British production and financing companies Movision Entertainment and Spice Factory have come on board to co-finance Myriad Pictures' The River King, a supernatural thriller starring Edward Burns and Jennifer Ehle, with Nick Willing directing, Myriad president Kirk D'Amico announced Monday.
Based on Alice Hoffman's best-selling novel about a small-town cop investigating a student's suicide, the film's producers also include Michele Camarda's British production outfit, Kismet Film Co., and Canadian company imX Communications, headed by Chris Zimmer. The screenplay was adapted by David Kane. The film is expected to start shooting later this year, a Spice Factory spokesman said.
"We believe the combination of Spice Factory and Movision demonstrates that Britain is capable of both financing and producing world-class commercial films on a major scale and are pleased to be working with Myriad Pictures for the first time," Spice Factory's joint managing directors, Michael Lionello Cowan and Jason Piette, and Movision's Peter James said in a statement.
Added D'Amico: "We are so pleased to be working with such a wealth of talent on both sides of the Atlantic. The production team hopes to do justice to Alice Hoffman's extraordinary literary vision."
"As financiers and producers, Spice Factory and Movision are a breath of fresh air," Camarda noted. "Their ability to combine equity funding resources with their affiliated distribution and world sales partners is unique and places them as one of the U.K.'s biggest players. Combined with Myriad's proven track record for world sales and the production expertise of both Kismet and imX, The River King will have the best chance of international success."
Camarda has worked with Willing on various films from Kismet, including Photographing Fairies and most recently Close Your Eyes (called Doctor Sleep in the United Kingdom). The company also has been behind films such as This Year's Love, Michael Winterbottom's Wonderland and Born Romantic.
Burns starred in Confidence and will next be seen in A Sound of Thunder for Warner Bros. Pictures. Ehle's credits include Possession and Sunshine.