Disney+ Comedy ‘Extraordinary’ Starts Filming Season 2 (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Paris-based leading distribution company ARP Selection has bought a pair of U.S. indie gems from the fall festival circuit, Shane Atkinson’s feature debut “LaRoy” and Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla.” “LaRoy,” a neo-noir Western comedy with Coen brothers influences, just won three major prizes at the Deauville Film Festival, including the Grand Prize, Audience Award and Critics Prize; while “Priscilla” world premiered at the Venice Film Festival and won best actress for Cailee Spaeny.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While at the Deauville American Film Festival to present “May December,” Todd Haynes spoke to Variety, during a one-on-one interview at the Royal Hotel, about bringing Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore together in a film for the first time, provoking audiences and pushing against American conservatism. Haynes, who is attending Deauville with his producers Christine Vachon and Sophie Mas, also teased his next directorial effort starring Joaquin Phoenix, a “sexually explicit” movie telling a “love story between two men set in the 30s.” Loosely based on the story of Mary Kay Letourneau, the teacher who had an affair with her 6th grade student, “May December” has already earned awards buzz since world premiering in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was bought by Netflix. In France, the movie will be released by ARP Selection in January.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Vogter,” a psychological thriller directed by Gustav Möller, whose previous film “The Guilty” won the Audience Award at Sundance, has been pre-sold by Les Films du Losange to multiple territories. “Vogter,” which was just completed and is now in post, has been picked up for Germany, Austria, Switzerland (Ascot Elite), Spain (La Aventura), Italy (Movies Inspired), Japan (Happinet Phantom Studios), Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg (Cineart), Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (Kino Pavasaris) and Hungary (Vertigo). Les Films du Losange has closed these deals since unveiling the project at Cannes and is negotiating further sales in other key territories.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Kirill Serebrennikov, the celebrated Russian playwright and director whose last three films competed at Cannes, is set to create and direct a sensual, gothic TV adaptation of “The Phantom of the Opera,” Gaston Leroux’s 19th century novel. Serebrennikov’s TV debut, the subversive six-part miniseries will be shot in English and is being produced by Aude Albano at Pathé, in association with Ilya Stewart at Hype Studios.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Chinese director Bi Gan, whose 2018 film “Long Day’s Journey into Night” played at Cannes, will next direct “Resurrection.” The ambitious sci-fi detective movie is to be headlined by Chinese superstar Jackson Yee (“Better Days”) and Taiwanese actor Shu Qi (“The Assassin”) who sits on this year’s Venice jury. Boasting Bi’s edgy aesthetic and narrative style, the film tells the story of a woman whose consciousness falls into the “eternal time zone” during a surgical procedure.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent French director Edouard Bergeon, whose Cesar-nominated debut feature “In the Name of the Land” was a box office hit in 2019, has penned another eco-thriller, “The Green Deal.” The movie, which is partly set in the Indonesian forest, has been boarded by Playtime and will be pitched to buyers at the Toronto Film Festival. “The Green Deal” explores crimes and colliding interests in the exploitation of a palm oil and the production of biofuels.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent French director Edouard Bergeon, whose Cesar-nominated debut feature “In the Name of the Land” was a box office hit in 2019, has penned another eco-thriller, “The Green Deal.” The movie, which is partly set in the Indonesian forest, has been boarded by Playtime and will be pitched to buyers at the Toronto Film Festival. “The Green Deal” explores crimes and colliding interests in the exploitation of a palm oil and the production of biofuels.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Woody Allen returned to the Venice Film Festival this weekend for the world premiere of “Coup de Chance,” a romantic thriller that marks his 50th, and he suggests, quite possibly his last, feature film. The French-language film, playing at one of Europe’s major festivals, represents the continued mutual embrace between the director and the continent, after controversies have limited his funding stateside. This accounts for his pondering retirement: Allen says that producing a new movie means hustling to secure backing and at 87, he’s not sure he still wants to do that kind of work.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Elsa Zylberstein, the French César-winning actor and producer whose popular movie “Simone: Woman of the Century” recently opened in the U.S., is preparing a biopic movie of fashion icon Christian Dior. The film is being penned by Julien Teisseire (“The Hookup Plan”) and is being developed by Zylberstein’s banner Sonia Films and Odile McDonald (“Ransom”).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent With fashion-themed films and series building momentum on the festival circuit, Kevin Macdonald’s “High & Low — John Galliano” has been sold by Newen Connect in major territories ahead of its premiere at Telluride. “High & Low — John Galliano,” a documentary portrait of the controversial fashion designer, is produced by Chloe Mamelok and Macdonald through KGB Films, in association with Condé Nast Entertainment.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “The Sea Beyond,” the Naples-set prison drama that has become a pop culture phenomenon in Italy, has been bought by U.S. streamer MHz Choice for North America.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Beta Film has dropped the trailer for “Estonia,” a Scandinavian limited series about Europe’s deadliest civil maritime disaster. The eight-part cinematic show, which is represented in international markets by Jan Mojto’s Beta Film (“Babylon Berlin”), charts the sinking of the Ms Estonia on Sept.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Luc Besson, the formerly A-list director who rose to the top of the box office with his kinetic action films, had his career derailed by rape accusations leveled against him in 2018 by Sand Van Roy, an actress on his film “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.” The ensuing legal battle consumed five years of Besson’s life, but after being cleared last June of all charges by the Cour de Cassation, the French equivalent to the Supreme Court, he’s re-emerging at this year’s Venice Film Festival with the indie drama “Dogman.” But will the industry work with Besson? That’s one of the questions that we discuss during a lengthy interview at the Plaza Athénée Hotel in Paris on the eve of his big premiere. Besson is evasive about the matter, preferring to talk up his latest effort, the story of a bruised man who faces rejection and finds solace in dogs, as well as dissatisfaction with a movie business that’s become more obsessed with superheroes than style.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent After braving a massive backlash over her fiery political speech at the Cannes Film Festival, French director Justine Triet has succeeded in luring wide audiences in local theaters with her Palme d’Or winning film “Anatomy of a Fall.” A courtroom drama exploring the collapse of a marriage and a mother-son relationship, “Anatomy of a Fall” has scored the best B.O. score at the French box office for a Palme d’Or winner since “Blue is the Warmest Color,” the 2013 erotic drama starring Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pulsar Content has secured international rights on “Pacific Fear,” a French survival horror film which has started filming in French Polynesia. The movie is directed by Jacques Kluger, who previously directed the Belgian horror movie “Play or Die,” and is produced by Nolita, whose recent credits include the Netflix hit action franchise “Lost Bullet.” Darklight Content is co-producing.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent New York-based sales company Visit Films has boarded “Achilles,” the Iran-set feature debut of Farhad Delaram, a promising filmmaker whose short “Tattoo” won the Crystal Bear in the Generation 14plus at Berlin in 2019. “Achilles” is set to world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, followed by a European premiere at San Sebastian. The film follows Farid –nicknamed Achilles– a former filmmaker turned orthotic doctor, who works nights in Iran’s capital.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent One of the most buzzed-about international movies of the fall festival circuit, Bertrand Bonello’s “The Beast,” has already lured several distributors ahead of its world premiere in competition at Venice. Represented by Kinology, the dystopian romance is headlined by Léa Seydoux (“Crimes of the Future”) and George MacKay (“1917”) as star-crossed lovers.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Tony Leung Chiu-wai, the Hong Kong star of “In the Mood for Love” and Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” has joined the cast of “Silent Friend” by Oscar-nominated Hungarian director Ildiko Enyedi (“On Body and Soul”). Leung will be honored at the Venice Film Festival, where he will receive a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. He previously starred in three movies that have won the Venice Golden Lion: “A City of Sadness” (1989) by Hou Hsiao-hsien, “Cyclo” (1995) by Tran Anh Hung and “Lust, Caution” (2007) by Ang Lee.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Disney+ has unveiled the cast of Season 2 of “Extraordinary,” the coming-of-age comedy series from creator and writer Emma Moran and Sid Gentle Films (“Killing Eve”). Season 2 of “Extraordinary” just wrapped production with a raft of new cast members, including Julian Barratt (“The Mighty Boosh”) as George, Jen’s power coach; Rosa Robson (“Inside No. 9”), who plays Nora, someone from Jizzlord’s past; Kwaku Mills (“The Other One”), as Clark, Carrie’s new work colleague; and Derek Jacobi (“Murder on the Orient Express”), who will voice a cameo role.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent TrustNordisk has unveiled the international trailer and poster for “The Promised Land,” Nikolaj Arcel’s historical epic drama starring Mads Mikkelsen (“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”), which is slated to world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival. “The Promised Land” tells the true story of an impoverished captain, Ludvig Kahlen, who set out to conquer the harsh, uninhabitable Danish heath with a seemingly impossible goal; to build a colony in the name of the King. TrustNordisk is describing the film as “a gripping story about the conquest of the heath, the tale of a proud and uncompromising man, and the woman who becomes his ally in the fight against evil, death and perdition.” Mikkelsen stars opposite Amanda Collin (“Raised by Wolves”).