Cannes Briefs: Epic’s ‘Thale’ Sequel; Osiris’ ‘The Kill Hole’; Darclight’s ‘Contracted’; Simon Cowell’s ‘Pudsey’; Ridley Scott’s ‘Get Santa’; More
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Epic Sets English-Language ‘Thale’ Sequel
Epic Pictures is partnering with Norway’s Yesbox Productions to finance and produce an English-language sequel to Norwegian thriller Thale. The sequel will be written and directed by Thale‘s Aleksander Nordaas. Patrick Ewald and Shaked Berenson are producing alongside Bendik Heggen Strønstad of Yesbox. Thale appeared in Toronto and SXSW last year and told the story of two crime-scene cleaners who discover a tailed female creature in a concealed cellar who has been held captive for decades. Thale was based on a mythical character in Nordic folklore called the “huldra,” a beautiful creature with female attributes that is said to seduce men by humming a beautiful song, but the men never return to their villages. Epic’s Patrick Ewald says the budget will be upped for the sequel “so that Aleksander and Bendik’s vision can be accomplished on a grand scale.”
Osiris Entertainment Nabs ‘The Kill Hole’
Osiris Entertainment has acquired indie war drama The Kill Hole. Chadwick Boseman (42) stars as Lt. Samuel Drake, a troubled Iraq vet charged with tracking down an ex-Marine (Tory Kittles) with a vendetta. Billy Zane, and Peter Green co-star. Osiris will handle worldwide distribution, excluding U.S.
Darclight Contracts ‘Contracted’
Darclight Films has acquired Cannes market premiere Contracted. The psychological horror thriller tells the tale of a young girl who has a one-night stand with a stranger, contracting what she thinks is a sexually transmitted disease, but is actually something far worse. Directed by Eric England, Contracted stars Najarra Townsend, Caroline Williams, Simon Barrett, Charley Koontz, Dave Holmes and Ruben Pla. Darclight is handling international sales for the pic and XYZ Films will be handling North American sales. The Film was produced by Raphael Margules and J.D. Lifshitz of BoulderLight Pictures.
Content Films To Shop ‘Pudsey: The Movie’
Vertigo Films and Simon Cowell‘s Syco are co-producing Pudsey: The Movie based on the dog who won Britain’s Got Talent in 2012. The live-action talking-canine pic is to be sold internationally by Content Film. Directed by Nick Moore and written by Paul Rose, the tale of friendship and courage centers on city pup Pudsey’s adventures when he moves to the countryside with his family. Vertigo’s Rupert Preston, Allan Niblo and James Richardson are producing with Syco. Vertigo will release in the UK at Christmas. Since winning BGT, Pudsey and his trainer Ashleigh have starred in TV shows including Top Dog Model for ITV2 and Who Let The Dogs Out And About? for CBBC.
Altitude Bulks Up Slate With ‘Get Santa’
Will Clarke’s Altitude Film Sales has boarded family comedy Get Santa starring Jim Broadbent and exec produced by Ridley Scott. The film follows a father and son who must team up to save Christmas when they discover Santa Claus sleeping in their garage. Also new is Tiger House, a thriller starring Kaya Scodelario, Tom Cullen and Dougray Scott that’s slated to start in September. Other films on Altitude’s slate include Beyond The Edge, a 3D docudrama about Edmund Hilary’s 1953 conquest of Everest; the Ewan McGregor and Alicia Vikander-starrer Son Of A Gun; Daniel Wolfe’s Catch Me Daddy; underwater thriller 47 Meters Down; soccer comedy The Hooligan Factory and Outpost 37, a sci-fi actioner that marks the feature helming debut of VFX specialist Jabbar Raisani and starts shooting next week.
Film4 Promotes, Adds Execs
The UK’s prolific Film4 has two movies in Cannes this year: Directors’ Fortnight title The Selfish Giant and Critics’ Week selection For Those In Peril. Both were exec produced by Katherine Bulter who has just been named deputy head of film. Butler joined Film4 in 2005 and has been involved in such projects as Slumdog Millionaire, Submarine and Attack The Block. She was also an exec producer on recent pics Sightseers, The Imposter, Berberian Sound Studio and Tyrannosaur. Rose Garnett, an associate producer on Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, has also joined the company as head of development. She’s replacing Sam Lavender who was recently promoted to commissioning executive. Garnett and Butler will report to Film4 chief Tessa Ross.
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