Cannes: Bleecker Street Nabs Hemingway Adaptation ‘Across the River and Into the Trees,’ Starring Liev Schreiber, Josh Hutcherson

Bleecker Street has secured the North American rights to Across the River and Into the Trees from award-winning director Paula Ortiz (The Bride), which stars Liev Schreiber (Spotlight, Ray Donovan), Matilda De Angelis (The Undoing, Rose Island), Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right, The Hunger Games), and Danny Huston (The Aviator, Succession).

The screenplay adaptation was written by BAFTA winner Peter Flannery (The Devil’s Mistress). Bleecker Street is planning a fall theatrical release. 

Set in post-WWII Italy, American army colonel Richard Cantwell (Schreiber), haunted by the war, is a bona fide hero who faces news of his illness with stoic disregard. Determined to spend a weekend in quiet solitude, he commandeers a military driver to facilitate a visit to his old haunts in Venice. As Cantwell’s plans begin to unravel, a chance encounter with a remarkable young woman begins to rekindle in him the hope of renewal. Based on the last full-length novel Ernest Hemingway published in his lifetime, Across the River and Into the Trees captures a fleeting moment of immortality where time stands still. 

The film is produced by Robert MacLean and Michael Paletta for Tribune Pictures, alongside John Smallcombe, Kirstin Roegner, Ken Gord, as well as Spring Era Films’ Jianmin LV and Daxing Zhang. Executive producers include William J. Immerman, Laura Paletta, David Beckingham, Justin Raikes, Simon Fawcett, Jonathan Taylor, Hani Musleh, Harel Goldstein and Rick Romano. Andrea Biscaro is the Italian line producer. The deal was brokered by Kent Sanderson and Avy Eschenasy on behalf of Bleecker Street, with Brian O’Shea of The Exchange and UTA Independent Film Group for the filmmakers.