The two-year deal will see Fremantle become the primary home for all of Nine Hours’ television projects as well as giving the global producer and distributor second look access to Berger’s new film pipeline
Fremantle has secured a two-year, first-look deal with Nine Hours, the new production label set up by Oscar, BAFTA and Emmy-nominated director Edward Berger and partner Luke Rivett.
Having just secured nine nominations for the 95th Academy Awards including Best Picture and a record 14 BAFTA nominations for feature film All Quiet on the Western Front, Berger is the acclaimed director behind international hits including BAFTA Winner Patrick Melrose, Your Honor, The Terror and Fremantle’s Deutschland 83.
The two-year deal will see Fremantle become the primary home for all of Nine Hours’ television projects as well as giving the global producer and distributor second look access to Berger’s new film pipeline. The new production company was launched by Berger and partner Luke Rivett (Corner Office, Berlin Station, The Tomorrow Man) with producer Jeanne Tremsal (So Long Daddy, See you in Hell).
The new partnership with Edward Berger was spearheaded by Fremantle’s Christian Vesper, who was recently promoted to CEO Global Drama, and Seb Shorr, Executive Vice President, Commercial & Business Affairs. Lorenzo De Maio assisted on the deal.
Edward Berger said: “Great drama comes from filmmakers who have an undeniable urge to tell their story. We intend to find and nourish these filmmakers in their endeavors to bring their grounded, intelligent and cinematic vision to the screen. We couldn’t have found a more exciting partner than Fremantle for this dream.”
Christian Vesper, CEO Global Drama at Fremantle, added: “We have long admired Edward’s talent and creative vision since working with him on the Emmy-nominated series Deutschland 83’. We are honoured that he has chosen to partner with us as he launches his new label Nine Hours and at such a seminal moment in his career.”
Edward Berger is represented by Range Media Partners, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates Ltd and Creative Artists Agency.
The agreement with Berger’s Nine Hours is the latest creative partnership to be announced by Fremantle. The global producer’s first-look deals include partnerships with Angelina Jolie, Sinestra’s Johan Renck & Michael Parets, Nicholas Weinstock, Sarah Condon and the Larrain Brothers, as well as ongoing collaborations with acclaimed writers and directors including Luca Guadagnino, Paolo Sorrentino, Neil Cross, and Michael Winterbottom.
Fremantle’s Global Drama & Film business has grown significantly in recent years with the company now producing three times more scripted series outside the US and UK than any major US studio and becoming the biggest non-English language scripted producer globally.
In 2022, Fremantle delivered over 100 drama series and 33 movies, as well as taking majority stakes in leading drama production companies such as Dancing Ledge Productions (The Salisbury Poisonings, The Responder), Element Pictures (Normal People, The Wonder, The Favourite), Lux Vide (Medici, Devils, Don Matteo) and Richard Brown’s Passenger (This England, True Detective).
The company’s success has also garnered international recognition with several titles featuring at leading film festivals including Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-nominated The Hand of God from Fremantle’s The Apartment Pictures, which picked up the Grand Jury prize at the 78th Venice Film Festival and Wildside’s Le Otto Montagne (The Eight Mountains) winning the Prix du Jury at Cannes.
Wildside’s L’Immensita, starring Penelope Cruz and Element Pictures’ The Eternal Daughter all screened in competition at the 79th Venice Film Festival, with Bones and All awarded two prizes at Venice with Luca Guadagnino winning the ‘Silver Lion Award for Best Director’ and the ‘Marcello Mastroianni Award’ for best young actor going to Taylor Russell in recognition of her lead role performance as Maren Yearly.
Most recently, Element Pictures’ The Wonder received a BAFTA nomination for Best British Film and Fremantle titles L’Immensita, Kim’s Video and The Eight Mountains all featured at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
