Mike Myers To Play His Mentor In Betty Thomas’ ‘Del’; ‘American Animals’ Cages Cast – Berlin Briefs

Mike Myers is set to star as his mentor Del Close in the comedy Del from director Betty Thomas. The film follows an aspiring comedian who is taken under the wing of Close, a legendary teacher notorious for pushing his students to their limit. What begins as a disastrous relationship ultimately transforms each of them. Covert Media is producing alongside the Second City, State Street Pictures and Thruline Entertainment. Covert is fully financing the film and handling worldwide sales in Berlin. ICM Partners is handling domestic. Del is written by Nick Torokvei, and Anthony Richmond will serve as director of photography. “Mike Myers is a comedy genius and the perfect actor to inhabit this complicated, funny, poignant character,” said Covert Media CEO Paul Hanson. “A pioneer of his craft, Close has passed his knowledge of humor and improv to the group of comedians that everyone knows today and this hilarious script examines that intimate relationship with his students that has made them so successful.”

Barry Keoghan, Jared Abrahamson, Blake Jenner, Ann Dowd, and Udo Kier have joined Evan PEters in the cast of American Animals, a heist thriller from writer-director Bart Layton. Based on a true story, it follows four young men who mistook their lives for a movie and attempted one of the most audacious heists in U.S. history. Lines between truth and fiction are blurred in a story of money, movies and the search for meaning. The film is produced by Katherine Butler, Dimitri Doganis, Derrin Schlesinger and Mary Jane Skalski, with Aviv Giladi and Len Blavatnik exec producing via the AI Film banner alongside David Kosse, Film4’s Sam Lavender and Daniel Battsek and Lava Bear Films’ Tory Metzger. Principal photography is slated to begin this year in the U.S. Sierra/Affinity is handling international sales of the project.

Beta Film has closed deals in multiple European territories at EFM for Babylon Berlin, a 16-hour-program by the author-director trio Tom Tykwer, Henk Handloegten and Achim von Borries that will air on Sky Germany starting October 13 and on ARD in 2018. Sales have been set with Sky UK, Sky Italy, Spanish premium subscription platform Moviestar +/Telefonica and the Belgium pay TV partner Telenet as well as with SVT Sweden, NRK Norway, DR Denmark, YLE Finland and RUV Iceland. Based on the bestselling series of novels by Volker Kutscher, it tells the story of police inspector Gereon Rath (Volker Bruch), who conducts his investigations in 1920s Berlin, in a cabinet of curiosities and most exciting city of the world, between drugs and politics, murder and art, emancipation and extremism. Produced by X Filme Creative Pool, ARD, Sky and Beta Film, the project also stars Liv Lisa Fries.

It also was announced today that the X Filme Group will be merged under the X Filme Holding GmbH. Jan Mojto´s Beta Film will become a strategic partner. DZ Bank’s Andreas Brey will join the management team of the new holding company, which he will head along with Stefan Arndt and Uwe Schott. Within the X Filme Group, Andreas Brey will be responsible for finances and business development in particular. X Filme Creative Pool GmbH and X Verleih AG will continue conducting their business with the same team.