Horlick has romcom blockbuster in pipeline

NICOLA Horlick is more usually associated with finance than films, but the former City ‘Superwoman’ has just returned from the Cannes Film Festival with news of her latest deal.

Her development company, Derby Street Films, has signed up Hollywood producer Lynda Obst and Kiwi Smith, writer of Legally Blonde, to make How To Get Over A Guy In 10 Days.

A decade ago, the film How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, grossed $200million (£128million).

Horlick said: ‘It’s a film along the lines of a traditional romcom, but it’s a great script – absolutely fantastic – and it’s going to make an amazing film.

‘Now we have to work out who we want to star in it. It should go into production next year and be released about 18 months after that.’

Derby Street Films, launched in 2010, has nine other film projects on the go, including Queen Of Diamonds, a Sixties London gangster movie directed by Twilight’s Catherine Hardwicke, and In The Blood, an action picture starring American Gladiators star Gina Carano.

Horlick is currently raising money for a second Derby Street Films fund.

The company makes money once its film projects go into production, which means accounts just filed show it made a loss of more than £250,000 last year, with £277,827 spent on administration.

Also listed is expenditure of £387,000 for ‘work in progress’, which is related to the development of future film projects.

The company has more than £500,000 in the bank and gave Horlick’s own Bramdean Asset Management £164,700 for office services and consultancy fees.