Less than half a day after the Paramount Skydance merger is completed, Paramount Pictures’ new studio heads have landed one of the hottest packages in Hollywood. New co-chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein have snapped up “High Side,” an original drama set to star Timothee Chalamet. The movie will be directed by James Mangold, reuniting the duo after “A Complete Unknown” was nominated for Best Picture and earned $140 million for Searchlight Pictures this past winter.
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As initially reported by Deadline, “High Side” is an original novella by Jaime Oliveira, who is adapting his work into a screenplay. It centers on a one-time MotoGP racer, who can’t get over a major crash that affected his career (very “F1”). He’s spent most of his time since running a garage and watching out for his father, who has substance abuse issues. When tragedy strikes again, his estranged brother, on the run from the FBI, sucks him into a string of bank robberies using his bike riding skills as a getaway driver.
The project was developed and will be produced by Peter Chernin and David Ready at Chernin Entertainment. Chernin previously collaborated with Mangold on “Ford vs. Ferrari.” It’s unclear what other studios pitched or were interested in snapping up the project.
In a statement, Goldberg and Greenstein remarked, “We’re thrilled to be in business with visionary artists like James and Timothée, and exceptional collaborators like Peter and David at Chernin. What Jaime has created reflects the kind of bold, original storytelling we’re committed to championing at Paramount – and we couldn’t be more excited to hit the ground running with ‘High Side.”
Mangold added, “David [Ellison], Dana, and Josh display a real commitment to original, story-driven filmmaking on the big screen, and this passion made it easy for Timothée, Peter, and me to land on this project. Timothée is a trusted collaborator, a generational artist, and a person I adore. I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and work together again.”
Chalamet is currently in production on Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three.” He’ll star in Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme,” which A24 is set to release at Christmas.
