Germany's Egoli Tossell Join Ron Howard's 'Rush' as Co-Producers

5:05 PM PST 11/18/2011 by Scott Roxborough

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The period racing film features “Thor” star Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl of “Inglorious Basterds.”

COLOGNE, Germany – Egoli Tossell, the Berlin-based producers of medieval horror film Black Death and Oliver Assayas’ Golden Globe-winner Carlos, have joined Ron Howard’s Formula One racing film Rush as co-producers.

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Rush is set to begin principle photography in Germany in February. The screenplay by Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon), follows the rivalry and unexpected friendship between 70s Formula One racing stars Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) and James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth).

Brian Oliver’s Cross Creek Pictures, Exclusive Media Group and Howard and Brian Grazer’s production shingle Imagine Entertainment are producing together with Morgan and Eric Fellner of London’s Working Title. Rush is being set up as a British-German co-production between Michael Winterbottom and Andrew Eaton’s Revolution Films and Egoli Tossell. With a German producer on board, the film will qualify for German soft money, including lucrative state film subsidies and tax breaks.

Exclusive, which is handling international sales for Rush, locked up most of the world at the American Film Market earlier this month, closing deals with Universum/RTL for Germany, StudioCanal for England, Alliance Films for Canada and Aurum for Spain, among other deals. Howard’s home studio, Universal Pictures, will release the film in the U.S.

Earlier this year, Egoli Tossell filed for the German equivalent of Chapter 11 but a white knight in the form of Frankfurt-based financing group Film House Germany came to the rescue, taking a majority stake in the company and cash-flowing upcoming productions.

The Weinstein Company recently picked up domestic rights for the dramedy Song for Marion, starring Gemma Arterton, Vanessa Redgrave and Christopher Eccleston, which Egoli Tossell is co-producing with Britain’s Steel Mill Pictures.