Exclusive: Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has acquired North American rights to the romantic comedy The Zombie Wedding. The film is based on the eponymous interactive play and is the first title to launch the Weekly World News IP-driven studio slate of movie projects. Freestyle Digital Media is planning a fall 2024 release date.
The Zombie Wedding tells the story of what happens when a young New Jersey couple decides to go through with their dream wedding during the zombie apocalypse. Unfortunately, the bride is a human and the groom is a zombie. Both families are fearful, but the humans’ behavior is downright beastly. When the Zombies become brain-deprived, the ceremony takes a turn for the weird. Weekly World News reporters cover this wild, wacky wedding – while trying to get out alive.
Written by Greg D’Alessandro, The Zombie Wedding was directed...
The Zombie Wedding tells the story of what happens when a young New Jersey couple decides to go through with their dream wedding during the zombie apocalypse. Unfortunately, the bride is a human and the groom is a zombie. Both families are fearful, but the humans’ behavior is downright beastly. When the Zombies become brain-deprived, the ceremony takes a turn for the weird. Weekly World News reporters cover this wild, wacky wedding – while trying to get out alive.
Written by Greg D’Alessandro, The Zombie Wedding was directed...
- 3/9/2024
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: William H. Macy (Shameless), John Corbett (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Joel Courtney (The Kissing Booth), DeVon Franklin (Jesus Revolution), and Stephanie Szostak (A Million Little Things) are among those set to star in On Fire, another new film from Sean McNamara (Reagan) that has landed a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement and will begin production in St. Louis November 6.
News of the project comes following McNamara’s recent commitment to direct the indie One Man’s Castle, penned by producer John Zaring, for Zaring/Cioffi Entertainment, Virtuosity Media, and his own banner Brookwell McNamara Entertainment. Rounding out the cast of today’s film, based on the bestseller by inspirational speaker John O’Leary, are Masey McLain (I Am Not Ashamed), Natalie Buck (Marry Me), and James McCracken (Christmas Again).
Believed to be the first feature to take advantage of Missouri’s new production tax credit, On Fire was adapted for the...
News of the project comes following McNamara’s recent commitment to direct the indie One Man’s Castle, penned by producer John Zaring, for Zaring/Cioffi Entertainment, Virtuosity Media, and his own banner Brookwell McNamara Entertainment. Rounding out the cast of today’s film, based on the bestseller by inspirational speaker John O’Leary, are Masey McLain (I Am Not Ashamed), Natalie Buck (Marry Me), and James McCracken (Christmas Again).
Believed to be the first feature to take advantage of Missouri’s new production tax credit, On Fire was adapted for the...
- 10/26/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Legendary Entertainment announced today it will develop Syd Hoff’s book series “Danny and the Dinosaur” into a live-action feature film.
Caroline Fraser of HarperCollins Productions, the publisher’s in-house publishing company will produce.
The story follows the adventures of young Danny and a dinosaur he meets at a museum. The books were first published by HarperCollins in 1958 and have since sold over 11 million copies in 12 languages.
The rights to “Danny and the Dinosaur” are held by the Authors Guild Foundation, with the Anti-Defamation League Foundation, Ort America, Inc., and the United Negro College Fund, Inc. HarperCollins Productions optioned the media rights to Danny and the Dinosaur from the Author’s Guild Foundation.
According to Variety, Branded Pictures Entertainment previously optioned all the non-publishing rights to the book series. Producers J. Todd Harris and Marc Marcum were set to develop a different “Danny and the Dinosaur” film with a script adapted by David Bowers,...
Caroline Fraser of HarperCollins Productions, the publisher’s in-house publishing company will produce.
The story follows the adventures of young Danny and a dinosaur he meets at a museum. The books were first published by HarperCollins in 1958 and have since sold over 11 million copies in 12 languages.
The rights to “Danny and the Dinosaur” are held by the Authors Guild Foundation, with the Anti-Defamation League Foundation, Ort America, Inc., and the United Negro College Fund, Inc. HarperCollins Productions optioned the media rights to Danny and the Dinosaur from the Author’s Guild Foundation.
According to Variety, Branded Pictures Entertainment previously optioned all the non-publishing rights to the book series. Producers J. Todd Harris and Marc Marcum were set to develop a different “Danny and the Dinosaur” film with a script adapted by David Bowers,...
- 1/30/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Josh McDermitt (The Walking Dead) has joined Oscar nominee Patricia Clarkson, Tony Award nominee Thomas Sadoski and Josh Lucas in the cast of Lilly, the political thriller co-written and directed by Rachel Feldman, which is currently in production in Georgia.
Based on the life of Lilly Ledbetter, the Alabama woman for whom President Obama named his first piece of legislation—The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009—the film explores the psychological cost of putting one’s life on the line for justice. At the heart of the social justice drama is a love story between Lilly (Clarkson) and her husband Charles (Lucas), a man who stood by his wife despite life-threatening challenges and significant family strife.
McDermitt will play the ambitious and unethical Alabama Congressman Dan McGinty. As previously announced, Sadoski is portraying Jon Goldfarb, the Birmingham civil rights attorney who navigated Ledbetter’s legal battles.
Feldman...
Based on the life of Lilly Ledbetter, the Alabama woman for whom President Obama named his first piece of legislation—The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009—the film explores the psychological cost of putting one’s life on the line for justice. At the heart of the social justice drama is a love story between Lilly (Clarkson) and her husband Charles (Lucas), a man who stood by his wife despite life-threatening challenges and significant family strife.
McDermitt will play the ambitious and unethical Alabama Congressman Dan McGinty. As previously announced, Sadoski is portraying Jon Goldfarb, the Birmingham civil rights attorney who navigated Ledbetter’s legal battles.
Feldman...
- 10/26/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Production begins this month in Atlanta, Georgia.
UK sales outfit Mister Smith Entertainment has boarded worldwide sales on Rachel Feldman’s Lilly, set to star Patricia Clarkson.
Shooting will begin this month in the US state of Georgia on the film which is based on the real-life Lilly Ledbetter, a family woman from a small Alabama town who fought for equal pay for equal work in the American courts. Her activism led to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009, the first piece of legislation signed by President Obama.
The cast also includes Josh Lucas and Thomas Sadoski. Veteran...
UK sales outfit Mister Smith Entertainment has boarded worldwide sales on Rachel Feldman’s Lilly, set to star Patricia Clarkson.
Shooting will begin this month in the US state of Georgia on the film which is based on the real-life Lilly Ledbetter, a family woman from a small Alabama town who fought for equal pay for equal work in the American courts. Her activism led to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009, the first piece of legislation signed by President Obama.
The cast also includes Josh Lucas and Thomas Sadoski. Veteran...
- 10/6/2021
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Production scheduled to begin this winter.
Dustin Lance Black will produce Icelandic horror Rift under a new slate deal between XYZ Films and Wayward Entertainment.
The project is the first to be announced under the arrangement to go into production and will see the companies partner on a pipeline of filmmaker-driven genre films across all platforms over the next two years.
Black will produce the English-language reimagining of Erlingur Thoroddsen’s Icelandic horror Rift and is about two men whose broken relationship is tested as they are haunted by a supernatural entity awakened by their grief.
Production is scheduled to begin this winter.
Dustin Lance Black will produce Icelandic horror Rift under a new slate deal between XYZ Films and Wayward Entertainment.
The project is the first to be announced under the arrangement to go into production and will see the companies partner on a pipeline of filmmaker-driven genre films across all platforms over the next two years.
Black will produce the English-language reimagining of Erlingur Thoroddsen’s Icelandic horror Rift and is about two men whose broken relationship is tested as they are haunted by a supernatural entity awakened by their grief.
Production is scheduled to begin this winter.
- 9/17/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: As part of Vince Totino and John Hegeman’s newly launched Wayward Entertainment and their new genre slate, we’ve learned that the studio will be going into a production on an English-language take on Erlingur Thoroddsen’s Icelandic horror movie Rift. Oscar winning Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black will produce.
Wayward will be partnering with XYZ Films for the next two years on its slate of filmmaker-driven genre features across all platforms.
Rift is an atmospheric thriller which follows two guys whose broken relationship is tested as they are haunted by a supernatural entity awakened by their emotional turmoil and grief. Cameras will roll this winter.
Rift joins Wayward Entertainment’s previously announced Nick Frost and Simon Pegg production Svalta, which we first told you about. XYZ is also teaming with Wayward on Svalta.
Thoroddsen, who recently wrapped filming on The Piper for Millennium Media, will return to write and direct Rift.
Wayward will be partnering with XYZ Films for the next two years on its slate of filmmaker-driven genre features across all platforms.
Rift is an atmospheric thriller which follows two guys whose broken relationship is tested as they are haunted by a supernatural entity awakened by their emotional turmoil and grief. Cameras will roll this winter.
Rift joins Wayward Entertainment’s previously announced Nick Frost and Simon Pegg production Svalta, which we first told you about. XYZ is also teaming with Wayward on Svalta.
Thoroddsen, who recently wrapped filming on The Piper for Millennium Media, will return to write and direct Rift.
- 9/17/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Josh Lucas (Ford v Ferrari) will join Oscar nominee Patricia Clarkson (Sharp Objects) and Tony winner Thomas Sadoski (The Newsroom) in the political thriller Lilly, which is entering production in Georgia in October.
Based on the life of Lilly Ledbetter, the Alabama woman for whom President Obama named his first piece of legislation—The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009—the film explores the psychological cost of putting one’s life on the line for justice. At the heart of the social justice drama is a love story between Lilly (Clarkson) and her husband Charles (Lucas), a man who stood by his wife despite life-threatening challenges and significant family strife.
As previously announced, Sadoski plays Jon Goldfarb, the Birmingham civil rights attorney who navigated Ledbetter’s legal battles.
Rachel Feldman is directing from a script she wrote with Adam Prince.
The independently financed film will be produced by...
Based on the life of Lilly Ledbetter, the Alabama woman for whom President Obama named his first piece of legislation—The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009—the film explores the psychological cost of putting one’s life on the line for justice. At the heart of the social justice drama is a love story between Lilly (Clarkson) and her husband Charles (Lucas), a man who stood by his wife despite life-threatening challenges and significant family strife.
As previously announced, Sadoski plays Jon Goldfarb, the Birmingham civil rights attorney who navigated Ledbetter’s legal battles.
Rachel Feldman is directing from a script she wrote with Adam Prince.
The independently financed film will be produced by...
- 8/25/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Actor Thomas Sadoski has joined Patricia Clarkson in an upcoming film about the life of pay equity activist Lilly Ledbetter.
Sadoski, of HBO’s “The Newsroom,” has booked the key role of Jon Goldfarb — the civil rights attorney who backed Ledbetter all the way to the Supreme Court in her compensation battle. In 2009, President Barack Obama named a piece of legislation for her.
A David vs. Goliath tale, the film will follow the aggrieved Alabama wife and mother who railed against being paid 40% less than her male factory worker counterparts over a 20-year period. Beginning production this August, it aims to show one woman’s fight for justice while also painting a heartbreaking personal story about the tension-filled stakes behind her political achievements.
Goldfarb was by Ledbetter’s side from her first trip to Washington D.C., to her audience with the country’s highest court, to Obama’s signing...
Sadoski, of HBO’s “The Newsroom,” has booked the key role of Jon Goldfarb — the civil rights attorney who backed Ledbetter all the way to the Supreme Court in her compensation battle. In 2009, President Barack Obama named a piece of legislation for her.
A David vs. Goliath tale, the film will follow the aggrieved Alabama wife and mother who railed against being paid 40% less than her male factory worker counterparts over a 20-year period. Beginning production this August, it aims to show one woman’s fight for justice while also painting a heartbreaking personal story about the tension-filled stakes behind her political achievements.
Goldfarb was by Ledbetter’s side from her first trip to Washington D.C., to her audience with the country’s highest court, to Obama’s signing...
- 7/8/2021
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Blue Fox Entertainment has taken the US rights to Paul A. Kaufman’s YA dramedy Butter. An autumn theatrical release is currently planned.
The movie tells the story of Butter (Alex Kersting), a smart, funny high school junior who happens to be obese. Butter manages to befriend the prettiest girl at school, Anna (McKaley Miller), via social media by pretending to be a jock from another school. Butter fears he can never tell Anna, his secret crush, who he really is – sure she would never accept him and his obesity. Meanwhile, Butter struggles with self-esteem and family issues, as his mother (Mira Sorvino) feels the only way she can show her love is by feeding him. Facing constant bullying at school, Butter finally devises a crazy plan: he announces he is going to eat himself to death, on New Year’s Eve, live on the Internet – with the whole school invited to watch.
The movie tells the story of Butter (Alex Kersting), a smart, funny high school junior who happens to be obese. Butter manages to befriend the prettiest girl at school, Anna (McKaley Miller), via social media by pretending to be a jock from another school. Butter fears he can never tell Anna, his secret crush, who he really is – sure she would never accept him and his obesity. Meanwhile, Butter struggles with self-esteem and family issues, as his mother (Mira Sorvino) feels the only way she can show her love is by feeding him. Facing constant bullying at school, Butter finally devises a crazy plan: he announces he is going to eat himself to death, on New Year’s Eve, live on the Internet – with the whole school invited to watch.
- 7/2/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
BlockFilm, a Canada-based financing platform, is bringing private investors and content creators together via a safe financing online platform using digital security tokens, the company announced today.
Digital security tokens using blockchains to connect private investors with content creators are something fairly new that has been used in real estate, for example, says Pauline Couture, co-ceo of BlockFilm. Together with Suzette Couture, no relation, she set up the global platform that they started working on in 2019 with backing from the Canada Media Fund. Pauline is based in Toronto while Suzette is headquartered in Los Angeles. Film producer Charlotte Mickie is also part of the company.
“We have a reputation of playing well with others,” Pauline Couture said. “Everyone has financing issues in indie films.”
BlockFilm offers private investors a place to put their money and gets indie filmmakers financing, with the idea of getting passion projects to completion faster. The...
Digital security tokens using blockchains to connect private investors with content creators are something fairly new that has been used in real estate, for example, says Pauline Couture, co-ceo of BlockFilm. Together with Suzette Couture, no relation, she set up the global platform that they started working on in 2019 with backing from the Canada Media Fund. Pauline is based in Toronto while Suzette is headquartered in Los Angeles. Film producer Charlotte Mickie is also part of the company.
“We have a reputation of playing well with others,” Pauline Couture said. “Everyone has financing issues in indie films.”
BlockFilm offers private investors a place to put their money and gets indie filmmakers financing, with the idea of getting passion projects to completion faster. The...
- 6/23/2021
- by Shalini Dore
- Variety Film + TV
Actors Luke Evans, Jacob Tremblay and Olga Kurylenko are in talks to star in “Bear Season,” a new coming-of-age immigrant drama from director Simon Aboud (“This Beautiful Fantastic”).
“Bear Season” will be produced out of Toronto by Branded Pictures Entertainment founder J. Todd Harris (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”), and executive produced by Colette Aguilar (“Momentum”), CEO at Madrid-based English-language specialist sales agency Moonrise Pictures, which will represent the film on the international sales market.
Adapted by Donald Martin (“Milton’s Secret”) from Bernie Hafeli’s eponymous novel, “Bear Season” is the story of Chester (Tremblay), an adolescent boy living in post-wwii Detroit with his Polish immigrant mother Olona (Kurylenko) and his deceased father’s brother Izzy (Evans), a rough-around-the-edges former soldier.
Izzy, struggling to adapt to life after the war and suffering from what today would be diagnosed as Ptsd, drinks too much and likes to spin a yarn,...
“Bear Season” will be produced out of Toronto by Branded Pictures Entertainment founder J. Todd Harris (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”), and executive produced by Colette Aguilar (“Momentum”), CEO at Madrid-based English-language specialist sales agency Moonrise Pictures, which will represent the film on the international sales market.
Adapted by Donald Martin (“Milton’s Secret”) from Bernie Hafeli’s eponymous novel, “Bear Season” is the story of Chester (Tremblay), an adolescent boy living in post-wwii Detroit with his Polish immigrant mother Olona (Kurylenko) and his deceased father’s brother Izzy (Evans), a rough-around-the-edges former soldier.
Izzy, struggling to adapt to life after the war and suffering from what today would be diagnosed as Ptsd, drinks too much and likes to spin a yarn,...
- 3/30/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Patricia Clarkson is set to star as political advocate and women’s rights icon Lilly Ledbetter in director Rachel Feldman’s new film “Lilly.”
Ledbetter was a factory worker who fought to end gender-based discrimination that led women to be paid less than men — a fight that continues to this day across many industries. The film “Lilly” is a political thriller that will follow her roots as an Alabama mother up through how she motivated President Obama to sign a piece of legislation in her name, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.
Feldman (“The Rookie”) is directing and co-wrote the script with Adam Prince. J. Todd Harris (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) is producing.
“When I told my mother that I’d be playing Lilly Ledbetter, she had to put the phone down to catch her breath. Playing Lilly is truly an honor. I’m thrilled to bring this extraordinary woman to life,...
Ledbetter was a factory worker who fought to end gender-based discrimination that led women to be paid less than men — a fight that continues to this day across many industries. The film “Lilly” is a political thriller that will follow her roots as an Alabama mother up through how she motivated President Obama to sign a piece of legislation in her name, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.
Feldman (“The Rookie”) is directing and co-wrote the script with Adam Prince. J. Todd Harris (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) is producing.
“When I told my mother that I’d be playing Lilly Ledbetter, she had to put the phone down to catch her breath. Playing Lilly is truly an honor. I’m thrilled to bring this extraordinary woman to life,...
- 3/2/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Patricia Clarkson is set to portray Lilly Ledbetter, the fair pay pioneer for whom President Obama named a piece of legislation in 2009.
The “Sharp Objects” Emmy winner will lead “Lilly,” a new indie feature from director Rachel Feldman. The script was co-written by Feldman and Adam Prince (“Junglee”), from producer J. Todd Harris.
Ledbetter was a factory worker who had been paid 40% less than her male coworkers in the same role over a 20-year period. In a David vs. Goliath struggle, the aggrieved Alabama wife and mother motivated President Obama to sign his first piece of legislation in her name. The project will follow one woman’s fight for justice, while also painting a heartbreaking personal story and the tension-filled stakes behind her political achievements.
Oscar-nominated Clarkson said she feels a personal connection to the project, hailing from a political family. She is the youngest daughter of Jackie Clarkson, a...
The “Sharp Objects” Emmy winner will lead “Lilly,” a new indie feature from director Rachel Feldman. The script was co-written by Feldman and Adam Prince (“Junglee”), from producer J. Todd Harris.
Ledbetter was a factory worker who had been paid 40% less than her male coworkers in the same role over a 20-year period. In a David vs. Goliath struggle, the aggrieved Alabama wife and mother motivated President Obama to sign his first piece of legislation in her name. The project will follow one woman’s fight for justice, while also painting a heartbreaking personal story and the tension-filled stakes behind her political achievements.
Oscar-nominated Clarkson said she feels a personal connection to the project, hailing from a political family. She is the youngest daughter of Jackie Clarkson, a...
- 3/2/2021
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the Luke Wilson and Martin Sheen drama “12 Mighty Orphans,” an individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap.
The film also stars Vinessa Shaw, Wayne Knight, Jake Austin Walker, Treat Williams, Ron White, Scott Haze and Robert Duvall. Ty Roberts is directing. The screenplay is written by Roberts, Lane Garrison and Kevin Meyer, adapted from Jim Dent’s bestselling book of the same name.
“12 Mighty Orphans” tells the true story of the Mighty Mites, the football team of a Fort Worth orphanage who, during the Great Depression, went from playing without shoes to competing in the Texas state championships.
“There is a reason underdog stories hold so much weight in the popular imagination, and we know the Mighty Mites’ true story of triumph over adversity — set in a time when much of the country was suffering — will lift the spirits of audiences worldwide.
The film also stars Vinessa Shaw, Wayne Knight, Jake Austin Walker, Treat Williams, Ron White, Scott Haze and Robert Duvall. Ty Roberts is directing. The screenplay is written by Roberts, Lane Garrison and Kevin Meyer, adapted from Jim Dent’s bestselling book of the same name.
“12 Mighty Orphans” tells the true story of the Mighty Mites, the football team of a Fort Worth orphanage who, during the Great Depression, went from playing without shoes to competing in the Texas state championships.
“There is a reason underdog stories hold so much weight in the popular imagination, and we know the Mighty Mites’ true story of triumph over adversity — set in a time when much of the country was suffering — will lift the spirits of audiences worldwide.
- 1/19/2021
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired worldwide distribution rights to “12 Mighty Orphans,” a new drama starring Luke Wilson, Martin Sheen, Vinessa Shaw and Robert Duvall.
Sheen and Duvall have not shared the screen together since 1979, in Francis Ford Coppola’s landmark “Apocalypse Now.”
Adapted from Jim Dent’s bestselling novel, “12 Mighty Orphans” tells the true story of the Mighty Mites, the football team of a Fort Worth orphanage who, during the Great Depression, went from playing without shoes or a football to playing in the Texas state championships. The team was led by legendary high school coach Rusty Russell, who few knew was himself an orphan. Russell abandoned a cushy gig teaching privileged kids to teach and coach at the orphanage home of the Mighty Mites.
The project was directed by Ty Roberts, who adapted the screenplay with Lane Garrison and Kevin Meyer. Wayne Knight, Jake Austin Walker, Treat Williams,...
Sheen and Duvall have not shared the screen together since 1979, in Francis Ford Coppola’s landmark “Apocalypse Now.”
Adapted from Jim Dent’s bestselling novel, “12 Mighty Orphans” tells the true story of the Mighty Mites, the football team of a Fort Worth orphanage who, during the Great Depression, went from playing without shoes or a football to playing in the Texas state championships. The team was led by legendary high school coach Rusty Russell, who few knew was himself an orphan. Russell abandoned a cushy gig teaching privileged kids to teach and coach at the orphanage home of the Mighty Mites.
The project was directed by Ty Roberts, who adapted the screenplay with Lane Garrison and Kevin Meyer. Wayne Knight, Jake Austin Walker, Treat Williams,...
- 1/19/2021
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
In celebration of the release of Followed to VOD, following its recent drive-in theatrical release, we've been provided with an exclusive clip just for Daily Dead readers!
"When aspiring social media influencer “DropTheMike” is offered a lucrative sponsorship to grow his channel, he's joined by his video crew on a visit to one of the most haunted hotels in America, where he'll give his audience a horrific night of thrill-seeking the likes of which they have never seen before. What begins as a fun investigative challenge including the infamous Elevator Ritual quickly descends into a personal hell of true evil, begging the timely question: how far would you go to pursue internet fame?"
Directed by: Antoine Le
Written by: Todd Klick
Produced by: Matthew Ryan Brewbaker, Antoine Le, and Todd Klick
Executive producers: J. Todd Harris, Thomas Pettinelli, Greg Berlant and Gregory Adkins, as well as Grant Cramer, Richard Barner,...
"When aspiring social media influencer “DropTheMike” is offered a lucrative sponsorship to grow his channel, he's joined by his video crew on a visit to one of the most haunted hotels in America, where he'll give his audience a horrific night of thrill-seeking the likes of which they have never seen before. What begins as a fun investigative challenge including the infamous Elevator Ritual quickly descends into a personal hell of true evil, begging the timely question: how far would you go to pursue internet fame?"
Directed by: Antoine Le
Written by: Todd Klick
Produced by: Matthew Ryan Brewbaker, Antoine Le, and Todd Klick
Executive producers: J. Todd Harris, Thomas Pettinelli, Greg Berlant and Gregory Adkins, as well as Grant Cramer, Richard Barner,...
- 9/1/2020
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Exclusive: Mpi Media Group has acquired international sales right to U.S. found footage horror film Followed.
In the indie pic, a controversial social media influencer stays at a cursed hotel to gain more subscribers. But what begins as a fun investigative challenge quickly descends into a personal hell. Followed was released two weeks ago in North America, where in a coronavirus context it has been a top ten movie at the box office, accumulating more than $300,000 from only 44 theaters at widest point of release. The film has had particular success at drive-ins, according to producers.
The film stars Matthew Solomon (Ballers), John Savage (The Deer Hunter), Sam Valentine, Caitlin Grace, Tim Drier, and Kelsey Griswold. It was directed by Antoine Le, written by Todd Klick and produced by Matthew Ryan Brewbaker, each making their feature debuts.
Executive producers include J. Todd Harris, Thomas Pettinelli, Greg Berlant and Gregory Adkins as well as Grant Cramer,...
In the indie pic, a controversial social media influencer stays at a cursed hotel to gain more subscribers. But what begins as a fun investigative challenge quickly descends into a personal hell. Followed was released two weeks ago in North America, where in a coronavirus context it has been a top ten movie at the box office, accumulating more than $300,000 from only 44 theaters at widest point of release. The film has had particular success at drive-ins, according to producers.
The film stars Matthew Solomon (Ballers), John Savage (The Deer Hunter), Sam Valentine, Caitlin Grace, Tim Drier, and Kelsey Griswold. It was directed by Antoine Le, written by Todd Klick and produced by Matthew Ryan Brewbaker, each making their feature debuts.
Executive producers include J. Todd Harris, Thomas Pettinelli, Greg Berlant and Gregory Adkins as well as Grant Cramer,...
- 6/29/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Originally slated for April 10, 2020, the social media horror film Followed will be released in drive-in theaters nationwide on June 26, 2020.
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Followed is inspired by real events at the Hotel Cecil in downtown Los Angeles, and is part of a growing list of “Screen-Life” films – films whose stories are told by way of a computer screen recording. The award-winning feature is the first horror film to do so entirely through a series of YouTube-like vlogs.
The film stars Matthew Solomon (HBO’s “Ballers”) as “DropTheMike,” John Savage (The Last Full Measure; The Deer Hunter), Sam Valentine, Caitlin Grace, Tim Drier, and Kelsey Griswold. It was directed by Antoine Le, written by Todd Klick and produced by Matthew Ryan Brewbaker, each making their feature debuts. Executive producers include J. Todd Harris, Thomas Pettinelli, Greg Berlant and Gregory Adkins as well as Grant Cramer, Richard Barner, Chad Doher and Wendy Moore from Global View Entertainment.
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Followed is inspired by real events at the Hotel Cecil in downtown Los Angeles, and is part of a growing list of “Screen-Life” films – films whose stories are told by way of a computer screen recording. The award-winning feature is the first horror film to do so entirely through a series of YouTube-like vlogs.
The film stars Matthew Solomon (HBO’s “Ballers”) as “DropTheMike,” John Savage (The Last Full Measure; The Deer Hunter), Sam Valentine, Caitlin Grace, Tim Drier, and Kelsey Griswold. It was directed by Antoine Le, written by Todd Klick and produced by Matthew Ryan Brewbaker, each making their feature debuts. Executive producers include J. Todd Harris, Thomas Pettinelli, Greg Berlant and Gregory Adkins as well as Grant Cramer, Richard Barner, Chad Doher and Wendy Moore from Global View Entertainment.
- 6/10/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Coming soon to Theaters Directed by: Antoine Le Written by: Todd Klick Produced by: Matthew Ryan Brewbaker Executive producers: J. Todd Harris, Thomas Pettinelli, Greg Berlant and Gregory Adkins as well as Grant Cramer, Richard Barner, Chad Doher and Wendy Moore from Global View Entertainment. Starring: Matthew Solomon, John Savage, Sam Valentine, Tim Drier, Caitlin …
The post Followed – New Horror Feature In Theaters appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.
The post Followed – New Horror Feature In Theaters appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.
- 3/22/2020
- by Adrian Halen
- Horror News
There are some fun horror-related films prepared to hop into theaters or on streaming just in time for Easter, including We Summon the Darkness from Marc Meyers, the director of My Friend Dahmer. Also: the official trailer for Followed, a new Abominable poster, and Rootwood release details.
We Summon the Darkness Release Details: "Saban Films will release the horror/thriller We Summon The Darkness in theaters, on VOD and Digital HD on April 10, 2020.
We Summon The Darkness stars Alexandra Daddario, Johnny Knoxville, Keean Johnson (Midway), Maddie Hasson ("Impulse"), Logan Miller (Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse), Amy Forsyth (Hell Fest) and Austin Swift (Live by Night). The film is directed by Marc Meyers (My Friend Dahmer) from a script by Alan Trezza (Burying the Ex).
On the way to a heavy metal concert, Alexis (Alexandra Daddario) and two girlfriends hear a news report of a local murder believed to be...
We Summon the Darkness Release Details: "Saban Films will release the horror/thriller We Summon The Darkness in theaters, on VOD and Digital HD on April 10, 2020.
We Summon The Darkness stars Alexandra Daddario, Johnny Knoxville, Keean Johnson (Midway), Maddie Hasson ("Impulse"), Logan Miller (Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse), Amy Forsyth (Hell Fest) and Austin Swift (Live by Night). The film is directed by Marc Meyers (My Friend Dahmer) from a script by Alan Trezza (Burying the Ex).
On the way to a heavy metal concert, Alexis (Alexandra Daddario) and two girlfriends hear a news report of a local murder believed to be...
- 3/9/2020
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Exclusive: The newly launched genre-centric distribution company Global View Entertainment has acquired the domestic rights to the Antoine Le-directed inventive found footage horror pic Followed starring Matthew Solomon. The pic is set for a theatrical release in major markets on April 10.
Written by Todd Klick, Followed introduces us to aspiring social media influencer “DropTheMike” (Solomon). When he is offered the opportunity to get a nice stack of cash for sponsorship of his channel, he’s joined by his video crew on a visit to one of the most haunted hotels in America. While there, he expects to have a horrific night of thrills and scares. What begins as a fun investigative challenge quickly descends into a personal hell of true evil, begging the timely question: how far would you go to pursue internet fame?
“We couldn’t be more excited to be launching our new distribution shingle with the acquisition and release of Followed,...
Written by Todd Klick, Followed introduces us to aspiring social media influencer “DropTheMike” (Solomon). When he is offered the opportunity to get a nice stack of cash for sponsorship of his channel, he’s joined by his video crew on a visit to one of the most haunted hotels in America. While there, he expects to have a horrific night of thrills and scares. What begins as a fun investigative challenge quickly descends into a personal hell of true evil, begging the timely question: how far would you go to pursue internet fame?
“We couldn’t be more excited to be launching our new distribution shingle with the acquisition and release of Followed,...
- 2/24/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North American rights to Elsewhere, a dramedy starring Rectify alum Aden Young. The digital distribution unit of Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios will release the film from writer-director Hernan Jimenez (About Us) day-and-date in select theaters and VOD on January 24.
Here’s the logline: Still mourning the death of his wife (Kathleen Munroe), Bruno (Young) is hopelessly attached to the seaside cottage they built together. When he’s evicted by his soulless in-laws, Bruno vows to get it back at any price. Desperate to escape the gracious but neurotic hosting of his parents, and with the aid of his enabling best friend (Ken Jeong) Bruno sets a risky plan in motion to recover his home. But posing as a handyman for the cottage’s intriguing new tenant (Parker Posey) turns his life – and his intentions – upside down.
Elsewhere is produced by...
Here’s the logline: Still mourning the death of his wife (Kathleen Munroe), Bruno (Young) is hopelessly attached to the seaside cottage they built together. When he’s evicted by his soulless in-laws, Bruno vows to get it back at any price. Desperate to escape the gracious but neurotic hosting of his parents, and with the aid of his enabling best friend (Ken Jeong) Bruno sets a risky plan in motion to recover his home. But posing as a handyman for the cottage’s intriguing new tenant (Parker Posey) turns his life – and his intentions – upside down.
Elsewhere is produced by...
- 12/6/2019
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Star Trek Into Darkness actress Alice Eve is set to co-star opposite Luke Wilson in the Ty Roberts-helmed sports pic, 12 Mighty Orphans. The film, which hails from Michael De Luca Productions, Santa Rita Film Co., and Greenbelt Films, is based on Jim Dent’s nonfiction novel about a group of Fort Worth, Texas orphans who vie for the state championship at the height of the Great Depression. Roberts and Lane Garrison adapted the screenplay.
The pic centers on an orphanage where Coach Rusty Russell (played by Wilson) turns a scrawny band of underdogs into fierce warriors that leave their opponents bewildered and battered. These youngsters, in spite of being outweighed by at least thirty pounds per man, are the toughest football team around. They begin with nothing―not even a football―yet Rusty’s innovative offense helps lead the orphans to the state playoffs. At a time...
The pic centers on an orphanage where Coach Rusty Russell (played by Wilson) turns a scrawny band of underdogs into fierce warriors that leave their opponents bewildered and battered. These youngsters, in spite of being outweighed by at least thirty pounds per man, are the toughest football team around. They begin with nothing―not even a football―yet Rusty’s innovative offense helps lead the orphans to the state playoffs. At a time...
- 10/1/2019
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Luke Wilson has been set to star in 12 Mighty Orphans, the Ty Roberts-directed drama adapted from the Jim Dent novel based on the true story of a group of Fort Worth orphans who vie for the state championship and rally a broken nation at the height of the Great Depression.
Wilson will play Coach Rusty Russell, a WWI vet with a troubled past he can trace to his mother leaving him in an orphanage when he was a child. Looking for redemption by trying to turn around the fortune of other orphans, he accepts a job as the head football coach to a Texas orphanage/high school. Through dedication, he redirects his players’ feelings of loss and humiliation into a dominant team that played in the Texas state championship. Roberts wrote the script with Lane Garrison.
Mike De Luca will produce with Houston Hill, who acquired the...
Wilson will play Coach Rusty Russell, a WWI vet with a troubled past he can trace to his mother leaving him in an orphanage when he was a child. Looking for redemption by trying to turn around the fortune of other orphans, he accepts a job as the head football coach to a Texas orphanage/high school. Through dedication, he redirects his players’ feelings of loss and humiliation into a dominant team that played in the Texas state championship. Roberts wrote the script with Lane Garrison.
Mike De Luca will produce with Houston Hill, who acquired the...
- 8/21/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: When producer Michael De Luca made a lifestyle decision to split time between Hollywood and Texas, you had to figure the Captain Phillips and Social Network producer would make the most of his time and find a homegrown story from the latter locale with movie potential. Sure enough, De Luca Productions is teaming with Santa Rita Film Co. and has set a fall production start for the independently financed drama 12 Mighty Orphans. An adaptation of a novel by Jim Dent, the drama tells the true story of a group of Fort Worth orphans who vie for the state championship and rally a broken nation at the height of the Great Depression.
Ty Roberts will direct a script he co-wrote with Lane Garrison. De Luca will produce with Houston Hill, who acquired the rights through Santa Rita Film Co, which produced The Iron Orchard, which Roberts directed from a script he wrote with Garrison.
Ty Roberts will direct a script he co-wrote with Lane Garrison. De Luca will produce with Houston Hill, who acquired the rights through Santa Rita Film Co, which produced The Iron Orchard, which Roberts directed from a script he wrote with Garrison.
- 6/25/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
The life and writings of poet Maya Angelou are being developed into a one-woman stage performance with hopes for Broadway and the support of her son Guy Johnson, according to producers behind the project.
Phenomenal Woman: An Evening With Maya Angelou is being developed and produced by David Michael Rich of Corstoria, LLC, and J. Todd Harris of Branded Pictures Entertainment. Rich was Angelou’s representative for more than 11 years; Harris’ stage productions include the 2014 Off Broadway musical Heathers and 2015’s Broadway production of Doctor Zhivago.
“My mother lived an extraordinary life,” Johnson said in a statement. “She brought a sense of passion to living and invested herself wholly in it. What she wanted most was justice for all human beings, and the freedom to experience joy and laughter. We hope to capture her joie de vivre. We’re going to include some private anecdotes that will be a revelation to audiences.
Phenomenal Woman: An Evening With Maya Angelou is being developed and produced by David Michael Rich of Corstoria, LLC, and J. Todd Harris of Branded Pictures Entertainment. Rich was Angelou’s representative for more than 11 years; Harris’ stage productions include the 2014 Off Broadway musical Heathers and 2015’s Broadway production of Doctor Zhivago.
“My mother lived an extraordinary life,” Johnson said in a statement. “She brought a sense of passion to living and invested herself wholly in it. What she wanted most was justice for all human beings, and the freedom to experience joy and laughter. We hope to capture her joie de vivre. We’re going to include some private anecdotes that will be a revelation to audiences.
- 4/3/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Mykelti Williamson, Annabeth Gish, Ravi Patel (upcoming Wonder Woman 1984), Brian Van Holt, McKaley Miller (upcoming Blumhouse film Ma), Monte Markham (The Six Million Dollar Man), and newcomer Alex Kersting are set for Butter, joining Mira Sorvino in the Paul A. Kaufman-directed indie film.
Written by Kaufman, based on the novel by Erin Jade Lange, the plot centers on Butter (Kersting), a lonely, obese teenager constantly bullied in his high school. Tired of his ridiculed life and his inability to lose weight, he devises a plan to eat himself to death live on the Internet.
Williamson will play Professor Dunn, Butter’s music mentor and the only one in his life who shows compassion and sees his true potential. Miller is Butter’s dream girlfriend, Anna. Patel portrays Butter’s caring and...
Written by Kaufman, based on the novel by Erin Jade Lange, the plot centers on Butter (Kersting), a lonely, obese teenager constantly bullied in his high school. Tired of his ridiculed life and his inability to lose weight, he devises a plan to eat himself to death live on the Internet.
Williamson will play Professor Dunn, Butter’s music mentor and the only one in his life who shows compassion and sees his true potential. Miller is Butter’s dream girlfriend, Anna. Patel portrays Butter’s caring and...
- 12/8/2018
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Based on the eerie tale of the Pied Piper, Jennifer Nicole Stang's The Whistler is screening at this year's NYC Horror Film Festival on Sunday, December 2nd at noon at Cinepolis Chelsea in New York. Also in today's Highlights, Mary Lambert's (Pet Sematary) Rolling in the Deep production details and a Q&A with writer Adam Rodness for Scarecrows.
The Whistler NYC Horror Film Festival Premiere Details: "The Whistler, the latest indie fantasy-horror short film, from award-winning director Jennifer Nicole Stang of Round Table Pictures, will screen in the NYC Horror Film Festival on Sunday, Dec. 2nd at noon Est at Cinepolis Chelsea on 260 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011.
Inspired by the story of The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning, The Whistler tells the story of Lindsey (Karis Cameron) who is forced to babysit her younger sister Becky (Baya Ipatowicz) one night. After falling asleep,...
The Whistler NYC Horror Film Festival Premiere Details: "The Whistler, the latest indie fantasy-horror short film, from award-winning director Jennifer Nicole Stang of Round Table Pictures, will screen in the NYC Horror Film Festival on Sunday, Dec. 2nd at noon Est at Cinepolis Chelsea on 260 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011.
Inspired by the story of The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning, The Whistler tells the story of Lindsey (Karis Cameron) who is forced to babysit her younger sister Becky (Baya Ipatowicz) one night. After falling asleep,...
- 11/19/2018
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
“Pet Sematary director Mary Lambert is attached to helm an adaptation of Mira Grant’s mermaid thriller “Rolling in the Deep” for Branded Pictures Entertainment, Variety has learned exclusively.
Sean Hood, whose credits include Conan the Barbarian and Halloween: Resurrection, will adapt the novel, published in 2015. The story revolves around an idealistic young filmmaker who sets out to the Mariana Trench with a small crew to film a faux documentary about mermaids. But the hoax soon turns real as sailors begin to disappear and the filmmaker realizes that they are under siege by actual mermaids. A fight to survive at any cost ensues.
“‘Rolling in the Deep’ is a film led by complicated badass female characters,” Lambert said. “I’ve been waiting to make a film like this my entire career. Our mermaids are not cliché sugary cartoon princesses; they will take you down if you stand in their way.
Sean Hood, whose credits include Conan the Barbarian and Halloween: Resurrection, will adapt the novel, published in 2015. The story revolves around an idealistic young filmmaker who sets out to the Mariana Trench with a small crew to film a faux documentary about mermaids. But the hoax soon turns real as sailors begin to disappear and the filmmaker realizes that they are under siege by actual mermaids. A fight to survive at any cost ensues.
“‘Rolling in the Deep’ is a film led by complicated badass female characters,” Lambert said. “I’ve been waiting to make a film like this my entire career. Our mermaids are not cliché sugary cartoon princesses; they will take you down if you stand in their way.
- 11/15/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
In today’s film news roundup, Andrew Garfield joins Gia Coppola’s “Mainstream,” Jonathan Rhys Meyers is starring in a hot-air balloon thriller, and Jennifer Lawrence has a first-look deal.
Castings
Gia Coppola will direct and co-write “Mainstream,” with Andrew Garfield, Maya Hawke, Nat Wolff, and Jason Schwartzman starring.
The story, to be co-written by Tom Stuart, centers on an eccentric love triangle and cautionary tale of preserving your identity within the fast-moving internet age. CAA Media Finance is handling domestic sales. Wild Bunch is handling foreign sales, and will be introducing the movie at the American Film Market, which opens Wednesday in Santa Monica, Calif.
“La La Land” producer Fred Berger is producing “Mainstream” through his Automatik production company. The film will begin shooting at the end of 2018.
Coppola most recently directed “Palo Alto” for Tribeca Film, which starred Jack Kilmer, Wolff, Emma Roberts, and James Franco. Garfield’s credits include “Hacksaw Ridge,...
Castings
Gia Coppola will direct and co-write “Mainstream,” with Andrew Garfield, Maya Hawke, Nat Wolff, and Jason Schwartzman starring.
The story, to be co-written by Tom Stuart, centers on an eccentric love triangle and cautionary tale of preserving your identity within the fast-moving internet age. CAA Media Finance is handling domestic sales. Wild Bunch is handling foreign sales, and will be introducing the movie at the American Film Market, which opens Wednesday in Santa Monica, Calif.
“La La Land” producer Fred Berger is producing “Mainstream” through his Automatik production company. The film will begin shooting at the end of 2018.
Coppola most recently directed “Palo Alto” for Tribeca Film, which starred Jack Kilmer, Wolff, Emma Roberts, and James Franco. Garfield’s credits include “Hacksaw Ridge,...
- 10/31/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Jonathan Rhys Meyers is in talks to star in Altitude, a thriller set on on a runaway hot-air balloon in the works from writer-director Marc Fienberg. The pic is in preproduction and shooting is scheduled to start in January in South Africa. 13 Films is repping international rights to the project and is presenting it to buyers at the American Film Market, which kicks off Wednesday in Santa Monica. Meyers would play a man who has planned the perfect romantic proposal to his girlfriend in front of their friends and family aboard a hot air balloon. An abrupt accident leaves only the couple and Bailey’s estranged ex-boyfriend on board as the balloon rises at out-of-control speeds, forcing the trio to try anything to stay alive. Branded Pictures Entertainment’s J. Todd Harris, 13 Films’ Greg Schenz, South African based Charl Van der Merwe of Silverline 360 and Kalahari Film & Media’s Irfaan Fredericks are producers.
- 10/31/2018
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
South African shoot set for January 2019.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers is in advanced talks to join the hot air balloon thriller Altitude, which 13 Films is introducing to buyers at Afm.
Writer-director Marc Fienberg and the producers have earmarked a January 2019 start in South Africa on the story about a man whose plan to propose to his fiancée in a hot air balloon goes horribly wrong.
When the airborne vessel climbs out of control, it leaves the couple and the woman’s estranged ex-boyfriend on board and fighting for their lives.
“I could not be more thrilled to be in talks with Jonathan Rhys Meyers,...
Jonathan Rhys Meyers is in advanced talks to join the hot air balloon thriller Altitude, which 13 Films is introducing to buyers at Afm.
Writer-director Marc Fienberg and the producers have earmarked a January 2019 start in South Africa on the story about a man whose plan to propose to his fiancée in a hot air balloon goes horribly wrong.
When the airborne vessel climbs out of control, it leaves the couple and the woman’s estranged ex-boyfriend on board and fighting for their lives.
“I could not be more thrilled to be in talks with Jonathan Rhys Meyers,...
- 10/30/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Mira Sorvino, an Oscar winner for her role in Woody Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite, has signed on to star in Butter, an indie film written and being directed by Paul A. Kaufman (Run The Wild Fields).
The drama, which will begin shooting in La next month, follows a lonely, obese teenager everyone in his high school calls “Butter.” Tired of his ridiculed life and his inability to lose weight, he is going to eat himself to death – live on the Internet. When he makes the announcement online to his classmates he unexpectedly receives support from morbid cheerleaders rallying around his horrible, deadly plan. Yet as student’s dark encouragement grows, it begins to feel a lot like popularity. And that, for the first time, feels awfully good to Butter. But what happens when he reaches his suicide deadline?
Sorvino will play Marian, Butter’s co-dependent mother who can only...
The drama, which will begin shooting in La next month, follows a lonely, obese teenager everyone in his high school calls “Butter.” Tired of his ridiculed life and his inability to lose weight, he is going to eat himself to death – live on the Internet. When he makes the announcement online to his classmates he unexpectedly receives support from morbid cheerleaders rallying around his horrible, deadly plan. Yet as student’s dark encouragement grows, it begins to feel a lot like popularity. And that, for the first time, feels awfully good to Butter. But what happens when he reaches his suicide deadline?
Sorvino will play Marian, Butter’s co-dependent mother who can only...
- 10/15/2018
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Greg Silverman’s recently launched Stampede is developing a movie version of the video game “Dance Dance Revolution.”
The project will explore a world on the brink of destruction where the only hope is to unite through the universal language of dance. Stampede will partner on the movie with producers J. Todd Harris and Marc Marcum of Branded Entertainment, and the intellectual property owner Konami, which first introduced “Dance Dance Revolution” in Japan in 1998. The video game, which has released several editions over the past 20 years, utilizes a dance platform or mat so players can use their feet to hit colored arrow notes as instructed on-screen.
Stampede made the announcement Tuesday as part of disclosing that Cara Fano has been promoted to director of development across film and television. She previously worked under Silverman during his tenure at Warner Bros. and from the inception of Stampede.
Fano will work with...
The project will explore a world on the brink of destruction where the only hope is to unite through the universal language of dance. Stampede will partner on the movie with producers J. Todd Harris and Marc Marcum of Branded Entertainment, and the intellectual property owner Konami, which first introduced “Dance Dance Revolution” in Japan in 1998. The video game, which has released several editions over the past 20 years, utilizes a dance platform or mat so players can use their feet to hit colored arrow notes as instructed on-screen.
Stampede made the announcement Tuesday as part of disclosing that Cara Fano has been promoted to director of development across film and television. She previously worked under Silverman during his tenure at Warner Bros. and from the inception of Stampede.
Fano will work with...
- 10/2/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Stampede, Greg Silverman’s Stampede announced the promotion of Cara Fano to Director of Development, Film & TV. Under her supervision, the company is set to produce a movie based on popular video game, Dance Dance Revolution. The project will explore a world on the brink of destruction where the only hope is to unite through the universal language of dance. Stampede will partner with producers J. Todd Harris and Marc Marcum of Branded Entertainment, and IP owner Konami, on the film.
Fano previously worked with Silverman during his tenure at Warner Bros. and segued over with the former President of Production when he started Stampede. In her new role, Fano will work closely with both Silverman and Stampede’s Head of Film Lisa Zambri. She will be focusing on both acquired IP—including previously announced properties such as James Riley’s middle grade fantasy Revenge of Magic and Glen Zipper...
Fano previously worked with Silverman during his tenure at Warner Bros. and segued over with the former President of Production when he started Stampede. In her new role, Fano will work closely with both Silverman and Stampede’s Head of Film Lisa Zambri. She will be focusing on both acquired IP—including previously announced properties such as James Riley’s middle grade fantasy Revenge of Magic and Glen Zipper...
- 10/2/2018
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
In today’s film news roundup, Adrian Grenier and Mya Taylor join “Stage Mother,” Steve Coogan teams up with Michael Winterbottom and Kandoo Releasing launches. Castings Film Mode Entertainment and Branded Pictures Entertainment have added Adrian Grenier and Mya Taylor (“Tangerine”) to the cast of the drama-comedy “Stage Mother.” Jacki Weaver and Lucy Liu have been previously announced as starring in “Stage Mother,” set in the drag world of San Francisco. The film is set to go into production on Sept. 14 with much of the filming to take place in Nova Scotia. Rights for the film are for sale at the Toronto International Film Festival. Film Mode Entertainment’s Clay Epstein and Branded Pictures Entertainment founder and producer J. Todd Harris announced the project at the Cannes Film Festival. Grenier is best known for his starring role in “Entourage.” Taylor won the Gotham Award for “Breakthrough Actor” for her performance...
- 9/8/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Skateboarding icon Tony Hawk has signed on as executive producer and script and technical adviser on the comedy “Back to the Grind,” from Branded Pictures Entertainment.
“Back to the Grind” tells the story of five middle-aged men who reunite the skate team from their youth to save their beloved park from being taken over by a team of obnoxious young skaters. Although they had settled into their adult lives, the five men eagerly embrace the chance to relive their glory days.
“I’m excited to be part of this project, which comes at a time when skateboarding culture is so widely recognized across many generations,” Hawk said. “’Back to the Grind’ will be a fun, entertaining story that can enhance skateboarding’s growing popularity.”
Bpe Founder and producer J. Todd Harris said, “Tony is the leading ambassador the sport, and having him involved in all aspects of this project ensures...
“Back to the Grind” tells the story of five middle-aged men who reunite the skate team from their youth to save their beloved park from being taken over by a team of obnoxious young skaters. Although they had settled into their adult lives, the five men eagerly embrace the chance to relive their glory days.
“I’m excited to be part of this project, which comes at a time when skateboarding culture is so widely recognized across many generations,” Hawk said. “’Back to the Grind’ will be a fun, entertaining story that can enhance skateboarding’s growing popularity.”
Bpe Founder and producer J. Todd Harris said, “Tony is the leading ambassador the sport, and having him involved in all aspects of this project ensures...
- 7/11/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Jacki Weaver, Taye Diggs and Lucy Liu have joined the dramatic comedy “Stage Mother,” set in the drag queen world of San Francisco.
The film is currently in pre-production. Rights for the film will be available at the Cannes Film Festival Market through Film Mode Entertainment. The film begins shooting later this year in Canada with Thom Fitzgerald shooting from a script by San Francisco screenwriter Brad Hennig (“The Hot Flashes”).
Weaver will portray a conservative Texas church-choir director inheriting her recently deceased son’s San Francisco drag club. Following her heart, she surprises her closed-minded husband and everyone else she knows by moving on her own from Texas to San Francisco save the club from bankruptcy.
Producers are J. Todd Harris through his Branded Pictures, Idiot Savant’s Anne Clements, 4K Productions’ Laurie Lacob and Emotion Pictures’ Doug Pettigrew. Executive producers are Clay Epstein, Brad Hennig and Thom Fitzgerald.
The film is currently in pre-production. Rights for the film will be available at the Cannes Film Festival Market through Film Mode Entertainment. The film begins shooting later this year in Canada with Thom Fitzgerald shooting from a script by San Francisco screenwriter Brad Hennig (“The Hot Flashes”).
Weaver will portray a conservative Texas church-choir director inheriting her recently deceased son’s San Francisco drag club. Following her heart, she surprises her closed-minded husband and everyone else she knows by moving on her own from Texas to San Francisco save the club from bankruptcy.
Producers are J. Todd Harris through his Branded Pictures, Idiot Savant’s Anne Clements, 4K Productions’ Laurie Lacob and Emotion Pictures’ Doug Pettigrew. Executive producers are Clay Epstein, Brad Hennig and Thom Fitzgerald.
- 5/1/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Jacki Weaver (Silver Lining’s Playbook), Taye Diggs (Chicago) and Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels) are to lead cast in comedy Stage Mother, set in the drag queen world of San Francisco. Currently in pre-produciton, Film Mode, which handles world sales, will be shopping the movie in Cannes with shoot is due to get underway in Canada later this year.
Canadian director Thom Fitzgerald (Cloudburst) is helming the movie penned by San Francisco screenwriter Brad Hennig (The Hot Flashes). The cute story follows a conservative Texas church-choir director who inherits her recently deceased son’s San Francisco drag club. Following her heart, she surprises her closed-minded husband and everyone else she knows by moving on her own from Texas to San Francisco save the club from bankruptcy. In this raucous, racy new environment, she begins to open up and find new meaning for her life, even becoming a mother figure...
Canadian director Thom Fitzgerald (Cloudburst) is helming the movie penned by San Francisco screenwriter Brad Hennig (The Hot Flashes). The cute story follows a conservative Texas church-choir director who inherits her recently deceased son’s San Francisco drag club. Following her heart, she surprises her closed-minded husband and everyone else she knows by moving on her own from Texas to San Francisco save the club from bankruptcy. In this raucous, racy new environment, she begins to open up and find new meaning for her life, even becoming a mother figure...
- 5/1/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Film Mode to launch Cannes sales; production set for later this year in Canada.
Jacki Weaver, Taye Diggs and Lucy Liu have joined Stage Mother, which Film Mode will introduce to worldwide buyers in Cannes next week.
The project is scheduled to begin shooting later this year in Canada with Canadian director Thom Fitzgerald at the helm.
Stage Mother centres on the conservative director of Texas church choir who gets a new lease of life when she leaves her narrow-minded husband and moves to San Francisco after she inherits her recently deceased son’s financially stricken drag club. Brad Hennig...
Jacki Weaver, Taye Diggs and Lucy Liu have joined Stage Mother, which Film Mode will introduce to worldwide buyers in Cannes next week.
The project is scheduled to begin shooting later this year in Canada with Canadian director Thom Fitzgerald at the helm.
Stage Mother centres on the conservative director of Texas church choir who gets a new lease of life when she leaves her narrow-minded husband and moves to San Francisco after she inherits her recently deceased son’s financially stricken drag club. Brad Hennig...
- 5/1/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Jacki Weaver, Taye Diggs and Lucy Liu have signed on to star in Stage Mother, the new feature from Canadian director Thom Fitzgerald (The Hanging Garden).
Weaver (The Silver Linings Playbook) will star as Maybelline, a conservative Texas church choir director who inherits her recently deceased son’s San Francisco drag club. Surprising everyone, she moves to San Francisco to try and save the club from bankruptcy.
San Francisco screenwriter Brad Hennig (The Hot Flashes) penned the screenplay.
Currently in preproduction, Stage Mother is set to begin shooting in Canada later this year.
Branded Pictures Entertainment's J. Todd Harris is producing...
Weaver (The Silver Linings Playbook) will star as Maybelline, a conservative Texas church choir director who inherits her recently deceased son’s San Francisco drag club. Surprising everyone, she moves to San Francisco to try and save the club from bankruptcy.
San Francisco screenwriter Brad Hennig (The Hot Flashes) penned the screenplay.
Currently in preproduction, Stage Mother is set to begin shooting in Canada later this year.
Branded Pictures Entertainment's J. Todd Harris is producing...
- 5/1/2018
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jacki Weaver, Taye Diggs and Lucy Liu have signed on to star in <em>Stage Mother</em>, the new feature from Canadian director Thom Fitzgerald (<em>The Hanging Garden</em>).
Weaver (<em>The Silver Linings Playbook</em>) will star as Maybelline, a conservative Texas church choir director who inherits her recently deceased son’s San Francisco drag club. Surprising everyone, she moves to San Francisco to try and save the club from bankruptcy.
San Francisco screenwriter Brad Hennig (<em>The Hot Flashes</em>) penned the screenplay.
Currently in preproduction, <em>Stage Mother </em>is set to begin shooting in Canada later this year.
Branded Pictures Entertainment's J. Todd Harris is ...
Weaver (<em>The Silver Linings Playbook</em>) will star as Maybelline, a conservative Texas church choir director who inherits her recently deceased son’s San Francisco drag club. Surprising everyone, she moves to San Francisco to try and save the club from bankruptcy.
San Francisco screenwriter Brad Hennig (<em>The Hot Flashes</em>) penned the screenplay.
Currently in preproduction, <em>Stage Mother </em>is set to begin shooting in Canada later this year.
Branded Pictures Entertainment's J. Todd Harris is ...
Exclusive: Indie producer J. Todd Harris and his company, Branded Pictures Entertainment have optioned the motion picture rights to Big Guns, a satirical novel about the gun industry by former New York congressman Steve Israel. The book, which has a street date of April 17, 2018 from Simon & Schuster, is on a fast-track for development, as gun legislation continues to be a galvanizing national issue. This country suffered its largest mass shooting in Las Vegas only 19…...
- 10/19/2017
- Deadline
Horror fans have flocked to Shudder to watch a wide rage of pre-existing content since AMC launched the streaming service back in 2016, and now Shudder is adding original programming to its arsenal with upcoming "Shudder Originals," beginning with Rodney Ascher's (Room 237, The Nightmare) new horror documentary Primal Screen on June 8th.
Press Release: New York, New York — June 2, 2017 — Today, AMC Networks’ Shudder announces its entry into original content. The premium streaming service, known for super-serving fans of thrillers, suspense and horror, is developing six new titles all of which will debut as “Shudder Originals”. The high-caliber original programming slate launches Thursday, June 8 with a new horror documentary from genre favorite Rodney Ascher, titled Primal Screen. Other upcoming Shudder Originals include a mystery series; a Ted Bundy-inspired scripted project; and a series based on an Emily Schultz novel, among many others.
As the first Shudder Original, Primal Screen explores...
Press Release: New York, New York — June 2, 2017 — Today, AMC Networks’ Shudder announces its entry into original content. The premium streaming service, known for super-serving fans of thrillers, suspense and horror, is developing six new titles all of which will debut as “Shudder Originals”. The high-caliber original programming slate launches Thursday, June 8 with a new horror documentary from genre favorite Rodney Ascher, titled Primal Screen. Other upcoming Shudder Originals include a mystery series; a Ted Bundy-inspired scripted project; and a series based on an Emily Schultz novel, among many others.
As the first Shudder Original, Primal Screen explores...
- 6/2/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Thanks in large part to James DeMonaco’s cult Purge franchise, Captain America: Civil War alum Frank Grillo is fast becoming a bankable lead star for Hollywood studios – a streak that has spurred Netflix into action at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival.
Making its first acquisition on the Croisette, The Hollywood Reporter confirms that the online giant has snapped up rights to Wheelman, a high octane action-thriller that thrusts Grillo into the role of a daring getaway driver. No further details were disclosed in terms of casting, but we understand the Frank Grillo will also produce the feature alongside Joe Carnahan and Myles Nestel of The Solution Entertainment Group. J. Todd Harris, Chady Mattar and Scott Silver will executive produce.
Jeremy Rush, meanwhile, will direct from his own script, and plans are reportedly in place for Wheelman to drift before cameras in fall of this year – and Frank Grillo can hardly wait.
Making its first acquisition on the Croisette, The Hollywood Reporter confirms that the online giant has snapped up rights to Wheelman, a high octane action-thriller that thrusts Grillo into the role of a daring getaway driver. No further details were disclosed in terms of casting, but we understand the Frank Grillo will also produce the feature alongside Joe Carnahan and Myles Nestel of The Solution Entertainment Group. J. Todd Harris, Chady Mattar and Scott Silver will executive produce.
Jeremy Rush, meanwhile, will direct from his own script, and plans are reportedly in place for Wheelman to drift before cameras in fall of this year – and Frank Grillo can hardly wait.
- 5/17/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Independent film producer and CEO of Branded Pictures Entertainment J. Todd Harris ("The Kids Are All Right," "Bottle Shock") has been feeling an easterly pull back to his theatre roots over the past year. Having started in the theatre right out of college running the repertory company TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, the producer of nearly 40 films, is now producing the stage musical adaptation of Doctor Zhivago based on the Nobel Prize-winning Boris Pasternak’s novel, which also served as the basis for the 1965 Academy Award-winning David Lean film starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie (and Rod Steiger, Geraldine Chaplin and Tom Courtenay). I had chance to catch up with this bi-coastal whirlwind last week after he returned from the show’s opening on Broadway.
Peter Belsito : Isn’t independent film hard enough? What got you interested in Broadway?
J. Todd Harris : (laughing). I didn’t think anything could be harder than independent films, but I was wrong. The fact is my wife Amy Powers is a co-lyricist on the show and has been working on it for over a decade after its first try-out at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2005. Four years ago, we moved to Australia for our way “out of town” run and I felt I could help raise a bit of money, so I was an associate producer. When word came in last year that it was going to Broadway, I told them I thought I could raise a million dollars and serve as one of the producers.
Pb : Did you raise your share? And how does it compare to raising money for a film?
Jth : I did, and then some, from about thirty individual investors. In that sense, it’s not unlike a lot of independent films that are financed with equity. It’s a different eco-system, but the concept is pretty similar. And, just like a lot of independent films, you don’t make money up front! It’s all about ownership, so you really hope the show breaks even soon. The authors – book, lyrics, composer – all get a royalty off the top. No nonsense like the movie business. This contributes to my love for my wife.
Pb : What is the show’s budget, if I may ask?
Jth : About 15M, it’s a Big Broadway show. There are well over one hundred investors and probably 30 credited producers. When A Gentleman’s Guide to Murder won the Tony Award last year, I thought the stage was going to collapse so many producers went up to collect the award. But, you know, it takes a village. Sometimes a small city. It’s okay to reward and acknowledge the backers of a show. It’s a huge risk and without these backers we’d be a poorer culture. They’re like modern day patrons. Why not give them a moment in the sun?
Pb : How did you get the rights to Doctor Zhivago? Such a big title!
Jth : I cannot take credit for that. Composer Lucy Simon (The Secret Garden) originally got the rights well over ten years ago and started working with a creative team, but before the La Jolla production the team changed and that’s when my wife was recruited to co-write the lyrics with Michael Korie ( Grey Gardens) and joined the team that included book writer Michael Weller (Loose Ends, screenplays for Hair and Ragtime ) and director Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys). Des was artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse at the time. And the show’s lead producer Anita Waxman was involved very early on providing the seed capital for La Jolla and then putting the financing together for Australia and now Broadway.
Pb : That’s a long gestation period, even compared to Hollywood, isn’t it?
Jth : It is one of the longer ones, but these things can literally take years as creative teams gel, script and music mesh, and planets align for talent, money and – not least importantly – a theatre. The strange alchemy that gets a Broadway show a greenlight isn’t all that different than the weird science of getting a big Hollywood movie off the ground.
Pb : Sounds like a lot of cooks in the kitchen.
Jth : There are, but from a producing angle, there’s usually a small group of lead producers who make the major financial decisions and every creative team finds its own rhythm. Writers and composers are accorded a lot more respect in theatre; that’s the major difference from movies.
Pb : Are you happy with how the show has come out?
Jth : Thrilled. Of course, it’s hard to claim crystal clear perspective when one is as emotionally invested in the show as I am in Doctor Zhivago, but I think the creative team has taken an epic story and distilled it to its emotional and political core. Lucy Simon has written melodies that will live forever in the musical theatre firmament. Des has done a masterful job of staging a huge and complex show. Ambition doesn’t begin to describe it. We got mixed reviews, but so did Phantom, Cats and Wicked. The final arbiter is audiences, and the dozen or so times I’ve seen the show at the Broadway Theatre, there have been copious cheers and tears.
Pb : You also did a show last year?
Jth : Yes, I was part of the producing team that developed and produced Heathers The Musical, based on the Daniel Waters script directed by Michael Lehmann back in 1988. It was a great experience working with a very tight creative and producing team. Andy Fickman directed a script, book and music by Kevin Murphy and Larry O’Keefe. It ran off Broadway for about 5 months and we hope we can adapt that to the screen and go back to Broadway.
Pb : Do you find a lot of talent crossing over from Hollywood to Broadway?
Jth : More and more, that is the case. Not just writers, directors and actors, but also material. Broadway is flooded with adaptations of movies – Aladdin is running strong, Honeymoon In Vegas recently closed, and last year Bridges of Madison County and Big Fish had nice runs on Broadways as musicals. I definitely have my eye on other fare to crossover from screen to stage.
Pb : Can you tell us what you’re working on?
Jth : Not yet, but some very recognizable titles that I think are ideal for the Great White Way.
Peter Belsito : Isn’t independent film hard enough? What got you interested in Broadway?
J. Todd Harris : (laughing). I didn’t think anything could be harder than independent films, but I was wrong. The fact is my wife Amy Powers is a co-lyricist on the show and has been working on it for over a decade after its first try-out at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2005. Four years ago, we moved to Australia for our way “out of town” run and I felt I could help raise a bit of money, so I was an associate producer. When word came in last year that it was going to Broadway, I told them I thought I could raise a million dollars and serve as one of the producers.
Pb : Did you raise your share? And how does it compare to raising money for a film?
Jth : I did, and then some, from about thirty individual investors. In that sense, it’s not unlike a lot of independent films that are financed with equity. It’s a different eco-system, but the concept is pretty similar. And, just like a lot of independent films, you don’t make money up front! It’s all about ownership, so you really hope the show breaks even soon. The authors – book, lyrics, composer – all get a royalty off the top. No nonsense like the movie business. This contributes to my love for my wife.
Pb : What is the show’s budget, if I may ask?
Jth : About 15M, it’s a Big Broadway show. There are well over one hundred investors and probably 30 credited producers. When A Gentleman’s Guide to Murder won the Tony Award last year, I thought the stage was going to collapse so many producers went up to collect the award. But, you know, it takes a village. Sometimes a small city. It’s okay to reward and acknowledge the backers of a show. It’s a huge risk and without these backers we’d be a poorer culture. They’re like modern day patrons. Why not give them a moment in the sun?
Pb : How did you get the rights to Doctor Zhivago? Such a big title!
Jth : I cannot take credit for that. Composer Lucy Simon (The Secret Garden) originally got the rights well over ten years ago and started working with a creative team, but before the La Jolla production the team changed and that’s when my wife was recruited to co-write the lyrics with Michael Korie ( Grey Gardens) and joined the team that included book writer Michael Weller (Loose Ends, screenplays for Hair and Ragtime ) and director Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys). Des was artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse at the time. And the show’s lead producer Anita Waxman was involved very early on providing the seed capital for La Jolla and then putting the financing together for Australia and now Broadway.
Pb : That’s a long gestation period, even compared to Hollywood, isn’t it?
Jth : It is one of the longer ones, but these things can literally take years as creative teams gel, script and music mesh, and planets align for talent, money and – not least importantly – a theatre. The strange alchemy that gets a Broadway show a greenlight isn’t all that different than the weird science of getting a big Hollywood movie off the ground.
Pb : Sounds like a lot of cooks in the kitchen.
Jth : There are, but from a producing angle, there’s usually a small group of lead producers who make the major financial decisions and every creative team finds its own rhythm. Writers and composers are accorded a lot more respect in theatre; that’s the major difference from movies.
Pb : Are you happy with how the show has come out?
Jth : Thrilled. Of course, it’s hard to claim crystal clear perspective when one is as emotionally invested in the show as I am in Doctor Zhivago, but I think the creative team has taken an epic story and distilled it to its emotional and political core. Lucy Simon has written melodies that will live forever in the musical theatre firmament. Des has done a masterful job of staging a huge and complex show. Ambition doesn’t begin to describe it. We got mixed reviews, but so did Phantom, Cats and Wicked. The final arbiter is audiences, and the dozen or so times I’ve seen the show at the Broadway Theatre, there have been copious cheers and tears.
Pb : You also did a show last year?
Jth : Yes, I was part of the producing team that developed and produced Heathers The Musical, based on the Daniel Waters script directed by Michael Lehmann back in 1988. It was a great experience working with a very tight creative and producing team. Andy Fickman directed a script, book and music by Kevin Murphy and Larry O’Keefe. It ran off Broadway for about 5 months and we hope we can adapt that to the screen and go back to Broadway.
Pb : Do you find a lot of talent crossing over from Hollywood to Broadway?
Jth : More and more, that is the case. Not just writers, directors and actors, but also material. Broadway is flooded with adaptations of movies – Aladdin is running strong, Honeymoon In Vegas recently closed, and last year Bridges of Madison County and Big Fish had nice runs on Broadways as musicals. I definitely have my eye on other fare to crossover from screen to stage.
Pb : Can you tell us what you’re working on?
Jth : Not yet, but some very recognizable titles that I think are ideal for the Great White Way.
- 4/26/2015
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
As BroadwayWorld first reported, the new Broadway musical Doctor Zhivago, based on Boris Pasternak's Nobel Prize-winning 20th-century epic Russian masterpiece, will begin performances on Friday, March 27, 2015, and open on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at the Broadway Theatre 1681 Broadway. This sweeping musical romance, which revolves around five intertwined lovers set against a panoramic portrait of a nation in upheaval, is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Des McAnuff Jersey Boys, with a book by Academy Award nominee Michael Weller Ragtime, music by Grammy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Lucy Simon The Secret Garden, lyrics by Tony Award nominee Michael Korie Grey Gardens and Emmy Award nominee Amy Powers Ella Enchanted, and choreography by Tony Award nominee Kelly Devine Rocky. Doctor Zhivago will be produced on Broadway by Anita Waxman, Tom Dokton, Latitude Link, Ted HartleyRKO Stage and Chunsoo Shin, with Joe Corcoran, J. Todd Harris, The Pelican Group and John Frost.
- 10/1/2014
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
The 4th annual Napa Valley Film Festival (Nvff), scheduled for November 12-16, 2014, announced its Narrative and Documentary feature film competition lineups as well as Jury members. The 2014 Festival will screen 22 feature films in competition. The full film program line-up, including out-of-competition special presentations, sneak previews of awards season contenders, and narrative, documentary and animated shorts, will be announced in September.
“Our thoughts are with everyone in the Napa Valley who have suffered losses from the recent earthquake,” said Co-Founder/Artistic Director Marc Lhormer. “We are proud to be part of a community that rallies in support of each other in such a generous and big hearted way. As they say in the business, the show must go on.”
“This is an exceptionally strong year for both the Narrative and Documentary competition programs,” said Program Director Herb Stratford. “These filmmakers have created new works that provoke, inspire, educate and entertain. They are the heart of our program each year, which includes more than 100 new independent films and advance studio screenings, and we are excited to announce their participation in the festival.”
Directors of the Narrative and Documentary films in competition participate in Nvff’s unique Artists-in-Residence Program presented in partnership with the incomparable Meadowood Napa Valley. Directors stay at the luxury resort for six nights during the festival and are treated to special events and workshops with their competition group and industry mentors. Serving as faculty for a set of Master Classes at Nvff 2014 are producer Ted Hope ( Adventureland, 21 Grams); writer/director Joshua Michael Stern (Jobs, Swing Vote) writer/director Joe Carnahan (The Blacklist; The Grey, Smokin’ Aces); producer Pam Koffler (Killer Films); and producer J. Todd Harris ( The Kids are All Right; Bottle Shock); Ryan Harrington (Tribeca Film Institute); producer Jason Berman (Struck by Lightning, Luv); producer Anne Carey (Archer Gray Productions); executives Tom Quinn (RADiUS) and David Glasser (The Weinstein Company). Meadowood Napa Valley will also award $10,000 to the winning filmmakers in both the Narrative and Documentary competition categories at the Closing Night Awards Ceremony on Sunday, November 16.
Narrative Competition Section
Films in the Narrative competition section feature actors Anne Hathaway, Billie Joe Armstrong, Elizabeth Banks, Tate Donovan, Rachael Harris, Zoe Kravitz, Stephen Lang, Leighton Meester, Debra Messing, Dev Patel, Kyra Sedgwick, Chloe Sevigny and Paul Wesley, among others. The 12 films selected include:
"Thank You A Lot"- Music agent and manager Jack Hand has a bad reputation and an even worse track record. He has only two clients left: an indie band on the verge of a breakup and a part-time hip-hop artist. Jack’s future hinges on signing the one person he is barely on speaking terms with — his estranged father, a respected and reclusive country singer/songwriter. "East Side Sushi"- Juana‘s work – preparing fruit for the family’s sidewalk cart – is steady, but hardly her life’s calling. Despite the objections and concerns of her family, Juana decides to pursue her dream of becoming an expert sushi chef, to go where her heart tells her, not where she is expected to be. "Fall To Rise" - Principal dancer Lauren Drake is beautiful, talented and famous. When Lauren is released from her company after being sidelined by an injury, she quickly becomes frustrated with her new domestic lifestyle. At a performance by another dance company, she meets and teams up with Des, a former dancer who is also eager to have a second chance in the dance world. "Little Accidents" (Isa: William Morris Endeavor Entertainment) - In a small West Virginia town reeling from a recent tragic accident in the local mine, a fresh unfortunate incident in the woods leaves a young boy dead. Meanwhile Owen, an injured miner struggling to adjust to his new life aboveground, joins the search for the first boy who is presumed lost in the woods. "Like Sunday, Like Rain" - Reggie Kipper is a sweet, awkward cello prodigy, a composer and overall genius. He’s about to graduate from high school and enroll at MIT — and he’s is only twelve years old. Eleanor Fallon is a 23-year old struggling musician who meets Reggie when she is hired to be his au pair, and the unlikely duo embarks on a summer adventure that neither of them ever expected. "Sun Belt Express"- Allen King, a man living on the Arizona/Mexico border, finds out what his breaking point is when his ex-wife demands money, and his job teaching at a college south of the border evaporates. Allen then finds a unique way to supplant his income by transporting illegal aliens in the trunk of his car. "Sam & Amira" (Isa: Preferred Entertainment) - Sam is an army veteran struggling to assimilate into normal life stateside. He works a variety of odd jobs, tries his hand at stand-up comedy, and is recruited by his cousin into some shady investment dealings. Sam’s already complicated life is made more so by Amira, an Iraqi woman dealing with her own issues who is the daughter of an old army colleague. "Song One" (Isa: Lotus Entertainment) - Estranged from her family, Franny returns home when an accident leaves her brother comatose. Retracing his life as an aspiring singer-songwriter, she tracks down his favorite musician, James Forester. Against the backdrop of Brooklyn’s music scene, Franny and James develop an unexpected relationship and face the realities of their lives. "The Road Within" (Isa: Panorama Media) - Vincent has Tourette Syndrome. When his mother dies, he becomes obsessed with scattering her ashes by the ocean. Too much for his father to handle, Vincent is sent to a residential treatment center in Nevada where he befriends two other “inmates” struggling with their own personal issues. "Kinderwald" - Pennsylvania wilderness, 1885. John Linden, a hard-working German immigrant, is making a go of homesteading with his brother’s widow and her two young sons. John’s visually and spiritually idyllic world is thrown into utter chaos when the two boys go missing while off playing in the woods. "Wildlike" (Isa: Panorama Media) - Mackenzie is a fourteen-year-old girl whose father died last year. When her struggling mother checks herself into a recovery center, Mackenzie is sent from their Seattle home to live with her uncle in Alaska. At first he seems a supportive caretaker, but when his infatuation crosses a sexual line, Mackenzie runs away. With no one else to turn to, she shadows a solitary backpacker, Bartlett, a widowed man with scars of his own, into the beauty and danger of America’s last frontier.
Documentary Competition Section
"American Native" - For years, the legend of the Jackson Whites tribe has been told, passed down from generation to generation of New Jersey suburbanites. While the garish stories and tall tales have never been hard to find, the truth behind them has. Accessing the community is not easy; few outsiders have been able to penetrate the insular walls formed from centuries of discrimination. "Botso" - Dr. Botso Korisheli, 91 and still teaching music along with his unique philosophy, has a fascinating and unforgettable life story. Born in the former Soviet State of Georgia, Botso witnessed his father imprisoned under orders from Josef Stalin while his home was taken over by the Kgb. Forced to dig ditches for the Soviet army, Botso was then captured by the Germans. "Flying The Feathered Edge" - Robert A. “Bob” Hoover, age 92, is considered by many to be our greatest living aviator. Nicknamed “The Pilot’s Pilot” by his peers, Bob is largely unknown outside aviation circles despite his staggering array of accomplishments. Following a storied career during WWII as a fighter pilot, Bob continued to serve for years as one of our best test pilots. Mr. Hoover will be in attendance for screenings and Q&As. "Happy Valley" (Isa: Submarine Entertainment) - Few sports dynasties in the modern era have had a larger and longer-lasting profile than college football’s Penn State and its legendary coach Joe Paterno. State College, Pennsylvania, is in the heart of an area known as Happy Valley, ground zero of a proud football tradition for decades. When the shocking sex abuse scandal of assistant coach Jerry Sandusky rocked that town and college in 2011, the impact was unprecedented. "Havana Curveball" - At age 13 and preparing for his Bar Mitzvah, Mica takes to heart his rabbi’s injunction to help “heal the world.” Mica imagines himself a hero for other kids, and hatches a grand plan to send baseballs, bats and gloves to Cuba. Mica knows only that Cubans are poor and love baseball, and that Cuba “saved” his grandpa’s life when he was escaping from Nazi Germany. "States of Grace" - Dr. Grace Dammann’s life was forever altered when a driver crashed head-on into her car on the Golden Gate Bridge. After a seven-week coma and numerous surgeries, Grace miraculously regained consciousness, with her cognitive abilities almost entirely intact, but her body left shattered and severely disabled. "Underwater Dreams" - The epic story of four teenage boys from the Arizona desert who dare to go up against college engineering students from MIT. Inspired by two energetic high school science teachers, the boys build a robot from hardware store parts and enter an underwater robotics competition sponsored by Nasa. "An Honest Liar" - For as long as there have been magicians and illusionists, there have been doubters and debunkers making sure that the general public doesn’t get taken for a ride. One of the greatest illusionists of his era was “The Amazing Randi,” who made the shift from magic and escape acts to exposing the frauds who prey on unsuspecting victims. "Compared to What: The Improbable Journey of Barney Frank" (Isa: Preferred Content) - Few members of the U.S. Congress have ever been as polarizing and revolutionary as Barney Frank has been over the past 40 years. Compared to What: The Improbable Journey of Barney Frank examines the career, passions and legacy of our first openly gay Congressman. This rare and intimate documentary is entertaining, enlightening and thought-provoking. "#chicagoGirl: The Social Network Takes On A Dictator" (Isa: Preferred Content) - In #chicagoGirl, we meet freedom fighters in the streets of Homs and Damascus along with the stateside collection of exiles working to return Syria to a stable and human rights-respecting country. Will 21st century tools of change stand up to guns and violence and terror in the streets? Narrative Features Jury
Christine Vachon , (Producer, "Boys Don’t Cry," "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," "Far From Heaven")
Peter Baxter ( Co-founder/Director Slamdance Film Festival)
Dierk Sinderman (Hollywood Foreign Press Association)
Lisa Truitt ( Producer, James Cameron’s "Deepsea Challenge 3D,""Mysteries of Egypt")
Don Lewis (Producer; Editor Film Threat)
Documentary Features and Shorts Jury
Morgan Neville ("Twenty Feet From Stardom")
Tiffany Shlain ("The Tribe; Connected: An Autobiography About Love," "Death & Technology")
Freida Lee Mock ("Anita. G-Dog,""Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision," "Return with Honor")
Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine ("Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden,""Ballets Russes").
Narrative Shorts Jury
Joshua Michael Stern ("Jobs,""Swing Vote," "Neverwas")
Ralph Macchio (Actor, "The Karate Kid;" Director, "Across Grace Alley")
Neil Berkeley ("Beauty in Embarrassing;" Founder Brkl)
Animated Shorts
Bill Plympton (The King of Indie Animation)
Adam Glick (Amazon Web Services)
Ryan Tudhope (Atomic Fiction)
About The Napa Valley Film Festival
The Napa Valley Film Festival (Nvff) is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Napa, California. The ultimate celebration of film, food and wine, Nvff lights up the picturesque towns of Napa, Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga at the most colorful time of year. Nvff features over 100 new independent films and studio sneak previews screening in 12 beautiful venues throughout four walkable villages, as 300 visiting filmmakers interact with audiences at screenings and intimate events. Attendees enjoy film panels & culinary demonstrations, wine tasting pavilions, the spectacular Festival Gala, Celebrity Tributes, Awards Ceremony, and an array of parties, VIP receptions and winemaker dinners and more. For information or to buy passes, visit NapaValleyFilmFest.org...
“Our thoughts are with everyone in the Napa Valley who have suffered losses from the recent earthquake,” said Co-Founder/Artistic Director Marc Lhormer. “We are proud to be part of a community that rallies in support of each other in such a generous and big hearted way. As they say in the business, the show must go on.”
“This is an exceptionally strong year for both the Narrative and Documentary competition programs,” said Program Director Herb Stratford. “These filmmakers have created new works that provoke, inspire, educate and entertain. They are the heart of our program each year, which includes more than 100 new independent films and advance studio screenings, and we are excited to announce their participation in the festival.”
Directors of the Narrative and Documentary films in competition participate in Nvff’s unique Artists-in-Residence Program presented in partnership with the incomparable Meadowood Napa Valley. Directors stay at the luxury resort for six nights during the festival and are treated to special events and workshops with their competition group and industry mentors. Serving as faculty for a set of Master Classes at Nvff 2014 are producer Ted Hope ( Adventureland, 21 Grams); writer/director Joshua Michael Stern (Jobs, Swing Vote) writer/director Joe Carnahan (The Blacklist; The Grey, Smokin’ Aces); producer Pam Koffler (Killer Films); and producer J. Todd Harris ( The Kids are All Right; Bottle Shock); Ryan Harrington (Tribeca Film Institute); producer Jason Berman (Struck by Lightning, Luv); producer Anne Carey (Archer Gray Productions); executives Tom Quinn (RADiUS) and David Glasser (The Weinstein Company). Meadowood Napa Valley will also award $10,000 to the winning filmmakers in both the Narrative and Documentary competition categories at the Closing Night Awards Ceremony on Sunday, November 16.
Narrative Competition Section
Films in the Narrative competition section feature actors Anne Hathaway, Billie Joe Armstrong, Elizabeth Banks, Tate Donovan, Rachael Harris, Zoe Kravitz, Stephen Lang, Leighton Meester, Debra Messing, Dev Patel, Kyra Sedgwick, Chloe Sevigny and Paul Wesley, among others. The 12 films selected include:
"Thank You A Lot"- Music agent and manager Jack Hand has a bad reputation and an even worse track record. He has only two clients left: an indie band on the verge of a breakup and a part-time hip-hop artist. Jack’s future hinges on signing the one person he is barely on speaking terms with — his estranged father, a respected and reclusive country singer/songwriter. "East Side Sushi"- Juana‘s work – preparing fruit for the family’s sidewalk cart – is steady, but hardly her life’s calling. Despite the objections and concerns of her family, Juana decides to pursue her dream of becoming an expert sushi chef, to go where her heart tells her, not where she is expected to be. "Fall To Rise" - Principal dancer Lauren Drake is beautiful, talented and famous. When Lauren is released from her company after being sidelined by an injury, she quickly becomes frustrated with her new domestic lifestyle. At a performance by another dance company, she meets and teams up with Des, a former dancer who is also eager to have a second chance in the dance world. "Little Accidents" (Isa: William Morris Endeavor Entertainment) - In a small West Virginia town reeling from a recent tragic accident in the local mine, a fresh unfortunate incident in the woods leaves a young boy dead. Meanwhile Owen, an injured miner struggling to adjust to his new life aboveground, joins the search for the first boy who is presumed lost in the woods. "Like Sunday, Like Rain" - Reggie Kipper is a sweet, awkward cello prodigy, a composer and overall genius. He’s about to graduate from high school and enroll at MIT — and he’s is only twelve years old. Eleanor Fallon is a 23-year old struggling musician who meets Reggie when she is hired to be his au pair, and the unlikely duo embarks on a summer adventure that neither of them ever expected. "Sun Belt Express"- Allen King, a man living on the Arizona/Mexico border, finds out what his breaking point is when his ex-wife demands money, and his job teaching at a college south of the border evaporates. Allen then finds a unique way to supplant his income by transporting illegal aliens in the trunk of his car. "Sam & Amira" (Isa: Preferred Entertainment) - Sam is an army veteran struggling to assimilate into normal life stateside. He works a variety of odd jobs, tries his hand at stand-up comedy, and is recruited by his cousin into some shady investment dealings. Sam’s already complicated life is made more so by Amira, an Iraqi woman dealing with her own issues who is the daughter of an old army colleague. "Song One" (Isa: Lotus Entertainment) - Estranged from her family, Franny returns home when an accident leaves her brother comatose. Retracing his life as an aspiring singer-songwriter, she tracks down his favorite musician, James Forester. Against the backdrop of Brooklyn’s music scene, Franny and James develop an unexpected relationship and face the realities of their lives. "The Road Within" (Isa: Panorama Media) - Vincent has Tourette Syndrome. When his mother dies, he becomes obsessed with scattering her ashes by the ocean. Too much for his father to handle, Vincent is sent to a residential treatment center in Nevada where he befriends two other “inmates” struggling with their own personal issues. "Kinderwald" - Pennsylvania wilderness, 1885. John Linden, a hard-working German immigrant, is making a go of homesteading with his brother’s widow and her two young sons. John’s visually and spiritually idyllic world is thrown into utter chaos when the two boys go missing while off playing in the woods. "Wildlike" (Isa: Panorama Media) - Mackenzie is a fourteen-year-old girl whose father died last year. When her struggling mother checks herself into a recovery center, Mackenzie is sent from their Seattle home to live with her uncle in Alaska. At first he seems a supportive caretaker, but when his infatuation crosses a sexual line, Mackenzie runs away. With no one else to turn to, she shadows a solitary backpacker, Bartlett, a widowed man with scars of his own, into the beauty and danger of America’s last frontier.
Documentary Competition Section
"American Native" - For years, the legend of the Jackson Whites tribe has been told, passed down from generation to generation of New Jersey suburbanites. While the garish stories and tall tales have never been hard to find, the truth behind them has. Accessing the community is not easy; few outsiders have been able to penetrate the insular walls formed from centuries of discrimination. "Botso" - Dr. Botso Korisheli, 91 and still teaching music along with his unique philosophy, has a fascinating and unforgettable life story. Born in the former Soviet State of Georgia, Botso witnessed his father imprisoned under orders from Josef Stalin while his home was taken over by the Kgb. Forced to dig ditches for the Soviet army, Botso was then captured by the Germans. "Flying The Feathered Edge" - Robert A. “Bob” Hoover, age 92, is considered by many to be our greatest living aviator. Nicknamed “The Pilot’s Pilot” by his peers, Bob is largely unknown outside aviation circles despite his staggering array of accomplishments. Following a storied career during WWII as a fighter pilot, Bob continued to serve for years as one of our best test pilots. Mr. Hoover will be in attendance for screenings and Q&As. "Happy Valley" (Isa: Submarine Entertainment) - Few sports dynasties in the modern era have had a larger and longer-lasting profile than college football’s Penn State and its legendary coach Joe Paterno. State College, Pennsylvania, is in the heart of an area known as Happy Valley, ground zero of a proud football tradition for decades. When the shocking sex abuse scandal of assistant coach Jerry Sandusky rocked that town and college in 2011, the impact was unprecedented. "Havana Curveball" - At age 13 and preparing for his Bar Mitzvah, Mica takes to heart his rabbi’s injunction to help “heal the world.” Mica imagines himself a hero for other kids, and hatches a grand plan to send baseballs, bats and gloves to Cuba. Mica knows only that Cubans are poor and love baseball, and that Cuba “saved” his grandpa’s life when he was escaping from Nazi Germany. "States of Grace" - Dr. Grace Dammann’s life was forever altered when a driver crashed head-on into her car on the Golden Gate Bridge. After a seven-week coma and numerous surgeries, Grace miraculously regained consciousness, with her cognitive abilities almost entirely intact, but her body left shattered and severely disabled. "Underwater Dreams" - The epic story of four teenage boys from the Arizona desert who dare to go up against college engineering students from MIT. Inspired by two energetic high school science teachers, the boys build a robot from hardware store parts and enter an underwater robotics competition sponsored by Nasa. "An Honest Liar" - For as long as there have been magicians and illusionists, there have been doubters and debunkers making sure that the general public doesn’t get taken for a ride. One of the greatest illusionists of his era was “The Amazing Randi,” who made the shift from magic and escape acts to exposing the frauds who prey on unsuspecting victims. "Compared to What: The Improbable Journey of Barney Frank" (Isa: Preferred Content) - Few members of the U.S. Congress have ever been as polarizing and revolutionary as Barney Frank has been over the past 40 years. Compared to What: The Improbable Journey of Barney Frank examines the career, passions and legacy of our first openly gay Congressman. This rare and intimate documentary is entertaining, enlightening and thought-provoking. "#chicagoGirl: The Social Network Takes On A Dictator" (Isa: Preferred Content) - In #chicagoGirl, we meet freedom fighters in the streets of Homs and Damascus along with the stateside collection of exiles working to return Syria to a stable and human rights-respecting country. Will 21st century tools of change stand up to guns and violence and terror in the streets? Narrative Features Jury
Christine Vachon , (Producer, "Boys Don’t Cry," "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," "Far From Heaven")
Peter Baxter ( Co-founder/Director Slamdance Film Festival)
Dierk Sinderman (Hollywood Foreign Press Association)
Lisa Truitt ( Producer, James Cameron’s "Deepsea Challenge 3D,""Mysteries of Egypt")
Don Lewis (Producer; Editor Film Threat)
Documentary Features and Shorts Jury
Morgan Neville ("Twenty Feet From Stardom")
Tiffany Shlain ("The Tribe; Connected: An Autobiography About Love," "Death & Technology")
Freida Lee Mock ("Anita. G-Dog,""Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision," "Return with Honor")
Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine ("Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden,""Ballets Russes").
Narrative Shorts Jury
Joshua Michael Stern ("Jobs,""Swing Vote," "Neverwas")
Ralph Macchio (Actor, "The Karate Kid;" Director, "Across Grace Alley")
Neil Berkeley ("Beauty in Embarrassing;" Founder Brkl)
Animated Shorts
Bill Plympton (The King of Indie Animation)
Adam Glick (Amazon Web Services)
Ryan Tudhope (Atomic Fiction)
About The Napa Valley Film Festival
The Napa Valley Film Festival (Nvff) is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Napa, California. The ultimate celebration of film, food and wine, Nvff lights up the picturesque towns of Napa, Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga at the most colorful time of year. Nvff features over 100 new independent films and studio sneak previews screening in 12 beautiful venues throughout four walkable villages, as 300 visiting filmmakers interact with audiences at screenings and intimate events. Attendees enjoy film panels & culinary demonstrations, wine tasting pavilions, the spectacular Festival Gala, Celebrity Tributes, Awards Ceremony, and an array of parties, VIP receptions and winemaker dinners and more. For information or to buy passes, visit NapaValleyFilmFest.org...
- 8/28/2014
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
Cannes – Well-known German film and television actress Veronica Ferres has joined the cast of A Three Dog Life, from writer-director Nick Guthe. John Travolta and Salma Hayek are already set to play the leads in the big-screen adaptation of Abigail Thomas' best-selling memoir about a car accident that leaves her husband with no memory. Photos: Cannes: The Complete 2014 Official Selection The Solution Entertainment Group's Lisa Wilson is selling the film internationally for producers J. Todd Harris, Clark Peterson and Guthe. "As a multi-award-winning actress, Veronica Ferres' attachment delightfully elevates what is already a
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- 5/15/2014
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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