‘Mad Men’ Star Christina Hendricks To Lead Psychological Thriller ‘Reckoner’; XYZ Films Launches For Cannes Market

EXCLUSIVE: AI is in the eye of the storm in LA right now amid the writers’ strike and is also a talking point at the Cannes Film Festival due to the de-aging of Harrison Ford for Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny.

EXCLUSIVE: New indie film financier Mizzel Media is launching in Cannes with what we understand to be a healthy six-figure investment in feature The Girl From Köln, the next film from Holy Spider and The Tale outfit One Two Films.

EXCLUSIVE: Shia LaBeouf has joined action thriller Mace, directed by Jon Amiel from a script by David Chisholm. Trevor Jackson (Grown-ish, Superfly) will co-star. Myriad Pictures is shopping the project to buyers here in Cannes this week. 

EXCLUSIVE: Maika Monroe (It Follows) and Troy Kotsur (CODA) have been cast as leads in crime thriller In Cold Light which will mark the English-language debut of French-Canadian director Maxime Giroux (Felix And Meira).

Naman Ramachandran Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to Jay Arnold’s award-winning LGBTQ+ romantic drama feature “Shoulder Dance” and will launch sales at the Cannes film market. The film stars Matt Dallas (“Kyle XY”), Rick Cosnett (“The Flash”), Taylor Frey (“It Chapter Two”), Samuel Larsen (“Glee”) and Maggie Geha (“Gotham”). Arnold (“What Happens Next”) directed from his original screenplay. The deal was negotiated between Breaking Glass Pictures CEO Rich Wolff, Amanda Rae Simon, Esq., COO Susan Helfrich, Arnold, and Ethan Bearman, Esq., The Bearman Firm.

EXCLUSIVE: Benedict Cumberbatch has signed to star in Dylan Southern’s adaptation of Max Porter’s acclaimed novel Grief is the Thing With Feathers about a father and his two young sons dealing with the sudden death of their wife and mother.

EXCLUSIVE: LA-based production, finance, and sales company Premiere Entertainment have picked up international rights to the military action thriller Warhorse One, starring actor Johnny Strong (Black Hawk Down).

EXCLUSIVE: Actor Esai Morales is in negotiations to star in the action thriller Shadow, which XYZ Films has boarded and will introduce to buyers this week in Cannes.

EXCLUSIVE: British genre specialist Tea Shop, known for 47 Meters Down and coming off breakout thriller Fall, is lining up its next survival pic in the shape of The Bayou, which Architect is launching for sales in Cannes.

EXCLUSIVE: We told you about Ron Howard’s survival thriller Origin of The Species last fall and the project now has a killer cast with Oscar nominee Ana De Armas (No Time To Die), Oscar nominee Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes), Oscar winner Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider) and Golden Globe nominee Daniel Brühl (All Quiet On The Western Front) all attached.

EXCLUSIVE: Luther and Hobbs & Shaw star Idris Elba is set to star in, produce and direct action-thriller Infernus, which Millennium Media will also produce and shop at next week’s Cannes market.

Naman Ramachandran Juno-winning and Grammy-nominated Canadian pop singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes’ original song “Something Big” will feature on the soundtrack of upcoming 3D animated family feature, “Butterfly Tale.” Montreal and Madrid-based international sales and distribution company Pink Parrot Media will represent the film at the upcoming Cannes film market. “Butterfly Tale” is set along the diverse, picturesque, and ever-changing backdrop of the great Monarch butterfly migration. It tells the tale of Patrick, a gutsy and loveable yet inept, one-winged butterfly who stows away in a milkweed trailer in order to be part of the journey of a lifetime. With his best friend, a goofy caterpillar named Marty, and Jennifer, a butterfly who is afraid of heights, Patrick becomes an unlikely hero. But first, he must face his fear, embrace his uniqueness and triumph over adversity while battling changing weather patterns, humans and three evil birds bent on revenge.

EXCLUSIVE: Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley is going sky-scraping again as we can reveal she is set to star in vertiginous action-thriller Cleaner from Casino Royale and GoldenEye filmmaker Martin Campbell.

EXCLUSIVE: Shailene Woodley (Big Little Lies), Cara Delevingne (Carnival Row) and Noémie Merlant (Portrait Of A Lady On Fire) are set to star in a genre biopic of celebrated author Patricia Highsmith, which is being produced by Carol and Past Lives outfit Killer Films.

EXCLUSIVE: HBO Documentary Films has pre-bought North American streaming and TV rights to Musk, Alex Gibney’s upcoming documentary about lightning rod entrepreneur and businessman Elon Musk.

EXCLUSIVE: On the eve of his acting return at the Cannes Film Festival, Johnny Depp has set a buzzy cast for Modi, his first directorial effort in 25 years.

EXCLUSIVE: Film Seekers has acquired international sales rights to dark-comedy-thriller ClearMind about a virtual reality therapy experiment that takes a deadly turn for a Cannes sales launch.

EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off starring in season two of HBO’s The White Lotus, Theo James has been set to lead new horror movie The Monkey, based on the short story of the same name by Stephen King.

EXCLUSIVE: Tom Hiddleston (Thor franchise) and Mark Hamill (Star Wars) are set to star in new Stephen King adaptation The Life Of Chuck, which will be a hot package at the upcoming Cannes market.

EXCLUSIVE: Seann William Scott (The Wrath Of Becky, American Pie franchise) has signed on to star in The Last Bachelor, a romantic comedy from director Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door, Something Borrowed).