KanZaman nabs 'Cold Skin' rights

Katia Lund set to direct 'Stones of David'

By JOHN HOPEWELL

Best-selling Spanish novel "Cold Skin" has taken its first step toward the bigscreen with KanZaman tying down movie adaptation rights to the Antarctic Island sci-fi action thriller.

With offices in Madrid, Monaco and Paris, KanZaman's production credits include Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven" and Milos Forman's "Goya's Ghosts."

KanZaman has also attached Katia Lund, co-director of Fernando Meirelles' "City of God," to direct "The Stones of David," an $11 million Israel-Palestine contempo motherhood drama.

Written by the Barcelona-based Albert Sanchez Pinol, "Skin" was targeted by KanZaman partners Denise O'Dell and Mark Albela for 15 months.

The duo finally obtained rights on the cusp of Cannes from Spanish producer Pepe Magan who had optioned and finally bought the property this year.

Filmax and Focus Europe are believed to have also pursued the novel.

"Skin" has been translated into 29 languages.

First production step will be to attach a director and screenwriter, Albela said.

Budget will be north of $25 million, given extensive f/x and the need for higher-profile stars, he added.

KanZaman aims to shoot in Iceland, and set up "Skin" as a European production.

On "Stones of David," Lund has traveled to Spain to work on the film's screenplay with screenwriter Azucena Rodriguez.

KanZaman has also teamed with Morgan Freeman's production label Revelations Entertainment and Steve and Cliff Lanning's London-based TriSquare Film Prods. to produce "Moses Taite's War."

The adventure film toplines Freeman as a Kansas rancher in 1870 who journeys to India to import Brahman bulls. Revelations' Lori McCreary will join KanZaman to seek Indian co-production for the project at Cannes.