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| Friday
27th February, 2004 |
| HOPKINS EARNEST ABOUT NEW HEMINGWAY MOVIE |
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Anthony Hopkins as Ernest Hemingway toplines the new
reel of flicks from sales outfit Hanway Films, which
also is handling the latest movies from Wim Wenders
and Israeli helmer Amos Gitai. |
Hopkins will star with Meg Ryan in "Papa," a $27 million
project to be directed by Adrian Noble, formers artistic
director of the Royal Shakespeare Co.
Set in Havana in 1959, it's the story of a young journalist
searching for a father and family against the backdrop
of the Cuban revolution, and how he finds his own "papa"
in the drunken, gun-toting Hemingway.
Script by Denne Bart Petitclerc draws on his own encounters
with the aging author in the same period. Producer is
Thom Mount, with the pic to shoot this summer in Portugal.
The crew includes three Oscar winners --- production
designer Martin Childs, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond
and costume designer Yvonne Blake.
Mount said, "This is a story of personal passion and
one's willingness to take risks. These themes resonated
for Hemingway and Denne Petitclerc, who lived this story."
Meanwhile, Hanway, the sales arm of producer Jeremy
Thomas' Recorded Picture Co., has picked up two low-budget
movies currently in production --- "Land of Plenty,"
directed by Wenders, and "Promised Land Hotel," directed
by Gitai.
"Land of Plenty" (previously titled "Angst and Alienation
in America") stars Michelle Williams and John Diehl
in a story about a stranger arriving in Los Angeles
in search of her last remaining family. U.S. distrib
IFC has all English-speaking rights, with Hanway selling
the pic in the rest of the world. Producers are Gotham-based
InDigEnt and Wenders' Reverse Angle.
Gitai is making a rare foray into English-lingo filmmaking
with "Promised Land Hotel," a thriller about an investigative
journalist who uncovers a human trafficking ring in
the Gaza Strip (news - web sites). It stars Rosamund
Pike , Anne Parillaud and Hanna Schygulla and is produced
by Gitai and Michel Propper.
Hanway also is co-financing Wenders' next project, "Don't
Come Knocking," in which Sam Shepard will star as a
movie star who rides off set in midshoot on a quest
of self-discovery. Jean Reno and Jessica Lange co-star,
with shooting due to start in May. Sony Pictures Classics
has taken English-speaking rights, with Ocean picking
up France and Mikado taking Italy.
At the American Film Market, Hanway will premiere its
CGI-animated movie "Back to Gaya," with Rachel Weisz
and Patrick Stewart newly signed to the voice cast.
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| "It's
all about The Old Man and the Fee!" |
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