Deadline’s annual group of Ones to Watch in Cannes is made up of actors and filmmakers who are all bringing something fresh to the festival. The distinction isn’t always reserved for brand new faces; rather, we’ve selected people who are branching out, or who find themselves in waters where they are liable to make waves. Cannes can be a place of reinvention, after all.
French director, writer and producer Cédric Jimenez is known for his gritty crime thrillers inspired by real-life stories involving specific police departments. They include 2014 Toronto Film Festival debut The Connection (La French) about magistrate Pierre Michel, who waged an obsessive six-year battle to bring down Marseille’s infamous ‘French Connection’ drug ring; and last year’s box office hit The Stronghold (Bac nord), based on a 2012 police corruption case, also in Marseille.
The latter was acquired by Netflix outside France where it was the No.
French director, writer and producer Cédric Jimenez is known for his gritty crime thrillers inspired by real-life stories involving specific police departments. They include 2014 Toronto Film Festival debut The Connection (La French) about magistrate Pierre Michel, who waged an obsessive six-year battle to bring down Marseille’s infamous ‘French Connection’ drug ring; and last year’s box office hit The Stronghold (Bac nord), based on a 2012 police corruption case, also in Marseille.
The latter was acquired by Netflix outside France where it was the No.
- 5/21/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Cedric Jimenez’s action thriller “The Stronghold” won the Cesar Award which was voted on by nearly 2,000 students from French high schools in France, the U.K., Mayotte and Japan.
The Studiocanal film, which was produced by Hugo Sélignac at Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, a Mediawan company, was nominated for seven Cesar Awards, including best film and two actor nods. Both Jimenez and Selignac were honored at the ceremony which was attended by the Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer and Veronique Cayla, the president of the Cesar Academy.
Headlined by a French cast comprising Gilles Lellouche, Francois Civil, Karim Leklou, Adele Exarchopoulos (“Blue Is the Warmest Color”) and Kenza Fortas, “The Stronghold” is inspired by a true story and follows a police brigade in a crime-ridden neighborhood of Marseille.
After world premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, the film was released in French theaters by Studiocanal and became one of 2021’s rare local box office hits,...
The Studiocanal film, which was produced by Hugo Sélignac at Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, a Mediawan company, was nominated for seven Cesar Awards, including best film and two actor nods. Both Jimenez and Selignac were honored at the ceremony which was attended by the Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer and Veronique Cayla, the president of the Cesar Academy.
Headlined by a French cast comprising Gilles Lellouche, Francois Civil, Karim Leklou, Adele Exarchopoulos (“Blue Is the Warmest Color”) and Kenza Fortas, “The Stronghold” is inspired by a true story and follows a police brigade in a crime-ridden neighborhood of Marseille.
After world premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, the film was released in French theaters by Studiocanal and became one of 2021’s rare local box office hits,...
- 3/10/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Banijay has partnered with Alain Goldman, the French producer of “La Vie en rose” to produce premium scripted series and feature films through his two production entities, Pitchipoï Productions and Montmartre Films.
Goldman, whose production company was previously named Legende Films, will work alongside Banijay France.
The French producer had been working with nearly every French film studios, notably Gaumont, and has also been collaborating with streamers such as Netflix with “The Spy,” starring Sacha Baron Cohen, and Amazon Prime with Caroline Vigneaux’s “Flashback” and Mélanie Laurent’s “The Mad Women’s Ball.” Besides “La Vie en Rose,” which earned Marion Cotillard an Oscar, Goldman has also produced “An Officer and a Spy” (2019), “The Connection” (2014) and “The Crimson Rivers” (2000).
“Banijay shares our vision for the company going forward, and their immediate understanding and belief in our ethos makes them the perfect partner for our future,” said Goldman. “Joining a forward-thinking...
Goldman, whose production company was previously named Legende Films, will work alongside Banijay France.
The French producer had been working with nearly every French film studios, notably Gaumont, and has also been collaborating with streamers such as Netflix with “The Spy,” starring Sacha Baron Cohen, and Amazon Prime with Caroline Vigneaux’s “Flashback” and Mélanie Laurent’s “The Mad Women’s Ball.” Besides “La Vie en Rose,” which earned Marion Cotillard an Oscar, Goldman has also produced “An Officer and a Spy” (2019), “The Connection” (2014) and “The Crimson Rivers” (2000).
“Banijay shares our vision for the company going forward, and their immediate understanding and belief in our ethos makes them the perfect partner for our future,” said Goldman. “Joining a forward-thinking...
- 2/11/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
La Vie En Rose and Netflix’s The Spy producer Alain Goldman has signed an overall deal with Banijay for TV shows and feature films.
Goldman will produce projects via his production entities Pitchipoï Productions and Montmartre Films (previously Légende Films) and Banijay France, with a view to creating a pipeline of scripted IP.
The deal is one of the first of its kind from a global super-indie, with this form of ‘golden handcuffs’ arrangement tended to be struck by deep-pocketed streamers and networks.
Goldman is a highly decorated producer, with credits including Oscar-winning La Vie En Rose, 2019’s An Officer And A Spy and 2017’s Edmond. He has also turned his hand to streaming, more recently producing Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Spy for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video’s Flashback.
He is currently working on Cédric Jimenez-directed feature Verde about Ingrid Betancourt and Clara Rojas’ captivity in the Colombian jungle.
Goldman will produce projects via his production entities Pitchipoï Productions and Montmartre Films (previously Légende Films) and Banijay France, with a view to creating a pipeline of scripted IP.
The deal is one of the first of its kind from a global super-indie, with this form of ‘golden handcuffs’ arrangement tended to be struck by deep-pocketed streamers and networks.
Goldman is a highly decorated producer, with credits including Oscar-winning La Vie En Rose, 2019’s An Officer And A Spy and 2017’s Edmond. He has also turned his hand to streaming, more recently producing Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Spy for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video’s Flashback.
He is currently working on Cédric Jimenez-directed feature Verde about Ingrid Betancourt and Clara Rojas’ captivity in the Colombian jungle.
- 2/11/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Hot French helmer Cedric Jimenez, whose latest hit movie “The Stronghold” is nominated for seven Cesar awards, is developing “Verde,” an epic adventure drama revolving around the kidnapping of former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and her campaign manager Clara Rojas, who were held captive in the jungle for seven years.
Inspired by a true story like all of Jimenez’s films, “Verde” opens in 2002, when Betancourt — a high-profile French-Colombian senator who was running for president and had vowed to end political corruption — was brutally kidnapped with her campaign manager, Rojas, by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). The pair were held hostage by the rebel group in the hostile jungle for nearly a decade, along with many other victims of Colombia’s civil war.
Jimenez is writing the script for “Verde” with Olivier Demangel, the co-screenwriter of Mati Diop’s Cannes’ grand prize winner “Atlantics” and Jimenez’s upcoming movie “November,...
Inspired by a true story like all of Jimenez’s films, “Verde” opens in 2002, when Betancourt — a high-profile French-Colombian senator who was running for president and had vowed to end political corruption — was brutally kidnapped with her campaign manager, Rojas, by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). The pair were held hostage by the rebel group in the hostile jungle for nearly a decade, along with many other victims of Colombia’s civil war.
Jimenez is writing the script for “Verde” with Olivier Demangel, the co-screenwriter of Mati Diop’s Cannes’ grand prize winner “Atlantics” and Jimenez’s upcoming movie “November,...
- 1/27/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Eric Paquette, former senior VP at Sony Pictures and MGM, has launched a new company, Meridian Pictures, with a focus on film and TV projects. Paquette said that he’ll be working with direct to consumer platforms, financiers and studios to fill their pipelines with “compelling stories for their specific audiences.” The projects in development include Papa Alpha Heavy, from writer Michael Walker, an action thriller set on a commercial airline. Gary Fleder is set to direct, and Chrisitain Mercuri’s Capstone is financing. Other projects Paquette is packaging include Meltdown, from screenwriter Jessica Postigo, based on the life of Bonnie Klea, the former Rocketdyne employee whose advocacy for worker victims of nuclear radiation exposure at the contaminated Santa Susana Field Laboratory led to a massive restitution program. Paquette will produce.
Kinetic, from Chris Dennis, is an action thriller where a truck drive has to deliver dangerous cargo to save his pregnant wife.
Kinetic, from Chris Dennis, is an action thriller where a truck drive has to deliver dangerous cargo to save his pregnant wife.
- 6/4/2021
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Warner Bros and Silver Pictures have set Peter Landesman to adapt The Galton Case, one of the titles in the Ross Macdonald mystery series about private detective Lew Archer. Landesman will look to reinvent the mystery series as Silver Pictures tries to launch a franchise. The series was previously turned into two movies; Paul Newman played Archer in the 1966 Warner Bros film Harper and 1975 film The Drowning Pool. The 1959 novel The Galton Case was the eighth book in the series. Landesman, a New York Times Magazine foreign correspondent, most recently scripted The Mission for Warner Bros. That film is about Operation Jaque, a daring rescue of 15 captives that included former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt from Farc militants who moved the hostages around in the Colombian jungles some of them being held as long as 15 years. That film has David O Russell circling as director, with Brad Pitt being courted to star.
- 3/7/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Italian actress Caterina Murino, who charmed Daniel Craig as James Bond back in 2006 in Casino Royale, has just landed the role to play a former Colombian presidential candidate. According to THR, Murino will play Ingrid Betancourt in the English language film In Search of Ingrid.
The film is based on two books by Betancourt’s former husband Juan Carlos Lecompete, which details “what happened when Betancourt, a senator in Colombia and at the time a candidate for president, was taken hostage by terrorists and held in a South American jungle from 2002 to 2008 before being rescued by Colombian security forces.” Lecompete will be played by popular Mexican actor and photographer Valentino Lanus. Lanus will also be producing the project, along with Peter Rawley and Robert Katz.
Betty Kaplan is set to direct, as well as write the screenplay. Kaplan has done several adaptation work in the past — her films Of Love and Shadows,...
The film is based on two books by Betancourt’s former husband Juan Carlos Lecompete, which details “what happened when Betancourt, a senator in Colombia and at the time a candidate for president, was taken hostage by terrorists and held in a South American jungle from 2002 to 2008 before being rescued by Colombian security forces.” Lecompete will be played by popular Mexican actor and photographer Valentino Lanus. Lanus will also be producing the project, along with Peter Rawley and Robert Katz.
Betty Kaplan is set to direct, as well as write the screenplay. Kaplan has done several adaptation work in the past — her films Of Love and Shadows,...
- 1/11/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
[1] Though everyone knows Marilyn Monroe is Lindsay Lohan's deceased classic Hollywood legend of choice, it may be Elizabeth Taylor she'll be playing next. Lohan has entered early talks to star in the Lifetime original movie Elizabeth & Richard: A Love Story, about the tempestuous, Vatican-condemned romance between Taylor and actor Richard Burton. Oh boy. I can't do better than this old quote from Slate [2] (via Deadline [3]) about the things the two had in common, so I won't try: "Both had domineering stage mothers, little semblance of a real childhood, fame from a young age, substance abuse issues, public emotional outpourings, and copious amounts of tabloid drama. The key difference, though, is that Elizabeth Taylor had a true record of achievement before she became the most notorious movie star in America." Even with those similarities, it's tough to see how casting the troubled, famously unreliable Lohan could possibly seem like a good idea.
- 1/11/2012
- by Angie Han
- Slash Film
In the race to bring the story of former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt to the big screen, an independent production has jumped out in front of a bigger budget Hollywood project by casting a former Bond girl in the lead role. Italian actress Caterina Murino, who played Solange, the temptress who seduced Agent 007 in the 2006 James Bond movie Casino Royale, will star as Betancourt in the English-language film In Search of Ingrid. Photos: Hollywood's New Leading Ladies Based on two books by Betancourt’s former husband Juan Carlos Lecompete, the movie tells the story of what happened
read more...
read more...
- 1/10/2012
- by Alex Ben Block
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
David O. Russell is currently in dilemma – what to do next? Maleficent maybe? Or, perhaps Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune? Or, something completely different? The Mission?
What the hell is that? Well, it’s another Hollywood military rescue story, and if you’re fan of these kind of stories, then I’m sure you’ll love the idea of seeing Brad Pitt in an uniform?
Well, first of all, nothing is official at this moment. Apparently Warner Bros Studio is trying to get Brad Pitt to star in The Mission, while O. Russell is reportedly considering directing the whole thing.
At this moment we know that Peter Landesman is responsible for The Mission script, and that the movie is actually based on the six-year military rescue operation planned by American and Columbian agents to free 15 hostages from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia or better known as Farc.
Thanks to Deadline,...
What the hell is that? Well, it’s another Hollywood military rescue story, and if you’re fan of these kind of stories, then I’m sure you’ll love the idea of seeing Brad Pitt in an uniform?
Well, first of all, nothing is official at this moment. Apparently Warner Bros Studio is trying to get Brad Pitt to star in The Mission, while O. Russell is reportedly considering directing the whole thing.
At this moment we know that Peter Landesman is responsible for The Mission script, and that the movie is actually based on the six-year military rescue operation planned by American and Columbian agents to free 15 hostages from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia or better known as Farc.
Thanks to Deadline,...
- 6/30/2011
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
Brad Pitt is being lined up to star in hostage drama 'The Mission'. The Hollywood heartthrob is wanted by Warner Bros. - who have obtained the rights to the film - to take on the lead role with a script by Peter Landesman. The film tells the story of the methodical six-year mission planned by American and Colombian covert operatives to free 15 hostages from the Colombian jungle, who included three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt, once a candidate for President of Colombia. The hostages - who were held by the Colombian guerrilla group Farc from between six...
- 6/30/2011
- Virgin Media - Movies
We know Brad Pitt can handle zombies. But can he handle the jungle?
The "Tree of Life" star might find that trying to rebuild a world ravaged by the undead isn't nearly as challenging as braving the dangerous Colombian jungle if he signs on to join "The Mission," according to Deadline.
"The Mission" tells the real-life story of Operacion Jaque, the six-year mission planned by American and Colombian covert operatives to free 15 hostages from the Colombian guerilla group known as Farc, which subjected the hostages to the harsh conditions of the Colombian jungle.
The operation took place in July 2008 and resulted in all 15 hostages being rescued -- including three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt, once a candidate for President of Colombia -- without any shots being fired.
The project is being set up at Warner Bros., with Brad Pitt being courted to star and David O. Russell ("The Fighter") reportedly interested in directing.
The "Tree of Life" star might find that trying to rebuild a world ravaged by the undead isn't nearly as challenging as braving the dangerous Colombian jungle if he signs on to join "The Mission," according to Deadline.
"The Mission" tells the real-life story of Operacion Jaque, the six-year mission planned by American and Colombian covert operatives to free 15 hostages from the Colombian guerilla group known as Farc, which subjected the hostages to the harsh conditions of the Colombian jungle.
The operation took place in July 2008 and resulted in all 15 hostages being rescued -- including three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt, once a candidate for President of Colombia -- without any shots being fired.
The project is being set up at Warner Bros., with Brad Pitt being courted to star and David O. Russell ("The Fighter") reportedly interested in directing.
- 6/30/2011
- by Bryan Enk
- NextMovie
With Ben Affleck busy gathering actors for real-life hostage rescue tale Argo, it would seem that fact-based prisoner stories are all the rage in Hollywood at the moment. Warner Bros. is no doubt looking to combine that wave with the recent blitz of information about Special Forces teams in the wake of Osama Bin Laden’s death by shoving The Mission on to the fast track and trying to nab both David O. Russell and Brad Pitt for the film.No, this isn't a film about Jesuit priests in South America. The plot will follow the carefully crafted Operation Jaque, a mission that saw several governments, covert organisations, diplomats and military units working together across six years to free 15 hostages from the Colombian jungles.Guerrilla group Farc were behind the captures, holding a group including former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans against their will for years, moving...
- 6/30/2011
- EmpireOnline
Another film based off of a great military rescue story. Warner Brother Pictures is pushing forward a Columbian military rescue operation film called “The Mission.” Director David O. Russell is considering the project and the studio is currently pitching the project to actor Brad Pitt. “The Mission” is based on the six-year military rescue operation planned by American and Columbian agents to free 15 hostages from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia or better known as Farc. The 2008 hostage rescue called Operation Jaque involved Columbian intelligence agents disguised as journalists and Red Cross workers in a helicopter rescue. They tricked Farc in releasing the hostages thinking they were being transferred to another location. From the fifteen rescued hostages, three American military contractors and former Columbian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt were rescued during this mission. According to Deadline, Russell is also considering “The Silver Linings Playbook” with Mark Wahlberg attached to star.
- 6/29/2011
- LRMonline.com
Care for another hostage thriller? Warner Bros. is currently trying to round-up Brad Pitt and David O. Russell for The Mission. Peter Landesman would write the script about a, "methodical six-year mission planned by American and Colombian covert operatives to free 15 hostages from the Colombian jungle. The hostages included three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt, once a candidate for President of Colombia." Deadline gave further details on the story: "The hostages were...
- 6/29/2011
- by Niki Stephens
- JoBlo.com
Warner Bros. is in the process of putting a team of talent together for a new political drama. The film they want to make is based on a true story about Columbia hostages called The Mission. Director David O Russell (The Fighter) is currently looking at possibly directing the film project, and the studio is trying to to get Brad Pitt on board to star in the film.
The film will tell the story of a "methodical six-year mission planned by American and Colombian covert operatives to free 15 hostages from the Colombian jungle. The hostages included three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt, once a candidate for President of Colombia... The hostages were held by the Colombian guerilla group Farc, from between six and 15 years. It was a nightmarish existence as the hostages were moved around the jungles, often cruelly chained to trees at night by their necks. The central focus of...
The film will tell the story of a "methodical six-year mission planned by American and Colombian covert operatives to free 15 hostages from the Colombian jungle. The hostages included three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt, once a candidate for President of Colombia... The hostages were held by the Colombian guerilla group Farc, from between six and 15 years. It was a nightmarish existence as the hostages were moved around the jungles, often cruelly chained to trees at night by their necks. The central focus of...
- 6/29/2011
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
If Ben Affleck can make his hostage movie, maybe Brad Pitt can have one, too. Warner Bros. is putting together The Mission, a 'based on a true story' military action thriller escapade. The studio is trying to get Brad Pitt to don some fatigues, and David O. Russell is reportedly considering directing. Deadline [1] has the details, saying that the subject of the script, written by Peter Landesman, is a "methodical six-year mission planned by American and Colombian covert operatives to free 15 hostages from the Colombian jungle. The hostages included three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt, once a candidate for President of Colombia." So we've got a couple of Navy Seal pictures in the works, including one by Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow, who also has the ensemble action thriller Triple Frontier as a possible follow-up. We've got Ben Affleck's slightly more weird hostage movie Argo, and the Somali pirate hostage movie Maersk Alabama.
- 6/29/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
No, it won’t be a remake of Roland Joffé‘s 1986 film starring Robert De Niro. Deadline reports that Warner Bros. is looking at director David O. Russell to helm a Colombian hostage drama titled The Mission. Based on the “methodical six-year mission planned by American and Colombian covert operatives to free 15 hostages from the Colombian jungle,” the studio also wants Brad Pitt to lead.
Peter Landesman, whose article The Girls Next Door was the basis for the sex trafficking film Trade, has written the script that follows the group of hostages including three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt, a “candidate for President of Colombia.” Being taken hostage between six and fifteen years, the group had rough conditions as they were transported around the jungle.
Mike Fleming reports that this period won’t be the main focus of the film, but “rather on Operacion Jaque, a covert effort involved numerous governments,...
Peter Landesman, whose article The Girls Next Door was the basis for the sex trafficking film Trade, has written the script that follows the group of hostages including three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt, a “candidate for President of Colombia.” Being taken hostage between six and fifteen years, the group had rough conditions as they were transported around the jungle.
Mike Fleming reports that this period won’t be the main focus of the film, but “rather on Operacion Jaque, a covert effort involved numerous governments,...
- 6/29/2011
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: In the wake of Osama Bin Laden's killing by a Navy Seal team, Hollywood is suddenly obsessed with politically-charged fact-based mission movies. Momentum is building on one of those at Warner Bros, The Mission. David O Russell is circling the picture and the studio is courting Brad Pitt to star. This could all happen very quickly. The picture is basically the methodical six-year mission planned by American and Colombian covert operatives to free 15 hostages from the Colombian jungle. The hostages included three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt, once a candidate for President of Colombia. The script is by Peter Landesman. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Scott Z. Burns will produce with McLarty Media, the showbiz consulting arm of D.C.-based international advisory firm McLarty Associates. The hostages were held by the Colombian guerilla group Farc from between six and 15 years. It was a nightmarish existence as the hostages were moved around the jungles,...
- 6/29/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
It’s every man for himself when a mysterious bomb hits New York City in Xavier Gens’ apocalyptic horror film The Divide. It premiered at SXSW this weekend and instantly generated a lot of attention, but it was Anchor Bay making a winning bid in the low seven figures making it the biggest deal this year made at SXSW, and possibly ever in the history of the festival. The psychological thriller stars sci-fi legend Michael Biehn, Milo Ventimiglia and the ever so talented Rosanna Arquette as tenants of an apartment building who seek refuge in a bunker underneath their apartment after disaster strikes. Gist: When a mysterious cataclysmic bomb devastates New York, eight strangers take refuge in the basement of their apartment building. The residents soon succumb to cabin fever as fear of sickness, dwindling supplies, and ruthless outside invaders, plays on their mind. Worth Noting: French director Gens is...
- 3/17/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
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