Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNeon, the Oscar-winning studio behind “Parasite,” has acquired U.S. rights to “Mothers’ Instinct,” a psychological thriller starring Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway. It’s a pretty acclaimed group.
21.04.2022 - 22:53 / variety.com
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaJaigantic Studios has acquired Hawthorne Books and Literary Arts. The imprint will target manuscripts with the goal of finding projects potential for film and TV content.“This is a marriage made in heaven,” said Rhonda Hughes, the publisher at Hawthorne.The company, which is headquartered in Portland, Ore., has optioned several projects in the past.
That includes selling the rights to Monica Drake’s “Clown Girl” to Kristen Wiig, and optioning Lidia Yuknavitch’s “The Chronology of Water: A Memoir” to Scott Free, which has tapped Kristen Stewart to adapt and direct. Hawthorne has also published Academy Award nominated screenwriter Anthony McCarten’s novel, “Brilliance.” McCarten wrote the scripts for “The Theory of Everything” and “The Two Popes.” Hughes will remain in her current role and will continue buying literary fiction and creative nonfiction.
Initially, Hawthorne will publish eight books per year.Hawthorne’s first book to be released as an imprint of Jaigantic will be “North Star Rising: A Novel About the Life of Frederick Douglass,” by Sidney Morrison, which the company hopes to turn into a mini-series. Also scheduled is a debut sci-fi, “The Inevitable” by Daniel Hope and “No Safe Harbor” by Robert Shemeld.
Both books will be adapted into series.Jaigantic was launched in 2021 by Michael Jai White, whose work as an an actor, director and writer includes “Arrow,” “The Dark Knight,” “Spawn” and “Mortal Kombat: Legacy.”“I’ve been working with Rhonda for over a decade and as we started to build out Jaigantic’s content division, this was a no-brainer. Rhonda has a reputation for award-winning debut novelists, an eye for diversity, inclusion, and impeccable taste.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNeon, the Oscar-winning studio behind “Parasite,” has acquired U.S. rights to “Mothers’ Instinct,” a psychological thriller starring Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway. It’s a pretty acclaimed group.
Vincent Cassel will reunite with David Cronenberg for “The Shrouds,” a new thriller from the director of “A History of Violence” and “Dead Ringers.” The film, which Cronenberg will write as well as direct, centers on Karsh (Cassel), an innovative businessman and grieving widower, who builds a device to connect with the dead inside a burial shroud.Cassel and Cronenberg previously teamed up on “Eastern Promises” and “A Dangerous Method.” Their latest collaboration seems very much in the same envelope-pushing vein. According to the official longline for “The Shrouds,” Karsh’s revolutionary business is on the verge of breaking into the international mainstream when several graves within his cemetery are vandalized and nearly destroyed, including that of his wife.
David Cronenberg has found his next movie: thriller The Shrouds, which will star his Eastern Promises and Dangerous Method collaborator Vincent Cassel.
EXCLUSIVE: On the heels of their Oscar win for The Long Goodbye, Sound Of Metal and Rogue One actor Riz Ahmed and Surge director Aneil Karia are confirmed for a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic Hamlet, which is being launched by WME Independent at the Cannes market.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaRLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, and Shudder, the company’s streaming service for horror, thriller and supernatural content, have acquired the North American rights to “The Reef: Stalked.” The shark survival tale will be released in theaters, as well as on digital and on-demand platforms on July 29, 2022. It will be available to Shudder subscribers on the same day.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaBlue Fox Entertainment has acquired the worldwide rights to “Jane,” a YA thriller starring “Riverdale’s” Madelaine Petsch.The cast also includes Grammy-nominated singer songwriter Chlöe Bailey, Oscar-winning actress Melissa Leo, and model Chloe Yu. Blue Fox Entertainment will release “Jane” theatrically this fall, with the film debuting simultaneously on Creator+.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“A Strange Loop,” an extremely meta musical, dominated the nominations for the 75th Tony Awards on Monday. The show, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2020 for its Off-Broadway run, scored a leading 11 nominations.“A Strange Loop” was followed closely behind by “MJ,” a jukebox musical featuring the music of Michael Jackson, and “Paradise Square,” a look at the Five Points area of Manhattan and the tensions that erupted in the violent Draft Riots of 1863, which both nabbed 10 nominations.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAnn Dowd will star in “The Undertaker’s Children.” The thriller is currently in pre-production. The Exchange will introduce the title to buyers at the upcoming 2022 Cannes Film Market. Dowd stars as a secretive undertaker forced to take in two orphans. When her sinister plan for getting rid of the kids in her care is revealed, the children plan a daring escape and find themselves facing evil forces. Dowd is no stranger to ratcheting up the tension.
Portuguese film director Miguel Gomes is one of the premiere filmmakers of the playfully absurd and the surreal, employing a strange mix of those tones. He dazzled audiences in 2012 with “Tabu,” his surrealist meditation that broke through to international audiences, and then in 2015, he made his opus with the three-part “Arabian Nights” that was six hours in total.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaCanvas Media Studios and MarVista Entertainment have hammers out a six-film slate deal that will be focused on identifying diverse, first-time and up-and- coming writers and directors.The agreement will involve fully financed completed titles with a pre-buy distribution commitment from MarVista Entertainment, which will also oversee global distribution for all films produced under the partnership.Canvas, a venture capital-backed content company, is led by David Tochterman, an industry vet with stints at Overbrook Entertainment and the Carsey Werner Company. MarVista Entertainment, a division of Fox Entertainment, averages 80 new movies per year.MarVista’s recent projects include the Amazon Prime Video release “Christmas Is Canceled” starring Hayley Orrantia, Dermot Mulroney, and Janel Parrish; “Stay Awake,” starring Chrissy Metz; and the IFC release “Hunter Hunter,” starring Devon Sawa, Nick Stahl, and Camille Sullivan.
Laverne Cox, Eva Reign and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez are sharing their thoughts on LGBTQ+ representation in the film and television industry with Them.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaGary Hustwit has started production on “Eno,” a career-spanning documentary about musician and artist Brian Eno.The non-fiction film boasts access to hundreds of hours of never-before-seen footage, unreleased music from Eno’s archive, and visual art. It’s the first authorized documentary about the music legend.The producers say that “Eno” will be released in multiple versions and will employ “groundbreaking generative technology” in its creation and exhibition. Though the specifics haven’t been revealed, insiders say that the finished film can take on myriad different forms depending on the platform or manner in which it is being viewed.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNetflix has acquired “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,” the new film from Oscar-winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu.The highly-anticipated film is currently in post-production, and is expected to wrap by fall.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaMichael J. Fox, the Hollywood star who became a powerful advocate for medical research, will be the subject of a new documentary from Oscar-winning filmmaker Davis Guggenheim.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaProducer Uri Singer’s Passage Pictures is developing a series called “Enjoy Your Stay,” which the producer says will be based on true events surrounding AirBnB’s crisis response team and its attempts to deal with the aftermath of a crime. A former AirBnB security team member has joined the production as an anonymous source and consultant for the series, Passage Pictures says.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNeil LaBute and Maggie Q will team up for “Fear the Night,” a new action-thriller from Quiver Distribution. Principal photography began earlier this month in Los Angeles.“Fear the Night” centers on an Iraqi war veteran named Tes as she prepares for her sister’s bachelorette party. As the festivities unfold, the party is abruptly interrupted by a group of home invaders who quickly take the house under siege looking for a hidden fortune.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAaron Stanford, Scotty Tovar, Tim Daly, Lolita Davidovich and Clayne Crawford have joined the cast of “Finestkind.”As previously announced, the crime thriller also stars Oscar-winner Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Foster, Toby Wallace and Jenna Ortega. It is written and directed by Brian Helgeland, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of “L.A.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaUTA has signed The Kinnane Brothers. The eight brothers have joined forces to form a full-service independent film, television and content production company that has shown a talent for crossing mediums to create click-y and binge-able movies, shows and videos.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaMagnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights to “I Love My Dad,” one of the biggest breakouts from this year’s SXSW.Critics loved “I Love My Dad” reserving particular praise for the direction of James Morosini and for Patton Oswalt’s lead performance. The movie, which won the Grand Jury Prize for Narrative Feature as well as the Narrative Feature Competition Audience Award at the festival, certainly gets points for originality.
Anitta has signed up to ring in LA Pride.Christopher Street West, the non-profit in charge of official LA Pride events, has announced the full lineup for LA Pride in the Park, its official in-person music event. The full lineup follows the previous announcement that Christina Aguilera will headline the one-day music festival.The program includes a mix of pop stars, rappers, drag queens and other musical artists.