Southpaw Entertainment’s Richard B. Lewis, Irish Dreamtime’s Beau St. Clair and Envision Entertainment’s Grant Cramer announced today that they’ve joined forces to produce the sophisticated romantic comedy HOW TO MAKE LOVE LIKE AN ENGLISHMAN. To be directed by Tom Vaughan (WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS, STARTER FOR TEN), the film stars Pierce Brosnan (THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR), Jessica Alba (SIN CITY) and Oscar nominee Kristin Scott Thomas (THE ENGLISH PATIENT), and was written by Brit Matthew Newman.
The Solution Entertainment Group’s Lisa Wilson has come on board to handle international rights for the picture and will introduce the film to buyers at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. In the film Pierce Brosnan stars as a Cambridge University professor who meets his match in Kristin Scott Thomas, and is forced to re-evaluate his life of hedonistic excess after he manages to get Jessica Alba, her graduate student stepsister, pregnant.
Set for an early September shoot, the film is being fully financed by Envision and Merced Media Partners, and will be Executive Produced by Stepan Martirosyan and Remington Chase of Envision, Raj Brinder Singh and Kevin Scott Frakes of Merced Media Partners, Lisa Wilson and Myles Nestel of The Solution, and Jon Amiel.
CAA represents the U.S. distribution rights to HOW TO MAKE LOVE LIKE AN ENGLISHMAN.
“HOW TO MAKE LOVE LIKE AN ENGLISHMAN is truly one of the most entertaining scripts I have read for a very long time and this is one of the sexiest casts imaginable. The international marketplace is going to love it,” said Wilson and Nestel.
“Matthew Newman’s entertaining and sophisticated screenplay has attracted a magnificent cast and director and we couldn’t be more pleased to see the picture come to life with the support of Envision Entertainment, Merced Media Partners and The Solution sales organization,” said Richard Lewis.
“Englishman has an appealing blend of sex, style and sophisticated humor. On one level, it is fascinating study of a man who hides his total fear of love behind completely outrageous behavior. Pierce and I are very proud to be announcing Englishman at this year’s market with our long time partner on the project, Richard Lewis, and our other amazing partners at Envision and The Solution,” said Beau St Clair.
Pierce Brosnan continued “This has long been a passion project for Beau and me. We are so thrilled that the project has come together with this illustrious group of actors and filmmakers.”
“This a sexy, fun adult comedy that we feel fills a huge need in the marketplace. It’s also a perfect chance for Pierce, Kristin and Jessica to misbehave through deliciously drawn characters,” said Envision’s Grant Cramer.
One of the most internationally recognized actors today, Brosnan has starred in blockbuster hits such as THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, MAMMA MIA! and four JAMES BOND films. He’s also starred in critical favorites like Roman Polanksi’s THE GHOST WRITER, John Borman’s THE TAILOR OF PANAMA, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for his turn in THE MATADOR. He can currently be seen in Oscar-winning director Susanne Bier’s LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED.
Kristin Scott Thomas gained international recognition in the 1990s for her roles in FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL and THE ENGLISH PATIENT, for which she was nominated for an Oscar. She starred in the hit French thriller TELL NO ONE directed by Guillaume Canet based on the novel of the same name by Harlan Coben. Other major credits include NOWHERE BOY, SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN and THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL. Her next film, Nicolas Winding Refn’s ONLY GOD FORGIVES, will premiere in competition at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
Jessica Alba is best known for her work as Susan Storm (Invisible Woman) in FANTASTIC FOUR and FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER. She has also starred in the following films: MACHETE, LITTLE FOCKERS and VALENTINE’S DAY. She can be seen next in Dimension Film’s SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller due for release in October.
Vaughan helmed STARTER FOR TEN, EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES and the 20th Century Fox hit WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz which earned over $200 million at the worldwide box office.
In addition to HOW TO MAKE LOVE LIKE AN ENGLISHMAN The Solution’s Cannes slate on offer to buyers includes WRITERS (aka STUCK IN LOVE) starring Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly and Lily Collins and produced by Judy Cairo, romantic comedy TWO NIGHT STAND starring Miles Teller and Analeigh Tipton, NOVEMBER MAN to be directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Pierce Brosnan, police thriller FELONY starring Joel Edgerton, Tom Wilkinson and Jai Courtney, GRAND PIANO starring Elijah Wood and John Cusack and produced by Adrian Guerra and Rodrigo Cortes, 5 TO 7, starring Anton Yelchin, Glenn Close, Frank Langella, Bérénice Marlohe, Lambert Wilson and Olivia Thirlby, and heist thriller THE FORGER starring John Travolta.
