Malcolm Gaskill’s book Hellish Nell: The Curious Case of Britain’s Last Witch Trial is getting a movie adaptation, with Deadline reporting that Aislinn Clarke (The Devil’s Doorway) will direct the upcoming Hellish Nell for Studiocanal and The Picture Company.
Deadline details, “Hellish Nell is a chilling horror-thriller based on the real-life medium Helen Duncan, the last UK citizen convicted and imprisoned for witchcraft. The movie follows Helen’s harrowing journey as her innate powers change her life and those closest to her. ”
Chris Basler wrote the screenplay, an adaptation of Gaskill’s book. The Picture Company partners Alex Heineman & Andrew Rona will produce through their deal with Studiocanal.
Here’s the official synopsis for the book, first published in 2001: “One of the last criminal trials using the 1735 Witchcraft Act was, improbably, in London in 1944. The accused was Helen Duncan, a middle-aged Scotswoman. This is her extraordinary story.
Deadline details, “Hellish Nell is a chilling horror-thriller based on the real-life medium Helen Duncan, the last UK citizen convicted and imprisoned for witchcraft. The movie follows Helen’s harrowing journey as her innate powers change her life and those closest to her. ”
Chris Basler wrote the screenplay, an adaptation of Gaskill’s book. The Picture Company partners Alex Heineman & Andrew Rona will produce through their deal with Studiocanal.
Here’s the official synopsis for the book, first published in 2001: “One of the last criminal trials using the 1735 Witchcraft Act was, improbably, in London in 1944. The accused was Helen Duncan, a middle-aged Scotswoman. This is her extraordinary story.
- 11/30/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Exclusive: Aislinn Clarke is set to direct Hellish Nell, the genre thriller for Studiocanal and The Picture Company.
From Black List writer Chris Basler, Hellish Nell is a chilling horror-thriller based on the real-life medium Helen Duncan, the last UK citizen convicted and imprisoned for witchcraft. Based on the book Hellish Nell: Last of Britain’s Witches by Malcolm Gaskill, the movie follows Helen’s harrowing journey as her innate powers change her life and those closest to her.
Aislinn Clarke is the first woman to direct a horror film in her native Ireland. There, she made her debut with The Devil’s Doorway. That film was released by IFC Midnight in 2018 after premiering at Sitges, where Clarke was nominated for the Bingham Ray New Talent Award. She followed with Frewaka, and is in post production on the Irish language horror film produced by DoubleBand Films and Wildcard. She is the...
From Black List writer Chris Basler, Hellish Nell is a chilling horror-thriller based on the real-life medium Helen Duncan, the last UK citizen convicted and imprisoned for witchcraft. Based on the book Hellish Nell: Last of Britain’s Witches by Malcolm Gaskill, the movie follows Helen’s harrowing journey as her innate powers change her life and those closest to her.
Aislinn Clarke is the first woman to direct a horror film in her native Ireland. There, she made her debut with The Devil’s Doorway. That film was released by IFC Midnight in 2018 after premiering at Sitges, where Clarke was nominated for the Bingham Ray New Talent Award. She followed with Frewaka, and is in post production on the Irish language horror film produced by DoubleBand Films and Wildcard. She is the...
- 11/30/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: StudioCanal has acquired a minority stake in The Picture Company, the production venture run by partners Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman that has generated a steady stream of genre and action hits under a first-look deal with Europe’s leading production and distribution studio.
Aside from the stake in the company, StudioCanal has closed a new five-year overall deal with the producers. The goal of all this is to scale up The Picture Company to be an even more prolific supplier of films with global appeal. The relationship between the companies began in 2015. Rona and Heineman will continue to make films, and lean in on TV series as well that they generate and that are part of StudioCanal’s vast library.
Deal was closed at Cannes by StudioCanal CEO Anna Marsh.
Marsh said the development of The Picture Company as a major Hollywood-based supplier for StudioCanal coincides with a...
Aside from the stake in the company, StudioCanal has closed a new five-year overall deal with the producers. The goal of all this is to scale up The Picture Company to be an even more prolific supplier of films with global appeal. The relationship between the companies began in 2015. Rona and Heineman will continue to make films, and lean in on TV series as well that they generate and that are part of StudioCanal’s vast library.
Deal was closed at Cannes by StudioCanal CEO Anna Marsh.
Marsh said the development of The Picture Company as a major Hollywood-based supplier for StudioCanal coincides with a...
- 5/22/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Studiocanal and The Picture Company have preemptively acquired the true story female-driven package Hellish Nell.
Blacklist writer Chris Basler adapted Malcom Gaskill novel, which tells the story of Helen Duncan, a famous Scottish medium whose ability was put to the test and eventually became the last woman ever tried legally for Witchcraft in 1933 in London.
Duncan, an enigmatic and polarizing figure in the world of mediums, was renowned for her ability to conjure spirits of the dead – specifically loved ones of grieving families. Her ability was scrutinized when an ambitious researcher tired to debunk Duncan’s ability, leading to a harrowing experience for the medium and her family. Basler’s script will center around Duncan’s family drama with her husband and young children as she explored her supernatural abilities throughout her life.
Gaskill did many years of research into Duncan’s life and is a leading expert in...
Blacklist writer Chris Basler adapted Malcom Gaskill novel, which tells the story of Helen Duncan, a famous Scottish medium whose ability was put to the test and eventually became the last woman ever tried legally for Witchcraft in 1933 in London.
Duncan, an enigmatic and polarizing figure in the world of mediums, was renowned for her ability to conjure spirits of the dead – specifically loved ones of grieving families. Her ability was scrutinized when an ambitious researcher tired to debunk Duncan’s ability, leading to a harrowing experience for the medium and her family. Basler’s script will center around Duncan’s family drama with her husband and young children as she explored her supernatural abilities throughout her life.
Gaskill did many years of research into Duncan’s life and is a leading expert in...
- 10/6/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: The Black List has chosen six screenwriters out of 1,400 submissions for its ninth annual Features Lab.
Lab participants will workshop their scripts through peer groups, and one-on-one mentorship over the course of six weeks. Participating mentors include Minhal Baig (Hala), Jessica Bendinger (Bring It On), Scott Myers, David Rabinowitz (BlackKklansman), Kiwi Smith (Legally Blonde), and Chris Weitz (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story).
Previous Black List Lab alumni include Baig, Tom Dean, Noga Pnueli and Jimmy Keyrouz. Two additional Black List Lab projects (The Enclosed by Chris Basler and Empire Waist by Claire Ayoub) are currently in production.
The Feature Lab participants and their projects are:
New Hampshire Boy
by...
Lab participants will workshop their scripts through peer groups, and one-on-one mentorship over the course of six weeks. Participating mentors include Minhal Baig (Hala), Jessica Bendinger (Bring It On), Scott Myers, David Rabinowitz (BlackKklansman), Kiwi Smith (Legally Blonde), and Chris Weitz (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story).
Previous Black List Lab alumni include Baig, Tom Dean, Noga Pnueli and Jimmy Keyrouz. Two additional Black List Lab projects (The Enclosed by Chris Basler and Empire Waist by Claire Ayoub) are currently in production.
The Feature Lab participants and their projects are:
New Hampshire Boy
by...
- 10/5/2021
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Buffalo 8 has acquired worldwide rights at the just-wrapped Cannes virtual market to Givers of Death, an apocalyptic sci-fi thriller written and directed by and starring Addison Henderson. The pic, which is coming off its world premiere at the American Black Film Festival, will hit U.S. theaters and Premium VOD sometime in 2022.
The film, which is set in a world obliterated by a deadly virus that has killed a third of the population, centers on a the quest for peace for a hitman (Henderson) in a post-apocalyptic world where those who are too afraid to end their own lives from the painful virus hire hitmen to do it for them. Jonathan Sterritt, Lou Lombardi, JJ Alfieri, Jason Delane Lee and Yvonne Huff Lee also star.
Henderson said his film “was born from my own personal tragedies and was inspired by the citizens of Otsuchi, Japan who lost loved ones to a horrific tsunami.
The film, which is set in a world obliterated by a deadly virus that has killed a third of the population, centers on a the quest for peace for a hitman (Henderson) in a post-apocalyptic world where those who are too afraid to end their own lives from the painful virus hire hitmen to do it for them. Jonathan Sterritt, Lou Lombardi, JJ Alfieri, Jason Delane Lee and Yvonne Huff Lee also star.
Henderson said his film “was born from my own personal tragedies and was inspired by the citizens of Otsuchi, Japan who lost loved ones to a horrific tsunami.
- 7/23/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Max Beesley has joined the cast of Guy Ritchie’s latest action thriller formerly known as Five Eyes at Miramax and STX, opposite Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Josh Hartnett and Cary Elwes.
Bill Block is producing for Miramax, which is also fully financing the film, and STX acquired worldwide distribution rights. The feature follows MI6 guns-and-steel agent (Statham) who is recruited by a global intelligence agency to track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology that threatens to disrupt the world order. Beesley plays a respectable lawyer and consigliere to a billionaire arms broker (Hartnett), who can also handle himself in a fight.
Beesley recently starred opposite Ben Mendelsohn and Paddy Considine in the HBO series The Outsider. Prior to that, her starred in the Carnival TV series Jamestown. Beesley is repped by Authentic Management, APA and Independent Talent Group in the UK.
*******
Agnes Born...
Bill Block is producing for Miramax, which is also fully financing the film, and STX acquired worldwide distribution rights. The feature follows MI6 guns-and-steel agent (Statham) who is recruited by a global intelligence agency to track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology that threatens to disrupt the world order. Beesley plays a respectable lawyer and consigliere to a billionaire arms broker (Hartnett), who can also handle himself in a fight.
Beesley recently starred opposite Ben Mendelsohn and Paddy Considine in the HBO series The Outsider. Prior to that, her starred in the Carnival TV series Jamestown. Beesley is repped by Authentic Management, APA and Independent Talent Group in the UK.
*******
Agnes Born...
- 3/18/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Luma Features has launched an independent film company under the oversee of CEO & Chief Creative Payam Shohadai and COO Grady Gamble with a string of projects, and new hires.
Luma’s first movie that’s come together and set for filming in January is The Silence of Mercy directed by The Runaways and The Handmaid’s Tale episodic director Floria Sigismondi. The movie, which is produced by Shohadai and executive produced by Gamble in partnership with The Black List Production’s Franklin Leonard and indie producer Marc Joubert, follows a woman who chooses a life enclosed, to face her personal demons as she’s challenged to break the walls of morality.
Annabelle Wallis, who just wrapped James Wan’s Malignant, stars in a screenplay written by Chris Basler. The script was developed as part of The Black List’s Features Writers Lab. Sigismondi is repped by WME,...
Luma’s first movie that’s come together and set for filming in January is The Silence of Mercy directed by The Runaways and The Handmaid’s Tale episodic director Floria Sigismondi. The movie, which is produced by Shohadai and executive produced by Gamble in partnership with The Black List Production’s Franklin Leonard and indie producer Marc Joubert, follows a woman who chooses a life enclosed, to face her personal demons as she’s challenged to break the walls of morality.
Annabelle Wallis, who just wrapped James Wan’s Malignant, stars in a screenplay written by Chris Basler. The script was developed as part of The Black List’s Features Writers Lab. Sigismondi is repped by WME,...
- 12/11/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Fresh off their announcement of the GLAAD Media Awards at Sundance, GLAAD revealed today during the Park City fest that they have partnered with The Black List for the inaugural GLAAD List, a catalog of the most promising unmade Lgbtq-inclusive film scripts in Hollywood that have been hosted on blcklst.com or were included on the 2018 year-end annual Black List.
The curated list includes scripts about trans youth, HIV and AIDS, and Lgbtq icon Bayard Rustin. The scripts on The GLAAD List represent the type of stories that GLAAD would like to see studios producing.
“There is no more reputable source for discovering quality scripts in Hollywood than The Black List,” said Jeremy Blacklow, GLAAD’s Director of Entertainment Media. “The Black List’s commitment to elevating marginalized voices in the film industry is unparalleled and GLAAD is excited to lock arms with them in helping bring diverse Lgbtq stories to Hollywood’s attention.
The curated list includes scripts about trans youth, HIV and AIDS, and Lgbtq icon Bayard Rustin. The scripts on The GLAAD List represent the type of stories that GLAAD would like to see studios producing.
“There is no more reputable source for discovering quality scripts in Hollywood than The Black List,” said Jeremy Blacklow, GLAAD’s Director of Entertainment Media. “The Black List’s commitment to elevating marginalized voices in the film industry is unparalleled and GLAAD is excited to lock arms with them in helping bring diverse Lgbtq stories to Hollywood’s attention.
- 1/27/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
After whittling down a list from more than 1,200 applicants, The Black List has the seven screenwriters to participate in its fifth annual Feature Writers Lab.
The writers, none of whom has made more than $100K in their writing careers, and their scripts are:
Amber Alexander, Juniper’s Point
Chris Basler, The Enclosed
Ryan Jow, Windfall
Halia Meguid, Monsters of Philsdelphia
Cody Newton, American Patriot
Kim & Mai Spurlock, The Breakline
All seven writers will participate in a residential workshop from August 5-11 in Manhattan Beach, CA, Each writer will workshop one screenplay through peer workshops and one-on-one sessions with working professional screenwriting mentors. They also will attend a series of events and screenings that will further expose them to the realities of a life as a professional screenwriter.
Read their official bios below.
The Black List today also named its 2018 Feature Writers Lab mentors:
Max Borenstein (Kong: Skull Island)
Phil Hay...
The writers, none of whom has made more than $100K in their writing careers, and their scripts are:
Amber Alexander, Juniper’s Point
Chris Basler, The Enclosed
Ryan Jow, Windfall
Halia Meguid, Monsters of Philsdelphia
Cody Newton, American Patriot
Kim & Mai Spurlock, The Breakline
All seven writers will participate in a residential workshop from August 5-11 in Manhattan Beach, CA, Each writer will workshop one screenplay through peer workshops and one-on-one sessions with working professional screenwriting mentors. They also will attend a series of events and screenings that will further expose them to the realities of a life as a professional screenwriter.
Read their official bios below.
The Black List today also named its 2018 Feature Writers Lab mentors:
Max Borenstein (Kong: Skull Island)
Phil Hay...
- 8/2/2018
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Atx and The Black List partnered with Bad Robot, Carlton Cuse Productions, FX, Sony and USA Network on a new writing program, designed to find TV writers for staffing consideration across participating networks, studios and production companies.
The contest, which was announced this January, drew over 1,000 applicants. 16 winning scribes have been selected.
To be considered, writers had to submit their original pilots to The Black List’s website. The strongest pieces — both half-hour and hourlong content — were shared with studios, networks and production companies that were tasked with choosing writers with whom they’d like to work.
This year marks the inaugural contest for the Austin-based television festival, which kicks off today.
“Atx Television Festival strives to support TV writers — both established and up-and-comers — not just through the festival itself, and our year-round programming, but through key partnerships such as this with The Black List, so we thought this was...
The contest, which was announced this January, drew over 1,000 applicants. 16 winning scribes have been selected.
To be considered, writers had to submit their original pilots to The Black List’s website. The strongest pieces — both half-hour and hourlong content — were shared with studios, networks and production companies that were tasked with choosing writers with whom they’d like to work.
This year marks the inaugural contest for the Austin-based television festival, which kicks off today.
“Atx Television Festival strives to support TV writers — both established and up-and-comers — not just through the festival itself, and our year-round programming, but through key partnerships such as this with The Black List, so we thought this was...
- 6/9/2016
- by Elizabeth Wagmeister
- Variety Film + TV
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