27/05/2010

Two of Scandinavia’s top distributors have announced the titles they acquired for the Nordic territories during the Cannes Film Festival.

Scanbox Entertainment has picked up Scandinavian rights to the UK titles Monsters, a sci-film film by Gareth Edward, and Bel Ami, starring Robert Pattinson and Uma Thurman (sold by Protagonist Pictures); Spanish thriller Agnosia (Filmax); and Luc Besson’s Arthur and the Two Worlds War (EuropaCorp).

Titles in pre-production acquired in Cannes include James Gray’s The Lost City of Z (Inferno) starring Brad Pitt; Barthélémy Grossmann’s The Nazi officer’s Wife (PTZ International), featuring Mads Mikkelsen and Noomi Rapace; Woody Allen’s upcoming Midnight in Paris (Imagina); and action thriller Medallion (GK Films) starring Clive Owen.

Svensk Filmindustri (SF) acquired 12 films for Scandinavia, of which only one completed title: Mike Leigh’s critically acclaimed Cannes competition entry Another Year [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mike Leigh
film profile], sold by Focus Features.

Two other titles were picked up from Focus’ Cannes slate: One Day, the new English-language film by Lone Sherfig (An Education [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), and BBC Films’ Jane Eyre, directed by Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre) and starring Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and Michael Fassbender (Fish Tank [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrea Arnold
film profile]).

SF also acquired Rum Diary (GK Films), starring Johnny Depp; Lasse Hallström’s Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (Mandate Pictures), starring Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt and Kristin Scott Thomas; the romantic comedy Something Borrowed with Kate Hudson and Paul Anderson’s 3D action film Three Musketeers (both sold by Summit Entertainment); Nicolas Winding Refn’s English-language Drive (Affinity), starring Ryan Gosling; James Wan’s thriller Astral (IM Global); martial arts film Blood Out (CMG); and the 3D animation film Animals United (Timeless Films), produced by Germany’s Constantin Film.

For SF acquisition executive Robert Enmark, there were few really interesting films in Cannes this year, so competition was fierce on these films, and asking prices were “way too high”.