Golshifteh Farahani And Zar Amir-Ebrahimi Lead ‘Reading Lolita In Tehran’ Adaptation; WestEnd Launches For Cannes Market

Wes Anderson is a genre; one of decorative embellishment, ornamental whimsy, baroque fantasy, and symmetrical precision. It wasn’t always this way, and it’s also not just superficial embroidery.

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount’s Republic Pictures label has acquired North American rights to dystopian drama-thriller The End We Start From, starring BAFTA and Emmy winner Jodie Comer (Killing Eve).

EXCLUSIVE: Quiver Distribution has boarded recently wrapped holiday film Christmas Actually, starring Malin Akerman (Billions), Ryan Hansen (Party Down) and Amy Smart (Stargirl).

EXCLUSIVE: American Beauty and The Walking Dead actress Thora Birch is to make her feature directorial debut on an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 2004 crime novel Mr. Paradise.

The CW’s fall primetime schedule, we’re getting a true look at what the Nexstar era of The CW entails. The network’s new schedule only includes two returning scripted originals — Season 6 of “All American” and Season 4 of “Walker.” The network’s typical youth-focused programming has been replaced by seven new and more adult-oriented originals. Say goodbye to DC superheroes and cute fashion dramas and hello to half-hour comedies about raising kids.

EXCLUSIVE: Shia LaBeouf has joined action thriller Mace, directed by Jon Amiel from a script by David Chisholm. Trevor Jackson (Grown-ish, Superfly) will co-star. Myriad Pictures is shopping the project to buyers here in Cannes this week. 

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International WestEnd Films and Keshet Studios have unveiled a first look at “Golda” director Guy Nattiv and “Holy Spider” star Zar Amir-Ebrahimi’s political thriller “Judo.” The image, which features Amir-Ebrahimi (left) and Arienne Mandi (right), follows an Iranian female judoka and her coach as they face life-changing decisions during the Judo World Championships. “Judo” (working title) is co-directed by Nattiv and Amir-Ebrahimi. It is co-written by Nattiv and Elham Erfani (“The Case of Sacrifice”). The project is the first feature film to be co-directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker, during a time when the Iranian government still criminalizes any contact with Israelis, and state violence against women is amplified.

EXCLUSIVE: LA-based production, finance, and sales company Premiere Entertainment have picked up international rights to the military action thriller Warhorse One, starring actor Johnny Strong (Black Hawk Down).

EXCLUSIVE: FilmSharks has acquired world rights to the Spanish horror pic The Boogeyman: The Origin of the Myth (El Hombre Del Saco) and locked a series of key international deals out of Cannes.

EXCLUSIVE: Magnolia Pictures and mk2 have acquired rights to Oscar-nominated filmmaker Raoul Peck’s Untitled Ernest Cole Documentary, about South Africa’s first Black freelance photographer.

Oscar winner Al Pacino (The Godfather), Oscar nominee Viggo Mortensen (Green Book), Oscar nominee John Travolta (Pulp Fiction), BAFTA winner Shia LaBeouf (Honey Boy), NBR Award winner Rebecca Pidgeon (Heist) and Golden Globe nominated singer and actress Courtney Love (The People vs. Larry Flynt) are set to star in the thriller Assassination, we can reveal.

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

Naman Ramachandran German writer-director Anna Roller’s feature debut “Dead Girls Dancing” is set to launch at the Cannes film market. Totem Films is handling international sales while WME Independent is looking after U.S. sales. The film will have a premiere co-hosted by the Tribeca Film Festival and the Munich International Film Festival in June. The film follows recent high school graduates Ira, Malin and Ka on a road trip across Italy who pick up the intriguing backpacker Zoe. As the four girls stumble across an abandoned village, they start to experiment with the limits of their newly found freedom, away from the expectations of their parents and teachers.

Patricia Highsmith‘s novels have been the source of several incredible film adaptations over the years, including “Strangers On A Train,” “The American Friend,” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” among others.

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy nominee Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games) and Oscar nominee John C. Reilly (Chicago) are set to lead timely Cannes market package Dreamquil, an AI thriller which HanWay Films is launching.

EXCLUSIVE: Shailene Woodley (Big Little Lies), Cara Delevingne (Carnival Row) and Noémie Merlant (Portrait Of A Lady On Fire) are set to star in a genre biopic of celebrated author Patricia Highsmith, which is being produced by Carol and Past Lives outfit Killer Films.

EXCLUSIVE: HBO Documentary Films has pre-bought North American streaming and TV rights to Musk, Alex Gibney’s upcoming documentary about lightning rod entrepreneur and businessman Elon Musk.

EXCLUSIVE: On the eve of his acting return at the Cannes Film Festival, Johnny Depp has set a buzzy cast for Modi, his first directorial effort in 25 years.

EXCLUSIVE: Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights to The Stones and Brian Jones, a documentary about the “lost creative genius” who launched – and named – The Rolling Stones.

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s some neat casting. Zoë Kravitz (The Batman) and Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace) are set to lead psychological horror film Self-Portrait which Mona Fastvold (The World To Come) will direct from a script she co-wrote with Brady Corbet (Vox Lux).