All posts by Priority Pictures

DEADLINE EXCLUSIVE: Priority Pictures, the production company of Emmy-winning producers Lizzie Friedman, Karen Lauder, and Greg Little, has optioned Douglas Brunt‘s NYT bestseller The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel and will develop it for the screen, Deadline has learned. It’s not clear at this point whether the adaptation will be for film or TV.

Also recently named a Best of 2023 Staff Pick by Apple Books, The Mysterious Case tells the true story of Rudolf Diesel, one of history’s greatest inventors, who vanished into thin air on the eve of World War I. His revolutionary invention, the Diesel engine, was highly sought after by global industries and political figures around the world. It had the power to threaten empires and change the fate of nations, turning him and his technology into both a prized asset and a potential threat.

Read more

DEADLINE EXCLUSIVE: Vertical has picked up rights to the crime thriller Mother’s Milk, directed by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte (As You Are), with plans to distribute it in North America, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The film in which two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby) stars opposite Olivia Cooke (House of the Dragon) and Jack Reynor (Midsommar) will hit theaters across North America beginning September 1, debuting in the other territories shortly thereafter.

Written by Joris-Peyrafitte and Madison Harrison, Mother’s Milk follows journalist Marissa Bennings (Swank) who, after the murder of her estranged son, forms an unlikely alliance with his pregnant girlfriend Paige (Cooke) to track down those responsible for his death. Together they confront a world of corruption and drugs in the underbelly of a small city in upstate New York. And as they get closer to the truth, they unearth an even darker secret.

Read more

DEADLINE EXCLUSIVE: Dear Zoe, a drama film starring Sadie Sink (Stranger Things), has been acquired by Byron Allen’s Freestyle Digital Media and is set to be released in select theaters and on demand beginning November 4, 2022.

Adapted from Philip Beard’s award-winning novel, Dear Zoe, with a screenplay by Marc Lhormer and Melissa Martin, the feature film is directed by Gren Wells and is produced by Zin Haze Productions’ Brenda Lhormer and Marc Lhormer.       

Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy), Jessica Capshaw (Grey’s Anatomy), Justin Bartha (The Hangover), Vivien Lyra Blair (Obi-Wan Kenobi), and rapper, songwriter, and producer Kweku Collins, round out the cast.

Read more

Hilary Swank (“Million Dollar Baby”), Jack Reynor (“Midsommar”) and Olivia Cooke (“House of the Dragons”) are set to star in the upcoming opioid-themed thriller “Mother’s Milk.”

The film, which recently wrapped production in New York, comes from director Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, who co-wrote the script with Madison Harrison. Prior credits from the director include Sundance Special Jury Prize winner “As You Are,” and the Margot Robbie-starring “Dreamland.” Aside from the three leads, additional cast includes Dilone, Hopper Penn, Norm Lewis and Karen Aldridge.

Read more

The announcement of the Sundance 2016 lineup coincides with a flurry of awards buzz for titles from this year’s edition, such as “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” “The End of the Tour,” “Mississippi Grind” and “99 Homes.”

Read more

THE LAND tells the story of four teenage boys who devote their summer to escaping the streets of Cleveland, Ohio to pursue a dream life of professional skateboarding. But when they get caught in the web of the local Queen-pin, their motley brotherhood is tested, threatening to make this summer their last.

Read more

He’ll also produce the soundtrack to the film from Priority Pictures, Low Spark Films and Charles D. King’s MACRO. Famed rapper Nas has come on to executive produce Steven Caple Jr.’s The Land,” for which he’ll also produce the soundtrack. The film will debut in the NEXT section at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

Read more