STXinternational to Launch Sales at Cannes Virtual Market
Academy Award-nominee Michael Mann (Collateral, Public Enemies, Heat) is gearing up to start production on his highly-anticipated film Ferrari. Academy Award-nominee Hugh Jackman (The Greatest Showman, Logan) is in discussions to star as the racing icon Enzo Ferrari. Mann directs from a script written by Troy Kennedy Martin (The Italian Job) and Mann based on Brock Yates’ book “Enzo Ferrari – The Man and the Machine.” Mann will also produce via his Forward Pass production banner alongside producing team John Lesher, Lars Sylvest, Thorsten Schumacher, Gareth West and Niels Juul. Principal photography is anticipated to start in spring 2021.
STX is handling international sales at the upcoming Cannes Virtual Market and will directly distribute the film in the UK and Ireland. CAA Media Finance arranged the financing and is representing US rights.
FERRARI is the story of one summer in 1957 when all the dynamic forces in Enzo Ferrari’s life – as combustible and volatile as the racecars he builds – collide. The racecar company he and his wife Laura built is going broke. Their tempestuous marriage has already suffered the death of their son, Dino, and Ferrari’s other son, 12-year old Piero, the product of a wartime romance, now wants to know his place in the world. Enzo boldly rolls the dice for all their futures on one race – 1,000 miles across Italy, the brutal and infamous 1957 Mille Miglia. During the dangerous race, Laura will discover long kept secrets, opportunities will rise and fade, and drivers, like surrogate sons, will push beyond the edge…all, as the red cars slam through crowded towns and mountain passes – racing towards outcomes that will determine the future of the lives – seen intimately – of these vivid characters.
The multi-talented Hugh Jackman (The Greatest Showman, Logan) is in discussions to take on the transformative role of Enzo Ferrari. Jackman starred in the multi-billion dollar X-Men franchise and led the subsequent three-part Wolverine franchise, ending with Logan, which grossed $620M globally while garnering rave reviews. Then in 2017, Jackman led the smash hit The Greatest Showman to a worldwide box office total of $435M and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for Les Misérables ($440M worldwide box office).
Mann will bring his passion for the extraordinarily vivid characters and the dangerous world of motor racing in the 1950’s to create an epic, cinematic experience. Industry legend Mann is a four-time Academy Award-nominee for Best Picture (The Insider, The Aviator), for Best Screenplay (The Insider) and for Best Director (The Insider). His iconic feature writing and directing credits also include Heat, The Last of the Mohicans, Collateral, Public Enemies, Ali, Miami Vice, and Thief. He was also an executive producer on the Academy Award-nominated Ford vs Ferrari.
Oscar winning producer John Lesher, best known for Bird Man, Fury, Hostiles ,Black Mass among other movies, is collaborating with Mann on a new original limited series, “Tokyo Vice,” that is due to come out next year, with Endeavor Content and HBO Max.
Lars Sylvest previously co-founded the investment company Brass Hat Films and the international sales company Hyde Park International. He is currently preparing SAS Malko with Michael Fassbender and the Cliffhanger reboot with his production partner Thorsten Schumacher.
Thorsten Schumacher is the founder of and CEO of Rocket Science, a highly acclaimed and globally recognized agency which financed, produced and distributed over two dozen feature films since its inception in 2016. He was previously the Managing Director of Hanway Films and Executive Producer of films like Brooklyn, Carol, Shame, and most recently At Eternity’s Gate. Rocket Science recently partnered with Lars Sylvest for larger scale franchises like the Cliffhanger remake and SAS Malko.
Niels Juul’s credits include The Irishman and Silence.
21.06.2020 | Cannes Market Dailies's blog
Cat. : FILM