Entertainment
EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker Ashley Avis (Black Beauty) has been tapped to write and direct the romance City of Angels, based on Wim Wenders’ 1987 classic City of Angels, for Warner Bros, Atlas Entertainment and Perez Pictures.
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This reimagining of Wenders’ romantic fantasy, which won him the Cannes Film Festival’s prize for Best Director, will follow the journey of a guardian angel who falls in love with a mortal man, a lonely jazz musician in Manhattan she is tasked to guide. It’s the second remake titled City of Angels to emerge from Warner Bros on the heels of Brad Silberling’s 1998 film, starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan, which grossed over $198M worldwide.
Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven (Uncharted, American Hustle) produced that pic and will also produce the new take alongside Rebecca Steel Roven Oakley (Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984), as well as Paul Perez (Warner Bros/HBO Max’s Father of the Bride) for Perez Pictures.
“I am honored, and deeply excited, to bring this stunning love story to life through a poetic new lens, alongside distinguished producers in Charles, Rebecca, and Paul,” Avis told Deadline. “Working with Warner Bros. on such a classic title has been an aspiration of mine for a long time, and I am very grateful to have found champions for our reimagining in these partners.”
A passionate advocate for horses who has written, directed and produced six features and 100+ commercials to date, Avis most recently directed Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West, an award-winning documentary exploring the stunning natural beauty as well as controversial government treatment of wild horses in the United States. Her work on the film, slated for release by Gravitas on May 12th, earlier this year earned her a Special Congressional Commendation from Congresswoman Dina Titus.
Avis previously co-wrote, directed and edited the Disney+ film Black Beauty, starring Oscar winner Kate Winslet, Mackenzie Foy and Iain Glen, seeing that feature based on the classic 1877 novel by Anna Sewell debut on the platform over Thanksgiving 2020. Other past projects include the 2016 indie thriller Deserted with Mischa Barton, and the 2018 coming-of-age drama Adolescence starring India Eisley, Tommy Flanagan and Elisabeth Röhm.
Tapped by Imagine’s Ron Howard, Brain Grazer and Stephanie Sperber in 2020 to create a series based on the iconic Breyer horse brand, Avis is represented by WME and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.
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