07/06/2011

Danish major, Nordisk Film, returned from its annual shopping spree at Cannes not only with a package of big US titles, but also with an output deal with US producer David Linde's new financing and production outfit, backed by Universal Pictures (where he was co-chairman) and India's Reliance Group.

"This year's market was excellent. We were looking for mainstream genre movies, and I dare to promise hours of intense entertainment," concluded Peter Philipsen, head of Nordisk's independent acquisitions and distribution.

Among the hot properties Nordisk secured for Scandinavian audiences was Paul WS Andersons $100 million 3D disaster epic, Pompeii, from Germany's Constantin Film, which was announced on the eve of the festival by Summit International.

Also from Summit, Nordisk purchased Reinhard Klooss and Holger Tappe's fully-animated Tarzan, another 3D venture from Constantin, and based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes. In Cannes both films sold out worldwide in two days.

Two UK productions (IM Global) were included in the package, including Welcome to the Punch, with James McAvoy starring as a retired bank robber joining forces with the cop who chased him, and The Inbetweeners, a teen comedy and a spin-off from the television series.

There is more fairy tale in the wings for Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish audiences: Lily Collins plays Snow White, and Julia Roberts the evil Queen in Tarsem Singh's new, $120 million interpretation of The Brothers Grimm: Snow White, from FilmNation.

Nu Image's comedy, The Big Wedding directed by Justin Zackham, stars Robert de Niro and Diane Keaton as part of a dysfunctional family, and David Ayer's action thriller End of Watch (Exclusive Films) has Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena in the leads as two LA policemen.