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The Danish film “The Venus Effect” unfurls within the deceptively tranquil confines of rural Denmark, where the protagonist, Liv, a woman in her twenties, moves through a life pre-plotted with an agreeable boyfriend and the familial rhythms of an apple orchard.

Hers is a world of expected progressions, of seasons turning reliably. Into this carefully cultivated existence arrives Andrea, an agent of vibrant disruption. Characterized by an artistic spirit and a free, somewhat chaotic energy, Andrea is the antithesis of Liv’s measured reality.

Their immediate, almost perplexing, connection forms the film’s magnetic core, signaling not merely a romantic deviation but the inception of a profound journey into self-understanding. The narrative sets its sights on exploring the often-unforeseen paths to realizing one’s desires, charting the subtle and significant transformations that follow such awakenings.

Charting the Tides of New Desire

The dynamic between Liv and Andrea ignites with a palpable chemistry,...

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The Eternaut is an Argentine sci-fi survival thriller drama series created by Bruno Stagnaro. Based on the comic book of the same name by Héctor Germán Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López, the Netflix series is set in Buenos Aires and revolves around a group of friends as they witness a mysterious snowfall killing most of the population. Now they must learn to evade the snow to survive while trying to fight against the aliens who are invading. The Eternaut stars Ricardo Darin, Carla Peterson, César Troncoso, Andrea Pietra, Ariel Staltari, Marcelo Subiotto, and Mora Fisz. So, if you loved the mysterious story, thrilling drama, and compelling characters in The Eternaut, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

The Rain (Netflix) Credit – Netflix

The Rain is a Danish post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller drama series created by Jannik Tai Mosholt,...

At some point in the future, the number of Stephen King adaptations on screen will outpace the number of stories the horror master has written for the page. Hollywood is always hungry for new and old King tales alike, and has rarely slowed its adaptation machine down in the nearly 50 years since "Carrie" first hit theaters.

At a certain point, it became clear that King, who's only produced a handful of adaptations based on his own work, would have to cede control of his considerable source material and let each new interpretation do its own thing. Still, he's famously made his opinions on the adaptations known over the years, and always seems interested in the ways filmmakers distinguish their version of the story from his. Several King movies and shows by now feel like unique properties in their own right, with Osgood Perkins' deeply personal and sickly hilarious take on...

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Teacup is a sci-fi mystery horror thriller drama series created by Ian McCulloch. Based on the 1988 book Stinger by author Robert R. McCammon, the Peacock series is set on an isolated ranch in rural Georgia and it follows the Chenoweth family and their neighbors who are trapped in an invisible barrier while they fight against a mysterious threat that wants to kill them. Teacup stars Yvonne Strahovski, Scott Speedman, Chaske Spencer, Kathy Baker, Boris McGiver, Diany Rodriguez, Caleb Dolden, Émilie Bierre, Bill Heck, and Rob Morgan. So, if you loved the thrilling mystery, sci-fi horror elements, and compelling characters in Teacup here are some similar shows you should check out next.

The Mist (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Netflix

The Mist is a sci-fi horror thriller drama series created by Christian Torpe. Based on the 1980 horror novel of...

Highly active Copenhagen-based sales outfit REinvent has acquired rights to the Danish pic “Rome,” officially selected as the Göteborg Film Festival’s closing movie.

The life-affirming romantic drama marks the sophomore feature from established Danish choreographer Niclas Bendixen, behind Mads Mikkelsen’s famous dance scene in the Oscar-winning “Another Round.” Toplining the cast are Rolf Lassgård (“A Man Called Ove”), Bodil Jørgensen (“The Kingdom”), and Kristian Halken (“A Perfectly Normal Family”), who shares the writing credits with Bendixen and Christian Torpe (“Silent Heart”).

“‘Rome’ stands out as a heart-warming film which makes you think about life, love and values. We are proud to represent and showcase ‘Rome’ to an international audience in Göteborg. I am confident that the film will find a home in the hearts of distributors in countries worldwide,” said Helene Aurø, REinvent’s sales and marketing director.

Based on Halken’s idea, the pic turns on Gerda...

Less than three months after being tapped CEO of Banijay France, Alexia Laroche-Joubert, a well-known industry figure, has enlisted Authentic Media, a leading French premium scripted banner that will join the “Peaky Blinders” production-distribution powerhouse.

The acquisition of Authentic Media, who produced hit French adaptations of series such as “Rita” and “This is Us,” took a couple of years to materialize and will further bolster Banijay France’s portfolio of scripted labels. These include the in-house outfits Banijay Studio France and Shine Fiction; as well as Fiction’Air (“Les Disparus de la Forêt Noire”); Terence Films (“Rivière-Perdue”); Montmartre; Screen Line (“Trash”); and Marathon, which has three series in development.

Founded in 2011 by Aline Panel, Authentic Media’s production output spans drama, film, and documentary. With 15 projects in development, the company has developed seven seasons of “Sam,” based on the Nordic series hit “Rita” which was created by Christian Torpe for...

Another player is interested in returning to Weeds. The possibility of a revival was first reported in May. Showtime is developing a revival of the popular comedy-drama series that aired on the cable network for eight seasons between 2005-12. Christian Torpe would write and executive produce the series.

Mary-Louise Parker, Elizabeth Perkins, Hunter Parrish, Kevin Nealon, Alexander Gould, Justin Kirk, Andy Milder, Allie Grant, and Romany Malco starred in the original series. Parker is set to return for the new incarnation. The original comedy follows housewife and mom Nancy Botwin (Parker) as she finds creative ways to support her family after the death of her husband. The revival would reportedly take Nancy to Copenhagen.

Read More…...

Nurse Jackie and Weeds revivals are in the works at Showtime. Both developed by Robert Greenblatt, Weeds and Nurse Jackie are two of Showtime's most popular series, airing for a combined 15 seasons and receiving seven Emmys. The former followed Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin, the widowed mother of two boys who begins selling marijuana to support her family following her husband's death, while the latter starred Edie Falco in the titular role as a drug-addicted ER nurse who isn't afraid to cross ethical boundaries.

Now, Showtime is reportedly reviving its two signature comedy series. According to Deadline, Nurse Jackie and Weeds revivals are currently in the works with their respective original stars, Falco and Parker, set to return. The publication's sources specify the sequel series are still in the early stages of development with deals being ironed out. Justin Kirk, who played Nancy's brother-in-law Andy in the original series, publicly...

Sequels, reboots, and revivals, oh my. Deadline has reported that Showtime is developing sequel series to Nurse Jackie and Weeds, which were once crown jewels of the network.

The sequels to Nurse Jackie and Weeds are still in the early stages of development, but Deadline hears that the prospective leads of each original series, Edie Falco and Mary-Louise Parker, are attached to star and executive produce the follow-ups. The original Weeds series starred Parker as a widowed mother who starts selling marijuana to support her family following the death of her husband. Nurse Jackie featured Falco as a pill-popping ER nurse and mother.

The Weeds sequel series would be written and executive produced by Christian Torpe, with the new story featuring Mary-Louise Parker’s character in Copenhagen. As for the Nurse Jackie sequel, it would be written and executive produced by Abe Sylvia and Liz Flahive, who worked on the original.

As has been teased for several years, a return to the world of Weeds is in the works.

Initially, a sequel series was in the works at Starz, and now, the revival is set to sprout at Showtime.

Deadline says the series is in early development but that Mary Louise Parker is set to return to headline and executive produce.

Additionally, Showtime is also working on an update of Nurse Jackie, with Edie Falco in line to return.

The Weeds sequel will be written and executive produced by Christian Torpe, creator of the popular Danish series Rita, and would feature Nancy (Parker) in Copenhagen, the outlet reports.

Both series are said to be on the fast-track, with an eye of getting them on the air as early as quarter one of 2024.

However, the deals are still being ironed out, and a potential pickup could be contingent on what happens with the Writers Strike.

Showtime‘s new direction of spinoffs and revivals is underway as a Nurse Jackie and Weeds sequel is now in the works from Lionsgate Television. According to network reps, both series are in early development, with the original leads, Edie Falco and Mary-Louise Parker, set to reprise their starring roles with executive producer credits. Although the projects are still being negotiated, Nurse Jackie will be written and executive produced by Abe Sylvia and Liz Flahive, respectively, reenlisted from the original show. Meanwhile, Weeds will be written and executive produced by Christian Torpe, creator of the popular Danish series Rita, featuring the main character Nancy (Parker) in Copenhagen. A continuation of Weeds has been in the works for years, with a follow-up series previously announced in 2019 by writer Victoria Morrow. It was set to pick up with the Botwin family ten years after the events of the original series in an era of marijuana legalization.

Showtime is ready to bring back more of its iconic shows, with Nurse Jackie and Weeds getting sequel series.

Deadline revealed that Showtime and Lionsgate Television are in the early stages of planning revivals for both series. Though no major details have been confirmed, Nurse Jackie star Edie Falco and Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker would return to lead their respective shows. Each actor would also be an executive producer on their project.

Related: Every Yellowjackets Character Who Could Realistically Be The Pit Girl

The Weeds sequel series is eyeing Christian Torpe for writer and executive producer. Torpe created the Danish series Rita, fitting as Copenhagen is reportedly the setting for the revival. Original Nurse Jackie writers and producers Abe Sylvia and Liz Flahive will reportedly return to oversee that series' revival.

The Merger of Showtime and Paramount

As with many networks, Showtime is turning to former hit shows in an...

Exclusive Updated: Showtime is looking to bring back two of its signature comedy series, Nurse Jackie and Weeds. Both hail from Lionsgate Television and former Showtime chief Robert Greenblatt who has a deal at the indie studio.

Reps for Showtime and Lionsgate would not comment but I hear the followups, now in early stages of development, have the original leads, Edie Falco and Mary-Louise Parker, attached to star and executive produce. Sources stress that the projects are still coming together and deals are being negotiated.

The Weeds revival would be written and executive produced by Christian Torpe, creator of the popular Danish series Rita, and would feature Nancy (Parker) in Copenhagen, I hear.

Meanwhile, I hear the Nurse Jackie sequel would be written/executive produced by Abe Sylvia and Liz Flahive who were writers-producers on the original series. The concept is still being finalized.

Greenblatt, who I hear came up...

L.A.-based Dynamic Television has acquired worldwide rights to its first ever Norwegian drama series, “Dates in Real Life,” produced by “State of Happiness” Maipo Film for Norwegian pubcaster Nrk.

The upcoming seven-part half-hour dramedy, set to start filming next month, is the long-form scripted debut of writer-director Jakob Rørvik, a graduate from the U.K.’s National Film & Television School whose critically-acclaimed pic “Thomas vs. Tomas” received funding from the Sundance Screenwriters Lab.

“We’ve had a very good collaboration with Jakob Rørvik as a writer and director for many years, and we are so happy to now produce his first drama series,” said seasoned producer and Maipo Film CEO, Synnøve Hørsdal. “We’ve experienced a lot of interest in ‘Dates in Real Life,’ but to us, Dynamic Television is the perfect partner for this project. They are very hands on, have an impressive network internationally and most importantly,...

Fast-rising Danish production powerhouse Motor, led by scribe Christian Torpe and producer Jesper Morthorst, has unveiled a splashy five-pic slate, led by the Göteborg Film Festival’s closing film “Camino” by Birgitte Stærmose and Tea Lindeburg’s pic in development “The Seal Woman,” to be pitched at the Discovery strand of Göteborg’s Nordic Film Market (Feb. 2-5).

One of the hottest new Danish directors, Netflix “Equinox” series creator Lindeburg made waves on the festival circuit with her directorial debut “As in Heaven,” which scooped a double win in San Sebastian and best-Nordic statuette in Göteborg 2021, before wooing several buyers including Juno Films in the U.S.

Her anticipated sophomore feature “The Seal Woman,” based on her original screenplay, is inspired by a Faroese legend, which has it that those who drown themselves turn into seals. And once every year, they return to shore in their human shape.

The story...

On November 21, 2007, the controversial yet definitive adaptation of Stephen King's "The Mist" was released. While taking a couple of liberties from the source material, this adaptation managed to develop a great balance between the story's Lovecraftian monsters and psychological torment, culminating in arguably one of the most controversial movie endings of all time. Whether you love or hate it, the fact that we still talk about it to this day proves that Frank Darabont's "The Mist" was a rare horror adaptation worthy of being discussed alongside the original 1980 novella.

The 2017 series adaptation of the novella, though? Well, that's an entirely different story. That year, Spike aired the critically-panned "Mist" series by Danish producer Christian Torpe. While there's no denying that part of the original story's allure was the psychological decline of the central survivors, the show seemed to focus more on that specific element than the issue of the mist itself.

Scandinavia’s leading streamer Viaplay has ordered its Danish feature, “Camino,” a heartwarming comedy-drama directed by Birgitte Stærmose (“Industry”) with a cast led by Lars Brygmann and Danica Curcic (“The Chestnut Man”).

“Camino” portrays the complex relationship between a father and daughter who are walking a famous pilgrim route in Spain. The film is produced by Copenhagen’s Motor and will premiere exclusively on Viaplay in 2023.

Penned by Stærmose and Kim Fupz Aakeson (“Becoming Astrid’), the film tells the story of Regitze (Danica Curcic), who is in her early 30s, pregnant and no longer speaks to her father Jan (Lars Brygmann). But when they discover that Regitze’s mother’s dying wish was for them to follow the Camino de Santiago together, the two set out on a 260-kilometer journey of discovery under the burning Spanish sun.

“Many people have children, but everybody has parents. Processing and dealing with baggage...

Birthe Neumann as Karen Blixen with Thorkild Bjørnvig (Simon Bennebjerg) in The Pact, Bille August’s elegant take on creation and destruction.

Karen Blixen herself, if you take her word for it, had made a deal with the devil in exchange for the power to tell tales. In Bille August’s The Pact (Pagten), co-written with Christian Torpe and based on the memoir by Thorkild Bjørnvig, starring Birthe Neumann as Blixen, opposite Simon Bennebjerg as Bjørnvig, she tests her own devilishness, and yet remains always very human. Blixen’s Seven Gothic Tales and Out Of Africa, plus Sydney Pollack’s film version of the latter with Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, and Klaus Maria Brandauer may float in and out of our memory while watching the machinations of mutual manipulation unfold.

Bille August with Anne-Katrin Titze on Karen Blixen: “Doing this film I was trying to understand how she worked as a storyteller,...

For many of us, the first mental image prompted by the name Karen Blixen is of a radiant Meryl Streep, resplendent in oatmeal linen and undulating safari hat, romantically lit in the tawny Kenyan dusk. If you wish that to remain the case, best to steer clear of “The Pact” — not that Bille August’s flat, unflattering portrait of the older Blixen should be appointment viewing for anyone. Drawn from Danish poet Thorkild Bjørnvig’s memoir of his thorny friendship with, and tutelage under, the older literary icon, this well-dressed midcentury period piece keeps teasing a darker, more perverse take on a familiar story of cross-generational creative mentorship. Yet despite a performance of unnerving severity by Birthe Neumann as the rancorous Blixen, the film remains too polite and light on incident to deliver on that promise.

Written by Danish TV heavyweight Christian Torpe (“Rita”), the screenplay of “The Pact” bristles with quiet but disquieting tensions,...

The Pact Juno Films Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net, linked from Rotten Tomatoes by Harvey Karten Director: Bille August Screenwriter: Christian Torpe, from Thorkild Bjørnvig’s book “The Pact: My Friendship with Isak Dinesen”) Cast: Birthe Neumkann, Simon Bennebjerg, Nanna Skaarup Voss, Asta Kamma August Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 1/5/22 Opens: February 11, 2022 I […]

The post The Pact Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Exclusive: Juno Films has claimed North America rights to The Pact, a film from Oscar and Palme d’Or-winning director Bille August, which is based on the true story of Out of Africa author Karen Blixen, planning to release it in U.S. and Canadian theaters in early 2022, followed by a digital release later in the year.

The Pact catches up with Blixen (Birthe Neumann) at age 63, finding her at the pinnacle of her fame and next in line to win the Nobel Prize for literature. It has been 17 years since she gave up her famous farm in Africa, only to return to Denmark with her life in ruins. Devastated by syphilis and having lost the love of her life, she has reinvented herself as a literary sensation. She is an isolated genius, however, until the day she meets talented 30-year-old poet Thorkild Bjørnvig...

The companies are already working together on two forthcoming films.

Danish production company Motor has signed an exclusive distribution deal with Scanbox Entertainment. The pact covers “several years”.

The companies are already working together on two forthcoming films, feminist historical drama As in Heaven by Tea Lindeburg and offbeat romance The Venus Effect by Anna Emma Haudal.

Scanbox will release The Venus Effect later in 2021 and As In Heaven in early 2022. The latter screens in Toronto Discovery and San Sebastian’s main Competition.

Also lined up as a collaboration is Stranger by Mads Hedegaard, a Stone-Age thriller that will shoot...

Title is Danish filmmaker Tea Lindeburg’s debut feature.

LevelK has boarded international sales rights to Danish filmmaker Tea Lindeburg’s debut feature, As in Heaven, which has been confirmed for Toronto’s Discovery section and will also screen in the main competition at San Sebastian.

Writer/director Lindeburg has previously worked in television and is the creator and writer of the Danish Netflix production Equinox.

As in Heaven follows 14-year-old Lise, the eldest of her siblings, who experiences the harsh reality of farm life in the 19th century. She is poised to become the first in her family to go away to school,...

Sf Studios and sales banner REinvent have unveiled the trailer for “The Pact,” Bille August’s psychological drama based on real events in the life of Karen Blixen, the Danish author best known for her autobiographical novel “Out of Africa.”

The film depicts Blixen’s tumultuous relationship with Thorkild Bjørnvig, a promising young poet, after she returned from Africa. Birthe Neumann headlines the film as Blixen in her first major dramatic film role since “The Celebration.”

“The Pact” is produced by Sf Studios and Motor with producers Jesper Morthorst and Karin Trolle. Nordic distribution is handled by Sf Studios while REinvent International Sales is selling worldwide rights. The film will be released in cinemas in Denmark on April 15.

Along with “Margrete-Queen of the North” and “The Emigrants,” “The Pact” is one of the thee projects from Sf Studios which will be presented in the Works in Progress section at this...

Poland’s Opus Film and Scandinavian distributor Scanbox are teaming with fast-rising Danish production house Motor on Mads Hedegaard’s directorial debut “Stranger,” co-penned with Jesper Fink. Tagged by Motor as “‘Apocalypto’ meets ‘The Revenant,’” “Stranger” will be pitched virtually on Feb. 5 by Hedegaard and producer Andreas Hjortdal, at the Discovery section of the Göteborg Film Festival’s Nordic Film Market industry showcase.

The film goes back to pre-historic times, 6,000 years ago, when migrant farmers virtually replaced the hunter-gatherer populations of northern Europe. When 16-year old Aathi and her family -the first farmers ever – arrive from the south in the country now known as Denmark, all except Aathi and her younger brother are killed by local hunters. To survive, the two youngsters are forced to live with the hunters’ tribe in the eerie forest and integrate. But when Aathi becomes pregnant and the child is forcefully adopted by the tribe,...

A group of unhinged women turn on each other in a by-the-numbers Danish drama written and directed by men

Depressingly, this Danish psychological thriller resurrects some pretty outdated sexist stereotypes with a quartet of emotionally manipulative, unsisterly and two-timing female characters. It comes to us from a trio of men: director Jesper W Nielsen and a script by Christian Torpe, who adapts Christian Jungersen’s bestselling novel about four women working at a small Ngo investigating genocide. When they begin to receive death threats, their suspicions turn on each other – and the film plays with the possibility that inside each of them may lurk a crazy psycho bitch.

Danica Curcic plays Iben, an earnest researcher who was recently held hostage in Kenya by terrorists. Back in Copenhagen she is experiencing Ptsd, at night seeing the child soldier who guarded her, a gentle, soulful-looking boy. Iben works at the Ngo with...

Ensemble thriller stars Sidse Babett Knudsen (‘Borgen’) and Amanda Collin (‘Raised By Wolves’).

Parkland Entertainment has snapped up UK and Ireland rights to Danish thriller The Exception, in a deal with LevelK.

The UK-based distributor is planning a theatrical, day-and-date release in February 2021.

The psychological thriller revolves around a female cast that includes Borgen star Sidse Babett Knudsen and Amanda Collin, whose international profile has been recently boosted by her lead role in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi series Raised By Wolves.

They are joined by Danica Curcic (Silent Heart) and Lene Maria Christensen (Terribly Happy).

Jesper W. Nielsen directs from a script by Christian Torpe,...

While the world still awaits word as to whether The Mist TV series will be renewed, all eyes turn to the potential second season of the small-screen adaptation of the Stephen King story. At last blush, the show was put on indefinite hold following the middling Season 1 results in 2017. Stuck in a purgatorial limbo, the show's fate depends on a network or platform other than Spike TV willing to continue the saga of the menacing and murderous Mist.

Related: Stephen King's The Shining & 9 Other Stephen King Novels Perfect For Halloween

Created by Christian Torpe, The Mist follows a small New England town overrun by a mysterious scrim of foggy condensation and the locals who try their hardest to rid such a sinister supernatural force.

A great cast can paper over a lot of issues. Watching talented actors and actresses at work is part of the main charm of the gift that is cinema. However, even the best thespians can’t make up for a script that just doesn’t give them much to do. Likewise with bland direction. Despite an A-list cast, the remake Blackbird is thoroughly mediocre, wasting the performers at its center. Aside from occasional sparks of livelihood, credited to the ladies and gentlemen on the screen, there’s not a whole lot to grab on to. The film just sort of lays there, never coming to life in the way one would hope for. The movie is a family drama, remade from the 2014 Danish effort Silent Heart. Lily (Susan Sarandon) and Paul (Sam Neill) clearly have a loving relationship, though one taking on a new dimension due to Lily’s terminal illness.

As box offices start to test the waters, Roger Michell’s family drama Blackbird starring Susan Sarandon is set to open in theaters and on demand starting today.

Known for My Cousin Rachel and Notting Hill, Michell directs a script by Christian Torpe, who wrote the 2014 Danish film, Silent Heart on which the family drama is based. In it, Sarandon plays Lily who, along with Paul (Sam Neil) invite their loved ones to their beach house for one final gathering after Lily decides to end her long battle with Als on her own terms. The weekend starts as a loving weekend with holiday tradition but as things unfold, unresolved issues between Lily and her daughters Jennifer (Kate Winslet) and Anna (Mia Wasikowska) come into the forefront. Rainn Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Bex Taylor-Klaus and Anson Boon join the all-star roster in this ensemble drama.

The film made its world premiere last...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

58th New York Film Festival

An annual celebration in the finest cinematic offerings, the New York Film Festival has been a treasure trove of the latest work from seasoned auteurs along with new discoveries throughout its storied history. Now in its 58th year, the festival’s slate will be available to a wider audience than ever before. Due to the pandemic forcing theaters in New York to continue with their shutdown, Film at Lincoln Center has reimagined the event, offering nationwide virtual screenings with limited rentals as well as drive-in screenings in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. We’ve shared 20 films to watch and stay tuned for coverage here.

Blackbird Screen Media Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Roger Michell Screenwriter: Christian Torpe Cast: Bex Taylor-Klaus, Sam Neill, Mia Wasikowska, Kate Winslet, Susan Sarandon, Rainn Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Anson Boon Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 8/20/20 Opens: September 18, 2020 A blackbird is a symbol of intuition, […]

The post Blackbird Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Boasting one of the more impressive ensembles at TIFF last year, Roger Michell’s latest drama Blackbird stars Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Mia Wasikowska, Sam Neill, Rainn Wilson, Bex Taylor-Klaus, and Lindsay Duncan. A remake of the Danish film Silent Heart, the film follows Sarandon’s character, who desires to end her long battle with Als through assisted suicide, and so she invites her family over for the weekend for one final gathering. Ahead of a September release va Screen Media, the first trailer and poster have now arrived.

Jared Mobarak said in our TIFF review, “It’s not every day that an international remake retains the same screenwriter, but that’s the case with Christian Torpe and his script for the Danish film Silent Heart moving to director Roger Michell’s hands as Blackbird. I haven’t seen the original, but the subject’s universality has me thinking very...

Photo by Parisa Taghizadeh / Screen Media

Screen Media, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment company, today announced the acquisition of all North American rights, as well as select international territories, of Roger Michell’s latest feature film, Blackbird.

Starring Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Mia Wasikowska, Sam Neill, Rainn Wilson and Bex Taylor-Klaus, Blackbird premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. Screen Media plans to release the film, acquired from Millennium Media, in September.

In Blackbird, Lily (Sarandon) has learned she is terminally ill with Als, so she and her husband Paul (Neill), gather the family and loved ones together to discuss her options. But once together, opinions vary, especially those of Lily’s daughters, Jennifer (Winslet) and Anna (Wasikowska) and what was intended as a loving family gathering quickly shifts into a panoply of family dynamics.

Directed by Roger Michell and written by Christian Torpe, Blackbird is produced by David Bernardi,...

Screen Media has bought North American rights, as well as select international territories, to “Blackbird,” a family drama starring Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet and Rainn Wilson.

Screen Media plans to release the film, which premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, in September. Screen Media acquired the film from Millennium Media.

The movie revolves around Sarandon’s family matriarch learning she has cancer, so she and her husband (portrayed by Sam Neill), gather the family and loved ones together to discuss her options. But opinions vary, especially those of her daughters, played by Winslet and Mia Wasikowska.

Roger Michell directed from a script by Christian Torpe as a remake of the 2014 Bille August-directed Danish film “Silent Heart.” “Blackbird” is produced by David Bernardi, Sherryl Clark and Robert Van Norden.

“I think all of us were surprised by how powerful this little film turned out,” Michell said. “It punches far...

Millennium Media handles international sales.

Screen Media has picked up all North American rights and select territories from Millennium Media to Roger Michell’s ensemble drama Blackbird starring Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Mia Wasikowska, and Sam Neill.

Additionally, the distributor has acquired the film for German pay and free TV, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

Rainn Wilson and Bex Taylor-Klaus round out the key cast in Blackbird, which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival last year. Screen Media plans a theatrical September release.

Sarandon plays a woman diagnosed with Als who assembles her clan to discuss the future only for the...

Screen Media has acquired all North American rights and select foreign territories to Roger Michell’s Blackbird ensemble movie which made its world premiere at Tiff last year. A September release is planned.

The pic, which Screen Media picked up from Millennium Media, stars Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Mia Wasikowska, Sam Neill, Rainn Wilson and Bex Taylor-Klaus.

In Blackbird, Lily (Sarandon) has learned she has cancer, so she and her husband Paul (Neill), gather the family and loved ones together to discuss her options. But once together, opinions vary, especially those of Lily’s daughters, Jennifer (Winslet) and Anna (Wasikowska) and what was intended as a loving family gathering quickly shifts into a panoply of family dynamics. Blackbird was written by Christian Torpe and produced by David Bernardi, Sherryl Clark and Robert Van Norden.

“I think all of us were surprised by how powerful this little film turned out. It...

Exclusive: Paprika Steen (Okay), Isabella Crovetti (Colony), Glo Tavarez (Late Night), Jade Payton (Dynasty) and Connor Falk (Diary of a Future President) are set as series regulars opposite Lena Headey in Showtime dramedy pilot Rita, based on Christian Torpe’s award-winning Danish series. Torpe will pen the pilot and serve as showrunner. Rita is a co-production of Showtime and Platform One Media.

In Rita, Headey will play the title character, a headstrong, unconventional teacher and single mother who takes on every kind of authority – as well as her family – in a messy and unfiltered way. Josh Hutcherson, Curtiss Cook, Darren Pettie and Bryce Gangel also star.

Steen will play Ellen, a guidance counselor who runs the school with weaponized empathy. Crovetti will portray Rose, an overly ambitious student whom Rita is constantly at odds with. Tavarez will play Connie, a new and overly enthusiastic teacher at Rita’s school. Payton is Molly,...

Exclusive: Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games), Bryce Gangel (Crisis), Curtiss Cook (The Chi), and Darren Pettie (Sneaky Pete) are set as series regulars opposite Lena Headey in Showtime dramedy pilot Rita, based on Christian Torpe’s award-winning Danish series. Torpe will pen the pilot and serve as showrunner. Rita is a co-production of Showtime and Platform One Media.

In Rita, Headey will play the title character, a headstrong, unconventional teacher and single mother who takes on every kind of authority – as well as her family – in a messy and unfiltered way.

Hutcherson will play Ricco, Rita’s oldest son, a former bad boy who can do no wrong in her eyes. Gangel April, Ricco’s girlfriend, a psych major who enjoys the challenge of domesticating Ricco. Cook will portray Spencer, the sensitive and professional principal at the school where Rita teaches. Pettie is Tom, April’s father whose past relationship...

Exclusive: Platform Media, a Boat Rocker company, has signed a first-look deal with Oscar-nominated producer Jennifer Fox and her Jennifer Fox Productions.

Under the pact, Platform One, the Los Angeles-based global television production and distribution studio led by founder and chairman Katie O’Connell, will work on Fox and Erin Simon, who recently joined Jennifer Fox Prods. as VP of development and production, on new projects.

The partners have assembled an initial development slate, led by independent feature film Ultraluminous, based on the novel of the same name by Katherine Faw (Young God), joined by four TV series projects. Golden Globe-nominated Smilf creator, executive producer, director and star Frankie Shaw is set to write and direct Ultraluminous, produced by Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh. It would mark Shaw’s feature writing and directing debut.

Ultraluminous, a nihilist revenge tale about...

The new feature by the Danish filmmaker centres on the secret relationship between Karen Blixen and young poet Thorkild Bjønvig. Danish award-winning film and television director Bille August is now working on his new feature project, entitled The Pact. The Breed-born helmer is best known for his 1987 drama Pelle the Conqueror, screened at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and recipient of the Palme d’Or, the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, among other honours. The Pact, penned in its entirety by Christian Torpe, is based on Thorkild Bjørnvig’s autobiography of the same name. The psychological drama tells the story of the intense relationship between Danish author Karen Blixen, best known for her autobiographical novel Out of Africa, and Bjønvig, a young and promising poet. Speaking about the film’s themes, August said: “The Pact...

Bille August (“Pelle the Conqueror”), one of Denmark’s best known filmmakers, is set to direct “The Pact,” a psychological drama about the intense friendship between Karen Blixen, the Danish author best known for her autobiographical novel “Out of Africa,” and Thorkild Bjønvig, a young and promising poet.

“The Pact” was written by Christian Torpe, based on Bjørnvig’s autobiography of the same name.

Torpe previously wrote August’s “Silent Heart,” which won the Silver Seashell at San Sebastian in 2014. “The Pact” is produced by Jesper Morthorst at Motor and Sf Studios, which will release the film theatrically in early 2021.

“‘The Pact’ is a relationship drama, the eternal story of seduction and wanting to be seduced, of the art of manipulation, of guilt and innocence, of a highly unusual friendship between two deeply talented people and a relationship that develops into a fateful bond,” said August, whose credits include the...

Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Lisa Cholodenko has been tapped to direct the hourlong Showtime dramedy pilot Rita, starring and executive produced by Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Lena Headey (Game of Thrones). Rita, based on Christian Torpe’s award-winning Danish series, is a co-production of Showtime and Platform One Media.

In Rita, Headey will play the title character, a headstrong, unconventional teacher and single mother who takes on every kind of authority – as well as her family – in a messy and unfiltered way. Mille Denesen plays Rita in the Danish series.

Cholodenko and Headey will executive produce the pilot, with creator/showrunner Torpe, who is writing the pilot based on his series, along with Elisa Ellis for Platform One Media, which is headed by Katie O’Connell Marsh.

In addition to winning an Emmy and DGA Award for her direction of the limited series Olive Kitteridge,...

Lisa Cholodenko, known for her directorial work on the “Olive Kitteridge” miniseries at HBO and the 2010 feature “The Kids Are All Right,” has been tapped to helm a Showtime pilot.

The project in question is “Rita,” an hour-long dramedy which is set to star “Game of Thrones” actress Lena Headey in the title role. Headey’s character in the project is described as a headstrong, unconventional teacher and single mother who takes on every kind of authority – as well as her family – in a messy and unfiltered way. Cholodenko and Headey will also executive produce.

“Rita” is being written and executive produced by Christian Torpe and is based on his original Danish series. The prospective series hails from Showtime and Platform One Media, which is headed by Katie O’Connell Marsh and has Elisa Ellis exec producing on the pilot.

Most recently, Cholodenko directed the first three episodes of the...

Lisa Cholodenko will direct the pilot for Showtime’s hour-long dramedy, “Rita,” which stars “Game of Thrones” alum Lena Headey in the title role.

A co-production of Showtime and Platform One Media, the hour-long pilot is created by Christian Torpe, who is also showrunner. Torpe is writing the pilot based on his award-winning original Danish series of the same name.

Headey will play the title character, Rita — “a headstrong, unconventional teacher and single mother who takes on every kind of authority – as well as her family – in a messy and unfiltered way,” according to Showtime.

Headey is best known for playing Cersei Lannister in “Game of Thrones,” for which she received multiple Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe nomination. Most recently, she can be seen starring opposite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Nick Frost and Vince Vaughn in “Fighting with My Family.” Her...

Canadian entertainment company Boat Rocker Media continues to aggressively expand its Hollywood holdings with another acquisition. Boat Rocker has bought Platform One Media, the indie TV studio for premium scripted content launched two years ago by Tpg Growth, whose parent Tpg owns a majority stake in CAA, and John Malone’s Liberty Global.

Over the past year and a half, Boat Rocker Media has been expanding aggressively its global footprint with acquisitions of unscripted production company Matador Content, which is behind Paramount Network’s Lip Sync Battle, Fremantle’s Kids & Family division, taking a majority stake in Insight Productions, a leading Canadian unscripted production company, and making a significant financial investment in talent management/production company Untitled Entertainment.

Katie O’Connell Marsh, who launched Platform One in 2017 as CEO, has been named Founder and Chairman of Platform One and will...

It’s not every day that an international remake retains the same screenwriter, but that’s the case with Christian Torpe and his script for the Danish film Silent Heart moving to director Roger Michell’s hands as Blackbird. I haven’t seen the original, but the subject’s universality has me thinking very little besides cultural changes were necessary for the translation. Assisted suicide is a hot-button issue in many countries and a family’s ability to get on-board a member’s decision to go through with one is tough no matter where they hail. It doesn’t matter if that acquiescence gets everyone together for a final weekend either because death’s finality is easier to handle in the abstract. Second thoughts, new revelations, and plain old fear will risk resolve as the time grows nearer.

These are the circumstances surrounding Lily (Susan Sarandon) and her small, loving,...

We present the press conference highlights and premiere interviews from the Tiff showing of Blackbird, starring Bex Taylor-Klaus, Kate Winslet, Sam Neill, Rainn Wilson, Susan Sarandon, Mia Wasikowska, Anson Boon and Lindsay Duncan. The film is directed by Roger Michell from a script by Christian Torpe, who also wrote the original 2014 Danish film ‘Silent Heart’.

The film had its premiere at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival, and those attending were director Roger Michell, Susan Sarandon, Sam Neill, Rainn Wilson and producer Sherryl Clark.

Synopsis:

A terminally ill mother arranges to bring her family together one last time before she dies.

The post Blackbird: Susan Sarandon on Assisted Dying – Tiff Press Conference & Premiere: Sam Neill, Rainn Wilson & more appeared first on HeyUGuys.

The decision has already been made by the time Roger Michell’s “Blackbird” begins. Months of debates and discussion are long over, and now it’s time for the hard-headed Lily (Susan Sarandon) to die. It’s hard to imagine anything screaming “tough watch!” as much as “remake of a Danish euthanasia drama” — but Michell, screenwriter Christian Torpe (adapting his own original screenplay), and Twists abound, but emotions and events are never allowed to careen out of control, and Michell’s nimble direction keeps the ship right even through the stormiest of sequences.

As it turns out, the word “euthanasia” is never spoken in “Blackbird,” but from the film’s opening moments, it’s obvious that a) Lily is very sick and b) she’s pissed about it. As she struggles to get herself out of bed and into a robe and slippers — Sarandon never goes too far, and her...

Roger Michell is one of the most reliably graceful directors of English-language screen drama, rising to the occasion of fine but challenging scripts (notably those he’s shot by Hanif Kureishi), that deft touch elevating material that’s more conventional or less than inspired. His good taste certainly makes a class act of “Blackbird,” Christian Torpe’s Americanization of the screenplay Bille August made into 2014’s Danish “Silent Heart.”

But thanks to Michell and a fine cast, it works admirably well — at least to a point, at which some viewers may feel Torpe piles on one crisis too many. Nonetheless, this is a quality enterprise with numerous rewards for adult audiences, one whose Christmas angle might prompt a release timed for maximum awards-campaign-season exposure.

Susan Sarandon’s Lily has Als, which has already cost her the use of one hand and made walking a chore. Doctor husband Paul (Sam Neill...