NEIL BURGER TO DIRECT, DAISY RIDLEY TO STAR IN
“THE MARSH KING’S DAUGHTER”
FOR BLACK BEAR PICTURES, ANONYMOUS CONTENT AND STX INTERNATIONAL
Neil Burger (Limitless, The Illusionist) is set to direct the highly anticipated screen adaptation of Karen Dionne’s novel The Marsh King’s Daughter. Daisy Ridley (Star Wars trilogy) will star in the psychological thriller penned by Elle Smith & Mark L. Smith (The Revenant, Midnight Sky).
Black Bear Pictures’ Teddy Schwarzman (The Imitation Game, upcoming I Care a Lot), Anonymous Content’s Keith Redmon (The Revenant, Midnight Sky) and Mark L. Smith will produce. Black Bear will finance.
STXinternational, a division of Eros STX Global Corporation, has secured international rights for the highly anticipated film, and will present the project to buyers at the upcoming European Film Market, as well as directly distribute the film in the UK, Ireland and India. CAA Media Finance is handling US rights.
Ridley will star as Helena, a woman living a seemingly ordinary life, but hiding a dark secret: her father is the infamous “Marsh King,” the man who kept her and her mother captive in the wilderness for years. After a lifetime of trying to escape her past, Helena is forced to face her demons when her father unexpectedly escapes from prison.
The Marsh King’s Daughter is an international bestselling novel by author Karen Dionne. Published in 25 languages, the novel is described as “...as good as a thriller can be” by The New York Times Book Review.
Director, Writer and Producer Neil Burger is best known for directing Divergent, which has grossed over $300 million worldwide, Limitless, and the critically acclaimed The Illusionist. He made his directorial feature debut with Interview with the Assassin, winning the Best Feature Film category at both the Woodstock Film Festival and Avignon Film Festival, and receiving nominations for three Independent Spirit Awards. His most recent film, The Upside, grossed over $100 million in North America and was also Burger’s third number one opening in a row. On the TV side, Burger directed and executive produced the first two episodes of “Billions” for Showtime.
Ridley is best known for her breakthrough performance as Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy: The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker. Credits also include Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express and Doug Liman’s upcoming sci-fi Chaos Walking, based on the bestselling book by Patrick Ness.
Principal photography is due to commence this summer.
Ridley is represented by CAA; Burger is represented by CAA and attorney Carlos Goodman; Smith is represented by CAA, Syndicate Entertainment, Anonymous Content, and attorney Mark Temple; and Dionne is represented by Jeff Kleinman at Folio and WME.
The Marsh King’s Daughter falls under the output and distribution agreement between Black Bear Pictures and STXinternational, which was announced during Berlin/EFM last year. STXinternational sells and distributes all Black Bear productions overseas, with Black Bear’s sister company, Elevation Pictures, distributing all STX productions and acquisitions in Canada.
Black Bear’s slate includes Martin Campbell’s upcoming thriller Memory starring Liam Neeson; J Blakeson’s upcoming dark thriller I Care A Lot, starring Rosamund Pike who was recently nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress, which Netflix released on February 19; Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Our Friend starring Dakota Johnson, Casey Affleck and Jason Segel; and Dave Franco’s directorial debut The Rental.
About Black Bear Pictures
Black Bear Pictures develops, produces and finances original and engaging content for film and television. Since its 2011 launch, Black Bear’s slate has grossed over $350 million worldwide, been nominated for thirteen Academy Awards®, ten Golden Globes®, ten BAFTAs®, and premiered at such prestigious festivals as Cannes, Sundance, Venice, Telluride, Toronto, New York, and London. Black Bear’s library includes such films as: The Imitation Game, I Care A Lot, Mudbound, All Is Lost, The Rental, Suburbicon and Ben Is Back. In addition, Black Bear owns Elevation Pictures Corp, the leading independent film and TV distribution company in Canada.
For more information: www.blackbearpictures.com, Instagram: @blackbearpics, Twitter: @blackbearpics
About ErosSTX International
ErosSTX International, a division of Eros STX Global Corporation, is a full-service international film distribution and financing company with direct distribution of both Hollywood and Bollywood content in India, the UK, Ireland and the Middle East. Headquartered in London, the company has formalized an unrivalled network of key output deals with the major market leaders in 25 territories with a reach covering over 150 countries around the world. Embracing the unique opportunities in the international marketplace, the company recently closed an innovative and dynamic distribution output partnership with Amazon in the UK, France and Italy.
ErosSTX International’s successes include distributing both STXfilms’ productions and third party acquisitions, working with filmmakers including Ridley Scott, Guy Ritchie and Michael Mann, as well as producing partners like Imperative/30West, Thunder Road, Black Label Media, Miramax, and Scott Free. In addition, ErosSTX International recently entered into an exclusive, multi-year international distribution output deal with leading independent production powerhouse, Black Bear Pictures. The ErosSTX International film slate includes: global box office hit Hustlers, the Bad Moms franchise, Greenland starring Gerard Butler, The Mauritanian starring Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim and Benedict Cumberbatch, Untitled Guy Ritchie Project directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Jason Statham, Devotion directed by JD Dillard and starring Glen Powell and Jonathan Majors, and Cop Shop directed by Joe Carnahan and starring Gerard Butler.