Summit Entertainment has acquired English-language movie rights to the international bestselling crime thriller Headhunters, by Norwegian author Jo Nesbø. The novel, recently published in the U.S. by Doubleday and a New York Times bestseller, chronicles the escapades of a high-living corporate headhunter who steals artwork from his rich clients to finance his expensive lifestyle. When a heist unexpectedly goes south, he discovers he’s in way over his head in a murderous scheme. Nesbø’s eight crime novels featuring Detective Harry Hole have been translated into more than 40 languages.
Erik Feig, Summit’s president of production, acquisitions SVP Michael Schaefer, and creative executive Jeyun Choi will oversee the project for the studio. Marianne Gray, Ole Sondberg, and Berna Levin are aboard as producers via Swedish production company Yellow Bird. Summit acquired the English-language rights from Yellow Bird, which already produced a hit Scandinavian film based on the novel.
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Summit Acquires Rights To Norwegian Crime-Thriller ‘Headhunters’
Summit Eyes Breck Eisner For 'The Last Witch Hunter'
EXCLUSIVE: Breck Eisner is in early talks to direct The Last Witch Hunter, a Cory Goodman pitch that puts Twilight Saga maker Summit Entertainment into the witch business. Summit made a pre-emptive mid-six figures acquisition of the property a year ago from Goodman, who scripted Priest. It was bought with the attachment of Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov, who has been preoccupied with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The protagonist is one of the last remaining witch hunters, a breed that keeps the population of witches and warlocks in check. They are about to repopulate in a major way unless he can stop them. Bekmambetov is attached to produce and Adam Goldworm is exec producer. Eisner, who directed The Crazies, has also been in the mix for MGM’s Hercules, based on the Radical Comics title.
Hot Trailer: Mel Gibson In 'The Beaver'
After setting a spring release for the Mel Gibson-Jodie Foster re-team The Beaver, Summit Entertainment just released this trailer:
Summit 'AMPS' Book Deal For Alex Proyas
EXCLUSIVE: With Alex Proyas poised to produce and potentially direct, Summit Entertainment has just closed a deal for screen rights to AMP, a near-future science fiction thriller novel by Daniel H. Wilson. The novel is set in a world where the technology designed to make the disabled whole, turns them into supermen. Deal was low six against seven figures.
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EXCLUSIVE: Summit Walks Away From MGM To Go Back Into Acquisitions Mode
“Summit is pulling out because the process has gone on way too long and it’s become a distraction for the business,” an insider tells me this morning. Summit toppers Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger are still in acquisition mode, and the company will continuing looking for good deals in what is a very depressed showbiz marketplace where bargains are plentiful — especially film and TV libraries. The fundamental issue which MGM creditors had with Summit is that they would have had to give up too much equity in order involve the mini-major which remains flush with cash thanks to the Twilight franchise. “I’m not sure that Summit bowing out changes the Spyglass situation,” my insider added. For months now, Hollywood has known that Spyglass is the bigger creditors’ frontrunner to control MGM, which seems finally poised to plunge itself into a prepackaged bankruptcy, and then emerge with Spyglass partners Roger Birnbaum and Gary Barber starting production for the studio. But Summit has remained very much under consideration and hadn’t heard they’re out of it — at least not yet. So Summit decided to pull the plug on its own.
This lead group of MGM creditors (Anchorage Advisors, Highland Capital Management, and Davidson Kempner Capital Management who have banded together) would have Spyglass plan transform MGM into a pure production company and close down its marketing and distribution divisions. Coupled with the equity that Spyglass would bring to the table, a streamlined MGM would lower its debt and … Read More
Darkest Hour Starts Up Again August 29
EXCLUSIVE: Summit Entertainment and New Regency suspended filming earlier this month because of wildfires raging in Russia. More than 50 people have been killed and more than 2,000 homes destroyed after an unprecedented heat wave and drought gripped the region. Prior to shutdown The Darkest Hour was filming using the cutting-edge 3D technology of producer Timur Bekmambetov’
Summit Stokes 'Red' And 'Drive Angry 3D' at Comic-Con
Summit Entertainment joins the phalanx of studios bringing film footage and star casts to the geek altar that is Comic-Con. Summit, which for the past two years has brought its Twilight Saga cast to the event, this time herds the cast of its two upcoming action offerings, Red and Drive Angry 3D. Red stars Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban and Mary Louise Parker, director Robert Schwentke and graphic novel writer Warren Ellis will debut the film’s trailer and appear on a panel on July 22. The following day, Summit will assemble the Drive Angry 3D cast of Nicolas Cage, [...]
'Breaking Dawn' Brats Get What They Want
Really, my eyes glazed over at the recent ruckus that those secondary actors were demanding as much as $4 million each to do the 4th and 5th installments of the Twilight saga. (Summit Entertainment still hasn’t confirmed my scoop that Breaking Dawn will be split into two pics.) I’m all for higher pay for thesps, and Summit has tons of cash to spread around. But in this case Summit gave these actor their big break and offered them 10 times what they’d made in the first movie, and could have replaced every one of them with hungry unknowns had it not [...]
Regency, Summit Unleash Darkest Hour
New Regency is partnering with Summit Entertainment on The Darkest Hour, a 28 Days-like thriller about a group of kids struggling to survive in Russia after an alien invasion. Director is Chris Gorak, who made his directing debut on Right At Your Door, about the aftermath of a terrorist attack in L.A. that unleashes a deadly toxic cloud. Timur Bekmambetov is producing with Tom Jacobson. Summit will distribute domestic and New Regency and Fox International has foreign. The film will shoot June in Russia, where Bekmambetov has his own facilities for production and visual effects.
Twilight Director Weitz Rooted To Gardener
Twilight Saga: New Moon director Chris Weitz has traded vampires and werewolves for a small drama about an undocumented Mexican landscaper that was a struggle to finance.
Weitz starts shooting April in East Los Angeles. He has cast Demian Bichir’
Weinstein Company Wins CAA Bidding War For Tom Ford's 'Single Man'
Coming off Colin Firth’s best actor win at the Venice Film Festival, Tom Ford’s debut picture A Single Man wound up the subject of what is being hyped as a “fierce all-night” bidding war between Focus Features, Summit Entertainment, and The Weinstein Co. (*UPDATE: Summit execs circled until 1:30 AM and then went to sleep.*) [...]