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Netflix Buys John David Washington Thriller ‘Born to Be Murdered’

Dave McNary
·2-min read

Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to the thriller “Born to Be Murdered,” starring John David Washington and Alicia Vikander, and will release the film in 2021.

“Born to Be Murdered” is set in Athens and the Epirus region of Greece where a vacationing couple, played by Washington and Vikander, fall trap to a violent conspiracy with tragic consequences. Boyd Holbrook and Vicky Krieps also star in the film.

Ferdinando Cito Filomarino directed the film from a script he co-wrote with Kevin Rice. Producers include Luca Guadagnino and Marco Morabito for their Frenesy Films along with Francesco Melzi d’Eril and Gabriele Moratti for MeMo with Raicinema.

Cito Filomarino was second unit director on Guadagnino’s “Suspiria,” “Call Me My Your Name” and “A Bigger Splash.” He made his feature debut on 2015 biopic “Antonia,” centered on Italian poet Antonia Pozzi, which played at film festivals including Karlovy Vary, Torino, Seattle and Gothenburg. The director, who is the great nephew of Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti, is making his English-language debut on “Born to Be Murdered.”

Washington broke into the entertainment business as part of the HBO comedy series “Ballers” and starred as Ron Stallworth in Spike Lee’s drama-comedy “BlacKkKlansman,” receiving Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. He leads Christopher Nolan’s time-travel spy film “Tenet” and stars with Zendaya in the upcoming drama “Malcolm & Marie,” which was sold to Netflix last month during the Toronto International Film Festival. He’s also starring in David O. Russell’s untitled new film with Christian Bale and Margot Robbie at New Regency.

Vikander was last seen in “The Glorias” as a young Gloria Steinem. She won an Academy Award in the supporting actress category for “The Danish Girl.”

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