Henstridge to make 'Impact'

TV disaster movie lines up cast

By ED MEZA

BERLIN — Natasha Henstridge (“Eli Stone”), James Cromwell and David James Elliott (“JAG”) will topline “Impact,” a two-part TV disaster movie about a dwarf star striking the moon and wreaking havoc on Earth.

Produced by Munich-based Tandem Communications, Jaffe/Braunstein Films and Muse Entertainment Enterprises, the $14 million miniseries began shooting on location in British Columbia last week.

German thesps Benjamin Sadler (“Side Effects”) and Florentine Lahme (“Rabbit Without Ears”) also star.

Pic is produced in association with Germany's ProSieben Television, Spain’s Cuatro, TF1 in France and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Tandem, which is handling worldwide distribution, has already pre-sold the pic in more than 90 territories, including Austria, Russia, Poland, Latin America and the Middle East.

Directed by Mike Rohl ("Smallville") from a script by Michael Vickerman ("Superfire"), “Impact” is executive produced by Jonas Bauer, Rola Bauer, Tim Halkin, Michael Jaffe, Howard Braunstein and Michael Prupas, co-executive produced by Irene Litinsky and produced by Ted Bauman.

"Despite the financing challenges in the market today, networks and video distributors worldwide are eager for programming of this nature,” Tandem’s Jonas Bauer said. “The story has broad appeal because it combines universal fears we all have — of large objects flying through space and hitting the Earth. That’s what we’re playing with, the effects on gravity, electro-magnetic disturbances, tsunamis, earthquakes, a high-speed train getting airborne at 200 miles an hour.”

Tandem recently acquired film rights for Ken Follett’s bestseller “The Pillars of the Earth,” which it’s producing with Ridley and Tony Scott’s Scott Free Prods., and is in post production on “Lost City Raiders,” a two-hour sci-fi actioner, starring James Brolin, Ian Somerhalder and Jamie Thomas King.