Today, global IP incubator and storytelling studio Vespucci announces the launch of a new podcast commissioning fund which will produce ten original podcast series over the next two years.
Since the company was founded, Vespucci has created a slate of chart-topping, critically acclaimed podcasts and documentaries for Showtime, Audible, Spotify, Wondery, CBC, Imperative Entertainment, Blumhouse, Sony, and Podimo amongst others. Recent highlights include documentary feature 2nd Chance (Variety: “The best Errol Morris movie that Errol Morris never made”), and podcasts Operation Morning Light, The Paddlefish Caviar Heist, Bad Money (Mashable’s Best Podcasts Of 2022), The Cost Of Happiness, Bonaparte (New York Magazine: “Evocative storytelling throughout”) and Radioman starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
Harnessing the company’s storytelling expertise, Vespucci’s new commissioning fund will finance a slate of original podcasts which are character-driven, cinematically rich and ripe for audio-visual adaptation. Leveraging Vespucci’s global network of journalists, these stories will be specifically...
Since the company was founded, Vespucci has created a slate of chart-topping, critically acclaimed podcasts and documentaries for Showtime, Audible, Spotify, Wondery, CBC, Imperative Entertainment, Blumhouse, Sony, and Podimo amongst others. Recent highlights include documentary feature 2nd Chance (Variety: “The best Errol Morris movie that Errol Morris never made”), and podcasts Operation Morning Light, The Paddlefish Caviar Heist, Bad Money (Mashable’s Best Podcasts Of 2022), The Cost Of Happiness, Bonaparte (New York Magazine: “Evocative storytelling throughout”) and Radioman starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
Harnessing the company’s storytelling expertise, Vespucci’s new commissioning fund will finance a slate of original podcasts which are character-driven, cinematically rich and ripe for audio-visual adaptation. Leveraging Vespucci’s global network of journalists, these stories will be specifically...
- 4/26/2023
- Podnews.net
Exclusive: Vespucci, the company behind audio series such as Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s Radioman, has launched a new podcast commissioning fund and has set a number of projects.
The company, which is also behind Showtime documentary 2nd Chance, is launching One Click: Ashley Madison, hosted by Elle Fanning and Space Cadets, about a controversial British reality show that tricked people into thinking they were going into space, as the first two shows from the fund.
The fund, which moves Vespucci into originals, after partnering with the likes of Audible and Spotify, will produce ten series over the next two years.
One Click: Ashley Madison tells the inside story of the 2015 Ashley Madison hack that exposed tens of thousands of cheating spouses. It features access to the company, and users whose lives were turned upside down by the leak. It is the follow up to Fanning-hosted One Click, about a wonder diet pill.
The company, which is also behind Showtime documentary 2nd Chance, is launching One Click: Ashley Madison, hosted by Elle Fanning and Space Cadets, about a controversial British reality show that tricked people into thinking they were going into space, as the first two shows from the fund.
The fund, which moves Vespucci into originals, after partnering with the likes of Audible and Spotify, will produce ten series over the next two years.
One Click: Ashley Madison tells the inside story of the 2015 Ashley Madison hack that exposed tens of thousands of cheating spouses. It features access to the company, and users whose lives were turned upside down by the leak. It is the follow up to Fanning-hosted One Click, about a wonder diet pill.
- 4/25/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Jurnee Smollett is behind a new audio series based on the true story of a group of sex workers coerced by their pimp to become burglars.
The series is for Vespucci’s Paperless, an audio magazine that has previously launched series narrated by the likes of Steve Buscemi and Elle Fanning.
Audio series continue to be a goldmine for Hollywood and, as such Vespucci’s Paperless has signed with management company and producer Entertainment 360 to exploit such material.
Lovecraft Country star Smollett is narrating and producing The Starlet Bandits, written by Lexi Pandell, which tells the story of a group of women, all clothed in the same uniform – a baggy sweatshirt and large sunglasses – who committed a string of bank robberies across Los Angeles, stealing thousands of dollars, in the early 2010s. It is told in two parts.
Vespucci, which is behind podcasts such as Spotify’s Revelations and Showtime doc 2nd Chance,...
The series is for Vespucci’s Paperless, an audio magazine that has previously launched series narrated by the likes of Steve Buscemi and Elle Fanning.
Audio series continue to be a goldmine for Hollywood and, as such Vespucci’s Paperless has signed with management company and producer Entertainment 360 to exploit such material.
Lovecraft Country star Smollett is narrating and producing The Starlet Bandits, written by Lexi Pandell, which tells the story of a group of women, all clothed in the same uniform – a baggy sweatshirt and large sunglasses – who committed a string of bank robberies across Los Angeles, stealing thousands of dollars, in the early 2010s. It is told in two parts.
Vespucci, which is behind podcasts such as Spotify’s Revelations and Showtime doc 2nd Chance,...
- 4/7/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
When Ramin Bahrani came on board to direct “2nd Chance,” about Richard Davis, the project’s producers, Johnny Galvin and Daniel M. Turcan had a much different idea as to what it was going to be. “When I saw the material and the archives of Richard, they wanted to make a fiction film and I said that this is, to me, very interesting as a documentary. I had done two short docs but never a feature doc,” he tells Gold Derby during our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video interview above).
Even with Davis already on board, Bahrani made sure to communicate to his son Matt about what he envisioned for the movie. “I let Matt know I am not coming there to make a vanity film about his father, but I’m also not coming there to do a takedown movie. I hoped his father would be truthful and honest and open about things.
Even with Davis already on board, Bahrani made sure to communicate to his son Matt about what he envisioned for the movie. “I let Matt know I am not coming there to make a vanity film about his father, but I’m also not coming there to do a takedown movie. I hoped his father would be truthful and honest and open about things.
- 12/7/2022
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
The true American dream? A former Marine turned bankrupt pizzeria owner invents the modern-day bulletproof vest, and to prove its functionality, he shoots himself almost 200 times.
Sundance documentary “2nd Chance” is directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ramin Bahrani and charts the rise and fall of Richard Davis, the creator of the bulletproof vest. A hero to police and the military until tragedy brought him down, Davis offers an American story of guns, violence, lies and self-deception, the official synopsis reads. Starting back in the 1970s, Davis was viewed as an eccentric revolutionary whose decades-spanning career in weaponry culminated in self-taped videos (“Second Chance vs. Magnum Force” was already featured on RedLetterMedia’s “Best of the Worst”) and the pursuit of larger-than-life celebrity, especially among police.
“Initially when I had heard about it, I thought it was going to be a typical rise and fall story that had a moral,” writer-director Bahrani told IndieWire earlier this year.
Sundance documentary “2nd Chance” is directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ramin Bahrani and charts the rise and fall of Richard Davis, the creator of the bulletproof vest. A hero to police and the military until tragedy brought him down, Davis offers an American story of guns, violence, lies and self-deception, the official synopsis reads. Starting back in the 1970s, Davis was viewed as an eccentric revolutionary whose decades-spanning career in weaponry culminated in self-taped videos (“Second Chance vs. Magnum Force” was already featured on RedLetterMedia’s “Best of the Worst”) and the pursuit of larger-than-life celebrity, especially among police.
“Initially when I had heard about it, I thought it was going to be a typical rise and fall story that had a moral,” writer-director Bahrani told IndieWire earlier this year.
- 11/8/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Showtime Documentary Films and Bleecker Street will release “2nd Chance,” an upcoming documentary from director Ramin Bahrani, in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, Dec. 2. The film will expand to additional cities on Dec. 9. Showtime will offer the doc on air, on streaming and on demand for its subscribers in spring 2023.
Bahrani’s feature-length documentary debut explores the life and legacy of Richard Davis, the charming and brash inventor of the modern-day, kevlar bulletproof vest, who shot himself 192 times to prove his product worked. Davis, who parlayed his self-tested invention into the launch of Second Chance — which became one of the largest body armor companies in the world — offers an American story of guns, violence, lies and self-deception. The death of a police officer wearing a Second Chance vest spearheaded Davis’ fall.
“I’m very happy to work with Showtime and Bleeker Street for the release,” said Bahrani.
Bahrani’s feature-length documentary debut explores the life and legacy of Richard Davis, the charming and brash inventor of the modern-day, kevlar bulletproof vest, who shot himself 192 times to prove his product worked. Davis, who parlayed his self-tested invention into the launch of Second Chance — which became one of the largest body armor companies in the world — offers an American story of guns, violence, lies and self-deception. The death of a police officer wearing a Second Chance vest spearheaded Davis’ fall.
“I’m very happy to work with Showtime and Bleeker Street for the release,” said Bahrani.
- 10/27/2022
- by EJ Panaligan
- Variety Film + TV
Showtime Documentary Films is partnering with Bleecker Street to give Ramin Bahrani’s Sundance darling “2nd Chance” a theatrical release later this year ahead of its debut on Showtime next spring.
“2nd Chance” is “The White Tiger” and “Chop Shop” filmmaker’s feature-length documentary debut and tells the story of Richard Davis, the man who invented the modern-day bulletproof vest and shot himself 192 times in order to prove to law enforcement and the military that his creation actually worked.
Bleecker will release the film in New York and Los Angeles beginning Friday, December 2; it will then expand to additional cities on Dec. 9, potentially thrusting it into the Oscar race. We do not yet have a Spring 2023 debut date from Showtime.
Bahrani in “2nd Chance” demonstrates that though Davis was a hero to police and the military, tragedy ultimately brought down his business empire following the death of a police officer...
“2nd Chance” is “The White Tiger” and “Chop Shop” filmmaker’s feature-length documentary debut and tells the story of Richard Davis, the man who invented the modern-day bulletproof vest and shot himself 192 times in order to prove to law enforcement and the military that his creation actually worked.
Bleecker will release the film in New York and Los Angeles beginning Friday, December 2; it will then expand to additional cities on Dec. 9, potentially thrusting it into the Oscar race. We do not yet have a Spring 2023 debut date from Showtime.
Bahrani in “2nd Chance” demonstrates that though Davis was a hero to police and the military, tragedy ultimately brought down his business empire following the death of a police officer...
- 10/27/2022
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Ramin Barhani’s 2nd Chance, the feature-length documentary that Showtime Documentary Films landed after its Sundance Film Festival premiere earlier this year, is now headed for theaters ahead of its TV debut next spring.
Showtime is teaming with Bleecker Street for the latter to release the pic beginning December 2 in New York and Los Angeles, before expanding it the following frame.
Related Story Showtime Takes Ramin Bahrani's Documentary '2nd Chance' – Sundance Related Story Bleecker Street Strikes Canadian Distribution Deal With LevelFILM As Toronto Gathers Steam Related Story Film Review: Regency-Era Rom-Com 'Mr. Malcolm's List'
The two companies already are in business together via a three-year output deal that began this year which gives Showtime access to Bleecker movies for on-air, on-demand and streaming premium services.
2nd Chance tells the story of Richard Davis, the charming yet brash inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest who shot himself...
Showtime is teaming with Bleecker Street for the latter to release the pic beginning December 2 in New York and Los Angeles, before expanding it the following frame.
Related Story Showtime Takes Ramin Bahrani's Documentary '2nd Chance' – Sundance Related Story Bleecker Street Strikes Canadian Distribution Deal With LevelFILM As Toronto Gathers Steam Related Story Film Review: Regency-Era Rom-Com 'Mr. Malcolm's List'
The two companies already are in business together via a three-year output deal that began this year which gives Showtime access to Bleecker movies for on-air, on-demand and streaming premium services.
2nd Chance tells the story of Richard Davis, the charming yet brash inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest who shot himself...
- 10/27/2022
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix takes Sundance doc ‘Descendant’, Warner Bros/HBO Max, Showtime, Mubi also in action (update)
Festival runs through January 30.
Updated January 29: Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to Participant’s Sundance documentary Descendant on Friday (28), which Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground will present alongside the streamer.
Showtime Documentary Films moved on Ramin Bahrani’s Sundance Premieres entry 2nd Chance and on Saturday Warner Bros and HBO Max took worldwide rights to Dakota Johnson drama Am I Ok? and Mubi picked up Free Choi Soo Lee.
Margaret Brown’s Descendant premiered in U.S. Documentary Competition and follows members of Africatown, a small community in Alabama, as they share their personal stories and community...
Updated January 29: Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to Participant’s Sundance documentary Descendant on Friday (28), which Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground will present alongside the streamer.
Showtime Documentary Films moved on Ramin Bahrani’s Sundance Premieres entry 2nd Chance and on Saturday Warner Bros and HBO Max took worldwide rights to Dakota Johnson drama Am I Ok? and Mubi picked up Free Choi Soo Lee.
Margaret Brown’s Descendant premiered in U.S. Documentary Competition and follows members of Africatown, a small community in Alabama, as they share their personal stories and community...
- 1/29/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Showtime Documentary Films has acquired the rights to “2nd Chance” out of Sundance, Ramin Bahrani’s documentary about the inventor of the bulletproof vest.
Bahrani’s film, his documentary feature debut, tracks the life of Richard Davis, who shot himself 192 times in demonstration of his invention’s safety. Showtime is planning a theatrical release of “2nd Chance” followed by a premiere on the network later this year heading into awards season.
Bahrani grapples with the pursuit of the American Dream, as he has done in many of his films, by juxtaposing the complexities of one man’s supposed virtue while speaking to the nature of power and impunity in America.
“2nd Chance” is written, directed and produced by Bahrani. Daniel Turcan and Johnny Galvin of Vespucci, Charles Dorfman and Jacob Grodnik also serve as producers. The film is executive produced by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer, Myles Estey, Bahareh Azimi and Marlon Vogelgesang.
Bahrani’s film, his documentary feature debut, tracks the life of Richard Davis, who shot himself 192 times in demonstration of his invention’s safety. Showtime is planning a theatrical release of “2nd Chance” followed by a premiere on the network later this year heading into awards season.
Bahrani grapples with the pursuit of the American Dream, as he has done in many of his films, by juxtaposing the complexities of one man’s supposed virtue while speaking to the nature of power and impunity in America.
“2nd Chance” is written, directed and produced by Bahrani. Daniel Turcan and Johnny Galvin of Vespucci, Charles Dorfman and Jacob Grodnik also serve as producers. The film is executive produced by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer, Myles Estey, Bahareh Azimi and Marlon Vogelgesang.
- 1/29/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Two deals on Friday follow Focus’ worldwide buy on Brian And Charles, IFC/Shudder acquisition of Resurrection.
Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to Participant’s Sundance documentary Descendant which Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground will present alongside the streamer.
Margaret Brown’s film premiered in U.S. Documentary Competition and follows members of Africatown, a small community in Alabama, as they share their personal stories and community history as descendants of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to illegally transport human beings as cargo from Africa to America.
The ship’s existence, a centuries-old open secret, is...
Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to Participant’s Sundance documentary Descendant which Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground will present alongside the streamer.
Margaret Brown’s film premiered in U.S. Documentary Competition and follows members of Africatown, a small community in Alabama, as they share their personal stories and community history as descendants of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to illegally transport human beings as cargo from Africa to America.
The ship’s existence, a centuries-old open secret, is...
- 1/29/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Two deals on Friday follow Focus’ worldwide buy on Brian And Charles, IFC/Shudder acquisition of Resurrection.
Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to Participant’s Sundance documentary Descendant which Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground will present alongside the streamer.
Margaret Brown’s film premiered in U.S. Documentary Competition and follows members of Africatown, a small community in Alabama, as they share their personal stories and community history as descendants of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to illegally transport human beings as cargo from Africa to America.
The ship’s existence, a centuries-old open secret, is...
Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to Participant’s Sundance documentary Descendant which Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground will present alongside the streamer.
Margaret Brown’s film premiered in U.S. Documentary Competition and follows members of Africatown, a small community in Alabama, as they share their personal stories and community history as descendants of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to illegally transport human beings as cargo from Africa to America.
The ship’s existence, a centuries-old open secret, is...
- 1/29/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
WME Independent to launch international sales at the upcoming EFM.
Showtime Documentary Films has acquired North American rights to Ramin Bahrani’s Sundance Premieres entry 2nd Chance and plans a theatrical release ahead of the network premiere later this year leading into awards season.
‘2nd Chance’: Sundance Review
WME Independent will launch international sales at the upcoming EFM on Bahrani’s latest film about the life and legacy of Richard Davis, inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest who shot himself 192 times to prove his product worked.
Bahrani, Daniel Turcan and Johnny Galvin of Vespucci, Charles Dorfman and Jacob Grodnik served as producers.
Showtime Documentary Films has acquired North American rights to Ramin Bahrani’s Sundance Premieres entry 2nd Chance and plans a theatrical release ahead of the network premiere later this year leading into awards season.
‘2nd Chance’: Sundance Review
WME Independent will launch international sales at the upcoming EFM on Bahrani’s latest film about the life and legacy of Richard Davis, inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest who shot himself 192 times to prove his product worked.
Bahrani, Daniel Turcan and Johnny Galvin of Vespucci, Charles Dorfman and Jacob Grodnik served as producers.
- 1/29/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Showtime Documentary Films has acquired “2nd Chance,” about the life and legacy of Richard Davis, from director and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Ramin Bahrani.
The feature length-documentary centers on Davis, the charming and brash inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest, who shot himself 192 times to prove his product worked.
“Richard Davis is a fascinating documentary subject whose character reveals a deeper metaphor for America today,” said Bahrani. “I am very thankful to the producers and entire filmmaking team for being part of such a thought provoking and timely film. We are thrilled to partner with Showtime and look forward to bringing ‘2nd Chance’ to audiences.”
Written, directed, and produced by Bahrani, “2nd Chance” is produced by Daniel Turcan & Johnny Galvin of Vespucci, Charles Dorfman and Jacob Grodnik. The film is executive produced by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer, Myles Estey, Bahareh Azimi and Marlon Vogelgesang. Endeavor Content and Samuel Marshall Films produced and financed the film.
The feature length-documentary centers on Davis, the charming and brash inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest, who shot himself 192 times to prove his product worked.
“Richard Davis is a fascinating documentary subject whose character reveals a deeper metaphor for America today,” said Bahrani. “I am very thankful to the producers and entire filmmaking team for being part of such a thought provoking and timely film. We are thrilled to partner with Showtime and look forward to bringing ‘2nd Chance’ to audiences.”
Written, directed, and produced by Bahrani, “2nd Chance” is produced by Daniel Turcan & Johnny Galvin of Vespucci, Charles Dorfman and Jacob Grodnik. The film is executive produced by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer, Myles Estey, Bahareh Azimi and Marlon Vogelgesang. Endeavor Content and Samuel Marshall Films produced and financed the film.
- 1/29/2022
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Showtime Documentary Films has acquired North American rights to the Sundance Film Festival documentary 2nd Chance, from director and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Ramin Bahrani.
Bahrani’s feature-length documentary debut, is an exploration of the life and legacy of Richard Davis, the charming and brash inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest who shot himself 192 times to prove his product worked. The film juxtaposes Davis’ actions with those of his righteous right-hand man, Aaron Westrick. Unwilling to passively present questionable truths, Bahrani instead lays bare the complexities of one man’s supposed virtue while speaking to the nature of power and impunity in America.
The pay cable channel is planning a theatrical release ahead of a network premiere later his year, leading into awards season.
Pic is written, directed, and produced by Bahrani. Daniel Turcan & Johnny Galvin of Vespucci, Charles Dorfman and Jacob Grodnik also serve as producers. The film is executive produced...
Bahrani’s feature-length documentary debut, is an exploration of the life and legacy of Richard Davis, the charming and brash inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest who shot himself 192 times to prove his product worked. The film juxtaposes Davis’ actions with those of his righteous right-hand man, Aaron Westrick. Unwilling to passively present questionable truths, Bahrani instead lays bare the complexities of one man’s supposed virtue while speaking to the nature of power and impunity in America.
The pay cable channel is planning a theatrical release ahead of a network premiere later his year, leading into awards season.
Pic is written, directed, and produced by Bahrani. Daniel Turcan & Johnny Galvin of Vespucci, Charles Dorfman and Jacob Grodnik also serve as producers. The film is executive produced...
- 1/29/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
A doomsday cult in Northern California known by wine lovers for their vintage is set to be the subject of a new podcast series from Blumhouse Television and Vespucci.
Spotify will launch Revelations, which premieres on October 3, hosted by The Gateway’s Jennings Brown.
The six-part series tells the story of the Fellowship of Friends, which was founded by Robert Earl Burton, an East Bay schoolteacher who began preaching out of a van in Berkeley in the 1960s before founding the fellowship in 197- and building it up to around 2,500 members.
The group ran the successful Renaissance Vineyard and Winery between 1982 and 2015.
The series comes from Spotify’s Parcast, created in partnership with Blumhouse Television and Vespucci, the company behind Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s Mask of Sanity audio series and Mamoudou Athie’s Chighali. Gilded Audio also produces.
“The echos of Nxivm in Revelations are sadly all too familiar, and make...
Spotify will launch Revelations, which premieres on October 3, hosted by The Gateway’s Jennings Brown.
The six-part series tells the story of the Fellowship of Friends, which was founded by Robert Earl Burton, an East Bay schoolteacher who began preaching out of a van in Berkeley in the 1960s before founding the fellowship in 197- and building it up to around 2,500 members.
The group ran the successful Renaissance Vineyard and Winery between 1982 and 2015.
The series comes from Spotify’s Parcast, created in partnership with Blumhouse Television and Vespucci, the company behind Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s Mask of Sanity audio series and Mamoudou Athie’s Chighali. Gilded Audio also produces.
“The echos of Nxivm in Revelations are sadly all too familiar, and make...
- 10/1/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Matt Taibbi’s “Hate Inc.: Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another” has been optioned by Vespucci, a media company that has made a practice of teaming up with journalists on movies, shows and podcasts.
Vespucci partnered with Charles Dorfman’s production company Samuel Marshall Films to option the rights to the non-fiction book. The plan is to develop “Hate Inc.” into a feature documentary. The company is still looking to attach a director.
“Hate Inc.” is a trenchant look at the changing media landscape, examining the ways that cable news and other platforms have turned reporting into entertainment and deepened the political divide. It also explores the mistakes that certain members of the media made while reporting on everything from Wmd in Iraq to the Mueller Report. The book was partly inspired by Noam Chomsky’s “Manufacturing Consent,” which looked at the ways that market forces and self-censorship skew media coverage.
Vespucci partnered with Charles Dorfman’s production company Samuel Marshall Films to option the rights to the non-fiction book. The plan is to develop “Hate Inc.” into a feature documentary. The company is still looking to attach a director.
“Hate Inc.” is a trenchant look at the changing media landscape, examining the ways that cable news and other platforms have turned reporting into entertainment and deepened the political divide. It also explores the mistakes that certain members of the media made while reporting on everything from Wmd in Iraq to the Mueller Report. The book was partly inspired by Noam Chomsky’s “Manufacturing Consent,” which looked at the ways that market forces and self-censorship skew media coverage.
- 5/6/2021
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Amazon’s Audible, The Man in the High Castle producer Big Light Productions and Vespucci have teamed up to develop a slate of podcasts with a scripted series starring Game of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as one of its first projects.
Coster-Waldau will star in Mask of Sanity, a serial killer story based on a true story from Bulgarian journalist, Dimiter Kenarov.
Mask of Sanity, which Coster-Waldau will co-produce via his Ill Kippers Productions banner, with producing partner and series writer Joe Derrick, follows the story of a journalist reporting on a serial killer, but with a secret of his own. Ill Kippers’ Vice President Jeffrey Chassen will also serve as co-producer.
The series will be joined by Killer Book Club, a documentary true crime thriller exploring the much-covered case of British private school teacher and novelist Peter Farquhar who was murdered by church warden Benjamin Field, his much younger lover and former student.
Coster-Waldau will star in Mask of Sanity, a serial killer story based on a true story from Bulgarian journalist, Dimiter Kenarov.
Mask of Sanity, which Coster-Waldau will co-produce via his Ill Kippers Productions banner, with producing partner and series writer Joe Derrick, follows the story of a journalist reporting on a serial killer, but with a secret of his own. Ill Kippers’ Vice President Jeffrey Chassen will also serve as co-producer.
The series will be joined by Killer Book Club, a documentary true crime thriller exploring the much-covered case of British private school teacher and novelist Peter Farquhar who was murdered by church warden Benjamin Field, his much younger lover and former student.
- 4/15/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Mamoudou Athie, star of breakout feature film Patti Cake$, is to star in and produce a feature film set in the Sahara Desert.
Athie, who is also set to star in Jurassic Park: Dominion, has teamed up with Vespucci Group to develop Chighali, a project based in Mauritania, the North African country where he is from. It is based on an audio story, produced by Vespucci, and written by journalist Sahar Zand.
The story follows Sidi, whose first memories including camels, sand storms, scorpions, and sand dunes towering like buildings. Raised in a nomadic tribe on the far edge of the Sahara desert, Sidi doesn’t have a father like the other kids. He dreams of meeting him, even after his mom explains he’s gone away to heaven, a journey from which he won’t return. When Sidi discovers that many years ago a foreign documentary crew had visited the tribe,...
Athie, who is also set to star in Jurassic Park: Dominion, has teamed up with Vespucci Group to develop Chighali, a project based in Mauritania, the North African country where he is from. It is based on an audio story, produced by Vespucci, and written by journalist Sahar Zand.
The story follows Sidi, whose first memories including camels, sand storms, scorpions, and sand dunes towering like buildings. Raised in a nomadic tribe on the far edge of the Sahara desert, Sidi doesn’t have a father like the other kids. He dreams of meeting him, even after his mom explains he’s gone away to heaven, a journey from which he won’t return. When Sidi discovers that many years ago a foreign documentary crew had visited the tribe,...
- 2/18/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Zachary Quinto will star in and produce a scripted podcast series based on the story of a clandestine purge of gay students from the Harvard class of 1920.
The Star Trek actor is one of the voices of Secret Court, which comes 100 years after Harvard sophomore Cyril Wilcox took his own life.
The series is being written by The Artist’s Wife writer Abdi Nazemian and produced in partnership with Quinto’s Before The Door Pictures, Topic Studios, Vespucci Group, Spoke Media and writer Rafael Moraes.
Wilcox was part of a small group of gay male students, and his suicide led Harvard to instigate an impromptu and merciless Secret Court. It was led by the University’s then president and deans at the time, and condemned eight students, four “accomplices” and a handful of Cambridge locals. The ad-hoc court shamed and denounced these innocents as offenders, purging and erasing them...
The Star Trek actor is one of the voices of Secret Court, which comes 100 years after Harvard sophomore Cyril Wilcox took his own life.
The series is being written by The Artist’s Wife writer Abdi Nazemian and produced in partnership with Quinto’s Before The Door Pictures, Topic Studios, Vespucci Group, Spoke Media and writer Rafael Moraes.
Wilcox was part of a small group of gay male students, and his suicide led Harvard to instigate an impromptu and merciless Secret Court. It was led by the University’s then president and deans at the time, and condemned eight students, four “accomplices” and a handful of Cambridge locals. The ad-hoc court shamed and denounced these innocents as offenders, purging and erasing them...
- 12/21/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s a tough time to be a journalist.
Digital upstarts are faltering and newspapers are running on fumes. The freelance market for glossy magazines has dried up along with their ad sales. That’s left many top reporters looking for a way to support their work.
Enter the Vespucci Group. Founded by producers Daniel Turcan and Johnny Galvin, the three-year-old production company and incubator is helping to fill that gap by getting in on buzzy stories and penetrating investigative reports from their inception. In return for supporting journalists’ projects, the company gets the rights to develop their finished work as podcasts, television shows, streaming series or feature films.
“It’s a harmonious relationship,” says Galvin. “It’s no secret that journalism is under threat and reporters are underfunded. The core of our company is the relationships we have established with about 150 working journalists around the world.”
Since it was...
Digital upstarts are faltering and newspapers are running on fumes. The freelance market for glossy magazines has dried up along with their ad sales. That’s left many top reporters looking for a way to support their work.
Enter the Vespucci Group. Founded by producers Daniel Turcan and Johnny Galvin, the three-year-old production company and incubator is helping to fill that gap by getting in on buzzy stories and penetrating investigative reports from their inception. In return for supporting journalists’ projects, the company gets the rights to develop their finished work as podcasts, television shows, streaming series or feature films.
“It’s a harmonious relationship,” says Galvin. “It’s no secret that journalism is under threat and reporters are underfunded. The core of our company is the relationships we have established with about 150 working journalists around the world.”
Since it was...
- 12/17/2020
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
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