Berlin 2012: Tele-Munchen Group Snares 'Beautiful Creatures'

BERLIN -- In one of the biggest deals so far at the European Film Market, Herbert Kloiber’s Tele-Munchen Group has picked up German rights to Beautiful Creatures, the supernatural coming-of-age project billed as the next Twilight or Hunger Games.

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Richard LaGravanese is writing and directing the adaptation of the best-selling young adult novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl for Alcon. The plot revolves around two star-crossed teens -- an ordinary local boy and a mysterious new girl -- who together uncover dark secrets about their town, their history and their families. Summit is selling the project internationally in Berlin.

Emma Thompson has just joined the Beautiful Creatures cast, set to play the dual role of Mrs. Lincoln, who is a small-town religious firebrand, and Sarafine, who is the dark witch who possesses her. Thompson joins Viola Davis, the first actress cast for the film. The other actors are relative newcomers, including leads Jack O’Connell and Alice Englert.

Alcon’s Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove are producing, as are Erwin Stoff and Molly Smith. Warner Bros. will release Beautiful Creatures domestically through its output deal with Alcon.

Tele-Munchen Group outbid all German competitors for Beautiful Creatures. Exact figures were hard to come by, but most estimates put the TMG price tag at high seven figures, with $8 million the best-educated guess.

TMG has released the Twilight films in Germany to massive success. The vampire franchise has helped make TMG’s distribution arm Concorde the territory’s leading independent for the past two years. With Beautiful Creatures, TMG is hoping it has a similar teen-driven blockbuster on its hands.