Olivia Cooke, Jamie Bell to Lead Italy-Set Romance ‘Takes One to Know One' from ‘Pam & Tommy' Writer
Olivia Cooke, Jamie Bell to Lead Italy-Set Romance ‘Takes One to Know One’ from ‘Pam & Tommy’ Writer
“Sound of Metal” star Olivia Cooke, soon to be returning to “House of the Dragon” for its second season, and BAFTA winner Jamie Bell, recently seen in “All of Us Strangers,” are set to star in “Takes One to Know One.” The film is billed as an “unconventional and contemporary take on romance.”
The feature comes from Italian director Nathalie Biancheri (“Wolf,” “Nocturnal”), working from a 2022 Black List screenplay by WGA-nominated writer Brooke Baker (“Pam & Tommy,” “Sideswiped”). Production is due to commence in Italy later this year, with Cornerstone handling international sales and distribution and and launching sales at Cannes and co-repping the U.S. with CAA Media Finance.
“Takes One to Know One” follows Eleanor (Cooke) and Lucas (Bell). When the two meet in Rome, their chemistry is electric. With a shared passion for art, Italy and each other, it looks like the start of something life-changing. The biggest stumbling block: they are both in relationships with other people. As per the description, the film is a “twist on the real-time getaway romance,” and is “a sexy, relatable love story that captures the spark of attraction between two people who accidentally find something they didn’t realize they were looking for.”
“The script penned by Brooke is beautiful and delicious and can only be elevated more by Natalie and Jamie’s immense talent and vision,” Cooke said. “To be working with this brilliant bunch is a dream.”
Added Biancheri: “I’m so excited to work with Olivia and Jamie on this project. The script is such a great combination of sexy, fun but also quite moving and I feel like it really hits a spot people are hungry for in cinema today.”
“Takes One to Know One” is a Potboiler, BCDF Pictures and Chippy Tea production. It is produced by Gail Egan (“The Little Stranger,” “A Most Wanted Man”), Claude Dal Farra and Brian Keady (“To Leslie,” “The Hating Game”) and Cooke. Josh Glick, Brad Feinstein and Brooke Baker are executive producers. Potboiler Productions’ notable past projects include the Oscar- and BAFTA-winning films “The Last King of Scotland” and “The Constant Gardener.” BCDF most recently produced the Oscar-nominated “To Leslie” and romantic comedy hits “The Hating Game” and “Which Brings Me to You.”
“Writing this movie for Olivia was an incredible experience, and I immediately resonated with Nathalie’s inspired and visionary take on the material,” Baker saiid. “I couldn’t be more thrilled that Nathalie, Olivia and Jamie are going to bring this story and these characters that I love so deeply to life.”
Cornerstone’s Alison Thompson and Mark Gooder said: “We fell instantly in love with Brooke’s superb script, Nathalie’s bold and original take on the romance movie and our two lead actors could not be a more perfect fit.”
Cooke is represented by The Artists Partnership, CAA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox, L.L.P. Bell is represented by CAA, 3 Arts Entertainment and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Biancheri is represented by CAA and Casarotto Ramsay & Associates. Baker is represented by CAA, Grandview and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein.
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