'Prisoners' Director Denis Villeneuve Closes Two-Year Deal With Alcon
Villeneuve's most recent feature was financed and produced by Alcon and stars Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Prisoners director Denis Villeneuve has signed a two-year overall deal with Alcon Entertainment.
Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson made the announcement Wednesday. The deal includes Villeneuve's writing and directing services over a two-year period, extendable by any period during which he is directing a film, either for Alcon or a third party. The parties are currently mulling several ideas.
Villeneuve's most recent feature, Prisoners, was financed and produced by Alcon and stars Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. The drama, about a family whose child goes missing, had a screening at the Telluride Film Festival. It will debut at the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 6. Warner Bros. releases it wide in the U.S. on Sept. 20. Producers are Johnson, Kosove, Kira Davis and Adam Kolbrenner.
Villeneuve's past work includes the Oscar-nominated French-language film Incendies, as well as Polytechnique and Maelstrom.
Alcon's next feature production is Wally Pfister's directorial debut Transcendence, with a star-studded cast including Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Rebecca Hall and Morgan Freeman. The sci-fi film hits theaters in April 2014.
Dave Fierson, head of business affairs and general counsel, negotiated the deal for Alcon.
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