THE ASPERN PAPERS
CHARLES S. COHEN recently acquired the MERCHANT IVORY brand and the worldwide distribution and remake rights to 19 features along with nine shorts and documentaries, including Howard’s End, which premiered in Cannes Classics. JAMES IVORY is on-board with Charles S. Cohen as creative director, consulting on the restoration, remake and release of each Merchant Ivory film
“James has a tremendous amount of trust in Julien, having endorsed the screenplay and serving as an executive producer on this classy but very modern tale of obsession and dreams of Byronic adventures,” said Film House Germany’s GABRIELA BACHER
JONATHAN RHYS-MEYERS, VANESSA REDGRAVE and JOELY RICHARDSON are teaming to star in JULIEN LANDAIS ’ THE ASPERN PAPERS, which is based on one of HENRY JAMES’ best-known and most acclaimed tales. JEAN PAVANS, JULIEN LANDAIS and HANNAH BHUIYA adapted the screenplay, based on Jean Pavans' scenic adaptation.
LOIS ROBBINS, JON KORTAJARENA, POPPY DELEVINGNE, MORGANE POLANSKI, NICOLAS HAU, ALICE AUFRAY and BARBARA MEIER have also been added to the cast.
FILM HOUSE GERMANY’s GABRIELA BACHER is producing with JULIEN LANDAIS under his PRINCEPS FILMS label.
JAMES IVORY, CHARLES S. COHEN, JOELY RICHARDSON, FRANCOIS SARKOZY, CHARLES-HENRI DE LOBKOWICZ and Film House Germany’s CHRISTIAN ANGERMAYER, KLEMENS HALLMANN and JEAN-PAUL BRUNIER are exec producing. GARY RUBIN, EVP of COHEN MEDIA GROUP will serve as an associate producer. BRUNO WANG serves as co-executive producer.
Set in Venice in 1885, Morton Vint (JONATHAN RHYS-MEYERS), an ambiguous young writer fascinated by iconic romantic poet Jeffrey Aspern (JON KORTAJARENA), strives to get his hands on the letters Aspern wrote to his beautiful mistress, Juliana Bordereau (VANESSA REDGRAVE). Now, decades later, Juliana lives in a Venetian palazzo with her niece (JOELY RICHARDSON), whom she dominates and Morton will come to seduce. But do these letters really exist and what scandalous information about Juliana and Aspern will they bring to the surface?
Joely Richardson
Vanessa Redgrave
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Julien Landais