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BritBox Signs UK Programs From Sphere Abacus

Best-of-British streamer BritBox has bought a package of programs from Sphere Abacus, the UK-based sales house making its debut at MIPCOM in its current guise. Package contains Travels With Agatha Christie with Sir David Suchet from Soho Studios and Two Rivers Media. Suchet is currently on the ground with Sphere Abacus in Cannes, as our report earlier today noted. Also acquired by BritBox are Jon and Lucy’s Odd Couples, The Murder of Sandra Rivett, Breaking Dad: Britain’s Unlikeliest Drug Dealer, Agatha Christie: 100 Years of Poirot and Miss Marple (aka Agatha Christie: 100 Years of Suspense), Diana: The Interview That Shook the World and Susan Hill’s The Small Hand: A Ghost Story (1 x 94’) produced by Awesome and Two Rivers Media. BritBox takes rights for the U.S. and Canada.

Beta Sets Globo Co-Pro ‘Discipline

Germany’s Beta Film and Brazilian...

In Berlin ist jetzt die letzte Klappe zur Fortsetzung des Historienepos aus dem Jahr 2013 gefallen, die am 25. Dezember kommenden Jahres von Constantin Film in die Kinos gebracht wird.

Tom Payne als Rob Cole in „Der Medicis 2″ (Credit: Gordon Muehle / Constantin Film Verleih)

Nach Dreharbeiten in Ungarn und Köln ist jetzt in Berlin die letzte Klappe zu „Der Medicus 2“ gefallen. Wie schon bei „Der Medicus“, der 2013 mehr als 3,6 Mio. Besucher in die deutschen Kinos gelockt und bei seiner TV-Premiere im Dezember 2014 auf rund 7,5 Mio. Zuschauer gekommen war, führte Philipp Stölzl Regie; das Drehbuch schrieb Stölzl zusammen mit Stewart Harcourt, Caroline Bruckner, Jan Berger und Marc O. Seng.

Im im elften Jahrhundert spielenden „Der Medicus 2“ verkörpert Tom Payne den Medicus Rob Cole, der mit seinen Weggefährten nach seiner Flucht aus Isfahan in seiner alten Heimat London strandet, um dort sein medizinisches Wissen zu verbreiten. Bald wird er in die Intrigen...

Beta Cinema, Constantin Film, Zeitsprung Pictures and UFA Fiction have unveiled the first look photo of “The Physician II,” the sequel to the hit historical epic.

The original film, released in 2013, sold to over 60 territories and became an international box-office hit. In Germany alone, the film earned $42 million at the box office, with 3.6 million admissions.

“The Physician” director Philipp Stölzl once again brings together a stellar ensemble of international stars and rising talents: Tom Payne reprises his role as the passionate physician Rob Cole and shares the screen with Emily Cox (“The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die”), Aidan Gillen, Áine Rose Daly, Owen Teale, and Liam Cunningham.

The shoot took place from August to October 2024 in Hungary, Cologne and Berlin. Constantin Film is releasing the film in German cinemas on Dec. 25, 2025, and Beta Cinema is handling international sales, presenting first materials at the upcoming American Film Market.

The story...

Bereits Anfang des Jahres wurde bekannt, dass Philipp Stölzl eine Fortsetzung seines Kino- und TV-Erfolgs „Der Medicus“ inszenieren wird. Rund zehn Wochen vor Beginn der Dreharbeiten steht jetzt der Kinostarttermin fest.

Tom Payne in „Der Medicus“ (Credit: UFA Fiction/Stephan Rabold)

Constantin Film Verleih startet „Der Medicus 2“ am 25. Dezember 2025 und damit am gleichen Datum wie das Original im Jahr 2013, in den deutschen Kinos. Wie das Unternehmen heute mitteilt, sollen die Dreharbeiten in ca. zehn Wochen beginnen.

Wie bereits Anfang des Jahres bekannt wurde, wird Philipp Stölzl wie schon bei „Der Medicus“, der 2013/14 mehr als 3,6 Mio. Besucher in die Kinos gelockt und bei seiner TV-Premiere im Dezember 2014 auf rund 7,5 Mio. Zuschauer gekommen war, erneut Regie führen.

In der Hauptrolle des Medicus Rob Cole wird erneut Tom Payne vor der Kamera stehen. Angesiedelt im elften Jahrhundert, gelangt der Medicus mit seinen Weggefährten nach der Flucht aus Isfahan in seine alte Heimat London,...

Amazon is diving into The Swarm, snatching up rights for its Prime Video service across sub-Saharan Africa for the ecological thriller from Game of Thrones producer Frank Doelger.

The limited series, adapted from Frank Schätzing’s international best-seller, tells the story of a series of escalating disasters emerging from the world’s oceans. As scientists around the globe rush to discover their cause, it becomes clear that there is something bigger at play: an intelligent life force, dwelling in the deeps that is manipulating all life below the surface.

Barbara Eder (Barbarians, Concordia), Luke Watson (Ripper Street) and Philipp Stölzl (The Physician) directed the series, which features an ensemble cast including Alexander Karim (Dying of the Light), Cécile de France (The New Pope), Leonie Benesch (Babylon Berlin, The Crown), Barbara Sukowa (Hannah Arendt) and Takuya Kimura (2046, I Come With The Rain). Doelger produced through his Intaglio Films, together with Eric Welbers,...

Why complicate matters? “The Swarm” – which premiered its first three episodes at the Berlinale Series – is one of those expensive pan-global coproductions necessitating copious logistics, not least a carefully observed quota of performers from each territory pumping money into the production pot. Its opener generates a not inconsiderable carbon footprint, whisking us from Peru to Canada and thence the Scottish Highlands.

The series title, meanwhile, invites confusion with not just 1978’s infamous Michael Caine venture – a disaster movie in all senses – but Donald Glover and Janine Nabers’ Prime Video-bound “Swarm,” itself launching next month.

In and of itself, however, this eight-parter proves reassuringly straightforward and familiar. Its briny pulp – dredged from Frank Schätzing’s 2004 novel, a Central European bestseller originally earmarked for big-screen adaptation by the late Dino De Laurentiis – preys heavily on viewer fears of ecological collapse, and what might be lurking for us all beneath the planet’s watery depths.

Shudder and IFC Midnight are launching microbudget Skinamarink on a not-so-micro 629 screens, giving the viral horror pic a major push after a well-received premiere back at Fantasia-fest that just kept snowballing with strong reviews and social media love.

“I was over the moon. For a horror filmmaker in Canada, [Fantasia] is like getting a Cannes screening,” says first-time filmmaker Kyle Edward Ball about the leadup to this weekend’s buzzy specialty opening. He shot the 15k feature at his parents’ home in Edmonton, Canada.

In it, two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished. “I’d had a nightmare when I was little. I was in my parents’ house, my parents were missing, and there was a monster. And lots of people have shared this exact same dream,” Ball tells Deadline.

John Malkovich starrer Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes and Alex Gibney’s untitled Boris Becker documentary are set to have their world premieres at the upcoming Berlin International Film Festival next year. The projects are among the six titles which will play in the fest’s Berlinale Special Gala section, which also includes Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool, starring Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth and Cleopatra Coleman and Todd Field’s Tár.

Infinity Pool will get its European premiere at the festival while Field and Tár stars Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir will attend the festival to give a public talk as part of the Berlinale Talents section.

The festival also announced its first project from its Berlinale Series section: Zdf’s eco-thriller The Swarm (Der Schwarm), based on the eponymous bestseller by Frank Schätzing. The project follows an international group of scientists who do research...

The full programme will be revealed in January 2023.

The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 16-26) has announced six titles for its Berlinale Special Galas, including the world premieres of John Malkovich starrer Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes and Alex Gibney’s untitled Boris Becker documentary.

The festival has also unveiled eight Forum titles, including world premieres of Fiona Tan’s Dearest Fiona and Vincent Dieutre’s This Is The End.

In addition, the festival has named the first title to play in Berlinale Series, the eco-thriller The Swarm (Der Schwarm) – based on the eponymous bestseller by Frank Schätzing.

Robert Schwentke...

When you’re deep in among the cocktail parties and dinners or meeting up with much missed contacts at Mipcom next week, it might be easy to forget why everyone is there: the shows. To help you remember, we bring you Deadline’s The Hot Ones, our guide to some of the best TV being sold in Cannes in 2022. You may hear whispers along the Croisette about the next big global hit, and The Hot Ones is our pick of a wealth of programing, featuring some of the biggest names in television from the top players in distribution.

Here are three dramas to kick things off:

The Following Events Are Based on a Pack of Lies

BBC Studios

Length: 5 x 60’

Producer: Sister

As the cameras were preparing to roll for BBC drama The Following Events Are Based on a Pack of Lies, a plethora of jaw-dropping conman docs dropped on Netflix to much acclaim.

Commissions

Sky original drama series “The Lovers,” starring Johnny Flynn (“Beast”) and Roisin Gallagher (“The Fall”) has commenced production. The six-part series, written by playwright David Ireland (“Cyprus Avenue”) and directed by Justin Martin (“Together”), follows Janet (Gallagher), a foul-mouthed, disaffected Belfast supermarket worker and Seamus (Flynn) a self-centred, political broadcaster with what looks to be a perfect London life and a celebrity girlfriend. It is produced by Drama Republic, in association with Sky Studios and will available on Sky Atlantic and streamer Now in 2023.

The series was commissioned by Gabriel Silver, director of commissioning for drama at Sky Studios, for Zai Bennett, MD of content at Sky U.K. Roanna Benn and Rebecca de Souza are executive producers for Drama Republic, with commissioning editors Liz Lewin and Manpreet Dosanjh as executive producers for Sky Studios. Hannah Pescod also serves as executive producer, with Chris Martin as producer. NBCUniversal Global Distribution...

Click here to read the full article.

A reimagining of Mary Shelley’s horror classic Frankenstein, a 1950s drama about the Nazi scientists who helped create the U.S. space program and a post-apocalyptic tale set on a North Sea island are among the new original series unveiled Tuesday by Sky Deutschland, the German arm of Comcast’s European pay TV group Sky.

Sky has commissioned German director Robert Schwenkte (R.E.D., Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins) to helm seven-part sci-fi series Helgoland 513: 2034, based on his original script. The post-apocalyptic drama imagines a world in which the North Sea island of Helgoland has become the last safe haven for humanity. But the totalitarian society in charge dictates that only 513 people be allowed to live on the island, with every resident given a “social ranking” according to their “usefulness.” All the while, a dangerous force from the mainland is...

An apocalyptic drama from the makes of Deutschland 83, a retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and an emotionally-driven series set in Alabama are European giant Sky Deutschland’s latest trio of original dramas.

Ahead of the satellite broadcaster’s launch of original drama Munich Games tonight at the Munich Film Festival, three Sky Studios shows have been unveiled: Helgoland 513, Frankenstein Untold and Huntsville Al. The latter two are in development, while the former has been greenlit.

Helgoland is set in 2034 after after a global apocalypse, where the North Sea island of Helgoland has become humanity’s last safe haven. A totalitarian society has been established that only allows 513 people on the island and as resources are scarce, an inhumane ‘social ranking’ system evaluates the lives of the inhabitants according to their ‘usefulness.’ At there same time, a dangerous force from the mainland prepares to invade.

Written and directed by Robert Schwentke, the seven-part series will begin filming later this year and comes from Deutschland 83 producer UFA Fiction in association with Sky Studios.

Frankenstein Untold is billed as “a radical reimagining of Mary Shelley’s fantasy classic.” The synopsis reveals “intense and emotionally complex drama” is “told through the eyes of eight powerful characters” and explores the philosophical and political depths of the novel, centering around themes, such as the search for love and belonging, as well as revenge.” Set in 1816, locations include dirty streets of Ingolstadt, Germany, Switzerland’s Lake Geneva, and the vast ice desert of the North Pole.

Philipp Stölzl is creator and director, with the series currently in development with Neue Schönhauser Film (Back on Track).

Huntsville Al takes inspiration by “never-before-told, true stories,” and will be an “emotionally intense drama set in the 1950s in the southern town of Huntsville, Alabama.”

It will explore how hundreds of former German Nazi engineers and their families radically transforming the segregated, sleepy little town as the American space industry neared its launch after they were recruited by the US Army for a secret missile project. They dream of reaching the Moon, but the late arrival of one family could endanger the whole endeavour.

Director Achim v. Borries (Babylon Berlin), Nadav Schirman (The Green Prince), Ron Leshem and Amit Cohen created the series, which is currently in development with Zeitsprung, Fremantle’s Italian producer Wildside and Beta Film.

Next Up Event Sets Agenda

Sky Studios CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz and EVP for Deutschland and Italia Nils Hartmann unveiled the series at Sky’s Up Next event in Munich, which came during the same period at the Munich Film Festival. Sky Deutschland is giving Munich Games, its six-part political thriller from creator and writer Michal Aviram (Fauda), director Philipp Kadelbach and writer Martin Behnke. Co-produced by Amusement Park Film, CBS Studios and Sky Studios, it is set 50 years after the Munich Massacre, when Israel’s Olympic team were attacked and taken hostage by terrorists.

At the Next Up event Elke Walthelm, EVP of Content for Sky Deutschland revealed the broadcaster will offer over 60 local and international Sky Original series to customers across the Germany, Austria and Switzerland this year, such as Souls from Geißendörfer Pictures.

Hartmann added: “The new Sky Originals revealed today showcase the breadth of storytelling and creative ambition we are targeting on our original drama slate for Sky Studios Deutschland. We want the creative community in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to bring us their best, boldest and buzziest ideas as we invest further in premium original content for our customers.”...

As the human race straddles an unprecedented pandemic, hostile divisions and conflicts, fake news (and real news) and digital opportunism, we also discover new strengths and beauty of moral courage and perseverance. This programme celebrates the Austrian master of literature, Stefan Zweig (1881 – 1942), who is famed for his steadfast pacifism, insistence on vaster understanding and intricate reading on passion and desire.

Zweig experienced two world wars. As a famous Jewish-Austrian writer, Zweig’s books were censored, vilified and destroyed by the Nazi in the 1930s and 1940s. He left his hometown, Vienna, to escape German persecution, living in England and America before settling in his final destination, Brazil. When Zweig was in exile, a journalist asked how the writer thought of Germany, he answered, “I will make no prophecy. I would not speak against Germany. I would never speak against any country.”

Zweig’s work has served as the basis of many film adaptations and inspirations.

Exclusive: Film Movement has acquired U.S. rights to the dramedy Queen of Glory, written, directed by and starring Nana Mensah, from Magnolia Pictures International, with plans to release it in theaters and on digital and VOD later this year.

In her debut feature, Mensah plays Sarah, a Ghanaian-American doctoral student at Columbia University who is weeks away from following her very married boyfriend to Ohio when her mother dies suddenly, leaving her as the owner of the small, Bronx-based Christian bookstore, King of Glory. Tasked with planning a culturally respectful funeral befitting the family matriarch, Sarah is forced to juggle the expectations of her loving, yet demanding family while also navigating the reappearance of her estranged father. Aided by an only-in-New York ensemble of Eastern European neighbors, feisty African aunties and a no-nonsense ex-con co-worker, she faces her new responsibilities while figuring out how to remain true to herself.

Munich-based Koch Films has struck a deal with Studiocanal Germany to take over the distributor’s entire sales and logistics activities for all physical home entertainment activities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Studiocanal’s extensive portfolio comprises new releases, series and classic catalog titles such as Francis Ford Coppola’s newly restored 1983 teen drama “The Outsiders” and David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” as well as works by the likes of Jean-Luc Godard, Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch and Margarethe von Trotta.

The agreement pools Studiocanal and Koch Films’ strengths and bolsters their market position in the home entertainment sector over the long term, the companies said.

Studiocanal’s Arthaus label includes such recently restored films as Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita”; Ousmane Sembène’s 1968 Senegalese classic “Mandabi”; and Richard Kelly’s “Donnie Darko” as well as German titles like Reinhard Hauff’s 1975 drama “The Brutalization of Franz Blum,” featuring Jürgen Prochnow...

Film Movement has acquired North American rights to Olivia Peace’s “Tahara,” a coming-of-age starring Rachel Sennott (“Shiva Baby”) which played at Slamdance and TIFF Next Wave.

The film will be released theatrically in North America in 2022, followed by a roll out on home video and digital services. “Tahara” follows Carrie Lowstein (DeFreece) and Hannah Rosen (Sennott) who are best friends. When their former Hebrew school classmate, Samantha Goldstein, commits suicide, the two girls go to her funeral as well as the “Teen Talk-back” session designed to be an opportunity for them to understand grief through their faith. But, after an innocent kissing exercise turns Carrie’s world inside out, the pair finds themselves distracted by teenage complications.

On top of playing at Slamdance and TIFF Next Wave, the film won the Grand Jury Special Mention at Outfest as well as the best feature debut award by a Black LGBTQ+ Filmmaker at NewFest.

‘The Rig’ First Look

Up top is your first look at Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming series The Rig, which shot in Scotland this year. The show stars Iain Glen, Emily Hampshire and Martin Compston as the crew of the Kinloch Bravo oil rig stationed off the Scottish coast in the dangerous waters of the North Sea. When they are due to be collected and return to the mainland a mysterious and all-enveloping fog rolls through, cutting them off from the outside world. The series was created by David Macpherson and directed by John Strickland; Amazon will release in 2022.

German Oscar submissions

German Films has named the shortlist for its International Oscar submission this year, with 10 titles in contention. A nine-member committee will watch each picture and select the film that will go forward to the Academy. The 10 movies are: Copilot (Die Welt Wird Eine Andere Sein) – dir. Anne Zohra Berrached...

Eldar Grigorian adapted screenplay from Stefan Zweig’s autobiographical book The Royal Game.

Film Movement has picked up all North American rights from Studiocanal to Philipp Stölzl’s upcoming wartime drama Chess Story, which will be released internationally as The Royal Game.

Eldar Grigorian adapted the screenplay from Stefan Zweig’s novella of the same name about Dr. Josef Bartok, a lawyer who recalls on a cruise his prior torture and imprisonment by the Nazis in Vienna.

After Austria is taken over by the Germans in 1938, Bartok and his wife attempt to flee before he is captured and interrogated by the Gestapo,...

German Films has released a list of ten films that were submitted by German producers for consideration to become the country’s International Feature Oscar contender.

Among the front-runners for selection are likely to be Julia Von Heinz’s And Tomorrow The Entire World, Caroline Link’s When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Burhan Qurbani’s Berlin Alexanderplatz and Christian Petzold’s Undine.

The ten films:

• When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit – Caroline Link (Sommerhaus Filmproduktion)

• Berlin Alexanderplatz – Burhan Qurbani (Sommerhaus Filmproduktion)

• Crescendo #Makemusicnotwar – Dror Zahavi (Ccc-Filmkunst)

• Curveball – Johannes Naber (Bon Voyage Films)

• A Wet Dog – Damir Lukacevic (Carte Blanche International)

• Enfant Terrible – Oskar Roehler (Bavaria Filmproduktion)

• Fritzi – A Revolutionary Tale – Ralf Kukula, Matthias Brun (Balance Film)

• I’Ve Never Been To New York – Philipp Stölzl (Ziegler Film/UFA Fiction)

• Undine – Christian Petzold (Schramm Film Koerner + Weber)

• And Tomorrow The Entire World – Julia von Heinz (Seven Elephant Pictures)

An independent jury will select the German contender,...

German entertainment giant Ufa is continuing its push into feature films with a slew of high-profile projects, including an upcoming Siegfried and Roy biopic and a sequel to the 2014 historical epic “The Physician,” starring Tom Payne (“Prodigal Son”).

The ramp-up follows the huge box office success last year of Oscar winner Caroline Link’s “All About Me,” based on the childhood memoir of German comedian Hape Kerkeling, which became 2019’s second biggest local box-office hit with €31.25 million ($35.34 million) via Warner Bros.

Other upcoming titles include Leander Haussmann’s highly anticipated Cold War laffer “A Stasi Comedy,” which Constantin Film is set to release next year. Set in the 1980s, the film centers on a young agent of East Germany’s infamous state security service, played by David Kross (“Balloon”), who is sent to infiltrate East Berlin’s counterculture scene and who, years later, is confronted with the possibility of his...

German entertainment giant Ufa is continuing its push into feature film with a slew of high-profile projects, including an upcoming Siegfried and Roy biopic and a sequel to the 2014 historical epic “The Physician,” starring Tom Payne (“Prodigal Son”).

The ramp-up follows last year’s huge box-office success of Oscar-winner Caroline Link’s “All About Me,” based on the childhood memoir of German comedian Hape Kerkeling, which became 2019’s second biggest home-grown box-office hit grossing €31.25 million ($35.34 million) via Warner Bros.

Other upcoming titles include Leander Haussmann’s highly anticipated Cold War laffer “A Stasi Comedy,” which Constantin Film is set to release next year. Set in the 1980s, the film centers on a young agent of East Germany’s infamous state security service, played by David Kross (“Balloon”), who is sent to infiltrate East Berlin’s counterculture scene and who, years later, is confronted with the possibility of his secret Stasi past coming to light.

The film, entitled Schachnovelle, will star Oliver Masucci in the lead role, alongside Albrecht Schuch, Birgit Minichmayr, Rolf Lassgard and Samuel Finzi. Best known for having directed the alpine drama North Face, as well as commercially successful adaptations of Winnetou novels and music videos featuring the likes of Madonna and Rammstein, German filmmaker Philipp Stölzl is now working on a reinterpretation of Stefan Zweig’s literary classic The Royal Game. Schachnovelle tells the story of lawyer Bartok, who, while on a cruise, recalls being imprisoned and tortured by the Nazis in Vienna. In 1938, Bartok gets arrested and taken to the Gestapo’s headquarters before he can flee to the USA with his wife. Because he refuses to cooperate with the Nazi officials and provide information about accounts that he manages, Bartok is sent into solitary confinement. A chess book helps him survive in captivity and overcome the mental suffering inflicted on.

The life story of magicians and entertainers Siegfried and Roy is coming to the big screen. German multihyphenate Michael Bully Herbig, one of Germany’s biggest stars and most successful directors, is partnering with Ufa Fiction to direct two feature film projects, including a biopic about the German-American entertainers, whose Las Vegas act with big cats made them world-famous.

Herbig most recently directed the 2018 real-life hit drama “Balloon,” about two East German families who tried to escape to West Germany in a hot-air balloon in 1979. The critically acclaimed film earned about $8 million at the German box office for Studiocanal last fall.

Long in development at Ufa originally as a TV production, the big-screen “Siegfried & Roy” will tell the story of Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Uwe Horn, who met on a cruise ship in 1960 and, driven by their common passion for the art of magic and illusion, went on to developed their famous act.

We’ve got news of not one but two exciting upcoming biopics. O.J. Simpson lawyer Johnnie Cochran and magicians Siegfried & Roy are getting their own movies. Although Courtney B. Vance most recently portrayed the late Cochran in FX’s thoroughly entertaining The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, the Cochran biopic, which will star Anthony Mackie, won’t focus on the O.J. […]

The post Siegfried & Roy Biopic in the Works From Philipp Stölzl; Justin Chadwick to Direct Johnnie Cochran Movie appeared first on /Film.

Las Vegas legends Siegfried & Roy are to be the subject of a biographical miniseries directed by The Physician helmer, Philipp Stölzl, for Germany’s increasingly international Ufa Fiction. Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Uwe Horn will exec produce the story of their lives via the duo’s S&R Enterprises. The pair met on a cruise ship in 1960 and developed their first joint show, driven by a shared passion for the art of magic and illusion. From 1990, they headlined Vegas…...

Stars: Tom Payne, Ben Kingsley, Stellan Skarsgard, Olivier Martinez, Emma Rigby, Elyas M’Barek, Fahri Yardim, Makram Khoury, Michael Marcus, Stanley Townsend | Written by Jan Berger, Philipp Stölzl, Simon Block, Christoph Müller | Directed by Philipp Stölzl

When nine-year-old Rob Cole (Tom Payne) feels the life force slipping from his mother’s hand upon her death he is unaware that his gift of sensing impending death would lead him from 11th Century England to a medical school at Ispahan. At a time when Christians are banned from becoming a student at the school, Cole disguises himself as a Jew to become famed physician Avicenna’s (Ben Kingsley) student.

The Physician uses the history of medicine as the foundations of a story that focuses on the power of superstition and religion to hold back progress. In it we see how the Barber (Stellan Skarsgard) is held back from saving lives as to...

Efm: Brisk business for Beta Cinema; Pandastorm buys five.

Beta Cinema’s two Competition titles – Dietrich Brüggemann’s Stations Of The Cross and Edward Berger’s Jack – were the Munich-based sales company’s top-selling titles at this year’s European Film Market (Efm).

Stations Of The Cross has been sold to France (Memento), Italy (Satine Film), Spain (Caramel), Poland (Aurora), Benelux (Wild Bunch), Portugal (Vendetta Films), Greece (7 Films), Scandinavia and the Baltic States (Nonstop), Ex-Yugoslavia (Discovery) and Hungary (Circo).

As reported by ScreenDaily yesterday, the UK (Arrow) has also taken the drama, which had been the top-rated film of the Screen jury before Richard Linklater’s Boyhood was screened.

Further interest has been shown from the Us and Australia for the Ufa Fiction production, which received the Silver Bear for Best Script and the Ecumenical Jury’s prize for the best film in the Competition..

Jack has been acquired for France (Diaphana), Japan (Showgate), Norway (Europa...

German moutaineers get their climb on in North Face.

The contest is over. And the two winner, chosen by Random.org, are Anita and Matt! Congratulations! Please email your mailing address to [email protected] before July 17 to claim your prize.

The acclaimed 2008 adventure film North Face was finally released on Blu-ray today and Music Box Films has given Disc Dish two copies to give away to a pair of readers!

Directed by Philipp Stölzl and starring Benno Furmann, Florian Lukas and Johanna Wokalek, North Face is based on the true story of a 1936 attempt to scale the most dangerous rock face in the Alps, the North Face of the Eiger, by two competing climbing teams. One team consists of German climbers are Toni Kurz and Andi Hinterstoisser, who quit their service in the German military in order to make the attempt. The competing group of Austrians that eventually team...

Erased

Directed by Phillip Stölzl

Written by Arash Amel

USA, 2013

There’s a few distinct brands of action/thriller movie, and the most popular has always been “They Messed with the Wrong Man” (see also “Normal Guy becomes an Action Hero” and “Waaaarrrrr”) and Erased seems like an archetypal example. From the trailers and other advertisements, it looks like an absolutely hum-drum, boilerplate action/thriller of this mold, but there’s always hope that it’ll turn out to be one of those rare surprises that offers something new or interesting or is at least expertly made. Erased….is not one of these films.

The basic setup is this (stop me if you’ve heard this one): Aaron Ekhart plays Ben Logan, ex CIA badass now working for a company testing security systems in Brussels. Because his wife died of unspecified-itis, Ben’s also raising his tweenage daughter Amy,...

Title: Erased Directed by: Philipp Stölzl Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Liana Liberato, Olga Kurylenko,Yassine Fadel Running time: 100 minutes, Rated R An ex-cia agent working at a corporation as a securities expert in Antwerp is now raising his estranged teenage daughter after his wife dies. After taking his daughter to the hospital when she suffers effects of a peanut allergy, he stops by his office only to find it has been cleared out and his identity has been erased – emails, bank account, any documentation showing reason why he moved to Belgium. He thwarts several assassins attempt to murder both him and his daughter, and then he discovers he is part [ Read More ]

The post Erased Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Mix a dollop of The Bourne Identity, a dash (or two) of Taken, and a pinch of the spy classic Three Days of the Condor (1975), stir it all together, and you get Erased, a thriller whose storytelling ingredients are so familiar that one could watch it with the sound off and still know what's going on. Aaron Eckhart is Ben Logan, a recently widowed private security analyst living in Brussels who awakes one morning to find his office empty, his co-workers in the morgue, and his personal identity wiped away. With his rebellious teenage daughter, Amy (Liana Liberato), in tow, Ben begins dodging assassins. As luck would have it, he's a retired black-ops agent, so, game on. German director Philipp Stölzl proves adept at staging fight scenes in confined spaces,...

Hitting theaters in a limited release this Friday, director Philipp Stölzl's Erased stars Aaron Eckhart, Olga Kurylenko and Liana Liberato in an action-fueled thriller with a script from A.E. Amel. Eckhart plays Ben Logan, a former CIA operative now working as a security consultant in Brussels. Tensions are high between Ben and his daughter, Amy (Liberato), who would much rather be living with her mother. When Ben heads into work one day and finds that every trace of his company has been wiped from existence, both he and Amy become targets for a massive conspiracy that would like nothing more then seeing both Logans dead. ComingSoon.net sat down with Eckhart to discuss his role in the high-stakes thriller and the process by which he and Liberato built a father-daughter bond for...

Director Philipp Stölzl’s “Erased” is certainly not bad. It’s not great, either, mind you, but in terms of sucky cinema, it’s not that. It’s a bit derivative, and aside from the film’s central father and daughter characters played by leads Aaron Eckhart and Liana Liberato, respectively, the film features some stunningly generic and one-dimensional people. Even an attempt to inject humanity into one of the villains comes across as flat and pointless, not to mention tacked on. Go big or go home, boys. They decided to meander instead. As a “Taken”-esque, “Bourne Identity”-ish actioner, “Erased” is not an entirely bad film. Set in and around Brussels, Belgium, the film stars Eckhart as Ben Logan, a former CIA badass (aren’t they all?) who has relocated to the European country to start a new life with his estranged daughter Amy (Liberato). We eventually learn...

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Spring Breakers (18)

(Harmony Korine, 2012, Us) Selena Gomez, James Franco, Gucci Mane. 94 mins

The new American dream/nightmare of the endless beach party is both celebrated and satirised in Korine's woozy Florida tale. The story is fittingly loose – four naive teens turn to criminal means to fund their hedonism – but it's more of an experience: a dubstep-tracked collage of neon, Day-Glo and tanned flesh, all facilitated by Franco's fantastically watchable gangsta rapper.

A Late Quartet (15)

(Yaron Zilberman, 2012, Us) Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener. 106 mins

A respected New York string quartet is struck by an excess of issues here: terminal illness, infidelity, professional jealousy, you name it. Without the distinguished cast, its highbrow melodramas would seem ludicrous.

The Expatriate (15)

(Philipp Stölzl, 2012, Us/Bel/Can/UK) Aaron Eckhart,...

Philipp Stölzl’s The Expatriate is not the first film in recent months to present a story of a father and child let loose in a European city, doing all that is necessary to defeat the evil forces fighting against them. However, unlike Taken 2 and A Good Day to Die Hard, The Expatriate feels somewhat more genuine, with a clear attempt to tell a clever story and not fully reliant on the already established franchise, with the job of winning over audiences rather than simply trading on past glories.

Having moved from America to Belgium, ex-cia agent Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart) and his teenage daughter Amy (Liana Liberato) find themselves in a spot of bother when the former travels into work one day only to find his entire company doesn’t exist – and no record of his own existence can be traced. Any initial confusion soon turns to fear and trepidation,...

★★★☆☆ This week, Aaron Eckhart throws his hat into the cerebral action hero ring for Philipp Stölzl's The Expatriate (Erased, 2012), an American espionage thriller which has more than a whiff of déjà vu about it. Imagine a less icily-efficient Jason Bourne, with a petulant daughter in tow, and you're somewhere close to what's offered up here. The Dark Knight's former nemesis, Eckhart, plays the titular character, Ben Logan. Forging a new future in Belgium after a dark past, he's juggling daddy duties with his recently-displaced older teenage daughter Amy (Liana Liberato), whilst working as a consultant for a high-profile security devices company.

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The poster for Philipp Stölzl's Erased is now online and you can check it out below. We've also updated our gallery for the action thriller with seven new stills. The film focuses on a former CIA officer (Aaron Eckhart) who, along with his teen daughter (Liana Liberato), moves to Belgium, unwittingly becoming involved a corporate conspiracy that would see him and his family dead. Olga Kurylenko plays a CIA agent assigned to track down Eckhart's character. Featuring a screenplay by A.E. Amel, Erased hits on demand on April 5 and theaters on May 10. Click the poster or photo to view the full gallery:...

We already shared a pretty cool trailer for the upcoming action thriller Erased (aka The Expatriate), which stars Aaron Eckhart as an ex-cia agent named Ben Logan. Sounds familiar, right? Ok then, today we’re here to update our little gallery and share 15 new images and a brand new poster for the movie which will (finally) open this May! Check them all out and let us know what you think! Written by Arash Amel, and directed by Philipp Stölzl, the movie revolves around Eckhart’s character – an ex-cia agent and his estranged daughter who are forced on the run when his employers erase all records... Related posts: Erased Photos Starring Aaron Eckhart and Olga Kurylenko First Erased Trailer Starring Aaron Eckhart and Olga Kurylenko Olga Kurylenko and Aaron Eckhart In Erased New Erased Trailer Starring Aaron Eckhart and Olga Kurylenko New Erased Poster...

Check out the new poster for action thriller Erased. Aaron Eckhart, Olga Kurylenko and Lianna Liberato star in the Philipp Stölzl film also known as The Expatriate. Scripted by Arash Amel, Erased follows ex-cia agent Ben Logan (Eckhart) who discovers that he and his daughter have been marked for termination as part of a wide-reaching international conspiracy, a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse ensues as Logan tries to outsmart his hunters and uncover the truth. Neil Napier, Alexander Fehling, Kate Linder, Garrick Hagon, David Bark-Jones, Eric Godon and Debbie Wong also star in the film which opens on May 10th.

Check out the new poster for action thriller Erased. Aaron Eckhart, Olga Kurylenko and Lianna Liberato star in the Philipp Stölzl film also known as The Expatriate. Scripted by Arash Amel, Erased follows ex-cia agent Ben Logan (Eckhart) who discovers that he and his daughter have been marked for termination as part of a wide-reaching international conspiracy, a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse ensues as Logan tries to outsmart his hunters and uncover the truth. Neil Napier, Alexander Fehling, Kate Linder, Garrick Hagon, David Bark-Jones, Eric Godon and Debbie Wong also star in the film which opens on May 10th.

Aaron Eckhart is starring in an upcoming thriller called “Erased” (originally called “The Expatriate”). I’m personally a fan of Eckhart, but even though he’s popular and very famous, his star power hasn’t really taken as well as I think it should have, even with his being in “The Dark Knight.” Hopefully, “Erased” will be the one that will make Eckhart a household name. The film’s trailer is below the post. It feels European, stylish and highly intelligent. You can see what you think about it for yourself below. Make sure to leave your opinions in the comments section below. “Erased” is directed by Philipp Stölzl and also stars Liana Liberato, [ Read More ]

The post New Trailer From Erased Features Aaron Eckhart As An Ex-Spy appeared first on Shockya.com.

Honestly, after The Dark Knight, Aaron Eckhart has only been in one good movie, and that's Rabbit Hole with Nicole Kidman. This year, the actor is trying his best with a few efforts. Olympus Has Fallen comes out later this month, and I, Frankenstein is supposed to hit theaters this fall, but between those two films, Eckhart will hit theaters in the long delayed action thriller Erased, formerly known as The Expatriate. This first trailer feels like The Bourne Identity meets Unknown, Eckhart plays a CIA agent who suddenly finds that his office has been dissolved, and operatives are after him and his daughter to finish the job. Watch! Here's the first trailer for Philipp Stölzl's Erased, originally from Yahoo: When ex-cia agent Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart) discovers that he and his daughter have been marked for termination as part of a wide-reaching international conspiracy, a dangerous game of...

Shot quite a while back, and originally slated to be released last fall, the action thriller "The Expatriate" is finally coming, with a new, even more generic title: "Erased." At least they both begin with E, right? Anyway, if "The Bourne Legacy" left you hankering for another similarly styled, but Hydrox version of the movie, well, here's your chems. Written by Arash Amel ("Grace Of Monaco") with Philipp Stölzl directing, the film finds Aaron Eckhart playing a former agent who moves to Belgium, trying to make a fresh go of things as his relationship with his 15-year-old daughter (Liana Libreto) has crumbled. Working for a multinational corporation as a security head, he arrives at work one day to find that the corporation doesn’t actually exist and everyone he works with has vanished. He discovers his assistant is actually a trained operative trying to kill him. On the run with his daughter,...

The first trailer for Philipp Stölzl's Erased (formerly The Expatriate ) is now online and you can check it out in the player below. The film focuses on a former CIA officer (Aaron Eckhart) who, along with his teen daughter (Liana Liberato), moves to Belgium, unwittingly becoming involved a corporate conspiracy that would see him and his family dead. Olga Kurylenko plays a CIA agent assigned to track down Eckhart's character. Featuring a screenplay by A.E. Amel, Erased hits theaters on May 10.

Kidman as Kelly: A sure thing for the 86th Academy Awards Best Actress roster? Could Nicole Kidman earn a Best Actress Academy Award nomination early next year for playing 1954 Oscar winner Grace Kelly in Grace of Monaco? Is it to soon to start with Oscar 2014 predictions? Hardly. After all, bear in mind that The Weinstein Company has already bought the North American rights to the Olivier Dahan-directed Grace of Monaco, which, according to reports, will possibly be released some time around Christmas 2013. Also, let's not forget that Kidman has already received no less than three Academy Award nods in the last decade, winning the golden statuette a decade ago for Stephen Daldry's three-part drama The Hours. (Pictured above: Grace of Monaco's star Nicole Kidman as Hollywood star turned princess Grace Kelly. Please scroll down to check out another cool Kidman as Kelly photo below.) Oh, but wait a...

It’s not often that a major film with big stars goes completely under the radar, but today such an event has occurred. During the summer we reported that Ben Kingsley, Stellan Skarsgård, Tom Payne, and Olivier Martinez all linked up for The Physician, an adaptation of Noah Gordon‘s medieval novel that Philipp Stölzl (Young Goethe in Love and the in limbo The Expatriate) would [...]...

I just love these silent projects. No photos, no interviews, no drama, no nothing… and all of the sudden you get an awesome teaser trailer for the whole thing. The Physician is an upcoming adventure/history/drama (sounds silly, but it works for this movie) which comes from director Philipp Stölzl and has an awesome cast on board. More about that cast in the rest of this report, now – just a little reminder: the movie is actually the big-screen adaptation of Noah Gordon’s international bestseller of the same name!

So, Philipp Stölzl directs the whole thing from a script written by Jan Berger, and the movie will tell us the story of a Christian English boy in the 11th century who journeys across Europe in order to study medicine from the Muslims.

Rob Cole is a boy who is left a penniless orphan in an 11th-century English mining town...

They set him up. He sacrificed everything for his country. Now, he’s fighting to take it back.

Huh, here’s a totally new international trailer for The Expatriate movie. Directed by Philipp Stölzl this action thriller is still without an official release date, but it looks like an intense and at moments quite messy flick is coming to our cinemas.

The film follows a former CIA officer who, along with his teen daughter, moves to Belgium. He takes a job as a security expert for a multinational corporation, but soon he will find out that the corporation no longer exists, his coworkers are gone, and his assistant is really a trained operative out to kill him and his daughter.

Father and daughter go on the run and must learn to trust each other, something that becomes difficult once she learns the truth about his shadowy past.

Aaron Eckhart and...

I love almost everything about this trailer for director Philipp Stölzl’s actioner “The Expatriate”, especially Aaron Eckhart as an ex-cia dude trying to live a normal life, who must go back to his old ways when bad guys want him dead. There are two things about this trailer that I am not a big fan of, though — the potentially very annoying teenage daughter played by Liana Liberato and the generic action sounds whenever Eckhart punches someone. I mean, it’s the exact same sound throughout the trailer. I seriously hope this isn’t the case for the movie, cause it’s incredibly cheap. Other than that? I’m looking forward to this one, as familiar and well-tread as it obviously is. What can I say? I’m a sucker for this kind of movie. An ex-cia agent and his estranged daughter are forced on the run when his employers...