News

Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the filmmakers behind “Captain Marvel” and, more recently, “Freaky Tales,” have been tapped by Laika, the Portland, Oregon-based stop-motion animation studio, to write and direct a new live-action project.

The filmmakers will write and direct “Atmosphere,” based on the forthcoming novel by bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid, whose “Daisy Jones & The Six” served as inspiration for the Prime Video series of the same name. The announcement was made by Laika’s president of Live Action Film & Series Matt Levin.

According to the official release, “Atmosphere” is “a sweeping romance between two pioneering female astronauts breaking into NASA in the early days of the shuttle program in the late ’70s/early ’80s,” inspired by films like “Apollo 13,” “The Right Stuff” and “Gravity.”

“Atmosphere” is a Laika production in association with Circle M+P. Producers are Travis Knight, Matt Levin, Boden, Fleck, Reid and Brad Mendelsohn.

Laika continues to build its live-action slate and has set Dune franchise, Prometheus and Doctor Strange co-writer Jon Spaihts to direct an original sci-fi thriller.

The untitled project centres on a woman investigating a mystery that took place during a week she cannot remember.

The live-action subsidiary led by Matt Levin recently announced the live-action project Crumble to be produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller.

Brian Duffield wrote and will direct that story, about a married couple who embark on a globe-trotting adventure in their quest to find a cure to an ancient curse.

The live-action development slate includes...

With Coraline back in theaters for its 15th anniversary, Laika Studios has revealed the first Wildwood teaser. While the film has no release date yet, it is expected to open in theaters in 2025.

In addition to the Wildwood teaser, we’ve also included Laika’s recent video that takes you behind the scenes of the stop-motion animated film and a video featuring Coraline introducing the company’s newest hero, Prue McKeel.

Wildwood is based on the series of novels by Colin Meloy, lead singer for The Decemberists, and illustrator Carson Ellis. The film is currently in production at Laika Studios outside Portland, Oregon.

The cast includes Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman), Oscar winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Peyton Elizabeth Lee (Andi Mack), Jacob Tremblay (Room), and Awkwafina (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings).

Also on board are Oscar nominee Angela Bassett (What’s Love Got to Do With It...

Laika has long been known for its animated darlings like Coraline and ParaNorman, but it is continuing to take major strides to bolster its live-action slate. The studio has acquired Crumble, its second title in the space following their announcement of the thriller Seventeen based on John Brownlow's novel of the same name. This new feature boasts an enviable creative team toplined by No One Will Save You writer-director Brian Duffield, who penned the screenplay and will direct when cameras begin rolling. On the production end, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trio Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, and Aditya Sood are attached to help bring the project to life through their Lord Miller banner.

US-based stop-motion company Laika is bolstering its live-action pipeline and partnering with The Lego Movie and Spider-Verse filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller on Crumble.

Brian Duffield wrote and will direct the story about a married couple who embark on a globe-trotting adventure in their quest to find a cure to an ancient curse.

Lord and Miller are producing alongside Aditya Sood through Lord Miller. Lucy Kitada and Nikki Baida of Lord Miller will serve as executive producers.

Duffield directed the 2023 sci-fi thriller No One Will Save You starring Kaitlyn Dever for Hulu as well as the 2020 coming-of-age horror comedy...

Laika is getting serious about its live-action output, with a new project called “Crumble” to be written and directed by Brian Duffield and produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller.

“Crumble” will tell the tale of “a married couple who go on a world-traversing adventure in the hope of finding a cure to an ancient curse.”

The announcement was made by Laika’s president of live-action film and series Matt Levin. “We’re so excited to partner with Brian and the entire team at Lord Miller on this special film,” he said in a Tuesday statement. “Brian has such a singular voice and ‘Crumble’ perfectly embodies the bold, emotional and inventive storytelling that we champion at Laika. Lord Miller is in a class of its own and we could not ask for a better creative team to bring this story to life.”

Aditya Sood will produce for Lord Miller alongside Duffield.

Three years after announcing its intention to expand into live-action, the renowned Oregon animation studio Laika has acquired Crumble, an original script by Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You), which he’ll direct for the studio as a live-action feature.

Crumble tells the tale of a married couple who go on a world-traversing adventure in the hope of finding a cure to an ancient curse. Oscar winners Phil Lord and Chris Miller as well as Aditya Sood will produce through their Lord Miller banner, with Duffield also set to produce. Lucy Kitada and Nikki Baida from Lord Miller will serve as executive producers.

News of the project comes following word in June that Laika’s founder, President and CEO Travis Knight will next helm an animated adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s bestseller Piranesi for the studio. Duffield comes to it after working alongside the Lord Miller team as a...

US-based stop-motion company Laika is bolstering its live-action pipeline and partnering with The Lego Movie and Spider-Verse filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller on Crumble.

Brian Duffield wrote and will direct the story about a married couple who embark on a globe-trotting adventure in their quest to find a cure to an ancient curse.

Lord and Miller are producing alongside Aditya Sood through Lord Miller. Lucy Kitada and Nikki Baida of Lord Miller will serve as executive producers.

Duffield directed the 2023 sci-fi thriller No One Will Save You starring Kaitlyn Dever for Hulu as well as the 2020 coming-of-age horror comedy...

Animation studio Laika is set to produce “Crumble,” an original, live-action film with a script penned by writer and director Brian Duffield

The film tells the story of a married couple who embark on a world-traveling adventure to find a cure for an ancient curse. Duffield is set to direct the feature, Academy Award winners Phil Lord and Chris Miller are tapped to produce.

“I’ll never forget seeing ‘Coraline’ on opening night at the AMC Burbank 16 and wondering who these wonderful new geniuses were,” Duffield said. “I can’t wait to make a movie with them and hopefully live up to their banner, and I couldn’t be more excited to get to go on a new adventure with my friends at Lord Miller.”

“We’re so excited to partner with Brian and the entire team at Lord Miller on this special film,” Matt Levin, president of live-action film and series at Laika,...

Laika has acquired the international best-selling fantasy novel Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Laika’s President and CEO, Travis Knight, will direct the animated feature film.

A New York Times and Sunday Times best-seller with over four million copies sold, Piranesi was awarded the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Image Courtesy of Bloomsbury

“Piranesi is a treasure and very dear to me,” said Knight. “As a filmmaker, I can scarcely imagine a more joyful experience than wandering through the worlds Susanna dreamed into being.

“She’s one of my all-time favorite authors, and with Piranesi, Susanna has created a beautiful, devastating, and ultimately life-affirming work of art. I’m humbled that she chose Laika as her home.”

“Animation is one of my favourite things,” said Clarke. “I’ve been inspired by so many animated movies; and Laika has produced such extraordinary work — movies like Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings,...

Laika, the groundbreaking Portland, Oregon-based animation studio, has brought in new filmmakers in the form of director Pete Candeland and Victor Maldonado and Alfredo Torres, the duo known as Headless, TheWrap has confirmed.

Candeland and Headless will be developing new animated features, although details on those features have yet to be revealed.

Maldonado and Torres won an Annie for an episode of the Guillermo del Toro DreamWorks Animation series “Trollhunters” and have also directed three episodes of Netflix’s adult animated series “Love, Death & Robots.” Maldonado also directed and co-wrote “Nocturna,” a 2007 animated feature. Torres also worked on “Nocturna” as production designer, which won the Best Animated Feature at the Goya Awards. They also worked on the animated sequences from J.A. Bayona’s “A Monster Calls” and were in development at Skydance Animation, which recently moved its feature output from Apple TV+ to Netflix.

Candeland is best known for directing music videos for Gorillaz,...

Exclusive: Oregon studio Laika has brought in new talent, hiring director Pete Candeland, along with Victor Maldonado & Alfredo Torres, the Annie Award-winning duo together known as Headless, to develop new animated features.

The appointments are effective immediately, though there’s no word yet on what the projects are.

Maldonado and Torres are an L.A.-based team that landed their Annie for the helming of “Win, Lose or Draal,” an episode of the Guillermo del Toro series Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, produced by DreamWorks Animation and Double Dare You Productions. The duo also directed three episodes of the Emmy-winning Netflix animated series Love, Death & Robots, additionally partnering on the 2007 fantasy Nocturna which won Best Animated Feature at the Goya Awards, Spain’s equivalent of the Oscars. Maldonado directed that title alongside Adrià García, with Torres serving as production designer and tackling numerous other creative responsibilities.

Maldonado and Torres also...

Stop-motion animation is a notoriously difficult medium – the tiny movements, the many iterations of a single puppet character, the time-consuming nature of creating smooth action and evoking emotion from a piece of clay. To get under the hood of just how a stop-motion feature film comes together, Empire visited one of the most exciting studios in the business, Laika – behind the likes of Coraline, Kubo And The Two Strings, and Missing Link – for our brand new issue, which Empire can confirm is finally due out in 2025.

Directed by Knight, it’s a fantasy epic based on a book by The Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy, and is set in and around Laika’s home city, Portland. It follows a young woman, Prue McKeel, who comes across a mystical, enchanted forest – and it’s set to feature a huge battle sequence, the likes of which Laika has never attempted before. “It’s...

Laika, the Portland-based animation studio behind movies such as Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings, has hired Jeremy Kipp Walker and Chaz Salembier as part of a push into live-action filmmaking.

Walker becomes executive vp, live-action production after serving as head of production for Netflix’s independent film division. His credits include The Big Sick, Half Nelson, Table 19, Mississippi Grind and It’s Kind of a Funny Story.

Salembier, a veteran of Walt Disney Studios, becomes creative vp, live-action film at Laika, charged with identifying and developing stories for the indie studio’s live-action film slate, starting at the Cannes Film Festival.

Both Laika hires will report to Matt Levin, president of live-action film and series, who joined the indie studio in the new role in February after a long tenure at Netflix.

Besides production on its sixth animated movie Wildwood, directed by Laika founder Travis Knight, the studio...

The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (Etaf) announced on Tuesday that NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson and entrepreneur Cookie Johnson will be commemorated at this year’s Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS on Sept. 21 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Both Magic and Cookie Johnson will be presented with the Elizabeth Taylor Commitment to End AIDS Award at the ball.

Paris Jackson and Christine Chiu serve as this year’s gala’s co-chairs. The event will sport a number of 270 guests entertained by a live auction in partnership with Chiu presenting a number of art/luxury experiences, a live performance and an exclusive look at items from The Elizabeth Taylor Archive.

“We loved Elizabeth Taylor’s passion, activism and the work we did together in the fight against HIV and AIDS,” said Magic and Cookie Johnson. “Since beginning this journey in the early ’90s, we’ve dedicated our lives...

Noted animation company is in development in first live-action title.

The noted independent animation powerhouse Laika is bolstering its expansion into live-action and has hired longtime Netflix executive Matt Levin as president, live-action film & series.

The studio is in production on its sixth animated feature Wildwood and is developing its first live-action project based on screenwriter John Brownlow’s action thriller novel Seventeen

Levin served as director, original independent film at Netflix from 2014 to 2022 where he co-founded the Original Independent Film department.

During his stint at the streamer he oversaw the development and production of 25 films including the upcoming Gareth...

Laika, the Oregon-based stop-motion animation studio behind modern classics “Coraline” and “ParaNorman,” is getting serious about entering the live-action space. The studio just named longtime Netflix executive Matt Levin as President, Live-Action Film & Series, a new role at the company. The first live-action project is a film based on John Brownlow’s thriller novel “Seventeen.”

Levin served as Director, Original Independent Film at Netflix from 2014 to 2022. He co-founded the Original Independent Film department growing it into a full-scale mini-major with 20+ executives. Levin oversaw projects like Macon Blair’s “I Don’t Feel At Home in the World Anymore,” underrated Elizabeth Winstead-led action movie “Kate,” and Charlie Kaufman’s puzzling “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.” Levin also worked on Tom Hardy’s upcoming “Havoc” from director Gareth Evans (due out sometime later this year).

Levin reports directly to President and CEO Travis Knight (director of Laika’s “Kubo and the Two Strings...

Lionsgate has released the first image for Adele Lim’s “Joy Ride,” a comedy feature starring Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu, Ashley Park, Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu.

The film is set to release in theaters June 23.

“Joy Ride” tells the raunchy story of how four unlikely friends embark on a once-in-a-lifetime international adventure. After Audrey’s (Park) business trip to Asia goes doesn’t go according to plan, she recruits her childhood best friend, Lolo (Cola), her college friend turned Chinese soap star, Kat (Hsu) and Lolo’s eccentric cousin and Deadeye (Wu). “The four friends’ epic experience becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, belonging, and wild debauchery, ultimately revealing the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are.

“Joy Ride” was written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao. The film was produced by director Adele Lim, writers Chevapravatdumrong and Hsiao, and Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg,...

Laika, the Portland-based animation studio behind movies such as Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings, is expanding its live-action moviemaking plans with the hiring of Matt Levin in the newly-created position of president, live-action film and series.

Levin served as director of original independent film at Netflix from 2014 to 2022. During that time, he oversaw development and production of 25 films including the upcoming Gareth Evans’ actioner Havoc starring Tom Hardy, Forest Whitaker and Timothy Olyphant; Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things starring Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley and Toni Collette; and the 2017 Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore from writer/director Macon Blair. Levin brought in overall deals with Gareth Evans and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

At Laika, Levin will report to president and CEO Travis Knight. “[Levin’s] exceptional leadership skills, creative sensitivity, and sharp storytelling mind will guide our studio to the next phase of its evolution,...

Laika’s planned expansion into the realm of live-action was furthered on Tuesday, with the announcement that longtime Netflix executive Matt Levin will be joining the studio in the newly created role of President, Live-Action Film & Series.

The venerated Oregon animation studio’s hire comes amidst development on its first live-action project — a feature adaptation of the action-thriller novel Seventeen by screenwriter John Brownlow.

Levin joins the stop-motion specialist following eight years at Netflix, where he most recently served as Director, Original Independent Film. He co-founded that department and is credited with helping it grow into a full-scale mini-major. His direct report at Laika is President & CEO Travis Knight, who also helmed the company’s acclaimed 2016 feature, Kubo and the Two Strings.

Knight remarked in a statement that “Matt Levin is an awesome dude. Both a steely-eyed pragmatist and a starry-eyed dreamer, Matt is the perfect partner...

Laika, the innovative, Portland, Oregon-based stop-motion animation studio, and the Museum of Pop Culture, a leading-edge nonprofit museum in Seattle, are partnering for a new exhibition that will immerse visitors in the “hidden worlds” of Laika’s five magical features. Hidden Worlds: The Films of Laika is the largest exhibition Laika has ever mounted and sets to focus on the “hidden worlds” of “the [films] magical settings the characters inhabit, and the behind-the-scenes wonders of producing these modern classics.”

The exhibition spans more than 7,500 square feet of exhibition space with immersive displays, film artifacts, props, and interactive elements tied into Laika’s five features – 2009’s “Coraline,” 2012’s “ParaNorman,” 2014’s “The Boxtrolls,” 2016’s “Kubo and the Two Strings” and 2019’s “Missing Link.” Plus, if you’re looking to get a look at the studio’s forthcoming feature “Wildwood,” there will be elements from the new movie as part of the exhibit too.

Updated: Laika president Travis Knight has set the voice cast for the animation house’s stop-motion feature “Wildwood,” which he also directs: Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Maya Erskine, Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Waits, and Richard E. Grant.

Earlier: Laika has begun production on its sixth stop-motion feature, “Wildwood,” the studio’s first fantasy adventure set in the natural beauty of hometown Portland, Oregon. Laika President & CEO Travis Knight directs, and legendary cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (“The Right Stuff”) makes his first foray into stop-motion. The six-time Oscar nominee brings his naturalistic style to handcrafted animation after lensing the virtual world of Jon Favreau’s “The Lion King.”

“Wildwood” is based on the first in a trilogy of YA fantasy novels by Colin Meloy, lead singer and songwriter for Portland-based The Decemberists, and illustrated by artist Carson Ellis.

“Wildwood” is getting wilder.

The latest stop-motion animated feature from Laika, based on the series of novels by Colin Meloy, lead singer for The Decemberists, and illustrator Carson Ellis, is assembling a murderer’s row of vocal talent. The studio announced that Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Maya Erskine, Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Waits and Richard E. Grant.

“Wildwood” will be directed by Laika President & CEO Travis Knight (who last helmed “Kubo and the Two Strings” and also directed “Bumblebee”) from a script by Chris Butler. Caleb Deschanel is the cinematographer with Arianne Sutner, Laika’s Head of Production, producing alongside Knight. “Wildwood” is currently in production.

Also Read:

HBO Max Cancels More Animation, Including ‘Batman: The Caped Crusader’ and 2 ‘Looney Tunes’ Projects

“That is one helluva cast,” said Knight in an official statement. “Collaborating...

Laika, the animation house known for Oscar-nominated films from “Coraline” and “ParaNorman” to “The Boxtrolls” and “Kubo and the Two Strings,” has announced its seventh feature. Titled “The Night Gardener,” the project is based on an original screenplay by “Ozark” co-creator Bill Dubuque and will be directed by Travis Knight, Laika’s CEO and president. Knight previously directed “Kubo and the Two Strings” as well as Paramount’s live-action “Bumblebee.”

Laika pitches the film as a “gritty neo-noir folktale centered on a young man in rural Missouri fighting to keep his family together in the wake of a tragedy. The film will paint an unflinching portrait of sacrifice, self-reliance and revenge.”

“’The Night Gardener’ is a beautiful and timeless story that quickens the pulse as often as it breaks the heart,” Knight said. “Bill is a masterful storyteller. He’s crafted a lyrical world layered with complex characters, provocative ideas,...

Laika’s CEO and President Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings) is gearing up to direct the stop-motion animated feature The Night Gardener, written by Ozark co-creator Bill Dubuque, for his storied Hillsboro, Oregon studio. (Check out a film still unveiled by Laika below.)

The film based on Dubuque’s original idea is billed as a gritty neo-noir folktale centered on a young man in rural Missouri, who’s fighting to keep his family together in the wake of a tragedy. Pic will paint an unflinching portrait of sacrifice, self-reliance and revenge. News of the new Laika film comes with the studio currently in production on Wildwood, the first film set in its hometown of Portland, Oregon. Knight is directing the animated film, based on the bestselling fantasy novel written by Colin Meloy—the multi-hyphenate best known as the lead singer and songwriter for the rock group The Decemberists.

With their first five features––Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Missing Link––the Oregon-based studio Laika have set a high bar for American animation since their founding in 2005. They are now expanding their footprint with the announcement of their first-ever live-action film.

They’ve optioned the rights to adapt John Brownlow’s forthcoming novel Seventeen, which he wrote during the pandemic, and plan to make it into a live-action feature, with Brownlow also scripting. The electrifying thriller follows a hitman named Seventeen who is assigned to kill his predecessor…until suddenly the hunter becomes the hunted. Although no director has been attached yet, Laika CEO and Kubo director Travis Knight has some experience with live-action already, directing the Transformers spin-off Bumblebee.

“For the past 15 years, Laika has been committed to making movies that matter,” Knight tells Deadline. “Across mediums and genres, our studio has fused art,...

Laika is expanding into the world of live-action filmmaking for the first time, with an adaptation of John Brownlow’s upcoming debut novel, Seventeen.

Known for its groundbreaking work in stop-motion animation, the Oregon studio secured rights to Seventeen following an intense bidding war. The option announcement was made Wednesday by Laika’s president and CEO Travis Knight.

“For the past 15 years, Laika has been committed to making movies that matter,” he said. “Across mediums and genres, our studio has fused art, craft and technology in service of bold, distinctive and enduring stories. With Seventeen, Laika is taking that philosophy in an exciting new direction.”

“Seventeen is a stiff cocktail of wicked wit, exhilarating action and raw emotion,” Knight added. “John has such a wonderfully unique voice. He’s crafted a brilliant universe with its own powerful identity. Seventeen is a thriller with soul, a sinuous adrenaline-fueled actioner with a...

Laika, the Oscar-nominated stop motion animation studio known for “Coraline,” “Kubo and the Two Strings” and most recently “Missing Link,” is expanding into live-action features and has set its first film with the thriller “Seventeen.”

Laika isn’t moving away from animated films and is currently in production on its sixth animated feature. But the studio acquired “Seventeen” in a bidding war with the intention of developing it as a live-action feature, which is the upcoming first novel from author John Brownlow, a screenwriter behind the Anya Taylor-Joy miniseries “The Miniaturist” and the Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig film “Sylvia.”

Plot details are being kept under wraps, but Laika president and CEO Travis Knight describes “Seventeen” as a “stiff cocktail of wicked wit, exhilarating action and raw emotion.” Brownlow will also write the screenplay for the film. No director is attached just yet.

“Across mediums and genres, our studio has fused art,...

Laika, the animation studio behind “The Boxtrolls” and “ParaNorman” is expanding into live action. As part of its expansion, the studio has optioned screenwriter John Brownlow’s debut novel “Seventeen” with plans to adapt the action thriller, signaling a new direction.

Founded in 2005, Laika is best known for its stop-motion animation features. Last year the studio released “Missing Link” and is working on its sixth film.

Travis Knight, president and CEO said, “For the past 15 years, Laika has been committed to making movies that matter. Across mediums and genres, our studio has fused art, craft and technology in service of bold, distinctive and enduring stories. With ‘Seventeen,’ Laika is taking that philosophy in an exciting new direction.”

He added, “’Seventeen’ is a stiff cocktail of wicked wit, exhilarating action and raw emotion. John has such a wonderfully unique voice. He’s crafted a brilliant universe with its own powerful identity.

Travis Knight hails thriller with “sincere heart beating underneath its rippling pectorals”.

Laika, the independent Oregon-based animation powerhouse behind Coraline, Kubo And The Two Strings and Missing Link, is epanding into live-action filmmaking.

The studio, currently in production on its as yet untitled sixth animated feature, has optioned Seventeen, the upcoming first novel by screenwriter John Brownlow following what sources said was an intense bidding war.

“For the past15 years, Laika has been committed to making movies that matter,” president and CEO Travis Knight. “Across mediums and genres, our studio has fused art, craft, and technology in service of bold,...

Laika, the studio behind animated films such as Oscar-nominated Coraline, ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings, is making its foray into live-action.

The Oregon studio has optioned Seventeen, the upcoming first novel by John Brownlow, with plans to adapt the title as its first live-action production. Further details including a director were not disclosed.

Brownlow is the screenwriter of the film Sylvia, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig, and he wrote and executive produced the three-part BBC limited series The Minaturist, which starred Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit). He also wrote the four-episode limited series Fleming, which starred Dominic Cooper as James Bond author Ian Fleming.

“For the ...

Laika, the studio behind animated films such as Oscar-nominated Coraline, ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings, is making its foray into live-action.

The Oregon studio has optioned Seventeen, the upcoming first novel by John Brownlow, with plans to adapt the title as its first live-action production. Further details including a director were not disclosed.

Brownlow is the screenwriter of the film Sylvia (2003), starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig, and he wrote and executive produced the three-part BBC limited series The Minaturist, which starred Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit). He also wrote the four-episode limited series Fleming, which starred Dominic Cooper as James Bond author Ian Fleming.

“For the past ...

Cannes — Sao Paulo-based Boutique Filmes, which burst onto the international scene producing Netflix’s first big international hit, “3%,”is bringing to Mipcom a powerful slate of five new series projects.

Boutique’s Mipcom slate packs significant industry news. Wild Bunch TV, for example, has boarded “Gama,” one of the top new titles. John Brownlow has written the scripts to “Ratlines.”

At the same time, the slate says much about he ambitions of Boutique’s Filmes, which also has four series in development with Wild Sheep Content, the new company of Erik Barmack, Netflix’s former global originals head.

Like other iconic Netflix global hits from international producers, “3%” was seen by more viewers outside than inside Brazil. Headed at Mipcom by “Ratlines,” “Gama” and “Rota 66,” Boutique’s first slate retains that international punch – in creatives, characters, industry partners and appeal. Now in its fourth and final season, “3%” is sci-fi dystopia thriller.

Aliya Whiteley Dec 27, 2017

Spoilers ahead in or review of BBC One's sumptuous Christmas drama, The Miniaturist...

This review contains spoilers.

See related 35 must-watch movies in 2017

Boxing Day evening has become a strong slot to kick off dark BBC drama, with two excellent Agatha Christie adaptations being shown in recent years that have relished in the kind of misdeeds that suit the post-gift comedown. This year we had a break from the golden era of crime for something contemporary: Jessie Burton’s bestselling novel The Miniaturist, published in 2014, adapted for the screen by John Brownlow. Still firmly in the realm of mystery, this was not about murder, but offered a very intriguing set of puzzles to be solved - although the answer were, perhaps, less suited to the screen than the page.

Some elements were a gift to the eyes: seventeenth century Amsterdam brings to mind the paintings of masters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer,...

Exclusive: Marcella producer Buccaneer Media and Baltasar Kormakur's Rvk Studios have pacted to co-produce The Reykjavik Confessions. An English-language dramatization of one of Iceland's most mysterious murder investigations, it has John Brownlow (The Miniaturist, Fleming) attached to write. The story is based on the 1974 case in which two men vanished in the barren outskirts of Iceland's capital 10 months apart, After six months of unsuccessfully trying to pin the…...

Anya Taylor-Joy, Romola Garai and Alex Hassell have been set to star in BBC One and Masterpiece's period thriller The Miniaturist, based on the best-selling novel by Jessie Burton. They'll be joined in the three-part series, which is currently filming, by Paapa Essiedu (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Hayley Squires (I, Daniel Blake) and Emily Berrington (Humans). Fleming and Sylvia scribe John Brownlow pens the series while Guillem Morales directs. Story is set in 1686, when…...

"Everything I write has a precedent in truth."

That Sky Atlantic's Fleming opts to open with this particular quote from the James Bond author is, intentionally or not, deeply ironic.

In actual fact, Fleming bears very little resemblance to reality - the script by John Brownlow and Don MacPherson takes huge liberties with the truth, using only the bare bones of Ian Fleming's life story to prop up a glamorous and glossy piece of escapism.

Fleming may have seen himself as a James Bond figure, but the reality was very different - Fleming then is the author's life story as he perhaps would have liked it told. This is an action-packed take on his life - packed full of romance and dramatic incident. This is a world in which Ian Fleming looked like Dominic Cooper.

Despite director Mat Whitecross's insistence that he was eager to avoid pastiche, Fleming...

Dominic Cooper plays Fleming -- Ian Fleming -- in BBC America's new miniseries about the James Bond creator "Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond." Directed by Mat Whitecross ("The Road to Guantanamo," "The Shock Doctrine") and written by John Brownlow ("Sylvia") and Don MacPherson ("The Avengers"), "Fleming" tells the tale of its title character's own path from playboy to Naval Intelligence officer during World War II to the author of "a spy story to end all spy stories." The miniseries premieres on BBC American on Wednesday, January 29th at 10pm and in addition to Cooper ("The Devil's Double") also stars Rupert Evans, Samuel West, Anna Chancellor and Lara Pulver. Take a look at the trailer below:...

Fleming. Ian Fleming. He’s the bloke who authored the James Bond books — and also was their inspiration. Now BBC America is telling his story in the four-part miniseries The Man Who Would Be Bond, which will premiere January 29 as part of the channel’s Dramaville slate. Dominic Cooper stars as Fleming, a mischievous playboy who dreams of becoming the “ultimate” man: a hero, a lover, a brute and the one who always gets the girl. As WWII breaks out, he gets a chance to prove himself when he’s recruited by British intelligence and becomes a master of espionage. Laura Pulver, Annabelle Wallis, Lesley Manville, Anna Chancellor, Samuel West, Rupert Evans and Camilla Rutherford also star in director Mat Whitecross’ mini written by John Brownlow and Dan Macpherson. It’s produced by Sarah Curtis, with Douglas Rae, Michael Parke and Robert Bernstein as exec producers. Related: MGM, Bond Producer...

Fleming is a televised mini-series biography based on Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond. Dominic Cooper plays the title character, and as you'll see in the teaser, the series is going to link Fleming's life with his super spy creation. Fleming was not only an author, but he was also a Navy intelligence man who had some spy experiences of his own. This looks like it could be a great series!

The series was directed by Mat Whitecross (The Road to Guantanamo) from a script written by John Brownlow (Sylvia) and Don MacPherson (Entrapment). Here's a description of the series:

"Fleming takes a no holds barred look at Ian Fleming, the man behind the James Bond legend whose real life was as exciting, eventful and sexually charged as his famous creation. Dominic Cooper (The Devil’s Double, An Education, The History Boys, Mamma Mia) will play Ian Fleming,...

Dominic Cooper ("Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "The Devil’s Double") stars as a suave real life spy (and author) in BBC America's new miniseries about Ian Fleming, the man who created the James Bond novel series loosely inspired by his own life. "Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond" offers a no-holds-barred look at Fleming's thrilling and titilating life as a wealthy, pleasure-seeking charmer turned Word War II Naval Intelligence officer who took part in an outrageous counter-intellgance mission against the Nazis that would later inform the Bond franchise. The four-part coproduction, which will be set in the war-torn yet wild and permissive society of 1940s London, is directed by Mat Whitecross ("The Road to Guantanamo") and written by John Brownlow ("Sylvia") and Don MacPherson ("Entrapment"). The cast includes Lara Pulver ("Sherlock"), Annabelle Wallis ("The Tudors"), Lesley Manville ("Another Year"), Anna Chancellor ("The Hour") and Samuel West ("Hyde Park on.

Sky Atlantic has released a first-look teaser and images for its new drama Fleming.

Dominic Cooper will play James Bond's creator Ian Fleming in the biopic, which also stars Lara Pulver as the author's future wife Ann O'Neill.

Annabelle Wallis (The Tudors), Rupert Evans (Hellboy), Samuel West (Mr Selfridge) and Anna Chancellor (The Hour) will also star.

Fleming's life has been adapted for the screen by director Mat Whitecross (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll) and writer John Brownlow (Sylvia).

Set against the backdrop of war-torn London, the drama will explore the early life of the charming, enigmatic creator of 007.

Fleming will start on Sky Atlantic HD in early 2014.

> Dominic Cooper to play James Bond author Ian Fleming for Sky Atlantic

Watch the first-look teaser promo for Fleming below:...

In case you haven’t yet heard, Sky Atlantic and BBC recently announced they would be throwing together a four-part biopic on the early life of James Bond writer and creator Ian Fleming. The character of James Bond is an iconic one and is very close to the hearts of many, and not just in the UK where he originated. Who can say they have never seen a James Bond film? Or played one of the many 007 video games? And let’s not forget the many novels Fleming wrote starring Bond. They are, after all, the genesis of everything we’ve come to associate with the name Bond. So of course a biopic makes sense. I’d almost venture to say it’s necessary. And now I would like to report Annabelle Wallis is joining the cast of this biopic.

Wallis was chosen to play the role of Muriel Wright,...

The Bond franchise is as big as it’s ever been. Last year we got to see one of the best Bond films ever in Skyfall and the 50th anniversary of the super-spy was commemorated by countless museum exhibits, books and the excellent Bond 50 Blu-ray set. This means that not only is 007 here to stay, but he’s more financially lucrative than ever before.

With that in mind, it’s only natural that interest in his creator, Ian Fleming, is at its peak. To capitalize on this interest, a four-part miniseries titled Fleming, which will star Dominic Cooper in the titular role, is in the works by U.K. television outlet Sky Atlantic. The series will be written by John Brownlow and Don Macpherson and directed by Mat Whitecross.

Starring alongside Cooper will be Annabelle Wallis as Muriel Wright, a woman whom Fleming had an affair with and may have inspired the Bond-girl archetype.

With the success of Skyfall in the past few months, grossing over $1bn. around the globe, the interest in Ian Fleming’s creation is clearly showing no signs of slowing down after all these years. And now it looks like the man himself will soon be making his presence felt on the small screen, with Sky Atlantic giving the green light to a four-part biopic, Fleming.

Variety are reporting that the rising young star Dominic Cooper (The Devil’s Double, Captain America: The First Avenger) has been cast in the titular lead.

And Deadline follow it up with a report saying that Annabelle Wallis (The Tudors, Pan Am) will be starring as Muriel Wright, a woman with whom the author had an affair, and who is thought by some to be the original inspiration for the renowned ‘Bond girl’.

“Provisionally entitled “Fleming,” the miniseries is set during WWII when the...

Exclusive: British actress Annabelle Wallis has been cast in Sky Atlantic and BBC America’s just-announced four-part biopic Fleming. Dominic Cooper is playing James Bond creator/author Ian Fleming with Wallis as Muriel Wright, a woman with whom Fleming had a love affair and who some believe to be the original inspiration for the Bond Girl. Fleming, an Ecosse Films production for Sky Atlantic and BBC America, takes a no holds barred look at the 007 creator and his early life set against the permissive society of war-torn WWII London. Mat Whitecross is directing from a script by John Brownlow and Don MacPherson with shooting to start in Budapest next month. BBC Worldwide is distributing internationally. Wallis has also signed on for a part in Hello Carter, Anthony Wilcox’s upcoming UK indie that’s produced by Fiona Neilson of Fiesta Productions. The actress just wrapped BBC period series Peaky Blinders opposite Cillian Murphy.

BBC America will co-produce with Sky Atlantic Fleming (Working Title), the British satcaster’s upcoming four-hour miniseries about the life of Bond creator Ian Fleming. Dominic Cooper plays the author in the mini, which will be distributed by BBC Worldwide. As the Bond franchise marks its 50th anniversary, Fleming takes a no holds barred look at its creator and his early life set against the permissive society of WWII war-torn London. Fleming is directed by Mat Whitecross (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll) and written by John Brownlow (Sylvia) and Don MacPherson (Entrapment). The mini will be shot on location in the United Kingdom and Budapest in early 2013.

NBCUniversal Inks TV Series Deal With Lovefilm Amazon’s European service LoveFilm has secured an agreement with NBCUniversal International TV Distribution to deliver audiences on-demand access to hundreds of episodes of iconic American TV. Deal includes recent and library titles including comedies like the U.S. version of The Office starring Steve Carrell and 30 Rock starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. Deal also includes NBCU science fiction dramas like Heroes as well as David Hasselhoff’s 1980s cult TV classic Knight Rider. Lovefilm’s latest major studio deal follows agreements with ABC, BBC and ITV. Dominic Cooper To Play Ian Fleming In Miniseries British actor Dominic Cooper has been cast as 007 creator/author Ian Fleming in a four-part biopic for BSkyB’s Sky Atlantic. The miniseries tentatively titled Fleming is set during World War II when British Naval Intelligence recruited the future author for its undercover campaign against the Nazis,...

Dominic Cooper is set to play Ian Fleming in a biopic of James Bond creator called Fleming. The miniseries has been given the green light by U.K.'s Sky Atlantic, reports Variety. The project directed by Mat Whitecross from the script by John Brownlow and Don Macpherson, is set in World War II after Fleming's career as a banker and stockbroker didn't work out, and was then hired by British Naval intelligence in an undercover campaign against the Nazis. These experiences served as inspiration for the 007 character who shared the some of the same qualities as Fleming, a man known in English society for his like of alcohol and women. Cooper said that "Stepping into the shoes of the spy who not only created the enigmatic character of 007, but who fantasized about being him has to be every actor's dream."...

Dominic Cooper is set to play Ian Fleming in a biopic of James Bond creator called Fleming. The miniseries has been given the green light by U.K.'s Sky Atlantic, reports Variety. The project directed by Mat Whitecross from the script by John Brownlow and Don Macpherson, is set in World War II after Fleming's career as a banker and stockbroker didn't work out, and was then hired by British Naval intelligence in an undercover campaign against the Nazis. These experiences served as inspiration for the 007 character who shared the some of the same qualities as Fleming, a man known in English society for his like of alcohol and women. Cooper said that "Stepping into the shoes of the spy who not only created the enigmatic character of 007, but who fantasized about being him has to be every actor's dream."...