Jackie invests in New Production Company

Sparkle Roll Cultural Media Co. Ltd have invested in a new production company making films for the Chinese and international market. Details below.

EXCLUSIVE: Some 12 years ago, Adrien Brody came to the Croisette to unveil his Oscar-winning turn in the Palm d’Or winning The Pianist. He’s back, this time to launch Fable House Ltd, a new production company Brody said has $50 million in development and production funding to make films for the Chinese and international marketplace. It also has a slate of pictures that starts with Manhattan Nocturne, a Brian DeCubellis-directed adaptation of the Colin Harrison novel that Brody will star in alongside Yvonne Strahovski and Campbell Scott. DeCubellis wrote the script, and he will produce with Brody and Scott. The film will shoot late fall, and will be sold here at Cannes by Paradigm for North America and 13 Films for international. In the project, which was first unveiled in Berlin, Brody will play a journalist asked by a seductive young woman to investigate the unsolved murder of her husband. “It is the kind of film Sidney Lumet would make,” Brody said. “It is the kind of film I wish to make.”

The backing for the company comes from Beijing-based Sparkle Roll Cultural Media Co. Ltd., which is 50% owned by Jackie Chan, and entrepreneur Kola Aluko, the latter of whom is putting up $30 million. The Beijing Cultural Assets Chinese Film & Television Fund will contribute $20 million US dollars to the venture, whose mission is to produce English language films for China and the international market. Brody will produce them, and will direct and star in some.

“Fable House will provide a doorway to imagination,” Brody said in a statement. “The partnership will help bridge financial and cultural boundaries and allow us to make films that emphasize humanity and reach a global audience. Our objectives are simple: to make the kinds of films that don’t often get made, to play a larger role as storyteller, and to help filmmakers with a unique vision to have a voice.”

In a mission statement, Brody described the catalyst for the new enterprise. “I’ve spent almost three decades on film sets, working with some of the most creative and talented filmmakers in the world,” he wrote. “I have produced several film projects and have long had aspirations to expand my vision: to produce, to direct and to develop meaningful material. I now have that opportunity and the ability to assist other creative individuals with their dreams.”

SOURCE: DEADLINE.COM