Yahoo Lifestyle Barry Keoghan, Riley Keough in Talks for ‘Butterfly Jam’ From ‘Beanpole’ Director Kantemir Balagov, ‘Emilia Pérez’ Producers (EXCLUSIVE)
Barry Keoghan (“Saltburn”) and Riley Keough (“Mad Max: Fury Road”) are in talks to star in “Butterfly Jam,” the first English-language feature from Kantemir Balagov, the Russian director behind the acclaimed 2019 drama “Beanpole.”
The film, which launched in Cannes last year with Goodfellas selling, is based on Balagov’s script about a tight-knit U.S. community of Circassian immigrants and a complicated relationship between a father and son, in which the son imbues his father with qualities he doesn’t actually possess. The script has already circulated among select distributors and has sparked some anticipation. Variety understands CAA Media Finance is co-repping the title with UTA for North America.
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Pascal Caucheteux’s Why Not Productions — which produced “Emilia Perez” — is joining Alexander Rodnyansky’s AR Content to produce the film, which will be financed by AR Content.
Rodnyansky — who also produced “Beanpole” and whose lengthy list of credits includes Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Leviathan” and “Loveless” — produces with Caucheteux while exec producers are Michael Kupisk for AR Content, Pauline Lamy for Why Not Productions and Livia Van der Staay from Goodfellas.
“Butterfly Jam” marks Balagov’s second foray into Hollywood after he was selected to direct the pilot episode of “The Last of Us.” He ended up leaving the project and showrunner Craig Mazin took over, although about 40% of Balagov’s footage was reportedly used in the final cut.
His previous film, “Beanpole,” which followed two young women rebuilding their lives in warn-torn Leningrad in 1945, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, in the Un Certain Regard section, where it won best director and the FIPRESCI prize. It went on to play at a flurry of international festivals, including at San Sebastian and Palm Springs, where it won best foreign-language film. It also represented Russia in the 2020 Oscar race and was shortlisted in the international feature film category.
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