‘The Lives Of Others’ Helmer Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck To Direct Psychological Thriller ‘Vent’, From Scribe Steven Karczynski, For Alcon Entertainment

Matt Grobar
·3 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Alcon Entertainment has acquired screenwriter Steven Karczynski’s psychological thriller Vent, bringing BAFTA Award winner Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others) aboard to direct.

The film brought to the company by Head of Creative Carl Rogers the story of a paranoid young man who believes a kidnapping victim is tapping messages to him through his apartment building air vent. Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson will produce alongside Karczynski and David Prior.

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“The vision behind Vent is unique and thrilling,” said Kosovo and Johnson, “and between Steven Karczynski’s incredible writing, and Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s ability to bring such films to life, we are thrilled to be a part of bringing this story to screens.”

Von Donnersmarck’s most decorated feature, The Lives of Others, told the story of an agent of the secret police in 1984 East Berlin, who found himself becoming increasingly absorbed in the lives of the writer he was surveilling and his lover. The German-language dramatic thriller brought the writer-director a BAFTA Award, a César Award, a European Film Award, an Independent Spirit Award and the Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Audience Award, among other accolades, also claiming the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007.

Von Donnersmarck also wrote and directed the romantic thriller The Tourist, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, which landed three Golden Globe nominations in 2011, and the epic drama Never Look Away, which secured Oscar noms for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Cinematography in 2019.

Kosove and Johnson founded Alcon Entertainment in 1997 with partner Frederick W. Smith, the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx. Warner Bros. distributes Alcon’s motion pictures via the companies’ long-term output distribution agreement. The company has either financed and produced, or co-financed and co-produced, 34 films to date, including Best Picture Oscar nominee The Blind Side; Denis Villeneuve’s critically acclaimed Blade Runner 2049; The Book of Eli, starring Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman; Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia, starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank; The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants; the critically acclaimed dramatic thriller Prisoners, directed by Villeneuve and starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Viola Davis; P.S. I Love You, starring Hilary Swank; and the family hit Dolphin Tale 2, starring Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd and Kris Kristofferson.

The company’s upcoming projects on the film side include the horror feature Lullaby, from Annabelle director John R. Leonetti; the sequel to Alcon’s hit romance P.S. I Love You, based on bestselling author Cecelia Ahern’s next installment; and an animated film adaptation of the beloved cartoon strip Garfield from director Mark Dindal (The Emperor’s New Groove). It is also developing an adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel Rendezvous with Rama with Villenueve, who is currently gearing up to direct the sequel to his Oscar-winning adaptation of Dune.

Von Donnersmarck is represented by CAA, Media Talent Group and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Karczynski by Gersh and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols.

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