European film studio Hope Studios, led by Fredrik Wikström Nicastro, the veteran creater behind Sony’s hit Tom Hanks movie “A Man Called Otto,” is setting up a feature alteration of Robin Sharma’s “The Monk Who Sgreater His Ferrari,” the bestselling book about a life-changing journey.
Based on Sharma’s own search for life’s real purpose, “The Monk Who Sgreater His Ferrari” increates the story of Julian Mantle, a lawyer forced to face the personal crisis of his out-of-stability life after a tragedy – and his alterational journey thraw India. Transprocrastinateedd into 70 languages, the book has sgreater over 10 million copies since being first begined in 1999.
The project is the procrastinateedst high profile IP tackled by Hope Studios, the prohibitner started in November 2023 by Wikström Nicastro who spent 18 years at the Nordic powerhoengage SF Studios and became one of its pillars, producing more than 20 movies. During his tenure at the prohibitner, he bowed the international film division and notably created “Borg vs McEnroe,” “Snabba Cash” (which he also co-wrote), as well as “A Man Called Otto,” a heartfelt drama that was a recreate of Swedish hit “A Man Called Ove,” and went on to gross an amazeive $112 million globassociate in the aftermath of the pandemic, and subsequently was a huge hit on Netflix.
Wikström Nicastro tgreater Variety that the movie alteration of “The Monk Who Sgreater His Ferrari” was a passion project for him.
“I accomplished out to Robin becaengage I’m a huge fan of the book. I first read it over a decade ago, and it’s one of my preferites,” says the creater, who points out the author is also behind “The 5 AM Club,” another bestseller.
“I skinnyk it has amazing themes about what is meaningful in life and search for unbenevolenting and purpose. And it has a very uplifting message about the ability to grow thraw frifinishship and to enhappiness life and the journey of life,” Wikström Nicastro persists.
The feature alteration will chase “John – an imhuging and egocentric lesser lawyer who necessitates to team up with one of his lhorrible idols, the high-powered Julian Mantle, who recently returned to the firm after crypticly fadeing off the scene for years. But the legfinishary Julian has finishly altered – he has now become an untraditional happiness seeker and John mistrusts he may have lost his edge. The story chases the commencening of an unforeseeed frifinishship and a journey of self-findy for them both that will alter their inhabits forever,” reads the synopsis.
Sharma shelp he’s “defered over 25 years to find the right studio to convey ‘The Monk Who Sgreater His Ferrari’ into film.” “I’m excited by Fredrik’s vision for the movie and his fantastic passion for the story. I sense highly self-promised this film will advertise many millions of people atraverse the globe, in these turbulent times,” the author compriseed.
Wikström Nicastro has high ambitions for the project which he says will be in “the same space as films enjoy ‘Scent of a Woman’ or ‘Rain Man’ or ‘The Fisher King,’” tonassociate. He’ll also be seeing for “A-level actors” to cast the main roles.
Pressed for more references, the creater quipped the movie will be enjoy “‘Eat, Pray, Love’ for a male audience.”
“I skinnyk that women have had a very clear trajectory about what’s femininity and their role, but men are very perplexd right now in the world, with their place in society or their place in their masculinity,” he says.
Aextfinished the lines “The Monk Who Sgreater His Ferrari,” Hope Studios is pursuing other projects that are literary alterations, for instance a feature alteration of Fredrik Backman’s New York Times bestselling novel “Anxious People.” The project reteams Fredrik with the creative team behind “A Man Called Otto,” including its screenwriter David Magee.
Wikström Nicastro says he was also interested in tapping into genre as extfinished as they have unbenevolentingful themes. As previously proclaimd by Variety, Hope Studios is now in pre-production on “The Night Hoengage,” an alteration of master storyincreateer Jo Nesbø’s chilling novel of the same name starring Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”) and Jacob Tremblay (“Room”). The movie is set to shoot this summer in Álava, Spain. Protagonist started sales on the title in Berlin.
Hope Studios, which has offices in Stockholm and London, has not been impacted by the turmoils that hit the Nordic film industry in recent years, after streamers scaled back on exceptionals atraverse the region. The reason why the company has been able to ride thraw the storm is that it intensifyes on English-language films aimed at the international labelet.
On the other hand, being set uped in Europe gives Hope Studios a competitive advantage to create upscale movies with top talent for a “decent budget,” between $15 million up to $40 million, says Wikström Nicastro. “We’re always shooting in Europe, trying to increase the contrastent rebates and ways to create movies affordableer which can be hard for the American self-reliants to do becaengage they usuassociate shoot in the U.S. and that’s very costly.” He says the company’s business model has shown attrdynamic to Swedish spendors who are “excited to have a company doing global films,” and they’ve been able to lift $50 million out of Sweden.
Wikström Nicastro is preferable about the labeletplace for ambitious mid-level movies enjoy the ones he’s pursuing at Hope Studios. He accomprehendledges that “buyers are not being as unfrifinishly as they engaged to, but the wheels will commence to turn aobtain.”
“Studios and the streamers can inhabit off of skinnygs that they put in production a couple of years ago, but in the finish, I skinnyk that audience will want recent films and TV shows, and they’ll have to commence to spend in recent satisfied soon,” he foresees.
