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Cinelan today announced that it is partnering with veteran film producer Barbara DeFina (GoodFellas, You Can Count on Me, Cape Fear) and screenwriter J.D. Zeik (Ronin, The Touch, Witchblade) to produce an episodic short-form drama set inside the CIA’s terrorism finance tracking unit to star Evan Handler (Californication, Sex And The City, Ransom).
Based on an original story by Zeik, The Analyst is a series designed for digital-first audiences. It will comprise ten eight-minute “real time” episodes starring Handler as Kevin Mercer, a CIA analyst targeted by an unknown enemy as he navigates the increasingly murky, dangerous world of financial espionage.
“For about ten years in New York, before my more recent decade of comedies, I was actually a sort of go-to guy for intense dramas on stage,” said Evan Handler. “And, as Kevin Mercer, I’ll get to inhabit a world that is much darker than the ones I have played in more recent projects. J.D. is an expert at creating drama where big money, crime and international players intersect, and I’m thrilled to have the chance to explore the web of espionage he’s created.”
Barbara DeFina, executive producer of The Analyst said, “I am thrilled to be producing my first digital serial with Cinelan and to be working with screenwriter and creator J.D. Zeik and Evan Handler, the perfect actor for the role of Kevin Mercer. I am looking forward to telling The Analyst in this new and exciting format.” Barbara has been a producer in the film industry since 1986 and her credits include The Color of Money, The Last Temptation of Christ, Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence, Casino, Kundun, The Hi-Lo Country, Bringing Out the Dead, and You Can Count on Me. She has executive produced films such as GoodFellas, The Grifters and Hugo.
The parties anticipate production to start in early 2016 with the first season available by Fall 2016.
Cinelan co-founders Karol Martesko-Fenster and Douglas Dicconson, along with Cinelan advisor Joe Cantwell, serve as project Producers.
