‘Peaky Blinders’ Star Joe Cole & ‘True Spirit’s Teagan Croft Lead Contemporary Thriller ‘Override’, The English-Language Debut From Directing Duo Natasha Merkulova and Alexey Chupov — Cannes Market

Diana Lodderhose
·3 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: ‘Peaky Blinders’ and ‘Gangs of London’ star Joe Cole and ‘True Spirit’ and ‘Titans’ actor Teagan Croft have both just wrapped contemporary neo-noir thriller Override, the fourth feature from directing duo Natasha Merkulova and Alexey Chupov. It marks the English-language debut for the Russian helmers, whose Captain Volkonogov Escaped played in Venice’s Competition strand in 2021.

Paris-based sales and production outfit Charades has boarded international sales for title, which was shot in L.A. in March, while AC Independent and WME Independent will co-represent North American rights for the film. The project will be launched to buyers in Cannes next month.

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Override, which is currently in post-production, follows Ron Camp (Cole), a 31-year-old taxi driver in L.A. and Becca (Croft), his 16-year-old passenger, as they are plunged into a modern-day nightmare. Unaware of Ron’s identity as a spree killer, Becca becomes entangled in a series of terrifying events. Throughout the night they confront a chilling question: How many people will die before this ride is over?

Zolee Griggs, Jeremias Amoore, Jaime Ray Newman and Chris Payne Gilbert round out the cast while Estonian Mart Taniel, winner of the ASC Spotlight award, serves as the DoP.

The project is produced by Valeriy Fedorovich and Evgeny Nikishov for Melting Pot Production. Anonymous Content’s Nick Shumaker exec produces with Cole, Lenny Levi and Vram Hakobyan. Katrin Kissa co-produces for Estonia’s Homeless Bob Productions.

Producers Fedorovich and Nikishov are best known for their work on projects such as Anna K, a contemporary retelling of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, which was Netflix’s first original Russian drama series, as well as Moscow-set thriller To The Lake, also for Netflix. The duo relocated to L.A. in 2023 and founded Melting Pot Production.

“It’s thrilling to see a duet of directors, whose last film was in Venice competition, wanting their first English-speaking film to revisit the figure of the menacing L.A. driver with their very own style,” said Charades co-founder Yohann Comte.

AC Independent Head Shumaker said: “I remember watching Captain Volkonogov Escaped when it premiered in Venice and being utterly floored by its intensity and vision. We couldn’t be more elated to take the journey with Natasha and Alexey on their English language debut and were honored to get the call to join forces with their long-time producers.”

Fedorovich and Nikishov added: “From the very beginning, our goal was to ensure that our debut American film resonated with the widest audience possible, which is why we chose the thriller genre for Override, set in the city of dreams and stars – Los Angeles. We were ecstatic when Joe Cole and Teagan Croft joined our team and equally excited with the story piqued the interest of incredible partners such as Anonymous Content, Charades and WME.”

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