New Republic Pictures signs first look deal with Jake Gyllenhaal and Riva Marker’s Nine Stories
New Republic Pictures (NRP), led by Founder Brian Oliver and President Bradley Fischer, has signed Nine Stories to a first look feature film production deal, it was announced today.
“Brian and I have both gotten to know Jake over the years as a powerhouse actor as well as a passionate storyteller with a sharp eye for cinematic voices that can resonate with audiences everywhere,” said Fischer. “When we spoke to him and Riva about their plans for Nine Stories, it was instantly clear that we shared more than just the same taste in material but also a belief in taking big swings with visionary talent,” added Oliver.
“Riva and I are thrilled to be in business with New Republic. Having worked with both Brad and Brian before, I’ve seen their deep respect for the craft of filmmaking first hand, and have long admired their keen & thoughtful business sense. They’re a rare breed of producer and we couldn’t be more excited to have them as partners as we begin this new chapter for Nine Stories together,” said Gyllenhaal
Gyllenhaal and Oliver previously worked together on EVEREST and Fischer collaborated with him on ZODIAC.
Nine Stories is preparing for the release of Antonio Campos’ THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME, launching on Netflix on September 16 and will premiere Reinaldo Marcus Green’s GOOD JOE BELL, starring Mark Wahlberg and Connie Britton, at the Toronto International Film Festival. The production company produced the IFC Midnight release of the Natalie Erika James directed RELIC, the genre film that made its debut at Sundance and scored a New York Times Critic’s Pick. They recently sold the film pitch SNOWBLIND with Gustav Möller directing and Patrick Ness scripting in a six-way bidding war to Apple Studios. The thriller is about a family in the witness protection program in Alaska. Nine Stories separately made a deal at Netflix for the Ubisoft video game adaptation THE DIVISION, a potential global franchise that will star Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain. Gyllenhaal and Marker also are producing a theatrical adaptation of the multiple Tony Award-winning stage musical FUN HOME at Amazon with Sam Gold, Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori.
The overall deal with Gyllenhaal and Nine Stories is the second such partnership made by New Republic in recent weeks, with the Paramount-based mini major having also just signed Cate Blanchett and her Dirty Films production company to a first look.
Carlos Goodman of Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher negotiated the deal on behalf of Nine Stories.
New Republic Pictures (NRP) is a production and financing company run by veteran producers Brian Oliver and Bradley Fischer dedicated to producing major theatrical motion pictures for wide studio release with budgets up to and above $100M. NRP has more than 20 films and television projects in various stages of production and development. In its first year of operation, NRP co-financed and produced the critically acclaimed Sam Mendes film, 1917with Amblin Partners and Universal Pictures, and the Dexter Fletcher film, ROCKETMAN, with Paramount Pictures. 1917 won three Academy Awards® as well as two Golden Globes, including the Golden Globe for Best Picture – Drama, seven BAFTAS, including for Best Film, and the Producers Guild of America’s Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture. It has grossed over $368 million worldwide to-date. ROCKETMAN, a biopic of rock icon Elton John, co-financed with Starlings Entertainment and Paramount Pictures, won the Academy Award® for Best Original Song and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical.
On New Republic’s development slate are FAMILY JEWELS, a multigenerational family comedy starring Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton, which Fischer and producer Alan Nevins packaged with the three leads and screenwriter Peter Hoare; UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY, the new Image Comics graphic novel from Scott Snyder and Charles Soule; CHESTER AND GUS, based on the novel by Cammie McGovern and adapted by writer Ben August; urban drama GREEN RUSH, produced with Will Packer (GIRLS NIGHT, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON); Jennifer Lawrence starrer ZELDA; and sci-fi action-thriller I AM WALTZ, based on the novel and to be directed by David Karlak.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Riva Marker founded Nine Stories in 2015 with the mission to support and amplify visionary storytellers in all fields. Since its inception, the company has quickly become a force – sourcing material, developing it from the ground up, collaborating with bold storytellers, and shepherding the projects through release. Nine Stories produced the highly acclaimed Wildlife, Paul Dano’s directorial debut starring Carey Mulligan; David Gordon Green’s feature filmStronger, starring Gyllenhaal as Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jeff Bauman and executive produced Hondros, an award-winning documentary on war photographer Chris Hondros for Netflix. They most recently produced Antonio Campos’ The Devil All The Time also for Netflix starring Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Riley Keough, Mia Wasikowska, Sebastian Stan, Bill Skarsgard, Eliza Scanlen, Haley Bennett and Jason Clarke; and Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Good Joe Bell starring Mark Wahlberg, Connie Britton, Gary Sinise and Reid Miller. Nine Stories has a robust development slate, including the adaption of Ubisoft’s post-apocalyptic video game “The Division,” in which Gyllenhaal will star with Jessica Chastain; “The Last Ride of Cowboy Bob” for Fox Searchlight, which will be directed by Michael Showalter; Steven Knight scripted “Rio” with Gyllenhaal and Benedict Cumberbatch attached to star and Edward Berger to direct; Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi’s true-crime heist “The Mint” with Netflix; the World War II adventure “The Lost Airman” for Amazon Studios, which Gyllenhaal will also star in; and the feature adaptation of the acclaimed Tony award-winning musical, Fun Home. For television, the company has multiple high-end projects in development including a limited series adaptation of “Lake Success” based off of Gary Shteyngart’s novel of the same name.
For the stage, Nine Stories produced Jeremy O. Harris’s renowned Slave Play on Broadway at the Golden Theatre, as well as the Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, which will return to the stage for a limited engagement in the West End in June 2021. Gyllenhaal and Marker also developed and produced Sea Wall / A Life, which debuted at the Public Theatre and moved to Broadway and We’re Only Alive For A Short Amount of Time by playwright David Cale. Currently in theaters and on VOD, is Relic, the feature debut of the brilliant Natalie Erika James which scored a coveted New York Times’ Critics’ Pick. The company recently sold the film pitch “Snowblind” in a six-way bidding war to Apple for Danish auteur Gustav Möller (The Guilty) to direct and Patrick Ness (A Monster Calls) to adapt.
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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