Mark Gill and Neil Sacker's The Film Department has greenlit an untitled romantic comedy starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and written and directed by Bart Freundlich which is set to start shooting on April 17.
The project is a romantic comedy set in New York City about a 25 year-old man who becomes involved with his new neighbour - a sexy, older single mother.
Tim Perell, Freundlich, Gill and Robert Katz are producing, with Sacker and Michael Goguen acting as executive producers. Lori Keith Douglas is co-producer. Process, which produced Trust The Man for Freundlich, is the production company.
The film is the first to be greenlit by The Film Department which was launched last year with $200m in backing; the newly minted international sales division The Film Department International under Steve Bickel will present this film and Gerard Butler-starrer Law Abiding Citizen to buyers at Cannes.
'Original screenplays in any form are hard to come by,' said Gill in a statement. 'But with this film Bart has created a truly original story that is hilarious, unexpected and surprisingly moving. In his hands, and with this cast, we have every confidence that this will be a terrific movie.'
'Everyone advised us to be extremely careful about the first few movies we greenlight,' said Sacker. 'We have done precisely that, and as a result, we can say with great confidence that our debut film meets the highest standards for quality and commercial potential.'
Freundlich and Perell are represented by Bart Walker of Cinetic Media, Evelyn O'Neill of Management 360, and Ira Schreck and Joe Dapello of Schreck Rose. Zeta-Jones is represented by George Freeman of The William Morris Agency and Sam Fischer and PJ Shapiro of Ziffren Brittenham. Dan Stutz negotiated on behalf of The Film Department.
The project is a romantic comedy set in New York City about a 25 year-old man who becomes involved with his new neighbour - a sexy, older single mother.
Tim Perell, Freundlich, Gill and Robert Katz are producing, with Sacker and Michael Goguen acting as executive producers. Lori Keith Douglas is co-producer. Process, which produced Trust The Man for Freundlich, is the production company.
The film is the first to be greenlit by The Film Department which was launched last year with $200m in backing; the newly minted international sales division The Film Department International under Steve Bickel will present this film and Gerard Butler-starrer Law Abiding Citizen to buyers at Cannes.
'Original screenplays in any form are hard to come by,' said Gill in a statement. 'But with this film Bart has created a truly original story that is hilarious, unexpected and surprisingly moving. In his hands, and with this cast, we have every confidence that this will be a terrific movie.'
'Everyone advised us to be extremely careful about the first few movies we greenlight,' said Sacker. 'We have done precisely that, and as a result, we can say with great confidence that our debut film meets the highest standards for quality and commercial potential.'
Freundlich and Perell are represented by Bart Walker of Cinetic Media, Evelyn O'Neill of Management 360, and Ira Schreck and Joe Dapello of Schreck Rose. Zeta-Jones is represented by George Freeman of The William Morris Agency and Sam Fischer and PJ Shapiro of Ziffren Brittenham. Dan Stutz negotiated on behalf of The Film Department.
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