Literary manager | Producer

James Pierre’s Novel GAMBINO: THE RISE Signed as Italian Film with George Gallo Directing

LOS ANGELES, CA—Story Merchant Books reports that an Italian film based on James Pierre’s Gambino: The Rise was announced by veteran producer Jules Nasso at the Cannes Film Festival. The film will be directed by George Gallo (Bad Boys, The Comeback Trail) who is scripting it with two-time Oscar winner Nick Vallelonga (Green Book).

Pierre’s novel dramatizes the history of the Cosa Nostra, beginning with its roots in Italy and the organizing role played by Carlo Gambino, its boss from 1957 until his death in bed in 1976 in his Long Island home. Gambino was reputed to be the inspiration for Mario Puzo’s The Godfather. In the novel, Gambino carries a copy of Nicolo Machiavelli’s The Prince with him on the boat from Italy.

Story Merchant/Atchity Productions Ken Atchity, who introduced the book to Nasso, will serve as executive producer.

Vallelonga, speaking in Cannes, said that the approach he and Gallo are taking is not just that of a typical mob movie: “We’ve seen a lot of that. This is Shakespearean.” “Think Once Upon a Time in America,” said Nasso, whose start in the film business was as assistant to Sergio Leone. New York in the ‘50s and ‘70s will be reconstructed in Rome’s Cinecittà studios.

James commented: “What is every writer’s dream—to see their book turned into a movie validates the many years of research—and long hours in front of my keyboard—that went into bringing Gambino and his world to life. I listened to the characters, and they talked to me.”

Author James Pierre has also published How Did Warren Buffet Succeed, and is nearly finished with Gambino: The Triumph, his sequel to the Gambino saga. He was born and raised in Brooklyn where he witnessed as a teenager a Mafia hit that led him to a lifetime fascination with the Gambino family.

According to Variety, “the film is being produced by Nasso Productions (a Nasso-Zheng company) and fully financed by Edward Zeng and former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam, with international sales handled by Minerva Pictures.”

Gambino: The Rise by James Pierre is available on Amazon

by NADINE MARITZ

Congratulations to Story Merchant's Yasmine Isil - Winner of the Best Experimental Film in Los Angeles Shorts Festival

Cast: @unbothered.tbh @mat_szymko @themadwin

Directed By @elication

Written & Produced by Yasemin Isıl & Azize Erim

Line Producer @ozozmens

Director of Photography: @alexismendezfilms

Production Designer: @jdizo

Music By: @serkan_celikoz

Paint Artist @fatal.attraction

Editor: @rjeanpierre

Assistant Editor @ricardoperezmedia

Colorist: @coloristroy @reasonstudio.co

Post Sound Mixer: Michael Archacki

VFX @duncanrawlings

VFX Intro: @maxcoltt

1st AC: @theeprodigy

Gaffer: Jeremy Guico

Key Grip: @doomdoer

G&E Swing: @cameronhinojos

Art Director: Brandon Bill Allen

Art Assistant : @eyerenuh

Production Sound Mixer: @80884

Boom Operator: Nate Ipanag

Production Coordinator: @souqilaith

Production Assistant: @brody.bogert_

Site Representative: @paul_rush_maine

Special thanks to our Executive Producer @storymerchant @ken_atchity and @samsskelton

Hysteria - Streaming on Hulu

HYSTERIA, a mischievously inspired romantic comedy set in the late 19th century, is based on the surprising truth of how Mortimer Granville came up with the world's first electromechanical vibrator in the name of medical science.

Pete Rose - Reach For The Sky - Profile in Success Series - Executive Producers Ken Atchity and Stan Corwin

Kudos for Ken Atchity's My Obit: Daddy Holding Me

I just finished reading the autobiography of Ken Atchity, who is best known for producing films, e.g. The Meg, Hysteria, and Angels in the Snow, and whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with on a few projects.

In his book, Ken openly writes the greatest mystery of all, which is equally difficult to solve — family relationships, and the importance of namesake. With a Cajun French mother and father of Lebanese heritage, he grew up with a unique mix of culture, food, and strict Jesuit Catholicism. With jokes and recipes included, Ken shares his story of becoming a Yale-educated literature professor, who dared to venture into the impossible business of moviemaking (“Fake it till you make it” still requires tremendous smarts, hard work, and determination).

Without trying, Ken gives great advice on life, career, and the approach to happiness. I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in the story behind the story merchant himself. (Had no idea the ancient Phoenicians brought the alphabet in their trading ships, which is how he named his company).

Thanks, Ken, if you’re reading this post!

PS— I’m jealous that you received a letter from Jorge Amado after reviewing his book for the LA Times. Gabriella, Cinnamon and Clove is one of my all-time favorites. JKMARAO’RB’s!

ERASED⁠ Streaming on HBO Max!

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In "The Expatriate aka Erased" Aaron Eckhart plays a former CIA agent who moves to Belgium, trying to make a fresh go of things as the relationship with his 15-year-old daughter (Liana Libreto) has crumbled. Working for a multinational corporation as a security head, he arrives to work one day to find that the corporation doesn’t actually exist and everyone he works with has vanished. He discovers his assistant is actually a trained operative trying to kill him. On the run with his daughter, the experience forces the two to trust and work with one another. Olga Kurylenko will play his former CIA partner and lover trying to track him down.⁠
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About The Meg

The Meg Full Movie

The Meg made $145.4 million in the U.S. and Canada and $384.8 million in other countries. It made a total of $530.2 million worldwide, even though it cost between $130 and 178 million to make.

At first, it was thought that it would make between $20 and $22 million in its first weekend in 4,118 theatres in the U.S. and Canada.

Analysts thought the movie would do better than the low $20 million predictions because it made $4 million on Thursday night. Estimates for the weekend went up to $40 million after the first day, when it earned $16.5 million.

It went on to open with $45.4 million, which was more than any other movie and the best opening of Statham’s and Turteltaub’s careers. It made $21.5 million in its second weekend and $13 million in its third. Both times, Crazy Rich Asians made more money than it did, so it came in second.

The movie opened in 96 other countries and territories to the tune of $101.5 million worldwide opening of $146.9 million. In China, the film’s co-producer made $50.3 million from 12,650 screens in the first weekend and was ranked #3. Mexico ($6.2 million), Russia ($5 million), the U.K. ($4.4 million), Spain ($2.4 million), and the Philippines ($2 million) also had very successful openings.

The Meg is a science fiction action movie that came out in 2018. It was directed by Jon Turteltaub and written by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber. It was loosely based on Steve Alten’s 1997 book Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror. Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, and Cliff Curtis all have roles in the movie.
A group of scientists on a rescue mission on the floor of the Pacific Ocean runs into a 75-foot-long (23-m) megalodon shark. Walt Disney Studios bought the rights to turn the book into a movie in the 1990s, but the project took years to get off the ground. In the end, Warner Bros.
Pictures bought the rights, and the movie got the go-ahead in 2013. In September 2014, Turteltaub and most of the cast signed on. Filming started in New Zealand and Sanya, China, and ended in January 2016. Both the United States and China made the movie.

The Plot of The Meg Movie

Jonas Taylor, a rescue diver, is trying to save the crew of a damaged nuclear submarine when he sees the hull being hit by something he doesn’t know. Taylor has to run away because two of his crew members are stuck in the broken submarine. He knows that if he tries to save them, everyone he has already saved will die.
A fellow survivor, Dr. Heller, doesn’t believe what he says because he thinks Taylor got drunk and scared because of the pressure.
Five years later, billionaire Jack Morris meets Dr. Minway Zhang at a place called Mana One, an underwater research facility. Zhang and his oceanographer daughter Suyin are in charge of a mission to find the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, which is hidden by a thermocline of hydrogen sulfide.
Lori, Taylor’s ex-wife, and the scientists Toshi and “The Wall” drive the mission submersible. They find a lot of plants and animals that they have never seen before below the thermocline. However, when a large, unknown creature attacks the submersible, it loses contact with Mana One.
James “Mac” Mackreides, the operations manager for Mana One and an old friend of Taylor’s, suggests sending Taylor down to try to save people. Zhang and Mac go to Thailand to find Taylor, even though Heller, who is now part of the Mana One crew, is against it.
At first, he is skeptical but changes his mind after listening to a recording of the conversation between Lori, her crew, and Mana One. Suyin tries to save them while they are away, but a giant squid attacks her. Before the squid could crush her submarine, a giant shark killed it.
Taylor breaks through the thermocline and swims to the sunken submersible because he promised to help. When the shark returns and attacks the submersible before everyone has left, Toshi gives his life so the others can escape.

1 Field & Beyond with John Stuart Reid.

We're pleased to launch The 1 Field & Beyond, this time with

John Stuart Reid.

Watch the trailer:

In "The 1 Field" we brought you nine minutes of the groundbreaking experiment that we documented.

Now, for the first time, we are revealing a 150 minute documentation that we couldn't include in the film. Moment by moment, the entire experiment that John conducted with Anders and Cacina, until the amazing, groundbreaking results, or as we like to call them, "historic" results, that expose more secrets from the wondrous world of sound.

Another experiment we're revealing for the very first time, in real time – how a harmonious and beautiful shape is enmeshed in blood and remains there for many minutes after the sound that created it stopped. Far-reaching ramifications to this phenomenon and we're merely at the tip of the iceberg of the mysterious world yet to be uncovered.

In 2019, when we documented this, John asked not to make the footage public. It was too innovative, with extremely major implications as he explained.

For the launch of The 1 Field & Beyond we got permission to reveal it here for this first time. It's stunning!

You can view all this material for at least one year, but you can download the original soundtrack that was played for the blood in real time.

It's the soundtrack that created the seminal effect on the amount of living cells and the oxygen level and vitality of the blood.

You can play this soundtrack for your blood cells whenever you're in need of energy:)

You can also download two articles by John:

Sound Therapy 101 and 201 that distill in easy-to-understand language the history of sound therapy and music medicine, and the biological mechanisms.

And!!!

A discount coupon just for you for DNA Voice Signature.

John Stuart Reid explains in his own words:

Your DNA not only determines your body shape, facial features and the color of your eyes and hair, it also shapes your unique voice.

Now, your personalized DNA Voice Signature can be imaged using our exclusive CymaScope technology.

In a seamless blend of science and art, we will image your voice and supply a digital file in colors of your choice that you can have printed at any print.

We invite you to dive deep into the magical world of sounds that
John Stuart Reid created.

The 1 Field & Beyond is much more than the sequel to The 1 Field

Click here to learn more

Tsipi Raz - John Stuart Reid

And the team of “The 1 Field”

www.THE1FIELD.com

Congratulations to Story Merchant's Own Yasemin Isil's Let's Bring Them Alive's Official Selection to the Oscar qualifying LA Shorts International Film Festival!

Creating a Legacy

LA Shorts honors those individuals who have achieved excellence in short films. The festival has become the industry standard for showcasing and awarding undiscovered talent.

LA Shorts International Film Festival ranks among the most prestigious and largest short film festivals in the world. The festival is accredited by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Spain.

Now in its 26th year, LA Shorts is the longest-running short film festival in Los Angeles.

Let's Bring Them Alive Scheduled

Cast: @unbothered.tbh @mat_szymko @themadwin

Directed By @elication
Written & Produced by Yasemin Isıl & Azize Erim
Line Producer @ozozmens
Director of Photography: @alexismendezfilms
Production Designer: @jdizo
Music By: @serkan_celikoz
Paint Artist @fatal.attraction
Editor: @rjeanpierre
Assistant Editor @ricardoperezmedia

Colorist: @coloristroy @reasonstudio.co
Post Sound Mixer: Michael Archacki
VFX @duncanrawlings
VFX Intro: @maxcoltt
1st AC: @theeprodigy
Gaffer: Jeremy Guico
Key Grip: @doomdoer
G&E Swing: @cameronhinojos
Art Director: Brandon Bill Allen
Art Assistant : @eyerenuh
Production Sound Mixer: @80884
Boom Operator: Nate Ipanag
Production Coordinator: @souqilaith
Production Assistant: @brody.bogert_
Site Representative: @paul_rush_maine
Special thanks to our Executive Producer @storymerchant @ken_atchity and @samsskelton

MUSINGS OF A STORY MERCHANT

USA TODAY: Let Your Brother Win by Kenneth Atchity