The sales market at the Berlin International Film Festival is in full swing, so that means a lot of new images from upcoming films are arriving. Plus, new projects coming together seeking financing or distribution deals or both.
We’ll kick off this round up with the first snap, seen up above, from Thomas McCarthy‘s "Spotlight." The movie brings together a great ensemble — Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, Brian d’Arcy James — to tell the true story "about the Boston Globe investigation into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church." [Screen Daily]
Lena Dunham, Diane Kruger, Norman Reedus, Gilles Lellouche, and Q’orianka Kilcher have boarded "Sky." Fabienne Berthaud (“Lily Sometimes”) directs the film that follows "Romy, who goes with her husband on a trip to California and accidentally kills him during a violent fight. She flees the scene and embarks on a life-changing solo trip across California and Nevada." Production is now underway. [Variety]
Jean Dujardin and Virginie Efira have teamed for the rom-com "Up For Love." Laurent Tirard directs the tale about "a newly single lawyer who gets a call from Alexandre, a charming architect she’s never met who happened to find her lost phone. The two hit it off and decide to meet, but that first date takes an unexpected twist." Look for it in 2016. [Variety]
Timothy Spall is "The Special One." The actor will star in the Stephen Cookson directed film about "an eccentric prisoner who is obsessed by the performance of the English football team in the World Cup. After tracking down a mysterious and powerful fellow inmate, he is presented with a chance of escaping – and watching England in the final. But there is a sting in the tail." [Screen Daily]
Bruce Willis and Ben Kingsley will start shooting "Wake" this month. The action thriller tells the story of Red Forrester, a sociopath with no fear, who returns to his childhood home on a remote island for his brother’s wake. When the island comes under siege, Red must save the very family that banished him from his ancestral home years ago. John Pogue ("The Quiet Ones") directs.
Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots roll the dice on the romance "Frank And Lola." Michael Nyqvist, Justin Long, Rosanna Arquette and Emmanuelle Devos co-star in the Matthew Ross directed movie that follows a talented Las Vegas chef named Frank, and a promising young fashion designer named Lola, who fall deeply in love. But when Lola’s shocking past – and her present demons – begin to reveal themselves, it sets off a chain of events that threaten to destroy them both.
Michael Sheen, Steve Buscemi, Josh Charles, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Dan Stevens, Isaach De Bankolé and Lior Ashkenazi have joined Richard Gere in "Oppenheimer Strategies." Joseph Cedar directs the movie that centers on Norman Oppenheimer, whose life dramatically changes after the young politician he befriended during a dark period in his life becomes an influential world leader. Filming starts today.
Also, here’s a first look at Noomi Rapace in “Unlocked.” Directed by Michael Apted, “Unlocked” also stars Michael Douglas, Orlando Bloom, John Malkovich, and Toni Collette. The movie tells the story of a CIA interrogator (Rapace), who unwittingly provides information to terrorists, and then must race against the clock to stop a biological warfare attack on London.Lastly, the first look at Miles Teller as boxer Vinny Pazienza in "Bleed For This" has landed. Ben Younger directs the film that will tell the story of a boxer’s journey back to the ring after a serious car accident left it uncertain he’d ever walk again.
