The Trumps were on the red carpet this evening at the Cannes Film Festival — sort of — as Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice world premiered in competition. The film was greeted with an 11-minute post-screening ovation at the Grand Theatre Lumiere.
Sebastian Stan, the Emmy and Golden Globe nominee known for his work in the MCU and the Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy, here plays a young Donald Trump with Oscar nominee Maria Bakalova (Borat 2) as Trump’s first wife, Ivana. Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jeremy Strong also stars as infamous attorney Roy Cohn, and Martin Donovan is playing Fred Trump.
Stan and Bakalova attended the red-carpet premiere. Strong was not in attendance as we understand he stayed in New York where he is starring on Broadway in An Enemy of the People.
Abbasi in remarks after the film said he wanted to embrace the politics of now in cinema with so much unrest in the world.
“In the time of turmoil, there’s this tendency to look inwards, to bury your head deep in the sand … and hope for the best, hope for the storm to get away,” he said. “But you know, the storm is not going away, the storm is coming, actually. The worst times are to come.”
The storm is coming, it’s time to make movies political again says director of ‘The Apprentice’ Ali Abbasi #Cannes pic.twitter.com/mEUVdXV8Dp
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) May 20, 2024
There was lots of hugs going around among Abbasi, Stan and Bakalova as the lights went up on the two-hour film. Cate Blanchett, Cynthia Erivo and Oliver Stone were among the crowd applauding afterward. Stone, who has made his share of political films, even offered a spot review.
Oliver Stone and @BazBam catch up after ‘The Apprentice’ premiere to discuss the film: “It’s like ‘Citizen Kane’ in that regard” #Cannes2024 pic.twitter.com/oCjYHmJnED
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) May 20, 2024
An exploration of power and ambition, and set in a world of corruption and deceit, The Apprentice examines Trump’s efforts to build his real estate business in New York in the 1970s and 80s, also digging into his relationship with Cohn. It’s a mentor-protégé story that charts the origins of a major American dynasty. Filled with larger than life characters, it reveals the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers.
The real-life former Potus is currently standing trial in a criminal hush-money case in New York.
Gabriel Sherman, whose bestseller The Loudest Voice in the Room inspired Showtime’s miniseries The Loudest Voice, starring Russell Crowe as Fox News founder Roger Ailes, wrote The Apprentice script.
The Apprentice producers are Daniel Bekerman of Scythia Films, Jacob Jarek of Profile Pictures and Ruth Treacy of Taylored Films. Executive producers are Grant S. Johnson, Sherman and Amy Baer, in association with Kinematics as the financier.
International sales are being handled by Rocket Science with CAA and WME on domestic sales in Cannes. Studiocanal recently acquired UK-Ireland rights.
Sebastian Stan, the Emmy and Golden Globe nominee known for his work in the MCU and the Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy, here plays a young Donald Trump with Oscar nominee Maria Bakalova (Borat 2) as Trump’s first wife, Ivana. Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jeremy Strong also stars as infamous attorney Roy Cohn, and Martin Donovan is playing Fred Trump.
Stan and Bakalova attended the red-carpet premiere. Strong was not in attendance as we understand he stayed in New York where he is starring on Broadway in An Enemy of the People.
Abbasi in remarks after the film said he wanted to embrace the politics of now in cinema with so much unrest in the world.
“In the time of turmoil, there’s this tendency to look inwards, to bury your head deep in the sand … and hope for the best, hope for the storm to get away,” he said. “But you know, the storm is not going away, the storm is coming, actually. The worst times are to come.”
The storm is coming, it’s time to make movies political again says director of ‘The Apprentice’ Ali Abbasi #Cannes pic.twitter.com/mEUVdXV8Dp
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) May 20, 2024
There was lots of hugs going around among Abbasi, Stan and Bakalova as the lights went up on the two-hour film. Cate Blanchett, Cynthia Erivo and Oliver Stone were among the crowd applauding afterward. Stone, who has made his share of political films, even offered a spot review.
Oliver Stone and @BazBam catch up after ‘The Apprentice’ premiere to discuss the film: “It’s like ‘Citizen Kane’ in that regard” #Cannes2024 pic.twitter.com/oCjYHmJnED
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) May 20, 2024
An exploration of power and ambition, and set in a world of corruption and deceit, The Apprentice examines Trump’s efforts to build his real estate business in New York in the 1970s and 80s, also digging into his relationship with Cohn. It’s a mentor-protégé story that charts the origins of a major American dynasty. Filled with larger than life characters, it reveals the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers.
The real-life former Potus is currently standing trial in a criminal hush-money case in New York.
Gabriel Sherman, whose bestseller The Loudest Voice in the Room inspired Showtime’s miniseries The Loudest Voice, starring Russell Crowe as Fox News founder Roger Ailes, wrote The Apprentice script.
The Apprentice producers are Daniel Bekerman of Scythia Films, Jacob Jarek of Profile Pictures and Ruth Treacy of Taylored Films. Executive producers are Grant S. Johnson, Sherman and Amy Baer, in association with Kinematics as the financier.
International sales are being handled by Rocket Science with CAA and WME on domestic sales in Cannes. Studiocanal recently acquired UK-Ireland rights.
- 5/20/2024
- by Nancy Tartaglione and Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Studiocanal has acquired UK and Ireland rights for Ali Abbasi’s Cannes Palme d’Or contender The Apprentice.
Billed as an exploration of the underbelly of U.S. politics, the biographical film stars Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump, Jeremy Strong as firebrand Roy Cohn, Martin Donovan as Fred Trump Sr, and Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump.
The film is produced by Daniel Bekerman for Scythia Films, Jacob Jarek for Profile Pictures, Ruth Treacy and Julianne Forde for Tailored Films, and Abbasi and Louis Tisné for Film Institute.
Executive Producers are Amy Baer, Mark H. Rapaport, Emanuel Nunez, Josh Marks, Grant S. Johnson, Phil Hunt and Compton Ross, Thorsten Schumacher, Niamh Fagan, Gabe Sherman, Lee Broda, James Shani, Andrew Frank and Greg Denny.
Rocket Science are handling International Sales on the project, which was financed by Kinematics, Head Gear Films, Screen Ireland, Film i Vast, The Danish Film Institute and National Bank of Canada.
Billed as an exploration of the underbelly of U.S. politics, the biographical film stars Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump, Jeremy Strong as firebrand Roy Cohn, Martin Donovan as Fred Trump Sr, and Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump.
The film is produced by Daniel Bekerman for Scythia Films, Jacob Jarek for Profile Pictures, Ruth Treacy and Julianne Forde for Tailored Films, and Abbasi and Louis Tisné for Film Institute.
Executive Producers are Amy Baer, Mark H. Rapaport, Emanuel Nunez, Josh Marks, Grant S. Johnson, Phil Hunt and Compton Ross, Thorsten Schumacher, Niamh Fagan, Gabe Sherman, Lee Broda, James Shani, Andrew Frank and Greg Denny.
Rocket Science are handling International Sales on the project, which was financed by Kinematics, Head Gear Films, Screen Ireland, Film i Vast, The Danish Film Institute and National Bank of Canada.
- 5/16/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Studiocanal has acquired UK-Ireland distribution rights to Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice, ahead of its world premiere in Cannes Competition next week.
Rocket Science is handling international sales.
The company will release the film in UK-Ireland cinemas in 2024.
Directed by Border and Holy Spider filmmaker Abbasi and written by Gabe Sherman, The Apprentice charts a young Donald Trump’s rise to power through a Faustian deal with influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn.
Sebastian Stan stars as Trump, with Jeremy Strong as Cohn, Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump, and Martin Donovan as Fred Trump Sr.
The Apprentice is...
Rocket Science is handling international sales.
The company will release the film in UK-Ireland cinemas in 2024.
Directed by Border and Holy Spider filmmaker Abbasi and written by Gabe Sherman, The Apprentice charts a young Donald Trump’s rise to power through a Faustian deal with influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn.
Sebastian Stan stars as Trump, with Jeremy Strong as Cohn, Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump, and Martin Donovan as Fred Trump Sr.
The Apprentice is...
- 5/16/2024
- ScreenDaily
James McAvoy (Split) dives back into the horror genre with Speak No Evil, Blumhouse’s English language remake of the critically acclaimed 2022 Danish film Gæsterne. The two-minute trailer shows a married couple immediately regretting their decision to visit old friends while on vacation.
The cast includes Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate) and SAG award-winner Scoot McNairy (Argo) as Louise and Ben Dalton, the couple who chose the wrong place to spend their vacation. Alix West Lefler (The Good Nurse) plays their 11-year-old daughter, Agnes. Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones) stars as Paddy’s (McAvoy) wife, Ciara, and newcomer Dan Hough plays their mute son, Ant.
“When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare,” reads Blumhouse’s synopsis.
James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi...
The cast includes Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate) and SAG award-winner Scoot McNairy (Argo) as Louise and Ben Dalton, the couple who chose the wrong place to spend their vacation. Alix West Lefler (The Good Nurse) plays their 11-year-old daughter, Agnes. Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones) stars as Paddy’s (McAvoy) wife, Ciara, and newcomer Dan Hough plays their mute son, Ant.
“When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare,” reads Blumhouse’s synopsis.
James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi...
- 4/13/2024
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
In theaters on Friday, September 13th is Speak No Evil. Check out the first trailer starring James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, Dan Hough and Scoot McNairy.
When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.
From Blumhouse, the producer of The Black Phone, Get Out and The Invisible Man, comes an intense suspense thriller for our modern age, starring BAFTA award-winner James McAvoy in a riveting performance as the charismatic, alpha-male estate owner whose untrammeled hospitality masks an unspeakable darkness.
Speak No Evil stars Mackenzie Davis and SAG award-winner Scoot McNairy as American couple Louise and Ben Dalton, who, along with their 11-year-old daughter Agnes, accept the weekend-holiday invitation of Paddy (McAvoy), his wife Ciara and their furtive,...
When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.
From Blumhouse, the producer of The Black Phone, Get Out and The Invisible Man, comes an intense suspense thriller for our modern age, starring BAFTA award-winner James McAvoy in a riveting performance as the charismatic, alpha-male estate owner whose untrammeled hospitality masks an unspeakable darkness.
Speak No Evil stars Mackenzie Davis and SAG award-winner Scoot McNairy as American couple Louise and Ben Dalton, who, along with their 11-year-old daughter Agnes, accept the weekend-holiday invitation of Paddy (McAvoy), his wife Ciara and their furtive,...
- 4/11/2024
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
James McAvoy is back in a horrifying role onscreen to lead the English-language remake of “Speak No Evil.”
BAFTA award-winner McAvoy, who stunned audiences with his haunting performances in “Split” and “Glass,” plays a father who has an obsession with perfection. Paddy (McAvoy) and his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) are parents to their mute son Ant (Daniel Hough) who was born without a tongue. But when Paddy invites American couple Louise (Mackenzie Davis) and Ben (Scoot McNairy) plus their 11-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) for a weekend getaway, things go sideways.
Per the official synopsis: “When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.”
To note, “Speak No Evil” onscreen couple McAvoy and Franciosi are also reuniting for Jamie Adams’ improvised...
BAFTA award-winner McAvoy, who stunned audiences with his haunting performances in “Split” and “Glass,” plays a father who has an obsession with perfection. Paddy (McAvoy) and his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) are parents to their mute son Ant (Daniel Hough) who was born without a tongue. But when Paddy invites American couple Louise (Mackenzie Davis) and Ben (Scoot McNairy) plus their 11-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) for a weekend getaway, things go sideways.
Per the official synopsis: “When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.”
To note, “Speak No Evil” onscreen couple McAvoy and Franciosi are also reuniting for Jamie Adams’ improvised...
- 4/11/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Sebastian Stan is continuing to be a master of disguise.
After portraying Tommy Lee in Hulu series “Pam and Tommy” and transforming via prosthetics for “A Different Man,” Stan is now taking on the role of a lifetime: Donald Trump. Stan leads “The Apprentice,” directed by “Border” and “Holy Spider” filmmaker Ali Abbasi from a script by Gabe Sherman.
“The Apprentice” is debuting at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in competition alongside buzzy features like Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada,” Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness,” Paolo Sorrentino’s “Parthenope,” and David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds.”
“The Apprentice” centers on Trump’s (Stan) rise to fame following what the official description calls a “Faustian deal” with right-wing lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). Trump’s marriage to Ivana Trump (Maria Bakalova) and relationship with his family including Fred Trump Sr. (Martin Donovan) are also interrogated onscreen. The film...
After portraying Tommy Lee in Hulu series “Pam and Tommy” and transforming via prosthetics for “A Different Man,” Stan is now taking on the role of a lifetime: Donald Trump. Stan leads “The Apprentice,” directed by “Border” and “Holy Spider” filmmaker Ali Abbasi from a script by Gabe Sherman.
“The Apprentice” is debuting at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in competition alongside buzzy features like Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada,” Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness,” Paolo Sorrentino’s “Parthenope,” and David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds.”
“The Apprentice” centers on Trump’s (Stan) rise to fame following what the official description calls a “Faustian deal” with right-wing lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). Trump’s marriage to Ivana Trump (Maria Bakalova) and relationship with his family including Fred Trump Sr. (Martin Donovan) are also interrogated onscreen. The film...
- 4/11/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The first-look image of Sebastian Stan as a young, pre-tv star and pre-president Donald Trump in buzzy upcoming biopic “The Apprentice” has been revealed.
Ali Abbasi’s feature — which has just been announced as part of the 2024 Cannes main competition — charts Trump’s ascent to power through what is described as a “Faustian deal” with the influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn (seen in the still being portrayed by Jeremy Strong). As the synopsis reads, “‘The Apprentice’ is a dive into the underbelly of the American empire.”
The hot button film, written by Gabe Sherman and likely to cause a stir on both sides of the political fence, also stars Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump and Martin Donovan as Fred Trump Sr.
Producers include Daniel Bekerman for Scythia Films (Canada), Jacob Jarek for Profile Pictures (Denmark), Ruth Treacy and Julianne Forde for Tailored Films (Ireland), Abbasi and Louis Tisne...
Ali Abbasi’s feature — which has just been announced as part of the 2024 Cannes main competition — charts Trump’s ascent to power through what is described as a “Faustian deal” with the influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn (seen in the still being portrayed by Jeremy Strong). As the synopsis reads, “‘The Apprentice’ is a dive into the underbelly of the American empire.”
The hot button film, written by Gabe Sherman and likely to cause a stir on both sides of the political fence, also stars Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump and Martin Donovan as Fred Trump Sr.
Producers include Daniel Bekerman for Scythia Films (Canada), Jacob Jarek for Profile Pictures (Denmark), Ruth Treacy and Julianne Forde for Tailored Films (Ireland), Abbasi and Louis Tisne...
- 4/11/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Immediately off the back of its inclusion in the Cannes competition line-up, Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice has dropped a first look of Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump and Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn.
Billed as an exploration of power and ambition, set in a world of corruption and deceit, The Apprentice will examine Trump’s efforts to build his real estate business in New York in the ’70s and ’80s, also digging into his relationship with infamous attorney Cohn. It’s a mentor-protege story that charts the origins of a major American dynasty. Filled with larger than life characters, it will reveal the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers.
Maria Bakalova is starring as Ivana Trump and Martin Donovan is Fred Trump Senior in the movie from Iranian-Danish director Abbasi, who most recently had Holy Spider in Cannes competition.
In the past hour,...
Billed as an exploration of power and ambition, set in a world of corruption and deceit, The Apprentice will examine Trump’s efforts to build his real estate business in New York in the ’70s and ’80s, also digging into his relationship with infamous attorney Cohn. It’s a mentor-protege story that charts the origins of a major American dynasty. Filled with larger than life characters, it will reveal the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers.
Maria Bakalova is starring as Ivana Trump and Martin Donovan is Fred Trump Senior in the movie from Iranian-Danish director Abbasi, who most recently had Holy Spider in Cannes competition.
In the past hour,...
- 4/11/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s official: Donald Trump — or at least a fictionalized version of him — is heading to Cannes.
The prestigious French film festival unveiled its 2024 official film selection Thursday in Paris, and Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice was among the titles revealed for the event’s main competition.
The biographical drama stars Sebastian Stan as Trump and explores his career as an aspiring real estate tycoon in the New York City of the 1970s and 1980s. The film is described as a mentor-protégé narrative that documents the start of an American dynasty and tackles themes including power, corruption and deception. It delves into the relationship between Trump and Roy Cohn, the New York City prosecutor oft-remembered for working with Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the Second Red Scare.
The movie’s official logline reads: “The Apprentice is a dive into the underbelly of the American empire. It charts a young...
The prestigious French film festival unveiled its 2024 official film selection Thursday in Paris, and Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice was among the titles revealed for the event’s main competition.
The biographical drama stars Sebastian Stan as Trump and explores his career as an aspiring real estate tycoon in the New York City of the 1970s and 1980s. The film is described as a mentor-protégé narrative that documents the start of an American dynasty and tackles themes including power, corruption and deception. It delves into the relationship between Trump and Roy Cohn, the New York City prosecutor oft-remembered for working with Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the Second Red Scare.
The movie’s official logline reads: “The Apprentice is a dive into the underbelly of the American empire. It charts a young...
- 4/11/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
James McAvoy may have a murderous intent in the new trailer for Speak No Evil, a horror film based on 2022 Danish hit Gæsterne. In the clip, an American couple played by Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy arrive at a remote estate along with their daughter after meeting a seemingly charming British family on vacation. Everything appears to be going well, until they notice the family’s mute son is acting strangely and McAvoy’s character begins to menace at every turn.
The official synopsis notes, “When an American family is...
The official synopsis notes, “When an American family is...
- 4/11/2024
- by Emily Zemler
- Rollingstone.com
Speak No Evil: "When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.
From Blumhouse, the producer of The Black Phone, Get Out and The Invisible Man, comes an intense suspense thriller for our modern age, starring BAFTA award-winner James McAvoy in a riveting performance as the charismatic, alpha-male estate owner whose untrammeled hospitality masks an unspeakable darkness.
Speak No Evil stars Mackenzie Davis and SAG award-winner Scoot McNairy as American couple Louise and Ben Dalton, who, along with their 11-year-old daughter Agnes, accept the weekend-holiday invitation of Paddy (McAvoy), his wife Ciara and their furtive, mute son Ant (newcomer Dan Hough).
Written for the screen and directed by James Watkins, the writer-director of Eden Lake and the award-winning gothic ghost story The Woman in Black,...
From Blumhouse, the producer of The Black Phone, Get Out and The Invisible Man, comes an intense suspense thriller for our modern age, starring BAFTA award-winner James McAvoy in a riveting performance as the charismatic, alpha-male estate owner whose untrammeled hospitality masks an unspeakable darkness.
Speak No Evil stars Mackenzie Davis and SAG award-winner Scoot McNairy as American couple Louise and Ben Dalton, who, along with their 11-year-old daughter Agnes, accept the weekend-holiday invitation of Paddy (McAvoy), his wife Ciara and their furtive, mute son Ant (newcomer Dan Hough).
Written for the screen and directed by James Watkins, the writer-director of Eden Lake and the award-winning gothic ghost story The Woman in Black,...
- 4/11/2024
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Following its debut at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Universal Pictures has revealed the official trailer for Speak No Evil, which will open in theaters on September 13, 2024.
When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.
From Blumhouse, the producer of The Black Phone, Get Out, and The Invisible Man, comes an intense suspense thriller for our modern age. It stars BAFTA award-winner James McAvoy in a riveting performance as the charismatic, alpha-male estate owner whose untrammeled hospitality masks an unspeakable darkness.
Speak No Evil stars Mackenzie Davis and SAG award-winner Scoot McNairy as American couple Louise and Ben Dalton.
The Daltons, along with their 11-year-old daughter Agnes, accept the weekend holiday invitation of Paddy (James McAvoy), his wife Ciara and their furtive,...
When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.
From Blumhouse, the producer of The Black Phone, Get Out, and The Invisible Man, comes an intense suspense thriller for our modern age. It stars BAFTA award-winner James McAvoy in a riveting performance as the charismatic, alpha-male estate owner whose untrammeled hospitality masks an unspeakable darkness.
Speak No Evil stars Mackenzie Davis and SAG award-winner Scoot McNairy as American couple Louise and Ben Dalton.
The Daltons, along with their 11-year-old daughter Agnes, accept the weekend holiday invitation of Paddy (James McAvoy), his wife Ciara and their furtive,...
- 4/11/2024
- by Mirko Parlevliet
- Vital Thrills
The bone-chilling Danish horror movie Speak No Evil is getting a remake here in the States courtesy of Blumhouse and Universal, and the official trailer has arrived tonight.
Universal will release their Speak No Evil remake on September 13, 2024.
Watch the official trailer below, fresh out of CinemaCon tonight.
James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Eden Lake) is directing Speak No Evil for Blumhouse and Universal, with Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate, Happiest Season) and James McAvoy (Split, Glass) set to star. Scoot McNairy (Argo) will also star.
In the remake, “When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.”
James Watkins also wrote the script for the Speak No Evil remake.
Jason Blum will produce the upcoming film for Blumhouse, with Paul Ritchie,...
Universal will release their Speak No Evil remake on September 13, 2024.
Watch the official trailer below, fresh out of CinemaCon tonight.
James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Eden Lake) is directing Speak No Evil for Blumhouse and Universal, with Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate, Happiest Season) and James McAvoy (Split, Glass) set to star. Scoot McNairy (Argo) will also star.
In the remake, “When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.”
James Watkins also wrote the script for the Speak No Evil remake.
Jason Blum will produce the upcoming film for Blumhouse, with Paul Ritchie,...
- 4/11/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Fans just can’t imagine the MCU’s Winter Soldier, Sebastian Stan, portraying the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump. Stan is cast in the role of a young Trump in the upcoming film The Apprentice. The production of the film kicked off towards the end of the last year, with Iranian filmmaker Ali Abbasi at the helm. The casting has raised a few eyebrows among Marvel fans, who claim that the project is a career killer for the actor.
Captain America: Civil War star Sebastian Stan plays a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice
Joining stan in the project are Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 voice actress Maria Bakalova and Emmy-winning Succession star Jeremy Strong. They are reportedly playing Ivana Trump and Roy Cohn respectively in the film.
Sebastian Stan’s New Role As Donald Trump Receives Negative Response From Fans
Fans hate Sebastian Stan’s...
Captain America: Civil War star Sebastian Stan plays a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice
Joining stan in the project are Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 voice actress Maria Bakalova and Emmy-winning Succession star Jeremy Strong. They are reportedly playing Ivana Trump and Roy Cohn respectively in the film.
Sebastian Stan’s New Role As Donald Trump Receives Negative Response From Fans
Fans hate Sebastian Stan’s...
- 3/31/2024
- by Hashim Asraff
- FandomWire
Exclusive: Martin Donovan (Special Ops: Lioness) will star alongside Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong and Maria Bakalova in The Apprentice, Ali Abbasi’s indie that has Stan playing a young Donald Trump.
Donovan will play Trump’s father, Fred Trump Sr., who built a real estate fortune that was instrumental in his son’s rise. As we were first to report, Strong will portray infamous attorney Roy Cohn, with Bakalova as the younger Trump’s first wife, Ivana.
An exploration of power and ambition, set in a world of corruption and deceit, The Apprentice hinges on Donald Trump’s efforts to build his real estate business in New York in the ’70s and ’80s, also digging into his relationship with the aforementioned Cohn. A mentor-protege story filled with larger-than-life characters, the film charts the origins of a major American dynasty and reveals the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers.
Donovan will play Trump’s father, Fred Trump Sr., who built a real estate fortune that was instrumental in his son’s rise. As we were first to report, Strong will portray infamous attorney Roy Cohn, with Bakalova as the younger Trump’s first wife, Ivana.
An exploration of power and ambition, set in a world of corruption and deceit, The Apprentice hinges on Donald Trump’s efforts to build his real estate business in New York in the ’70s and ’80s, also digging into his relationship with the aforementioned Cohn. A mentor-protege story filled with larger-than-life characters, the film charts the origins of a major American dynasty and reveals the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers.
- 2/9/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
James McAvoy has reteamed with his Split and Glass producers at Blumhouse for a psychological thriller called Speak No Evil, which Universal Pictures will be giving a theatrical release later this year. While the film had once been scheduled to reach theatres in August, Deadline reports that it has now shifted back one month, to Friday, September 13th. Yep, this one is getting a Friday the 13th release.
James Watkins, whose previous credits include Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, wrote and directed the film, which centers on a family who takes a dream holiday to an idyllic country house, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare. Speak No Evil is a remake of a 2022 Danish film called Gæsterne (read our review Here), which was directed by Christian Tafdrup. The director wrote the screenplay for the film with his brother Mads Tafdrup. Gæsterne was nominated for eleven Danish Film Awards,...
James Watkins, whose previous credits include Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, wrote and directed the film, which centers on a family who takes a dream holiday to an idyllic country house, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare. Speak No Evil is a remake of a 2022 Danish film called Gæsterne (read our review Here), which was directed by Christian Tafdrup. The director wrote the screenplay for the film with his brother Mads Tafdrup. Gæsterne was nominated for eleven Danish Film Awards,...
- 1/19/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
The bone-chilling Danish horror movie Speak No Evil is getting a remake here in the States courtesy of Blumhouse and Universal, and the film has a new release date this week.
Originally scheduled for theatrical release on August 9, 2024, Universal will now be releasing their Speak No Evil remake in U.S. theaters a little later on September 13, 2024.
The Speak No Evil remake has been rated “R” for…
“Some strong violence, language, some sexual content and brief drug use.”
While we wait for a trailer, you can watch the original movie’s trailer below.
James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Eden Lake) is directingSpeak No Evil for Blumhouse and Universal, with Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate, Happiest Season) and James McAvoy (Split, Glass) set to star. Scoot McNairy (Argo) will also star.
Deadline reminds, “In the original 2022 movie, a Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What...
Originally scheduled for theatrical release on August 9, 2024, Universal will now be releasing their Speak No Evil remake in U.S. theaters a little later on September 13, 2024.
The Speak No Evil remake has been rated “R” for…
“Some strong violence, language, some sexual content and brief drug use.”
While we wait for a trailer, you can watch the original movie’s trailer below.
James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Eden Lake) is directingSpeak No Evil for Blumhouse and Universal, with Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate, Happiest Season) and James McAvoy (Split, Glass) set to star. Scoot McNairy (Argo) will also star.
Deadline reminds, “In the original 2022 movie, a Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What...
- 1/18/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Speak No Evil is on the move, with Blumhouse and Universal pushing it to Sept. 13. It previously was slated for Aug. 9.
It will now go head-to-head with the animated Paramount feature Transformers One.
James McAvoy stars in the remake of the Danish psychological horror thriller Gaesterne. According to the logline, it is “about a family invited for a weekend at an idyllic country house—a dream holiday that warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.” Christian Tafdrup was behind the original movie, which was nominated for 11 Danish Film Awards, the country’s Oscars equivalent.
James Watkins, who helmed Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, wrote and directed the feature. He is also known for work on the mind-bending Netflix series Black Mirror.
Blumhouse’s Jason Blum is producing. Executive producers are Paul Ritchie, Tafdrup, Jacob Jarek and Bea Sequeira. Blumhouse, which recently completed its merger with James Wan’s Atomic Monster,...
It will now go head-to-head with the animated Paramount feature Transformers One.
James McAvoy stars in the remake of the Danish psychological horror thriller Gaesterne. According to the logline, it is “about a family invited for a weekend at an idyllic country house—a dream holiday that warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.” Christian Tafdrup was behind the original movie, which was nominated for 11 Danish Film Awards, the country’s Oscars equivalent.
James Watkins, who helmed Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, wrote and directed the feature. He is also known for work on the mind-bending Netflix series Black Mirror.
Blumhouse’s Jason Blum is producing. Executive producers are Paul Ritchie, Tafdrup, Jacob Jarek and Bea Sequeira. Blumhouse, which recently completed its merger with James Wan’s Atomic Monster,...
- 1/18/2024
- by Aaron Couch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
More tweaking to this year’s film schedule continues with Blumhouse/Universal’s James McAvoy thriller, Speak No Evil, going from Aug. 9 to Sept. 13, where an untitled Blumhouse movie already has dibs.
Speak No Evil, which we are hearing very hot things about, moves away from Liongate’s feature take of videogame, Borderlands, and MGM’s Flint Strong to a new date where it’s up against Paramount/Hasbro’s animated Transformers One and an untitled Angel Studios movie.
Speak No Evil is a feature adaptation of acclaimed Danish horror title Gæsterne (Speak No Evil), about a family invited for a weekend at an idyllic country house—a dream holiday that warps into a snarled psychological nightmare. James Watkins, the fimmaker of Woman in Black, is the writer and director here based on the screenplay of Gæsterne by Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup. That movie was released in 2022, and earned 11 Danish Film Awards nominations,...
Speak No Evil, which we are hearing very hot things about, moves away from Liongate’s feature take of videogame, Borderlands, and MGM’s Flint Strong to a new date where it’s up against Paramount/Hasbro’s animated Transformers One and an untitled Angel Studios movie.
Speak No Evil is a feature adaptation of acclaimed Danish horror title Gæsterne (Speak No Evil), about a family invited for a weekend at an idyllic country house—a dream holiday that warps into a snarled psychological nightmare. James Watkins, the fimmaker of Woman in Black, is the writer and director here based on the screenplay of Gæsterne by Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup. That movie was released in 2022, and earned 11 Danish Film Awards nominations,...
- 1/18/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Last year’s terrifying Danish horror movie Speak No Evil is getting a remake here in the States courtesy of Blumhouse and Universal, and the official MPA rating has arrived this week.
The Speak No Evil remake has been rated “R” for…
“Some strong violence, language, some sexual content and brief drug use.”
While we wait for a trailer, you can watch the original movie’s trailer below.
James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Eden Lake) is directingSpeak No Evil for Blumhouse and Universal, with Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate, Happiest Season) and James McAvoy (Split, Glass) set to star. Scoot McNairy (Argo) will also star.
Universal will release Speak No Evil in theaters on August 9, 2024.
Deadline reminds, “In the original 2022 movie, a Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to...
The Speak No Evil remake has been rated “R” for…
“Some strong violence, language, some sexual content and brief drug use.”
While we wait for a trailer, you can watch the original movie’s trailer below.
James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Eden Lake) is directingSpeak No Evil for Blumhouse and Universal, with Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate, Happiest Season) and James McAvoy (Split, Glass) set to star. Scoot McNairy (Argo) will also star.
Universal will release Speak No Evil in theaters on August 9, 2024.
Deadline reminds, “In the original 2022 movie, a Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to...
- 12/13/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Sebastian Stan is set to portray a young Donald Trump in a movie from filmmaker Ali Abbasi.
The Apprentice began principal photography this week and features an ensemble cast that includes Jeremy Strong and Maria Bakalova. The film focuses on Trump as he builds his real estate business in New York City in the 1970s and ’80s, according to media reports.
Abbasi (Holy Spider) is directing from a script by Gabriel Sherman. The latter’s biography of Fox News founder Roger Ailes, The Loudest Voice in the Room, was the basis for Showtime’s 2019 miniseries The Loudest Voice that starred Russell Crowe.
The Apprentice is described as a mentor-protégé narrative that documents the start of an American dynasty and tackles themes including power, corruption and deception.
Producers of The Apprentice are Daniel Bekerman of Scythia Films, Jacob Jarek of Profile Pictures and Ruth Treacy of Taylored Films. Executive producing are Sherman,...
The Apprentice began principal photography this week and features an ensemble cast that includes Jeremy Strong and Maria Bakalova. The film focuses on Trump as he builds his real estate business in New York City in the 1970s and ’80s, according to media reports.
Abbasi (Holy Spider) is directing from a script by Gabriel Sherman. The latter’s biography of Fox News founder Roger Ailes, The Loudest Voice in the Room, was the basis for Showtime’s 2019 miniseries The Loudest Voice that starred Russell Crowe.
The Apprentice is described as a mentor-protégé narrative that documents the start of an American dynasty and tackles themes including power, corruption and deception.
Producers of The Apprentice are Daniel Bekerman of Scythia Films, Jacob Jarek of Profile Pictures and Ruth Treacy of Taylored Films. Executive producing are Sherman,...
- 11/29/2023
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
We might not be seeing many casting announcements for a while, as the Screen Actors Guild has joined the Writers Guild on strike – but right before the strike began, it was announced (via Deadline) that child actor Alix West Lefler had joined the cast of the psychological thriller Speak No Evil, which Universal Pictures will be giving a theatrical release on August 9, 2024. Filming on Speak No Evil began in late May and has been taking place in Croatia and the UK, but it’s not clear whether or not production wrapped before the strike began.
James McAvoy is reteaming with his Split and Glass producers at Blumhouse for this project, which also stars Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate) and Scoot McNairy (Argo).
Lefler’s previous credits include nine episodes of Riverdale, where she played Juniper, and the film The Good Nurse. Also on her filmography are Chateau Christmas, Cranberry Christmas,...
James McAvoy is reteaming with his Split and Glass producers at Blumhouse for this project, which also stars Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate) and Scoot McNairy (Argo).
Lefler’s previous credits include nine episodes of Riverdale, where she played Juniper, and the film The Good Nurse. Also on her filmography are Chateau Christmas, Cranberry Christmas,...
- 7/17/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Exclusive: Alix West Lefler (The Good Nurse and Riverdale) is set to appear as a supporting lead in Blumhouse’s upcoming remake of the Danish thriller, Speak No Evil. Universal has set a theatrical release of Aug. 9, 2024.
Lefler joins previously announced cast members James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, and Scoot McNairy. The film is a new adaptation of the acclaimed Danish horror film Gæsterne, about a family invited for a weekend at an idyllic country house — a dream holiday that warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.
Lelfer will portray the role of Agnes, the daughter of Louise (Mackenzie Davis) and Ben (Scoot McNairy).Lefler can be seen in Netflix’s critically acclaimed true-crime thriller The Good Nurse alongside Jessica Chastain, and Eddy Redmayne. She most recently wrapped production for Christian Sparkes’ drama The King Tide starring Frances Fischer and Lara Jean Chorostecki. Additional credits for Lefler include Netflix’s upcoming drama...
Lefler joins previously announced cast members James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, and Scoot McNairy. The film is a new adaptation of the acclaimed Danish horror film Gæsterne, about a family invited for a weekend at an idyllic country house — a dream holiday that warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.
Lelfer will portray the role of Agnes, the daughter of Louise (Mackenzie Davis) and Ben (Scoot McNairy).Lefler can be seen in Netflix’s critically acclaimed true-crime thriller The Good Nurse alongside Jessica Chastain, and Eddy Redmayne. She most recently wrapped production for Christian Sparkes’ drama The King Tide starring Frances Fischer and Lara Jean Chorostecki. Additional credits for Lefler include Netflix’s upcoming drama...
- 7/12/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
The Teachers’ Lounge, İlker Çatak’s unsettling look at a teacher at the end of her rope, beat our multi-Oscar winner All Quiet on the Western Front to win the top prize for best film at the 2023 German Film Awards, known as the Lolas.
Çatak won the best director Lola and his drama also picked up prizes for best screenplay and best editing, as well as the best actress nod for star Leonie Benesch.
But All Quiet did not go home empty-handed. The first German-language adaptation of the Erich Maria Remarque classic 1929 anti-war novel won nine Lolas, including the runner-up silver Lola for best film.
Holy Spider, Ali Abbasi’s Iranian serial killer movie, which premiered in Cannes last year and was largely financed out of Germany, won the third prize Lola in bronze.
This year’s Lolas were held amid an atmosphere of turbulence and soul-searching. Recent revelations about the behavior of Till Schweiger,...
Çatak won the best director Lola and his drama also picked up prizes for best screenplay and best editing, as well as the best actress nod for star Leonie Benesch.
But All Quiet did not go home empty-handed. The first German-language adaptation of the Erich Maria Remarque classic 1929 anti-war novel won nine Lolas, including the runner-up silver Lola for best film.
Holy Spider, Ali Abbasi’s Iranian serial killer movie, which premiered in Cannes last year and was largely financed out of Germany, won the third prize Lola in bronze.
This year’s Lolas were held amid an atmosphere of turbulence and soul-searching. Recent revelations about the behavior of Till Schweiger,...
- 5/12/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Last month, it was announced that James McAvoy is reteaming with his Split and Glass producers at Blumhouse for a psychological thriller called Speak No Evil, which Universal Pictures will be giving a theatrical release on August 9, 2024. Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate) joined the cast soon after, and now Deadline reports that McAvoy and Davis are being joined in the cast by Scoot McNairy.
McNairy’s previous credits include Monsters, Argo, Killing Them Softly, 12 Years a Slave, Batman v. Superman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Narcos: Mexico, and True Detective.
James Watkins, whose previous credits include Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, will be writing and directing the film, which will center on a family who takes a dream holiday to an idyllic country house, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare. Speak No Evil is a remake of a 2022 Danish film called Gæsterne,...
McNairy’s previous credits include Monsters, Argo, Killing Them Softly, 12 Years a Slave, Batman v. Superman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Narcos: Mexico, and True Detective.
James Watkins, whose previous credits include Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, will be writing and directing the film, which will center on a family who takes a dream holiday to an idyllic country house, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare. Speak No Evil is a remake of a 2022 Danish film called Gæsterne,...
- 5/5/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
A remake of last year’s terrifying Danish horror movie, James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Eden Lake) is directing Speak No Evil for Blumhouse and Universal, and Deadline reports tonight that Scoot McNairy (Argo) has signed on. Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate, Happiest Season) and James McAvoy (Split, Glass) will also star.
Universal will release Speak No Evil in theaters on August 9, 2024.
Deadline reminds, “In the original 2022 movie, a Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness.”
James Watkins also wrote the script for the Speak No Evil remake.
Jason Blum will produce the upcoming film for Blumhouse, with Paul Ritchie, Christian Tafdrup, Jacob Jarek, and Bea Sequeira serving as Executive Producers.
Directed by Christian Tafdrup, the original Speak No Evil was selected...
Universal will release Speak No Evil in theaters on August 9, 2024.
Deadline reminds, “In the original 2022 movie, a Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness.”
James Watkins also wrote the script for the Speak No Evil remake.
Jason Blum will produce the upcoming film for Blumhouse, with Paul Ritchie, Christian Tafdrup, Jacob Jarek, and Bea Sequeira serving as Executive Producers.
Directed by Christian Tafdrup, the original Speak No Evil was selected...
- 5/4/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Mackenzie Davis has joined the cast of 'Speak No Evil'.The 36-year-old actress is to star alongside James McAvoy in the remake of the Danish psychological thriller 'Gaesterne'.'Speak No Evil' centres on a family who take a dream holiday to an idyllic house in the country, only to have the vacation turn into a nightmare.The movie will be written and directed by James Watkins for Universal and is set to be released in August 2024.The director has previously worked on the horror movies 'Eden Lake' and 'The Woman In Black' as well as the TV shows 'Black Mirror' and 'McMafia'.The original film was directed by Christian Tafdrup and was nominated for 11 Danish Film Awards, the nation's equivalent of the Oscars.Blumhouse chief Jason Blum is producing with executive producers on the film including Tafdrup, Paul Ritchie, Jacob Jarek and Bea Sequeira.
- 4/25/2023
- by Joe Graber
- Bang Showbiz
Last week, it was announced that James McAvoy is reteaming with his Split and Glass producers at Blumhouse for a psychological thriller called Speak No Evil, which Universal Pictures will be giving a theatrical release on August 9, 2024. Now Deadline reports that McAvoy is being joined in the cast by Mackenzie Davis, whose credits include Terminator: Dark Fate, Blade Runner 2049, Black Mirror, Halt and Catch Fire, and Station Eleven. Details on the characters McAvoy and Davis will be playing have not been revealed.
James Watkins, whose previous credits include Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, will be writing and directing the film, which will center on a family who takes a dream holiday to an idyllic country house, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare. Speak No Evil is a remake of a 2022 Danish film called Gæsterne, which was directed by Christian Tafdrup. The director wrote...
James Watkins, whose previous credits include Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, will be writing and directing the film, which will center on a family who takes a dream holiday to an idyllic country house, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare. Speak No Evil is a remake of a 2022 Danish film called Gæsterne, which was directed by Christian Tafdrup. The director wrote...
- 4/24/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
A remake of last year’s terrifying Danish horror movie, James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Eden Lake) is directing Speak No Evil for Blumhouse and Universal, and Deadline provides an update this afternoon. Mackenzie Davis will star alongside the previously announced James McAvoy (Split, Glass).
What’s the point of remaking a movie that only just came out last year? It’s a hard question to answer. But with Davis and McAvoy leading the cast, well, that’s a damn good start.
Universal will release Speak No Evil in theaters on August 9, 2024.
Deadline reminds, “In the original 2022 movie, a Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness.”
James Watkins also wrote the script for the Speak No Evil remake.
Jason Blum will produce the upcoming film for Blumhouse,...
What’s the point of remaking a movie that only just came out last year? It’s a hard question to answer. But with Davis and McAvoy leading the cast, well, that’s a damn good start.
Universal will release Speak No Evil in theaters on August 9, 2024.
Deadline reminds, “In the original 2022 movie, a Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness.”
James Watkins also wrote the script for the Speak No Evil remake.
Jason Blum will produce the upcoming film for Blumhouse,...
- 4/24/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
James McAvoy has joined the cast of Blumhouse productions upcoming horror-thriller ‘Speak No Evil.’
The film, a remake of the Danish psychological horror thriller ‘Gaesterne,’ centres on a family that takes a dream holiday to an idyllic country house, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare.
Filmmaker James Watkins will write and direct. He previously helmed ‘Eden Lake’ and ‘The Woman in Black,’ as well as an episode of ‘Black Mirror.’
Also in news – Glen Powell is in talks to star opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones in ‘Twisters’
Blumhouse topper Jason Blum is producing, with executive producers including Ritchie, Christian Tafdrup, Jacob Jarek and Bea Sequeira.
The script is based on the 2022 original for Gaesterne Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup. Christian Tafdrup directed the original feature, which was nominated for 11 Danish Film Awards, the country’s equivalent to the Oscars.
The release date has been set a date of...
The film, a remake of the Danish psychological horror thriller ‘Gaesterne,’ centres on a family that takes a dream holiday to an idyllic country house, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare.
Filmmaker James Watkins will write and direct. He previously helmed ‘Eden Lake’ and ‘The Woman in Black,’ as well as an episode of ‘Black Mirror.’
Also in news – Glen Powell is in talks to star opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones in ‘Twisters’
Blumhouse topper Jason Blum is producing, with executive producers including Ritchie, Christian Tafdrup, Jacob Jarek and Bea Sequeira.
The script is based on the 2022 original for Gaesterne Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup. Christian Tafdrup directed the original feature, which was nominated for 11 Danish Film Awards, the country’s equivalent to the Oscars.
The release date has been set a date of...
- 4/18/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
James McAvoy is set to star in 'Speak No Evil'.The 43-year-old actor is attached to feature in a remake of the Danish psychological horror thriller 'Gaesterne'.The movie is being written and directed by James Watkins for Universal and a release date of August 2024 has been set by the studio. The director has previously worked on the horror movies 'Eden Lake' and 'The Woman In Black' as well as the TV shows 'Black Mirror' and 'McMafia'.'Speak No Evil' centres on a family who take a dream holiday to an idyllic house in the country, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare.The original film was directed by Christian Tafdrup and was nominated for 11 Danish Film Awards, the nation's equivalent of the Oscars.Blumhouse chief Jason Blum is producing with executive producers including Tafdrup, Paul Ritchie, Jacob Jarek and Bea Sequeira.
- 4/18/2023
- by Joe Graber
- Bang Showbiz
James McAvoy is set to reteam with his Split and Glass producers at Blumhouse for a psychological thriller called Speak No Evil, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed. Universal Pictures has already scheduled the film for an August 9, 2024 theatrical release.
James Watkins, whose previous credits include Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, will be writing and directing the film. It’s said that Speak No Evil will center on a family who takes a dream holiday to an idyllic country house, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare.
We need more information than that, because that sounds like a whole bunch of movies we’ve seen before. Luckily, there is more information to be found, because this is actually a remake of a 2022 Danish film called Gæsterne, which was directed by Christian Tafdrup. The director wrote the screenplay for the film with his brother Mads Tafdrup – and...
James Watkins, whose previous credits include Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, will be writing and directing the film. It’s said that Speak No Evil will center on a family who takes a dream holiday to an idyllic country house, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare.
We need more information than that, because that sounds like a whole bunch of movies we’ve seen before. Luckily, there is more information to be found, because this is actually a remake of a 2022 Danish film called Gæsterne, which was directed by Christian Tafdrup. The director wrote the screenplay for the film with his brother Mads Tafdrup – and...
- 4/17/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
A remake of last year’s terrifying Danish horror movie, James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Eden Lake) is directing Speak No Evil for Blumhouse and Universal, we’ve learned.
First reported by Deadline, James McAvoy will star.
Universal will release Speak No Evil in theaters on August 9, 2024.
Deadline reminds, “In the original 2022 movie, a Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness.”
James Watkins also wrote the script for the Speak No Evil remake.
Jason Blum will produce the upcoming film for Blumhouse, with Paul Ritchie, Christian Tafdrup, Jacob Jarek, and Bea Sequeira serving as Executive Producers.
Directed by Christian Tafdrup, the original Speak No Evil was selected as one of Bloody Disgusting’s 12 Best International Horror Movies of 2022. Daniel Kurland raved about the highly distressing Danish nightmare,...
First reported by Deadline, James McAvoy will star.
Universal will release Speak No Evil in theaters on August 9, 2024.
Deadline reminds, “In the original 2022 movie, a Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness.”
James Watkins also wrote the script for the Speak No Evil remake.
Jason Blum will produce the upcoming film for Blumhouse, with Paul Ritchie, Christian Tafdrup, Jacob Jarek, and Bea Sequeira serving as Executive Producers.
Directed by Christian Tafdrup, the original Speak No Evil was selected as one of Bloody Disgusting’s 12 Best International Horror Movies of 2022. Daniel Kurland raved about the highly distressing Danish nightmare,...
- 4/17/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Universal and Blumhouse announced on Monday that James McAvoy is set to star in a remake of the Danish thriller “Speak No Evil,” which will be written and directed by James Watkins.
The remake, based on the film by Christian and Mads Tafdrup, is set to be released on August 9, 2024. Christian Tafdrup will be an executive producer on the film alongside Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum, Paul Ritchie, Jacob Jarek, and Bea Sequeira.
Released by IFC Films in 2022 with a premiere in the Sundance Film Festival’s midnight section, “Speak No Evil” follows a Danish couple on vacation in Tuscany who meet a Dutch couple with a mute child. The Dutch couple begin to insinuate themselves into the lives of the Danish couple, pushing their ability to tolerate abusive behavior until it takes a violent turn.
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The remake, based on the film by Christian and Mads Tafdrup, is set to be released on August 9, 2024. Christian Tafdrup will be an executive producer on the film alongside Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum, Paul Ritchie, Jacob Jarek, and Bea Sequeira.
Released by IFC Films in 2022 with a premiere in the Sundance Film Festival’s midnight section, “Speak No Evil” follows a Danish couple on vacation in Tuscany who meet a Dutch couple with a mute child. The Dutch couple begin to insinuate themselves into the lives of the Danish couple, pushing their ability to tolerate abusive behavior until it takes a violent turn.
Also Read:
‘Super Mario Bros.’ Punches Record 2nd Box Office Weekend Even Higher to $92.5 Million...
- 4/17/2023
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
After working together on the combined half billion-plus grossing hits, Split and Glass, James McAvoy and Blumhouse are reteaming for a remake of Danish thriller, Speak No Evil. James Watkins (The Woman in Black) will direct from his script. Universal has set a theatrical release of Aug. 9, 2024.
In the original 2022 movie, a Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness. Pic is based on the screenplay by Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup.
Jason Blum will produce the film for Blumhouse, with Paul Ritchie, Christian Tafdrup, Jacob Jarek, and Bea Sequeira serving as EPs.
Watkins made his directorial debut with the cult thriller Eden Lake. He next directed The Woman in Black, the most successful British horror film since box office records began minting $129M WW.
In the original 2022 movie, a Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness. Pic is based on the screenplay by Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup.
Jason Blum will produce the film for Blumhouse, with Paul Ritchie, Christian Tafdrup, Jacob Jarek, and Bea Sequeira serving as EPs.
Watkins made his directorial debut with the cult thriller Eden Lake. He next directed The Woman in Black, the most successful British horror film since box office records began minting $129M WW.
- 4/17/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
James McAvoy is getting back in business with Blumhouse, the studio behind his M. Night Shyamalan features Split and Glass. The actor is set to star in Speak No Evil, a remake of the Danish psychological horror thriller Gaesterne.
Universal has set a date of Aug. 9, 2024, for the film. The remake hails from filmmaker James Watkins, who will write and direct. He previously helmed Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, as well as an episode of Black Mirror.
The new feature centers on a family that takes a dream holiday to an idyllic country house, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare.
The script is based on the 2022 original for Gaesterne Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup. Christian Tafdrup directed the original feature, which was nominated for 11 Danish Film Awards, the country’s equivalent to the Oscars.
Blumhouse topper Jason Blum is producing, with executive producers including Ritchie,...
Universal has set a date of Aug. 9, 2024, for the film. The remake hails from filmmaker James Watkins, who will write and direct. He previously helmed Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, as well as an episode of Black Mirror.
The new feature centers on a family that takes a dream holiday to an idyllic country house, only to have the vacation turn into a psychological nightmare.
The script is based on the 2022 original for Gaesterne Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup. Christian Tafdrup directed the original feature, which was nominated for 11 Danish Film Awards, the country’s equivalent to the Oscars.
Blumhouse topper Jason Blum is producing, with executive producers including Ritchie,...
- 4/17/2023
- by Aaron Couch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
While Sweden’s Ruben Östlund grabbed some Oscar nominations and took home Cannes’ Palmed’Or last year, two other Scandinavian filmmakers basked in the international spotlight following their Cannes competition premieres: Ali Abbasi with “Holy Spider” and Tarik Saleh with “Cairo Conspiracy” (previously titled “Boy From Heaven”).
Abbasi, an Iranian-born Danish helmer, and Saleh, a Swedish director whose father is Egyptian, are part of an exciting new generation of Nordic helmers who are shaking up traditional Scandinavian cinema.
These filmmakers are delivering singular and timely movies shot abroad or in different languages, weaving together genres and political elements.
“Holy Spider” was based on the true story of a family man who became a serial killer and murdered sex workers in the Iranian holy city of Mashhad, while “Cairo Conspiracy” is set against the backdrop of a ruthless struggle between Egypt’s religious and political elite.
Breaking away from the longentrenched trend of so-called Nordic Noir,...
Abbasi, an Iranian-born Danish helmer, and Saleh, a Swedish director whose father is Egyptian, are part of an exciting new generation of Nordic helmers who are shaking up traditional Scandinavian cinema.
These filmmakers are delivering singular and timely movies shot abroad or in different languages, weaving together genres and political elements.
“Holy Spider” was based on the true story of a family man who became a serial killer and murdered sex workers in the Iranian holy city of Mashhad, while “Cairo Conspiracy” is set against the backdrop of a ruthless struggle between Egypt’s religious and political elite.
Breaking away from the longentrenched trend of so-called Nordic Noir,...
- 2/19/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we’ll shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re talking with German indie producer Sol Bondy of One Two Films. Bondy, whose credits include Angry Indian Goddesses and The Tale, most recently produced Iranian crime thriller Holy Spider which is Denmark’s submission to the 2023 Academy Awards and he tells us how challenging it was to get this impactful project off the ground.
A few days after Ali Abbasi’s second directorial effort Border premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018, Danish producer Jacob Jarek approached Sol Bondy to co-produce the Iranian helmer’s next project Holy Spider. Jarek, who had produced Abbasi’s debut feature Shelley, had previously worked with Bondy on Icelandic titles Under the Tree and The County and with beguiling body horror...
A few days after Ali Abbasi’s second directorial effort Border premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018, Danish producer Jacob Jarek approached Sol Bondy to co-produce the Iranian helmer’s next project Holy Spider. Jarek, who had produced Abbasi’s debut feature Shelley, had previously worked with Bondy on Icelandic titles Under the Tree and The County and with beguiling body horror...
- 1/12/2023
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Denmark’s Oscar© 2023 Entry for Best International Feature: ‘Holy Spider’ directed by Ali AbbasiThis crime genre drama labeled “Persian Noir” is based on a 20 year old case but is shockingly relevant, as is noted in this interview with producer Sol Bondy conducted by Marina Dallarosa.
US Theatrical Release October 28, 2022.
Producer Sol Bondy’s explanation of Holy Spider’s genesis and progress through the Covid infected era details the difficulties this film met at every step. However, once finished, it premiered in Cannes Competition and went on to play in the Jerusalem Film Festival, and in Toronto International Film Festival. He noted that the audience in Toronto; was 30–40% Iranians. Their ability to understand nuances and “code words” brought an element of laughter to an otherwise bloody crime film, labeled “Persian noir”.
The filmmaker Ali Abbasi is Iranian and lives in Denmark, the country submitting the film to the Motion Picture Academy for Oscar nomination. It could never have been shot in Iran due to its subject matter, though they did try, as they did in Turkey as well before shooting in Jordan. The production faced years of Covid‑19 surges, shooting delays, location changes and government resistance.
Holy Spider is based upon a true story of the infamous “spider killings” which took place while the director, Ali Abbasi, was living in the country between 2000 and 2001. It is produced by Germany’s Sol Bondy whose previous film Persian Lessons was also based on a provocative story and was Belarus’ 2020 submission for Oscars. Abbasi’s film Border was a Cannes winner of Un Certain Regard and 2018 Oscar nominated film.
A coproduction of Denmark, Germany, France, and Sweden, Holy Spider tells the story of Saeed Hanaei, a family man who embarks on his own religious quest to “cleanse” the holy Iranian city of Mashhad of immoral and corrupt street prostitutes. After murdering several women, he grows ever more desperate about the lack of public interest in his divine mission. In all, he murdered 16 women.
This genre film, with misogyny being the core theme, comes at a time where massive protests in Iran, following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini have unified the country in an unprecedented manner. While more and more protesters, many underage, are being killed by the regime, Holy Spider has met Iranian diaspora audiences with cheers.
During Cannes, film and TV funder Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburgcelebrated the six films that it funded running in the official program of the Cannes Film Festival. These were Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider in Competition, Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness in Competition, Emily Atef’s More Than Ever in Un Certain Regard, Mia Hansen-Løve’s Un beau matin in Directors’ Fortnight, Sergei Loznitsa’s The Natural History of Destruction in Special Screenings, and Mantas Kvedaravicius’ Mariupolis 2, in Special Screenings. Commenting on the role Medienboard played in funding these films in Cannes, the organization’s chief Kirsten Niehuus said: “Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and other film funds play an important role in sustaining high quality cinema in Europe and in international co-productions around the world.”
At their celebration, I spoke with one of the most outstanding young actresses who played Zinab, a sex worker in the Holy Spider. German-based, Iran-born Sara Fazilat is also German Film’s Face To Face ambassador 2022. She is also the lead cast in Nico by Eline Gehring that was shown almost worldwide at numerous film festivals. Unfortunately Nico is not available online in the U.S…yet. It is about Nico who is enjoying the summer in Berlin with her best friend Rosa until a racist attack pulls her out of her carefree everyday life. Traumatized by the crime, the geriatric nurse decides never to be a victim again and begins to train with a karate world champion.
I also saw Sol Bondy of One Two Films, one of the lead producers of Holy Spider. Produced along with Jacob Jarek of Denmark’s Profile Pictures, coproducers were Nordisk Film Production, Wild Bunch International, Film i Väst, Why Not Productions, Zdf/Arte and Arte France Cinéma.
Sol Bondy and Jacob Jarek also stand out as alumni of Berlinale Talents. They both co-produced Icelandic films The County and Under The Tree previously.
Jarek, who went to the National Film School of Denmark with Abbasi and was one of the producers of his debut feature Shelley, says the director “had this story in his mind for a long time but we officially started developing it in 2016”. After Abbasi’s second feature Border was an international success at Cannes and beyond in 2018, the filmmaker was in demand. He told Jarek, “Now’s our chance to make Holy Spider,” a project always close to his heart.
An Interview with Sol Bondy by Marina Dalarossa
Marina: So the first question is just about you and the producer Jakob Jarek. Could you talk a bit about how you actually came to work together?
Sol: We didn’t do the Berlinale Talents the same year. I did it relatively late in my career, and truthfully, mainly because of the woman who runs the program, she urged me to do it. I had worked for the talents for many, many years and quite a few of my friends had done it during film school and by the time I did it, I’d been out of film school running my company for 6 years already.
But we didn’t meet there. Jakob and I were both minor coproducers on an Icelandic film called Under the Tree. That’s how we met. And then we also were both minor coproducers on another Icelandic film called The County.
We knew of each other before, I knew some people that he worked with and thought they were doing really interesting films. And then in Cannes 2018, Border had just premiered a couple of days before, everybody was talking about it and Jakob asked me if I wanted to join the next film of Ali? I didn’t read a script or ask any questions; I also didn’t know what I was getting myself into but I said yes immediately. I sensed this could be a great opportunity.
And that instinct was right. The film was financed relatively quickly and within a year we had most of the budget together. But then Covid came. I’m sure we’ll get into that later!
Marina: Yes thanks. I want to know if you think being in Talents helped your career at all?
Sol: Well, given the very specific timing of it, I think it would have helped my career much more if I had done it earlier. But there are also other great intiatives out there, postgraduate training for producers. Before Talents, I did a program called Transatlantic Partners in 2013. That was really helpful and actually generated two big projects for me. One was Angry Indian Goddessesand the other was The Tale.
A couple of years later I did a program called Inside Pictures. It was also extremely valuable and really helped me make some really important business decisions going forward. Jacob also did this program but again, in another year. There are many great initiatives. Also I’ve always loved going to festivals. They make your network bigger and stronger.
Marina: You talked about how you came on board to produce Holy Spider, but what do you think made Jakob decide you should come in at that point?
Sol: He had a hard task producing and financing a film set in the Middle East without any Middle Eastern money. Also, with this topic it was clear you can’t just roll into Iran and make a film there.
On top of that, there had been a shift in the Danish government. Suddenly, to reach a certain amount of financing from the Danish Film Institute, the film had to be culturally relevant to Denmark. So I believe that halved the financing opportunities for Jacob in Denmark. He needed money from outside Denmark to make this film; he needed coproducers.
He’s well versed in international coproductions, so he knew when is a good time to attach coproducing partners and also how much time it can take. For instance, we often get approached with projects and they tell us they will be shooting in three months. We have to tell them that when we coproduce in Germany, we have deadlines and a lot of bureaucracy, so while we can do a lot — we’re very lucky with that — it still takes time.
To get back to the first question: We were ready to go, we had the budget we thought we needed to make the film and when Covid came and then Jakob found himself in a situation where two of his projects, a series and a feature film, were hit by Covid. And it was unclear how these massive losses were going to be covered. The world was in turmoil and Jakob’s projects in limbo.
It became clear, he could currently not commit to the project — such a challenging production by a very demanding director. Ali (the director) on the other hand, who could have chosen any project after his widely successful and much loved Border, was saying, “Guys, I get it, but I don’t care about circumstances. If you guys can’t figure out how we can make this film now, then it’s over, I’m out.”
And that put me under maximum pressure because making films is squarey our only source of income. I had three employees to pay, was expecting my second child, and at that pont, we didn’t know that the German government would be helping out companies like ours. Without this film, it seemed I would have to close my shop. So Jacob and I looked at what options we had and decided I would go for it. I didn’t know how, I didn’t know when, but I said, Ok, I’ll do it.
What was unfortunate at that time is that Jordan, during the first wave, basically closed the borders and would not let anyone in. So the country that we had scouted and wanted to shoot in was essentially shut down. We couldn’t really plan a production there because nobody knew when the borders would open again or if they might close again at some point.
So it was decided to go to Turkey. It didn’t look like Erdogan was going to close Turkey. So we went into Turkey and we scouted for weeks with a big crew, the cinematographer, the production designer, the line producers from Germany, the Turkish line producer who we hired to service the production. There was a big gang scouting different cities in Turkey. And although it was harder to match Iran, we found the right locations a couple of weeks later.
The crew was growing; we were exploring how to bring period cars over the border. Pre-production was basically in full swing, at the same time, we were waiting for a shooting permit, and this shooting permit never came. So I decided to do some more digging because this was making me very uncomfortable. I knew I couldn’t shoot without the permit. I was about to spend a significant amount of more money and I’d already spent around €50,000. Not being able to shoot the film in Turkey would mean that money would just be down the drain. Plus the entire production plan. You can imagine, with everything there, where we came from, the delays that we had already encountered, it was nerve-wracking.
We then basically found out behind the scenes that our application had gone from the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Turkish Ambassador and he got the feedback that this film should not be supported.
I then took Ali and my two line producers and we flew to Ankara to meet with the Ministry of Culture. And they told us to speak to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The next day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told us that to get shooting permits we hd to speak with the Ministry of Culture. They basically used us like a pinball. We realiaed that we had been censored in Turkey. And it was a huge blow. I fet so hepless. Everyone was upset. Ali was furious.
It took some time to get the whole demoralized team back into the mental state to give it another go back in Jordan, where the borders had re-opened but which was logistically much more complicated.
And we went for it. We found new locations, hired local crews, got visas for our Iranian players and even managed to import Iranian cars to Jordan. You could make a documentary feature about just this aspect of the production of importing these cars. They arrived after a huge delay, when we were already shooting, but we managed to make it work.
Marina: This sounds intense. Were there other significant issues?
One of the most challenging aspects of the film was the casting, which was very complex, as we were mainly looking for Iranians who didn’t live in Iran. We knew participating in this film would be challenging for their future in the country. But Ali was adamant that his two main roles needed to be perfect in terms of their body language and the dialect. So we essentially needed people from Iran. We had found two who were willing to take the risk with all the consequences even potentially relocating after the shoot. The lead actress finally came for the makeup and hair test about 10 days before shooting. Couple days later she came to my hotel room crying and said, “I can’t do it. It’s too much.”
So we were a week before shooting and we didn’t have a lead actress. It was another massive blow. And this is when it was decided after bit of back and forth and deliberation that our casting director Zar Amir-Ebrahimi would step in and play the role. And she was rewarded in Cannes with the Best Actress Golden Palm. It’s a pretty crazy story.
And then, just two days before we were Finally going to shoot the film, Covid hit us in a way where couldn’t start shooting. I felt like I didn’t know if I was making a film or if I was in “Lost in La Mancha — Part 2”. My wife for months kept telling me I should have a documentary crew filming all this madness. I told her I was going to murder someone if I had a documentary crew around.
Marina: Wow! And after the film was completed, Denmark’s decided to submit your film to the Academy Awards. Do you know what went into their decision?
Sol: Well, the Danes may have one of the best track records in recent years when it comes to choosing the film and then being nominated or even winning. I think in the last 11 years they won twice. They got 7 nominations and I think 9 made the shortlist.
So this speaks to two things: First of all, the quality of the films they make in this small country. And then, they really look carefully at which films has the biggest chances. In our case: no other Danish film had been to Cannes competition. No other film had US distribution and played Telluride and TIFF. And already in Cannes, we had the fantastic PR of past successes like Drive My Car and Flee, so it made a lot of sense for them to choose Holy Spider. It’s still a very brave choice because it’s not a very Danish film on the outside. On the inside it looks different, you know the composer is Danish, the editor is Danish, the production designer, ok she’s Swedish, but Ali also has a Danish passport. Jakob is like me, a delegate producer and is Danish. So it has a strong Danish footprint.
Many outlets, like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter included the film in their predictions to get the nomination. So I guess all this helped the Danes come to this decision.
Marina: How does it feel to be chosen by the Danes and also to be chosen for Cannes and have gotten so many prizes already?
Sol: What can I say? It feels great! At the same time, it’s also a lot of hard work. And it’s something that we always had our eyes upon, also because Border won the Un Certain Regard. So after that, the next step is to be in Cannes Competition. Now I’ve seen this go both ways, The Icelandic film where Jacob and I were minority producers together: the filmmaker had previously done the film Rams, which had also won Un Certain Regard. We all hoped to go to Cannes Competition with this new film, The County. But we didn’t get into Cannes at all. We premiered in Toronto, which is good, but it’s not the same So looking coldly at that, you could say we failed.
Another example would be a finished film, that I was happy to be a coproducer on, called The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki . It won Un Certain Regard the year after Rams did. And so the director wanted his next film, Compartment No. 6, to go to Cannes Competition — and it did. It even won the Jury Prize! Sadly, I wasn’t involved in that production.
This is something we were discussing throughout this entire production. We were always saying the film was our chance to show the world Ali was not a one-hit wonder. You know, many people refer to Border as Ali’s first film, which it’s not. It’s his second film, his first film Shelley did well, but it wasn’t a massive breakout hit like Border was. It’s hard to follow up on a success like that.
So that fact that we succeeded in following up the Certain Regard win with getting into Competition was very exciting and rewarding. I also have to give credit to our French co-producers Wild Bunch and Why Not Productions. While they didn’t really have a lot to do with the physical production, they really helped in securing the world premiere. They gave us invaluable advice in the last stretch.
I can say that until now, we have achieved every goal that we had, and there are a few exciting steps ahead. The US release had a great limited opening weekend, the nominations at the European Film Awards are coming up and then there’s of course the Oscar shortlist of 15 films just before Christmas. We’re crossing our fingers!
Marina: I also have to ask, with the recent events in Iran, was this something you were thinking of making the film?
Sol: Well no, of course not! But the fact that our film is based on a 20 year old case — and has become so shockingly timely is incredible. Showing the film at festivals where many Iranians attend has been such an intense experience. People have thanked us for our courage to finally make a film that shows a (big) portion of their reality, one they don’t get to see in Iranian cinema. And of course the film’s main theme, misogyny, is squarely what is firing up this revolution in Iran. It really feels like the days of the Islamic Republic will be over, the different groups withing the Iranian society are more united then ever before, men are supporting women on the street and the next generation isn’t willing to give up. It’s insane what is happening there and honestly, more people should be talking about this. They are killing teenagers in the street.
Marina: The next couple questions I want to ask you are more general about your career. What did you think when you chose your career?
Sol: My parents are both filmmakers, but I never really cared too much about their work. I was quite oblivious to what was what was going on right in front of me.
But through my parents connections, I was cast as a child actor and did quite a bit of acting, so I always thought that after high school I would become an actor. But then I realized maybe I should also look for something behind the camera, because I remembered as a child actor, people were so nice and the jobs seemed fun and interesting and so I did an internship. And it became clear to me that I needed to become a director! I thought this would be the perfect way to combine all my talents.
It took three or four years and a lot of failed applications for directing to realize that I would not be studying film directing at any film school. But Reinhad Hauff, the head of the dffb, the Berlin Film School, said at some point after my second failed application that he thought I might be good for his producing class. And that’s how I got into producing after never having given it a thought before.
And I really came to terms with my profession the end of my second year while working with this one director, Grzegorz Muskala, I realized if I could find people like him, with an exceptional level of talent and tenacity and foresight I could be the right person to support them. I just needed to be very picky about who I chose to work with.
On the other hand, I also realized I have a real knack for distribution, because many producing students in my film school would just produce a film and then they would just produce the next film. And this was always crazy for me, because when the film is finished, finding distribution for your film is the most exciting moment. Like now we can do something, even for shorts! We can take the film to festivals, we can sell it to TV, this is the fun part. Of course you need to have the right film.
But I quickly earned a reputation of being somebody who took very good care of his films. All my films went to many festivals and won awards and did well. So at the end of my studies I graduated with a 1.2 million feature, which was a big achievement at that time, this was 2010. I also launched my company more or less at the same time. Since then we’ve produced or coproduced 16 films.
Marina: What do you think drives you now to continue?
Sol: There was a moment, a couple of years ago where I realized I needed to shift gears. I separated from my previous business partner with whom I had had set up the company. We built the company together, but I realized our visions weren’t really aligned anymore. I had this urge to do slightly bigger films and my little family was growing and I simply needed to make more money — while staying true to the films that I love.
So rather than diversifying with many small projects, I wanted to make fewer films but larger ones. That is also a bigger risk in a way. I wanted to take it a bit slower than the previous 10 years. Maybe also because my wife is a filmmaker. We’ve had two kids, and now it’s also her turn to go to the forefront and make more films.
Marina: And so now I guess one could say you’ve kind of made it to the top or at least you’ve checked off all those goals that you wanted to reach.
Sol: Everything that has happened with Holy Spider is really great. And having a film in Cannes Competition is quite special — who knows if it’s going to happen again? So maybe, maybe this is the top.
Marina: Do you have different kinds of goals now?
Sol: No I think I have similar goals. I like to aim high. I’m ambitious. But I also know what’s within reach. I wouldn’t set goals that are completely unrealistic in that sense.
Marina: And can you talk about what you are working on right now, so that we can start tracking it?
Sol: Yeah, so Northern Comfort is a is a fear of flying comedy by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, the same Icelandic director of Under the Tree. And this is his English language debut because his previous films have been remade in the US. We thought, why not just shoot in English language in the first place?
A diverse group of people with a chronic fear of flying are stranded in the wintry north. That film is a lot of fun for a change! And I know there’s appetite in the market for comedies. We’re in the final stages of postproduction and hoping to show the film sometime early next year.
Köln 75 is our real passion project. It’s set in Germany. The story came to us through Oren Moverman who approached us because we had worked on The Tale together. He felt that we would be the right people to be producing this. It’s a beautiful and inspiring great true story about a 17 year old school girl who organizes one of the the world’s most famous concerts on German soil, the Cologne concert from Keith Jarrett in 1975 which is widely regarded as his masterpiece and sold nearly 5 mil. copies worldwide. It really was the soundtrack of an entire generation. So it’s really exciting. An uplifting and fun story with a fantastic script by Ido Fluk. We already have amazing partners to work on this film.
Marina: Is it different now working on German soil?
Sol: Well it’s not the first time, but it’s the first time in a couple years and it is different, yes. Production has exploded across the world with the arrival of the streamers. In Germany we really feel it. All the actors, all the crews, everybody is just like working like crazy. So you could say of course it’s a great time to be a producer. But for us it’s always hard to make a film. Always has been, always will be, there are really no free rides if you’re producing independent films.
Marina: And last question, what advice do you have for young filmmakers?
Sol: The most simple and striking advice that I received myself at some point, though at first I nearly missed it, was from Katriel Schory who ran the film fund in Israel for a long time.
Sydney knows him well I’m sure.
He gave this one inspirational speech at the Thessaloniki Film Festival in 2006, when I was a film student. He said the most important thing for a producer is you always have to be nice, open and friendly. And I was like, well yeah… But the way that he explained it got to me. He said that everybody who’s in a certain position of power has a free choice who he wants to work with.
And these people are always going to choose to work with the people who are nice, open and friendly and if you are that person and if you are nice, open and friendly all the time, then you’re just more likely to climb the steps of your career. And at the same time you will make this industry a better place to work in.
I found it very compelling and striking and I’ve realized that that really is what brings you forward. And so I always tried to be that person. I haven’t thought about it in a long time, so I wonder if maybe I’ve lost it a little bit on the way. Producing Holy Spider was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and has surely made me very cynical at times, but that is definitely a good piece of advice for young filmmaker, I think.
Holy Spider, 115 minutes
Germany, Denmark, France, Sweden
Directed by: Ali Abbasi
Screenplay: Ali Abbasi, Afshin Kamran Bahrami
Cast: Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mehdi Bajestani, Arash Ashtiani, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Nima Akbarpour, Sara Fazilat, Sina Parvaneh, Alice Rahimi, Mesbah Taleb
Cinematography by: Nadim Carlsen
Film Editing: Olivia Neergaard-Holm
Production Designer: Lina Nordqvist
Costumes Cesigner: Hanadi Khurma
Music: Martin Dirkov
Produced by: Sol Bondy, Jacob Jarek
Co-producers: Fred Burle, Eva Åkergren, Vincent Maraval, Calle Marthin, Peter Possne, Olivier Père, Rémi Burah
Production Cos: Profile Pictures, One Two Films, Why Not Productions, Nordisk Film Production Ab
Backing: Danish Film Institute, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Moin Filmförderung, Dfff, Ffa, Nordisk Film + TV Fund, Swedish Film Institute, Eurimages, Film I Väst, Zdf, Arte, Arte France Cinéma
Isa Wild Bunch has thus far sold Holy Spider to Utopia for U.S., Cinéart for Benelux, A-One Films Baltic for Baltics, Academy 2 ror Italy, Alamode Filmsfor Germany, BTeam Pictures for Spain, Bir Film for Turkey, Camera Film for Denmark, Canibal for Mexico, Cinobo for Greece, Edko Films for Hong Kong, Falcon Pictures for Indonesia, Film Europe for Czechia and Slovakia, Fivia/Cenex for Yugoslavia, Gaga for Japan, Gutek Film for Poland, Independenta Film for Romania, Karma for Spain, Metropolitan Filmexportfor France, Mubi for UK Ireland, Malaysia, India; Nordisk and Mer for Norway, Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais for Portugal, Pancinema for South Korea, United King Films for Israel, Vertigo for Hungary, Xenix for Switzerland, Front Row for Mena.
US Theatrical Release October 28, 2022.
Producer Sol Bondy’s explanation of Holy Spider’s genesis and progress through the Covid infected era details the difficulties this film met at every step. However, once finished, it premiered in Cannes Competition and went on to play in the Jerusalem Film Festival, and in Toronto International Film Festival. He noted that the audience in Toronto; was 30–40% Iranians. Their ability to understand nuances and “code words” brought an element of laughter to an otherwise bloody crime film, labeled “Persian noir”.
The filmmaker Ali Abbasi is Iranian and lives in Denmark, the country submitting the film to the Motion Picture Academy for Oscar nomination. It could never have been shot in Iran due to its subject matter, though they did try, as they did in Turkey as well before shooting in Jordan. The production faced years of Covid‑19 surges, shooting delays, location changes and government resistance.
Holy Spider is based upon a true story of the infamous “spider killings” which took place while the director, Ali Abbasi, was living in the country between 2000 and 2001. It is produced by Germany’s Sol Bondy whose previous film Persian Lessons was also based on a provocative story and was Belarus’ 2020 submission for Oscars. Abbasi’s film Border was a Cannes winner of Un Certain Regard and 2018 Oscar nominated film.
A coproduction of Denmark, Germany, France, and Sweden, Holy Spider tells the story of Saeed Hanaei, a family man who embarks on his own religious quest to “cleanse” the holy Iranian city of Mashhad of immoral and corrupt street prostitutes. After murdering several women, he grows ever more desperate about the lack of public interest in his divine mission. In all, he murdered 16 women.
This genre film, with misogyny being the core theme, comes at a time where massive protests in Iran, following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini have unified the country in an unprecedented manner. While more and more protesters, many underage, are being killed by the regime, Holy Spider has met Iranian diaspora audiences with cheers.
During Cannes, film and TV funder Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburgcelebrated the six films that it funded running in the official program of the Cannes Film Festival. These were Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider in Competition, Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness in Competition, Emily Atef’s More Than Ever in Un Certain Regard, Mia Hansen-Løve’s Un beau matin in Directors’ Fortnight, Sergei Loznitsa’s The Natural History of Destruction in Special Screenings, and Mantas Kvedaravicius’ Mariupolis 2, in Special Screenings. Commenting on the role Medienboard played in funding these films in Cannes, the organization’s chief Kirsten Niehuus said: “Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and other film funds play an important role in sustaining high quality cinema in Europe and in international co-productions around the world.”
At their celebration, I spoke with one of the most outstanding young actresses who played Zinab, a sex worker in the Holy Spider. German-based, Iran-born Sara Fazilat is also German Film’s Face To Face ambassador 2022. She is also the lead cast in Nico by Eline Gehring that was shown almost worldwide at numerous film festivals. Unfortunately Nico is not available online in the U.S…yet. It is about Nico who is enjoying the summer in Berlin with her best friend Rosa until a racist attack pulls her out of her carefree everyday life. Traumatized by the crime, the geriatric nurse decides never to be a victim again and begins to train with a karate world champion.
I also saw Sol Bondy of One Two Films, one of the lead producers of Holy Spider. Produced along with Jacob Jarek of Denmark’s Profile Pictures, coproducers were Nordisk Film Production, Wild Bunch International, Film i Väst, Why Not Productions, Zdf/Arte and Arte France Cinéma.
Sol Bondy and Jacob Jarek also stand out as alumni of Berlinale Talents. They both co-produced Icelandic films The County and Under The Tree previously.
Jarek, who went to the National Film School of Denmark with Abbasi and was one of the producers of his debut feature Shelley, says the director “had this story in his mind for a long time but we officially started developing it in 2016”. After Abbasi’s second feature Border was an international success at Cannes and beyond in 2018, the filmmaker was in demand. He told Jarek, “Now’s our chance to make Holy Spider,” a project always close to his heart.
An Interview with Sol Bondy by Marina Dalarossa
Marina: So the first question is just about you and the producer Jakob Jarek. Could you talk a bit about how you actually came to work together?
Sol: We didn’t do the Berlinale Talents the same year. I did it relatively late in my career, and truthfully, mainly because of the woman who runs the program, she urged me to do it. I had worked for the talents for many, many years and quite a few of my friends had done it during film school and by the time I did it, I’d been out of film school running my company for 6 years already.
But we didn’t meet there. Jakob and I were both minor coproducers on an Icelandic film called Under the Tree. That’s how we met. And then we also were both minor coproducers on another Icelandic film called The County.
We knew of each other before, I knew some people that he worked with and thought they were doing really interesting films. And then in Cannes 2018, Border had just premiered a couple of days before, everybody was talking about it and Jakob asked me if I wanted to join the next film of Ali? I didn’t read a script or ask any questions; I also didn’t know what I was getting myself into but I said yes immediately. I sensed this could be a great opportunity.
And that instinct was right. The film was financed relatively quickly and within a year we had most of the budget together. But then Covid came. I’m sure we’ll get into that later!
Marina: Yes thanks. I want to know if you think being in Talents helped your career at all?
Sol: Well, given the very specific timing of it, I think it would have helped my career much more if I had done it earlier. But there are also other great intiatives out there, postgraduate training for producers. Before Talents, I did a program called Transatlantic Partners in 2013. That was really helpful and actually generated two big projects for me. One was Angry Indian Goddessesand the other was The Tale.
A couple of years later I did a program called Inside Pictures. It was also extremely valuable and really helped me make some really important business decisions going forward. Jacob also did this program but again, in another year. There are many great initiatives. Also I’ve always loved going to festivals. They make your network bigger and stronger.
Marina: You talked about how you came on board to produce Holy Spider, but what do you think made Jakob decide you should come in at that point?
Sol: He had a hard task producing and financing a film set in the Middle East without any Middle Eastern money. Also, with this topic it was clear you can’t just roll into Iran and make a film there.
On top of that, there had been a shift in the Danish government. Suddenly, to reach a certain amount of financing from the Danish Film Institute, the film had to be culturally relevant to Denmark. So I believe that halved the financing opportunities for Jacob in Denmark. He needed money from outside Denmark to make this film; he needed coproducers.
He’s well versed in international coproductions, so he knew when is a good time to attach coproducing partners and also how much time it can take. For instance, we often get approached with projects and they tell us they will be shooting in three months. We have to tell them that when we coproduce in Germany, we have deadlines and a lot of bureaucracy, so while we can do a lot — we’re very lucky with that — it still takes time.
To get back to the first question: We were ready to go, we had the budget we thought we needed to make the film and when Covid came and then Jakob found himself in a situation where two of his projects, a series and a feature film, were hit by Covid. And it was unclear how these massive losses were going to be covered. The world was in turmoil and Jakob’s projects in limbo.
It became clear, he could currently not commit to the project — such a challenging production by a very demanding director. Ali (the director) on the other hand, who could have chosen any project after his widely successful and much loved Border, was saying, “Guys, I get it, but I don’t care about circumstances. If you guys can’t figure out how we can make this film now, then it’s over, I’m out.”
And that put me under maximum pressure because making films is squarey our only source of income. I had three employees to pay, was expecting my second child, and at that pont, we didn’t know that the German government would be helping out companies like ours. Without this film, it seemed I would have to close my shop. So Jacob and I looked at what options we had and decided I would go for it. I didn’t know how, I didn’t know when, but I said, Ok, I’ll do it.
What was unfortunate at that time is that Jordan, during the first wave, basically closed the borders and would not let anyone in. So the country that we had scouted and wanted to shoot in was essentially shut down. We couldn’t really plan a production there because nobody knew when the borders would open again or if they might close again at some point.
So it was decided to go to Turkey. It didn’t look like Erdogan was going to close Turkey. So we went into Turkey and we scouted for weeks with a big crew, the cinematographer, the production designer, the line producers from Germany, the Turkish line producer who we hired to service the production. There was a big gang scouting different cities in Turkey. And although it was harder to match Iran, we found the right locations a couple of weeks later.
The crew was growing; we were exploring how to bring period cars over the border. Pre-production was basically in full swing, at the same time, we were waiting for a shooting permit, and this shooting permit never came. So I decided to do some more digging because this was making me very uncomfortable. I knew I couldn’t shoot without the permit. I was about to spend a significant amount of more money and I’d already spent around €50,000. Not being able to shoot the film in Turkey would mean that money would just be down the drain. Plus the entire production plan. You can imagine, with everything there, where we came from, the delays that we had already encountered, it was nerve-wracking.
We then basically found out behind the scenes that our application had gone from the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Turkish Ambassador and he got the feedback that this film should not be supported.
I then took Ali and my two line producers and we flew to Ankara to meet with the Ministry of Culture. And they told us to speak to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The next day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told us that to get shooting permits we hd to speak with the Ministry of Culture. They basically used us like a pinball. We realiaed that we had been censored in Turkey. And it was a huge blow. I fet so hepless. Everyone was upset. Ali was furious.
It took some time to get the whole demoralized team back into the mental state to give it another go back in Jordan, where the borders had re-opened but which was logistically much more complicated.
And we went for it. We found new locations, hired local crews, got visas for our Iranian players and even managed to import Iranian cars to Jordan. You could make a documentary feature about just this aspect of the production of importing these cars. They arrived after a huge delay, when we were already shooting, but we managed to make it work.
Marina: This sounds intense. Were there other significant issues?
One of the most challenging aspects of the film was the casting, which was very complex, as we were mainly looking for Iranians who didn’t live in Iran. We knew participating in this film would be challenging for their future in the country. But Ali was adamant that his two main roles needed to be perfect in terms of their body language and the dialect. So we essentially needed people from Iran. We had found two who were willing to take the risk with all the consequences even potentially relocating after the shoot. The lead actress finally came for the makeup and hair test about 10 days before shooting. Couple days later she came to my hotel room crying and said, “I can’t do it. It’s too much.”
So we were a week before shooting and we didn’t have a lead actress. It was another massive blow. And this is when it was decided after bit of back and forth and deliberation that our casting director Zar Amir-Ebrahimi would step in and play the role. And she was rewarded in Cannes with the Best Actress Golden Palm. It’s a pretty crazy story.
And then, just two days before we were Finally going to shoot the film, Covid hit us in a way where couldn’t start shooting. I felt like I didn’t know if I was making a film or if I was in “Lost in La Mancha — Part 2”. My wife for months kept telling me I should have a documentary crew filming all this madness. I told her I was going to murder someone if I had a documentary crew around.
Marina: Wow! And after the film was completed, Denmark’s decided to submit your film to the Academy Awards. Do you know what went into their decision?
Sol: Well, the Danes may have one of the best track records in recent years when it comes to choosing the film and then being nominated or even winning. I think in the last 11 years they won twice. They got 7 nominations and I think 9 made the shortlist.
So this speaks to two things: First of all, the quality of the films they make in this small country. And then, they really look carefully at which films has the biggest chances. In our case: no other Danish film had been to Cannes competition. No other film had US distribution and played Telluride and TIFF. And already in Cannes, we had the fantastic PR of past successes like Drive My Car and Flee, so it made a lot of sense for them to choose Holy Spider. It’s still a very brave choice because it’s not a very Danish film on the outside. On the inside it looks different, you know the composer is Danish, the editor is Danish, the production designer, ok she’s Swedish, but Ali also has a Danish passport. Jakob is like me, a delegate producer and is Danish. So it has a strong Danish footprint.
Many outlets, like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter included the film in their predictions to get the nomination. So I guess all this helped the Danes come to this decision.
Marina: How does it feel to be chosen by the Danes and also to be chosen for Cannes and have gotten so many prizes already?
Sol: What can I say? It feels great! At the same time, it’s also a lot of hard work. And it’s something that we always had our eyes upon, also because Border won the Un Certain Regard. So after that, the next step is to be in Cannes Competition. Now I’ve seen this go both ways, The Icelandic film where Jacob and I were minority producers together: the filmmaker had previously done the film Rams, which had also won Un Certain Regard. We all hoped to go to Cannes Competition with this new film, The County. But we didn’t get into Cannes at all. We premiered in Toronto, which is good, but it’s not the same So looking coldly at that, you could say we failed.
Another example would be a finished film, that I was happy to be a coproducer on, called The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki . It won Un Certain Regard the year after Rams did. And so the director wanted his next film, Compartment No. 6, to go to Cannes Competition — and it did. It even won the Jury Prize! Sadly, I wasn’t involved in that production.
This is something we were discussing throughout this entire production. We were always saying the film was our chance to show the world Ali was not a one-hit wonder. You know, many people refer to Border as Ali’s first film, which it’s not. It’s his second film, his first film Shelley did well, but it wasn’t a massive breakout hit like Border was. It’s hard to follow up on a success like that.
So that fact that we succeeded in following up the Certain Regard win with getting into Competition was very exciting and rewarding. I also have to give credit to our French co-producers Wild Bunch and Why Not Productions. While they didn’t really have a lot to do with the physical production, they really helped in securing the world premiere. They gave us invaluable advice in the last stretch.
I can say that until now, we have achieved every goal that we had, and there are a few exciting steps ahead. The US release had a great limited opening weekend, the nominations at the European Film Awards are coming up and then there’s of course the Oscar shortlist of 15 films just before Christmas. We’re crossing our fingers!
Marina: I also have to ask, with the recent events in Iran, was this something you were thinking of making the film?
Sol: Well no, of course not! But the fact that our film is based on a 20 year old case — and has become so shockingly timely is incredible. Showing the film at festivals where many Iranians attend has been such an intense experience. People have thanked us for our courage to finally make a film that shows a (big) portion of their reality, one they don’t get to see in Iranian cinema. And of course the film’s main theme, misogyny, is squarely what is firing up this revolution in Iran. It really feels like the days of the Islamic Republic will be over, the different groups withing the Iranian society are more united then ever before, men are supporting women on the street and the next generation isn’t willing to give up. It’s insane what is happening there and honestly, more people should be talking about this. They are killing teenagers in the street.
Marina: The next couple questions I want to ask you are more general about your career. What did you think when you chose your career?
Sol: My parents are both filmmakers, but I never really cared too much about their work. I was quite oblivious to what was what was going on right in front of me.
But through my parents connections, I was cast as a child actor and did quite a bit of acting, so I always thought that after high school I would become an actor. But then I realized maybe I should also look for something behind the camera, because I remembered as a child actor, people were so nice and the jobs seemed fun and interesting and so I did an internship. And it became clear to me that I needed to become a director! I thought this would be the perfect way to combine all my talents.
It took three or four years and a lot of failed applications for directing to realize that I would not be studying film directing at any film school. But Reinhad Hauff, the head of the dffb, the Berlin Film School, said at some point after my second failed application that he thought I might be good for his producing class. And that’s how I got into producing after never having given it a thought before.
And I really came to terms with my profession the end of my second year while working with this one director, Grzegorz Muskala, I realized if I could find people like him, with an exceptional level of talent and tenacity and foresight I could be the right person to support them. I just needed to be very picky about who I chose to work with.
On the other hand, I also realized I have a real knack for distribution, because many producing students in my film school would just produce a film and then they would just produce the next film. And this was always crazy for me, because when the film is finished, finding distribution for your film is the most exciting moment. Like now we can do something, even for shorts! We can take the film to festivals, we can sell it to TV, this is the fun part. Of course you need to have the right film.
But I quickly earned a reputation of being somebody who took very good care of his films. All my films went to many festivals and won awards and did well. So at the end of my studies I graduated with a 1.2 million feature, which was a big achievement at that time, this was 2010. I also launched my company more or less at the same time. Since then we’ve produced or coproduced 16 films.
Marina: What do you think drives you now to continue?
Sol: There was a moment, a couple of years ago where I realized I needed to shift gears. I separated from my previous business partner with whom I had had set up the company. We built the company together, but I realized our visions weren’t really aligned anymore. I had this urge to do slightly bigger films and my little family was growing and I simply needed to make more money — while staying true to the films that I love.
So rather than diversifying with many small projects, I wanted to make fewer films but larger ones. That is also a bigger risk in a way. I wanted to take it a bit slower than the previous 10 years. Maybe also because my wife is a filmmaker. We’ve had two kids, and now it’s also her turn to go to the forefront and make more films.
Marina: And so now I guess one could say you’ve kind of made it to the top or at least you’ve checked off all those goals that you wanted to reach.
Sol: Everything that has happened with Holy Spider is really great. And having a film in Cannes Competition is quite special — who knows if it’s going to happen again? So maybe, maybe this is the top.
Marina: Do you have different kinds of goals now?
Sol: No I think I have similar goals. I like to aim high. I’m ambitious. But I also know what’s within reach. I wouldn’t set goals that are completely unrealistic in that sense.
Marina: And can you talk about what you are working on right now, so that we can start tracking it?
Sol: Yeah, so Northern Comfort is a is a fear of flying comedy by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, the same Icelandic director of Under the Tree. And this is his English language debut because his previous films have been remade in the US. We thought, why not just shoot in English language in the first place?
A diverse group of people with a chronic fear of flying are stranded in the wintry north. That film is a lot of fun for a change! And I know there’s appetite in the market for comedies. We’re in the final stages of postproduction and hoping to show the film sometime early next year.
Köln 75 is our real passion project. It’s set in Germany. The story came to us through Oren Moverman who approached us because we had worked on The Tale together. He felt that we would be the right people to be producing this. It’s a beautiful and inspiring great true story about a 17 year old school girl who organizes one of the the world’s most famous concerts on German soil, the Cologne concert from Keith Jarrett in 1975 which is widely regarded as his masterpiece and sold nearly 5 mil. copies worldwide. It really was the soundtrack of an entire generation. So it’s really exciting. An uplifting and fun story with a fantastic script by Ido Fluk. We already have amazing partners to work on this film.
Marina: Is it different now working on German soil?
Sol: Well it’s not the first time, but it’s the first time in a couple years and it is different, yes. Production has exploded across the world with the arrival of the streamers. In Germany we really feel it. All the actors, all the crews, everybody is just like working like crazy. So you could say of course it’s a great time to be a producer. But for us it’s always hard to make a film. Always has been, always will be, there are really no free rides if you’re producing independent films.
Marina: And last question, what advice do you have for young filmmakers?
Sol: The most simple and striking advice that I received myself at some point, though at first I nearly missed it, was from Katriel Schory who ran the film fund in Israel for a long time.
Sydney knows him well I’m sure.
He gave this one inspirational speech at the Thessaloniki Film Festival in 2006, when I was a film student. He said the most important thing for a producer is you always have to be nice, open and friendly. And I was like, well yeah… But the way that he explained it got to me. He said that everybody who’s in a certain position of power has a free choice who he wants to work with.
And these people are always going to choose to work with the people who are nice, open and friendly and if you are that person and if you are nice, open and friendly all the time, then you’re just more likely to climb the steps of your career. And at the same time you will make this industry a better place to work in.
I found it very compelling and striking and I’ve realized that that really is what brings you forward. And so I always tried to be that person. I haven’t thought about it in a long time, so I wonder if maybe I’ve lost it a little bit on the way. Producing Holy Spider was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and has surely made me very cynical at times, but that is definitely a good piece of advice for young filmmaker, I think.
Holy Spider, 115 minutes
Germany, Denmark, France, Sweden
Directed by: Ali Abbasi
Screenplay: Ali Abbasi, Afshin Kamran Bahrami
Cast: Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mehdi Bajestani, Arash Ashtiani, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Nima Akbarpour, Sara Fazilat, Sina Parvaneh, Alice Rahimi, Mesbah Taleb
Cinematography by: Nadim Carlsen
Film Editing: Olivia Neergaard-Holm
Production Designer: Lina Nordqvist
Costumes Cesigner: Hanadi Khurma
Music: Martin Dirkov
Produced by: Sol Bondy, Jacob Jarek
Co-producers: Fred Burle, Eva Åkergren, Vincent Maraval, Calle Marthin, Peter Possne, Olivier Père, Rémi Burah
Production Cos: Profile Pictures, One Two Films, Why Not Productions, Nordisk Film Production Ab
Backing: Danish Film Institute, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Moin Filmförderung, Dfff, Ffa, Nordisk Film + TV Fund, Swedish Film Institute, Eurimages, Film I Väst, Zdf, Arte, Arte France Cinéma
Isa Wild Bunch has thus far sold Holy Spider to Utopia for U.S., Cinéart for Benelux, A-One Films Baltic for Baltics, Academy 2 ror Italy, Alamode Filmsfor Germany, BTeam Pictures for Spain, Bir Film for Turkey, Camera Film for Denmark, Canibal for Mexico, Cinobo for Greece, Edko Films for Hong Kong, Falcon Pictures for Indonesia, Film Europe for Czechia and Slovakia, Fivia/Cenex for Yugoslavia, Gaga for Japan, Gutek Film for Poland, Independenta Film for Romania, Karma for Spain, Metropolitan Filmexportfor France, Mubi for UK Ireland, Malaysia, India; Nordisk and Mer for Norway, Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais for Portugal, Pancinema for South Korea, United King Films for Israel, Vertigo for Hungary, Xenix for Switzerland, Front Row for Mena.
- 12/18/2022
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
Ruben Östlund’s latest satire, Triangle of Sadness, dominated the European Film Awards with four wins, including Best Film, the evening’s top prize.
Östlund also picked up the Best Screenplay and Best Director Awards for his work on the film, and Zlatko Burić nabbed Best Actor for his leading role.
The film, which picked up this year’s Palme d’Or, follows Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean), a celebrity model couple who are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged boat captain (Woody Harrelson). What first appeared Instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island and fighting to stay alive.
In other top prizes, Vicky Krieps won the Best Actress award for the well-received period drama Corsage, and the Javier Bardem starrer, The Good Boss, won Best Comedy.
The awards ceremony, overseen by the European Film Academy, took place...
Östlund also picked up the Best Screenplay and Best Director Awards for his work on the film, and Zlatko Burić nabbed Best Actor for his leading role.
The film, which picked up this year’s Palme d’Or, follows Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean), a celebrity model couple who are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged boat captain (Woody Harrelson). What first appeared Instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island and fighting to stay alive.
In other top prizes, Vicky Krieps won the Best Actress award for the well-received period drama Corsage, and the Javier Bardem starrer, The Good Boss, won Best Comedy.
The awards ceremony, overseen by the European Film Academy, took place...
- 12/10/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Vicky Krieps was also a winner as best European actress for Corsage.
Ruben Ostlund’s class warfare comedy Triangle Of Sadness was the big winner at the 2022 European Film Awards (EFAs), which took place today (December 10) in Reykjavík.
Scroll down for winners
The class warfare comedy won best European film, director, screenwriter and actor, for Zlatko Burić.
Vicky Krieps was also a winner as best European actress for Corsage.
Mantas Kvedaravičius’ Mariupolis 2 won the European documentary prize, whilst Alain Ughetto’s No Dogs Or Italians Allowed picked up the animated feature award.
Fernando León de Aranoa’s The Good Boss,...
Ruben Ostlund’s class warfare comedy Triangle Of Sadness was the big winner at the 2022 European Film Awards (EFAs), which took place today (December 10) in Reykjavík.
Scroll down for winners
The class warfare comedy won best European film, director, screenwriter and actor, for Zlatko Burić.
Vicky Krieps was also a winner as best European actress for Corsage.
Mantas Kvedaravičius’ Mariupolis 2 won the European documentary prize, whilst Alain Ughetto’s No Dogs Or Italians Allowed picked up the animated feature award.
Fernando León de Aranoa’s The Good Boss,...
- 12/10/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
The Efa ceremony is taking place December 10 at the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík.
The 2022 European Film Awards (EFAs) ceremony is taking place today (December 10) at 19.15 GMT in Reykjavík.
Scroll down for winners
Screen will be posting the winners on this page as they are announced during the live ceremony (refresh the page for latest updates). The ceremony kicks off at 19.15 GMT.
Ruben Ostlund’s class warfare comedy Triangle Of Sadness is among the five titles up for the European film award, and is also competing in the director, actor (for Zlatko Burić) and screenwriter (Ostlund) categories.
Lukas Dhont’s...
The 2022 European Film Awards (EFAs) ceremony is taking place today (December 10) at 19.15 GMT in Reykjavík.
Scroll down for winners
Screen will be posting the winners on this page as they are announced during the live ceremony (refresh the page for latest updates). The ceremony kicks off at 19.15 GMT.
Ruben Ostlund’s class warfare comedy Triangle Of Sadness is among the five titles up for the European film award, and is also competing in the director, actor (for Zlatko Burić) and screenwriter (Ostlund) categories.
Lukas Dhont’s...
- 12/10/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
The 35th European Film Awards have officially unveiled this year’s nominations.
Lukas Dhont’s queer coming-of-age drama “Close,” Ali Abbasi’s serial-killer thriller “Holy Spider,” and Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winning “Triangle of Sadness” lead the 2022 nominations, with each film garnering nods in top categories: Best European Film, Best Director, and Screenwriter.
Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage” lands three nominations, including Best Actress for Vicky Krieps. “Alcarràs” has two nominations, while Venice Golden Lion winner “Saint Omer” picked up one nod for Best European Director for Alice Diop.
The European Film Academy hosts the award ceremony on December 10 in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavík.
German director Margarethe von Trotta will be honored with the European Lifetime Achievement award, and Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman is set to be celebrated with the European Achievement in World Cinema Award. Italian director Marco Bellocchio will receive the Award for European Innovative Storytelling for the limited series “Exterior Night.
Lukas Dhont’s queer coming-of-age drama “Close,” Ali Abbasi’s serial-killer thriller “Holy Spider,” and Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winning “Triangle of Sadness” lead the 2022 nominations, with each film garnering nods in top categories: Best European Film, Best Director, and Screenwriter.
Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage” lands three nominations, including Best Actress for Vicky Krieps. “Alcarràs” has two nominations, while Venice Golden Lion winner “Saint Omer” picked up one nod for Best European Director for Alice Diop.
The European Film Academy hosts the award ceremony on December 10 in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavík.
German director Margarethe von Trotta will be honored with the European Lifetime Achievement award, and Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman is set to be celebrated with the European Achievement in World Cinema Award. Italian director Marco Bellocchio will receive the Award for European Innovative Storytelling for the limited series “Exterior Night.
- 11/8/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
“Triangle of Sadness,” directed by Ruben Östlund, and “Holy Spider,” directed by Ali Abbasi, lead the European Film Awards nominations in major categories, alongside “Close,” directed by Lukas Dhont.
“Triangle of Sadness,” “Holy Spider,” “Alcarràs,” “Close” and “Corsage” vie for best European film.
Those contesting for best director are Dhont for “Close,” Marie Kreutzer for “Corsage,” Jerzy Skolimowski for “Eo,” Abbasi for “Holy Spider,” Alice Diop for “Saint Omer” and Östlund for “Triangle of Sadness.”
Nominated for European Screenwriter are “Alcarràs” scribes Carla Simón and Arnau Vilaró, Kenneth Branagh for “Belfast,” Dhont and Angelo Tijssens for “Close,” Abbasi and Afshin Kamran Bahrami for “Holy Spider,” and Östlund for “Triangle of Sadness.”
European Actress nominees are Vicky Krieps in “Corsage,” Zar Amir Ebrahimi in “Holy Spider,” Léa Seydoux in “One Fine Morning,” Penélope Cruz for “Parallel Mothers” and Meltem Kaptan in “Rabiye Kurnaz Vs.
“Triangle of Sadness,” “Holy Spider,” “Alcarràs,” “Close” and “Corsage” vie for best European film.
Those contesting for best director are Dhont for “Close,” Marie Kreutzer for “Corsage,” Jerzy Skolimowski for “Eo,” Abbasi for “Holy Spider,” Alice Diop for “Saint Omer” and Östlund for “Triangle of Sadness.”
Nominated for European Screenwriter are “Alcarràs” scribes Carla Simón and Arnau Vilaró, Kenneth Branagh for “Belfast,” Dhont and Angelo Tijssens for “Close,” Abbasi and Afshin Kamran Bahrami for “Holy Spider,” and Östlund for “Triangle of Sadness.”
European Actress nominees are Vicky Krieps in “Corsage,” Zar Amir Ebrahimi in “Holy Spider,” Léa Seydoux in “One Fine Morning,” Penélope Cruz for “Parallel Mothers” and Meltem Kaptan in “Rabiye Kurnaz Vs.
- 11/8/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Lukas Dhont’s Belgian coming-of-age drama Close, Ali Abbasi’s Persian-language crime thriller Holy Spider and Swedish director Ruben Östlund’s satirical black comedy Triangle of Sadness, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, are topping the nominations for the 2022 European Film Awards (EFAs), unveiled Tuesday.
Each of the acclaimed titles, which also happen to be Oscar contenders for the 2023 Academy Awards in the best international feature category, received Efa nominations for best European film, best director, best screenwriter and an acting category apiece.
Also in the running for the Efa for best European film are Alcarràs from Spain’s Carla Simón and Austrian director Marie Kreutzer’s period drama Corsage.
The European honors are often viewed as a bellwether for the Oscars. Although last year’s Efa’s weren’t a particularly strong Oscars predictor, Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World...
Lukas Dhont’s Belgian coming-of-age drama Close, Ali Abbasi’s Persian-language crime thriller Holy Spider and Swedish director Ruben Östlund’s satirical black comedy Triangle of Sadness, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, are topping the nominations for the 2022 European Film Awards (EFAs), unveiled Tuesday.
Each of the acclaimed titles, which also happen to be Oscar contenders for the 2023 Academy Awards in the best international feature category, received Efa nominations for best European film, best director, best screenwriter and an acting category apiece.
Also in the running for the Efa for best European film are Alcarràs from Spain’s Carla Simón and Austrian director Marie Kreutzer’s period drama Corsage.
The European honors are often viewed as a bellwether for the Oscars. Although last year’s Efa’s weren’t a particularly strong Oscars predictor, Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World...
- 11/8/2022
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont’s Close, Danish director Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider and Swedish director Ruben Ôstlund’s Triangle Of Sadness lead the nominations for the 35th European Film Awards, which were unveiled today.
The films have each made it into four categories including best European Film, Best Director and Screenwriter.
All three films debuted at Cannes this year, where Triangle Of Sadness clinched the Palme d’Or; Close, the Grand Prize (in ex-aequo with Claire Denis’s Stars At Noon); and Holy Spider, best actress for Zar Amir-Ebrahimi.
Close and Holy Spider are also the entries for their respective countries of Belgium and Denmark in the Academy Awards Best International Film category this year.
Further hot contenders include Austrian director Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage, with three nominations, including best actress for Vicky Krieps, and Berlinale Berlinale Golden Lion Alcarràs with two nominations. Venice 2022 Grand Jury and best first...
The films have each made it into four categories including best European Film, Best Director and Screenwriter.
All three films debuted at Cannes this year, where Triangle Of Sadness clinched the Palme d’Or; Close, the Grand Prize (in ex-aequo with Claire Denis’s Stars At Noon); and Holy Spider, best actress for Zar Amir-Ebrahimi.
Close and Holy Spider are also the entries for their respective countries of Belgium and Denmark in the Academy Awards Best International Film category this year.
Further hot contenders include Austrian director Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage, with three nominations, including best actress for Vicky Krieps, and Berlinale Berlinale Golden Lion Alcarràs with two nominations. Venice 2022 Grand Jury and best first...
- 11/8/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
’Alcarràs,’ ’Close,’ ’Corsage,’ ‘Holy Spider’ and ‘Triangle of Sadness’ shortlisted for European Film prize.
The European Film Academy has announced the nominees for the main categories of the European Film Awards, which takes place on December 10 in Reykjavík and will celebrate the best of European Film culture.
The five shortlisted films for the European Film award all have festival pedigree.
Swedish director Ruben Ostlund’s class warfare comedy Triangle of Sadness, winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, is shortlisted, and is also nominated in three other categories: European director, European actor (for Zlatko Burić) and European...
The European Film Academy has announced the nominees for the main categories of the European Film Awards, which takes place on December 10 in Reykjavík and will celebrate the best of European Film culture.
The five shortlisted films for the European Film award all have festival pedigree.
Swedish director Ruben Ostlund’s class warfare comedy Triangle of Sadness, winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, is shortlisted, and is also nominated in three other categories: European director, European actor (for Zlatko Burić) and European...
- 11/8/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Denmark has selected Ali Abbasi’s Cannes-winning title Holy Spider as its official submission to this year’s International Feature Oscar race.
Written by Afshin Kamran Bahrami, the film follows Rahimi, a young female journalist, who travels to the Iranian holy city of Mashhad to investigate a serial killer targeting sex workers. As she draws closer to exposing his crimes, the opportunity for justice grows harder to attain when the murderer is embraced by many as a hero.
Best International Feature Film Oscar Winners
The story is based on the real-life case of the ‘Spider Killer’ Saeed Hanaei, who claimed he was on a mission from God as he killed 16 women between 2000 and 2001.
Claus Ladegaard, CEO of the Danish Film Institute who chairs the selection committee, said: “Holy Spider shows a director with a strong artistic ambition who manages to tell an important story of misogyny while simultaneously keeping his audience in suspense.
Written by Afshin Kamran Bahrami, the film follows Rahimi, a young female journalist, who travels to the Iranian holy city of Mashhad to investigate a serial killer targeting sex workers. As she draws closer to exposing his crimes, the opportunity for justice grows harder to attain when the murderer is embraced by many as a hero.
Best International Feature Film Oscar Winners
The story is based on the real-life case of the ‘Spider Killer’ Saeed Hanaei, who claimed he was on a mission from God as he killed 16 women between 2000 and 2001.
Claus Ladegaard, CEO of the Danish Film Institute who chairs the selection committee, said: “Holy Spider shows a director with a strong artistic ambition who manages to tell an important story of misogyny while simultaneously keeping his audience in suspense.
- 9/27/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Back in January, we shared a trailer for director Christian Tafdrup’s psychological horror film Speak No Evil, which was about to screen at the Sundance Film Festival at that time. Now it has been announced that Speak No Evil will be receiving a limited theatrical release on September 9th, then will be reaching the Shudder streaming service just six days later, on September 15th. With those dates coming up fast, a new trailer has arrived online and can be seen in the embed above.
Written by Tafdrup and his brother Mads Tafdrup (A Horrible Woman), Speak No Evil, which is a Danish production, centers on
on two families – one Danish, one Dutch – who meet while on holiday in Tuscany. When the free-spirited Dutch family extends an invitation to the more conservative Danish for a holiday weekend at their countryside home, the lure of a fun, quick getaway is too delightful to resist.
Written by Tafdrup and his brother Mads Tafdrup (A Horrible Woman), Speak No Evil, which is a Danish production, centers on
on two families – one Danish, one Dutch – who meet while on holiday in Tuscany. When the free-spirited Dutch family extends an invitation to the more conservative Danish for a holiday weekend at their countryside home, the lure of a fun, quick getaway is too delightful to resist.
- 8/22/2022
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
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