Highland Film Group Launching Global Sales at AFM
Joel Kinnaman (James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad films, José Padilha’s RoboCop, Apple TV’s “For All Mankind”) is set to star in the creature thriller The Cell, it was announced today. The film is directed by Adam Cooper (The Avenue’s Sleeping Dogs starring Russell Crowe), whose writing credits include 20th Century Fox’s Assassin’s Creed and Lionsgate’s Allegiant, the third film in the popular Divergent series. The Cell is written by Evan Turner (Lionsgate’s Dear David) and Ben Zazove (Paramount Pictures’ Sherlock Gnomes).
The creature feature is produced by Jason Tamasco, Zak Kristofek and Keith Danko for Traction (Red Right Hand, Hyde); Leigh Collier (The Matchmaker’s Playbook); Greg Silverman (Shelter, Motor City) and Grant Torre (Space Cadet) for Caravan Media Services and Matthew Bierman (Chasing Red, The Grand). The film is executive produced by Alastair Burlingham, Gary Raskin, Bjorn Hovland, Michael Rifkin and Elizabeth A. Bell for Caravan and Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier for Highland Film Group.
Highland Film Group is handling worldwide rights, launching sales at AFM. Principal photography is slated to begin in February 2027. Sherborne Media is providing a structured credit facility against the production rebate and incentives.
As investigative journalist Ryan Weaver (Joel Kinnaman) is about to blow the whistle on a powerful pharmaceutical company, he wakes up imprisoned inside a secret medical testing facility where patients are isolated, drugged and subjected to disturbing experiments. Told he is dangerously ill, Ryan soon realizes the people running the facility may be far more interested in studying him than curing him. As his own body begins to mutate, Ryan soon begins searching for an escape, but what he finds in the lower levels suggests the facility is creating something far worse than the disease.
“Joel Kinnaman shines as both the sharp investigative journalist closing in on the truth and the tortured and increasingly isolated man whose best chance of escape is to embrace the terrifying changes that have taken over his body,” said Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser. “We are delighted to team up again with director Adam Cooper following Sleeping Dogs on this visceral and dynamic creature thriller. We have such an accomplished group of producers who bring a wide range of perspectives to the film, and we can’t wait for cameras to roll on this fantastic project,” added Highland Film Group COO Delphine Perrier.
Director Adam Cooper said, “So grateful to have Joel joining us. For a character that is in almost every frame of the film, it is a gift to have a lead actor as talented as Joel embody them, and I can’t wait to share this story with audiences.”
Traction’s Tamasco and Kristofek state, “We are so excited to be able to produce this incredible script alongside our partner in Caravan and the rest of the team. The caliber of actor in Joel joining us is a testament to Ben and Evan’s writing and the vision that Adam possesses.”
Caravan’s Bell added, “We couldn’t be more excited to work with an actor of Joel Kinnaman’s extraordinary talent and a director as gifted as Adam Cooper, alongside the exceptional creative team at Traction. The Cell also represents an exciting opportunity to build on our partnerships with Sherborne Media on financing and Gateway Entertainment on workforce development, bringing together the talent, resources and expertise to make this film a reality.”
Joel Kinnaman recently starred in action-thriller The Beast opposite Samuel L. Jackson, and Apple TV’s psychological thriller series “Imperfect Women” alongside Kerry Washington and Elisabeth Moss, the series has been officially renewed for a second season. He is best known for his role as Rick Flag Jr. in both of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad films and makes a special guest appearance reprising his role in the second season of HBO Max’s “Peacemaker” starring John Cena. Additional credits include Apple TV’s “For All Mankind,” TNT’s limited series “High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam,” Republic Pictures’ The Silent Hour opposite Mark Strong, John Woo’s action thriller Silent Night, Netflix’s “House of Cards” and “Altered Carbon.” Next up, he will be a part of the ensemble cast of Apple TV’s comedy-drama “The Husbands,” alongside Juno Temple, Joe Alwyn and Richard Gadd.
Highland Film Group’s current slate also includes Andy Tennant’s comedy The Fun Lady starring Jessica Alba; Nimród Antal’s sci-fi action thriller Bluefly starring Russell Crowe and Priyanka Chopra Jonas; Lisette Feliciano’s Iron Jane starring Eiza Gonzalez and Brandon Sklenar; Neil Burger’s action thriller Barracuda starring Anthony Mackie and Dafne Keen; and Justin Chadwick’s action spy-thriller The Mark starring Jessica Alba, Tom Hopper and Elsa Pataky.
Kinnaman is repped by WME, Magnolia Entertainment, R&C PMK and Jill Smith at Kleinberg, Lange, Cuddy and Carlo LLP. Cooper is repped by CAA, Anonymous Content and Jeff Frankel at Mckuin Frankel Whitehead. Turner & Zazove are repped by Verve, Kaplan / Perrone and Farhad Amid at McKuin Frankel Whitehead. Tamasco and Kristofek are repped by CAA and Eugene Pikulin at Bruns Brennan and Berry.
ABOUT TRACTION
TRACTION is an independent film and television production company led by partners Jason Tamasco, Zak Kristofek and Keith Danko. The company develops, produces and delivers commercial, filmmaker-driven features from script to screen. TRACTION’s first film, A LOT OF NOTHING, starring Y’lan Noel and Cleopatra Coleman, premiered at SXSW in 2022. Its follow-up, RED RIGHT HAND, starring Orlando Bloom and Andie MacDowell, was released by Magnolia Pictures in February 2024 and is now streaming on Hulu. THE PIRATE KING, starring Rob Riggle and Jordana Brewster, premiered at SXSW 2026 and will be released in March 2027. HYDE, a crime thriller starring Holt McCallany and Nathalie Emmanuel, is in post-production, with Voltage handling sales. The company’s upcoming slate includes THE CELL, to be directed by Adam Cooper; THE LONG WAY BACK, written by Topher Grace and Bobby Telatovich and two Black List scripts: THE MIDNIGHT POOL (2022), to be directed by James McTeigue, and BLOODY MINGO (2024), to be directed by Keith Thomas.
ABOUT CARAVAN MEDIA SERVICES
Based in Riyadh and Los Angeles, Caravan Media Services is a film and television production services, financing and workforce development company connecting international filmmakers with regional production hubs. A joint venture between Stampede Ventures and Sherborne Media, Caravan combines international production expertise, financing capabilities and local execution to provide access to production incentives, infrastructure, locations, local resources and comprehensive production support throughout the Middle East.
ABOUT STAMPEDE VENTURES
Stampede Ventures is a global media company founded by media veterans Greg Silverman, Gideon Yu and Jaeson Ma. Its film credits include Motor City starring Alan Ritchson and Shailene Woodley, Dead of Winter starring Emma Thompson, Shelter starring Jason Statham, Space Cadet starring Emma Roberts, Anderson .Paak’s directorial debut K-Pops!, Ordinary Angels starring Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson, and The Saint of Second Chances.
ABOUT SHERBORNE MEDIA
Established in 2016, Sherborne Media is a bridge and specialty lender to independent film, television and streaming productions and companies, with a track record of more than 150 projects and a cumulative loan book exceeding $750 million. Its financing solutions include short-term bridge facilities, asset-based and receivables lending, and production incentive financing in established and emerging markets. Based in Los Angeles, Sherborne operates globally through subsidiaries and affiliates in key international markets.
ABOUT GATEWAY ENTERTAINMENT
Gateway Entertainment develops and delivers practical film production training and workforce development programs. Combining classroom instruction, on-set experience and departmental rotations across key filmmaking disciplines, its programs prepare participants for professional roles in the screen industry. In partnership with Stampede Ventures, Gateway delivered training initiatives associated with K-Pops!, Motor City, and Chasing Red, supporting the development of local talent and regional production capacity.
ABOUT HIGHLAND FILM GROUP
Led by founding partners Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, Highland Film Group (HFG) is an award-winning global studio with end-to-end capabilities, driving films from development to release. HFG operates as a producer, financier, distributor and sales agent, with an in-house team that oversees global productions and acquisitions. Launched in 2010, HFG delivers standout films across a wide range of genres and platforms, building a reputation for producing high-octane films in the action, thriller and horror space. In 2020, the studio expanded into U.S. distribution with the successful launch of The Avenue, HFG’s dedicated label managing all release windows, from theatrical through home entertainment to television, SVOD and AVOD.
HFG’s diversified production and sales slate includes William Eubank’s action thriller Land of Bad starring Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth released on 1,300 screens in February 2024 and surged to the #1 spot on Netflix in the US; Benjamin Brewer’s survival action-thriller Arcadian starring Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage, official selection at SXSW; Adrian Grünberg’s shark actioner The Black Demon starring Josh Lucas which claimed the #1 spot on Amazon’s streaming rankings for seven consecutive days following its theatrical release in 2023; the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut produced by Brad Fuller and starring Kate Mara and Laurence Fishburne, world premiere at SXSW; Adrian Grünberg’s action thriller Protector starring Milla Jovovich and Justin Chadwick’s action thriller Sierra Madre starring Kiefer Sutherland.
New projects include Neil Burger’s action thriller Barracuda starring Anthony Mackie and Dafne Keen; Justin Chadwick’s action spy-thriller The Mark starring Jessica Alba, Tom Hopper and Elsa Pataky; Nimród Antal’s sci-fi action thriller Bluefly starring Russell Crowe and Priyanka Chopra Jonas; Lisette Feliciano’s Iron Jane starring Eiza Gonzalez and Brandon Sklenar; Andy Tennant’s comedy The Fun Lady starring Jessica Alba; Pierre Morel’s action thriller The Good Samaritan starring Daisy Ridley; the feature adaptation of House of Night, the first film in a planned franchise based on the New York Times #1 bestselling YA fantasy romance series; and the shark survival actioner The Black Demon: Atlantis starring Jack Kesy and Julio César Cedillo.
Previous titles include Joe Carnahan’s Boss Level starring Naomi Watts, Mel Gibson and Frank Grillo; Lin Oeding’s thriller Braven starring Jason Momoa; Scott Mann’s Final Score starring Dave Bautista and Pierce Brosnan; Berlin, I Love You with Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Jim Sturgess, Mickey Rourke, Diego Luna and Jenna Dewan Tatum and Vaughn Stein’s Terminal starring Margot Robbie and Simon Pegg.
