American Film Market Dailies

CAPSTONE GROUP’S BLUE BOX INTERNATIONAL TO LAUNCH SALES AT AFM THIS WEEK

LOS ANGELES, CA (November 9, 2020) Four-time Academy Award nominated actor and filmmaker Ethan Hawke (First Reformed, Boyhood), Cristina Chiriac (Siberia, Tommaso) and Phil Neilson (Siberia, Ben-Hur) have joined seminal filmmaker Abel Ferrara’s (Bad Lieutenant, The Funeral, Kings Of New York) upcoming thriller Zeroes and Ones.

Both written and directed by Ferrara, filming begins in Italy later this month.

JJ (Ethan Hawke) is an American soldier stationed in a Rome under siege, locked down, and at war.  The Vatican being blown into the night sky is only the beginning of our hero’s journey to uncover and defend against an unknown enemy but threatening the lives of the entire world.

Christian Mercuri’s Capstone Group will launch sales at AFM this week under its Blue Box International label and will co-rep domestic with CAA Media Finance.

Zeroes and Ones is produced by Diana Phillips (Bad Lieutenant, Siberia, Alfie) of Rimsky Productions, and Philipp Kreuzer (Guns Akimbo, The Happy Prince, Run & Jump) from Maze Pictures.  Award winning cinematographer Sean Price Williams who most recently lensed Cannes Film Festival Official Selection Good Time directed by Benny and Josh Safdie and starring Robert Pattinson, anchors the production below the line team.

Danny Chan of Almost Never Films will serve as Executive Producer alongside Brent Guttman and Don Young.

“Zero’s and Ones is a film of lockdown and war, danger and espionage, American soldiers, Chinese middlemen,  Mid Eastern holy men, provocateurs, diplomats, rogue elements of the CIA and KGB.  I cannot wait to roll the cameras next week in a way that is safe because this film was written during and with an understanding of the pandemic,” declared Ferrara  

“Buyers are hungry for compelling and original storylines in the hands of master filmmakers and Zeroes and Ones ticks all the right boxes,” Mercuri stated. “Coupled with worldclass production values and locations that includes the eerie backdrop of present-day Rome which has a feeling of Paris at the end of WW2, this film is a package not to be missed.”

In a career that spans over three decades, Ethan Hawke's prolific filmography includes screen performances in Dead Poets Society; Reality Bites; Gattaca; Training Day; Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead; Boyhood; Born to Be Blue; Maudie; Richard Linklater’s trilogy Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight; and First Reformed, among countless others.  He is also a noted filmmaker, author, and currently makes his television debut as star, co-writer, and executive producer of Showtime’s critically acclaimed limited series, The Good Lord Bird.  

Long-time independent filmmaker Abel Ferrara has built a cult audience following with his stylish, neo-noir imagery, gritty urban settings, and provocative award winning films.  A Film Festival favorite, his credits include Siberia, The Addiction, The Funeral, Blackout, Pasolini, Tommaso, Mary, Bad Lieutenant and the crime-thriller King of New York starring Christopher Walken.

ABOUT CAPSTONE GROUP

Capstone Group is an independent film financing and international sales company focusing on high quality commercial films with worldwide box office appeal.  Established in 2017, Capstone is headed by renowned international sales and distribution veteran Christian Mercuri who has sold, financed and produced over 150 feature films with distribution contracts exceeding $1.7 billion USD and a worldwide box office exceeding $3 billion USD.  In its first years, the company has financed and/or licensed films with

International stars such as Angelina Jolie, Mila Kunis, Chris Pratt, Jackie Chan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.  Prior to forming Capstone Group, Mercuri helped finance and distribute projects such as The Wolf of Wall Street, The Expendables, Dumb and Dumber To, and Out of the Furnace.