Projects with status: Complete

Synopsis

When John Duigan was pitching his latest film to potential backers, he didn't need 25 words. Three would do: model in distress. Paranoid is the story of a fashion model hounded by anonymous phone calls who escapes for a romantic weekend with her boyfriend only to find herself stranded in a remote country house owned by a former singer, his wife and creepy younger brother. Events take on a sinister hue when she wakes up the following morning with her clothes in disarray and unable to leave the house, with the only hope of rescue coming from the mysterious caller. The film's transatlantic cast includes Jessica Alba, who recently headed the cast of James Cameron's television series Dark Angel, Iain Glen, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Ewen Bremner. Paranoid is the first film since Sirens that Duigan has directed from his own original screenplay. He describes the film as "much darker than my other films. I usually celebrate an individual's experience or personality, but here I am trying to get inside people's heads who would normally be dismissed as psychopathic. The characters are very rich and complex so the dark journey remains a realistic one. Most importantly to me, the film is about fantasy spreading into reality." Produced by Paul Trijbits, the film was backed by Sky Pictures and will be broadcast on Sky in the autumn. It has been sold to North America, Germany, Spain and several other European territories.

Synopsis

Chloe (Jessica Alba), a rising young fashion model, is anxious for a break from her hectic schedule and a series of unexplained, anonymous phonecalls. When her new boyfriend invites her to spend a weekend in the country with his former band members she jumps at the chance. The quiet weekend away rapidly degenerates following the unexpected arrival of Ned's wife, and Chloe is left stranded in a remote mansion owned by the enigmatic Stan (Iain Glen), his partner Rachel (Jeanee Tripplehorn) and younger brother Gordon (Ewen Bremner). Waking in the middle of the night in a strange bed, unsure whether she has been drugged, her worst fears are confirmed when she discovers a videotape. Trapped, miles from anywhere, Chloe finds the people she fears most become her allies, whilst those she trusts are the most dangerous of all. A classic Hitchcockian psychological thriller with a very contemporary twist.

Synopsis

Three linked comic vignettes set in London: three relationships; three confessions; three moments when your life could change forever...

Synopsis

A comedy centering on the 'love story' between a waitress and her excessively love-struck, but increasingly inarticulate customer.

Synopsis

Writer-director David Baker takes the lead alongside Alan McCafferty in a comedy caper about two down-at-heel actors who flee Glasgow for Hollywood and the promise of fame and fortune only to find their mates working as cleaners and living in a roadie bus. Setting off for Las Vegas in a last ditch attempt to make some money, they become embroiled in a plan to rob a casino, partly because they can pull off a tough hoodlum act. Before too long they are taking method acting one step too far as fact and fiction start to overlap with disastrous and hilarious results. Baker adopted an unusual approach to get his debut film financed. He shot a short promo reel on digital video in the real locations and with his chosen cast and in September last year took it to sales and production outfit Victor Film Co in London. "We took one look and realised immediately he knew what he was doing," says the company's Alasdair Waddell. "It was fast, fun, witty and had great performances, and David has brought all that to the full-length version." Victor Film teamed up with Christopher Figg at Noel Gay Motion Picture Co and they worked on the screenplay with Baker. Financing came from Metrodome Pictures and a syndicate of investors led by Angad Paul, who was also involved in Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels. By February the film was in production. The completed film is now being shown to US distributors and is due for UK release later this year.

Synopsis

Frank (Matthew Rhys) plays a college drop out who faces a summer of discontent. With his two close friends the boys pass the summer talking about girls, talking about chasing girls and, well, chasing girls. Kelly Reilly plays Cherry, the object of Frank's affections. Based on Nick Grosso's West End play, 'Peaches' is an hilarious snapshot of contemporary urban youth.

Synopsis

Nick Grosso's award-winning play Peaches, produced by the Royal Court in association with the National Theatre Studio in 1994, launched the career of one of Britain's most promising new playwrights. Grosso now dons the director's hat with this adaptation of the play for the big screen, an ordeal that took some six years to realise. Exploring the identity crisis afflicting so many young 1990s men, the story revolves around sex-obsessed Frank and his student friends. From a Leeds college bar to the pubs of North London, their emotional adventures are charted in the seemingly nonchalant and comically-hip language of confused and hapless twentysomethings. Frank's summer as a carefree slacker looks rosy until his best friend starts a job scheme. Then, when his other mate moves in with a girl and a college sweetheart tells him a big secret, Frank's world starts to spin out of control. The film was inspired by Grosso's own personal philosophy when, as a student, life "wasn't about work, but about getting up in the morning -- about chicks and babes. Work was just a distraction". Besides Grosso's status as a voice of his generation, the film's saleability rests on its two stars, Matthew Rhys and Kelly Reilly. The former is an up-and-comer whose credits include the soon-to-be-released Sorted and Titus, the latter was recently seen in Ben Elton's Maybe Baby, and both have starred alongside Kathleen Turner in the West End stage version of The Graduate. Shot with backing from a mix of private equity finance and the Irish Film Board, the film will be offered to agents and distributors in the autumn.

Synopsis

Two 'gangsters' plan the debacle and ruin of a number of successful celebrities whom they believe deserve disaster. A satirical film noir which highlights telling characteristics of the showbiz world.

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A sensitive and delicate account of dying love.

Synopsis

Like all the films produced by Peakviewing, Pets is an adventure intended for the whole family. Josh Grolman and Jenna Dover star as a brother and sister who get embroiled in a battle over a truck full of stolen gold bullion while their parents are meeting the bank manager in a last-ditch attempt to save their farm from foreclosure. The children call on the unlikeliest of allies -- their pets -- who club together to see off the crooks and save the day. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the film is that it was shot over just six weeks at the end of last year. That the film features a cast of talking live and animatronic animals makes that breakneck shooting schedule all the more remarkable. "Babe had something like a year, but we had to keep the schedule down for budget reasons," says director David Lister. "The animatronic animals made a big difference. They are a lot more controllable than real animals, who tended to squabble amongst themselves. It really worked best when we had a live animal and an animatronic puppet. It's quite a stylised film -- the animals talk, so you have to suspend disbelief -- but we used lots of primary colours in the design and occasionally went for unusual camera angles to heighten that stylised sense." Since then, Lister has shot two further films for Peakviewing: Dazzle, a romantic comedy about a fairy with amnesia, and spooky story The Meeksville Ghost.

Synopsis

Tom and Freda spend a summer's day picnicking in a forest. The atmosphere between them is fraught with unease and nerves are soon strained to breaking point. Freda walks away from Tom. However, the forest surrounds exert a powerful and unexpected effect on their emotions . . .

Synopsis

Four women settle down to a game of poker. Throughout the evening in a heady atmosphere of alcohol, cards, bluffing and cheating, they each reveal more than the cards they hold.