Kids’ content firm Jetpack Distribution has moved into feature film, snagging rights to a package of family movies from Perplexia, a U.K.-based shingle that counts former Jim Henson Television president Angus Fletcher as its co-founder.
The deal covers international rights to four films from Perplexia, which was founded by Fletcher and Ronald Henry, who created South African motion-capture studio The Flying Circus.
The pictures include “A Horse Called Wish,” which follows a teenager who lands a position as a stable hand at a well-to-do stable and which stars Antony Coleman (“Blood Diamond”). Another title is “The House on Seahorse Bay,” about a family that inherits a rundown beach house on a paradise island, with Waldemar Schultz (“The Kissing Booth”).
Jetpack Distribution was set up by former Disney U.K. programming executive Dominic Gardiner with French producer Samka. It sells shows including “Talking Tom & Friends” and “Dennis and Gnasher Unleashed.
The deal covers international rights to four films from Perplexia, which was founded by Fletcher and Ronald Henry, who created South African motion-capture studio The Flying Circus.
The pictures include “A Horse Called Wish,” which follows a teenager who lands a position as a stable hand at a well-to-do stable and which stars Antony Coleman (“Blood Diamond”). Another title is “The House on Seahorse Bay,” about a family that inherits a rundown beach house on a paradise island, with Waldemar Schultz (“The Kissing Booth”).
Jetpack Distribution was set up by former Disney U.K. programming executive Dominic Gardiner with French producer Samka. It sells shows including “Talking Tom & Friends” and “Dennis and Gnasher Unleashed.
- 1/29/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
After Sacha Baron Cohen attempted to get it made for many years, it looks like a Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody is finally moving forward with a different star. While Ben Whishaw also circled it briefly, the role of the late Queen frontman is now attached to the Emmy-winning Mr. Robot star Rami Malek. According to Deadline, Bryan Singer is attached to direct the film, which is now being scripted by The Theory of Everything writer Anthony McCarten. With a shoot eyed to begin early next year, as much we’d like to see the director step away from X-Men territory, hopefully this one doesn’t turn out to be as by-the-numbers as McCarten’s previous work.
While Dan Stevens recently got set to lead the latest thriller from The Raid director Gareth Evans, he also has found time to lead a period drama. He’s set to star in The Man Who Invented Christmas,...
While Dan Stevens recently got set to lead the latest thriller from The Raid director Gareth Evans, he also has found time to lead a period drama. He’s set to star in The Man Who Invented Christmas,...
- 11/8/2016
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Film about Lord Of The Rings author is being produced by Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne; Protagonist boards sales.
BAFTA-winning director James Strong (United, Broadchurch) will direct Middle Earth, a biopic of Lord Of The Rings author Jrr Tolkien.
Angus Fletcher has written the screenplay following six years of archival research and personal interviews. The film will follow Tolkien’s early life leading up to the First World War, when the young man was sent overseas to fight for his country.
Producers on the project are Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne – who were running New Line Cinema when it greenlit the ambitious Lord Of The Rings film adaptations - for their banner Unique Features, with Rachael Horovitz.
Protagonist Pictures is handling world sales and will launch the title to buyers at the Berlin Film Festival in February.
Strong is currently directing miniseries Liar for AMC/ITV. Writer Fletcher’s other works include the forthcoming adaptation of Em Forster...
BAFTA-winning director James Strong (United, Broadchurch) will direct Middle Earth, a biopic of Lord Of The Rings author Jrr Tolkien.
Angus Fletcher has written the screenplay following six years of archival research and personal interviews. The film will follow Tolkien’s early life leading up to the First World War, when the young man was sent overseas to fight for his country.
Producers on the project are Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne – who were running New Line Cinema when it greenlit the ambitious Lord Of The Rings film adaptations - for their banner Unique Features, with Rachael Horovitz.
Protagonist Pictures is handling world sales and will launch the title to buyers at the Berlin Film Festival in February.
Strong is currently directing miniseries Liar for AMC/ITV. Writer Fletcher’s other works include the forthcoming adaptation of Em Forster...
- 11/8/2016
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
Without a doubt, J.R.R. Tolkien has become one of the most iconic and literary figures in history. This is the man who, in the wake of The Lord of the Rings, influenced generations of fantasy authors, and established many of the tropes we see in the genre today. It is also through his work that we got the acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy from director Peter Jackson, which is widely considered to be a hallmark of fantasy cinema — and cinema in general.
Sure, J.R.R. Tolkien may not have known how to create dramatic tension if his life depended on it, but there is no denying the rich, textured world he created with Middle-earth. If you’re like this geek, then you’ve pored over those Blu-ray special features that chronicled the creation of this world in print form. It was only a matter of time that the story behind...
Sure, J.R.R. Tolkien may not have known how to create dramatic tension if his life depended on it, but there is no denying the rich, textured world he created with Middle-earth. If you’re like this geek, then you’ve pored over those Blu-ray special features that chronicled the creation of this world in print form. It was only a matter of time that the story behind...
- 11/8/2016
- by Joseph Medina
- LRMonline.com
Simon Brew Nov 8, 2016
Middle Earth, the story of the early life of Lord Of The Rings author J R R Tolkien, has recruited James Strong to direct...
The planned movie biopic of J R R Tolkien is now moving ahead, with the news that James Strong has signed up to direct the project.
The film is going by the name of Middle Earth, and Strong comes to the film off the back of small screen successes Broadchurch and United. He’s also an experienced Doctor Who director too, with stories such as Voyage Of The Damned and Planet Of The Dead to his name, along with the Cyberwoman instalment of Torchwood.
Angus Fletcher has penned the script for Middle Earth, and it’s set to tell the story of the early years of Tolkien, and what gave him the inspiration for stories such as The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
Middle Earth, the story of the early life of Lord Of The Rings author J R R Tolkien, has recruited James Strong to direct...
The planned movie biopic of J R R Tolkien is now moving ahead, with the news that James Strong has signed up to direct the project.
The film is going by the name of Middle Earth, and Strong comes to the film off the back of small screen successes Broadchurch and United. He’s also an experienced Doctor Who director too, with stories such as Voyage Of The Damned and Planet Of The Dead to his name, along with the Cyberwoman instalment of Torchwood.
Angus Fletcher has penned the script for Middle Earth, and it’s set to tell the story of the early years of Tolkien, and what gave him the inspiration for stories such as The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
- 11/7/2016
- Den of Geek
British director James Strong has signed on to direct the J.R.R. Tolkien biopic “Middle Earth,” to be produced by former New Line Cinema heads Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne’s Unique Features, Deadline reports. The film will focus on the events that inspired Tolkien to author books including “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” It will cover the period in his life from his romance with Edith Bratt, who later became his wife, through his four years spent fighting in World War I.
Read More: Duncan Jones: ‘Warcraft’ Will Be ‘A Rival’ To The ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Saga
Strong has directed primarily TV series during the past 15 years, including “Broadchurch” and “Downton Abbey,” and is currently at work on the upcoming miniseries “Liar,” a 21st-century take on modern-day gender politics and family life. His most recent feature film directing credit is the 2011 historical drama “United,” based...
Read More: Duncan Jones: ‘Warcraft’ Will Be ‘A Rival’ To The ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Saga
Strong has directed primarily TV series during the past 15 years, including “Broadchurch” and “Downton Abbey,” and is currently at work on the upcoming miniseries “Liar,” a 21st-century take on modern-day gender politics and family life. His most recent feature film directing credit is the 2011 historical drama “United,” based...
- 11/7/2016
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Exclusive: UK director James Strong has signed on to direct Middle Earth, an epic story about author J.R.R. Tolkien and the tumultuous events that inspired his iconic novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Strong's credits include hit TV series Broadchurch and Downton Abbey as well as 2011 soccer feature United. He'll direct Middle Earth from a script by Black List scribe Angus Fletcher, who gathered materials on Tolkien through six years of archival research and…...
- 11/7/2016
- Deadline
Exclusive: Adrian Munsey's Classic Film Productions has partnered with David A. Stern and D. Matt Geller's Sleeping Giant Films to develop Em Forster's 1907 novel, The Longest Journey, as a feature. They’ve hired Angus Fletcher to adapt; his Sand Dogs made the 2009 Black List, the same year he won a Nicholl Fellowship. Munsey, Stern and Geller are producing. Forster, whose classic novels include Howards End, A Room With A View and A Passage To India centered The Longest J…...
- 11/2/2016
- Deadline
For the fourth consecutive year Hollywood has selected its Black List, a compilation of the top unproduced screenplays for 2009. Over 300 film professionals were asked to submit the titles of up to ten of their favorite screenplays. The only condition for the picks were that the projects would not be released in theaters this year. That means some of the Black List honorees may be in the process of being turned into movies but by far the majority remain thoughts on digital ink, a blueprint for grand dramatic ideas, high-reaching adventure and controversial ideas waiting to be burned to light.
For a screenplay to have made it onto the Black List it must have received at least five votes for it. Some scripts have five votes while the top-rated screenplay received 47 votes. That doesn't mean that the script with the most votes is the best screenplay of the year; it means...
For a screenplay to have made it onto the Black List it must have received at least five votes for it. Some scripts have five votes while the top-rated screenplay received 47 votes. That doesn't mean that the script with the most votes is the best screenplay of the year; it means...
- 12/12/2009
- by Patrick Sauriol
- Corona's Coming Attractions
Six writers have been selected as winners of the 24th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. For the fifth consecutive year a script written by a team earned its writers a fellowship; collaborative efforts were first allowed into the competition only in 2001. Each writer or writing team will receive a $30,000 prize, the first installment of which will be given out at a gala dinner in Beverly Hills next November 12. This year’s winners are (listed alphabetically by author): Matt Ackley, Los Angeles, “Victoria Falls” Vineet Dewan and Angus Fletcher, Los Angeles, “Sand Dogs” John Griffin, [...]...
- 10/30/2009
- by Michele Colbert
- Alt Film Guide
Six writers have been selected as winners of the 24th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
They are Matt Ackley for his screenplay "Victoria Falls"; Vineet Dewan and Angus Fletcher, "Sand Dogs"; John Griffin, "Dream Before Waking"; Nidhi Anna Verghese, "Jallianwala Bagh"; and Jeff Williams, "Pure." All are from Los Angeles except for Williams, who is from Wake Forest, N.C.
Each writer or writing team, selected from a record 6,380 submitted scripts, will receive a $30,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed Nov. 12 during a gala dinner in Beverly Hills.
The winners were chosen by the Nicholl Committee, chaired by Susannah Grant and comprised of Naomi Foner, Daniel Petrie Jr., Tom Rickman, Dana Stevens, Eva Marie Saint, John Bailey, Steven B. Poster, Bill Mechanic, Gale Anne Hurd, David Nicksay, Peter Samuelson, Robert Shapiro, Buffy Shutt and Ronald Mardigian.
They are Matt Ackley for his screenplay "Victoria Falls"; Vineet Dewan and Angus Fletcher, "Sand Dogs"; John Griffin, "Dream Before Waking"; Nidhi Anna Verghese, "Jallianwala Bagh"; and Jeff Williams, "Pure." All are from Los Angeles except for Williams, who is from Wake Forest, N.C.
Each writer or writing team, selected from a record 6,380 submitted scripts, will receive a $30,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed Nov. 12 during a gala dinner in Beverly Hills.
The winners were chosen by the Nicholl Committee, chaired by Susannah Grant and comprised of Naomi Foner, Daniel Petrie Jr., Tom Rickman, Dana Stevens, Eva Marie Saint, John Bailey, Steven B. Poster, Bill Mechanic, Gale Anne Hurd, David Nicksay, Peter Samuelson, Robert Shapiro, Buffy Shutt and Ronald Mardigian.
- 10/29/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
By Wrap Staff
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced six winners of its 24th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting.
Each writer or writing team will receive a $30,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed Nov. 12 at a gala dinner in Beverly Hills.
This year’s winners are:
Matt Ackley, Los Angeles, “Victoria Falls”
Vineet Dewan and Angus Fletcher, Los Angeles, “Sand Dogs”
John Griffin, Los Angeles, “Dream Before Waking”
Nidhi Anna Verghese, Los Angeles,...
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced six winners of its 24th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting.
Each writer or writing team will receive a $30,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed Nov. 12 at a gala dinner in Beverly Hills.
This year’s winners are:
Matt Ackley, Los Angeles, “Victoria Falls”
Vineet Dewan and Angus Fletcher, Los Angeles, “Sand Dogs”
John Griffin, Los Angeles, “Dream Before Waking”
Nidhi Anna Verghese, Los Angeles,...
- 10/29/2009
- by Lisa Horowitz
- The Wrap
Six writers won the 24th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Each writer or writing team will receive the first installment of a $30,000 prize at a gala dinner in Beverly Hills on November 12. This year's winners are (listed alphabetically by author): Matt Ackley of Los Angeles for Victoria Falls; Vineet Dewan and Angus Fletcher of Los Angeles for Sand Dogs; John Griffin of Los Angeles for Dream Before Waking; Nidhi Anna Verghese of Los Angeles for Jallianwala Bagh; Jeff Williams of Wake Forest, N.C. for Pure. [...]...
- 10/29/2009
- by Nikki Finke
- Deadline Hollywood
By Wrap Staff
Eleven writers have been selected as finalists for the 24th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
This year’s finalists are:
Matt Ackley, Los Angeles, “Victoria Falls”
Vineet Dewan and Angus Fletcher, Los Angeles, “Sand Dogs”
John Griffin, Los Angeles, “Dream Before Waking”
Hiram Martinez, New York City, “Ansiedad”
Marleine Pacilio, Shadow Hills, Calif., &ld...
Eleven writers have been selected as finalists for the 24th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
This year’s finalists are:
Matt Ackley, Los Angeles, “Victoria Falls”
Vineet Dewan and Angus Fletcher, Los Angeles, “Sand Dogs”
John Griffin, Los Angeles, “Dream Before Waking”
Hiram Martinez, New York City, “Ansiedad”
Marleine Pacilio, Shadow Hills, Calif., &ld...
- 10/9/2009
- by Lisa Horowitz
- The Wrap
Eleven writers have been selected as finalists for the 24th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Their scripts will now be read and judged by the Academy’s Nicholl Committee, which may award as many as five of the prestigious $30,000 fellowships. This year’s finalists are listed alphabetically below: Matt Ackley, Los Angeles, “Victoria Falls” Vineet Dewan and Angus Fletcher, …...
- 10/8/2009
- Indiewire
Eleven writers have been selected as finalists for the 24th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
They are Matt Ackley, Vineet Dewan and Angus Fletcher, John Griffin, Hiram Martinez, Marleine Pacilio, Adriana Brad Schanen, Neil Swaab, Nidhi Anna Verghese, Dan Lee West and Jeff Williams.
As many as five $30,000 fellowships may be awarded after the screenplays are judged by the Nicholl Committee, chaired by writer and 1992 Nicholl fellow Susannah Grant.
They are Matt Ackley, Vineet Dewan and Angus Fletcher, John Griffin, Hiram Martinez, Marleine Pacilio, Adriana Brad Schanen, Neil Swaab, Nidhi Anna Verghese, Dan Lee West and Jeff Williams.
As many as five $30,000 fellowships may be awarded after the screenplays are judged by the Nicholl Committee, chaired by writer and 1992 Nicholl fellow Susannah Grant.
- 10/8/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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