Italy’s I Wonder Pictures Boards Finnish ‘Super Pitch-Black’ Comedy ‘The Player’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Manori Ravindran International Editor Magnolia Pictures has acquired the North American rights to Venice Film Festival sensation “Blue Jean.” The directorial debut of Georgia Oakley, which just world-premiered in the Venice Days section of the Italian festival, is set in England in 1988, where Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government is about to pass a law stigmatizing gays and lesbians. The new legislation forces Jean (Rosy McEwen), a closeted gym teacher, to live a double life. But as pressure mounts from all sides, the arrival of a new student catalyzes a crisis that will challenge Jean to her core.

Gregg Goldstein Most independent producer/financiers would be glad to have one hot title up for sale in Toronto. Limelight arrives this week with three: the Jane Fonda/Lily Tomlin-led comedy-drama “Moving On,” plus a pair of distinctive coming-of-age dramas, “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” and “Wildflower.”   Now Limelight is developing the script for a comedy tentatively titled “Coachella,” written by Andy Siara (“Palm Springs”) and Joey Siara. The feature centers on teens who tell their parents they’re going on a church trip, but sneak off to the famed desert music festival instead. The Siara brothers are loosely drawing on their experiences playing the fest with their indie rock band, The Henry Clay People. (Andy, creator of Peacock’s “The Resort” and writer of an upcoming Apple Studios sci-fi comedy starring Andy Samberg, is repped by UTA, LBI Entertainment and Morris Yorn. Joey is repped by UTA and 3 Arts Entertainment.)

Manori Ravindran International Editor Billie Lourd, Colin Hanks and Aisling Bea have boarded the transatlantic comedy “And Mrs,” which is set to start shooting in east London this fall. The British feature centers on Gemma, a woman living in London (Bea) whose American fiancé Nathan (Hanks) dies shortly before their wedding day. When, with some encouragement from her sister-in-law, she decides to go ahead and marry him anyway, she has to overcome public opinion, the law of the land and even her own family’s objections. Bea is best known for “This Way Up,” “Living With Yourself” and “Doctor Who,” and will soon be headlining the much-anticipated film based on the songs of Take That, “Greatest Day.”

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Munich-based Beta Film, one of Europe’s biggest truly independent TV-film groups, has licensed to PPCW Media for Hong Kong and Macau International Emmy winner “Atlantic Crossing,” starring Kyle MacLachan and Sofia Helin. PPC Media has also acquired Alejandro Amenábar’s Movistar Plus+ original “La Fortuna,” with Stanley Tucci and Clarke Peters, a tale of piracy, court room battles and historical justice set between the U.S. and Spain. Reaching more remote places, Beta has also closed Mongolia with Hulegu Media, on “Sisi” a mix of sex, politics and period glam from RTL, Beta and Story House, a modern mindset take on a film icon.  

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Prominent arthouse sales company The Match Factory has closed multiple sales on Italian auteur Gianni Amelio’s Venice competition title “Lord of the Ants” ahead of its Venice premiere on Tuesday. The Match Factory has sealed deals on Amelio’s latest work – which is a biopic of Italian poet, playwright and director Aldo Braibanti, who was jailed in 1968 due to a Fascist-era anti-gay law – that will ensure the film’s theatrical release in: Australia/New Zealand (Palace Films); Japan (Zazie Films); Spain (Surtsey Films); Sweden (TriArt Film) and Greece (Ama Films). Further deals are in negotiation, the company said. Braibanti was convicted after a complaint from his partner’s father, who later forced his son to be treated with electroconvulsive therapy in an ill-conceived attempt to rid him of his homosexuality. The Fascist-era law that punished Braibanti, which made it a crime to lead innocent or unwary people “morally” astray, was repealed in 1981.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Motion Picture Association CEO Charles Rivkin is at the Venice Film Festival with Stan McCoy, the org’s chief for Europe, to attend a panel on the economic impact of film and TV production in the U.S. and Italy, organized by the film unit of the Italian culture ministry. They spoke to Variety about the increasingly close ties being forged between Hollywood and Europe. In the past couple of years due to the pandemic we’ve seen a lot more U.S. productions coming to Europe. Is the MPA good with that? Rivkin: There’s no question that there’s more production in Europe and it’s because Europe is a fantastic place to make movies, and because we partner – and have historically partnered – with European creators since the beginning of our association.

Dramatic pictures show firefighters tackling a huge blaze at a recycling centre in Tameside on Saturday morning. About 20 firefighters were scrambled to the commercial unit in Stalybridge shortly before 8am.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian director Andrea Pallaoro is back on the Lido with English-language drama “Monica,” starring transgender actor Trace Lysette (“Transparent”) as a woman who returns home to the Midwest to care for her dying mother, played by Patricia Clarkson. His sophomore feature, “Hannah,” premiered at Venice with star Charlotte Rampling winning the festival’s Coppa Volpi for the best actress in 2017. Pallaoro, who lives in L.A., spoke to Variety about making a film that is not about “transitioning per se,” he says, but about the title character’s rapport with the world long after the transition has occurred. What drew you to the subject matter?

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Paris-based company Indie Sales has boarded Emad Aleebrahim Dehkordi’s feature debut “A Tale of Shemroon” which is set to premiere in the New Directors competition at San Sebastian. Set in the north of Tehran, “A Tale of Shemroon” follows Iman and his younger brother Payar who live with their father. After the death of their mother, Iman starts a business thanks to his connections with the city’s affluent youth, but these new opportunities bring him on a dangerous path affecting his family’s destiny. “We are proud to be a part of San Sebastian’s New Directors competition with this new voice from Iranian cinema,” said Nicolas Eschbach at Indie Sales. “Emad (Aleebrahim Dehkordi) depicts the reality of the Iranian youth living in parts of Tehran that have seldom been seen before,” Eschbach continued.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Production has just started at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios on “Finalmente L’alba” the new film by “My Brilliant Friend” director Saverio Costanzo. It is set during the 1950s when the famed filmmaking facilities were known as Hollywood on the Tiber.  This high-end costume drama – the title of which translates as “Finally, Dawn Has Come” – features a stellar cast comprising Lily James (“Pam & Tommy”), Joe Keery (“Stranger Things”), Rachel Sennott (“Shiva Baby”), Willem Dafoe, and Italian newcomer Rebecca Antonaci. “Finalmente” is the journey over the course of a long and intense night of an aspiring young Italian actress, played by Antonaci. In the Cinecittà studios of the 1950s, she experiences some memorable hours that will mark her transition to full blown womanhood.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy’s Minerva Pictures has taken international sales on veteran director Pupi Avati’s Dante Alighieri biopic “Dante” starring Sergio Castellitto as the Florentine bard. Minerva will be introducing “Dante” to buyers at the Venice Film Festival’s informal market and then at Rome’s MIA Market in October. Pic is set for release in Italy on Sept. 29 via RAI Cinema’s 01 Distribution.  Over the course of his long career, Avati has shot more than 40 films in a wide range of genres, including the cult horror pic “The House with Laughing Windows”; romancer “The Heart Is Elsewhere,” which went to Cannes; the biopic “Bix” about American trumpet player Bix Beiderbecke; psychological drama “Giovanna’s Father” with Alba Rohrwacher; and the 2019 thriller “Il Signor Diavolo,” to name a few. 

Annika Pham Swedish helmer Mika Gustafson, one of a roster of promising Swedish voices with “Clara Sola”’s Natalie Álvarez-Mesén at Stockholm-based Hobab, has finalised the cast for her directorial debut “Sisters.”  The feature is in final stages of filming, and co-produced by Italy’s Intramovies, Denmark’s Toobox and Finland’s Tuffi Films. Ida Engvoll, who broke out in Netflix romcom “Love & Anarchy,” plays Hanna, a young woman drawn into an unexpected adventure when she encounters Laura (16), eldest of a trio of socially-deprived sisters. 

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Seasoned Finnish producer Ilkka Matila (“The Eternal Road”, “All the Sins”) of MRP Matila Röhr has signed with Estonia’s Taska Film and locked early support from the Finnish Film Institute and local commercial channel MTV3 for the $2.7m film “Between the Hammer and the Sickle.” Nordisk Film holds Scandinavian rights. To be pitched on Aug. 24 at the Nordic Co-Production Market in Haugesund, Norway, the title will be one of Matila’s most defining projects, a feature which he believes will stay, along the lines of the multi-awarded “Mother of Mine” or “The Eternal Road.” “Between the Hammer and the Sickle” will be one of the first features ever to portray Finland’s illustrious former president Urho Kekkonen. Head of state for nearly 26 years, Kekkonen served as the longest-serving Finnish president from 1956 until 1981 and masterminded his country’s policy of neutrality, keeping at bay the threatening Soviet Union with which Finland shares 800 miles of border.

Not giving up on love! Clare Crawley is in a good place following her fling with fellow Bachelor Nation alum Blake Monar.

Chrissy Teigen and her adorable baby bump had a blast on their recent family vaction in Italy. On Monday, the model shared a gallery of photos and a video with her and John Legend’s kids, Luna, 6, and Miles, 4, and they were al smiles.

EXCLUSIVE: Yellow Veil Pictures has acquired world sales rights to Daphné Baiwir’s feature documentary King On Screen. The film, which centers on the journey of works by legendary horror author Stephen King from the page to cinema and television screens, will premiere at Fantastic Fest in September.

K.J. Yossman “Supergirl” star David Harewood has boarded Karen Bryson’s directorial debut “Monochromatic” as an executive producer, Variety can exclusively reveal.Bryson, who played Elinor Stone in Zack Snyder’s “Justice League,” was awarded the Goldfinch Female First Flights Short Film Fund to make the project.“Monochromatic” tells the story of a young girl of color set in 1970s London.

EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based Memento International has boarded TIFF Discovery drama Something You Said Last Night by director Luis De Filippis.