Cannes Market Dailies

Highland Film Group Handling Worldwide Sales

Cannes, France (May 15, 2024) – Jeffrey Dean Morgan (AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” Zach Snyder’s The Watchmen), Famke Janssen (MGM/UA’s GoldenEye, 20th Century Fox’s XMen and Taken), Naomi Battrick (Amazon’s “Jamestown” and “A Very English Scandal”) and Denis O'Hare (FX’s “American Horror Story,” Focus Features’ Dallas Buyers Club) are set to star in the crime-thriller The Postcard Killer, it was announced today. The sequel to The Postcard Killings, the film is directed by Renny Harlin (20th Century Fox’s Die Hard 2, Columbia TriStar’s Cliffhanger, Lionsgate’s The Strangers: Chapter 1) and written by Luke Garrett, based on the N.Y. Times #1 Best Selling novel of the same name by acclaimed authors James Patterson (‘Along Came a Spider’) and Liza Marklund (‘The Bomber’).

The Postcard Killer is produced by Miriam Segal (City of Lies starring Johnny Depp and Forrest Whitaker, The Infiltrator starring Bryan Cranston and Diane Kruger) of Good Films Collective and executive produced by James Patterson, Bill Robinson, Patrick Santa, Kia Jam, Roman Kopelevich, Ricardo Neri and Vladimir Artemenko, JP Pettinato, Johanna Harlin and Highland Film Group.

Highland Film Group is co-financing the film and handling worldwide rights, launching sales at the Marché du Film in Cannes. Production is set to start on the The Postcard Killer this fall on location in London, Madrid, Florence and Latvia. The first film, The Postcard Killings, started streaming on Netflix in January and was one of the streamers’ most watched films (original or licensed), peaking at #1 for multiple days.

“Every page of this screenplay is channeling Hitchcock and Brian de Palma. This is the genre I’ve loved since childhood. Our sexy European locations will provide a backdrop for a visual feast. With our first rate cast I know that we will create a spellbinding thriller,” commented director Renny Harlin.

“We are pleased to be reunited with the production team that succeeded so well with the original film,” added James Patterson.

“We are delighted to team up again with the brilliant Renny Harlin who is the ideal director to helm this new chilling story drawn from James Patterson and Liza Marklund's iconic characters,” said Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser. “Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Famke Janssen will return to embody the multi-faceted protagonists they originated in this tense cross country race against time. The Postcard Killer promises an edge-of-the-seat experience filled with stellar locations and we are eager to see this crime-thriller brought to life this fall,” added Highland Film Group COO Delphine Perrier.

In the chilling sequel to The Postcard Killings, NYPD detective Jacob Kanon (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) faces new terror. Haunted by his daughter's murder, Jacob is thrust back into the fray when his ex-wife Valerie (Famke Janssen) is kidnapped by a new “Postcard Killer,” who is on a brutal murder spree across Europe. The case spirals when Jacob confronts his old nemesis, Simon Haysmith (Denis O’Hare), to track down the elusive criminal and initiate a manhunt. With only cryptic postcards for clues, Jacob must navigate a deadly maze to decipher the killer’s vengeful plot and rescue Valerie, before she becomes the next victim of the reborn fine art killer.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan most recently, reprised his role of Negan in the spin-off series “Dead City,” following the conclusion of “The Walking Dead.”  Additionally, Morgan will be joining the cast of Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boys” in the highly anticipated fourth season. Other recent projects include Friday Night in with The Morgans, Warner Bros.’ Rampage directed by Brad Peyton alongside Dwayne Johnson and Naomie Harris, Walkaway Joe alongside David Strathairn and under the direction of Tom Wright; The Postcard Killings with Famke Janssen for director Danis Tanovic and the horror film The Unholy based on the best-selling James Herbert novel. Morgan also stars and executive produces the iHeart Media fiction podcast “Aftershock” which released its first season in 2021.

Famke Janssen is the lead in Netfilx’s upcoming series “Amsterdam Empire” for Nico Moolenaar (“Undercover”) which she is currently shooting. Janssen was also recently seen in the Netflix hit feature Locked In.  She had one of the leads opposite Bill Skarsgard in Sam Raimi’s Boy Kills World for Lionsgate and is coming off Sony’s graphic novel adaptation of Knights of the Zodiac. On the series side, Janssen recently had key roles in “Then You Run” for creator Ben Chanan (creator of “The Capture” with Holliday Grainger which Famke also starred in). Janssen was also in Bruna Papandrea’s “Long Slow Exhale” for Paramount Television and Ava DuVernay’s BAFTA-nominated Netflix series “When They See Us.” Janssen is known for portraying Jean Gray in the X-Men film franchise, the female lead in the 20th Century Fox’s Taken trilogy and the iconic James Bond villain Xenia in GoldenEye. Other notable feature credits include Jon Favreau’s Made opposite Vince Vaughn, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Hide and Seek with Robert De Niro, Rounders alongside Matt Damon and Edward Norton, The Faculty for Robert Rodriguez and DJ Caruso’s Redeeming Love. She made her directorial debut with the dramedy Bringing Up Bobby starring Milla Jovovich. Famke also starred in NBC’s “The Blacklist: Redemption,” Netflix’s “Hemlock Grove,” and recurred on FX’s “Nip/Tuck” and ABC’a “How to Get Away with Murder.” In 2008, she was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for Integrity by the United Nations.

Naomi Battrick is a British actress who is most recognized for her starring roles in Amazon’s “Jamestown” and “A Very English Scandal.” She has appeared in various television series including Starz’s “The Serpent Queen,” HBO’s “His Dark Materials, Pop TV’s “Flack,” NBC’s “Crossing Lines,” as well as “My Almost Famous Family” and “Waterloo Road” for the BBC. Naomi’s film credits include Bank of Dave and The Titan for Netflix, and Lost in London with Woody Harrelson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Owen Wilson. She is set to star in the upcoming biopic Words of War based on the life of Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya. Previously, Naomi also starred opposite Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Famke Janssen in the Good Films Collective feature, The Postcard Killings.

Denis O'Hare was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role on "This is Us" and has been twice nominated for his performances on "American Horror Story." His other notable television appearances include his roles on "The Nevers," "Trying," True Blood," "American Gods," "The Good Wife," "When We Rise," "Brothers and Sisters," and "Big Little Lies" (SAG Award nomination). O'Hare won the Tony Award for his performance in Richard Greenberg's Take Me Out (Obie Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Lucille Lortel Award) and was also nominated for his work in the revival of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. He received an Obie Award for his one-man performance of An Iliad of which he is also the playwright.  His other stage credits include Here We Are, Sweet Charity (Drama Desk Award), Cabaret, Inherit the Wind, Major Barbara, Elling, Racing Demon, Hauptmann, Into the Woods, Ten Unknowns, and his performance at London's National Theatre in the title role of Tartuffe. His various film credits include Infinite Storm, Swallow, Late Night, The Postcard Killings, The Goldfinch, Novitiate, The Normal Heart, Dallas Buyers Club (SAG Award nomination), The Proposal, Duplicity, Milk (SAG Award nomination; Critic's Choice Award), Changeling, Charlie Wilson's War, Michael Clayton, A Mighty Heart, Half Nelson, Garden State, 21 Grams, The Anniversary Party, Private Life and The Parting Glass, of which he is also the screenwriter.

Highland Film Group’s current slate also includes William Eubank’s action thriller Land of Bad starring Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth; Adam Cooper’s crime thriller Sleeping Dogs starring Russell Crowe and Karen Gillan;  Rod Blackhurst’s Tribeca Film Festival and Deauville title Blood For Dust starring Scoot McNairy, Kit Harington and Josh Lucas; Allan Ungar’s action comedy London Calling starring Josh Duhamel and Jeremy Ray Taylor; Felipe Vargas’ high-concept horror film Rosario starring Emeraude Toubia and David Dastmalchian; the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut produced by Brad Fuller and starring Kate Mara and Laurence Fishburne; Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller Not Without Hope starring Zachary Levi and Josh Duhamel; Simon West’s action comedy Old Guy starring Christoph Waltz, Lucy Liu and Cooper Hoffman; and Benjamin Brewer’s survival action-thriller Arcadian starring Nicolas Cage, which had its world premiere at SXSW.

Morgan is repped by UTA, Anonymous Content, Viewpoint, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher;Janssen is repped by Artists Partnership, Link Entertainment, and IAG; Battrick is repped by Curtis Brown in the UK and Realm Talent in the US; O’Hare is repped by Innovative Artists; Harlin is repped by   CAA and Wolf Kasteler.

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ABOUT HIGHLAND FILM GROUP
Led by founding partners Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, Highland Film Group (HFG) is an award-winning independent worldwide sales, film financing, production and distribution company. Launched in 2010, HFG has had success across a wide range of film genres and platforms, building a reputation for handling high-octane films in the action/thriller/horror space, focusing on cast, director, and filmmaker driven content.

HFG’s diversified production and sales slate includes William Eubank’s action thriller Land of Bad starring Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth; Rod Blackhurst’s Tribeca Film Festival and Deauville title Blood For Dust starring Scoot McNairy, Kit Harington and Josh Lucas; Adam Cooper’s crime thriller Sleeping Dogs starring Russell Crowe and Karen Gillan; Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller Not Without Hope starring Zachary Levi and Josh Duhamel; Simon West’s action comedy Old Guy starring Christoph Waltz, Lucy Liu and Cooper Hoffman; Allan Ungar’s action comedy London Calling starring Josh Duhamel and Jeremy Ray Taylor; Felipe Vargas’ high-concept horror film Rosario starring Emeraude Toubia and David Dastmalchian; the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut produced by Brad Fuller and starring Kate Mara and Laurence Fishburne; Dimitri Logothetis’ actioner Gunner starring Morgan Freeman and Luke Hemsworth; and Benjamin Brewer’s survival action-thriller Arcadian starring Nicolas Cage, official selection at SXSW.

Previous titles include Adrian Grünberg’s shark actioner The Black Demon starring Josh Lucas; Joe Carnahan’s Boss Level starring Naomi Watts, Mel Gibson and Frank Grillo; Renny Harlin’s The Misfits starring Pierce Brosnan, Nick Cannon and Tim Roth; Dimitri Logothetis’ Jiu Jitsu starring Nicolas Cage and Tony Jaa; Lin Oeding’s thriller Braven starring Jason Momoa; Scott Mann’s Final Score starring Dave Bautista and Pierce Brosnan; Berlin, I Love You with Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Jim Sturgess, Mickey Rourke, Diego Luna and Jenna Dewan Tatum and Vaughn Stein’s Terminal starring Margot Robbie and Simon Pegg.

ABOUT GOOD FILMS COLLECTIVE
Founded by Producer Miriam Segal, Good Films Collective is an independent, female-owned studio committed to producing high-quality, thought-provoking impactful films that entertain, resonate and empower.

To date, Segal has produced a number of films including Good, starring Viggo Mortensen, The Infiltrator, starring Bryan Cranston, City of Lies, featuring Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker, and The Postcard Killings, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Famke Janssen.  Her most recent film being War of Words also being presented at the market.

Good Films has several films on its slate including a film adaption of John Webster’s Jacobean play, The Duchess of Malfi, The Man Who Stole the Sky, a comedic biopic based on the mysterious disappearance of legendary thief and hijacker, D.B. Cooper.