Kino Lorber Wants You to Meet the Fokkens
The specialty distributor has announced a deal to bring Gabrielle Provaas & Rob Schröder's documentary Meet the Fokkens to the US; the film tells the story of 69-year-old twin sisters experiences as prostitutes and brothel owners in Amsterdam's red-light district. The doc will enjoy its Stateside premiere next month at the SilverDocs Film Festival before debuting Aug. 8 in New York.
Michôd, FilmNation Take Aim at The Rover
FilmNation continued its Cannes newsmaking streak, announcing the acquisition of Animal Kingdom filmmaker David Michôd's follow-up The Rover. The story follows two men through "a dangerous and dysfunctional near future. Eric has left everything and every semblance of human kindness behind him. When his last possession, his car, is stolen by a gang of dangerous criminals, Eric sets off to track them down and is forced along the way to enlist the help of Reynolds, the naïve simpleton member of the gang left behind in the bloody chaos of the gang’s most recent escape." Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson are said to be in talks for the roles of Eric and Reynolds, respectively.
XLrator Floors It With Action Series
XLrator Media has announced the multi-platform TURBO by XLrator label, which will bring an international slate of action films to North American audiences. The first three movies set for release this year will be Naked Soldier (from Hong Kong), Blood Money (filmed in Sydney, Hong Kong and Miami) and Brawler (shot in New Orleans). Former Weinstein Co. exec Mike Radiloff has joined as president of marketing and distribution.
Around the 'net...
What Went Wrong With Battleship?
A power shortage in the cast... An underrecognized source property... A failure to reach young men... The Battleship box-office post mortem is officially underway as experts determine what sunk Universal's costly would-be blockbuster in the US. THR reports.
German Director Promises "the Real Fassbinder"
Marco Kreuzpaintner is set to revive his influential, short-lived filmmaking compatriot Rainer Werner Fassbinder to life in his next project, Rainer. "It will be a homage to his movies," Kreuzpaintner said of the projct, which he described as less a straightforward biopic than a melodrama. "But we want to show the real Fassbinder, will all the dirt, drugs and excess." THR reports.
Rupert Everett Gets Wilde with The Happy Prince
The actor and Oscar Wilde devotee will make his writing-directing debut with a tragicomic chronicle of the writer's final days. Colin Firth, Emily Watson an Tom Wilkinson are attached to co-star; Variety reports.