Yahoo News Rachel Weisz Signs First-Look Deal With Fremantle
Fremantle is getting into the Rachel Weisz business.
The international production powerhouse has signed a first-look and development deal with Astral Projection, the production company run by the Oscar-winning actress and her Dead Ringers producer Polly Stokes.
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The three-year deal will see Fremantle become the primary home for all of Astral Projection’s TV and film projects. Astral will work closely with Fremantle’s Global Drama division under Global Drama CEO Christian Vesper and COO Seb Shorr, as well as its international distribution team.
“We are thrilled to have found such experienced and trusting partners in Fremantle,” said Weisz in a statement. “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.”
Added Stokes: “We want to tell stories that are surprising and affirming — that find joy in unexpected and daring places. We were immediately taken by Fremantle’s reach, across film and TV, and their deep faith in exceptional talent. We can’t wait to begin this chapter.”
Vesper, Shorr and Fran Denny, vp legal and business affairs at Fremantle’s Global Drama arm, negotiated the deal on behalf of Fremantle, with James Kay and Jessica Hudson for Sheridans acting on behalf of Astral Projection.
Astral Projection co-produced Dead Ringers, the six-part gender-swapped reimagining of David Cronenberg’s 1988 horror classic, for Amazon, with Weisz playing both lead roles as twin gynecologists.
The deal with Astral is just the latest in a long line of first-look talent arrangements at Fremantle, which recently signed a development deal with Krishnendu Majumdar and Richard Yee of Alice and Jack production house Me+You Productions. It has similar first-look deals in place with All Quiet on the Western Front director Edward Berger and his label Nine Hours, Angelina Jolie, Johan Renck and Michael Parets’ outfit Sinestra, and Pablo Larraín’s Fabula, among others.
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