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Tag: AFM 2025

  • Beta Closes Multiple Presales on ‘Operation Napoleon’ Sequel

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    Beta Cinema has secured a series of key international presales for Nordic conspiracy thriller Operation Napoleon – Tears of the Wolf, which is currently in production across Finland, Iceland, and Germany.

    Magnolia Pictures acquired rights for North America, with additional deals concluded for the UK and Ireland (Signature Entertainment), France (Mediawan), Spain (Twelve Oaks), and Poland (Hagi Film).

    The film is a sequel to Operation Napoleon, which sold to more than 40 territories, including to Magnolia for the U.S., and was a major success in Germany in 2023. The English-language sequel reunites Vivian Ólafsdóttir (It Hatched), Jack Fox (Riviera), and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Severance, True Detective). Jyri Kähönen (Trackers, Bordertown) returns to direct, from a screenplay by original Operation Napoleon scribe Marteinn Thorisson and Tom Weston-Jones (True Things, Warrior, Copper). Laura Birn (Void, The Crow, A Walk Among the Tombstones, Foundation) has joined the cast.

    Ólafsdóttir stars as Kristin Jóhannesdóttir, a lawyer sucked into an international conspiracy after being accused of a murder she didn’t commit. The sequel follows Kristin and her team as they pursue the mythical “Tears of the Wolf,” a cache of Nazi diamonds hidden during World War II. After witnessing a murder, Kristin uncovers encrypted codes and musical clues that lead the group across Iceland, Finland, and Germany, culminating in a confrontation set in Helsinki’s wartime bunkers and the Finnish archipelago.

    The production is led by Anita Elsani and Alexander Klein of Germany’s Splendid Entertainment, Kjartan Thor Thordarson of Sagafilm (Sweden and Iceland), and Eero Hietala and Sara Norberg of Take Two Studios (Finland), with Elsani Film co-producing.

    Sam Film will release the film theatrically in Iceland, Splendid Film in Germany, and Cinemanse in Finland. Beta Cinema is presenting the first promo reel of Operation Napoleon – Tears of the Wolf at the American Film Market this week.

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    Scott Roxborough

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  • Anthony Hopkins, Charlotte Rampling to Play Charles and Emma Darwin in ‘The Species’ From ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ Director Justin Chadwick

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    Anthony Hopkins and Charlotte Rampling will play Charles and Emma Darwin in a new period drama from The Other Boleyn Girl director Justin Chadwick.

    Written by Jacob Killion and set against the backdrop of Victorian England, The Species will also star Tom Hollander as publisher Marshall Winwick, with Billy Howle portraying Charles and Emma’s son, George.

    The film is set to focus on Emma, surrounded by memories of visionary scientist and her late husband, Charles, at their estate Down House. “Whilst on a late life journey of self-discovery since recently being made a widow, she finds herself locked in a battle with her son George and pushy publisher Marshall Winwick over Charles’ autobiography,” a plot synopsis reads. “It presents a challenge to her faith: will the publication of her almost heretically atheist husband’s work jeopardise his safe passage to heaven and their chance to be reunited in the afterlife? Emma’s steely will and playful humour prove more than a match for Winwick, and by confronting her son she banishes old hurts and ultimately brings them closer together.”

    “Throughout it all she finds an unexpected ally in her husband’s spirit who appears to her in moments through the story, their laughter and lively debate affording an intimate window into a lasting and hopefully eternal marriage.”

    HanWay Films is launching international sales on The Species at AFM. The film is produced by Christian Taylor of Taylor Lane Productions, who originated and developed the project, along with Mary Aloe of Aloe Entertainment and Joshua Harris of Peachtree Media Group. UTA Independent Talent Group reps domestic sales.

    Production is scheduled to begin in June 2026 in Northern Ireland. Cinematography will be by Adolpho Veloso (Train Dreams). Eyde Belasco is casting.

    “I am excited to make a film with two truly brilliant actors that can catch the complex realities and themes that are in play in this piece,” said Chadwick, who also made Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom and the BBC’s Emmy-winning Bleak House. “Charlotte and Anthony are nuanced and skilled actors at the heart of a film that deals unflinchingly with love, grief and death and a deep relationship that transcends space and time.”

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    Lily Ford

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