Yahoo Movies Sam Neill and Christoph Waltz to Star in ‘The Portable Door’ Film Adaptation (EXCLUSIVE)
Sam Neill, Christoph Waltz and Patrick Gibson will head the cast of “The Portable Door,” a fantasy adventure film adapted from the series of novels by Patrick Holt.
The film is now shooting in Queensland, Australia, with Jeffrey Walker (“Ali’s Wedding,” Sky’s “Lambs of God”) directing from a script by Leon Ford (“Griff the Invisible”).
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The story sees two lowly, put-upon interns at a mysterious London firm, J.W. Wells & Co., become steadily aware that their employers are anything but conventional. The charismatic villains who run the company are disrupting the world of magic by bringing modern corporate strategy to ancient magical practices.
The film is a Jim Henson Company and Story Bridge Films production and is produced by Blanca Lista from Henson and Todd Fellman from Story Bridge.
Sales agent Arclight Films is handling worldwide rights for all territories outside of North America, Australia and New Zealand. Sky will release the film as a Sky Original in the U.K. and Ireland, Germany and Italy.
In Australia, “The Portable Door” will have a theatrical release by Madman Entertainment ahead of film’s premiere as a Stan Original Film on local streaming platform Stan. ICM Partners and UTA’s Independent Film Group are jointly representing the film’s North American rights.
The cast also includes Miranda Otto (“Lord of the Rings”), Chris Pang (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “Charlie’s Angels”), Jessica De Gouw (“Gretel & Hansel”), Rachel House (“Thor: Ragnarok”), Arka Das (“Mulan,” “Lion”), Damon Herriman (“Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” “Mr Inbetween”) and newcomer Sophie Wilde (Stan’s “Eden”).
The Jim Henson Company’s Lisa Henson and Chris Lytton are executive producing as well as Arclight Films’ Gary Hamilton, Brian Beckmann, and Ying Ye, alongside Julia Stuart and Laura Grange from Sky, and Stan’s Cailah Scobie and Shana Levine.
Additional finance partners include Fulcrum Media Finance, MEP Capital, and The Jim Henson Company with support provided by Screen Queensland, Create NSW, and Film Victoria.
“Director Jeffrey Walker is leading an amazing cast and creative team to bring to life (the film’s) high-fantasy setting and unique humor,” said Lisa Henson. “An unexpected adventure filled with deeply funny moments, ‘The Portable Door’ is poised to be the next Henson fan favorite.”
“ ‘The Portable Door’ is going to be an unmissable adventure with a very British sense of humor,” said Julia Stuart, director of original film at Sky.
“ ‘The Portable Door’ (is) part of our strategy to create more Australian-produced content,” said Stan Chief Content Officer Cailah Scobie.
Arclight Films’ current slate of films also includes: “Streamline,” with Jason Isaacs and Levi Miller; thriller “Wyrmwood: Apocalypse,” from the famous franchise; romantic comedy “Queen Bees,” starring Ellen Burstyn and James Caan; “Twist,” starring Michael Caine, Lena Heady, and Rita Ora; Venice festival selection “The Furnace”; and Brandon Cronenberg’s sci-fi thriller “Possessor,” starring Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott, Sean Bean, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
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