EXCLUSIVE: The creator, govt producer and showrunner of the acclaimed HBO Max sequence Station Eleven, Patrick Somerville, and the sequence’ affiliate producer and editor David Eisenberg, have opened the doorways to function movie and tv manufacturing firm, Tractor Beam.
Somerville and Eisenberg first met on The Leftovers, hitting it off as mates and hoping to develop into eventual collaborators. They reteamed for Station Eleven, the place through the lengthy, typically pandemic-induced delays, they hatched the thought for Tractor Beam, with the mission of constructing content material that facilities on the creatives and empowers them to regulate the filmmaking course of.
Hilary Flynn and Stephanie Jacob-Goldman have been introduced aboard as Tractor Beam’s VP of Growth and VP of Manufacturing, respectively. Somerville at present has a deal at Paramount Tv Studios.
“Our mission at Tractor Beam is to assist creators get residence,” mentioned Somerville. “Streamers have opened up astounding new alternatives in tv and movie, for a lot of completely different voices, however in a time of unprecedented enlargement, we wished to create an organization centered round defending the method, belief, and doing it proper. David and I— in addition to Hilary and Steph — are individuals who’ve discovered from the bottom up, and as a group we sit up for utilizing what we’ve discovered to create secure harbors for our creators and collaborators sooner or later.”
“One of many many issues I really like about Pat, is that he appreciates a cheeseburger simply as a lot, if no more, than a meal at a three-star Michelin restaurant,” mentioned Eisenberg. “And that he can eloquently monologue for hours about why. He’s an excellent author, producer, creator, however a good higher good friend. Collectively, I can’t wait to inform extra tales that need to be advised, and with our Tractor Beam group, we couldn’t be extra excited to assist different creators do the identical.”
Among the many first two tasks in improvement is the function adaptation of the acclaimed novel Gringos, by Charles Portis (True Grit). Somerville and Mexican filmmaker Mauricio Katz (ZeroZeroZero) will write the screenplay, with Katz additionally hooked up to direct. Producers embrace Somerville and Eisenberg by Tractor Beam, Scott Steindorff and Dylan Russell by Stone Village Movies, and Stephen Purvis, who held the rights to the guide, by All My Pals Movies.
Gringos follows Jimmy Burns, an expatriate American dwelling in Mexico, whose easy South-of-the-Border existence is jeopardized by a ninety-pound stalker named Louise, a sudden wave of “hippies” led by a murderous ex-con guru and a gaggle of archaeologists who’re illegally unearthing Mayan tombs. The mission is a reunion of types as Somerville, Eisenberg, Katz, Steindorff and Russell labored collectively on Station Eleven, with the latter two govt producing.
The second mission is sci-fi function Ursa Main, written by Somerville, Katie French and Colleen O’Brien. Jonathan and Josh Baker are hooked up to direct. Somerville, Eisenberg, Mason Novick, John Finemore, Allen Fischer and Brian Steinberg will produce, and casting is now underway. On this sci-fi thriller set on a terraformed planet, a mom and daughter battle for survival whereas hiding from a gaggle of relentless hunters. With the added risk of an imminent and lethal storm, Natalie – now a young person – begins questioning her mom, Charlie, about who they are surely, how they obtained right here, and what they should do to outlive.
Beforehand, Somerville created and served as co-showrunner of the Netflix sequence Maniac, starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill, and was a author and supervising producer on HBO’s critically acclaimed The Leftovers. He has been nominated for awards by each the Producers Guild of America and Writers Guild of America. Somerville can be a novelist, having penned Bother (2006), The Cradle (2009), The Universe in Miniature in Miniature (2010) and This Vivid River (2012). He’s repped by WME, Artists First and attorneys Jamie Mandelbaum and Jeff Hynick at Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer.
Emmy Award-nominated Eisenberg’s earlier credit embrace serving as editor on seminal sequence together with Watchmen, Westworld, The Leftovers and Bates Motel.
Katz is repped by UTA, Vary Media and lawyer Ken Richman at Hansen Jacobson.