Oscar-winner Damien Chazelle Heads to Netflix with Paris-set Musical Drama
The youngest Best Director Academy Award winner in Oscar history, Damien Chazelle (La La Land), is teaming up with Netflix for a musical drama set in Paris.
Executive produced by Damien Chazelle, who will direct two of the episodes, and written by five-time BAFTA Award-winning and Olivier-winning writer Jack Thorne (National Treasure, This is England, Wonder), The Eddy is an eight-episode musical drama series that will be shot in France and feature dialogue in French, English and Arabic. Emmy-winning producer Alan Poul (Six Feet Under, The Newsroom), will also executive produce, and original music will be written by six-time Grammy Award-winner Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill, Michael Jackson’s Bad). Following on the heels of other productions in Europe, including The Crown and the upcoming Dark, The Eddy continues Netflix’s investment in international and French content.
The Eddy is a musical drama set in contemporary multi-cultural Paris revolving around a club, its owner, the house band, and the chaotic city that surrounds them.
Said Chazelle, “I’ve always dreamed of shooting in Paris, so I’m doubly excited to be teaming up with Jack, Glen and Alan on this story, and thrilled that we have found a home for it at Netflix.“
Erik Barmack, Vice President of International Originals at Netflix says, “From the intense, complex relationship between a jazz drummer and his instructor in Whiplash to his dazzling duo of lovelorn Los Angelenos in La La Land, Damien’s work is emotional and electrifying. His projects have a rhythm all their own, and we’re incredibly excited for him, Jack, Glen, Alan and the production team to bring their vision for The Eddy to Netflix. We couldn’t be happier that he will be shooting The Eddy in France and that we will bring this bold, global and multilingual series to our members around the world.”
Chris Rice, WME | IMG Partner says, “The creative team behind The Eddy is truly visionary, and we can’t wait to see the world that they create. This project is the definition of premium, global programming, and as one of the first projects of its kind from IMG, we couldn’t be happier to have Netflix as the home to take it to audiences around the world.”
The series will be produced by Patrick Spence and Katie Swinden’s Fifty Fathoms. BAFTA-winning producers Spence (Guerilla, Fortitude) and Swinden (Luther, Peaky Blinders) will executive produce along with Chazelle, Thorne, Poul and Ballard.
Chazelle is currently in pre-production on his next feature film, First Man, a biopic about astronaut Neil Armstrong with his La La Land star Ryan Gosling. The film is set for an October 2018 release. The release date for The Eddy has not been announced.
About IMG
IMG is a global leader in sports, events, media and fashion, operating in more than 30 countries. The company represents and manages some of the world’s greatest sports figures and fashion icons; stages hundreds of live events and branded entertainment experiences annually; and is a leading independent producer and distributor of sports and entertainment media. IMG also specializes in sports training; league development; and marketing, media and licensing for brands, sports organizations and collegiate institutions. IMG has led the market in global co-productions recently selling “The Night Manager” and “Dirk Gently” in over 190 territories; handling territorial sales for “Top of the Lake: China Girl,” “The Young Pope,” and the upcoming Sky / Amazon series “Britannia.” It is also co-financing and handling sales on the upcoming projects “Killing Eve” from Phoebe Waller-Bridge and “The First” from Beau Willimon.
About Fifty Fathoms
Fifty Fathoms was set up in 2010 and is run by Patrick Spence and Katie Swinden. Recent productions include GUERRILLA for Showtime and Sky Atlantic, written and directed by the Academy Award winning John Ridley (12 Years A Slave), and starring Idris Elba, Freida Pinto, Babou Ceesay, Rory Kinnear, Denise Gough, Zawe Ashton and Danny Mays; THE A WORD, Peter Bowker’s 6-part drama for BBC1 and Sundance, starring Chris Eccleston and Morven Christie; FORTITUDE, Simon Donald’s horror story set in the Arctic for Sky Atlantic and Amazon, starring Stanley Tucci, Dennis Quaid, Michael Gambon, Sofie Grabol, Ken Stott, Richard Dormer and Chris Eccleston; and MARVELLOUS, Peter Bowker’s 90′ film for BBC2, starring Toby Jones and directed by Julian Farino, which won three BAFTAs in 2015 (Best Film, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress), and two BAFTA Nominations (Best Writer and Best Actor) as well as several RTS, BPG and Writers Guild Awards.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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