films screening in the fest’s Gala Premieres section, which offers some of the year’s most highly anticipated films.

Zurich will again welcome a slew of major stars and filmmakers. This year the fest is honoring Roland Emmerich, Cate Blanchett and Kristen Stewart.

Likewise on hand will be Oliver Stone, who heads the fest’s international feature film competition jury, as well as Donald Sutherland, Javier Bardem and Julie Delpy, all of whom will be taking part in the

Zff Masters series.

2019 marks the final outing for fest founders and co-directors Nadja Schildknecht and Karl Spoerri. They...

“Independence Day” director Roland Emmerich will be honored with a special tribute at the Zurich Film Festival.

The Swiss event will screen a retrospective of Emmerich’s work and give him its “A Tribute to…” award Sept. 29. The screenings will include the director’s debut movie, “The Noah Ark Principle,” which played in competition at the 1984 Berlin Film Festival, as well as “Independence Day,” “Stargate,” “Godzilla,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” and “White House Down.”

“Emmerich is a true Hollywood auteur who creates cultural milestones, breaks barriers as an artist and crafts socially conscious messages while entertaining audiences worldwide,” said Zff co-directors Nadja Schildknecht and Karl Spoerri. “He has shown incredible range over the course of his amazing career, and we are deeply honored to welcome him to Zurich.”

Emmerich set up Centropolis Entertainment in 1985 and has produced and directed more than 20 features under that banner. His latest movie is “Midway,...

Stewart will arrive in Zurich fresh from the world and north American premieres of Seberg in Venice and Toronto respectively.

The 15th edition of the Zurich Film Festival, running Sept 26 to Oct 6, will fete Us actress Kristen Stewart with is Golden Eye Award.

The actress will be at the lakeside event with director Benedict Andrews to present Seberg, in which she plays tragic French New Wave icon Jean Seberg, in a gala screening Oct 2.

Festival co-directors Nadja Schildknecht and Karl Spoerri praised Stewart for the diversity and depth of her filmography to date.

“Although she could have been involved in...

Kristen Stewart will be honored with the Golden Eye Award at the Zurich Film Festival. Her latest movie, “Seberg,” about American actress and French New Wave icon Jean Seberg, plays at the festival. Stewart and “Seberg” director Benedict Andrews will be in town for the movie’s Swiss premiere. It had its world premiere at Venice.

“Although she could have been involved in blockbuster movies after the ‘Twilight’ series, Stewart has consistently opted for artistically engaged indie films by writers such as Walter Salles, Olivier Assayas and Ang Lee,” said Zff co-directors Nadja Schildknecht and Karl Spoerri.

They added: “She succeeded the difficult balancing act between mainstream and arthouse in an exemplary way. With her fearless portrayal of Jean Seberg, she once again proves to be one of the most versatile actresses of our generation.”

Stewart’s film credits include “Snow White and the Huntsman” and Salles’ screen adaptation of...

Kristen Stewart will receive the Zurich Film Festival’s Golden Eye Award, organizers said Monday.

Stewart will be in Zurich with director Benedict Andrews for the Swiss premiere of her latest film, Seberg, in which she plays Jean Seberg.

"Although she could have been involved in blockbuster movies after the Twilight series, Stewart has consistently opted for artistically engaged indie films by writers such as Walter Salles, Olivier Assayas and Ang Lee," said Zurich festival co-directors Nadja Schildknecht & Karl Spoerri said. "She succeeded the difficult balancing act between mainstream and art house in an exemplary way. With her ...

Kristen Stewart will receive the Zurich Film Festival’s Golden Eye Award, organizers said Monday.

Stewart will be in Zurich with director Benedict Andrews for the Swiss premiere of her latest film, Seberg, in which she plays Jean Seberg.

"Although she could have been involved in blockbuster movies after the Twilight series, Stewart has consistently opted for artistically engaged indie films by writers such as Walter Salles, Olivier Assayas and Ang Lee," said Zurich festival co-directors Nadja Schildknecht & Karl Spoerri said. "She succeeded the difficult balancing act between mainstream and art house in an exemplary way. With her ...