News

Nfts And Left Bank Pictures Launch UK Writers Program

The National Film and Television School (Nfts) is launching a new writers development program in partnership with Left Bank Pictures, the production company behind shows as Netflix’s The Crown. Set to launch in March 2024, the scheme will replace the Nfts’s former diverse writers development program. Six screenwriters from under-represented backgrounds will be chosen to take part in the paid, intensive 10-week program that will immerse them in a dynamic environment of creativity and collaboration. During the course, four full series ideas will be developed and pitched with the aim of creating commercially viable television drama concepts. “Together with Left Bank Pictures, we hope to carve a new path where diverse voices illuminate the way forward, ensuring the stories we tell on screen are as vibrant and varied as the world we live in,” said Nfts Director Jon Wardle. “We...

Exclusive: The Bay Of Silence, Paula van der Oest’s thriller starring Claes Bang (Dracula), Olga Kurylenko (Death Of Stalin) and Brian Cox (Succession), has sold into numerous key territories.

Vertical Entertainment has swooped on North American rights to the project, striking a deal with Christian de Gallegos of International Film Trust (Ift) who represented the filmmakers.

Ift has also closed a number of other key international territory deals on the film including: UK and Australia/New Zealand (Signature Entertainment), Cis (Paradise), Spain (Corbi), China (Time-In-Portrait), Greece (Spentzos), Israel (Five Stars), Turkey (Filmdom), Poland (Monolith), Hungary (Cinetel), Ex-Yugo (Blitz), India (Pictureworks), Middle East (Shooting Stars), Philippines (Viva), South Korea (Korea Screen), and airlines (Cinesky).

Sales efforts will continue at Efm in Berlin, where Claes Bang, who led Ruben Ostlund’s Palme d’Or winner The Square and more recently BBC series Dracula, will be in town to speak to buyers.

Netflix continues to push into local content, producing its first Dutch film, war drama “The Battle of the Scheldt,” in partnership with local broadcasters and other backers.

Alain de Levita is producing the Dutch-Belgian picture through his Levitate Film banner. It will be in movie theaters in the Netherlands in November 2020, and on Netflix – where it will be branded as a Netflix Movie – in the U.S. and the rest of the world. Production is about to get underway on the $15.5 million war film, which will be helmed by Matthijs van Heijningen, Jr.

Set in late 1944 and shot in Dutch and English, the film centers on the bloody but crucial battle that claimed 10,000 lives but secured supply lines for the Allied forces’ push to liberate Europe from Nazi Germany. It follows the lives of three people involved in the conflict: a young Dutchman fighting for the Germans, a stray English...

Ift and UTA Independent Film Group jointly represent Us rights.

Screen can reveal a first-look image from Paula van der Oest’s English-language thriller and Cannes sales title The Bay Of Silence starring Claes Bang and Olga Kurylenko.

International Film Trust (Ift) sales head Todd Olsson represents worldwide rights and will present footage on the Croisette next month. Ift and UTA Independent Film Group jontly represent Us rights.

Brian Cox also stars and Assaad Bouab and Alice Krige round out the cast on The Bay Of Silence, which is currently in post-production in the UK.

Bang plays Will, a man...

Caroline Goodall adapted the screenplay from Lisa St Aubin de Terán’s novel.

Cannes buyers are responding to International Film Trust (Ift)’s upcoming thriller The Bay Of Silence starring Danish sensation Claes Bang, Olga Kurylenko and Brian Cox.

Paula Van Der Oest (Zus & Zo) will direct the feature, which has been reconfigured with new cast and financiers Media Finance Capital and is set to commence shooting on July 11 in the UK, Italy and the Netherlands.

Ift sales chief Todd Olsson has licensed rights to the story of a man who embarks on a frantic search across Europe when his...

Game Of Thrones regular Carice van Houten has joined Aaron Paul on the drama that Myriad Pictures has introduced to international buyers at the market.

The Parts You Lose centres on a hearing-impaired boy who strikes up a friendship with a fugitive in a North Dakota town. UTA Independent Film Group represents Us rights with Myriad.

Zus & Zo director Paula van der Oest will helm the Dutch production and shooting is scheduled for early spring in Manitoba, Canada.

Mark Johnson and Tom Williams are producing through Gran Via Productions alongside Nl Film’s Alain de Levita and Joris van Wijk as well as Paul via his Lucid Road Productions.

Buffalo Gal Pictures will handle Canadian production and Phyllis Laing and Rhonda Baker from the company serve as executive producers with Myriad chief Kirk D’Amico.

Columbia Pictures has acquired the rights to develop the Dutch thriller Taped, into an English-language motion picture to be produced by Red Wagon Entertainment’s Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher, it was announced today by Hannah Minghella, president of production for Columbia Pictures.

In the Dutch film, a young couple, while vacationing in Buenos Aires to recapture their romance, inadvertently tapes the murder of an innocent man by a corrupt cop, forcing them to find resources they didn’t know they had to fight for their lives to escape.

Commenting on the announcement, Minghella said, “We’re huge fans of Taped . and believe that Doug and Lucy have just the right take on the material to adapt it for English speaking audiences.”

Through Red Wagon, Wick and Fisher are currently producing The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, and Carey Mulligan, with Baz Luhrmann directing, and Wettest County, a...

Columbia Pictures and Red Wagon Entertainment's Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher are teaming up for the American remake of Dutch thriller Taped. Per Variety, "Nl Films, the Dutch production company behind 'Taped', will exec produce the remake. Company is owned by Endemol and Alain de Levita, who produced the original film. Negotiations were handled by Nl producer Sytze van der Laan. "We're huge fans of 'Taped' -- and believe that Doug and Lucy have just the right take on the material to adapt it for English-speaking audiences," said Columbia production prexy Hannah Minghella, who will oversee the project for the studio along with Jonathan Kadin." The original film, "follows a young couple vacationing in Buenos Aires who inadvertently tape the murder of an innocent man by a corrupt cop...

Culver City, Calif., February 28, 2012 – Columbia Pictures has acquired the rights to develop the Dutch thriller Taped, into an English-language motion picture to be produced by Red Wagon Entertainment’s Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher, it was announced today by Hannah Minghella, president of production for Columbia Pictures. In the Dutch film, a young couple, while vacationing in Buenos Aires to recapture their romance, inadvertently tapes the murder of an innocent man by a corrupt cop, forcing them to find resources they didn’t know they had to fight for their lives to escape. Commenting on the announcement, Minghella said, “We’re huge fans of Taped – and believe that Doug and Lucy have just the right take on the material to adapt it for English speaking audiences.” Through Red Wagon, Wick and Fisher are currently producing The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, and Carey Mulligan, with Baz Luhrmann directing,...

Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher to produced remake of Dutch thriller Taped for Columbia Pictures. Columbia's picked up rights to develop the property into an English-language version, with Red Wagon Entertainment's Lucy Fisher and Douglas Wick on board as producers, reports Variety. The original Dutch film is directed Diederik Van Rooijen who scripts with Marnie Blok, and tells of a couple who, while on vacation in Buenos Aires, inadvertently record a corrupt cop murdering an innocent man, leaving them fighting for their lives to escape. Nl Films, who produced the original film, and are owned by Endemol and Alain de Levita, are set to executive produce. Red Wagon recently produced Wettest Country helmed by John Hillcoat (The Road, The Proposition) and are currently working...

Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher to produced remake of Dutch thriller Taped for Columbia Pictures. Columbia's picked up rights to develop the property into an English-language version, with Red Wagon Entertainment's Lucy Fisher and Douglas Wick on board as producers, reports Variety. The original Dutch film is directed Diederik Van Rooijen who scripts with Marnie Blok, and tells of a couple who, while on vacation in Buenos Aires, inadvertently record a corrupt cop murdering an innocent man, leaving them fighting for their lives to escape. Nl Films, who produced the original film, and are owned by Endemol and Alain de Levita, are set to executive produce. Red Wagon recently produced Wettest Country helmed by John Hillcoat (The Road, The Proposition) and are currently working...

Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher to produced remake of Dutch thriller Taped for Columbia Pictures. Columbia's picked up rights to develop the property into an English-language version, with Red Wagon Entertainment's Lucy Fisher and Douglas Wick on board as producers, reports Variety. The original Dutch film is directed Diederik Van Rooijen who scripts with Marnie Blok, and tells of a couple who, while on vacation in Buenos Aires, inadvertently record a corrupt cop murdering an innocent man, leaving them fighting for their lives to escape. Nl Films, who produced the original film, and are owned by Endemol and Alain de Levita, are set to executive produce. Red Wagon recently produced Wettest Country helmed by John Hillcoat (The Road, The Proposition) and are currently working...

Exclusive: Melissa Rosenberg has teamed with ABC and Endemol Studios for an U.S. adaptation of Endemol’s Dutch drama format Penoza. The Twilight scribe will write and executive produce the project, one of two dramas based on international Endemol formats that Endemol Studios has set up at ABC and ABC Studios, along with Spirited, which will be written by Chris Black (Desperate Housewives) and Henry Alonso Myers (Chuck). These are the first 2 sales for Endemol Studios, which was launched by Endemol USA in August. For Rosenberg, this is the second project this TV development season. She also executive produces Afterthought, a murder mystery drama at NBC written by Evan Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsman). The Rosenberg-penned Penoza centers on a widow of an assassinated criminal who is suddenly forced to adopt her late husband’s role in order to protect her family. Rosenberg, who will serve as showrunner,...

The Stony Brook Film Festival opened with two dramas from The Netherlands directed by Ben Sombogaart, "The Storm," a U.S. Premiere, and "Bride Flight," an East Coast Premiere, on Thursday night, July 22. "The Storm," screened in the 1110-seat Main Stage Theatre at Staller Center for the Arts in Long Island, New York. Pictured here are: Sylvia Hoeks, who played Julia in "The Storm," Alain De Levita, producer, (Nijenhuis & de ...

AMSTERDAM -- Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, who lives primarily in Los Angeles, is planning his second consecutive film in his native language. After finishing the World War II drama Zwartboek (Blackbook), which is in postproduction, Verhoeven will direct an adaptation of the Dutch best-seller Knielen op een bed violen (Kneeling on a Bed of Violets), producer Alain De Levita said Friday. The book, written by Jan Siebelink, deals with religious issues and focuses on a character who has a divine revelation. The film reunites Verhoeven with scriptwriter Gerard Soeteman, who collaborated with him on all of his major Dutch films including Soldier of Orange and Turkish Delight. The budget is estimated at €10 million ($12.9 million), and shooting is set to begin next year.

AMSTERDAM -- Dutch entertainment giant Endemol N.V. announced Thursday that it has raised its stake from 40% to 51% in local production house NL Film & TV. Headed by Johan Nijenhuis and Alain De Levita, the company focuses on scripted television drama, comedy and feature films. NL Film launched in 2001 and has since grown to become one of the most successful Dutch production outfits with theatrical hits including Costa! Zoop in Africa and Ellis in Glamourland. De Levita said on Thursday: "We are excited to be part of the global network of Endemol which gives us the opportunity to further expand abroad." His partner John Nijenhuis added: "A good format must first prove itself locally. When it has true potential, it can be understood and enjoyed by audiences all over the world."...

AMSTERDAM -- Dutch entertainment giant Endemol N.V. announced Thursday that it has raised its stake from 40% to 51% in local production house NL Film & TV. Headed by Johan Nijenhuis and Alain De Levita, the company focuses on scripted television drama, comedy and feature films. NL Film launched in 2001 and has since grown to become one of the most successful Dutch production outfits with theatrical hits including Costa! Zoop in Africa and Ellis in Glamourland. De Levita said on Thursday: "We are excited to be part of the global network of Endemol which gives us the opportunity to further expand abroad." His partner John Nijenhuis added: "A good format must first prove itself locally. When it has true potential, it can be understood and enjoyed by audiences all over the world."...