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Bear Clan Station
02/18/2016
Logline: A scientist bends the laws of nature in an attempt to raise Canadian bear numbers and clear the way for oil exploration. Unfortunately for all these hybrid bears, whose DNA has been spliced with those of the vicious prehistoric bear, have other plans and the local winter truckers hired to deliver supplies have more to worry about than snow drifts and thawing ice.
Production Company(s): Extraordinary Features Ltd., Cumberland Pictures
Director(s): Roger Christian
Producer(s): Chris Samwells, Stavros C Stavrides, Michael Connor, John Horgan
Cast: Adam Beach, Corey Johnson, Dave Fulton, Elena Semolina, Katheryn Winnick
Writer(s): Dave Fulton
SSN Insight: Roger Christian won an Academy Award for set decoration on Star Wars (1977). He received his second Oscar nomination for his work as the production designer on Ridley Scott’s Alien. Christian’s later credits include Return of the Jedi and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
Fifty Shades Darker
02/15/2016
Logline: Anastasia has broken off her relationship with the troubled Christian to pursue a new career in a Seattle publishing house.
Studio/Distributor(s): Universal Pictures, Universal Pictures
Production Company(s): Trigger Street Productions, Michael De Luca Productions
Director(s): James Foley
Producer(s): Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, E.L. James, Marcus Viscidi
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Kim Basinger, Bella Heathcote, Robinne Lee
Writer(s): Niall Leonard
Details: Based on the book “Fifty Shades Darker,” the second book in the Fifty Shade trilogy, written by E.L. James and published by Vintage on April 17, 2012. Sequel to “Fifty Shades of Grey” (2015) directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan.
SSN Insight: Sam Taylor-Johnson was previously attached to direct.
Final Portrait
02/15/2016
Logline: The story of artist Alberto Giacometti and his friendship with James Lord is adapted from Lord’s biography about his friend.
Production Company(s): Potboiler Productions, Olive Productions, Arsam International
Director(s): Stanley Tucci
Executive Producer(s): Deepak Nayar
Producer(s): Gail Egan, Ilann Girard, Nik Bower, Fred Hogg
Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Armie Hammer, Tony Shalhoub, Sylvie Testud, Clémence Poésy
Writer(s): Stanley Tucci
Details: Based on the biography “A Giacometti Portrait” written by James Lord, published by New York, Museum of Modern Art and distributed by Doubleday in 1965.
SSN Insight: HanWay Films is overseeing international sales at the Berlin Film Festival with CAA handling the U.S. Tucci’s previous credits as a writer-director include Blind Date and Big Night.
Get Out
02/16/2016
Logline: A young African American man visits his white girlfriend’s family, with horrifying consequences.
Production Company(s): Blumhouse Productions, QC Entertainment
Director(s): Jordan Peele
Executive Producer(s): Couper Samuelson, Raymond Mansfield, Shaun Redick
Producer(s): Jason Blum, Sean McKittrick, Ted Hamm
Cast: Allison Williams, Daniel Kaluuya, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener, Caleb Landry Jones
Writer(s): Jordan Peele
SSN Insight: Peele is currently attached as an actor/producer to the feature Substitute Teacher and as an actor/writer to Wendell and Wild, both in active development.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
02/17/2016
Logline: The adventures of the Guardians of the Galaxy continue as the team journeys to unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s parentage.
Studio/Distributor(s): Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Production Company(s): Marvel Entertainment
Director(s): James Gunn
Producer(s): Kevin Feige
Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff
Writer(s): James Gunn
Details: Sequel to “Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) directed by James Gunn and starring Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana. The original movie and sequel are based on “Guardians of the Galaxy” created by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and published by Marvel Comics in May 2008. The original “Guardians of the Galaxy” comic book series was created by Arnold Drake and Gene Colan and published by Marvel Comics in January 1969.
SSN Insight: Gunn also completed the film The Belko Experiment for MGM which he produced and scripted. He also has written the screenplay for The Newlyweds at WB in development.
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House
02/16/2016
Logline: When a young nurse is hired to take care of an elderly author of best-selling ghost stories at her country home, she finds that the house has a ghost story of its own.
Production Company(s): Zed Filmworks, Paris Film, Inc., Go Insane
Director(s): Oz Perkins
Executive Producer(s): Alphonse Ghossein
Producer(s): Rob Paris, Robert Menzies
Cast: Ruth Wilson, Bob Balaban, Lucy Boynton, Deborah Harry
Writer(s): Oz Perkins
SSN Insight: Perkins is also the director and writer of the feature February and the writer for The Girl in the Photographs, both awaiting release.
Star Wars: Episode VIII
02/15/2016
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
Studio/Distributor(s): Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Production Company(s): Bad Robot, Kasdan Pictures, Lucasfilm, Ltd., Ram Bergman Productions
Director(s): Rian Johnson
Executive Producer(s): Kathleen Kennedy, Tom Karnowski, Jason McGatlin
Producer(s): Bryan Burk, George Lucas, J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, Ram Bergman
Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill
Writer(s): Rian Johnson
Details: Sequel to “Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope” (USA/1977) directed by George Lucas and starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
SSN Insight: Preshoots began in September, 2015. Locations include Pinewood Studios in England and Skellig Michael, Ireland. The release date has been confirmed to be December 15, 2017.
The Tribes of Palos Verdes
02/17/2016
Logline: A teenage girl grows closer to her troubled twin brother and takes up surfing in order to escape their unbalanced family and snobby friends in the exclusive Californian neighborhood of Palos Verdes.
Production Company(s): The Firm
Director(s): Emmett Malloy, Brendan Malloy
Executive Producer(s): Jeff Kwatinetz, Kevin McKeon
Producer(s): Robbie Brenner, Karen Croner
Cast: Maika Monroe, Jennifer Garner, Cody Fern, Elisabeth Röhm, Goran Visnjic
Writer(s): Karen Croner
SSN Insight: Peter Darley Miller was previously attached to direct. Project previously in development with Industry Entertainment and New Line Cinema. Project picked up in-turnaround from New Line Cinema.
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Denial
02/15/2016
Logline: Based on a true story, the film recounts Lipstadt’s legal battle for historical truth against David Irving, who accused her of libel when she declared him a Holocaust denier.
Studio/Distributor(s): Bleecker Street
Production Company(s): Participant Media, BBC Films, Krasnoff Foster Entertainment, Shoebox Films
Director(s): Mick Jackson
Executive Producer(s): Paul Webster, Guy Heeley, Jeff Skoll, Jonathan King, Christine Langan
Producer(s): Russ Krasnoff, Gary Foster, Rikki Lea Bestall
Cast: Tom Wilkinson, Rachel Weisz, Timothy Spall, Andrew Scott, Caren Pistorius
Writer(s): David Hare, Max Borenstein
Details: Based on the memoir “History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier” written by Deborah E. Lipstadt and published by HarperCollins in 2005.
SSN Insight: Hilary Swank was previously attached to co-star. Jackson previously directed The Bodyguard and in 2010 he won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Temple Grandin.
Jason Bourne
02/15/2016
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
Studio/Distributor(s): Universal Pictures, Universal Pictures
Production Company(s): Kennedy/Marshall Company, Pearl Street Films, Captivate Entertainment
Director(s): Paul Greengrass
Executive Producer(s): Christopher Rouse, Henry Morrison
Producer(s): Frank Marshall, Matt Damon, Paul Greengrass, Jeffrey Weiner, Ben Smith
Cast: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, Alicia Vikander, Vincent Cassel, Tommy Lee Jones
Writer(s): Paul Greengrass, Christopher Rouse
Details: Sequel to “The Bourne Identity” (USA/2002) directed by Doug Liman and starring Matt Damon. Based on the novel “The Bourne Supremacy” written by Robert Ludlum and published by Bantam Books in 1987.
SSN Insight: Alicia Vikander was recently seen in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Ex Machina and The Danish Girl. She can next be seen in Weinstein Company’s Tulip Fever, John Wells’ Adam Jones with Bradley Cooper and The Light Between Oceans opposite Michael Fassbender. The film was originally reported to wrap on January 15, 2016.