Antonio Banderas and Jonathan Rhys Meyers will co-star in the psychological thriller “Black Butterfly,” directed by Brian Goodman (“What Doesn’t Kill You”).
Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s Ambi Group and Silvio Muraglia’s Paradox Studios are financing and producing “Black Butterfly.” Marc Frydman is also producing while Mikael Wiren and Alexandra Klim are executive producing.
The movie is based on the French film “Papillon Noir,” written by Hervé Korian. Justin Stanley (“Stigmata”) and Steve Hilts are adapting a new screenplay.
Banderas will play a down-on-his-luck screenwriter who picks up a drifter (Meyers) and offers him a place to stay. However, when the deranged stranger takes the screenwriter hostage and forces him to write, their unhinged relationship brings buried secrets to light.
Ambi Distribution, the worldwide sales arm of the Ambi Group, is handling global sales and will be introducing the project to buyers in Cannes. Principal photography is slated to begin next month in Italy.
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Ambi’s slate includes “Septembers of Shiraz,” starring Salma Hayek and Adrien Brody; the contemporary fairy tale “This Beautiful Fantastic,” starring Jessica Brown Findlay and Tom Wilkinson; a documentary feature about Federico Fellini, “The Man of La Dolce Vita”; and James Franco’s “In Dubious Battle,” featuring an ensemble cast that includes Franco, Nat Wolff, Selena Gomez, Vincent D’Onofrio, Robert Duvall and Ed Harris.
Banderas is represented by Paradigm Talent Agency, Management firm Media Art Management and law firm Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof and Fishman. Meyers is represented by Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Goodman is represented by APA.
