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Netflix is ready with an entertainment-packed November this year. The upcoming month will see the premiere of many of Netflix’s Christmas romantic comedy films including Hot Frosty and also new brilliant movies like Spellbound and The Piano Lesson. Just like every month, Netflix is ready to overload you with great content. So, we’re here to tell you about the 10 movies coming to Netflix in November 2024.

Rob Peace (November 11)

Rob Peace is a biographical drama film written and directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor. Based on the 2014 biography The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs, the 2024 film follows Rob Peace, a Yale University graduate who begins to deal drugs while maintaining his lifestyle after his father was arrested for crimes he may not have committed. Rob Peace stars Jay Will, Ejiofor, Mary J. Blige, Camila Cabello,...

Independents look solid this weekend with Vertical’s Widow Clicquot nice alternative programming amid summer blockbuster season, IFC Film horror Oddity off to a fine start, and Thelma, one of the year’s biggest specialty hits, passing $8 million. New films and holdovers in limited release did business.

Thomas Napper’s Widow Clicquot is looking at an estimated 3-day box-office gross of $190k on about 100 screens. Haley Bennett stars as Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot in the true story of a 20-year-old woman who flouts convention by — after her husband dies — taking the reins of their wine business. Clicquot (1777–1866) defied her critics and ultimately revolutionized the champagne industry one of the world’s early, great businesswomen. (‘Veuve’ is French for widow.)

The R-rated drama, screenplay by Erin Dignam, is 88% with critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, a good sign for an extended run. Top five opening markets include LA, NY, San Francisco, Washington D.

Amid the glut of corporate biopics we’ve had on our screens of late — “Air,” “BlackBerry,” “Flamin’ Hot” and so on — one for leading French champagne house Veuve Clicquot is more appealing than most. Champagne itself is sexier than a running shoe or a smartphone, for one thing, while the sinuous vineyards of 19th-century Reims are a more seductive setting for a brand-building story than a squat office block in Beaverton. “Widow Clicquot” certainly makes a virtue of its milieu and rolling landscape, richly shot throughout in dusky earth tones, and more substantively, of the rather romantic lore surrounding the widow in question.

Aged just 27 when her husband died, leaving her his ailing winery, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot resisted buyout offers from male competitors, instead transforming it into a thriving international champagne business — the first of its kind to be run by a woman. All that, and she allegedly invented rosé champagne,...

Today, the Nantucket Film Festival, which featured conversations with Ken Burns and many others, announced winners for this year’s 29th edition of the fest. In addition to Audience Award winners, they have also released winners for Best of Fest, the Tony Cox Screenplay Competition, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation Award, and many others.

“It is a privilege to honor this cohort of both established and emerging screenwriters and storytellers, who represent the heart of our industry, at the 2024 edition of the festival,” said Mystelle Brabbée, Executive Director of the Nantucket Film Festival, and Anita Raswant, Lead Programmer of the Nantucket Film Festival. “Thank you to all of our attending filmmakers and writers for sharing their powerful stories with us and our passionate audiences who continue to turn out to the theaters and support our mission. We would like to take a moment to recognize our jurors, sponsors, staff, and volunteers,...

Exclusive: On the heels of its fall world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, the indie drama Widow Clicquot starring Haley Bennett (Cyrano) has been acquired by Vertical for 2024 theatrical distribution in North America.

Based on Tilar J Mazzeo’s New York Times bestseller The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It, the film tells the true story behind the Veuve Clicquot champagne family and business that began in the late 18th century. After her husband’s untimely death, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot (Bennett) flouts convention by assuming the reins of the fledgling wine business they had nurtured together. Steering the company through dizzying political and financial reversals, she defies her critics and revolutionizes the champagne industry to become one of the world’s first great entrepreneurs.

Also starring Tom Sturridge (The Sandman), Sam Riley (Maleficent), Anson Boon (1917), Leo Suter (Vikings: Valhalla), Ben Miles...

Pop the cork and celebrate Haley Bennett in Widow Clicquot, a fast-paced and sexy biopic of the woman known as Madame “Veuve” Clicquot, or by her actual full name, Barbe Nicole Ponsardin-Clicquot, who triumphed over all odds to become the force that created and brought to the world the leading brand of champagne. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.

Serving as a producer with her Cyrano director Joe Wright (along with Christina Weiss Lurie), and taking on the title role, Bennett anchors a plush and gorgeous period film set against the vineyards in France circa 1800, with a story that begins with Barbe Nicole at age 26, widowed by the sudden tragic death of her husband Francois Clicquot (Tom Sturridge) who, though manic and excitable, managed to build a dream of a vineyard and the creation of a new champagne and was joined by his wife and mother of their daughter in the quest.

The first thing we learn at the start of Thomas Napper’s Widow Clicquot is that Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot (Haley Bennett) loved her husband François (Tom Sturridge). The second thing we learn is that the vineyard that held his name was synonymous with himself. Not just in death––as the film begins with Barbe dressing for his funeral––but in life too. It is where he spent all his time. Where he welcomed his new wife into every breath he took. And where he will live on in her memory as she preserves the vines to ensure he’s never forgotten.

To say all this would suggest the film is about François. That he permeates every single moment, however, is less about his impact on the world than his impact on her. It’s Barbe who left a mark: she’s the one who revolutionized the champagne industry during Napoleon’s trade embargoes,...

Like the elixirs that Barbe-Nicole (Haley Bennett) so carefully tends to at her vineyard, Widow Clicquot takes time to come into its fullest potential. Initially, it appears a sticky-sweet tale of love, as manifested by its heroine’s determination to carry on the vision of her late husband François (Tom Sturridge). But it takes on added layers as Barbe-Nicole reveals the breadth of her ambition, and as her rosy recollections of her marriage give way to thornier ones — ultimately yielding a drama that feels more substantive than its 89-minute run time might suggest, if not quite rich enough to leave its own lasting legacy.

Rooted in the history behind the still-renowned champagne Veuve Clicquot, Widow Clicquot arrives amid a bumper crop of biopics about brands. Like most of the others, it’s not exactly a commercial, but does have the PR-friendly side effect of bolstering the company’s image.

Through...

Editor’s Note: This review was published during the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Vertical Entertainment will release “Widow Clicquot” in theaters on Friday, July 19.

Despite being remembered as some of the most prominent voices of 19th century British literature, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë lived lives beset by misfortune. All three siblings were under the age of eight when their mother died of cancer, and they lost two other sisters to a typhoid epidemic in elementary school. And despite her brilliance, Emily died of tuberculosis at the age of 30, never getting a chance to witness the mainstream popularity of “Wuthering Heights.” But those inconveniences pale in comparison to the tragedy that still casts a leaden shadow over their bleak lives: all three sisters lived and died without seeing Ben Affleck’s 2023 film “Air.”

The sludgy river of news flowing across our phones at all hours of the day makes it...

Exclusive: WME Independent has unveiled the first image of Haley Bennett in the upcoming 19th Century champagne drama Clicquot ahead of launching sales on the title at the European Film Market.

Bennett stars in the titular role of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, who is popularly known in France as the “Grande Dame of Champagne”.

This real-life historic figure defied convention to take over her late husband’s fledgling wine business in Reims in 1805 after being widowed at the age of 27.

The production, announced on Deadline last year, is based on the 2008 novel The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar J. Mazzeo.

Filming took place the French regions of Chablis and Reims last fall.

Thomas Napper () directs from a screenplay by Erin Dignam (Land, Submergence) and Christopher Monger (Temple Grandin).

Other previously announced cast members include Tom Sturridge (DC Comics and Netflix’s The Sandman,...

Exclusive: Haley Bennett is set to star as the titular role in Clicquot from writers Erin Dignam (Land, Submergence) and Christopher Monger (Temple Grandin).

Directed by Thomas Napper (Jawbone), the pic chronicles the gritty journey in the early years of the Veuve Clicquot vineyard in 19th century France and brings to life the fascinating young woman behind the iconic orange label. The feature is based on the novel The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar J. Mazzeo. Production began in the French regions of Chablis and Reims on October 24.

As Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, Bennett will be joined by cast members Tom Sturridge (DC Comics and Netflix’s The Sandman, Irma Vep), Sam Riley (upcoming Firebrand, Maleficent), Leo Suter (Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla), and Anson Boon (Pistol, 1917).

Christina Weiss Lurie (Persuasion) will produce alongside Bennett, with Joe Wright and John Bernard as EPs.

If you end up shooting a movie in the wilds of Canada, it’s always good to have a bear whisperer on set. Robin Wright, who stars and makes her feature directorial debut with the intimate drama “Land,” had such an expert on location 24/7. “We had our set bear,” she recalled during a recent Variety Zoom conversation with the publication’s Jenelle Riley and Wright’s co-star Demian Bichir.

“He showed up every day. He got a hamburger on the craft service table and he decided to come back to McDonald’s drive-through every day. When we would wrap, we would go to our trailers and he would come with us. We would barbecue our food and then he was like ‘Hey, when you are all done, give me a call. I’ll come over and I’m going to lock you and producer [Allyn Stewart] into your trailers because...

Ten years ago, actresses struggled to find substantial leading parts. Today, they’re increasingly creating their own. “Land” doesn’t just give Robin Wright an enormous canvas on which to prove herself behind the camera, it also offers us another chance to admire her work in front of it.

In her feature directorial debut, Wright plays Edee Holzer, a woman clearly shattered from some overwhelmingly enormous tragedy. As the film begins, she is already leaving her former life behind by purchasing an isolated cabin on a Wyoming mountain, tossing her cell phone in the trash and having her truck towed away as soon as she arrives.

These choices are so irrational that one might assume she’s chosen a spot to conclude her pain. But she’s also brought the sorts of books and camping supplies a city dweller might use to try and survive the unknown. The mountain, of course,...

The awards season’s narrative has been the “year of the women,” as female filmmakers, screenwriters and artisans have been making strong cases for nominations at the Oscars in categories like best picture and director. The Writers Guild of America Awards, however, might have missed the memo, only nominating four women over two films: Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman” and Jena Friedman, Erica Rivinoja and Nina Pedrad, three co-writers from “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.”

In the three categories for original, adapted and documentary feature, 31 total screenwriters were nominated, four of which are women, and three come from the same feature film.

Many high-profile contenders were not eligible for recognition, including “Nomadland” (Chloé Zhao) and “Pieces of a Woman” (Kata Wéber), along with independent darlings like “The Assistant” (Kitty Green), “Farewell Amor” (Ekwa Msangi) and “Herself” (Clare Dunne). Despite this fact, there were still many to choose from.

Nina Pedrad, sister...

“My plan was to die before the money ran out” has become the anthem and tagline of the Sony Pictures Classics’ French Exit starring Michelle Pfeiffer as a 60-year-old penniless Manhattan socialite – a role that has been earning her plenty of awards season buzz.

Opening in theaters today before expanding nationwide April 2, French Exit is directed by Azazel Jacobs and written by Patrick deWitt, who wrote the bestselling novel on which the movie is based. In it, Pfeiffer plays Frances Price whose life hasn’t gone exactly as planned after her dead husband’s (Tracy Letts) inheritance is gone. She cashes in the last of her possessions and decides to live out her twilight days anonymously in a borrowed apartment in Paris with her directionless son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) and a cat named Small Frank — who may or may not embody the spirit of her husband.

French Exit made its...

Robin Wright does double duty in the drama “Land”: Not only does she star in the film as Edee Holzer, a woman who takes refuge in the harsh wilderness after a family tragedy, she also makes her feature directorial debut.

But as Wright told TheWrap editor in chief Sharon Waxman during an interview at the Sundance Film Festival where it premiered, she didn’t intend to act in her own film, but stepped up to play Edee when scheduling made it difficult to find someone else.

“Not in any shape or form, that was never the intention,” Wright said. “We just we got down to a scheduling issue and a time crunch where we had to shoot this movie in this window of time and we only had 29 days to shoot it and we just couldn’t take the risk trying to hopefully get somebody in that window of time.

There is a scene about halfway through Land, directed and starring Robin Wright, in which Miguel (Demián Bichir) reveals a tragedy in his past. Edee (Wright), also grieving, reacts silently and subtlety, though we see so much happening on her face. Nothing said, only felt. It is, truly, a perfect moment captured on film. The kind of thing one will not easily forget. Often actors who step behind the camera will admit that they focused less on their own on-screen performances while directing, sometimes to the detriment of the picture they were making. This cannot be the case here, as Wright the filmmaker wrings out one of Wright the actor’s career-best performances.

Working off a script from Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam, the director tells the story of Edee, a woman determined to escape people altogether. Naively, she stows away in a cabin in the Wyoming wilderness. She quickly...

Early in Robin Wright’s “Land,” as her Edie (Wright) trucks out to middle-of-nowhere Wyoming, a brief flash of fear passes over the filmmaker and star’s face. For a moment, it seems, even Edie is terrified at the desolation of the world around her, of the terrible isolation she has prescribed for herself. It doesn’t go any further than that, just one small look, but it hints at a more honest film buried underneath a too-familiar grief drama. While Wright, making her feature directorial debut with tough material, exhibits an appealing unfussiness,

Wright, working off a slim screenplay from Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam — the film is Chatham’s first credit, but Dignam previously directed Wright in early ’90s offerings “Loved” and “Denial” — doesn’t waste much time offering up her broken Edie. The film opens with a pair of scenes that showcase just how far gone she is,...

When you have to shoot a film in 29 days, across four seasons, and with the occasional surprise blizzard at 8,000 feet, it’s easier to do it yourself. Robin Wright reached that conclusion with her directorial debut, “Land,” in which she originally had no intention to star. It turned out that the list of actresses who could carry the film, secure the financing, skin game, and make themselves available across many months dwindled to a list of one: Her.

“It was gutsy,” said producer Allyn Stewart (“Sully”). “It wasn’t playing that romantic comedy. It was a taxing, intense, character.”

Wright, of course, is familiar with intense characters after six seasons as the formidable Claire Underwood in “House of Cards.” She also directed herself in 10 of those episodes. “I wasn’t looking to get some sleep, evidently,” she said. “It was so much fun to direct that show, learning while I was doing it.

When you have to shoot a film in 29 days, across four seasons, and with the occasional surprise blizzard at 8,000 feet, it’s easier to do it yourself. Robin Wright reached that conclusion with her directorial debut, “Land,” in which she originally had no intention to star. It turned out that the list of actresses who could carry the film, secure the financing, skin game, and make themselves available across many months dwindled to a list of one: Her.

“It was gutsy,” said producer Allyn Stewart (“Sully”). “It wasn’t playing that romantic comedy. It was a taxing, intense, character.”

Wright, of course, is familiar with intense characters after six seasons as the formidable Claire Underwood in “House of Cards.” She also directed herself in 10 of those episodes. “I wasn’t looking to get some sleep, evidently,” she said. “It was so much fun to direct that show, learning while I was doing it.

From acclaimed actress Robin Wright comes her directorial debut Land, the poignant story of one woman’s search for meaning in the vast and harsh American wilderness. Edee (Wright), in the aftermath of an unfathomable event, finds herself unable to stay connected to the world she once knew and in the face of that uncertainty, retreats to the magnificent, but unforgiving, wilds of the Rockies. After a local hunter (Demián Bichir) brings her back from the brink of death, she must find a way to live again.

Wright directs and stars in the film written by Jesse Chatham and Erin Digman. Co-starring with Wright is Oscar and Alma nominee Demián Bichir. Also, joining these two talented actors in the cast is Kim Dickens.

About The Film Genre: Drama Director: Robin Wright Screenplay: Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam Producers: Allyn Stewart, Lora Kennedy, Leah Holzer, Peter Saraf Cast: Robin Wright, Demián Bichir,...

Robin Wright goes off the grid in the first trailer for “Land” from Focus Features, which also marks her directorial debut.

The film centers on Edee (Wright), a cosmopolitan lawyer who retreats to the wilderness after she faces a loss in life. “Land” also stars Demián Bichir and Kim Dickens.

“Land” will have its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 31 before a wider release on Feb. 12, 2021.

The synopsis is as follows: “In the aftermath of an unfathomable event, Edee finds herself unable to stay connected to the world she once knew and in the face of that uncertainty, retreats to the magnificent, but unforgiving, wilds of the Rockies. After a local hunter (Demián Bichir) brings her back from the brink of death, she must find a way to live again.”

The film is based on the original screenplay by Jesse Chatham and Golden Globe nominee Liz Hannah...

Robin Wright’s directorial debut “Land” will debut in theaters next year.

The drama, which stars Wright and Demian Bichir, is set to release in the U.S. on Feb. 12, 2021.

“Land” centers on Wright’s character, who goes off the grid and retreats into the wilderness after suffering an unfathomable loss. When she crosses paths with a local hunter (Bichir), she begins to confront her demons.

Wright directed several “House of Cards” episodes, but “Land” represents her first time behind the camera on a feature film. She was named one of Variety’s 10 directors to watch in 2020.

Liz Hannah, best known for co-writing Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” and the Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron comedy “Long Shot,” wrote the screenplay with Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam.

“Land” is produced by Allyn Stewart, Lora Kennedy, Leah Holzer, and Peter Saraf. Wright also executive produced the film alongside Big Beach’s Marc Turletaub,...

After getting the directing bug on the House of Cards for just under a dozen episodes, Robin Wright moved into the director’s chair for her debut feature film in October of 2019 in frozen Alberta. We figured that the Cannes or TIFF would have been ideal venues for this Focus Features project, but perhaps a world premiere could occur during Sundance. Starring herself, Demián Bichir and Kim Dickens in a supporting role, Land is a four seasons tragi-drama based on a screenplay by Jesse Chatham, Liz Hannah and Erin Dignam.

Gist: Edee Mathis (Wright), a lawyer consumed by grief who resolves to remove herself completely from life as she has known it and disappear.…...

John Sloss, Steve Farneth of Cinetic Media among executive producers.

Production is underway in Alberta, Canada, on Robin Wright’s feature directorial debut Land, which Focus Features will distribute in the Us and Universal Pictures International will handle in the rest of the world.

Kim Dickens has joined the cast, which includes Demián Bichir. Jesse Chatham wrote the screenplay with revisions by Erin Dignam about a grief-stricken lawyer played by Wright who goes off the grid.

Allyn Stewart, Lora Kennedy, and Big Beach’s Peter Saraf and Leah Holzer are producing. Wright serves as executive producer alongside John Sloss and...

Robin Wright’s feature directorial debut “Land” will be distributed by Focus Features, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap.

Additionally, Demian Bichir has joined the cast. Wright will star as the lead, playing a cosmopolitan lawyer who retreats to the wilderness after she faces a loss in life. Kim Dickens will also star in a supporting role.

Shooting has begun in Alberta, Canada.

Also Read: Robin Wright to Star and Make Feature Directing Debut in Wilderness Drama 'Land'

The film is based on the original screenplay by Jesse Chatham and Golden Globe nominee Liz Hannah (“The Post”), with revisions by Erin Dignam.

“Land” was developed by Allyn Stewart together with acclaimed casting director Lora Kennedy and is financed by New York based production entity Big Beach. It is produced by Stewart, Kennedy, Big Beach co-founder and Academy Award nominee Peter Saraf and Leah Holzer (“A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood...

“Land,” the feature directorial debut from actress and producer Robin Wright, has secured Focus Features as a domestic distributor and rounded out its cast.

Shooting is underway in Alberta, Canada, where Variety previously reported the production will capture all four seasons in exteriors. Big Beach is financing and producing with Flashlight Films. Wright will star in the lead role, as a cosmopolitan lawyer who retreats to the wilderness after an unspeakable loss. Demián Bichir will co-star alongside Wright, with “Gone Girl” and Wright’s former “House of Cards” co-star Kim Dickens in a supporting role.

“Robin has consistently laid bare the strength, soul and vulnerabilities of so many iconic characters over the years as an actress, and we can’t wait for audiences to experience when she draws on that deep well of empathy behind the camera as well,” Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski tells Variety.

Universal Pictures International will...

wide

Truth or Dare [my review]

Lucy Hale, Violett Beane, and Sophia Taylor Ali costar in this horror movie about a college drinking game that goes wrong. Cowritten by Jillian Jacobs. (male director)

Rampage [my review]

Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, and Marley Shelton costar in this sci-fi action movie about genetically engineered monsters. (male writers and director)

limited

Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami [IMDb]

Sophie Fiennes directs this documentary about the performance artist.

The Judge [IMDb]

Erika Cohn directs this documentary about a female adjudicator in the Middle East.

20 Weeks [IMDb]

Leena Pendharkar writes and directs this drama about a couple facing a difficult pregnancy. Costarring Anna Margaret Hollyman, Jocelin Donahue, and Michelle Krusiec.

The Rider [IMDb]

Chloé Zhao writes and directs this drama about a (male) rodeo rider recovering from a traumatic brain injury.

Zama [IMDb]

Lucrecia Martel writes and directs this historical drama about a (male) Spanish officer in 17th-century South America.

Nana [IMDb] pictured

Serena Dykman...

If the saying goes that love conquers all, then Wim Wenders follows that adage to the very depths of the ocean in “Submergence.” The sadly soggy drama will perhaps interest fans of Alicia Vikander and James McAvoy, but unfortunately, there’s not much else to recommend outside of that.

Based on the book by J.M. Ledgard, with a script by Erin Dignam (Sean Penn’s widely panned “The Last Face,” so, you know, temper expectations) the story follows a British secret agent and a bio-mathematician who fall in love, and yes, the movie is as preposterous as that sounds.

Jumping between narrative and documentary films as of late, Wim Wenders’ latest finds him on the former side. The love story Submergence follows Danielle Flinders (Alicia Vikander) as a bio-mathematician prepping for a dive into the bleakest depths of the Greenland Sea when she crosses paths with James More (James McAvoy), a spy about to be shipped off to Somalia on a reconnaissance mission. The combination of talent had us hopeful this could be a return to form for Wenders, but unfortunately, we weren’t big fans of it at Tiff.

Joseph Falcone said in his review, “More so unbearably simple than outright cliched, Erin Dignam’s script — an adaptation of J.M. Ledgard’s novel of the same name — tosses tidbits of exposition and halfhearted, intentional, yet ineffectively sullen discourse at the viewer without any real adhesive to combine the fragments. It is enough to put the story together yourself,...

It has been a while since Wim Wenders (“Wings Of Desire,” “Paris, Texas“) has a truly great narrative film, and unfortunately, the wait continues. The director’s latest, “Submergence,” is another disappointment, a nearly howlingly bad romantic drama that threads together a creaky and overwrought romantic tragedy.

Based on the book by J.M. Ledgard, with a script by Erin Dignam (who is gaining the wrong reputation after having also penned Sean Penn’s critical disaster “The Last Face”), the film stars James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander, and follows a British secret agent and a bio-mathematician who fall madly in love after meeting at a very fancy, exclusive resort.

Continue reading ‘Submergence’ Trailer: Alicia Vikander & James McAvoy Fall In Love at The Playlist.

I can’t really be held accountable for believing that the combined efforts of legendary German auteur Wim Wenders, Academy Award-winner Alicia Vikander, and the fervid James McAvoy would spawn a piece of cinema teeming with heartache and intrigue, can I? Well, as their supposed romantic thriller Submergence would have it, the thought should’ve been long purged from my mind using electroconvulsive therapy. Wenders’ deep sea exploration of love and separation, doesn’t generate enough of the former for the latter to ever matter. Dabbling in topical themes like climate change and terrorism, all while attempting to execute a Bond-esque, star-crossed lovers narrative. Submergence’s commentary ultimately conveys a whole lot of nothing.

Danielle Flinders (Vikander) is a bio-mathematician prepping for a dive into the bleakest depths of the Greenland Sea to gather specimens in a submersible. James More (McAvoy), a spy about to be shipped off to Somalia on a reconnaissance mission,...

Choked by overwrought trappings and suffocated by an unforgiving narrative structure, Wim Wenders’ “Submergence” is only bolstered by a pair of sterling performances from stars Alicia Vikander and James McAvoy, both of whom somehow rise above the lackluster film they’re sunk into. Based on J.M. Ledgard’s novel of the same name and adapted by screenwriter Erin Dignam (who previously penned Sean Penn’s much-maligned “The Last Face”), the film revels in playing up hinky parallels that rarely coalesce into anything of much substance. It sinks.

Flipping between time periods and points of view, the film opens with Vikander, a professor and scientist obsessed with the literal bottom of the ocean, who is embarking on the biggest journey of her career, but just can’t seem to care about it because the man she loves won’t answer her phone calls. It’s already a jarring twist that Vikander’s Danielle,...

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights to Wim Wenders' Submergence.

James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander star In the globe-trotting romance pic that follows two storylines that become intertwined. On the eastern coast of Africa, an Englishman named James Moore (McAvoy) is held captive by jihadist fighters. Thousands of miles away in the Greenland Sea, Danielle Flinders (Vikander) prepares to dive in a submersible to the ocean floor. In their confines they are drawn back to the Christmas of the previous year, where a chance encounter on a beach in France led to an intense and enduring romance. Erin Dignam...

Alicia Vikander, James McAvoy star in romantic thriller.

This year’s San Sebastian Festival (Sept 22-30) will open with the European premiere of Wim Wenders’ Alicia Vikander and James McAvoy-starring Submergence.

The Germany-France-Spain co-production will travel to the Spanish festival, where it will compete for the event’s top prize the Golden Shell, after its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Submergence is a romantic thriller adapted by Erin Dignam from the novel of the same name by Jm Ledgard. It tells the story of James More (McAvoy), a water engineer who is taken hostage in Somalia by Jihadist fighters who suspect that he is a British spy. Danielle ‘Danny’ Flinders (Vikander) is a bio-mathematician working on a deep sea diving project to support her theory of the origin of life on the planet.

UK outfit Embankment Films is handling international sales. eOne will distribute in Spain.

Submergence is a romantic...

German director Wim Wenders will open the 65th San Sebastian Film Festival with his new film Submergence. Wenders and the film’s star, Alicia Vikander, will travel to Spain to present the film on Sept. 22.

Submergence, which will compete for the festival's Golden Shell main prize, also stars James McAvoy. Shot across Berlin, Madrid, Toledo and multiple locations in France and Djibouti, the film was penned by Erin Dignam, based on the book by J.M. Ledgard.

McAvoy and Vikander play a hydraulic engineer, James More, and a bio-mathematician, Danielle Flinders, who fall in love in a remote hotel in Normandy....

James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander in Submergence. Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival The European premiere of Wim Wenders' Submergence - starring Alicia Vikander and James McAvoy - will open the 65th edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival on September 22.

The story adapted by Erin Dignam (The Yellow Handkerchief, The Last Face) is based on the novel of the same name by The Economist correspondent Jm Ledgard. James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander play a hydraulic engineer and a bio-mathematician who meet in a hotel on the French coast, where both are preparing their missions. While she works on a project of immersion in the Greenland Sea, he is taken hostage in Somalia.

The director and Vikander will attend the film's premiere and it will feature in the Golden Shell Official Competition section....

The first trailer for Sean Penn's controversial The Last Face has debuted, previewing the intense romance between Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem in war-torn Liberia.

"I know that I will see you again," Bardem tells Theron after scenes of fiery turmoil and wounded locals. "I will look all over the desert, I will say your name, and I will see your face."

Featuring a script by Erin Dignam, the African war drama stars Theron as the director of an international aid organization who embarks on a love affair with a stubborn and impulsive relief-aid doctor, played by Bardem. However, their mutual passion...

In a deal that closed before Toronto, the distributor said on Thursday it had acquired North American rights to Sean Penn’s Cannes competition selection.

The Last Face is set against the backdrop of war-torn Liberia and stars Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem as an aid agency chief who falls in love with a doctor amid a humanitarian crisis.

Adèle Exarchopoulos, Jean Reno and Jared Harris round out the cast and Erin Dignam wrote the screenplay.

River Road Entertainment’s Bill Pohlad produced with FilmHaven Entertainments’ Matt Palmieri and Bill Gerber. Jon Kuyper served as executive producer.

Saban Films’ Bill Bromiley and Ness Saban negotiated the deal with CAA. Lionsgate handles international sales.

Sean Penn has never been as well-liked for his activism as he is for his art, but the two collide with unflattering results in "The Last Face." The movie, which the actor directs from Erin Dignam's script, finds the somber head of an international aid organization (Charlize Theron) falling in love with the surly relief doctor (Javier Bardem) as they drift through war-torn African refugee camps trying to save countless anonymous souls. Even without its mopey, painfully on-the-nose dialogue and ponderous story, "The Last Face" sets itself up for failure with its premise, and Penn's apparent inability to recognize it as such. It's his worst movie. Read More: The 2016 Indiewire Cannes Bible An opening title card goes so far as to analogize the civil war in South Sudan to "the brutality of impossible love shared by a man…and a woman," an assertion met with justifiable rounds of laughter...

While she used her Oscar clout to slide into the shoes of Lara Croft, the first post-awards season project Alicia Vikander took part in was Submergence, the latest film from Wim Wenders. An adaptation of J.M. Ledgard‘s novel, also starring James McAvoy, the story runs across the globe and shifts focus between James More, an English reporter, as he’s held captive by jiahdists in Somalia, and Danielle Flinders, a “biomathematician” exploring life on the ocean floor. As former lovers in their own perilous situations, they both remember better times spent at a French hotel on the Atlantic coast.

Scripted by Erin Dignam (The Last Face), Wenders is currently shooting in France before headed to Germany, Spain and Africa. Thanks to Screen Daily, the first look has now arrived, which can be seen above. We also have a fairly shoddy sales poster, but it seems to have worked as...

Exclusive: Wim Wenders’ romantic thriller recently secured 30+ sales.

A first glimpse at romantic thriller Submergence shows X-Men star James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander, in her first role after winning the Oscar, in an intense embrace.

Embankment is selling the Wim Wenders-directed feature at Cannes this week, having already secured deals in more than 30 territories since Berlin’s European Film Market in February, including the UK (Lionsgate); France (Mars/Selective); Germany (Nfp/Warners); Spain (Antenna 3); Canada (Elevation); and Latin America (California). Further deals are pending.

Adapted by Erin Dignam from the novel by Jm Ledgard, Submergence is the story of James More (McAvoy), a water engineer who is taken hostage in Somalia by Jihadist fighters who suspect that he is a British spy. Danielle ‘Danny’ Flinders (Vikander) is a bio-mathematician working on a deep sea diving project to support her theory of the origin of life on the planet.

The two had met just a few weeks...

If Alicia Vikander was in-demand prior to her snagging the Oscar gong for a much-lauded turn in The Danish Girl, then the Swedish actress can expect to find her name high on numerous casting lists from here on out.

While roles in The Light Between Oceans and Universal’s Jason Bourne revival are already cramming up the pipeline, it is Wim Wenders’ Submergence that will go down as Vikander’s first post-Oscar project, after it recently sailed into production in Berlin.

Based loosely on J.M. Ledgard’s eponymous novel – and adapted for the screen by Erin Dignam – Wim Wenders’ heart-wrenching romance places Vikander opposite James McAvoy, with the pair set to anchor the director’s latest feature as a couple torn apart in tragic circumstances. On one side of the globe, Danielle Flinders (Vikander) explores the depths of the ocean as a brilliant marine pioneer, who spends much of her...

Shoot has kicked off in Berlin on the Wim Wenders-directed romance-thriller.

Shoot is underway in Berlin on Wim Wenders’ romance-thriller Submergence starring Alicia Vikander and James McAvoy.

The shoot will take in France, Germany, Spain and Africa, before wrapping in July, and marks Vikander’s first acting role since she picked up her best supporting actress Oscar in February for The Danish Girl.

Based on the novel by Jm Ledgard and a screenplay by Erin Dignam (The Last Face), Submergence tells the story of a water engineer, (McAvoy) suspected to be a British spy who is captured and held captive by Jihadist fighters in Somalia. Thousands of miles away a biomathematician (Vikander) is working deep under the Greenland Sea.

A chance encounter months earlier saw them share a tumultuous love affair and in their time of need the two reminisce over their time together.

Producers are Cameron Lamb through Lila 9th Productions with Neue Road MovieDritte...

Sean Penn's directorial effort The Last Face is expected to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. The drama, set against the backdrop of war-torn Africa, stars Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem. Bill Pohlad's River Road Entertainment (12 Years a Slave) financed The Last Face. From a script by Erin Dignam, the movie stars Theron as the director of an international aid organization working in Liberia who embarks on a love affair with a stubborn and impulsive relief-aid doctor, played by Bardem. However, their mutual passion for the value of life is matched by the intensity

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Sales outfit to introduce buyers to Submergence at the Efm.

X-Men star James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander, the Oscar-nominated star of The Danish Girl, have been confirmed to topline love story Submergence from director Wim Wenders (Wings Of Desire).

The film, which is due to shoot this March throughout Spain, Germany and France, is set to be among the hottest packages at the upcoming European Film Market (Efm) in Berlin next month.

London-based Embankment has boarded sales on the script about two lovers, facing life-or-death situations and separated by thousands of miles.

Englishman and accused spy James More (McAvoy) is held captive by jihadist fighters in Somalia while, on the Greenland Sea, Danielle Flinders (Vikander) is exploring the greatest depths of the ocean floor from her submersible.

In their confines, they are drawn back to the Christmas of the previous year, where a chance encounter on a beach in France led to an intense and enduring romance...

Sales outfit to introduce buyers to Submergence at the Efm.

X-Men star James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander, the Oscar-nominated star of The Danish Girl, have been confirmed to topline love story Submergence from director Wim Wenders (Wings Of Desire).

The film, which is due to shoot this March throughout Spain, Germany and France, is set to be among the hottest packages at the upcoming European Film Market (Efm) in Berlin next month.

London-based Embankment has boarded sales on the script about two lovers, facing life-or-death situations and separated by thousands of miles.

Englishman and accused spy James More (McAvoy) is held captive by jihadist fighters in Somalia while, on the Greenland Sea, Danielle Flinders (Vikander) is exploring the greatest depths of the ocean floor from her submersible.

In their confines, they are drawn back to the Christmas of the previous year, where a chance encounter on a beach in France led to an intense and enduring romance...

With seven theatrical releases to her name this year, one is certainly familiar with Alicia Vikander, and she’s showing no signs of slowing down. Following Ex Machina, The Danish Girl, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Testament of Youth, and more, she’s already off at work on the next Bourne film and now she’s signed up for another project.

Variety reports she’s joined Submergence, the latest film from Wim Wenders and an adaptation of J.M. Ledgard‘s novel. Already set to star James McAvoy, the story runs across the globe and shifts focus between James More, an English reporter, as he’s held captive by jiahdists in Somalia, and Danielle Flinders, a “biomathematician” exploring life on the ocean floor. As former lovers in their own perilous situations, they both remember better times spent at a French hotel on the Atlantic coast.

Scripted by Erin Dignam (The Last Face...

Alicia Vikander will be diving into a role for the romantic thriller Submergence, in which she will play a deep sea explorer, and star opposite James McAvoy. Wim Wenders will direct the film that is based on J.M. Ledgard’s book of the same name. The film follows two lovers, one a captive of jihadist fighters in Somalia and the other an explorer currently searching the ocean depths, who use their memories of their intense romance to get them through their current life-threatening circumstances. The film, which was adapted for screen by Erin Dignam, is eyeing a late March 2016 start of production in Europe and

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"Ex Machina," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "The Danish Girl" actress Alicia Vikander is in advanced negotiations to star alongside James McAvoy in Wim Wenders' romantic thriller "Submergence".

Based on J.M. Ledgard's acclaimed 2013 novel, the film centers on two lovers separated by thousands of miles and both caught in life-or-death situations. The pair find solace in memories of their intense romance the previous Christmas after a chance encounter on a beach on the Atlantic coast.

One is enduring captivity by jihadist fighters in Somalia while the other is exploring the depths of the ocean floor from her submersible. Erin Dignam ("The Last Face") is adapting the script.

Cameron Lamb is producing and the film will start shooting in March in Europe and Africa.

Source: Variety...