Fremantle has signed a first look and development deal with Astral Projection, the production company from Academy Award winning actress Rachel Weisz and British executive producer Polly Stokes.
The three-year deal will see Fremantle become the primary home for all of Astral Projection’s television and film projects, with the producer working closely with both Fremantle’s Global Drama division and international distribution team.
The partnership was spearheaded by Christian Vesper, Fremantle’s CEO of Global Drama and Seb Shorr, COO of Global Drama.
Astral Projection co-produced Dead Ringers, the six-part psychological thriller for Amazon, created by Alice Birch, in which Weisz played both lead roles in the gender-swapped reimagining of the 1988 David Cronenberg film. Stokes, a former Creative Executive at Film4, and Weisz have a long-standing relationship and are building a slate of projects, across television and film, with Rebecca Servadio as Astral’s literary consultant.
This is the latest creative partnership to be announced by Fremantle following its recent first look development deal with Krishnendu Majumdar and Richard Yee’s UK production house Me+You Productions which was secured following a collaboration on TV drama Alice & Jack.
Fremantle also has first look deals in place with the likes of All Quiet on the Western Front director Edward Berger and his label Nine Hours, Angelina Jolie, and Pablo Larraín’s Fabula.
Weisz said: “We are thrilled to have found such experienced and trusting partners in Fremantle. As soon as we met Christian and Seb, we knew they were a perfect fit for our taste and energy and that this would be a brilliant home for Astral.”
Christian Vesper, CEO Global Drama at Fremantle, said: “We’ve been admirers of Polly and Rachel’s careers for some time. The breadth, scale and acclaim of their combined body of work across both television and film is truly impressive and I’ve no doubt this is going to be a fruitful and exciting partnership. I couldn’t be happier to welcome them to the Fremantle family and start collaborating on world-class projects together.”
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