This story first appeared in the Feb. 6 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
When word broke Jan. 21 that Fortitude International and Untitled Entertainment were making Dive -- the next film from in-demand director Ariel Vromen, whose upcoming Criminal (Aug. 21) stars Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Costner -- Fortitude sales chief Nadine de Barros was deluged with calls from foreign buyers: Would Dive be for sale at Berlin's European Film Market? The answer was no because the cast has yet to be locked in. For more than a year, sales agents increasingly have had a hard time closing deals in time for the major markets. "We are all starting to sound like broken records," says de Barros. But not all is lost. She is bringing an Emily Blunt film to be directed by Rupert Friend, while FilmNation will be selling a Larry Charles-Nicolas Cage comedy and Anton Corbijn's Life. Sierra/Affinity is in good shape with The Bends, starring Rosamund Pike, and there's sure to be more projects announced at the eleventh hour. These are some of the buzzier titles in the offing at EFM.
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