EXCLUSIVE: The English-language adaptation of Momo, one of the best-loved fantasy books by The Neverending Story writer Michael Ende, has set a buzzy cast, with Alexa Goodall (A Gentleman In Moscow) taking the lead role of the young orphan girl Momo.
The main cast is completed by Araloyin Oshunremi (Top Boy, Heartstopper), Kim Bodnia (Killing Eve, The Witcher), Claes Bang (The Square), Laura Haddock (The Recruit, Transformers: The Last Knight), Jennifer Amaka Peterson (The Sandhamn Murders), David Schütter (Charlie’s Angels) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, Sherlock).
Deadline can also reveal an exclusive first look of Goodall in Momo, which is currently filming in Croatia and Slovenia.
The film is produced by prolific German producer Christian Becker (The Wave, Fuck You, Goethe) and written and directed by bilingual writer-director Christian Ditter (How To Be Single), who both snagged rights to the popular novel a few years ago and an under-the-radar deal. The international bestseller has been translated into more than 50 languages and has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide.
The story focuses on Momo, a young orphan girl who lives in the ruins of an old Roman amphitheater and becomes friends with everybody in the neighborhood. But, when a powerful international corporation starts stealing everybody’s time, nobody has any time left for her, let alone their friends or families. Momo, together with Master Hora, the custodian of time, are the only ones who can go up against the time thieves before all is lost forever.
Momo is from Rat Pack Filmproduktion in co-production with Constantin Film Production and Westside Filmproduction in association with Michael Ende Productions and Pakt Media.
Constantin will distribute Momo in German-speaking territories. Rocket Science is handling international sales rights for the rest of the world and is launching the film to buyers ahead of the Cannes Film Festival next week.
Becker produces the title while Amara Palacios is creative producer. Martin Moszkowicz and Oliver Berben are exec producers while Roman Hock and Wolf-Dieter von Gronau are co-executive producers. Ditter writes and directs the project, based on the novel. Momo was funded by FFF Bavarian Filmfund, MBB Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, FFA Federal Film Funding, DFFF German Film Funding, HAVC (Croatian Audiovisual Centre).
Ditter and Becker previously collaborated on popular German film franchises such as Crocodiles and Vicky The Viking (Vicky And The Treasure of the Gods). Becker is one of Germany’s most successful producers with credits including Dennis Gansel’s 2008 thriller The Wave, the Jim Button franchise, Vicky the Viking and Suck Me Shakespeare (aka Fuck You, Goethe) as well as Netflix thriller Blood Red Sky. His company Rat Pack, is a subsidiary of German giant Constantin.
Ditter is known for German and English-language films and series including Netflix’s Biohackers, Lily Collins starrer Love, Rosie, New Line’s romcom How to Be Single with Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Leslie Mann and Alison Brie, and Isla Fischer and Greg Kinnear comedy The Present.
Must Read Stories
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.