New Hammer Movie! - The Lodge
FILMNATION ENTERTAINMENT TO FULLY FINANCE THE LODGE, THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM FROM GOODNIGHT MOMMY DIRECTORS VERONIKA FRANZ AND SEVERIN FIALA
LEGENDARY GENRE LABEL HAMMER FILMS TO PRODUCE
New York, NY & Los Angeles, CA – Wednesday, September 6th, 2017 – FilmNation Entertainment announced today that they have acquired rights to finance acclaimed directors Veronika Franz’s and Severin Fiala’s THE LODGE. FilmNation will handle international sales and will co-represent the US sale with WME Global. The screenplay was written by Sergio Casci, Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, from an original idea by Sergio Casci. Franz and Fiala (GOODNIGHT MOMMY) will direct as their first English language film. Hammer Films’ Simon Oakes and Marc Schipper are producing. Casting is currently underway and principal photography is set to begin in January.
FilmNation VP, Production & Acquisitions Brad Zimmerman brought the project in and will oversee on behalf of the company, and Aliza James is overseeing the project and executive producing for Hammer.
THE LODGE tells the story of a young woman and her new stepchildren who are menaced by a terrifying supernatural force while spending Christmas in their remote cabin.
“We couldn’t be happier to be working with Hammer and FilmNation on our first English language film. As genre filmmakers, we are incredibly excited to add our movie to the Hammer canon, and FilmNation has demonstrated time and again bold decisions in choosing which films and filmmakers to back. With both of these companies behind us, we feel the support to make the movie as we see it in our heads, and we are excited to be moving forward,” said Franz and Fiala.
“When we saw Veronika and Severin’s extraordinarily chilling and super smart first film GOODNIGHT MOMMY, we knew Sergio’s story was the perfect project to bring to them for their English language debut, and we have loved every minute of developing the project with the three of them. We are now absolutely thrilled that FilmNation have come on board to help make the film a reality. They are a hugely savvy outfit with a great track record of supporting creative filmmakers who make bold and distinctive quality films. From our very first conversations about the project, it was clear that FilmNation absolutely understood the film we’re all setting out to make, and we very much look forward to working with them to bring our collective vision to the screen,” said Hammer Films.
“We're so excited to see Veronika and Severin's style and wit applied to this mesmerizing story. We have ideal partners in Hammer and look forward to disturbing and thrilling audiences worldwide,” said FilmNation Entertainment Co-Heads of Production & Acquisitions Aaron Ryder and Ben Browning.
The deal was brokered with Hammer Films and WME Global by FilmNation’s Ryder and Browning and EVP Business & Legal Affairs Alison Cohen.
Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala are repped by WME and Jackoway Tyerman.
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