On the eve of AFM Palisades Park Pictures has announced key territory sales on Neil Marshall’s crime thriller Duchess, with Saban Films acquiring the US and Vertigo Films taking UK rights.
Palisades Park Pictures CEO Tamara Birkemoe has concluded a raft of deals on the Charlotte Kirk (Ocean’s Eight, The Lair) starrer.
Amazon has taken Benelux rights, Videomite has acquired the film for Turkey, Selim Ramia for the Middle East, Cinemundo for Portugal, Premiere 9 Entertainment for India, Myndform for Iceland, Daro Film Distribution for Central Eastern Europe, M-Net for South Africa, and Top Film Distribution for Ukraine.
Kirk stars as no-nonsense Scarlett Monaghan, a working-class petty criminal who rises up to become an organised crime boss in the seedy underbelly of the diamond smuggling circuit in Tenerife. Marshall, whose directing credits include Game of Thrones, Hellboy, and The Descent, co-wrote the screenplay with Kirk.
The cast includes Philip Winchester (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Sean Pertwee (Fox’s Gotham, Event Horizon), Colm Meaney (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Con Air) and Stephanie Beacham (Dynasty, The Colbys).
Emily Corcoran of Cork Films and Kristyna Sellnerova produced Duchess, while executive producers are Joe Simpson, Simon Williams, Jonathan Bross, and Matthew E. Chausse of Ashland Hill Media Finance, Norman Merry and Peter Hampden of Lip Sync, as well as Jon Dean, Phil Rymer, Seth Sklar, Colin Egglesfield, Giada Falzoni, Kirk, and Marshall.
Saban is expected to release Duchess in early 2024 after Stephen Break negotiated the deal with Birkemoe on behalf of the filmmakers.
Birkemoe will continue international sales and will screen the film at AFM next week. She “We are excited to screen it at the AFM and to roll out the release next year.”
Palisades Park Pictures’ AFM sales slate includes That’s Amore! starring John Travolta, Katherine Heigl and Christopher Walken, which Nick Vallelonga wrote and will direct; and Philip Noyce’s action adventure Fast Charlie starring Pierce Brosnan, Morena Baccarin, and James Caan.
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