• AGC Unwritten Ups Emily Knight to Senior VP of Development

    January 28, 2025

    Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios and AGC Unwritten, its unscripted, non-fiction subsidiary led by president Joel Zimmer, have promoted Emily Knight to senior VP with oversight of all development for AGC Unwritten.

  • Variety 500 Revealed: Meet the Most Powerful and Influential Leaders in Global Media and Entertainment

    January 7, 2024

    If the first few days of January are any indication, 2025 is going to be a rock ‘em, sock ‘em year across the media and entertainment landscape.

    In advance of Variety’s Entertainment Summit on Jan. 8 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas — our annual gathering where we assess the year that just wrapped and look ahead at what’s to come — today we formally unveil this year’s Variety 500. This is our annual global compendium of showbiz leaders and movers and shakers across TV, film, music, gaming, digital media, entertainment-related technology and other Hollywood-adjacent disciplines.

    AGC Chairman & CEO Stuart Ford included.

  • ‘Forever Purge’ Director Everardo Gout to Helm Thriller ‘Clementine’ From David L. Williams Blacklist Script

    December 11, 2024

    Mexican filmmaker Everardo Gout, known for “Days of Grace,” “The Chosen One” and “The Forever Purge,” has signed on to direct action thriller “Clementine,” a co-production between Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios and Yeardley Smith and Ben Cornwell’s Paperclip Ltd.

  • Bobby Farrelly To Direct Road Trip Comedy ‘Driver’s Ed’ For ‘Outer Banks’ Jonas Pate & AGC Studios

    December 5, 2024

    EXCLUSIVE: Following the November 25 Paramount+ launch of his holiday comedy Dear Santa, Bobby Farrelly has closed a deal to direct Driver’s Ed, a teen ensemble comedy to be fully financed and co-produced by Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios.

  • ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’ Director Julius Avery Boards Alien Abduction Thriller ‘They Found Us’

    November 20, 2024

    Julius Avery (Samaritan, Overlord, The Pope’s Exorcist) has come on board to direct They Found Us, an alien abduction thriller from Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios being co-produced with Temple Hill (Smile, Twilight franchises)

    Avery will direct They Found Us from an original screenplay by Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight, The Exorcist) with Godfrey and Marty Bowen producing for Temple Hill. Ford and Temple Hill’s John Fischer will act as executive producers.

  • Russell Crowe Action Pic ‘The Last Druid’, His Return To Battle The Roman Empire, Pre-Sells Around The World For AGC Including To Amazon In Key Territories

    November 12, 2024

    EXCLUSIVE: International buyers have sparked to the idea of seeing Oscar winner Russell Crowe return to battle the Roman Empire in action movie The Last Druid, a hot seller for AGC at last week’s AFM.

  • AGC Studios’ Stuart Ford on why US buyers must rediscover “appetite for risk”, future location of AFM

    November 7, 2024

    In a wide-ranging AFM fireside talk, AGC Studios head Stuart Ford urged US theatrical distributors to invest earlier in projects, talked about streamers’ “fundamental” role in the independent ecosystem, and asserted that the market needs to return to Los Angeles.

  • Taika Waititi in Talks to Star in Adaptation of David Walliams’ ‘Fing!,’ Alongside Rafe Spall, Walliams

    November 1, 2024

    Taika Waititi is in discussions to star in the adaptation of David Walliams’ bestselling children’s book “Fing!,” alongside Rafe Spall, David Walliams and newcomer Iona Bell. The script for the family fantasy is written by Walliams alongside Emmy Award-winner Kevin Cecil (“Veep”). Jeffrey Walker (“Young Rock,” “Modern Family”) is set to direct.

  • Dev Patel to Star in Tarsem Singh’s Tennis Crime Thriller ‘The Journeyman,’ AGC and CAA Selling at AFM

    November 1, 2024

    Dev Patel will star in “The Journeyman,” a crime thriller directed by Tarsem Singh from a script by husband-wife duo Bryan and Alexis Roberts (aka The Roberts). AGC Studios will fully finance and produce the film with Academy Award nominee Scott Franklin, Patel’s Minor Realm and LBI Entertainment.

  • Russell Crowe, 25 Years After ‘Gladiator’, To Battle The Roman Empire Once More In ‘The Last Druid’; AGC, Range & CAA Media Finance Launching For AFM

    October 31, 2024

    EXCLUSIVE: Almost 25 years after Russell Crowe waged war on the Roman Empire — and won an Oscar for his trouble — in Gladiator, the actor is once again set to stir the warrior within for The Last Druid. Stuart Ford’s AGC is launching sales on the project for the AFM.

  • AGC Studios’ Stuart Ford, Anton’s Sébastien Raybaud to Keynote at American Film Market

    October 30, 2024

    Stuart Ford, chairman and CEO of AGC Studios, and Sebastien Raybaud, founder and CEO Anton, are set for informal conversations at the 45th American Film Market next week.

  • AGC Studios CEO Stuart Ford Says U.S. Theatrical Distribs Need To Rethink “Broken” Relationship With Independent Production World – Zurich Summit

    October 5, 2024

  • AGC acquires international sales on upcoming TIFF world premiere ‘Ick’

    August 29, 2024

    AGC International has acquired international sales on upcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Midnight Madness world premiere Ick.

    Joseph Kahn’s sci-fi creature feature stars Mena Suvari and Brandon Routh in the tale of a washed-up jock turned high school science teacher who teams up with a class of rebellious teens to overcome an invasive infectious substance.

  • Ron Howard's Venice-tipped ‘Eden’ starring Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Sydney Sweeney, sells in Cannes for AGC (exclusive)

    May 21, 2024

    AGC International has closed major territory sales here in Cannes on Eden, Ron Howard’s all-star survival thriller and potential awards season contender which is tipped to land a Venice world premiere slot.

  • Will Smith Action Pic ‘Sugar Bandits’ Seals Big Deals Around The World Ahead Of Planned September Start — Cannes Market

    May 19, 2024

    EXCLUSIVE: One of the market’s biggest-budget projects, the Will Smith action-crime thriller Sugar Bandits, has sealed multi-million dollar deals across the world for AGC ahead of a planned September start date.

  • AGC International Launches Sales on Matt Tyrnauer’s Documentary Feature ‘Nobu’ (EXCLUSIVE)

    May 17, 2024

    AGC Intl., the international sales arm of Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios, is launching sales in Cannes on director Matt Tyrnauer’s documentary feature “Nobu,” about world renowned chef and hotelier Nobu Matsuhisa.

  • Justin Kurzel’s True Crime Thriller ‘The Order’ Starring Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult & Tye Sheridan Acquired By Vertical

    May 16, 2024

    EXCLUSIVE: Vertical has acquired U.S. rights from AGC Studios to The Order, a dramatic thriller directed by Australia’s Justin Kurzel (Macbeth), on which we were first to report. Starring Jude Law (Firebrand), Nicholas Hoult (X-Men franchise), Tye Sheridan (The Card Counter), Jurnee Smollett (Birds of Prey) and more, the film will will have an exclusive release in theaters nationwide later this year.

  • “It’s an opportunistic time”: FilmNation, AGC, UTA heads assess indie landscape

    May 14, 2024

    From production pipelines to pay-1 deals to changing streamer strategies, FilmNation CEO Glen Basner, AGC Studios chairman Stuart Ford and partner and head of UTA Independent Film Group Rena Ronson speak ahead of Cannes.

  • First-look at Pierce Brosnan and Amir El-Masry in Naseem Hamed biopic ‘Giant’

    May 14, 2024

    A first-look at Pierce Brosnan and Amir El-Masry in sports drama Giant has been unveiled, with AGC Studios selling the title.

    Production is underway in Leeds on the Rowan Athale-directed feature, with Mark Lane of Tea Shop Productions producing alongside Kevin Sampson of White Star Productions out of the UK, and Stuart Ford of the US’s AGC Studios.

  • Stefano Sollima To Direct Will Smith Action-Thriller ‘Sugar Bandits’ For Westbrook & AGC — Cannes Market

    May 13, 2024

    EXCLUSIVE: On the eve of the Cannes market, Westbrook Studios and AGC Studios have set Italian filmmaker Stefano Sollima, known for directing Without Remorse, Sicario: Day of the Soldado and hit series Gomorrah, to helm big-budget action-thriller Sugar Bandits.

    Based on the screenplay and novel Devils In Exile by Chuck Hogan (The Town), Oscar winner Will Smith (Bad Boys) will play a former special forces soldier who runs an elite vigilante squad working to wipe out the drug trade in Boston. Additional casting continues.

  • AGC International launches horror ‘Menace’ from Spooky Pictures, Image Nation

    May 10, 2024

    AGC International has acquired sales rights to Menace, the latest horror from Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures following collaborations on Late Night With The Devil and Watcher.

    Directed by Randall Okita, Menace stars Isabel May a student who is sent to live with her aunt and uncle in a small down after suffering a psychotic breakdown.

  • Pierce Brosnan And Amir El-Masry Join Boxing Drama ‘Giant’ From AGC Studios, Shoot Moves To UK For Indie Movie Tax Credit

    April 14, 2024

    Pierce Brosnan and Amir El-Masry have signed on to star in the sports drama Giant from AGC Studios about the life of British-Yemeni boxer Prince Naseem “Naz” Hamed and his rags-to-riches ascent to a world championship under the tutelage of his Irish-born boxing trainer Brendan Ingle.

  • Lourdes Diaz Promoted to Partner at AGC Studios

    March 18, 2024

    Diaz has re-upped at Stuart Ford's production and distribution outfit, signing a multi-year contract and taking a seat on the company board.

  • ‘Transition,’ a Documentary About a Trans Man Who Embeds With the Taliban in Afghanistan, Premieres Trailer (EXCLUSIVE)

    February 16, 2024

    Variety is premiering the trailer (below) for feature documentary “Transition,” which follows Australian filmmaker Jordan Bryon, a trans man, as he embeds with a Taliban unit as they retake control of Afghanistan.

    The film, directed by Monica Villamizar and Bryon, will be released in the U.S. on March 26 by Gravitas Ventures. The film is available now for pre-order on Apple. AGC International is selling it at the European Film Market this week.

  • Paramount’s Republic Pictures Acquires North American Rights to ‘The Silent Hour’ From AGC Studios, Meridian Pictures (EXCLUSIVE)

    February 14, 2024

    AGC Studios and Meridian Pictures has sold U.S. and Canada as well as Asia pay TV rights for the Brad Anderson-directed thriller “The Silent Hour,” starring “Suicide Squad’s” Joel Kinnaman, “1917’s” Mark Strong, “New Amsterdam’s” Sandra Mae Frank and “8 Mile’s” Mekhi Phifer, to the newly revitalized Paramount label Republic Pictures.

  • Michelle Yeoh to star in Melanie Laurent’s ‘The Mother’; AGC boards sales

    Februart 14, 2024

    Michelle Yeoh is set to star in Melanie Laurent’s action thriller The Mother with AGC International launching sales at EFM.

    Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee will produce through Thunder Road (John Wick franchise) alongside Arthur Sarkissian and John Schramm, with Stuart Ford serving as executive producer for AGC Studios alongside 30West, which is financing the project.

  • Will Smith to Play Iraq War Vet in Action Thriller ‘Sugar Bandits’ (EXCLUSIVE)

    February 14, 2024

    Will Smith has lined up another hot title to his list of upcoming projects, having signed up to lead the cast of high-octane action thriller “Sugar Bandits.”

    AGC International and CAA Media Finance represent the film’s worldwide distribution rights and will introduce the film to buyers at the upcoming EFM.

  • Sylvester Stallone Returning To The Wintry Streets Of Philadelphia In Crime Thriller ‘The Epiphany’; AGC & CAA Media Finance Launching Pic For EFM

    February 14, 2024

    EXCLUSIVE: Screen icon Sylvester Stallone is set to return to the wintry streets of Philadelphia in The Epiphany.

    The movie, which is being launched at EFM this week by AGC Studios, is about a hard-nosed, soon-to-retire police detective (Stallone) who must team up with a younger cop and former priest to stop a serial killer on a murderous crusade through the streets of Philadelphia.

  • Kit Williamson Developing ‘Alex Van Helsing’ Novels As Drama Series For AGC Television

    February 8, 2024

    Kit Williamson is turning Jason Henderson’s Alex Van Helsing novel trilogy into a TV series.

    AGC Television is developing a series based on the books for its kids and family slate, with Kit Williamson (Eastsiders) adapting the novels for TV. AGC’s Lourdes Diaz, Aghi Koh and Stuart Ford will executive produce.

  • AGC Television To Adapt ‘Hook’s Daughter: The Pirate Princess Chronicles’ Trilogy As Series, With Thor Freudenthal Directing

    February 1, 2024

    AGC Television is adapting an R.V. Bowman young adult novel trilogy into a live-action family series. Hook’s Daughter: The Pirate Princess Chronicles will be created from the book of the same name, with Thor Freudenthal (Words on A Bathroom Wall, Carnival Row) is attached to direct and Lucy Brown (Bride or Groom) is adapting the fantasy adventure trilogy.

    AGC’s Chief Creative Officer Lourdes Diaz, YA division head Aghi Koh and CEO Stuart Ford will executive produce.

  • Chris Pine Comedy ‘Poolman’ Lands At Vertical

    December 20, 2023

    EXCLUSIVE: Vertical has snapped up U.S. rights to AGC Studios’ Poolman, the absurdist comedy caper marking the directorial debut of Chris Pine (Star Trek franchise), for release in theaters in 2024.

  • Seventh Annual Variety500 Unveiled: The 500 Most Important People in Global Media

    December 19, 2023

    Those who made the cut this year excelled during a challenging time for showbiz, which makes their stature all the more impressive.

    A pair of strikes paralyzed showbiz for much of the year, bringing film and TV production to a screeching halt and challenging management at all levels of the industry to question their most basic assumptions about what it takes to succeed.

    That’s why this year’s Variety500 feels extra special. The folks who’ve made it onto this list deserve a big round of applause. They’ve managed to stand out and excel in their roles during a time when it’s increasingly challenging to differentiate oneself.

    AGC Chairman & CEO Stuart Ford included.

  • Ron Howard Survival-Thriller ‘Eden’ Rounds Out Cast (Exclusive)

    December 7, 2023

    Ron Howard has added to the cast of his feature, which is currently in production in Australia, with a small unit also filming in the Galapagos.

    Richard Roxburgh, Felix Kammerer, Toby Wallace, Paul Gleeson, Ignacio Gasparini and Nicholas Denton join a cast that includes previously announced stars Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney, Ana de Armas and Daniel Brühl. The film is based on real-life events and hails from Tetris scribe Noah Pink.

  • AGC Studios sharpens focus on Middle East

    December 3, 2023

    AGC Studios is mulling the opening of a Middle East office as it increases its activity in the region, according to chairman and CEO Stuart Ford.

    The LA-based film financing and sales company, whose slate includes Richard Linklater’s Hit Man and Anna Kendrick’s Red Sea title Woman Of The Hour, has been active in the MENA region since Ford founded the company in 2018 with Image Nation Abu Dhabi as one its cornerstone investors.

  • Stuart Ford’s AGC Intl. Picks Up World Rights to ‘HWJN,’ ‘To My Son’ Ahead of World Premieres at Red Sea Film Festival

    November 30, 2023

    Saudi fantasy romance ‘HWJN’ will open the Red Sea Film Festival on Nov. 30, while the emotional family drama “To My Son” will premiere in Red Sea’s Arab Spectacular section.

    The deals mark another significant step in AGC Studios’ drive to bringing theatrical features from the Middle East and North Africa region to global audiences.

  • Egyptian Actor Mohamed Karim Partners With ‘Hit Man’ Producer AGC on ‘Judgment of the Dead’

    November 29, 2023

    Egyptian actor Mohamed Karim is teaming up with Hit Man producer AGC Studios on Judgment of the Dead, a possession thriller with an Egyptian spin, with Stuart Ford’s AGC will co-produce with Karim’s MK Global Entertainment.

  • IFC, Shudder take ‘Late Night With The Devil’ for North America, UK

    November 1, 2023

    IFC Films and Shudder have acquired rights for North America, the UK and Ireland to Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures’ Late Night With The Devil. IFC plans to give the supernatural horror film an exclusive theatrical release and Shudder will stream the title at a later date.

    AGC is handling international sales of the film at the AFM.

  • Vanessa Kirby & Sydney Sweeney Join Jude Law, Ana De Armas & Daniel Brühl In Ron Howard’s Renamed Survival Thriller ‘Eden’ Ahead Of November Shoot; Hans Zimmer To Score For Imagine & AGC — AFM

    October 30, 2023

    EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Ron Howard is heading into production at the end of November on survival thriller Eden, which was previously named Origin Of Species.

    Oscar nominee Vanessa Kirby, who will next be seen starring in Ridley Scott’s Napoleon opposite Joaquin Phoenix, and Euphoria and White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney have joined the previously announced Jude Law, Ana de Armas and Daniel Bruhl.

  • ‘Transition,’ Documentary Following Trans Man Embedded With Taliban, Picked Up in U.S. by Gravitas Ventures

    October 26, 2023

    “Tinder Swindler” studio AGC Unwritten has sold U.S. rights to Monica Villamizar and Jordan Bryon’s feature documentary “Transition” to Gravitas Ventures.

    The film follows Australian filmmaker Jordan Bryon, a trans man, as he embeds with a Taliban unit as they retake control of Afghanistan. AGC International will screen the film and launch international sales at the American Film Market next week. Gravitas will release the film in March 2024.

  • AGC International to launch AFM sales on supernatural thriller ‘Late Night With The Devil’

    October 24, 2023

    AGC International will launch AFM sales next week on Sitges award-winner and supernatural thriller Late Night With The Devil from Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures.

  • AGC Television’s Upcoming ‘Amapola’ Explores True Origins of Drug Trade (EXCLUSIVE)

    October 16, 2023

    Stuart Ford’s AGC Television has boarded the series adaptation of F.G. Haghenbeck’s novel, ‘Primavera del Mal’ (‘The Spring of Evil’) alongside Mexican-American filmmaker Fernando Lebrija of Cielo Content and Irreversible Pictures.

    To be retitled “Amapola,” the upcoming historical drama series is set in the early 20th century when the Chinese held sway over the drug trade along the Mexican-U.S. border.

  • Season 2 of Tropical Noir ‘Troppo,’ Starring Thomas Jane, Nicole Chamoun, Wraps in Australia, Leonine Selling at Mipcom

    October 15, 2023

    The second season of the tropical noir crime drama “Troppo” has completed production in Queensland, Australia, with Thomas Jane (“Boogie Nights”) and Nicole Chamoun (“Safe Harbour,” “On the Ropes”) reprising their roles as private investigators Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell.

    The show is a Perpetual Entertainment and Beyond Entertainment production in association with Renegade Entertainment, with major production financing from AGC Television in association with Screen Queensland.

  • Roland Emmerich Heading To Mipcom To Present Footage Of Gladiator Epic ‘Those About To Die’

    September 28, 2023

    EXCLUSIVE: Roland Emmerich is heading to next month’s Mipcom Cannes to present first-look footage from upcoming Gladiator epic Those About to Die.

    AGC Studios and High End Productions will host an invite-only presentation on the first afternoon of the mid-October market, showcasing the footage along with a Q&A with the Godzilla auteur.

  • Netflix Lands Richard Linklater-Helmed ‘Hit Man’ For $20 Million Toronto Deal; Aggregate/AGC Studios Pic Stars Glen Powell & Adria Arjona

    September 18, 2023

    EXCLUSIVE: Netflix closed a $20 million deal on Hit Man, making the biggest deal at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and of the year for that matter. After the Richard Linklater-directed noir comic thriller debuted to raves at Venice, the film was expected to fetch the biggest deal of the fall festivals so far. Hit Man did not disappoint.

    Heading into its final weekend, TIFF had been slow so far on the deal front, but this is the second big one for Netflix, with the Anna Kendrick-directed Woman of the Hour getting a Netflix deal around $11 million. AGC Studios financed and produced the Kendrick film also.

  • Netflix pounces on US, remaining international rights at TIFF to Anna Kendrick’s ‘Woman Of The Hour’

    September 11, 2023

    In the first major on-site deal at TIFF Netflix has pounced on US and remaining international rights to Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut Woman Of The Hour following overwhelmingly positive reviews from Friday’s world premiere.

  • Stuart Ford On Why New Glen Powell, Chris Pine & Anna Kendrick Movies Are Launching Without Interim Agreements, Roland Emmerich’s Mega-Budget TV Series & The Future For AGC

    August 30, 2023

    EXCLUSIVE: L.A.-based Brit Stuart Ford has operated at the sharp end of international film sales and movie financing for more than two decades.

    The sands of indie film financing are forever shifting but Ford and his collaborators were set a new challenge this fall when it came to launching three AGC-backed completed features amid the two Hollywood strikes: Richard Linklater’s Venice and Toronto title Hit Man starring Glen Powell, and Toronto movies The Woman of the Hour and Poolman, the directorial debuts of Anna Kendrick and Chris Pine, respectively.

  • AGC Studios’ Stuart Ford Honored as Variety’s Billion Dollar Producer in Cannes

    May 20, 2023

    The executive was feted by Variety at a May 19 cocktail reception in Cannes. Many of the super-producer’s business associates and partners, as well as industry friends, dropped by the Croisette villa to toast Ford, who was given the honor by Variety’s co-editor in chief Ramin Setoodeh.

  • Daisy Edgar-Jones In Talks To Join Ana De Armas, Jude Law, Alicia Vikander & Daniel Brühl In Ron Howard & AGC’s Evolving Thriller ‘Origin Of Species’ – Cannes Market

    May 15, 2023

    EXCLUSIVE: Normal People and Where the Crawdads Sing star Daisy Edgar-Jones is the latest star attached to Oscar winner Ron Howard’s next movie Origin of Species, which is a hot project at the Cannes Market.