BLOOM, a sales, production and financing outfit, announced it will launch international sales on Julius Onah’s (The Cloverfield Paradox) next film, Luce, at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.
The dramatic thriller stars Octavia Spencer, Naomi Watts, Tim Roth and Kelvin Harrison Jr.
The film follows Luce Edgar (Harrison Jr.), a model student, track star and champion debater. He’s everything a high school senior aspires to be, much to the relief of his adoring parents (Watts & Roth) who adopted him from an unnamed war-torn African nation. Thankfully, the violent trauma of Luce’s upbringing is in the distant past. Or is it? Luce’s teacher, Harriet (Spencer) believes he represents a symbol of black excellence setting a positive example for his peers; however, everything is put into question after Harriet discovers that Luce wrote a well-researched paper littered with disturbing statements about political violence. Eager to protect her star pupil, Harriet investigates, but her discoveries force Luce’s parents to question their assumptions of who their adopted child really is and set a chain of events in motion that will change everyone’s lives forever.
“Luce is a captivating story that constantly has the audience on its toes – a social chess match that is timely and internationally relevant. Julius Onah is a talent we have great belief in and he has assembled an amazing cast to portray this story, we are excited to discuss with our partners in Cannes,” says BLOOM’s President of International Sales Kristen Figeroid.
Based on J.C. Lee’s play, the script was written by Lee and Onah. John Baker, Onah and Andrew Yang are producing with Eric Ro co-producing. The Dream Factory Group’s Rob Feng, Amber Wang and Lee serve as executive producers. CAA and Endeavor Content are co-repping domestic rights on Luce, which is currently in post-production.
At Cannes, BLOOM will also be selling Dee Rees’ The Last Thing He Wanted, an adaptation of Joan Didion’s best-selling 1996 political thriller of the same name, about a Washington Post journalist thrown unexpectedly into the dangerous world of arms dealing.
Anne Hathaway is attached to star in the film with Marco Villalobos penning the screenplay.
Producer Cassian Elwes optioned the novel to develop it in partnership with Rees following their collaboration on Mudbound, which received four Oscar nominations, including one for Rees for best adapted screenplay.
BLOOM represents and curates a diversified slate of films ranging from commercial, talent-driven, wide release movies to specialty films from proven and trusted filmmakers, all the while keeping an eye towards fresh and emerging talent.
The company will also head to Cannes with David Sandberg’s Kung Fury starring Michael Fassbender; Yuval Adler’s The Operative; Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation; Bill Holderman’s Book Club starring Diane Keaton and Jane Fonda; and Matthew Heineman’s A Private War starring Rosamund Pike.
