Fremantle and Italian crime/action genre specialist Stefano Sollima’s newly launched company AlterEgo have signed a first-look deal that will see them work in tandem developing a slate of original films and dramas for the international market.
Sollima, who is known for milestone TV series “Gomorrah” and Hollywood movies such as “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” as well as “Without Remorse,” recently officially launched AlterEgo in tandem with ace U.S. showrunner Gina Gardini and longtime collaborator, writer/director Ludovico Purgatori.
The high-powered trio have been associates since “Gomorrah” and, more recently, Sollima’s Rome-set crime drama “Adagio” – which launched from Venice last year – and his upcoming Netflix serial killer series “Il Mostro” – the latter two partly produced by AlterEgo in tandem with Fremantle-owned The Apartment. As reported by PvNew, AlterEgo are now widening their scope and will start shepherding film and TV works by other talents and also venturing into different genres.
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The pact with Fremantle will give AlterEgo broad shoulders. It also signals a shift from them working on a regular basis with producer Lorenzo Mieli who earlier this year left the Fremantle fold to co-launch a new banner called Our Films.
Sollima, Gardini and Purgatori last week told PvNew they are open to working with non-Italian writers and directors on projects for AlterEgo, but preferably on narratives that have a cultural connection to Italy. Projects are still being kept under wraps.
AlterEgo joins a high-caliber roster of global creative talents under the Fremantle banner that already has other first look deals in place with, among others, Kristen Stewart; Dylan Meyer and Maggie Mclean’s Nevermind Pictures;Pablo and Juan de DiosLarraín’s Fabula; Luca Guadagnino; Paolo Sorrentino; Angelina Jolie; Rachel Weisz and Polly Stokes’ Astral Projection; Edward Berger and his label Nine Hours; Johan Renck and Michael Parets’ Sinestra; Patrick Daly’s Caledonia Productions “as well as ongoing collaborations with acclaimed writers and directors including Michael Winterbottom,” the expanding content company owned by German giantRTL noted in a statement.
The AlterEgo team will work closely with Fremantle’s Andrea Scrosati, who is group COO and CEO, Continental Europe, and Christian Vesper, who is Fremantle’s global drama CEO.
“I have had the immense privilege of working with Stefano for over 15 years, he is an incredible talent,” Scrosati said in the statement. “His unique vision makes him one of the best directors globally, capable of creating some of the most intense and credible scenes on screen, and on top of this he is truly a wonderful person,” he added.
Scrosati went on to point out that “I also had the pleasure of working with Gina on many projects, and she is a force of nature, passionate and strong in her producing skills.”
Gardini, who is a former Miramax exec and partner in Italy’s ITV-owned Cattleya – which she left in 2022 – has been instrumental in shepherding “Gomorrah” and Sollima-directed “ZeroZeroZero.”
“And finally, I look forward to work more with Ludovico, another real talent in the industry. I feel honoured that Stefano, Gina and Ludovico have chosen to join forces with Fremantle, I have no doubts that together we will create something pretty special,” Scrosati concluded.
