‘355’

IN one of the biggest deals of the Cannes market, Universal Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to the female-fronted spy film “355.”

A source close to the deal pegged the price tag at US$20 million. The budget on the film is said to be US$75 million plus.

Jessica Chastain, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Fan Bingbing and Lupita Nyong’o star in the James Bond-esque spy pic.

There’s no script yet to the Simon Kinberg-helmed film, but the plot is said to revolve around five spies from agencies around the world who form their own team, dubbed “355.” Theresa Rebeck (“Catwoman”) is writing the screenplay.

Protest

EIGHTY-TWO women including Cate Blanchett and Ava DuVernay marched up the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday to protest gender inequality at the festival and in the wider film industry.

Members of the group included actresses, directors and other women in the film industry, including Kristen Stewart, Salma Hayek and “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins. Blanchett, the jury president of this year’s festival, led the group and read out a statement from the steps of the Palais des Festivals, joined by French film director Agnes Varda, who read the statement in French.

Show saved

NBC has picked up “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” for a sixth season, the network announced Friday.

The decision comes after the cop comedy was canceled at Fox after five seasons Thursday. Producer Universal Television had been in talks with Hulu to keep the series afloat, but the streaming service ultimately passed.

The sixth season will consist of 13 episodes. Fans of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” were stunned when Fox announced they were cancelling it along with fellow comedies “The Mick” and “The Last Man on Earth.” There has been a large online push to save the show.

‘Daniel’

NIELS ARDEN OPLEV, director of the original “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” is returning to Europe for his next project: the true story of the ISIS kidnaping of Danish photographer Daniel Rye Ottosen.

Ottosen, a freelance war photographer, was captured by ISIS on May 18, 2013 and held prisoner for 13 months. His cellmates included the acclaimed American journalist James Foley, who was later publicly beheaded by the Islamic terrorist group.(SD-Agencies)