UK-based production and financing companies Movision and SpiceFactory have stepped in to join Myriad Pictures as co-financiers onsupernatural murder mystery The River King, which is due to begin production in Canada later thismonth.

The film is the latest to be rescued after the UK tax clampdownlast month left it on the brink of shutdown. The film had originally beenstructured with Grosvenor Park's First Choice Films on board as co-financier.

Along with Myriad and nowMovision, the picture is being produced by Michele Camarda and her UK-basedKismet Film Company, Spice Factory's Michael Lionello Cowan and Jason Piette,Chris Zimmer and his Canadian company imX Communications, and Marion Pilowsky,head of international production for Myriad Pictures.

Myriad president Kirk D'Amico, Joshua Andrews, Peter James andJames Simpson will serve executive producers.

Jennifer Ehle will join Edward Burns in thestory about a small town cop who smells foul play while investigating asupposed suicide at an elite prep school.

Nick Willing, whose thriller Close Your Eyes aka Dr Sleep will open in the US in April throughFirst Look Pictures, is set to direct from a screenplay adapted by David Kane (BornRomantic) from AliceHoffman's best-selling novel.

In a joint statement Spice Factory's Cowan and Piette and Movisionchief Peter James said: "We believe the combination of Spice Factory andMovision demonstrates that Britain is capable of both financing and producingworld-class commercial films on a major scale and are pleased to be workingwith Myriad Pictures for the first time."

"We are so pleased to be working with such a wealth of talent onboth sides of the Atlantic," D'Amico added. "The production team hopes to dojustice to Alice Hoffman's extraordinary literary vision."

"As financiers and producers, Spice Factory and Movision are abreath of fresh air," Camarda said. "Their ability to combine equity fundingresources with their affiliated distribution and world sales partners is uniqueand places them as one of the UK's biggest players.

"Combined withMyriad's proven track record for world sales and the production expertise ofboth Kismet and IMX, The River King will have the best possible chance of international success."