News

To me, my X-Men!

We may have just gotten our first piece of X-Men casting as Jeff Sneider (via The Hot Mic podcast and his The InSneider newsletter) is reporting that Sadie Sink (Stranger Things; The Whale) is the current frontrunner to land the highly coveted role of Jean Grey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with her possibly set to debut in 2026's Avengers: Doomsday.

Sneider stresses that it's still early in the process, so things could always change as casting ramps up for Doomsday and/or Secret Wars, but he's very confident in his source, so this could absolutely be our first glimpse at what Kevin Feige and company are cooking for their X-Men movie, and it looks like they're going younger for some of the key players. 

While unconfirmed, it's likely The Russo Brothers are involved with this casting and they do have a pretty solid track record...

An adaptation of Nicholas Hogg’s novel Tokyo, Jordan Scott’s sophomore directorial “A Sacrifice” has all the indications of competent filmmaking. The production design is neat and stately, and the pace is quite brisk. However, the very center of the film is caught up in a mesh of major screenwriting issues. Scott, who has also written the adapted screenplay, seems to have been trapped in key, critical areas of the plot, which she entirely dispenses with in a hasty rush of information, intercutting between various perspectives in the climactic stretch.

The rush and scramble of providing detailed backstories all at once at a juncture in the film that’s simply too late comes off as an effort to purely cushion the ‘big twist’ in the tale. While the predictability of it is up for debate, the twist considerably sacrifices facets of characterization, pulping previously established parameters so as to achieve a swift landing.

Sadie Sink is admitting that she didn’t anticipate her “Stranger Things” character Max to be such a breakout star.

The actress told Variety that after joining the hit Netflix series in Season 2 at age 14, she could not have predicted the viral adoration for her role of Max by Season 4. The cliffhanger ending for the season included Max being in a coma after facing off with Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower).

“I really didn’t think people would care all that much about her journey,” Sink said. Even when Max went viral with the “Running Up That Hill” sequence, Sink was still shocked: “I was kind of like, ‘That’s cool.'”

The “A Sacrifice” actress added, “I think I’m definitely numb to a lot of things now, which is a good thing. I think it keeps you stable.”

As for returning for the fifth and final season of the beloved series,...

Jordan Scott’s A Sacrifice is almost the film it wants to be. Even in the moments this Eric Bana-starrer thinks it’s reaching a breakthrough in the demonstration of a suicide cult and what runs through its veins, things are always submerged, almost touching the surface but not quite. The thriller half of it is harmed by a whole other ambition–a head-in-the-clouds goal to infuse magic realism into something that looks and feels too mundane for something like that. But since A Sacrifice does manage to communicate the discourse it’s eager to start, it leaves you with plenty of existential discourse to ponder over.

Spoiler Alert

What happens in the film?

Ben’s not exactly the best planner. There’s a lot on his plate as it is. He’s moved from California to Berlin after his separation from his wife, taken up a lecturer position at the university,...

Headed to the movie theaters on this long 4th of July weekend? New flicks include Despicable Me 4 and recent holdovers include A Sacrifice starring Sadie Sink and Eric Bana, A Quiet Place: Day One, Horizon: An American Saga, Kevin Costner's Chapter One of Four, or Russell Crowe's horror flick, The Exorcism. Here's a roundup of movie reviews and recommendations.

It’s 2024, and cults seem to be a hot topic. Whether it’s a sports team, political affiliation, or even nerd obsession, cults are everywhere. But there’s a certain kind of cult rife in horror films. The Waco kind. And they can provide some of the most interesting narratives. A Sacrifice follows a cult with violent tendencies and the people it affects. But it’s also about a father and a daughter trying to reconnect after tragedy. It’s a bit of a slow burn that will reward the patient. I really enjoyed the film (you can check out my review Here) and am shocked at the little I’ve seen about it anywhere.

I was lucky enough to talk to stars Eric Bana, Sadie Sink, and Sylvia Hoeks about their wonderful performances and the challenges they encountered in their roles. I was particularly giddy to talk with Sylvia,...

Actor Eric Bana and director Jordan Scott reflected on their new film A Sacrifice in their new uInterview

A Sacrifice follows Professor Ben Monroe (Bana) as he investigates a local cult while his daughter becomes enamored by the world of a mysterious boy.

“It’s about an American social psychologist working at a university in Berlin,” Scott told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “He has his daughter over the summer to do a bit of summer school, but he is currently estranged from his wife – soon-to-be ex-wife – and the family is in a pretty messy situation, so this is meant to be a kind of rebonding moment for them, and chaos ensues.”

Bana said he was immediately drawn to the film when he read the script.

“It’s exactly the kind of film I want to see and that I love, and the sides of film that I love to be a part of,...

As she gets set to release her second movie, A Sacrifice, in theaters this weekend, Jordan Scott (IFC’s Cracks) recalls the best advice she received from her father, Sir Ridley Scott, from one director to another.

“I’m very lucky that I can pick up the phone and ask his advice on anything and I’m going to get the best answer. And his advice on everything is just: Preparation. Preparation. Preparation,’” Scott tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Inspired by Nicholas Hogg’s 2015 novel Tokyo, A Sacrifice from Scott Free Productions follows American social psychologist Ben Monroe (Eric Bana) as he investigates a local cult connected to a disturbing event in the German capital. While he immerses himself into his work, his rebellious teenage daughter, Mazzy (Sadie Sinke), gets involved with a mysterious local boy who introduces her to the city’s underground party scene. As these two worlds head towards an intersection,...

A Sacrifice, directed by Jordan Scott, has an overstuffed story with four interconnected storylines that struggle to balance each other. The film's production design is impressive, showcasing unique and lived-in settings in Berlin, but the storytelling suffers from confusing flashbacks and contrivances. A Sacrifice, based on the novel Tokyo, could have benefited from focusing on one storyline, as the current setup leaves the ending unsatisfying and melodramatic.

A Sacrifice (2024) is the second full-length film from director Jordan Scott, daughter of the venerable Sir Ridley Scott, and her first movie in 15 years. Maybe she was off in Berlin like the lead of her movie, Ben Monroe (Eric Bana), a psychologist, novelist, and university professor. He, however, is not a therapist, as he pointedly delineates to German forensic investigator and love interest, Nina (Sylvia Hoeks). It's too bad he isn't, because just about every character in this meandering, often confusing, tale could...

“We’re all so fucked, right.” So says Mazzy (Sadie Sink), a young woman visiting her father Ben (Eric Bana). This observation matches the dreadful tone of the film as a whole. Titled A Sacrifice, written and directed by Jordan Scott and inspired by Nicholas Hogg’s novel Tokyo, this is a small-scale psychological thriller informed by the loneliness of the coming climate apocalypse and comforting allure of group-think.

Bana plays Ben Monroe, a social psychologist who’s moved from his family to Berlin, following a separation with his wife. He’s made a small name for himself from research on cults and their influence. As he prepares to write a new book, his old cop friend Max (Stephan Kampwirth) and Max’s partner Nina (Sylvia Hoeks) bring him along to a crime scene wherein a small group of people appear to have participated in a ritualistic suicide. Days later,...

Plot: American social psychologist Ben Monroe investigates a local cult connected to a disturbing event, while his daughter becomes embroiled with a mysterious local boy.

Review: I love it when a film comes out of nowhere and manages to impress without a big budget or marketing campaign. Usually, it’s reserved for the festival circuit. But with so many films released every month, whether it’s in theaters or on streaming services, the likelihood has never been greater. And with leads like Eric Bana and Sadie Sink to help intrigue audiences, I think few will expect the wonderful character study that follows. Because as much as this is about a modern cult and its ill intentions, A Sacrifice very much focuses on the people involved and how they would get to such a place.

I’ve always enjoyed Eric Bana and he’s perfect here as Ben Monroe, an American psychologist living in Germany.

When Benjamin Monroe arrives in Berlin to take up a visiting professorship, the last thing he expects is for his estranged daughter Mazzy to join him. Still reeling from a bitter divorce, Ben hopes some distance and a change of scenery might help repair their fractured relationship. But the city soon proves as complicated as his family life.

Invited to consult on mysterious suicide cult rumors by his colleagues, Ben finds himself drawn deep into sinister underground groups beneath Berlin’s surface. At the same time, Mazzy struggles to find her place in a new country, forming an ill-advised connection with a charismatic local. As father and daughter drift further apart, both become entangled with a cult whose leader promises people freedom through spiritual sacrifice.

While the themes of lost souls searching for purpose and the seductive power of ideology offer rich storytelling potential, the film never fully realizes it.

An academic’s visiting teenage daughter falls under the sway of a sinister cult connected to his own research in “A Sacrifice.” Suspended between straightforward thriller and something loftier, Jordan Scott’s sophomore feature — headlined by Sadie Sink and Eric Bana — is a slick but unsatisfying narrative muddle. It has the feel of a literary adaptation that doesn’t quite translate to a different medium: While the individual thematic elements are intriguing enough, they just don’t come together on screen in sufficiently coherent or atmospheric form. The result is a movie that ultimately falls short on both suspense and ideas, though it remains watchable enough. Vertical is releasing to U.S. theaters on June 28.

Other territories will be seeing it under the title “Berlin Nobody,” while English author Nicholas Hogg’s source novel was called (and is set in) “Tokyo.” So one can safely assume Scott, whose career has...

In the 1952 book “Mere Christianity,” C.S. Lewis argued that the most logical case against atheism was the notion that humans born in completely unrelated civilizations during every era in history all entered the world with the same internal feeling that someone above us is displeased with our conduct — and that we should make some kind of sacrifice to earn their favor back. Just like our thirst leads us to water and our hunger leads us to food, he argued that our guilt and cravings for atonement were natural urges pointing us all towards the same hope for transcendence. But in Jordan Scott’s “A Sacrifice,” Ben Monroe (Eric Bana) has a considerably simpler interpretation of the same premise: “When someone mentions sacrifice or redemption, I smell cult.”

As a bestselling author, visiting professor, and expert in the field of social psychology, Ben knows a thing or two about how cults get started.

June proves another solid month for posters. Here’s hoping it’s the continuation of a trend that will keep pushing through to the winter and not one last gasp before the summer ushers in the usual avalanche of glossy photo collages.

If the indies keep coming (many below were first seen on the 2023 festival circuit), we should be in good shape. Because despite falling way behind the studios in terms of screens, they will always outnumber Hollywood in terms of titles. That’s simply the state of the industry today. You must sift through the noise to find the prize.

Supernatural

Jordan Scott is back with a new feature 15 years after her debut Cracks with Fable at the helm of the marketing campaign. Their first sheet for A Sacrifice presents a seemingly normal landscape rotated ninety-degrees so that the horizon line turns vertical. A forest scene at the edge of a lake,...

Vertical has unveiled the official trailer for the cult thriller A Sacrifice. The trailer sees Stranger Things' Sadie Sink falling deeper and deeper under the thrall of a dangerous cult. The movie could be the next step toward Sink becoming a bona fide scream queen.

The trailer for A Sacrifice pits Stranger Things star Sadie Sink against a killer cult. The upcoming movie, which is set to premiere in theaters on June 28, was written and directed by Jordan Scott, who made her directorial debut in 2009 with the independent movie Cracks starring Eva Green and Juno Temple. In addition to Sink, her newest project stars Troy's Eric Bana, Blade Runner 2049's Sylvia Hoeks, The Golden Glove's Jonas Dassler, Enemy at the Gates' Sophie Rois, and Stephan Kampwirth, who provided the German voice for Milo in Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

Vertical has now unveiled the official trailer for A Sacrifice.

Inspired by Nicholas Hogg’s 2015 novel Tokyo Nobody, the thriller A Sacrifice starring Sadie Sink (“Stranger Things”) is on the way from Vertical, and the official trailer has arrived.

From director Jordan Scott, the film releases on June 28, 2024.

“A Sacrifice is an emotionally turbulent story that follows American social psychologist Ben Monroe who is investigating a local Berlin cult connected to disturbing events.

“While he immerses himself in his work, his rebellious teenage daughter, Mazzy, becomes embroiled with a mysterious local boy who introduces her to the city’s underground party scene. As their two worlds head toward a dangerous intersection, Ben will need to race against the clock in order to save his daughter.”

Sadie Sink stars alongside Eric Bana and Sylvia Hoeks.

A Sacrifice is produced by Ridley Scott.

The post ‘A Sacrifice’ Trailer – Sadie Sink Stars in Suicide Cult Thriller appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

What sacrifices would you make for your job, your family, your lover…or even your sanity?

The trailer for writer/director Jordan Scott’s “A Sacrifice” propels audiences into a twisted game of untangling the motivations for a father-daughter duo caught on the periphery of a cult. Inspired by Nicholas Hogg’s 2015 novel “Tokyo Nobody,” the feature follows American social-psychologist Ben Monroe (Eric Bana) who is investigating a local Berlin cult connected to disturbing events.

While he immerses himself in his work, his rebellious teenage daughter, Mazzy (Sadie Sink), becomes embroiled with a mysterious local boy (Jonas Dassler) who introduces her to the city’s underground party scene. As their two worlds head toward a dangerous intersection, Ben must race against the clock to save his family.

Sylvia Hoeks, Sophie Rois, Stephan Kampwirth, and Lara Feith co-star.

The ever-prolific auteur Ridley Scott produces the film, along with Michael Pruss, Jonas Katzenstein,...

"Untangle yourself from your parents... the sooner you stop relying on them, the more powerful you will be." What kind of cult is this? Vertical has revealed an official trailer for an indie thriller titled A Sacrifice, a cult drama set in Berlin. This is the latest film directed by Ridley Scott's daughter Jordan Scott, following her feature debut Cracks from back in 2009. American social psychologist Ben Monroe investigates a local cult connected to a disturbing event, while his daughter becomes entangled with a mysterious boy. While he immerses himself in his work trying to understand what is going on with this mysterious cult, his rebellious teen daughter, Mazzy, ends up embroiled with this German boy and another strange woman. Starring Eric Bana, Sadie Sink, Jonas Dassler, Sylvia Hoeks, Sophie Rois, Stephan Kampwirth, & Lara Feith. It's "inspired by" a book that was originally set in Tokyo, however they shifted the location to Berlin instead,...

Vertical has dropped the new trailer for A Sacrifice, a thriller starring Eric Bana as a social psychologist who begins investigating a cult in Berlin as his rebellious daughter (Sadie Sink) gets drawn into its clutches.

The official synopsis reads, “A Sacrifice is an emotionally turbulent story that follows American social psychologist Ben Monroe (Bana), who is investigating a local Berlin cult connected to disturbing events. While he immerses himself in his work, his rebellious teenage daughter, Mazzy (Sink), becomes embroiled with a mysterious local boy who introduces her to the city’s underground party scene. As their two worlds head toward a dangerous intersection, Ben will need to race against the clock in order to save his daughter.“

In addition to Eric Bana and Sadie Sink, A Sacrifice also stars Sylvia Hoeks, Jonas Dassler, Sophie Rois, Stephan Kampwirth, and Lara Feith. Based on the novel Tokyo Nobody by Nicholas Hogg,...

“A Sacrifice” is a new crime thriller feature, written and directed by Jordan Scott, starring Sadie Sink (“Stranger Things”), Eric Bana, Sylvia Hoeks, Jonas Dassler, Sophie Rois, Stephan Kampwirth and Lara Feith, opening June 28, 2024 in theaters:

“…American social psychologist ‘Ben Monroe’ investigates a Berlin-based cult connected to disturbing events.

“While he immerses himself in his work, his rebellious teenage daughter, ‘Mazzy’. becomes embroiled with a mysterious local boy who introduces her to the city’s underground party scene.

“As their two worlds head toward a dangerous intersection, Ben will need to race against the clock in order to save his daughter…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Twenty years ago, Troy and its cast made its mark on epic filmmaking. Director Wolfgang Petersen’s take on Homer’s Iliad featured an ensemble cast led by Brad Pitt and created a wildly entertaining, if not entirely accurate, movie.

Working from a script by future Games of Thrones showrunner David Benioff, the Troy cast brought to life legends like Achilles, Helen of Troy, and Hector. Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, and Diane Kruger were among those who joined Pitt in the impressive cast. While many of the actors haven’t made another film on Troy‘s scale, they continue to perform in blockbuster movies 20 years later.

Brad Pitt Brad Pitt | Toni Anne Barson/WireImage (L); Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images (R)

Brad Pitt starred as the de facto lead of the Troy cast as the hero Achilles. However, as Pitt admitted in 2019, he didn’t want any part of Troy.

“I...

Exclusive: Vertical has closed a North American rights deal for A Sacrifice, writer-director Jordan Scott’s gripping thriller. The film, originally titled Berlin Nobody, is from Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions and augenschein Filmproduktion.

A Sacrifice stars Eric Bana (Black Hawk Down), Sadie Sink (Stranger Things & The Whale), Sylvia Hoeks (Blade Runner 2049), Jonas Dassler, Sophie Rois, Stephan Kampwirth, and La­­ra Feith. Vertical will release the film exclusively in theaters on June 28.

Inspired by Nicholas Hogg’s 2015 novel Tokyo Nobody, A Sacrifice follows American social psychologist Ben Monroe (Bana) who is investigating a local Berlin cult connected to disturbing events. While he immerses himself in his work, his rebellious teenage daughter, Mazzy (Sink), becomes embroiled with a mysterious local boy who introduces her to the city’s underground party scene. As their two worlds head toward a dangerous intersection, Ben will need to race against the clock in order to save his daughter.

Exclusive: German production and sales company Augenschein, whose credits include Joseph Gordon-Levitt thriller 7500 (pictured) and Anna Kendrick sci-fi Stowaway, has sold a minority stake to Erfttal Film, the longtime shareholder in All Quiet On The Western Front producer Amusement Park.

Jonas Katzenstein and Maximilian Leo, who run Cologne-based Augenschein, closed the deal with Erfttal’s Klaus Dohle. The value of the investment was not disclosed but it is understood to be a multi-million dollar investment for a stake in the 20-30% range.

Dohle is a producer and businessman with a long-standing family history in real estate, manufacturing, agriculture and equity investments in Germany and abroad. His associate producer credits include Land of Mine, The Aftermath and A Most Wanted Man.

Under the pact, Augenschein will continue to operate independently but the investment gives the company greater ability to develop, package and produce movies with stronger commercial potential for the global market,...

Protagonist Pictures has promoted senior execs Janina Vilsmaier and Mounia Wissinger to senior leadership roles as part of a wider move to strengthen its sales and marketing teams.

Vilsmaier has been upped to SVP Sales and Distribution and Wissinger becomes SVP Global Marketing and Publicity.

Protagonist made the announcement as it gears up for the Berlinale and the EFM, where its slate will include Nora Fingscheidt’s Panorama title The Outrun, starring Saoirse Ronan and Paapa Essiedu, and David and Nathan Zellner’s Berlinale Special selection Sasquatch Sunset with Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg, which makes its European premiere after a Sundance debut.

Under the promotions, Vilsmaier will lead the sales division, overseeing both the first run and library sales activities, and work in partnership with Wissinger to strategize the global roll out of Protagonist titles.

Wissinger will head up the marketing and publicity team, including overseeing the festival strategy for Protagonist’s film slate.

The investments are worth a total of €68.2m ($72.35m) and go to companies from Spain, France and Luxembourg.

The European Commission (EC) and European Investment Fund (Eif)’s MediaInvest equity tool has unveiled its first equity investment of up to €25m in French fund Logical Content Ventures (Lcv).

It has also announced further agreements with two Spanish companies and one from Luxembourg under the Eif’s InvestEU Cultural and Creative Sectors (Ccs) Guarantee.

The four agreements are worth a total $62.5m and were announced at the San Sebastian film festival on Sunday.

Launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022 and...

The European Commission and European Investment Fund (Eif) have announced the first investment of its fledgeling MediaInvest equity investment instrument aimed at the audiovisual sector.

The Eif said it had approved an equity investment of up to €25 million into Paris-based fund Logical Content Ventures, in the first transaction of the MediaInvest Instrument.

It said the agreement aims to raise up to €70 million in equity investment in European audiovisual production and distribution companies.

Logical Content Ventures, was launched by the Logical Pictures Group in 2022, initially targeting €100M in fundraising.

Its investments to date have included the Alexandre Aja-produced Night of the Hunted, which is scheduled for release in 2023, and the thriller Berlin Nobody, produced by Ridley Scott. Earlier this year, it also announced a slate financing deal with French studio Pathé.

The MediaInvest deal was officialized at a signing ceremony on the fringes of the San Sebastian Film Festival on Sunday.

Exclusive: German production and sales outfit Augenschein, best known so far for thrillers Stowaway and 7500, is at the Cannes Market talking to buyers about new thriller Islands (working title), which is due to star Control and Maleficent actor Sam Riley.

Cologne-based Augenschein is making the movie in co-production with German studio Leonine, which has also taken German distribution rights. Funding comes from Film- und Medienstiftung Nrw, the Ffa, the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the Dfff.

Islands tells the story of Tom, a one-time tennis pro who, years ago, washed up on a holiday island. Now he’s the coach at a hotel resort, hitting countless balls over the net to tourists who come to escape their everyday lives. Living an endless summer, Tom fills the emptiness inside with booze and brief affairs. He’s still kidding himself that he’s in paradise, but it is beginning to dawn on him...

It’s sold in Australia and New Zealand, the UK, Middle East and more.

Protagonist Pictures and augenschein Sales have closed key territories on Jordan Scott’s thriller Berlin Nobody, starring Eric Bana and Sadie Sink, and have a revealed a first-look image.

The Berlin-set feature has sold to Rialto (Australia and New Zealand), Sky (UK), Eagle (Italy), Just Entertainment (Benelux), Mislabel (Scandinavia and Iceland), Inopia (Spain), M2 (Eastern Europe), Spentzos (Greece), Nos Audiovisuais (Portugal), Front Row (Middle East), Bir (Turkey), Shaw (Singapore), Ricochet (airline).

It follows an American ex-pat and a social psychologist who relocates to Berlin to further...

Disney+ has unveiled a German original about a teenager who falls in love with the devil from the team behind Netflix’s How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast).

Pauline follows the eponymous protagonist, an 18-year-old who accidentally becomes pregnant – from a one-night stand. With school stress, the climate crisis and the downfall of society weighing heavily on her mind, something she doesn’t need at all right now is catching feelings, especially not for her one-night stand Lukas, who, as it turns out, is the devil himself.

Pauline is penned by Sebastian Colley and EPs are Philipp Käßbohrer and Matthias Murmann, who combined on 2019’s How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) for Netflix. Arabella Bartsch, Alma Buddecke and Facundo Scalerandi are directors.

“For a long time, the series has been and still remains a project very close to our hearts,” said Käßbohrer and Murmann.

“We’re thrilled that Disney+ loves...

Projects can be allocated up to €1 million in financing.

Berlin’s VFX scene has received a cash injection of €4m from the German capital’s Senate for the next two years.

The funding is on top of an existing €5m that is already being provided by the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg’s Digital Film Production programme.

The additional funding comes with a change to the programme’s guidelines which will now see the maximum grant that can be allocated for a project increasing from the previous €500,000 to €1m.

Projects supported since the programme’s launch in 2020 have included VFX work by Berlin-based...

One decade after injecting their relentless and bold style into the Evil Dead franchise (I'm still in awe of the Abomination's blood rainstorm), director/co-writer Fede Alvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues are bringing their talents to the Alien franchise in 20th Century Studios' new film that begins production in Budapest on March 9th, and we have a look at the cast list and brief synopsis:

Press Release: Burbank, Calif. – 20th Century Studios’ new “Alien” film starring Cailee Spaeny (“Mare of Easttown”) will begin production in Budapest on March 9. Joining Spaeny in the cast are David Jonsson (“Industry”), Archie Renaux (“Shadow and Bone”), Isabela Merced (“Rosaline”), Spike Fearn (“The Batman”) and Aileen Wu (“Away from Home”). Fede Alvarez directs from a screenplay he wrote with his frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues. Ridley Scott, who directed the original “Alien” and produced and directed the series’ entries “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant,” and Michael Pruss...

Deal is first time French studio has opened the financing of its films to private investors

French studio Pathé has partnered with financier and producer Logical Pictures for a three-year co-production and co-financing deal via new fund Logical Content Ventures.

The fund will raise finance from private investors and contribute to the budgets of all films produced and acquired by Pathé between 2022 and 2024 with the aim to join forces for 20 upcoming titles.

It is the first time Pathé has opened the financing of its films to private investors and comes as the studio continues to invest in bigger-budget films for wide theatrical release.

French studio Pathé and film and TV financier and producer Logical Pictures have announced a three-year co-production and co-financing deal.

The operation involving Logical Content Ventures, a new fund operated by Logical Pictures, will see Pathé open up the financing of its films to private investors for the first time in its history.

Under the deal with Pathé, Logical Content Ventures will contribute to the financing of all films produced and acquired by Pathé between 2022 and 2024.

The aim is to co-finance and co-produce more than 20 pictures together with the first projects being released as soon as Spring 2023.

The first films included in the agreement are Dany Boon’s Life for Real (Pathé – 26Db Productions), Just Philippot’s environmental thriller Acid (Pathé – Bonne Pioche), starring Canet and Laetitia Dosch, and Kirill Serebrennikov’s English feature debut Limonov: the Ballad of Eddie (Pathé – Chapter 2 – Wildside – Fremantle) starring Ben Whishaw.

The move comes...

Pathé has signed a three-year co-production and co-financing deal with Logical Pictures to strengthen its ambitious film production strategy.

The family-owned company operates France’s leading multiplex chain and runs one of the country’s most successful film studios. 2023 looks to be Pathé’s biggest year in a while with three major French releases: Guillaume Canet’s “Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom” and Martin Bourboulon’s two-part epic saga “The Three Musketeers.” Both based on cult franchises, “Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom” and “The Three Musketeers” are budgeted in the 70 million range (about seven times more than the high bracket of a medium-size film in France). This is just the beginning of a new era for Pathé, which will need financial munitions to limit risks and continue delivering these splashy films on a regular basis for years to come.

Through the partnership, Pathé will be able to tap...

Exclusive: Scott Free Productions has recently inked a 2-year extension for Justin Alvarado Brown to continue to serve as President and C.O.O. of the company through 2024. Brown will continue to oversee all dealmaking and operations for the company across film and television, as well as heading up strategic planning, primary responsibility for P&l, and all business and legal affairs matters for the company’s US and UK offices.

“Justin has proven to be a dedicated Senior Executive and COO bringing a strategic perspective to maximizing our business opportunities through these fluid times,” said Ridley Scott. “Justin is always able to elegantly negotiate the most complex of deals and this makes him a real asset to Scott Free. We are delighted he will continue to be part of Scott Free.”

In over a decade at the production shingle founded by Scott and his late brother, Tony Scott, Brown...

Returning to the states after seeing your latest film lauded at the Venice Film Festival can’t be an easy comedown, but it’s not one Sadie Sink will have to worry about this year. Fresh off The Whale’s glowing reception at Venice, Sink has been tapped to star in the new thriller Berlin Nobody. Filming is already…...

Exclusive: Fresh off strong notices for Darren Aronofsky’s Venice Film Festival drama The Whale, Stranger Things star Sadie Sink has been tapped to star with Eric Bana (Munich) and Sylvia Hoeks (Blade Runner 2049) in thriller Berlin Nobody, which got underway in the German capital today.

Rising German actor Jonas Dassler — who got his breakthrough as a 1970s murderer in Fatih Akin’s Berlin title The Golden Glove — and Sophie Rois (Tom Tykwer’s Drei and Der Architekt) have also joined the cast of Jordan Scott’s movie about American ex-pat and social psychologist Ben Monroe (Bana) who relocates to Berlin to further his research on the epidemic of cult mentality. While he immerses himself in German cultism, his rebellious teenage daughter, Mazzy (Sink), becomes entwined with a mysterious and enigmatic local boy (Dassler). The film is inspired by Nicholas Hogg’s 2015 novel Tokyo.

Produced by Scott Free’s...

Exclusive: Scott Free Productions has promoted Vera Meyer, Sam Roston and Rebecca Feuer and hired Avital Siegel to the company’s film division. The changes come at a busy time for the company as its founder, Ridley Scott, wraps production on his Napoleon film for Apple and the team preps an impressive slate of upcoming projects.

Roston has been upped to Senior VP of Film, Feuer has been promoted to VP of Film and TV, Meyer has been upped to Creative Exec of Film, and Siegel joins as Director of Development for Film.

Roston started at Scott Free in late 2015, where he served as a Director of Development and as a Vice President. He recently oversaw the development and production on Boston Strangler starring Keira Knightley, which is now in post-production for 20th Century Studios. Prior to that, Roston was a co-producer on Chase Palmer’s feature directorial debut Naked Singularity...

Exclusive: Scott Free Productions has come aboard to produce an film adaptation of the bestselling book The Infinite Machine, from cryptocurrency journalist Camila Russo.

Written with the verve of such works as The Big Short, The History of the Future and The Spider Network, here is the fascinating, Russo’s book charts the rise of Ethereum, the second-biggest digital asset in the world, the growth of cryptocurrency, and the future of the internet as we know it.

The story of Ethereum begins with Vitalik Buterin, a gifted 19-year-old autodidact who saw the promise of blockchain when the technology was in its earliest stages. He convinced a crack group of coders to join him in his quest to make a super-charged, global computer.

The film will be written for the screen and directed by Shyam Madiraju, with Ridley Scott, Tom Moran and Vera Meyer of Scott Free producing alongside Alejandro Miranda of Versus Entertainment.

Tom Hanks, Gerard Butler, Evan Rachel Wood and Rosamund Pike headline projects being brought onto Berlin’s virtual European Film Market.

Just how large its top-tier offers may be, and the volume of deals, are still open for debate.

“Very compact,” said Constantin’s Martin Moszkowicz of the EFM, which swelled somewhat thanks to a flurry of title announcements on Feb. 4, followed by a steady trickle of big unveils.

“The EFM does not look like it will have the comparable volume of the AFM,” Mister Smith’s David Garrett said. “But there will certainly be enough to whet people’s appetites.”

The market has, in fact, been building for nearly a fortnight. Following the IFC Midnight/Shudder domestic deal at Sundance for “Watcher,” AGC Studios moved forward its virtual EFM buyer screenings of the genre film by two weeks, closing international with Focus Features.

“The market’s definitely been kicking off,...

Ridley Scott is a producer on the thriller.

Eric Bana and Kiernan Shipka are to star in UK director Jordan Scott’s Berlin-set thriller Berlin Nobody, with Ridley Scott a producer.

American social psychologist Ben Monroe (Bana) investigates a local cult connected to a disturbing event, while his daughter (Shipka) becomes embroiled with a mysterious local boy. The film is inspired by Nicholas Hogg’s 2015 novel Tokyo. Jordan Scott has also written the script.

Protagonist Pictures is handling worldwide sales alongside Cologne-based augenschein Sales. The companies will co-represent the project and launch worldwide sales at the European Film Market, having...