All In to produce 'Dead Before Dying'

BERLIN -- Germany's All In Production is looking to turn the works of South African crime novelist Deon Meyer into a TV movie trilogy. The Munich-based shingle has tapped German-South African filmmaker Oliver Schmitz, who helmed the 2010 Cannes screener "Life Above All," to direct the first installment, "Dead Before Dying," from an English-language script by British writers Matt Harvey and Dominic Morgan. The 1996 book introduced Cape Town police captain Mat Joubert, a depressed and overweight chain-smoker still grieving the loss of his wife, who was killed in the line of duty. A wave of homicides involving a 100-year-old German handgun, coupled with a tough new commanding officer who imposes a strict diet and mental health regimen on his detectives, soon gives the investigator a new lease on life, however. The character of Joubert also appears in Meyer's novels "Dead at Daybreak" and "Trackers." All In is in talks with TV partners and international co-producers for the project, which will include a high-profile international cast. Meyer's works have been attracting plenty of interest from moviemakers. London-based South African filmmaking team Malcolm Kohll and Robert Fig optioned the author's "Thirteen Hours," about a detective's race to find the murderer of an American student in Cape Town, while France's TF1 International has acquired rights to "Blood Safari," about a freelance bodyguard up against ruthless wildlife poachers. Contact Ed Meza at staff@variety.com