November Man

[eaz35173]

Another pic from the wrap party ...

[SeriousJacko]

A great man he is. I wish I could have seen more of Brosnan and Olga together, that would be great.

[eaz35173]

Jul 23, 2013 19:09:08 GMT -5 SeriousJacko said:

A great man he is. I wish I could have seen more of Brosnan and Olga together, that would be great.

Guess we'll just have to wait for the movie to see that

[SeriousJacko]

Jul 23, 2013 19:12:06 GMT -5 eaz35173 said:

Jul 23, 2013 19:09:08 GMT -5 SeriousJacko said:

A great man he is. I wish I could have seen more of Brosnan and Olga together, that would be great.

Guess we'll just have to wait for the movie to see that

Very true. Well, it isn't coming till November 13, 2014, way too "early", isn't it? LOL!

[juljustik]

[piercebrosnanhot]

nice find juljustik!

[SeriousJacko]

Nice job, juljustik!!

[eaz35173]

Tweet from Olga ...

Olga Kurylenko ‏@olyakurylenko 
Done and wrapped on #NovemberMan! Amazing crew, love #Belgrade, #PierceBrosnan, director #RogerDonaldson had an awesome time! Holiday now!

[Ace]

www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2013/07/30/bill-grangers-november-man-is-finally-coming-to-the-movies


Bill Granger's November Man is finally coming to the movies
Posted by Michael Miner today at 10.26 AM

Pierce Brosnan saw something in Bill Grangers novels, and now hes adapting one of them into a movie.



"Jesus Christ!" said Bill Granger. "It's hard enough making a living in this racket without some guy stealing the dimes off your eyelids."

Bill Granger wrote books. He churned them out. They had no business being as good as he made them. "I've written eight books in three years," he told an interviewer in 1983. "Fear is a great motivator—I have to pay the mortgage."

What he said above he said to me in 1991. The subject of our conversation was his best-known books—the November Man series of international spy thrillers—and confusion thrown in the marketplace by other authors. Roger Ebert was serializing in the Sun-Times a "crackpot, whimsical" cliff-hanger (Ebert's description) whose hero was a Mason Devereaux. Granger had named his ice-cold November Man Devereaux (no first name given), and until Ebert explained that he intended some sort of homage and compliment, Granger wasn't particularly happy about it. A former Sun-Times colleague of Ebert's, he accepted the explanation.

But somebody else came out with a spy novel called The Devereaux File; and then E.P. Dutton's 1991 spring catalog touted a new novel by the author David Daniel as a "riveting, frighteningly realistic political thriller." The title: The November Man. Granger's agent, Aaron Priest, called Dutton's editor in chief, and the title was changed. The dimes went back on Granger's eyelids.

In 1978 the Sun-Times's sister paper, the afternoon Daily News, folded, and when the staffs were merged Granger lost his job. He had a family to support. He started writing books, and he wrote and published 28 of them before he had to quit. About half were November Man novels. Granger quit writing because of a massive stroke in 2000 that destroyed his short-term memory, and he lived out the last few years of his life at the Manteno Veterans Home. I visited him there once, and when I got back to Chicago called his wife, Lori, to describe the visit. "He's already forgotten it," she said.

Granger died in the spring of 2012.

His books were admired, but I always felt they were not admired enough. My yardstick was Granger's: they'd earned him too many dimes, too few dollars. Hollywood should have snapped them up. If Hollywood had butchered them, Granger would have cared but shrugged it off.

So I write today with good news. Pierce Brosnan is in Belgrade, Serbia, at this moment making a movie he’s calling The November Man. It's an adaptation of one of Granger's Devereaux novels—not the first, called The November Man and published in 1979, but a later one, There Are No Spies. Said Publishers Weekly, when that book was published in 1986, "a sequence of deadly events" brings Devereaux out of retirement, "pitting him against a deadly female Soviet operative and ultimately leading him to a Soviet sleeper agent high within the American security community."

Brosnan's costar is Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace). Roger Donaldson (No Way Out) is the director. Brosnan's own company, Irish DreamTime, is producing.

How did this happen? I asked Lori Granger.

"Our agent [Priest] kept saying the motion picture business is crazy," she said. "We've had options in the past, and they went away." An option to hold movie rights to a book for a few years isn't even a lot of money to the author—maybe a couple of thousand dollars a year; it's insignificant to a producer. Granger's first novel, The November Man, was optioned, and so were a couple of others. Nothing ever happened and the options eventually lapsed. Authors who get their hopes up learn better.

About five years ago Brosnan optioned There Are No Spies for four years. "When Aaron called me he said, 'Take it for what it is. It'll probably not go anyplace,'" said Lori Granger. And it didn't. But then Brosnan renewed the option for a fifth year at $10,000—a sum still too small to mean anything, but even so, five figures. And then Brosnan (actually, his "money people") told Priest early this year they were going to exercise the option and make the movie. And, just in case it's a hit, they've reserved the right to make a second movie from another November Man novel.

Granger died before his wife could tell him about the movie. But he knew about Brosnan's option. "In so far as he knew anything at all in the last four years," she told me. "I certainly explained it to him several times. His short-term memory was down to about 15 minutes, so it was rough. He'd gotten to the point where he didn't even remember writing the books."

Lori Granger has no intention of going to Serbia to visit the set and kick the tires of the moviemaking business. I asked her if she could see Brosnan, who's 60, as Devereaux. "I guess I can, as much as anyone," she said. "He's older than the November Man would have been in the books."

But James Bond, in those books, was in his mid-30s, and Brosnan managed. Besides, he picked the one where Devereaux comes out of retirement.

[eaz35173]

A short clip of filming in Belgrade.  It looks like Pierce getting out of the car and running toward something...

[rosafermu]

It is very short, but is very good. Thanks eaz.

[Ace]

www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2013/09/11/behind-the-movie-being-made-of-bill-grangers-november-man

Behind the movie being made of Bill Granger's November Man
Posted by Michael Miner today at 10.56 AM


A few weeks ago I wrote in the Bleader with some good news—Pierce Brosnan was bringing Bill Granger to the screen. Granger, who died last year, had been my friend and colleague at the Sun-Times. When he turned to writing books he hit the ground running with The November Man, which introduced a secret agent, Devereaux—aka the November Man—who proved so compelling a protagonist (cold, laconic, brutal) that Granger brought him back for another dozen novels.

"I just want to thank Mr.Granger for the best series nobody here ever heard of," says a reader on Amazon.

For too long a time that "nobody" seemed to include Hollywood, though a couple of options were taken out and allowed to lapse. When I found out that Brosnan was in Serbia actually filming There Are No Spies (in which Devereaux comes out of retirement to hunt a Soviet mole), I got in touch with Granger's agent, the Aaron Priest Literary Agency, to find out more, and this inquiry led to a couple of recent e-mails from Brosnan's producer, Beau St. Clair.

"In 2005, after Matador, (a hit man movie we produced) Pierce and I decided to revisit the espionage genre, looking for something that was dark, smart and edgy," St. Clair wrote. "Granger's writing, and the character of Devereaux, became the reason to jump back in after Bond. Our screenwriters did an amazing adaptation, but the book was our foundation and I think it is important to tell that part of our story. Right now, we are just starting post production, but the movie is feeling really good."

I asked for more specifics. What led them to Granger?

"The books were mentioned to me by an old time producer I had been working with called Dino Conte," St. Clair explained. "He felt they would be great for Pierce. The books are not that well known, but Nikki Finke wrote a story and said they were one of the 10 great unmade espionage series ever written. So some people in Hollywood know, I guess.

"I read all the November Man books and hired a researcher to break down all the books into synopsis, characters, themes, etc.—an exhausting year or more. Then I brought on a great feature writer named Mike Finch, who brought on Karl Gajdusek. Both these guys are huge now, but at that point—2007, 2008—just brilliant but not big. Both Yale grads and extremely smart. It took another 9 months to beat out a story. I picked There Are No Spies because organically it works on 2 levels. Devereaux goes back into the spy world, older and having already done the gig, same as Pierce. The other add-on was making the piece into a two-hander with Mason which gives the story its spine."

Mason, I read here, is a "former pupil" Devereaux is pitted against "in a race to find a woman hiding from her past . . . who holds the key to an international conspiracy." Mason gives the movie a spine Granger didn't give the book; and for that matter, the movie gives Devereaux a first name (Peter), something Granger saw no need for. If the film works, these will be trifling details.

[SeriousJacko]

Sept 11, 2013 11:19:39 GMT -5 Ace said:

www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2013/09/11/behind-the-movie-being-made-of-bill-grangers-november-man

Behind the movie being made of Bill Granger's November Man
Posted by Michael Miner today at 10.56 AM


A few weeks ago I wrote in the Bleader with some good news—Pierce Brosnan was bringing Bill Granger to the screen. Granger, who died last year, had been my friend and colleague at the Sun-Times. When he turned to writing books he hit the ground running with The November Man, which introduced a secret agent, Devereaux—aka the November Man—who proved so compelling a protagonist (cold, laconic, brutal) that Granger brought him back for another dozen novels.

"I just want to thank Mr.Granger for the best series nobody here ever heard of," says a reader on Amazon.

For too long a time that "nobody" seemed to include Hollywood, though a couple of options were taken out and allowed to lapse. When I found out that Brosnan was in Serbia actually filming There Are No Spies (in which Devereaux comes out of retirement to hunt a Soviet mole), I got in touch with Granger's agent, the Aaron Priest Literary Agency, to find out more, and this inquiry led to a couple of recent e-mails from Brosnan's producer, Beau St. Clair.

"In 2005, after Matador, (a hit man movie we produced) Pierce and I decided to revisit the espionage genre, looking for something that was dark, smart and edgy," St. Clair wrote. "Granger's writing, and the character of Devereaux, became the reason to jump back in after Bond. Our screenwriters did an amazing adaptation, but the book was our foundation and I think it is important to tell that part of our story. Right now, we are just starting post production, but the movie is feeling really good."

I asked for more specifics. What led them to Granger?

"The books were mentioned to me by an old time producer I had been working with called Dino Conte," St. Clair explained. "He felt they would be great for Pierce. The books are not that well known, but Nikki Finke wrote a story and said they were one of the 10 great unmade espionage series ever written. So some people in Hollywood know, I guess.

"I read all the November Man books and hired a researcher to break down all the books into synopsis, characters, themes, etc.—an exhausting year or more. Then I brought on a great feature writer named Mike Finch, who brought on Karl Gajdusek. Both these guys are huge now, but at that point—2007, 2008—just brilliant but not big. Both Yale grads and extremely smart. It took another 9 months to beat out a story. I picked There Are No Spies because organically it works on 2 levels. Devereaux goes back into the spy world, older and having already done the gig, same as Pierce. The other add-on was making the piece into a two-hander with Mason which gives the story its spine."

Mason, I read here, is a "former pupil" Devereaux is pitted against "in a race to find a woman hiding from her past . . . who holds the key to an international conspiracy." Mason gives the movie a spine Granger didn't give the book; and for that matter, the movie gives Devereaux a first name (Peter), something Granger saw no need for. If the film works, these will be trifling details.

Brilliant article. It's getting better and better when you retrieve more information. I just can't wait to see this movie. It's going to be Pierce's smashing comeback to both the action genre and the spy genre.

[Ace]

variety.com/2013/film/news/pierce-brosnan-november-man-1200802794/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

AFM: ‘November Man’s’ Pierce Brosnan Has a Full Film Slate

November 6, 2013 | 06:00PM PT
Film Reporter
Dave McNary


Pierce Brosnan has been busy — and may have a new franchise in “November Man,” which is in post-production. It’s one of 10 titles that the Solution Entertainment Group is offering for foreign sales at the American Film Market, where Solution will unveil a new promo to buyers.

Brosnan’s production company Irish DreamTime announced the project last year at Cannes as the launch title in a multipicture financing and distribution deal with Solution. “November Man” centers on an ex-CIA operative who is brought back in on a personal mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil in an operation involving high-level CIA officials and the Russian president-elect.

“After Pierce had finished with Bond, he wanted to do something edgier and darker, and Dino Conti, a longtime producer at MGM, had always urged me to get ‘November Man,’ ” said Beau St. Clair, Brosnan’s longtime producing partner.

The development money was raised last year through Solution, Myles Nestel and Lisa Wilson’s sales-financing banner with a final budget of under $20 million.

Brosnan is working on another project for sale via Solution at AFM — the romancer “How to Make Love Like an Englishman.”

“It’s set in L.A., so we shot it in L.A.,” St. Clair said. “We could have saved money if we had shot in New Orleans or Wilmington, but it would not have looked like L.A. So we thought it would be better to work with a lean, lean budget and shoot here instead of trying to fake it in some place like Vancouver.”

St. Clair said the budget was $30 million when the project was first developed in 2006. “It’s a lot less now,” she added.

Brosnan is also shooting action-thriller “The Coup” with the Dowdle brothers in Thailand and then “I.T.,” in which he’ll play a successful book publisher pitted against a young disgruntled I.T. consultant.

[Ace]

Just copying this here since it specifically mentions good things about The November Man

=======================================================


From The Hollywood Reporter ... www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/afm-five-surprising-lessons-654975


AFM: Five Surprising Lessons

11:57 PM PST 11/10/2013 by Pamela McClintock

What do Pierce Brosnan, Nancy Meyers and extreme sports have in common? They all made unexpected headlines during a market insiders say is more competitive than ever.



The 2013 edition of the American Film Market was marked by extremes -- and worry. Buyers lamented that there weren’t enough high-profile projects to pluck from. Sellers didn’t even try to deny it, saying the global film business is tougher than ever. One veteran international sales agent used darts as an analogy, saying these days you have to hit the bullseye. “If you don’t, you’re out of the game entirely,” he said. As AFM attendees pack up and head for points around the globe (even if that just means their Los Angeles homes), here are five lessons to mull over:

1) A High-Concept Is Worth Its Weight in Gold

By far the major success story of AFM was Alcon Entertainment’s $100 million Point Break reboot, which sold out around the world despite having no cast. The project was the talk of the market and a stunning success for Patrick Wachsberger’s Lionsgate, which is handling the movie internationally for Alcon (Warner Bros. will distribute domestically). The reboot of Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 surfer thriller will be shot around the world and will feature a myriad of extreme sports.


2) The Celebrity Pitch Is Here to Stay

More stars than ever before showed up in Santa Monica to woo foreign distributors in the hopes of raising financing for their upcoming projects. Russell Crowe pitched The Water Diviner (Mister Smith), Don Cheadle championed his Miles Davis project Kill the Trumpet Player (IM Global), while Blake Lively came to Santa Monica to tout The Age of Adaline (Lakeshore, Sierra/Affinity). Vince Vaughn and Peter Billingsley impressed with their presentation for Term Life (QED), an action-thriller starring Vaughn opposite Hailee Steinfeld. And AFM kicked off with Elton John and Tom Hardy hosting a posh beachside breakfast for buyers, where they crooned over Rocketman (Good Universe), the Elton John biopic starring Hardy as the iconic pop star.


3) Nancy Meyers Still Matters

Foreign distributors appeared happy to finally have a chance to work with Nancy Meyers, who until now was a studio-only director. But after seeing her status fade, the director has decided to go the indie route. Worldview Entertainment and Lotus Entertainment came aboard to finance The Intern, a comedy about a woman who learns a lesson from her elderly temp. Reese Witherspoon and Robert De Niro are in discussions to star. Lotus had plenty of buyers coming through its suite to check the project out (Meyers even gave a presentation).


4) Don’t Count Out Pierce Brosnan

With baby boomers driving more and more of the box office in the Western world, Pierce Brosnan could be on the verge of a comeback. Foreign buyers were impressed with a promo reel for Roger Donaldson’s The November Man, a spy thriller starring the 60-year-old actor opposite Olga Kurylenko. Brosnan had no fewer than six projects at AFM (others include The Solution’s How to Make Love Like an Englishman, Sierra/ Affinity’s The Coup and QED’s Strange But True).


5) Edgy Has Its Place

One of the more sought-after new projects was action-comedy American Ultra (FilmNation), starring Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg. American Ultra, handled by FilmNation, follows a loser stoner whose life is upended when he becomes the target of a government operation that wants him dead. And QED also did well by cult director Takashi Miike’s crime-thriller The Outsider, starring Hardy.

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[Ace]

PB Files: The November Man  is now up.  Sadly not nearly as many, let alone the same quality of photos as other recent films.

[eaz35173]

Love the graphic, Ace!

[rosafermu]

Many thanks, Ace

[Ace]

From Pierce's Instagram: Coming soon to a theatre near you... #NOVEMBERMAN 2014




Of course he posts this right after I made that banner and spent time trying to search for appropriate photos.  Tricky!

[brina]

Such a brilliant photo. Very frustrating that we still have to wait a year to see the finished film!