SF Studios sets production start for Tom Hanks comedy A Man Called Otto
STX International and CAA Media Finance to launch sales in Berlin
Tom Hanks (Finch, Greyhound, Captain Philips) and director Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace, World War Z, Finding Neverland) are set to begin shooting on SF Studios’ life affirming comedy A Man Called Otto, adapted from Fredrik Backman’s 1# New York Times bestseller “A Man Called Ove” and the film of the same name, written and directed by Hannes Holm - with the titular character being renamed to reflect the shift to an American setting. The cast also includes Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo. Principal photography will commence in mid-February, 2022 on location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Forster will direct from a script written by two-time Oscar nominee David Magee (Finding Neverland, Life of Pi, Mary Poppins Returns), who will also executive produce. A Man Called Otto sees the pair reuniting for the first time following their successful collaboration on the acclaimed Finding Neverland. Fredrik Wikström Nicastro (A Man Called Ove, Borg vs McEnroe) of SF Studios is producing the film with Rita Wilson (Mamma Mia!, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2), and Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman. Marc Forster and Renée Wolfe will serve as Executive Producers via their production company 2DUX2 (WWZ, Christopher Robin). SF Studios is also fully financing the project.
STXinternational is handling international sales at the upcoming European Film Market. CAA Media Finance is representing US rights alongside Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler Feldman & Clark.
A Man Called Otto is a charming and heartwarming reflection on loss and love, based on the #1 New York Times bestselling novel "A Man Called Ove" which spent 77 consecutive weeks on the bestsellers’ list and sold over 7 million copies worldwide. SF Studios then successfully adapted the book into a Swedish film, written and directed by Hannes Holm, which was the highest-grossing foreign-language film in the U.S. in 2016, and went on to be nominated for two Academy Awards and won Best Comedy at the European Film Awards.
Otto (Tom Hanks) is a grumpy isolated widower with staunch principles, strict routines and a short fuse, who gives everyone in his neighborhood a hard time as he watches over it like a hawk. Just as it seems like he’s finally given up on life, an unlikely and reluctant friendship develops with his new neighbors. Little by little, Otto undergoes a subtle transformation…but is he really capable of change?
Forster is repped by WME. Hanks and Magee are repped by CAA.
For more information, please contact:
Fredrik Wikström Nicastro, SVP International Production, Fredrik.WikstromNicastro@sfstudios.se, +46 70 413 63 83
Malin Strihagen, Vice President Brand & Communications, Malin.Strihagen@sfstudios.se, +46 70 780 39 35
About SF Studios
For more than 100 years, SF Studios has been a leading Nordic film and TV studio that has produced some of cinema’s most iconic films and worked with some of the greatest talents in the industry, such as Ingmar Bergman, Ingrid Bergman and Greta Garbo. Today, SF Studios has operations in all of the Nordic countries and an international production unit based in the UK focusing on English language films for the international market. SF Studios’ expertise lies in producing and co-producing films and TV content that appeal to broad audiences around the world.
SF Studios’ operations also include distribution of content through cinemas and home entertainment and the digital streaming service SF Anytime. Alongside its own production operations including Paradox, SF Studios owns the production companies FLX, Filmkameratene and Motion Blur, and is part of the leading Nordic media company Bonnier.
About STXinternational
STXinternational, is a full-service international film distribution and financing company with direct distribution in UK and Ireland. Headquartered in London, the company has formalized an unrivalled network of key output deals with the major market leaders in 25 territories with a reach covering over 150 countries around the world. Embracing the unique opportunities in the international marketplace, the company recently closed an innovative and dynamic distribution output partnership with Amazon in the UK, France and Italy.
STXinternational’s successes include distributing both STXfilms’ productions and third party acquisitions, working with filmmakers including Ridley Scott, Guy Ritchie and Michael Mann, as well as producing partners like Toff Guys, Imperative/30West, Thunder Road, Black Label Media, Miramax, and Scott Free. In addition, STX International recently entered into an exclusive, multi-year international distribution output deal with leading independent production powerhouse, Black Bear Pictures. The STXinternational film slate includes: global box office hit Hustlers, the Bad Moms franchise, Greenland starring Gerard Butler, The Mauritanian starring Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim and Benedict Cumberbatch, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Jason Statham, Devotion directed by JD Dillard and starring Glen Powell and Jonathan Majors, and The Interpreter directed by Guy Ritche and starring Jake Gyllenhaal.
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