Pablo Trapero Begins Casting for His English-Language Debut Film “& Sons”

Pablo Trapero has lined up an impressive cast for his English-language film debut.

Bill Nighy, Noah Jupe, George MacKay and Matt Smith has been cast in the 52-year-old Argentine film producer, editor and director’s & Sons.

Pablo Trapero,The film is being scripted by Oscar winner Sarah Polley.

Bankside Films launched world sales on the buzzy project at this week’s Cannes market. Bankside, UTA Independent Film Group and CAA Media Finance are co-repping the film’s North American rights.

The film is based on the novel of the same name by David Gilbert.

The official synopsis reads: “Andrew is a novelist best known to the world as A.N. Dyer. He wrote his first book when he was 27 and it became an instant classic, selling 45M copies and creating a cult around its elusive author. Andrew wakes up one morning convinced that he is about to die. He knows that with his time on Earth dwindling he needs to set right the major relationships of his life and so he summons his sons to be with him.

“It’s been almost 20 years since an ‘incident’ tore apart the Dyer home. An incident that has a name – Andy. Andy’s the reason his world-famous father, Andrew, no longer speaks to his adult age sons, Richard and Jamie, nor to his ex-wife, Isabel.
However when his sons arrive, laden with their own problems, Andrew does not seek their forgiveness, as they expected, instead he tells them something so wild it couldn’t possibly be true. Or could it?”

Trapero, considered to be a big creative force in Latin American cinema, will also produce the film through his own company Matanza Cine.

Trapero’s 2015 film El Clan set the record for the largest opening weekend box-office of all time in his home country of Argentina and went on to win the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival.

His first feature, Mundo Grúa, won the Critics Prize at the 1999 Venice International Film Festival.

He’s a regular at major festivals including Cannes, Toronto and Venice. More recently he has directed high profile series for Amazon and Apple+.

The filmmaker said: “What appealed to me most was the universality of a “normal” family dynamic as the core of the storytelling. Our most intimate relationships are usually our most complicated. & Sons tells the story of a collection of people who are all flawed and trying to find peace with one another, although struggling to do so. The unexpected surreal twist makes things beautifully more complicated. The sensational cast, that i am thrilled to be working with, is a dream come true. They are the perfect ensemble to tackle and elevate these characters in the most powerful way, honoring the equally potent writing from Sarah.”

Stephen Kelliher of Bankside Films added: “We are thrilled to be working with Pablo and his sensational cast on this brilliantly original story, which will delight and surprise audiences in equal measure.”

Axel Kuschevatzky commented: “It is a pleasure for us to bring to the big screen the wonderful, smart and dazzling national bestseller by David Gilbert, masterfully adapted by Sarah Polley for director Pablo Trapero. As strong believers in international talent, we are proud of supporting latino filmmakers with such a unique vision as Pablo has”.

20th Century Studios’ “The First Omen,” Starring Sonia Braga, to be Released in April 2024

Sonia Braga is feeling an impending omen

The 20th Century Studios’ psychological thriller The First Omen, starring the 73-year-old Brazilian actress, will be released on April 5, 2024.

Sonia BragaThe film is the prequel to the classic 1976 horror film, The Omen.

The original film, a hit in its day, grossed more than $60 million at the domestic box office (unadjusted for inflation) that starred Gregory Peck, Lee Remick and Harvey Stephens, follows an American ambassador who believes his 5-year-old son is the Antichrist.

In the prequel directed by Arkasha Stevenson, a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church. She encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.

In addition to Braga, best known for work in Kiss of the Spider Women, The First Omen also stars Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Ralph Ineson and Bill Nighy.

The film is based on characters created by David Seltzer, with a story by Ben Jacoby and a screenplay by Tim Smith & Arkasha Stevenson and Keith Thomas.

Producers are David S. Goyer and Keith Levine, and executive producers are Tim Smith, Whitney Brown and Gracie Wheelan.

Bonham Carter to Star in the “Page Eight” Follow-Up TV Movie “Turks & Caicos”

Helena Bonham Carter is Turks & Caicos bound…

The 46-year-old part-Spanish actress has signed on to star in Turks & Caicos, the second television movie based on David Hare’s The Worricker Trilogy.

Helena Bonham Carter

From Carnival Films and BBC Two, Turks & Caicos is the follow-up to the first installment Page Eight, which aired in 2011 on BBC Two and PBS and starred Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Ralph Fiennes and Judy Davis.

Nighy will reprise his role as British intelligence officer Johnny Worricker for part two Turks & Caicos and part three Salting The Battlefield. Fiennes also returns for both.

In addition to Bonham Carter, Turks & Caicos will also star Christopher Walken, Winona Ryder, Dylan Baker and Zach Grenier.

Davis, who was nominated for a supporting actress Emmy for Page Eight, will return for Salting The Battlefield, as will Bonham Carter, along with Saskia Reeves, Kate Burdette and Malcolm Sinclair.

Page Eight, which closed the Toronto Film Festival in 2011, saw Worricker uncover a plot to turn control of MI5 directly over to the prime minister after the head of the organization’s death. Part two will pick up after Worricker leaves his MI5 post and heads to Turks & Caicos where the CIA forces him to deal with a group of ambiguous Americans who are on the islands for a high-level conference. At the same time, an old girlfriend is being asked to betray her boss in London in order to establish an illicit connection between the prime minister and dark goings-on in the war on terror. Salting The Battlefield sees Worricker and the girlfriend on the run from MI5 until Worricker returns home to confront the prime minister in a duel of wits.

A start date has yet to be confirmed.