Hilary Swank has signed on to Intandem Films’ post-Iraq War pic “Dreams of a Dying Heart.”
Pic sees a soldier (Swank) struggle to cope with civilian life after surviving a combat chopper crash during her tour in the Army Reserves. The trauma manifests itself through ghostly visions and nightmares, which ultimately result in a fight for her daughter’s and her life.
Pic marks the directorial debut of “The House of Sand and Fog’s” scribe Shawn Lawrence Otto, who also penned the script, and reunites Swank with “Boys Don’t Cry” producer Christine Vachon.
“When I first read the screenplay for ‘Dreams of a Dying Heart’ I was on an airplane and I couldn’t put it down,” Swank said. “By the end, I was weeping. The same thing happened to me with ‘Million Dollar Baby.’ ”
London-based Intandem will co-produce with Gotham’s Killer Films and L.A.’s Laureate Films.
Pic marks a concerted effort by Intandem, which also exec produces pics, to beef up its slate with mid-range-budget productions featuring stellar U.S. talent. The company boasts 31 films under management and will announce more titles later in the year.Titles added to the company’s slate include the $25 million romantic comedy “Your Perfect Angel,” directed by Donald Petrie and produced by Bill Mechanic and Arnold Rifkin.
Pic has secured $6 million in pre-sales in Germany, Italy, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.
Additional pre-production titles include $20 million comic-horror pic “War Monkeys,” which is in negotiation with director David Ellis, “$15 million comedy “Driver’s Ed” (working title) and $40 million male-obsessed-with-his-libido comedy “Meet Mr. Id,” penned by Chris Pappas and Mike Bernier.
Intandem is in negotiations with John Milius for a feature about Russia’s Ivan the Terrible era, dubbed “Black Rider.”
And it has plans to adapt Bernard Zissman’s Zionist tome “Herzl’s Journey” to the bigscreen.
“We want to effectively become a mini-studio,” said Gary Smith, Intandem CEO. “Because we’re involved in an early stage through sourcing and securing finance and developing relationships with creative talent, we feel we’re well positioned to become a one-stop-shop.”
Intandem pics include “Beneath Hill 60,” “Devil’s Playground” and “Blown.”
Source :http://www.variety.com/
