“The Walking Dead” star Lauren Cohan, Iko Uwais, and Ronda Rousey have joined Mark Wahlberg and John Malkovich in STXfilms’ actioner “Mile 22.”

The castings were announced on Tuesday, two days after the studio made a presentation to buyers at the American Film Market in Santa Monica.

Directed by Peter Berg, “Mile 22” follows an elite American intelligence officer who, when aided by a top-secret tactical command unit, tries to smuggle a mysterious police officer with sensitive information out of the country. The movie will be the first in a franchise that STXfilms is developing around the “Mile 22” property across platforms.

Berg will direct from a script by Graham Roland and Lea Carpenter. Berg is also producing through his Film 44 production company along with Wahlberg for Closest to the Hole and Stephen Levinson for Leverage. John Logan Pierson will executive produce the pic, which will begin filming at the end of November. STXfilms’ Drew Simon and Kate Vorhoff will oversee the production.

Cohan is best known for portraying Maggie Greene on AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” Her other credits include “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “The Boy,” and the CW series “The Vampire Diaries.”

Uwais starred in “The Raid” films and will appear in the upcoming action thriller “Triple Threat,” alongside Tony Jaa.

Rousey is the former UFC bantamweight champion, and appeared in “Furious 7,” “The Expendables,” and the “Entourage” movie.

Berg and Wahlberg announced “Mile 22” in March at CinemaCon and said they wanted to do a trilogy. Wahlberg and Berg have collaborated on “Lone Survivor,” “Deepwater Horizon” and “Patriots Day.” Berg directed and produced all three while Wahlberg was a producer on all three.

Cohan is repped by CAA, John Carrabino Management, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush & Kaller. Uwais is repped by The Gersh Agency, 360 Management, Ricky Siahaan, and Karl Austen at Jackoway, Tyerman, Wertheimer, Austen, Mandelbaum, Morris & Klein. Rousey is repped by WME.

A Company has acquired the licensing rights for Vietnam at American Film Market.

Global Road Entertainment (formerly IM Global) has unveiled new details and a first still of Matt Aselton’s “Lying and Stealing” with Theo James (“Divergent”) and Emily Ratajkowski (“Gone Girl”).

Fred Melamed (“A Serious Man”), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (“Girls”), Isiah Whitlock Jr. (“Chi Raq”), Evan Handler (“Sex and the City”) and John Gatins (“Real Steel”) have joined the cast of the film, which just started shooting in Los Angeles.

Co-written by Aselton and Adam Nagata, “Lying and Stealing” stars James as Ivan, a suave, young thief whose specialty is stealing high end art from the L.A. elite. Business is good, but Ivan wants out. Elyse (Ratajkowski) is an aspiring actress with a closet full of skeletons and a mountain of debt. Soon these two clever grifters decide to team up for one last, big daring heist.

Michael Costigan (“Ghost in the Shell”), Naomi Despres (“Kill the Messenger”), Mohamed AlRafi (“Above Suspicion”) and Asleton are producing. James is exec producing. Global Road is handling international sales and shopping the film at the AFM, with UTA Independent Film Group repping North American rights.

A Company Vietnam is planning to release the film later in 2018.

Lionsgate dated Kin, the crime thriller from directors Jonathan and Josh Baker for Aug. 31, 2018 . Pic’s logline is couched as “crime thriller with a sci-fi twist” in which a vengeful criminal (James Franco), the feds and a gang of otherworldly soldiers,? a recently released ex-con (Jack Reynor) and his teenage brother (Myles Truitt) are on the run with a weapon of mysterious origin as their only protection.

Carice van Houten and Guy Pearce also star in the suspense-filled crime thriller, directed by Brian De Palma.

Currently in postproduction, the fast-paced crime thriller stars Coster-Waldau as Christian, a Copenhagen police officer seeking justice for his partner's murder by a mysterious man called Imran. He teams with Alex (van Houten), a fellow cop and his late partner’s mistress, to hunt down the murderer, but are unwittingly caught in a cat-and-mouse chase with a duplicitous CIA agent who is using Imran as a pawn to trap ISIS members. Soon, they're racing against the clock to get revenge and save their own lives.

Danish scriptwriter Petter Skavlan (Kon-Tiki) wrote the screenplay. Schønne Film's Michel Schønnemann produced, with Joel Thibout, Jean Baptiste Babin and David Atlan Jackson and Peter Garde serving as executive producers. Its co-producers are Jacqueline de Goeij for Zilvermeer Productions, Els Vandevorst for N279 Entertainment, Antonio Perez for Suroeste, Leonardo Recalcati for Recalcati Multi Media and Roberto Capua for Light Industry Motion Pictures.

Global Road Entertainment (formerly known as IM Global) is selling international rights to the film at AFM. ICM Partners is the film's domestic representative.

A Company Vietnam will release the film in 2018.

After its world premiere at Toronto film festival earlier this month and last weekend's UK release sport drama BORG/MCENROE started to collect good reviews from top critics around the globe. Here are some picks:

"The final match is an absolute nail-biter, reminding tennis fans how electric this sport can be." - Anna Smith, Time Out (Full review)

"Game, set and almost a great movie." - Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail (Full review)

"The picture certainly shows how a single match can be made to feel like the world depends on it." - John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter (Full review)

"Whether or not you know the outcome, this is a cracking watch." - Wendy Ide, The Observer (UK) (Full review)

“Borg/McEnroe,” a new drama about the longterm rivalry between the unflappable Swedish tennis star Björn Borg and the hard-charging American John McEnroe will have its world premiere as the opening night gala film at Roy Thomson Hall on September 7.

A crowd of Chinese movies jostled with record breaking “The Fate of the Furious” for the top spot at the China box office during the first weekend of the May Day holiday week.

Star-studded bomb disposal action thriller, “Shock Wave” emerged on top on Friday and Saturday giving it a weekend win. Directed by Hong Kong’s Herman Yau, produced by and starring Andy Lau, the film played some 55,000 screenings per day and earned a score of $24.1 million in three days.

A Company Vietnam is releasing SHOCK WAVE in cinemas on May 12th.

'Bone Tomahawk' filmmaker S. Craig Zahler wrote the script and will direct the crime drama, which will be introduced to buyers at Berlin's European Film Market.

After first teaming up on the Oscar-nominated war movie Hacksaw Ridge, Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn are pairing up again for Dragged Across Concrete, a gritty crime thriller from Bone Tomahawk filmmaker S. Craig Zahler.

Bloom will introduce the project to buyers at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin, with WME repping U.S. rights.

Keith Kjarval of Unified Pictures is producing along with Zahler’s frequent collaborators, Dallas Sonnier of Cinestate and Assemble Media’s Jack Heller. Kjarval’s Unified Film Fund I is financing.

The script centers on two policemen, one an old-timer (Gibson), the other his volatile younger partner (Vaughn), who find themselves suspended when a video of their strong-arm tactics become the media's cause du jour. Low on cash and with no other options, these two embittered soldiers descend into the criminal underworld to gain their just due, but instead find far more than they wanted awaiting them in the shadows.

Vaughn is coming off of chewy, scene-stealing work in Hacksaw Ridge, which Gibson directed. The movie has earned six Oscar nominations, including for best director and picture. The pic also swept the Australian Film Academy’s prizes and received three Golden Globe and two SAG nominations.

Lionsgate emerged victorious in an auction at the Toronto International Film Festival and will finance and distribute “Kin,” a sci-fi thriller starring Jack Reynor, James Franco, Zoe Kravitz and Dennis Quaid, a source close to the project confirmed to TheWrap.

Jonathan and Josh Baker will direct the film, which is based on their short “Bag Man.” Daniel Casey wrote the story about an ex-con (Reynor) and his adopted brother who are forced on the run while being chased by a vengeful criminal (Franco). Quaid will play their father, and Kravitz is cast as a fellow traveler they meet along the way.

Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen at 21 Laps will produce the movie alongside No Trace Camping’s Jeff Arkuss, David Gross and Jesse Shapira. Among 21 Laps’ recent work is the Netflix smash hit “Stranger Things” and Denis Villeneuve‘s sci-fi thriller “Arrival".

WME and Good Universe assembled the financing package and shopped the deal in Toronto.

Lionsgate paid in the mid-to-high $20 million range for the film rights, according to the source. The movie is set to start shooting Oct. 24. A Company has all rights for Vietnam.

What do you get when you combine Bryan Cranston, Mila Kunis, Armie Hammer and the work of author Jo Nesbo? Apparently the result is a remake of a 2011 action comedy called Jackpot.

Despite sounding like a comedy featuring business colleagues falling out over a shared lottery win, it's actually hewing closer to something along the lines of Danish thriller Headhunters, since it follows the story of a man who wakes up in a strip bar clutching a shotgun and surrounded by dead bodies. And the police pointing their weapons at him... Though it'll probably skew further towards comedy than even Headhunters ventured, and is likewise based on one of Nesbo's stories.

Deadline's report doesn't mention what role the three main leads (and Jennifer Garner, who is in talks to join the team) will play. But Will Gluck (who last made Annie) is directing and Expendables writer Dave Callaham is responsible for the script.

A Company acquired all rights for Russian sci-fi epic ATTRACTION for Vietnam. The fill is going to be released in February 2017.
According to Variety Fedor Bondarchuk’s keenly anticipated sci-fi action movie “Attraction,” which Sony Pictures releases in Russia on Jan. 26, has been picked up by distributors in several major territories. The Russian filmmaker has directed some of his country’s biggest blockbusters, including “Stalingrad,” the highest-grossing film ever in Russia with $55 million. “Attraction” will be released in 43 countries, with the latest distributors to acquire the pic including AB Groupe in France and Barter in Italy. China’s HG? Entertainment acquired the movie during the Cannes Film Festival in May.
The visual effects-heavy movie starts with the crash-landing in Moscow of a mysterious flying object, which turns out to be a spaceship and the prelude to an extraterrestrial invasion of Earth.
Visual effects were by MainRoadlPost, whose credits include “Wanted,” “August. Eighth,” “Metro” and “Stalingrad.” Dave Whitehead, whose credits include “District 9,” “King Kong,” “Elysium” and “The Hobbit” trilogy, developed the film’s sound design.

Shia LaBeouf will play John McEnroe in the upcoming sports biopic Borg vs McEnroe, about the famous 1980 Wimbledon final, often described as the greatest tennis match of all time, reports Variety.

Swedish newcomer Sverrir Gudnason is to portray the taciturn Swede Björn Borg, whose cool demeanour contrasted dramatically with his American opponent’s fiery temperament, during their late-70s, early-80s rivalry. Stellan Skarsgård has signed on to play the Scandinavian two-hander’s coach, Lennart Bergelin.

Variety reports the two leads have already begun training for their roles.

Danish director Janus Metz Pedersen, best known for 2010 Cannes festival hit war documentary Armadillo and episodes of HBO’s True Detective, will work from a screenplay by Underdog’s Ronnie Sandahl. The film-maker aims to begin shooting this autumn in Sweden, London, Monaco and New York for a 2017 release date,according to The Wrap.

Borg won Wimbledon five times in a row between 1976 and 1980, while McEnroe went on to win the 1981, 1983 and 1984 men’s singles finals.

A COMPANY acquired the distribution rights for the project for Hungary, Czech and Slovakia during recent Cannes Film Festival. Thetrical release is planned for 2017. 

Romantic drama WORLDS APART is the second feature from writer director Christopher Papakaliatis (WHAT IF) who also stars alongside Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons (WHIPLASH, SPIDERMAN series, JUNO) and Andrea Osvárt (IN SEARCH OF FELLINI, AFTERSHOCK).

Produced by Kostas Sousoulas, Christopher Papakaliatis, Dorothea Paschalidou, and Chris Papavasiliou (DETACHMENT, HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE, THE RUNNER).

Set in Greece, WORLDS APART is made up of three separate narratives, each following a love story between a foreigner and a local. Each story represents a different generation falling in love during a time of socioeconomic turmoil that dominates Southern Europe as a whole, only to connect as a single story in the end.

A COMPANY HUNGARY is planning to release WORLDS APART in theatres in the fall 2016.

Director Jim Gillespie‘s upcoming Action, Thriller “Billionaire Ransom” (aka "Take Down") attained a U.S. and Canadian distribution. Gravitas Ventures secured the deal from Radiant Films International. The contract centers on North American as well as Latin American markets.  Alexander Ignon  penned the script to this  upcoming film.

The synopsis to “Billionaire Ransom” reads as follows:

After a car accident that is the last straw for both their families, Kyle (Sumpter) and Amy (Tonkin) find themselves grouped with other spoiled, out-of-control sons and daughters of international billionaires sent by their frustrated parents to a tough-love wilderness school on a remote island off the coast of Scotland. This is a last opportunity for the over-privileged young adults to grow up, abandon their reckless ways and take responsibility for their own lives — or risk being disinherited. Suddenly, a group of mercenaries invade the island, kill the teachers and guards, and hold the privileged lot hostage for the largest ransom in history, a BILLION DOLLARS. When they learn they are to be killed even if the ransom is paid, their wilderness survival training is their only hope of outwitting the mercenaries and staying alive. 

“Billionaire Ransom” offers elements of a Survival Horror concept. A group of untrained youngsters must do whatever possible within a cat and mouse game of survival. It will be interesting to see another interpretation to this thrilling concept. “Billionaire Ransom” stars Jeremy Sumpter, Sebastian Koch, Phoebe Tonkin, Dominic Sherwood, and Ed Westwick

Link to the international trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCiGvkkWPTg

A COMPANY acquired the licensing rights for the movie for all EE and CIS territories from its long time partner - Mimi Steinbauer's RADIANT FILMS INT. The film will be ready for delivery to all our VOD and TV clients by September 2016.

Having already headlined big screen adaptations of the works of Lewis Carroll, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Charlotte Brontë (to name a few), Mia Wasikowska is turning her attention to Gustave Flaubert’s 1856 French classic, Madame Bovary. Set for a still-unspecified release later this year, the new film version has today released a trailer. Check it out in the player below and find the film’s new poster in the gallery viewer at the bottom of this page.

Also starring Rhys Ifans (The Amazing Spider-Man, Notting Hill), Paul Giamatti (Sideways, American Splendor), Ezra Miller (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, We Need to Talk About Kevin), Logan Marshall-Green (Prometheus, Devil), Henry Lloyd-Hughes (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Anna Karenina) and Laura Carmichael (“Downton Abbey,” Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Madame Bovary is directed by Sophie Barthes with an adapted screenplay by Felipe Marino.

The story follows Emma (Wasikowska), who has always dreamt of a finer life than the one she has on her father’s pig farm. Marrying Mr. Charles Bovary would make this possible. Feeling trapped, Emma seeks solace with other men, including a passionate kindred spirit named Leon (Miller) and a wealthy nobleman, the Marquis (Marshall-Green). A series of affairs and the temptation of living above her means lead Emma down a dark path.

A COMPANY titles LEVIATHAN and BEGIN AGAIN have been nominated for the 2015 Academy Awards!

Golden Globe winner and Russian entry LEVIATHAN has been officially nominated "Best Foreign Film" at the Academy Awards. Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, the film is produced by A COMPANY shareholder and Supervisory Board chairman Alexander Rodnyansky.

The summer hit and Keira Knightly, Mark Ruffalo and Adam Levin starring picture BEGIN AGAIN is nominated with "Lost Star" for "Best Original Song".

Congratulations to all nominees, which can be seen at Oscar.com

The nominations have been announced for the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2015.

The Grand Budapest Hotel receives 11 nominations. Birdman and The Theory of Everything are each nominated in ten categories. The Imitation Game has nine nominations. Boyhood and Whiplash are each nominated five times. Mr. Turner, Nightcrawler and Interstellar receive four nominations. Pride has three nominations.

Paddington is nominated in Outstanding British Film and receives a further nomination in Adapted Screenplay. Under the Skin receives the final nomination in Outstanding British Film and is also nominated for Original Music.

Ida completes the Cinematography line-up, and receives a second nomination for Film Not in the English Language. Also nominated in Film Not in the English Language are Leviathan, The Lunchbox, Trash and Two Days, One Night.

Read full nomination list on Bafta.org

Nine foreign-language feature films will advance to the next round of voting for the 87th Academy Awards, after 83 films were originally considered in the category.

Films that made the cut include talked-about entries like Poland’s “Ida,” Russia’s “Leviathan,” Sweden’s “Force Majeure” and Argentinian comedy “Wild Tales” as well as “Timbuktu,” the first-ever Oscar submission from the North African country of Mauritania. Six titles come from Europe and the former Soviet Republics, while two are from Latin America and one is from Africa.

Some notable works failed to make the cut,  reflecting the fact that this is a great year for foreign-language films. Not competing for Oscar this year are Palme d’Or winner “Winter Sleep,” from Turkey’s Nuri Bilge Ceylan, which also made many critics’ 10 best lists, and critically-acclaimed “Two Days, One Night” from Belgium’s Jean Pierre and Luc Dardenne. Canada’s Xavier Dolan will apparently have to modify his stated goal of winning an Oscar by age 25, as his Cannes jury prizewinner “Mommy” was also left off the list.

Among other missing titles are Ethiopia’s “Difret,” Hungary’s “White God,” Israel’s “Gett, the Trial of Viviane Amsalem” and “Simshar,” the first-ever homegrown film from Malta.

The shortlist will be narrowed down to the category’s five nominees by invited committees in New York, Los Angeles and London. Five contenders will be announced, along with all other Oscar nominees, on Jan. 15.

The shortlisted films are:

“Wild Tales” (Argentina)

“Tangerines” (Estonia)

“Corn Island” (Georgia)

“Timbuktu” (Mauritania)

“Accused” (Netherlands)

“Ida” (Poland)

“Leviathan” (Russia)

“Force Majeure” (Sweden)

“The Liberator” (Venezuela)

CNN) -- The just-released trailer for 2015's "The Little Prince" is rather magnifique.

Directed by Mark Osborne ("Kung Fu Panda"), the upcoming adaptation will bring Antoine de Saint-Exupery's beloved novella into the 21st century through the eyes of a young girl.

Although the first trailer, which was released internationally this week, is entirely in French, you can still get the gist: Amid the busy schedule of the modern day, a studious kid discovers the Little Prince through a friendship she develops with an older gentleman next door.

It seems that seasoned neighbor is the pilot of de Saint-Exupery's rich story, which tells of an aviator who crashes in the Sahara and encounters a young prince full of stories about the far-off asteroid he came from.

"I've flown almost everywhere in the world ... until something miraculous happened," the old man says in the trailer, according to a few translations. "I've always wanted to find someone to share my story with, but I think this world, it's become too adult. It's only the beginning of the story!"

"The Little Prince" was published in 1943 and has had an impact on readers of all ages, all around the world.

The 2015 animated retelling stars some major actors, including Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, James Franco, Marion Cotillard and Benicio del Toro. "Interstellar" actress Mackenzie Foy provides the voice of the young girl.

"The Little Prince" opens stateside in 2015.

After an impressive #1 opening in the UK on Nov 28 with more than $8 million and StudioCanal's biggest weekend ever for the territory, the film opened excellent in both France and Germany, but also many other int'l markets just as Romania, where it entered the market at #2, closely behind the "Penguins". The results are better than other animations like "Planes" and "Boxtrolls" and reactions are truly enthusiastic.

Directed by Paul King and produced by Harry Potter producer David Heyman, Paddington features Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Peter Capaldi and Nicole Kidman with Ben Whishaw providing the voice of the CGI-animated bear.

Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan has been crowned Best Film at the 58^th BFI London Film Festival (Oct 8-19).

It saw off competition from the likes of Peter Strickland’s The Duke of Burgundy, François Ozon’s The New Girlfriend and Julius Avery’s Son of a Gun, starring Ewan McGregor (click here for full list).

Leviathan tells the tragic tale of conflict between an individual and a corrupt system in a small Russian town.

It marks the fourth feature from Zvyagintsev and is Russia’s submission for the Best Foreign-Language Oscar. The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where many expected it to win the Palme d’Or, instead winning Best Screenplay.

It will be released in the UK by Curzon.

The award was announced at a glitzy ceremony held in London’s Banqueting Hall, Whitehall, and hosted by Ben Miller with guests including Ben Rivers, Christopher Hampton, Sir David Hare, Dexter Fletcher, Ian Hart, James Corden, James McAvoy, John Hurt, Lynda Myles, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Luc Roeg and Sophie Fiennes.

Jeremy Thomas, BFI Fellow and president of the Official Competition jury, presented the award and said: “We were all very engaged by the 12 films selected for Competition and really admired many of them, there were extraordinary stories and impressive images.

“But there was one film that we were unanimous in wanting to award Best Film, Leviathan directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. Its grandeur and themes moved all of us in the same way.”

Russia Offers Oscar Surprise, Names ‘Leviathan’ as its Entry

According to news service TASS, Russia has picked “Leviathan” as its foreign-language entry for the Oscars, an artistically smart but politically surprising choice.

Director Pavel Chukhrai, who sits on the Russian Oscar committee, told TASS that the decision was made after the film scored a majority vote.

The film, a dark satire on life under Vladimir Putin, was directed by Andrei Zvyagintsev. In his May 22 review from Cannes, Variety’s Peter Debruge wrote that it is a loose retelling of the Book of Job, in which an ordinary man must grapple with his faith in the Russian state. The 142-minute work “is the director’s most accessible and naturalistic film, using everyday characters to test how well modern-day Russia is maintaining the social contract with its citizens.” But many expected that its satiric look at the government would KO its chances.

Sony Pictures Classics will give the film a limited domestic release starting Dec. 31.

The deadline for foreign-language submissions is Oct. 1. About a week after that, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will unveil all the entries, which so far number about 60. A short list of nine titles will be unveiled before the five Oscar nominees are announced Jan. 15, at the same time other Oscar categories are unveiled. Ceremonies will be Feb. 22.

“Leviathan” was awarded a prize for best screenplay at the Cannes Festival. The film will get a wide release in Russia, with its swear words bleeped out, since they violate a new law forbidding obscenities in films.

Since 1992, Russia has been nominated for five foreign-language Oscars, winning for the 1995 “Burnt by the Sun.” Before that, the Soviet Union had been nominated for an additional nine between 1968 and 1984, with three wins.

'A Walk Among the Tombstones' review: A return to form for Liam Neeson

"A Walk Among the Tombstones" is in no hurry to tell its story and that is what makes it so good. The crime thriller, which is based on the Lawrence Block novel with the same name, is biding its time before it allows itself to strike out in violent outbursts. The finale of the film that plays out while the 12-step program is said out loud is quite satisfying. With a pace that can only be described as a slow crawl to excellence and methodical storytelling, "A Walk Among the Tombstones" is a riveting thriller that allows its audience to unravel the mystery right along with the title character. This is the best Liam Neeson has been on screen in at least the past three years.

read full review on examiner

John Wells is directing from a screenplay by Steven Knight. Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher are producing with Erwin Stoff.

Dornan's casting was first revealed by the Daily Mail, which reports that the film's title has changed from “Chef” to “Adam Jones,” likely due to confusion with Jon Favreau's indie hit “Chef.”

Cooper will star as a hot-shot chef who returns to London in search of a third Michelin star after stepping away from the kitchen for several years.

Details of Dornan's role remain under wraps.

Emma Thompson and up-and-coming talents such as Lily James (“Cinderella”) and “The Fifth State” stars Daniel Bruhl and Alicia Vikander have also joined the cast, which includes Sienna Miller and Omar Sy.

Dornan's past feature credits include Sofia Coppola's “Marie Antoinette,” though he's best known for playing a serial killer on “The Fall” and a sheriff on “Once Upon a Time.”

Specialty Box Office: 'Begin Again' and 'Snowpiercer' Open Strong In Big Weekend For Weinsteins

Here's a rundown of the specialty box office this weekend, which saw The Weinstein Company (and their arm RADiUS-TWC) have a huge weekend thanks to "Begin Again," "Snowpiercer" and (to a lesser degree) "Yves Saint Laurent."

The Debuts:

Debut Winners of the Weekend: "Begin Again" and "Snowpiercer." After a slow few weeks at the specialty box office, The Weinstein Company and their offshoot RADiUS-TWC saw very strong openings from John Carney's "Begin Again" and Joon-ho Bong's "Snowpiercer." The former -- which the Weinsteins have been sitting on since Toronto -- suggested it has the goods to be considerable counter-programming to studio fare.  Starring Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo and Adam Livine, the musical romance grossed $148,325 from 5 theaters for a strong $29,655 per-theater-average. That was the highest average of any film in release, including "Transformers: Age of Extinction," and certainly promises good things for the film's expansion in the coming weeks.  "Snowpiercer," meanwhile, was released in 8 theaters and grossed an equally impressive $162,127.  Set in a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off all life on the planet except for a lew that boarded the a train that travels around the globe, the film averaged a potent $20,266. How it holds up as it expands will be its big test, but for now there's certainly reason for the folks at RADiUS to celebrate.

This Weekend's Debuts:

1. Begin Again (The Weinstein Company)
Week: 1
Weekend Gross: $148,325
Theaters: 5
Per-Theater-Average: $29,665
Total Gross: $148,325
Criticwire Average: B 

(read more on indiewire)

A COMPANY CZECHs upcoming local production Díra u Hanušovic ("Nowhere in Moravia") is selected for main competition at Karlovy Vary Film Festival

Miroslav Krobot, theater artist and the only Czech actor to have appeared in films presented in Cannes, Berlin and Venice, will introduce his eagerly anticipated directorial debut Nowhere in Moravia (Díra u Hanušovic). In this laconic rural drama with elements of dark comedy, Krobot channels Kaurismäki and the Mrštík brothers, with invaluable help from some of the Czech Republic’s best actors, led by Tatiana Vilhelmová, Ivan Trojan and Jaroslav Plesl.

Take Down first film to receive investment from $50m Welsh fund

On May 7th, "Run Boy Run" premiered in Budapest at the prestigious Puskin Theater. About 200 guests attended the Hungarian premiere, which was hosted by Hungarian journalist and actor Krisztina Hadas and Zsolt Anger.

Academy Award winner Pepe Danquart, together with actress Elisabeth Duda and coproducer Alexander van Dülmen attended the premier event, which was support by various cooperation partners, like Goethe Institute, Alliance of Hungarian Jewish Faith Communes (MAZSIHISZ), Jewish Faith Communes in Budapest (BZSH), Polish Institute, Israel Culture Institute and Austrian Cultural Forum (amongst others).

The film opens regulary in cinemas in Budapest and nation wide on May 8th.

The lead role of the tragic Emma Bovary is played by Mia Wasikowska with a supporting cast that includes Paul Giamatti, Rhys Ifans and Ezra Miller.

The Occupant Entertainment production is the third international co-pro involving Berlin-based A Company following its participation in the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer’s Cloud Atlas and Pepe Danquart’s Run Boy Run.

A Company will release Madame Bovary in all Eastern European territories, Russia and Vietnam through its subsidiaries in Russia, Vietnam, Hungary, Czech Republic/Slovakia and an extensive network of local distribution partners.

Radiant Films International is handling international sales for Madame Bovary.

Run Boy Run, whose sales are handled internationally by Global Screen, was released by NFP in German cinemas last Thursday (April 17) after its successful opening in Poland in January.

Alexander Rodnyansky, the chairman of A Company’s supervisory board and its major shareholder, will be in Cannes this year with a Competition title – Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan – produced by his Russian production house Non Stop Production and sold internationally by Pyramide International.

The first trailer for the sequel to Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's comic book noir reveals Eva Green, Jessica Alba and Jamie Chung to be far deadlier than the male.

The first trailer for Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's second visit to Sin City has been released, showing a beaten Joseph Gordon-Levitt, dancing (and glowing) Jessica Alba and deadly Eva Green. What else would you expect from a movie subtitled A Dame to Kill For?

The sequel to 2005's Sin City takes place before the first movie, allowing Mickey Rourke's Marv a chance to grimace some more in "Just Another Saturday Night" and "A Dame to Kill For," two of the multiple episodes in the movie. While those two stories, and Alba's "The Fat Loss," are adapted from existing Sin City comics by Miller, Gordon-Levitt's "The Long, Bad Night" was one of two stories written especially for the movie.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For will be released in theaters August 22.

The sci-fi project, in which Rachel McAdams co-stars will begin shooting at the German studio later this year.

Keanu Reeves' much-hyped upcoming sci-fi feature Passengers has landed at Germany's Studio Babelsberg. The big-budget space romance – which features Reeves and Rachel McAdams as a futuristic “Adam and Eve” – is deep into pre-production. It is scheduled to begin shooting at Babelsberg, just outside Berlin, this spring.

The plot has Reeves as space colonist Jim Preston, on board a colony ship carrying 5,000 sleeping passengers to a new world, who accidentally awakens. Lonely, he wakes up Aurora (McAdams), and they fall in love. They eventually realize it is up to them to save the entire ship.

Developed by Reeves and Stephen Hamel at their Company Films, the script was written by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus). The film will be the feature directing debut of Irish TV director Brian Kirk (Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire). Passengers has already received $1.35 million (€1 million) in financing from German state subsidy agency Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. 

The Weinstein Company has picked up Passengers for a U.S. release. Exclusive Media is handling international sales. Exclusive first presented the project to buyers in Cannes last year and will be pushing sales at Berlin's European Film Market, which kicks off Thursday.

"Behind the Candelabra" nabs two Golden Globe awards in important TV catagory.

12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, Breaking Bad, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Behind the Candelabra were among the big winners at the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night.

12 Years a Slave took home the win for best motion picture, drama, while American Hustle won as best musical/comedy. Breaking Bad was named best TV drama, while Brooklyn Nine-Nine surprised with a win for best TV comedy. Behind the Candelabra won in the miniseries/TV movie category.

Best Miniseries or TV Movie
*Behind the Candelabra
American Horror Story: Coven
Dancing on the Edge
Top of the Lake
White Queen

Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie
*Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra
Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dancing on the Edge
Idris Elba, Luther
Al Pacino, Phil Spector

KING OF FOOTBALL MEETS YOUNGER SELF ON SET OF PELÉ 

SPORTING LEGEND VISITS CAST AND CREW OF HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ORIGINS BIOPIC AS PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY WRAPS IN BRAZIL

Thursday, 5th December – Football legend Pelé visited the set of the feature film which chronicles the origins of his sporting stardom, which has just wrapped principal photography on location in Brazil.  Whilst on set during the last weeks of production, Pelé met with the two actors who will play young “Dico” (as Pelé was known in his formative years) - up and coming young Brazilian stars Leonardo Lima Carvalho and Kevin de Paula.

Following his visit, Pelé commented “Coming by the set made me feel so blessed to be a part of such a talented family, who are all coming together to tell the story of my life.  The two young actors who will play my younger self will be true stars, as their skills both on screen and on the football pitch proved”.

The 8-week shoot took place entirely on Pelé’s home turf, in Brazil. The exciting, young (and primarily Brazilian) cast was recently revealed to include Leonardo Lima Carvalho as the 10-13 year old “Dico” and Kevin de Paula as the 15-17 year old rising soccer star, who would become the greatest player the game has ever known.

Both Leonardo and Kevin were cast following an extensive nationwide search by the filmmakers earlier this year. The action-filled, inspirational drama has been written and is directed by Jeff and Michael Zimbalist (FAVELA RISING, THE TWO ESCOBARS). Director of Photography is Matthew Libatique (BLACK SWAN, IRON MAN, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM).

Additional cast includes Emmy-nominated Vincent D'Onofrio (MEN IN BLACK, ‘Law and Order: Criminal Intent’) and Rodrigo Santoro (300, LOVE ACTUALLY), as well as Diego Boneta (ROCK OF AGES), Golden Globe nominated Colm Meaney (THE DAMNED UNITED) and Seu Jorge (THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU, CITY OF GOD).

PELÉ is produced by Imagine Entertainment and Seine Pictures, who successfully acquired the rights to Pelé's life story. The producers are Academy Award ® winning Brian Grazer (SPLASH, APOLLO 13, A BEAUTIFUL MIND AND FROST/NIXON), Ivan Orlic for Seine Pictures, Kim Roth (INSIDE MAN) for Imagine Entertainment and Colin Wilson (ZERO DARK THIRTY and AVATAR).  The film will be executive produced by Pelé himself alongside Paul Kemsley for SLI/Legend 10 and Exclusive Media, who are handling international sales for the title. The film will be released internationally in 2014.

Synopsis

PELÉ tells the miraculous story of the legendary soccer player’s rise to glory from a young boy to the 17 year old player who scored the winning goal in Brazil’s first ever World Cup victory in 1958.  From a life full of disadvantages and an impoverished youth in Brazil, Pelé used his unorthodox yet authentic style of play and his unbeatable spirit to overcome all odds, find greatness and inspire a country that he changed forever.

The Coup begins Thailand shoot with Owen Wilson, Pierce Brosnan

The Coup commenced principal photography in Thailand yesterday (Oct 31).

The action thriller, directed by John Erick Dowdle, centres on an American family living in Southeast Asia who find themselves caught in the middle of a military uprising.

Owen Wilson and Lake Bell play the American husband and wife, while Pierce Brosnan takes the role of a heroic government operative.

Dowdle co-wrote the script with his brother, Drew Dowdle.

Bold Films is financing, with Drew Dowdle, Michel Litvak and David Lancaster producing.

Lancaster previously worked in Thailand on Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives, starring Ryan Gosling.

The shoot is being facilitated by Thai-based production company Living Films, whose Thailand-set Hollywood projects include The Hangover 2. Living Films founder Chris Lowenstein is co-producer on the project.

He said: “The producers of the The Coup had a wide choice of countries in which they could have based this production. The fact that they chose Thailand is a great testament to the skills of the Thai crews and
the resources that Thailand offers.”

MACHETE is back on his most dangerous mission ... read full review of THR:

Robert Rodriguez’s follow-up to 2010’s "Machete" co-stars Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Amber Heard and Mel Gibson and includes an abundance of cameo appearances, including Lady Gaga in her feature debut.

continue on THR

HBO’s “Behind the Candelabra” proved to be the big winner at the 65th Emmy Awards on CBS on Sunday night, with 11 trophies. The biopic about the flamboyant and secretly gay pianist Liberace and his love affair with a younger man won eight trophies last week at the Creative Arts Emmys, and three more Sunday night, including best miniseries or movie,  director for Steven Soderbergh and lead actor in a movie or miniseries for Michael Douglas, who played Liberace.

Douglas delivered an innuendo-laced speech, much of it directed at co-star Matt Damon, who played his lover in the movie. Douglas said he couldn’t have won without Damon and drew laughter from the audience when he spoke to Damon from the stage and said: “You really deserve half of this. So do you want the bottom or the top?”

Read more on http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/tv/la-et-st-emmys-2013-main-20130919,0,5980844.story and on emmy.com

Box Office Report: 'The Butler' Tops the Field With $25 Million

While "Kick-Ass 2" took in $13.6 million, both "Jobs" and "Paranoia" failed to create much of a stir.

Riding a wave of largely positive reviews and enthusiastic audience response, Lee Daniels’ The Butler took the top spot at the North American box office, taking in an estimated $25 million as it bowed in 2,933 theaters. The Weinstein Company release, starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, easily outperformed the weekend’s three other new wide releases.

Universal’s Kick-Ass 2, the sequel to the 2010 movie about would-be superheroes, debuted in third place with $13.56 million. Jobs, the biopic about Apple founder Steve Jobs, distributed by Open Road, failed to create much of a stir, collecting $6.7 million for a seventh-place showing, and the thriller Paranoia, from Relativity, lagged further behind with just $3.5 million, landing outside of the top 10 in 13th place.

(read more at THR)

A COMPANY acquired Eastern Europe rights for HBO's Behind the Candelabra, the new and reportedly last film by Steven Soderbergh, which played in competition in Cannes. the film aired on HBO May 26 and will make its theatrical debut on June 7 in the UK. The first release in Eastern Europe is set for July 18 in Czech Republic.

The story spans the final decade of Liberace’s life, from his meeting young Scott Thorson in 1977 to his death from an AIDS-related illness, which he tried to keep a secret, as he always had his sexual persuasion. According to Hollywood Reporter, the film is "A wonderfully entertaining and revealing look at Liberace’s final decade." Superbly scripted, brilliantly directed, smart but never smarmy and led by a lead performance by Michael Douglas "so good you often forget you’re watching an actor rather than the famous character he’s playing, this is a rarity, a fully realized biographical drama shot through with real feeling and an abundance of sly humor. It’s a winner all around."

Read the full review on THR.

Ryan Gosling's "Only God Forgives" and the new Coen Brothers film "Inside Llewyn Davis" - two films by our Hungarian distributor Budapest Film to be in competition at Cannes Film Festival in May

Ryan Gosling's new movie Only God Forgives will get its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, it has been revealed.

The gritty crime thriller is his reunion with Drive director Nicholas Winding Refn - and also stars Kristin Scott Thomas and Vithaya Pansringarm.

Other films in competition at Cannes will include Joel & Ethan Coen’s latest Inside Llewyn Davis, Steven Soderbergh's Liberace biopic Behind The Candelabra - which stars Matt Damon and Michael Douglas - and Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, which is also the opening night film.

This year’s Sundance Film Festival has become a bubbling wellspring of information on upcoming projects, as news outlets look beyond the films that talents are in Park City to promote to ask them about movies they have on the horizon.

Case in point: Robert Rodriguez was in town for an anniversary screening of his early hit El Mariachi, and spoke with MTV about the work he’s putting into Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. You can listen to their interview below, but the biggest reveal from the Sin City director is that original star Bruce Willis is in fact coming back for the sequel. Here’s Rodriguez.

“Bruce is back, so he will be seen,” Rodriguez states, though he stays vague beyond that, and I’m OK with it. We don’t want to have all of the surprises from a second Sin City spoiled long before Rodriguez even completes filming. He does talk in the clip about his filming process on these films, shooting actors as their schedules become available and then puzzle-piecing it all together after the fact. In addition to Willis, he mentioned roles for Juno Temple, Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who’ll star in a story titled The Long, Bad Night. Sounds great!

Willis, meanwhile, is stuck in a mini-rut of playing characters he’s played before. In addition to Sin City, he has sequels to Die Hard and Red on the docket. These are parts his audience wants to see, but it will be time for Willis to risk and stretch in original projects soon, instead of coasting on the goodwill of a previous hit.

Introducing the possibility that the upcoming Sin City: A Dame To Kill For will feature an extremely hip soundtrack packed full of adorkable DIY indie rock classics, Dimension Films announced today that Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been signed on to play a major role in the sequel to the 2005 film adaptation of Sin City. Levitt will play a new character called 'Johnny,' whose relation to the events of the story has not yet been revealed, but who will no doubt be both sensitive and hardcore.

Per press release, Johnny is "a cocky gambler who disguises a darker mission to destroy his most foul enemy at his best game." Presumably, Johnny will be forced to decide by the film's end whether or not to betray, cry, or kill himself over a girl.

A Dame To Kill For, the second storyline in the Sin City series, features the first appearance of Sin City's (arguable) main character Dwight McCarthy, portrayed by Clive Owen in the 2005 film. It takes place chronologically before the events of the first storyline, The Hard Goodbye, which made up a considerable chunk of Sin City, and features a team up between Dwight and Marv, played by Mickey Rourke.

The film is already in production under co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller at Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios, and "weaves together two of Miller’s classic stories with new tales in which the town's most hard boiled citizens cross paths with some of its more repulsive inhabitants."

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For will feature the return of Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson and Jessica Alba; as it takes place before Dwight has reconstructive surgery, it's possible that if Clive Owen reprises his role, it will only be at the end of the film. Gordon-Levitt joins fellow new additions Jamie King, Michael Madsen and Dennis Haysbert.

EXCELLENT OPENINGS - CLOUD ATLAS enters top chart positions in Eastern Europe.

After opening in Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Poland and Slovenia, CLOUD ATLAS jumped almost everywhere straight on #2 in the local charts (only TWILIGHT could top this). In many countries, its the best opening of an EEAP title ever! In Russia, the Ukraine and Bulgaria, where the film is in its 3rd weekend now, it holds very well, due to excellent word of mouth!

CONGRATULATIONS to everyone involved and

We are pleased to announce that as of Monday, October 29th, Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, is officially in production! Stay tuned for exciting cast updates in the near future!

'Sin City 2' Adds Jaime King and Jamie Chung

The actresses have joined a cast including Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson in Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's sequel, which began shooting Monday.

Jaime King and Jamie Chung have boarded Sin City 2, which began shooting on Monday in Austin.

Robert Rodriguez is directing the movie with Frank Miller, the comic book icon who created the Sin City comics that were published by Dark Horse in the 1990s. Rodriguez and Miller teamed up for the stylish 2005 hit adaptation.

Rodriguez and Miller wrote the script for the new movie, which is a combination of comics storylines and a new one written specifically by Miller for the movie. One of the storylines being adapted is A Dame to Kill For, originally published in 1993 and featuring a man named Dwight entangled in a complicated and deadly relationship with a femme fatale named Ava. 

Many of the original castmembers are returning for the sequel, including Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson. (Rourke’s character Marv was killed by electrocution in the first movie but the Dame’s story takes place before and after that film’s events.)

King played the golden-haired prostitute Goldie in the first movie and returns to play her twin sister, Wendy.

Chung is stepping into the heels worn in the first movie by Devon Aoki, the katana-wielding, roller-skating assassin Miho. The character plays a key role in helping Dwight locate the double-dealing Ava.

Rodriguez barely wrapped Machete Kills before jumping into Sin City 2 and is shooting on his soundstages in his native Austin. But while the movie may be underway, casting for major parts is still underway. Ava’s part, originally written for Angelina Jolie, is still unfilled.

And the part of Dwight remains a question mark. The character was played by Clive Owen in the first movie and sources say Owen is understood to be returning.  But the character undergoes facial surgery and appears as a new man, thus the need for a new top-flight actor to play the reconstructed character.

Also still uncast is a newly created character named Johnny, a smooth gambler.

King currently stars as the conniving and social-status seeking Lemon Breeland in CW’s Hart of Dixie. She has the horror movie Silent Night, with Malcolm McDowell and Donal Logue, in the can. She is repped by Gersh and Myman Greenspan.

Chung played Ed Helms’ fiancée in The Hangover Part II and returns for Part III. She appears in RZA’s The Man with the Iron Fists, which opens Friday, and recently did a stint as Mulan in ABC’s One Upon a Time. She is repped by Gersh, 3 Arts Entertainment and Morris Yorn.

Danny Trejo reprises his role as the title character in the movie, which also stars Amber Heard, Lady Gaga and Mel Gibson.

Open Road Films, which just released the hit Jake Gyllenhaal thriller End of Watch, has picked up all U.S. distribution rights to Machete Kills, Robert Rodriguez’s sequel to his grindhouse hit Machete. A release in 2013 is being planned. 20th Century Fox distributed the 2010 original, which grossed $44 million worldwide while being made on a budget of $10.5 million. 

The new movie sees Danny Trejo reprising his role as ex-Federale agent Machete and adds Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga, Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, Demian Bichir, Alexa Vega, Vanessa Hudgens, Cuba Gooding Jr., William Sadler, Marko Zaror and Mel Gibson.

The Machete movies are intended to be a trilogy. The first garnered much attention and criticism from far-right groups for its stance on immigration issues. Sources tells Heat Vision that the second movie is not nearly as political.

The film is produced by Rodriguez, along with Aaron Kaufman and Iliana Nikolicthrough their QuickDraw Productions banner, as well as Sergei Bespalov of Aldamisa Films, Alexander Rodnyansky of AR Films and Rick Schwartz of Overnight Films. 

According to Open Road, Machete Kills sees Machete “recruited by the president of the United States for a mission which would be impossible for any mortal man: He must take down a madman revolutionary and an eccentric billionaire arms dealer who has hatched a plan to spread war and anarchy across the planet.”

Two #1 openings for EEAP titles

Til Schweigers GUARDIANS (SCHUTZENGEL) opened in Germany last weekend on top of the local charts with 160.000 admissions and left RESIDENT EVIL with only 135.000 admissions behind. It's the fourth film from and with Til Schweiger in a row that opened on #1.

Another EEAP title, Swedens OSCAR candidate for 2013, THE HYPNOTIST also opened on #1 with 66.000 admissions, beating animated SAMMYS ADVENTURES 3D. The film, which is based on the best seller book by Lars Keppler, is the first swedish film by director Lasse Hallström in 20 years.

Company plans 2013 release for Lee Daniels-helmed White House tale

The Weinstein Company has acquired U.S. rights to distribute Lee Daniels' drama "The Butler" from Butler Films and plans to release the film next year. Pic is currently in production in New Orleans.

Forest Whitaker stars as the title character alongside Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Minka Kelly, Lenny Kravitz, Melissa Leo, James Marsden, David Oyelowo, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber and Robin Williams.

A Laura Ziskin production, "The Butler" is produced by Pamela Oas Williams, Buddy Patrick, Cassian Elwes, Daniels and the late Ziskin. Hilary Shor and Adam Merims exec produced, while David Jacobson served as co-producer.

Emmy winner Danny Strong ("Game Change") and Daniels co-wrote the script, which was inspired by Wil Haygood's Washington Post article about Cecil Gaines (Whitaker), an African-American man who served as a butler to eight Presidents in the White House over a span of more than 30 years. From this unique vantage point, pic traces the dramatic changes that swept American society, from the civil rights movement to Vietnam and beyond, and how those changes affected Gaines' life and family.

"What moves me most about this man is his quiet nature, grace and unmatched perspective that comes from being in one place -- a very powerful one -- during what was arguably the period in American history that saw the most change," said Daniels, who most recently directed "The Paperboy."

"Lee tells stories in a way no one else does. What struck me most about this story is the perspective it comes from, which in this case is the butler -- a man who was a fly on the wall for decades in the world's most powerful home," said TWC co-chairman Harvey Weinstein. "It takes an unbelievable cast like the one that's in place to do this story justice, and we are proud to be given the chance to share this story with the world." (read full article here)

TIFF 2012: 'Cloud Atlas' is a Cinematic Revelation on a Grand Scale

"Fear. Belief. Love. Phenomena that determine the course of our lives." It's the movie of the year. A bold, ambitious, grand storytelling accomplishment that I dare say is a true cinematic revelation. I have been anxiously/impatiently waiting to finally see filmmakers Andy & Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer take on adapting David Mitchell's epic novel Cloud Atlas, which seamlessly blends six different storylines in an attempt to look at the meaning of life and the decisions that impact this universe. I will forever be able to say - I was there, at the Cloud Atlas premiere (red carpet look), that ended with an enormously deserving standing ovation.

Cloud Atlas found me at the perfect time in my life and the paths I happen to be on myself, converging at the right time and the right place tonight for this experience to pay off perfectly. In short - they pulled it off. The Wachowskis and Tykwer have made a movie that truly pushes the boundaries of cinematic storytelling. It pushes, even challenges, the audience itself to seek the brilliance within it, while also ask that they try to discover something about themselves while watching it. Not many movies come close to doing that, in any way. And those that are unmoved by the way this pushes the audience must be, unfortunately, blind to the revelations within. Cloud Atlas is an achievement of the grandest of scales. It may forever change your life.

(Read full article here and check out some impressions of the red carpet here)

The Swedish Film Institute has selected Lasse Hallström’s The Hypnotist as Sweden's entry for the Oscars.

The Hypnotist is Lasse Hallström’s first Swedish film in over 25 years, and his first thriller ever.

The Hypnotist is based on Lars Kepler’s crime novel of the same name. The cast includes Mikael Persbrandt, Lena Olin and Tobias Zilliacus.

The film has been selected to the main competition at Spain’s San Sebastian International Film Festival in late September. Theatrical release in Sweden is September 28.

Lasse Hallström has been nominated for the Oscars before. His first nominations were in 1988 for "My Life as a Dog" in the categories Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay based on material from another medium. In 1999 he was nominated in the category Best Director for "The Cider House Rules".

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the five nominees for foreign film in the middle of January 2013. The 85th Academy Awards ceremony takes place February 24.

Radiant Films is happy to announce that Principal Photography on LULLABY just completed in NYC and the film is now in post-production.

The talented cast includes 1 Academy Award Winner and 4 Academy Award Nominees!

A true story based on the bestseller by Uri Orlev, “Run Boy Run” recently started production, with early images capturing the emotional intensity of the story available after only a few days of shooting.

Srulik, a nine-year-old boy, flees from the Warsaw ghetto in 1942. He attempts to survive, at first alone in the forest, and then as a Christian orphan named Jurek on a Polish farm. Throughout his ordeal, his Jewish identity is in danger of being lost.

Acadamy Award winner for best short film, Pepe Danquart cast an impressive ensemble of Polish and German actors including new discovery Andy Tkacz as Jurek, as well Jeanette Hain (“The Reader”, “The Young Victoria”), Rainer Bock (“White Ribbon”, “Inglourious Basterds”), amongst the polish cast members Zbigniew Zamachowski (“The Pianist”), Olgierd Lukaszewicz (“Katyn”), Katarzyna Bargielowska (“The Pianist”), Agata Kulesza (“Róza“), Przemyslaw Sadowski, Elisabeth Duda, Miruslaw Baka, Bogdan Koca, Aldona Struzik and Lech Dyblik.

Shooting in Polish, German and Hebrew, with script by Heinrich Hadding whose credits include “Pope Joan,” the budget of the film is € 6 mio. “Run Boy Run” is a co-production of bittersuess, Germany, CineSud, France and A COMPANY Filmproduktion.

The film will be released theatrically in Poland by KINO SWIAT in the second half of 2013, in Czech Republic and Slovakia by EEAP CZ-SK, in Hungary by Budapest Film, in Russia by CINEMA WITHOUT FRONTIERS and in former Yugoslavia by CINEMANIA.

Now it's official, Jessica Alba returns for her role of Nancy the stripper to the SIN CIYT: A DAME TO KILL FOR, the sequel to the 2005 hit. Production just started and Jessica Alba began transforming herself back to blond over the weekend to suprise her role.

Reed full artcile here.

How Much Sex, Blood And Violence Is In ‘Nurse 3D’? A LOT!

Today I spoke at length with director Doug Aarniokoski about his upcoming post-apocalyptic thriller The Day and, while I’ll be sharing my full interview with him next week closer to that film’s release, I figured I’d go ahead and let you in on some juicy tidbits he dropped regarding Nurse 3D.

We’ve shown you some tantalizing imagery from the film (which stars Paz De La Huerta, Katrina Bowden, Corbin Bleu, Boris Kodjoe, Dita Von Teese, Adam Herschman, Neal McDonough, Niecy Nash and Nick Turturro), and now we have a rundown on exactly how crazy it is.

When I asked him what he was surprised to have gotten away with on the film he answered, “The amount of sexuality and combined violence. It was really [nuts]. It’s that kind of movie where you’re like, “how can I portray this and get away with it?” It was about bringing it to the screen in a way that was engaging, erotic, dangerous, scary, nasty and brutal all at the same time. That was the dance for me.”

What I’ve seen from Nurse 3D seems absolutely crazy. And Boris Kodjoe told me it was insanely fun set to work on, how nuts does it get?

Imagine Fatal Attraction and Black Swan and then throw it into a hospital. That’s kind of our world. Its a world you’ve never seen before. It’s sexy, yet gritty, violent and nasty. And then it became sexy again. It’s like, “wow!” I could never quite put my finger on what the next scene was going to be when I read the script because it was so wickedly off. And then I did another pass on the script and rewrote the script myself and I took what was already there and amped it up.

It was like a palette that I could throw color on and just go as big and bold as I wanted to in this crazy context of the mind of Abby (Paz De La Huerta) who became obsessive about these men who were cheating and living through infidelity. And now she’s making the world a better place by eliminating them one at a time.

We shot it in 3D which is a first for me. It’s a fun Friday night movie where you have to grab some popcorn and hang on for the ride. So Boris is right when he says it was crazy on set because it truly was.

What was the one thing on Nurse 3D that you didn’t think you could get away with – but you got away with anyway?

The amount of sexuality and combined violence. It was really [nuts]. It’s that kind of movie where you’re like, “how can I portray this and get away with it?” It was about bringing it to the screen in a way that was engaging, erotic, dangerous, scary, nasty and brutal all at the same time. That was the dance for me.

The first official still from ensemble-drama pic THE BUTLER, starring Forest Whitaker, debut on Variety. The film is inspired by a Washington Post report by Wil Haygood about Eugene Allen, the White House butler whose career started with Harry Truman in 1952 and ended in 1986 with Ronald Reagan.

Forrest Whitaker portrays the butler while pic also stars Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Liam Neeson, Aml Ameen, Alan Rickman, James Marsden, Jane Fonda and Robin Williams with production currently shooting in New Orleans.

Daniels, who is directing from a script he co-wrote with Danny Strong, has financing in place and is in negotiations for distribution.

Have you seen the amazing 6min CLOUD ATLAS Trailer already? Check out the trailer and the directors statement here. To see first character shoots and more news visit the official website.

Cloud Atlas will premier at Toronto Film Festival TIFF in September, and hitting theaters in the US on October 26. In EEAP territories, Russia and Bulgaria will release Nov 8 and Poland Nov 9, to be the first ones to go out after the US. The rest of Eastern Europe will follow throughout November. Stay tuned, be excited!

Five titles of EEAP's upcoming lineup will premiere at Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 6-16). The by far most spectacular of all will be “Cloud Atlas” (The Wachowskis & Tom Tykwer), which will have its Worl Premiere at TIFF, where “Midnight’s Children” (Deepa Mehta) and “Byzantium” (Neil Jordan) will also debut.

“Jayne Mansfield’s Car” (Billy Bob Thornton) will have its North America premiere, together with “To The Wonder” (Terrence Malick). The world premiere of “To The Wonder” will be between August 29 and September 8 in Venice, where the film will be in Competition as well.

Watch exclusive interview with Mel Gibson on the set of "Machete Kills" ! Follow the link.

The actor then segues into a starring role in Phil Alden Robinson's "The Angriest Man in Brooklyn."

The usually hirsute Robin Williams will be going bald for his next acting gig, since he’s just been cast as President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Lee Daniel’s The Butler. Williams will follow up that assignment with the starring role in Phil Alden Robinson’s The Angriest Man in Brooklyn.

The true story of Eugene Allen, a White House employee who served eight First Families over the course of three decades, The Butler is scheduled to begin shooting later this month in New Orleans. Its ensemble cast also includes Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Vanessa Redgrave, Terrence Howard, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda and Colman Domingo.

Danny Strong wrote the script with Daniels based on Wil Haygood’s Washington Post article about Allen. Daniels also is producing the film with Hilary Shor, Cassian Elwes and Pam Williams for Laura Zisken Productions.

In The Angriest Man In Brooklyn, Williams will star opposite Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage, Melissa Leo and James Earl Jones. The film, set to begin filming in Brooklyn, N.Y. in Sept., is the story of a stand-in doctor who mistakenly tells an obnoxious patient he has 90 minutes to live. The medic tries desperately to locate the man after her comments sends him on a contrite tour of the city to right all the wrongs in his life.

Describing Andy and Lana's adaptation of David Mitchell's novel, Weaving tells THR that "[the movie explores] the idea of souls being reborn through time."

Although neither of the Wachowskis has spoken publicly about the matter, Larry Wachowski reportedly completed gender reassignment surgery in 2009 -- which makes Cloud Atlas the first film where she is credited as Lana. Hugo Weaving, who plays multiple roles in the film, tells The Hollywood Reporter that its themes of transformation and rebirth were ones that seemed to make the project especially personal for his director.

“I can’t speak for Lana, but it’s something that’s always interested her, and obviously at a very profound level,” Weaving told THR during an interview for his current film Last Ride. “But it was a real treat to work with such an extraordinary cast, and sometimes in any one week you might be working on three or four characters. So it’s a slightly dangerous adventure we embarked on, because to be honest you don’t know where it’s all heading, despite the wonderful preparation. But yeah, it was certainly very exciting.”

Read full article on THR

Robert Rodriguez's sequel "Machete Kills" is enlisting more girl power for its star-studded ensemble, as the helmer's twin nieces, Electra and Elise Avellan, are set to reprise their roles from the original Mexploitation movie.

The Avellan sisters will once again be playing bad-ass nurses Mona and Lisa. They join fellow femme fatales Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Amber Heard and Sofia Vergara.

Danny Trejo stars as the titular ex-federale, who's recruited by the U.S. government to take down a cartel leader and stop an arms dealer (Mel Gibson) from launching a deadly missile. Pic co-stars Demian Bichir and Charlie Sheen as the U.S. president.

A Quick Draw production, "Machete Kills" is being financed by Alexander Rodnyansky, who is producing with Rodriguez. Other producers include Quick Draw's Aaron Kaufman and Iliana Nikolic, as well as Sergei Bespalov and Rick Schwartz.

The Kyle Ward-scripted sequel is expected to hit theaters some time next year.

The Avellans previously played the Crazy Babysitter Twins in Rodriguez's "Grindhouse" entry "Planet Terror" as well as Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof."

Charlie Sheen announced today that he’s returning to the big screen. The Wall Street star has joined the cast of Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills as the President of the United States. While it’s not a big role in the sequel to 2010′s Machete, both Sheen and the director announced the casting on their respective Twitter pages. “I just cast Charlie Sheen in #machetekills as the President of the United States! Who better? More soon..” Rodriguez tweeted this afternoon and posted a photo of himself and Sheen. “My fellow Americans,” said Sheen in presidential mode as he retweeted Rodriguez’s post. Fellow Hollywood hellraiser Mel Gibson had also been cast in  Machete Kills. In the sequel, Machete, played again by Danny Trejo, is drafted by the U.S. government to track an arms dealer through Mexico before he launches a weapon from space. Read more on deadline.com

Warner Bros. Pictures has set Oct. 26 as the release date for Cloud Atlas, the star-studded adaptation of David Mitchell’s novel directed by the team of Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer and Andy Wachowski.

The movie, which stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, Keith David, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D’Arcy and Zhou Xun, got a positive reception when it was shown to foreign buyers at the recent Cannes Film Festival, and its late-October date will put it squarely in the awards-season corridor.

“Audiences who have seen an early screening of Cloud Atlas have been elated by its powerful and inspiring story, as well as its breathtaking visuals,” Fellman said. "An October release in North America is the perfect window to showcase this epic film."

Adds Kwan Vandenberg: “We are proud to be distributing this remarkable motion picture in a number of key markets. We look forward to working with these visionary filmmakers and the other international distribution partners to bring Cloud Atlas to moviegoers around the world."

Atlas will be released in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland by X-Filme-Verleih; in China by Dreams of the Dragon Pictures; in Hong Kong by Media Asia Group; in Singapore and Malaysia by Ascension Pictures; in Korea by Bloomage Co.; in Taiwan by Long Shong Group; in Russia and Eastern Europe by A Company; and in other territories through Focus Features International.

It's official! Dimension Films has announced that Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller will start production on Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. Here's the full announcement:

Filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, along with producer Alexander Rodnyansky, have announced that production will commence on the highly anticipated sequel to 2005’s Sin City, entitled Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. The film will be produced by AR Films and Quick Draw Productions, financed through AR Films U.S and released domestically by Dimension Films.

Read more on coomingsoon.net

Fright fans just saw the debut of the House on the End of the Street trailer.  Offering us a preview of what's to come when the film is released on September 21st is director Mark Tonderai, who we exclusively spoke to hours after that trailer made its premiere.

Tonderai directed the 2008 cat and mouse thriller, Hush.  Here, he directs Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games), Elisabeth Shut (Piranha 3D) and Max Thieriot (My Soul to Take) in a story about a teen (Lawrence) who moves with her mom (Shue) to a new town and learns that their home is next door to a house where a double murder took place. Complications ensue when the teen befriends the massacre's sole surviving son (Thieriot).

Read the full interview on shocktillyoudrop ...

Til Schweiger presented his new action film "Schutzenegel" (THE GUARDIAN) on a press conference last week in Berlin. In addition to his older daughter Luna, who also appeared in previous Schweiger films as KEINOHRHASEN, the whole cast ensamble, including Moritz Bleibtreu attended the event. It's now the seventh film where Schweiger acts as director and lead cast, though it's the first feature of this genre, and will be released in Germany on September 27.

Susan Sarandon: 'Cloud Atlas' Gender and Racial Transformation Was 'Unsettling': The Oscar-winning actress says that she has just a few small roles in the Wachowskis and Tom Twyker-directed big screen adaptation of the experimental, installment-based David Mitchell book Cloud Atlas, but as she told The Hollywood Reporter, the transformations she underwent for the film were larger than life.

"I was a little nervous about some of the things I had to do, and then everyone was being so brave, bouncing from one set to the other and one pair of contact lenses to the other, noses and whatever, so I just went for it," she said, noting one character in particular was especially bold.

"He is Indian, dark-skinned, dressed like Cornell West and I have little glasses, a little bit of a belly," Sarandon explained. "I've got to tell you, it was more unsettling than I had anticipated. I know there is some disease where you don't recognize yourself when you see it, and you really do not know it's me, because I have darker contacts on, a few different pieces, a few different hairline. It's pretty amazing, actually. I don't even think you hear me speak because it's something that's in a newsreel, it's kind of a religious person, I don't think you'd even know it's me."

Hugh Grant, who plays one of the film's leads -- or, a number of them -- also made some unusual changes. The Brit known for his turn in romantic comedies "is not used to being in makeup," Sarandon said, "and he had some very long, complete body tattoos and things, and that was very difficult to him."

Congratulations to Budapest Film for winning 3 Academy Awards with IRON LADY (Best Leading Actress, Best Make Up) and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (Best Screenplay). Both films have already been released by Hungary's leading independent distributor and have achieved great Box Office results.

"Germans aren't action fans," the star told THR on the set of his latest film. "But I love action films. It’s my favorite genre."

BERLIN – Til Schweiger never stops moving. The German star is setting up the next shot in his new film: the action drama Schutzengeln (The Guardians) in an apartment loft in Berlin. Like most of his German films, Schweiger co-wrote, directs and stars in The Guardians, described as an “emotional action drama.” Schweiger plays Max Fischer, an ex-special forces solider assigned to protect an orphan girl until she can testify in court against a notorious weapons dealer. Schweiger’s own 15-year-old daughter Luna plays the girl.

Read more on THR

Multihyphenate German star Til Schweiger is embarking on his most ambitious project to date -- a U.S. remake of his actioner "Schutzengel" (The Guardians).

Schweiger is directing and starring in the German-language film, and plans to develop and produce the remake Stateside with U.S. partners next year via Barefoot Films, the Berlin-based shingle he runs with producer Tom Zickler. The German version is currently shooting.

Warner Bros. is releasing the film, described as an "emotional action-drama," in Germany on Sept. 27 and may also board the U.S. version.

Hugh Grant, Britain's newest investigative reporter and all-round national treasure, gets back to his day job with a couple of peachy roles in coming months. If you've seen the trailer for Aardman's Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists you'll know all about his knockabout Pirate Captain in the stop-motion caper. But you not know as much about his role in the genre kaleidoscope that is Cloud Atlas.

He shared some fascinating insights into his role in Tom Tykwer and Lana and Andy Wachowski's Russian doll of a movie. Or should that be roles? "I have six cameo parts in this strange, ambitious film," Grant explained. "I do a lot of killing and raping. I wear an awful lot of prosthetic make up, too. You probably won’t know that I am in the film! But it was a laugh. I thought before I read it that I’d turn it down, which I normally do, but I was interested in meeting the Wachowskis because I have always admired them enormously. And they are so charming and fascinating."

Read more ...

Robert Rodriguez is teaming with producer Alexander Rodnyansky to hatch a sequel to the 2010 action film Machete. Titled Machete Kills, the film is the second in a planned trilogy with what, for my money, is the best ever trailer tag line: “This time, they fucked with the wrong Mexican!” The film will be produced and financed by Alexander Rodnyansky, whose Hollywood expansion plans include a $120 million film fund with Media Talent Group’s Geyer Kosinski. AR Films U.S. is a new partnership between AR Films and Aldamisa Entertainment, whose Sergei Bespalov will manage worldwide sales of Machete Kills in Berlin.

Hammer's chilling ghost story The Woman in Black exceeded box office expectations to open in the no.2 spot in its three day opening weekend (Fri-Sun) in the US, grossing just over $21m.

This is more than Paranormal Activity's opening weekend which grossed $19,617,650 in 2009 and The Grudge 2 which grossed $20,825,300 in 2006.

Hammer's adaptation of Susan Hill's classic novel, starring Daniel Radcliffe, opened on almost  2855 screens with a per screen average of $7,356. This weekend's three day gross makes The Woman in Black the highest opening ever for a Hammer film in the US.

The Woman in Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe, is the iconic production company's first ever feature ghost story. It is directed by James Watkins and adapted by Jane Goldman from the book by Susan Hill.

Congratulations to THE IDES OF MARCH on their Oscar nomination in the category of Writing (Adapted Screenplay) !

Congrats also to Budapest films who will not only be releasing IDES OF MARCH, but has already released MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (3 nominations, just as BEST PICTURE) and will release IRON LADY (2 nominations, just as BEST ACTRESS). 

3 BAFTA nominations for EEAP titles: IDES OF MARCH in the competition for Best Supporting Actor & Best Adapted Screenplay, GEORGE HARRISON for Best Documentary.

Winners will be announced on Sunday 12 February.

THE IDES OF MARCH achieved 4 nominations for the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards. The film, directed by George Clooney and starring Ryan Gosling, is nominated in the main categories: Best Film, Best Actor (Ryan Gosling), Best Director (George Clooney) and Best Screenplay.

The official award ceremony will take place on January 15 2012.

POTSDAM, Germany — The German craftsmen on Stage 15 in the Babelsberg studio were hard at work on a recent afternoon building a dystopian Korean slum, the thud of a nail gun and a whiff of sawdust in the air. Next door, Andy and Lana Wachowski, the American-born team behind the “Matrix” movies, were filming black-clad storm troopers from an imagined future for their latest feature, “Cloud Atlas.”

From its truly global parentage to its time-bending story told by three directors using two separate production crews, the movie is unabashedly strange. The narrative, which starts near New Zealand and circles the globe, is bewildering in its complexity, featuring characters in six eras who might share a soul migrating through time. And the project’s primary backers are from China, Korea and Singapore.

(read full story on NYT online)

Lasse Hallstrom's "The Hypnotist," his first Swedish film in 24 years, will be unveiled in unfinished form at the Stockholm Film Festival in November.

The film is included in the fest's Work In Progress section (Nov. 17-18), dedicated to screening upcoming Nordic movies that are in their final stages of completion.

"The Hypnotist" is a Swedish murder thriller starring Mikael Persbrandt ("The Hobbit," "In a Better World"). Produced by Peter Possne's Sonet Film, it's based on the first novel in a detective series by Lars Kepler, and is intended to be the start of a franchise.

The pic marks Hallstrom's return to Swedish cinema for the first time since he was Oscar-nominated for his breakthrough pic "My Life as a Dog" in 1988.

His latest international movie, "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen," was well received at the recent Toronto Film Festival, where it was acquired by CBS Films for U.S. distribution.

Producers Grant Hill and Stefan Arndt announce that CLOUD ATLAS will begin filming on September 16^th, simultaneously with two full units in Scotland (Glasgow), Spain and Germany (around Berlin). The ambitious, independently financed film will be co-directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski, directors/writers of the ground-breaking MATRIX trilogy, and Tom Tykwer, director/writer of PERFUME and RUN LOLA RUN.

A Company is an equity partner and holds all rights in Russia and Eastern Europe.

For the Russian premiere of KOKOWÄÄH, Til Schweiger and producer Tom Zickler travelled to Russia for a big publicity tour, which included several TV shows, press conference and the film premiere in Moscow and St. Petersburg infront of a thrilled audience. The film will open on September 8 and is expected to follow up the success of previously released KEINOHRHASEN and ZWEIOHRKÜKEN. See more images here.

Directing trio will shoot historic/sci fi epic -- starring Halle Berry and Tom Hanks -- in parallel using two complete teams.

Cloud Atlas, the ambitious literary adaptation being co-written and co-directed by The Matrix siblings Andy and Lana Wachowski and German helmer Tom Tykwer (Run, Lola, Run, The International) is set to begin shooting mid-to-late September at Germany's Studio Babelsberg.

The mega project, which stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, Ben Whishaw and Jim Broadbent, is based on David Mitchell's epic novel, which follows six story-lines, each set in a different place and era. The novel's timeline and geography stretches from 19th century Australia to a post-apocalyptic Hawaii.

X Filme is lead producer on Cloud Atlas and acquired and developed the property. Grant Hill of  Anarchos Pictures in the U.S will also get a producer credit. Focus Features is handling worldwide rights to the title, which Warner Bros. will release domestically. Berlin-based A Company is a co-financier of Cloud Atlas and has taken rights in Russia and Eastern Europe.

"The Inbetweeners" has enjoyed the biggest weekend opening ever for a Brit comedy and local indie pic in the territory, taking £13.2 million ($21.8 million) from 455 sites in Blighty and Ireland.

The figures, which include two days of previews ($4.3 million on Wednesday and $3.2 million on Thursday), trumped the previous biggest Brit comedy opening, "Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason". The $5.8 million pic, which is distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors and is produced by Film4, is a spinoff from Channel 4's eponymous hit sitcom about four socially troubled teenage boys and their adventures in high school.

After a short, quiet courtship, Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz have pulled off a near-impossibility in Hollywood: A secret wedding! A rep for Weisz confirms to People that the actress has wed the James Bond actor. As the Daily Mail first reported, the couple married in front of just four people in New York last Wednesday. Photos: Surprise! We're Married! The lucky guests? Daniel's daughter Ella, 18, and Weisz's son Henry, 4, and two friends, the Mail reports. First linked last fall, Weisz, 41, and Craig, 43, spent Christmas together in the U.K. The real-life newlyweds play husband and wife in the upcoming Dream House, »

Halle Berry also firms up role for project from filmmakers Andy and Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer.

Cannes buyers are buzzing about Ben Whishaw and Hugo Weaving taking on major roles in Cloud Atlas, the adaptation of the epic David Mitchell novel from filmmakers Andy and Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer. Halle Berry, who floated her possible participation late last year, has also firmed up her role. They join Tom Hanks in the big-budget project, which Warner Bros. is releasing in North America and Focus International is selling at the Marche du Cannes. Weaving is familiar from the Wachowskis’ Matrix trilogy and V for Vendetta, and Whishaw had his big-screen debut in Tykwer’s Perfume: The Story of a Murderer in 2006.

Horror thriller stars 'Harry Potter' thesp Daniel Radcliffe

Following a heated bidding war, CBS Films has emerged with U.S. distribution rights to the Daniel Radcliffe-starrer "The Woman in Black."

The gothic horror thriller stars the "Harry Potter" thesp as a lawyer who travels to a remote English village where he uncovers terrible secrets of a deceased client's house and the titular ghost that haunts it.

Ciaran Hinds, Janet McTeer and Shaun Dooley co-star.

James Watkins is directing from a script by Jane Goldman ("X-Men: First Class"). Simon Oakes produced with Richard Jackson and Brian Oliver, while Roy Lee, Nigel Sinclair and Guy East served as exec producers.

Pic is a co-production between Hammer Films, Alliance Films and Cross Creek Pictures.

"The Woman in Black" is based on Susan Hill's 1983 novel, which was previously adapted for both TV and the stage.

Jennifer Lawrence, Elisabeth Shue and Max Theriot star in the Relativity thriller.

The Jennifer Lawrence starrer House at the End of the Street will be released on Feb. 3, 2012, Relativity Media announced Friday. Elisabeth Shue and Max Theriot co-star in the thriller, about a teen girl (Lawrence) who moves with her mom to a new town and learns that their home is next door to a house where a double murder took place. Complications ensue when the teen befriends the massacre's sole surviving son (Thieriot). Shue plays Lawrence's mom. The film was directed by Mark Tonderai and written by David Loucka.