News

Playtime, a Paris-based sales, production and equity investment company, has picked up “Chopin, a Sonata in Paris,” an ambitious biopic of famed composer and pianist Frédéric Chopin hailing from Poland’s leading production banner Akson Studio.

Budgeted at $17.5 million, the movie reteams producer-director Michał Kwieciński with the rising Polish actor of “Filip,” Eryk Kulm starring as Chopin. Lambert Wilson (“The Matrix Resurrections”) stars as King Louis Philippe.

“Chopin, a Sonata in Paris” boasts a polished, baroque aesthetic bolstered by a key crew including Michał Sobociński, the cinematographer of the AppleTV+ series “The New Look” producer designer Katarzyna Sobańska, whose credits include the Oscar-nominated film “Cold War.”

Penned by Bartosz Janiszewski (“Wataha”), the 19th century-set movie charts Chopin’s journey as a bold, young pianist who left his native Poland at the age of 21 and traveled to Paris where he wielded music’s power like no other. “He is the lifeblood of the city,...

UK-based HanWay Films has boarded world sales on Kasia Adamik’s thriller Winter Of The Crow starring Lesley Manville, ahead of the European Film Market.

Principal photography has begun in Warsaw, Poland on the Cold War thriller which stars Manville as a UK professor who arrives in the country just as martial law is imposed. Also among the cast are Tom Burke, Zofia Wichłacz, and Andrzej Konopka.

Winter Of The Crow is produced by Poland’s Wild Mouse Production and Film Produkcja as well as the UK’s Iris Productions and Film and Music Entertainment. Douglas Cummins is co-producing while...

UK-based HanWay Films has boarded world sales on Kasia Adamik’s thriller Winter Of The Crow starring Lesley Manville, ahead of the European Film Market.

Principal photography has begun in Warsaw, Poland on the Cold War thriller which stars Manville as a UK professor who arrives in the country just as martial law is imposed. Also among the cast are Tom Burke, Zofia Wichłacz, and Andrzej Konopka.

Winter Of The Crow is produced by Poland’s Wild Mouse Production and Film Produkcja as well as Ireland’s Iris Productions and the UK’s Film and Music Entertainment. Douglas Cummins is...

Exclusive: Netflix is adapting bestselling author Don Winslow’s novels The Dawn Patrol and The Gentlemen’s Hours for features. Charlène Favier is aboard to direct, with Chernin Entertainment and The Story Factory’s Shane Salerno producing. They are out to high level writers to script the film.

The deal comes as Winslow just released City on Fire, the first in a trilogy that he announced will be his swan song from novel writing after a long career of bestsellers. He has numerous film and TV deals for his other works. The City on Fire series was acquired by Sony Pictures and Elizabeth Gabler’s 3000 label for north of 5 million. Winslow also has The Border about to begin production as an FX series, after Fox acquired it for 6 million. Winslow separately set his Neal Carey novels with Knives Out helmer Rian Johnson for MRC and Peacock, and has the novel...

Bestselling author Don Winslow has announced that the two already-written sequels to his current novel City On Fire will be his last books.

Winslow says he will devote his time to launching digital campaigns supporting Democratic causes and opposing “Trumpism.”

“It’s time to do something else,” Winslow said in a statement. “I want to continue on speaking out where I see what I think is wrong. It’s a big deal. It’s not a decision I made easily. Democrats have better ideas, better candidates, and a better vision for tomorrow. What they don’t have is better messaging and I’m going to try and change that. I will be paying for everything myself and not accepting any donations.”

Winslow’s latest novel, City On Fire (HarperCollins) hits shelves on April 26. As Deadline reported last June, screen rights to that book and its two sequels were acquired by...

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. And sometimes, we get to talk to movie stars about some of their own B-Sides!

Conor and I were honored to speak with screen legend Harvey Keitel, star of Lansky, written and directed by Eytan Rockaway. In the crime drama, which is now available digitally, Keitel plays the real-life gangster Meyer Lansky, recounting his complicated life to a down-on-his-luck writer (Sam Worthington).

We chat with Keitel about some B-Sides from the early ‘90s: The Two Jakes, Point of No Return, and Dangerous Game. There’s also a bit about The Border from 1982, a Tony Richardson crime thriller well worth your time.

For more from The B-Side, you can find every actor/director and the films discussed in one place here.

Event to run outdoors and on digital platform; ’Malpaso’ named opening selection.

Slamdance is launching a Miami off-shoot to showcase emerging filmmakers from Central and South America, the Caribbean and Florida that will run as a hybrid outdoor event this year from October 28-30.

The festival, which Slamdance president and co-founder Peter Baxter, festival alumni and Miami arts leaders have been planning for three years, has been set up as an open air, “Covid-sensitive festival experience” at North Beach Bandshell in Miami, Florida, and will also play on Slamdance’s virtual platform.

The inaugural programme comprises 18 features and shorts from...

In today’s Global Bulletin, Netflix picks up four originals in Nigeria, Amazon Prime Video gets Noggin in several major European markets, Walter Presents buys three Polish series, and Iwc Schaffhausen and the BFI announce finalists and jury for this year’s Filmmaker Bursary Award.

Streaming

Netflix has announced a slate of new original series and films from Nigeria, doubling down on its commitment to finding and promoting talent on the African continent.

One new series and three Nigerian films were secured by Netflix in various stages of production, with some ready to debut immediately.

“Far From Home” is a six-part series created by Chinaza Onuzo and Dami Elebe, who double as executive producer and writer. Produced by Inkblot Productions, It follows Ishaya, a teenage artist who wins a scholarship that launches her from her humble surroundings into the world of Nigeria’s 1%. Actor-producer Funke Akindele is confirmed for a lead role.

The Busan film festival’s Asian project market will be held online this year on Oct. 12-14. Some 22 projects from around Asia will vie for production funds during the market.

These include “Love Life,” from Japanese filmmaker Koji Fukada who won the Un Certain Regard jury prize at Cannes in 2016 for “Harmonium,” and “A Burning Question” from Bangladesh’s Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, who closed Busan in 2012 with “Television.”

Other selections include “Tick It” from Vietnamese director Tran Thanh Huy, who won Busan’s New Currents award in 2019 winner for “Rom,” and “A River in the Mirror,” by Tashi Gyeltshen, Fipresci International Critics’ Award 2018 winner for “The Red Phallus.”

From the Philippines, Sheron Dayoc, winner of Busan’s Mecenat Award in 2016 with “The Crescent Rising,” will participate in the market with “6th Finger.” From Kazakhstan, Elzat Eskendir, who won Busan’s Sonje Award in the same year for “Off-season,” will present “Abel.

The projects will pitch to executives on July 2-3.

Online development marketplace Filmarket Hub has announced the projects in development selected for the UK Online Pitchbox, the new virtual pitch event that runs July 2-3, in partnership with Film London.

Teams representing seven British feature films and scripted series will pitch to companies including Bankside Films, BBC Films, Curzon, Entertainment One, Film4, FilmWave, Gaumont, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal International Scripted, Neal Street Productions, Protagonist Pictures, Studiocanal, SunnyMarch Productions and Wild Bunch TV.

Selected feature films in development Amrit, written and directed by Rory D. Bentley Ice, written by Stéphanie Joalland, produced by...

“I’m working in the outhouse again.” That’s how Ben Hecht, the fabled screenwriter, used to describe toiling in Hollywood. “And the nitwits are still in charge,” he assured his friends.

Hecht wrote terrific movies like Scarface and Notorious but he hated studio chiefs, and it was mutual. His name came to mind last week when Don Winslow posted his poignant piece on Deadline reminding producers and executives that writers of books and scripts these days could use a little more love. Given the tensions of the moment, he argued, a few friendly phone calls (and even checks) would bolster sagging writer morale.

More from DeadlineDon Winslow: Top 10 Things Studios, Networks and Streamers Could Do To Treat Authors BetterDon Winslow: My First Experience With Hollywood MathDon Winslow's Take On Scorsese & De Niro Doing 'The Irishman' Over 'Frankie Machine:' 'I Blame Eric Roth'

Winslow is responsible for...

Exclusive: With heavy heart, author Don Winslow has cancelled plans for a 20-city book tour to promote his new book, Broken. It is no time to be traveling anywhere, much less to bookstores empty because of the Coronavirus scare, so instead he will launch with a “virtual tour” strategy. This is a dilemma that will face any author launching a book in this perilous corridor. Winslow is feeling down over the whole thing because the stops included the independent bookstores that helped turn him from a journeyman into a number one international bestselling author.

Broken is a collection of six short novels connected by themes of crime, corruption, vengeance, justice, loss, betrayal, guilt and redemption. The tour was set to begin April 6 and included stops in major cities across the country from Los Angeles to New York City. Major authors like Lee Child were set to introduce Winslow at sold out events.

Exclusive: We’ll be seeing more of Kofu and Goodwin on Bob ♥ Abishola. Anthony Okungbowa (Kofu) and Bayo Akinfemi (Goodwin), who have been recurring all season, have been promoted to series regulars on Chuck Lorre’s CBS comedy.

Kofu (Okungbowa) and Goodwin (Akinfemi) are both Nigerian immigrants and loyal MaxDot employees. They’re often Bob’s (Billy Gardell) go-to guys when he needs capable helping hands at work, and occasionally serve as his expert counsel as he navigates his first relationship with a Nigerian woman.

In Bob ❤ Abishola, after having a heart attack, Bob (Gardell) falls in love with his Nigerian nurse and sets his sights on getting her to give him a chance.

Folake Olowofoyeku, Christine Ebersole, Matt Jones, Maribeth Monroe, Vernee Watson, Shola Adewusi, Barry Shabaka Henley, Travis Wolfe, Jr. and Gina Yashere also star.

Created by Lorre, Al Higgins, Yashere and Eddie Gorodetsky, the series is produced...

Exclusive: After Ford v Ferrari landed an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, Matt Damon and James Mangold are teaming again. Damon is attached to an adaptation of the 2017 Don Winslow bestseller The Force, which Mangold has been developing to direct for 20th Century Studios.

There is potential here for the kind of New York movie that was the stomping ground of one of Mangold’s favorite filmmakers, Sidney Lumet. Damon is attached to play Denny Malone, a NYPD detective who runs an elite crime fighting squad, but bends the law so often that he loses the line between good and evil and becomes ensnared in a pending corruption scandal. To stop the city’s long-simmering racial tensions from exploding, he must reconcile the idealistic guardian he still views himself to be, with the corrupt cop he’s become. He under siege from all sides: Harlem drug gangs, the mob he’s in bed with,...

Company makes hire ahead of Sarajevo Film Festival.

HBO Europe is re-upping its original production efforts in Central Europe by expanding its HBO Adria division.

The company has hired Ana Balentovic as a development executive. She will have a remit of identifying and developing local talent and projects from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro.

She will report to Johnathan Young (VP original programming, HBO Central Europe) and Steve Matthews (VP and executive producer, drama development, HBO Europe) as the company looks to identify original series from the region that resonate with local audiences and fit the HBO brand.

At last year’s Sarajevo Film Festival, the company announced its plans to produce one high-end TV drama series per year from what it calls the ‘Adria’ region (Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Macedonia and Montenegro), commencing from 2018.

It also launched the First Draft competition, calling for submissions for TV projects from the region. After...