Brooke Bunny
AMBI Group principals Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi are teaming with Christine Alderson and her Ipso Facto production banner to finance and produce Simon Aboud’s “This Beautiful Fantastic,” starring Jessica Brown Findlay (“Downton Abbey,” “Winter’s Tale”), two-time Oscar® nominee Tom Wilkinson (“In the Bedroom,” “Michael Clayton,” “The Best Exotic Marigold Hote,l” “Belle”), Andrew Scott (“Pride,” the upcoming James Bond installment “Spectre”), Jeremy Irvine (“War Horse,” “Now is Good,” “The Railway Man”), Anna Chancellor (“What a Girl Wants,” “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” ) and Sheila Hancock (“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” “3 Men and a Little Lady”).
“This Beautiful Fantastic” is a contemporary fairy tale revolving around the most unlikely of friendships between a reclusive young woman with dreams of being a children’s book author and a cantankerous widower, set against the backdrop of a beautiful garden in the heart of London.
Bella Brown (Jessica Brown Findlay) is a beautifully quirky young woman who dreams of writing and illustrating a successful children’s book. Despite her abandonment as a child, her OCD, her awful boss at the library, and her paralyzing fear of flora and fauna, Bella is down but not out.
When she is forced by her landlord to deal with her neglected garden or face eviction, she meets her nemesis, match and mentor in Alfie Stephenson (Wilkinson), a grumpy, loveless, rich old man who lives next door and happens to be an amazing horticulturalist.
Principal photography starts this week in London. AMBI will oversee global distribution of the film through its international sales division, AMBI Distribution. Medinah, cashflow the UK tax credit and Head Gear, LipSync Post, The Project post and private investment complete the financing. Kami Nagdi’s Constance Media was previously involved in the script development.
Said Aboud, “this beautiful fantastic has been an epic journey from its first appearance high on the Brit List. iI’s a wonderful quintessentially British film full of quirky characters all fighting to live life their own way in a homogenous world which is strangely very much like the script’s own journey to principal photography. In Ambi we have found the perfect partners who shared our vision.” “
Said Iervolino, “Simon has crafted a heartfelt story that we are excited to produce with Christine. With a fusion of comedy and drama that will balance poignant moments with humour and charm, ‘This Beautiful Fantastic’ has strong commercial appeal, with a primary focus on an older demographic that has been a boon to theaters and the cinema industry on the whole. The film will really resonate amongst this target market, which desires quality material.”
Added Monika Bacardi, “We see serious potential for a real breakthrough hit with ‘This Beautiful Fantastic,’ especially amongst female audiences. Bella’s journey will resonate with girls who, like Bella, are experiencing the transition from adolescent to adult, trying to make their way in the world, and to become happy and successful. This is British intelligent character driven filmmaking at its best.”
Added Christine Alderson “At its heart, this is a story of an unlikely but magical friendship. ‘This Beautiful Fantastic’ is one of those rare scripts – a unique story with a beautiful voice that will blossom into a true cinematic gem. It is a deceptively layered piece – an adult fairy tale, a romantic story of blossoming love and a coming-of-age comedy.”
