Searchlight Pictures and Sam Mendes are teaming up on their next project as the company embarks Empire Of Light, with Olivia Colman in negotiations to star. This will mark Mendes’ first film since his Oscar nomination 1917 and the first time he and Colman worked together.
Empire of light also resumed Mendes with cinematographer Roger Deakins, who won an Oscar for his work in 1917.
Mendes also wrote the script for the love story set in a beautiful old cinema on the south coast of England in the 1980s. Mendes and Pippa Harris will produce via Neal Street Productions. The project will be overseen by Matthew Greenfield and David Greenbaum, presidents of production, film and television, and Katie Goodson-Thomas, head of development and production, Searchlight Pictures UK.
Mendes took a long time to choose his next film after 1917, who was not only a critical darling winning 10 Oscar nominations, including one for himself, but was also a huge box office success. The World War I film grossed $ 384 million at the worldwide box office, including $ 159 million in the domestic market.
After winning his first Oscar for Searchlight’s The favorite, Colman returns to the studio continuing to earn honors. She recently received several nominations for the most recent season of The crown including a SAG and also won many accolades for its performance in The father, including an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
Mendes is represented by CAA and The Agency and Colman is represented by ICM Partners and United Agents.
CAA Media Finance brokered the deal.