From an ancient story, a new horror begins. The gallows beckon, and it’s more than just rivalry and Puritan injustice driving Old Demdike and her family there.
Twisted Fate Publishing, a small, independent UK publisher, is delighted to announce the publication of the next new title from Huddersfield author Nick Stead: The View from Gallows Hill.
A clever blend of historical fiction and supernatural horror, this book follows the events leading to
Gallows Hill, Lancashire, in that fateful month of August, 1612. Stead begins his version of the story
in 1609, and at the heart of the tale is Old Demdike and her family, labelled witches in the eyes of
the Puritans but considered cunning folk by themselves and those not yet blinded by the new
religion.
Life is becoming ever harder for the cunning folk with so many being forced into the new Protestant
faith, and the people of Pendle...
Twisted Fate Publishing, a small, independent UK publisher, is delighted to announce the publication of the next new title from Huddersfield author Nick Stead: The View from Gallows Hill.
A clever blend of historical fiction and supernatural horror, this book follows the events leading to
Gallows Hill, Lancashire, in that fateful month of August, 1612. Stead begins his version of the story
in 1609, and at the heart of the tale is Old Demdike and her family, labelled witches in the eyes of
the Puritans but considered cunning folk by themselves and those not yet blinded by the new
religion.
Life is becoming ever harder for the cunning folk with so many being forced into the new Protestant
faith, and the people of Pendle...
- 8/24/2023
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
Protagonist Pictures has closed sales on several key territories, including the U.S. and U.K., on 2021 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award-winning documentary “Blind Ambition.”
Protagonist Pictures CEO Dave Bishop revealed to Variety that sales include Samuel Goldwyn Films for the U.S., Curzon for the U.K., Level for Canada, Paradiso for Benelux, Weltkino for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Non Stop for Scandinavia, Madman for Australia and New Zealand and New Select for Japan.
Directed by Warwick Ross and Rob Coe, “Blind Ambition” follows four friends who have conquered the odds to become South Africa’s top sommeliers after escaping starvation and tyranny in their homeland of Zimbabwe. Driven by relentless optimism, a passion for their craft and a sense of national pride, they form Zimbabwe’s first national wine tasting team and set their sights on the coveted title of “World Wine Tasting Champions.”
Ross and Coe also...
Protagonist Pictures CEO Dave Bishop revealed to Variety that sales include Samuel Goldwyn Films for the U.S., Curzon for the U.K., Level for Canada, Paradiso for Benelux, Weltkino for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Non Stop for Scandinavia, Madman for Australia and New Zealand and New Select for Japan.
Directed by Warwick Ross and Rob Coe, “Blind Ambition” follows four friends who have conquered the odds to become South Africa’s top sommeliers after escaping starvation and tyranny in their homeland of Zimbabwe. Driven by relentless optimism, a passion for their craft and a sense of national pride, they form Zimbabwe’s first national wine tasting team and set their sights on the coveted title of “World Wine Tasting Champions.”
Ross and Coe also...
- 9/8/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The Walking Dead was all about looking to the future on Sunday but when it comes to the ratings, the future is looking increasingly bleak for the AMC zombie apocalypse series.
With a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49, the second episode of the ninth season of the show based on Robert Kirkman’s comics took the small screen’s once top rated show off a cliff to an all-time series low. “The Bridge” episode comes off last week’s highly promoted season opener, which was the lowest debut for the series and the second least watched premiere.
The October 14 Twd snagged an audience of 5 million, which was a drop of 19% from the October 7 season opener of the reset series. Among the 18-49, Twd fell 21% from the Season 9 debut.
On a show now available early on the no-ad AMC Premiere service and increasingly leaning towards delayed viewing, those drops are actually a...
With a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49, the second episode of the ninth season of the show based on Robert Kirkman’s comics took the small screen’s once top rated show off a cliff to an all-time series low. “The Bridge” episode comes off last week’s highly promoted season opener, which was the lowest debut for the series and the second least watched premiere.
The October 14 Twd snagged an audience of 5 million, which was a drop of 19% from the October 7 season opener of the reset series. Among the 18-49, Twd fell 21% from the Season 9 debut.
On a show now available early on the no-ad AMC Premiere service and increasingly leaning towards delayed viewing, those drops are actually a...
- 10/16/2018
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Tatiana Maslany, the Emmy-winning star of “Orphan Black,” will join fellow Emmy winner Bryan Cranston in director Ivo van Hove’s upcoming Broadway adaptation of “Network,” the show’s producers announced Monday.
Maslany will make her Broadway debut in the role first played by Faye Dunaway in the Oscar-winning 1976 drama. Golden Globe winner Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”) played the role in a London production that opened at the National Theatre last November and played through March.
“Network” will begin performances on Nov. 10 at Broadway’s Cort Theatre ahead of an official opening on Dec. 6. The limited run is expected to go for 18 weeks. Additional casting will be announced shortly.
Lee Hall (“Billy Elliot”) adapted Paddy Chayefsky’s Oscar-winning screenplay about a ratings-challenged news anchor who unravels on air during his final broadcast. But when ratings soar,...
Maslany will make her Broadway debut in the role first played by Faye Dunaway in the Oscar-winning 1976 drama. Golden Globe winner Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”) played the role in a London production that opened at the National Theatre last November and played through March.
“Network” will begin performances on Nov. 10 at Broadway’s Cort Theatre ahead of an official opening on Dec. 6. The limited run is expected to go for 18 weeks. Additional casting will be announced shortly.
Lee Hall (“Billy Elliot”) adapted Paddy Chayefsky’s Oscar-winning screenplay about a ratings-challenged news anchor who unravels on air during his final broadcast. But when ratings soar,...
- 9/10/2018
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
We are about a month away from Shriekfest Film Festival 2018, and the first three films in the lineup have been announced, including the world premiere of Echoes of Fear, the Shriekfest premiere of Sick for Toys, and Never Hike Alone featuring a certain masked killer.
Reminder: Shriekfest will be on both coasts for the second time ever, with the first leg of the festival starting on October 4th in Los Angeles and the second leg on November 3rd in Orlando, Florida.
Press Release: "The Shriekfest Film Festival, an international horror/sci-fi film, and screenplay competition, has announced the first three films of its 2018 feature film lineup. Film festival director Denise Gossett says "We are super excited to show you our wonderfully diverse selection of amazing films from all over the world."
The feature films selected thus far are listed below:
(World Premiere) Echoes of Fear directed by Shriekfest Winners, husband...
Reminder: Shriekfest will be on both coasts for the second time ever, with the first leg of the festival starting on October 4th in Los Angeles and the second leg on November 3rd in Orlando, Florida.
Press Release: "The Shriekfest Film Festival, an international horror/sci-fi film, and screenplay competition, has announced the first three films of its 2018 feature film lineup. Film festival director Denise Gossett says "We are super excited to show you our wonderfully diverse selection of amazing films from all over the world."
The feature films selected thus far are listed below:
(World Premiere) Echoes of Fear directed by Shriekfest Winners, husband...
- 9/10/2018
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Season 2 of The Deuce not only has new faces, the theme song is now updated for the 1977 setting to feature more shots of the porn movie business, discos and other late-Seventies imagery. They are now accompanied by a brand new version of Elvis Costello’s “This Year’s Girl” made especially for the show. It combines Costello’s vocals from the original 1978 version with new vocals by Natalie Bergman from the band Wild Belle, to turn it into a decades-spanning duet with a faster beat.
“Elvis and his producer Sebastian Krys...
“Elvis and his producer Sebastian Krys...
- 9/10/2018
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
Film premiered last year in Toronto.
Netflix has acquired French-Canadian horror Les Affamés by Québécois filmmaker Robin Aubert (Saint Martyrs Of The Damned, Crying Out).
Aubert’s latest work takes place in a remote village in upstate Quebec where a handful of survivors go on the run after the bodies of local people break down and they turn against their loved ones.
Marc-André Grondin, Monia Chokri, Micheline Lanctôt, Brigitte Poupart, Charlotte St-Martin, Marie-Ginette Guay Luc Proulx and Édouard Tremblay-Grenier star.
Stéphanie Morissette and C.S. Roy of La Maison de Prod in Montreal produced Les Affamés.
“Les Affamés enraptured audiences in Canada and we’re delighted to bring this unique Québécois voice to other countries around the world,” Scott Stuber, head of Netflix’s film group, said.
“From the Us to Japan to France, millions of Netflix members will be able to stream Robin Aubert’s extraordinary thrill ride. This is another exciting example of the investment the company...
Netflix has acquired French-Canadian horror Les Affamés by Québécois filmmaker Robin Aubert (Saint Martyrs Of The Damned, Crying Out).
Aubert’s latest work takes place in a remote village in upstate Quebec where a handful of survivors go on the run after the bodies of local people break down and they turn against their loved ones.
Marc-André Grondin, Monia Chokri, Micheline Lanctôt, Brigitte Poupart, Charlotte St-Martin, Marie-Ginette Guay Luc Proulx and Édouard Tremblay-Grenier star.
Stéphanie Morissette and C.S. Roy of La Maison de Prod in Montreal produced Les Affamés.
“Les Affamés enraptured audiences in Canada and we’re delighted to bring this unique Québécois voice to other countries around the world,” Scott Stuber, head of Netflix’s film group, said.
“From the Us to Japan to France, millions of Netflix members will be able to stream Robin Aubert’s extraordinary thrill ride. This is another exciting example of the investment the company...
- 2/1/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Film premiered last year in Toronto.
Netflix has acquired French-Canadian horror Les Affamés by Québécois filmmaker Robin Aubert (Saint Martyrs Of The Damned, Crying Out).
Aubert’s latest work takes place in a remote village in upstate Quebec where a handful of survivors go on the run after the bodies of local people break down and they turn against their loved ones.
Marc-André Grondin, Monia Chokri, Micheline Lanctôt, Brigitte Poupart, Charlotte St-Martin, Marie-Ginette Guay Luc Proulx and Édouard Tremblay-Grenier star.
Stéphanie Morissette and C.S. Roy of La Maison de Prod in Montreal produced Les Affamés.
“Les Affamés enraptured audiences in Canada and we’re delighted to bring this unique Québécois voice to other countries around the world,” Scott Stuber, head of Netflix’s film group, said.
“From the Us to Japan to France, millions of Netflix members will be able to stream Robin Aubert’s extraordinary thrill ride. This is another exciting example of the investment the company...
Netflix has acquired French-Canadian horror Les Affamés by Québécois filmmaker Robin Aubert (Saint Martyrs Of The Damned, Crying Out).
Aubert’s latest work takes place in a remote village in upstate Quebec where a handful of survivors go on the run after the bodies of local people break down and they turn against their loved ones.
Marc-André Grondin, Monia Chokri, Micheline Lanctôt, Brigitte Poupart, Charlotte St-Martin, Marie-Ginette Guay Luc Proulx and Édouard Tremblay-Grenier star.
Stéphanie Morissette and C.S. Roy of La Maison de Prod in Montreal produced Les Affamés.
“Les Affamés enraptured audiences in Canada and we’re delighted to bring this unique Québécois voice to other countries around the world,” Scott Stuber, head of Netflix’s film group, said.
“From the Us to Japan to France, millions of Netflix members will be able to stream Robin Aubert’s extraordinary thrill ride. This is another exciting example of the investment the company...
- 2/1/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
“I got annoyed by Spike Lee. That’s all.”
Source: Wiki Commons
Charlotte Rampling
Charlotte Rampling was at the international Film Festival Rotterdam this week for the screening of Andrea Pallor’s Hannah.
In an interview with Screen International, she reflected on her work with Luchino Visconti and Woody Allen; spoke of her continuing pride in The Night Porter, expressed regret over her controversial remarks about the lack of black nominees in the 2016 Oscars, and explained why she didn’t want to discuss the #MeToo Movement.
Rampling again expressed her regret over “racist to whites” comments two years ago on an early morning radio show during the promotion campaign for 45 Years, for which she was nominated for an Oscar. “It was very early in the morning and everyone was asking questions about that. It was not a very sensible thing to say but I was very tired. My husband died two months before,” Rampling said on stage...
Source: Wiki Commons
Charlotte Rampling
Charlotte Rampling was at the international Film Festival Rotterdam this week for the screening of Andrea Pallor’s Hannah.
In an interview with Screen International, she reflected on her work with Luchino Visconti and Woody Allen; spoke of her continuing pride in The Night Porter, expressed regret over her controversial remarks about the lack of black nominees in the 2016 Oscars, and explained why she didn’t want to discuss the #MeToo Movement.
Rampling again expressed her regret over “racist to whites” comments two years ago on an early morning radio show during the promotion campaign for 45 Years, for which she was nominated for an Oscar. “It was very early in the morning and everyone was asking questions about that. It was not a very sensible thing to say but I was very tired. My husband died two months before,” Rampling said on stage...
- 1/29/2018
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
A love story between a girl and a sea creature, a satire reflecting racial issues in today’s society, and two inspiring lessons of four weeks in 1940 during which Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s courage to lead changed the course of world history and one of the greatest suspense stories of all time where British and Allied troops, trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea, faced an impossible situation as the enemy closed in. Horror, fantasy, historical epic, comedy, drama… the motion pictures tales of 2017 had something for all.
Theater marquees were filled with familiar titles such as Star Wars, Independence Day, Alien, Blade Runner, and Kong while Guardians, Superheroes and Wonder Women saved the day once again.
Cinema-goers were offered a fresh perspective on the parent-child bond, an insightful look as two giant newspapers expose a massive cover-up of government secrets, as well as a dark...
Theater marquees were filled with familiar titles such as Star Wars, Independence Day, Alien, Blade Runner, and Kong while Guardians, Superheroes and Wonder Women saved the day once again.
Cinema-goers were offered a fresh perspective on the parent-child bond, an insightful look as two giant newspapers expose a massive cover-up of government secrets, as well as a dark...
- 12/22/2017
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
From ampersands to The Apprentice, from dinner ladies to Dirty Den, here's a selection of nerdy in-jokes from Doctor Who series 2...
Last month we took a look at Doctor Who Series One as it celebrated its 10th Anniversary. Specifically, we delved deep into the murky world of in-jokes and sweet nerdy references.
Let’s take another trip back in time and have a look at the more notable and interesting references and in-jokes from Doctor Who Series Two, starring David Tennant and Billie Piper, where the credit of “Doctor Who” had been changed back to “The Doctor”. Pfft, party poopers.
New Earth
Old-skool fans would have been forgiven for being excited at the prospect, given that “New Earth” was a planet mentioned in the 1974 classic Invasion Of The Dinosaurs (though it didn’t actually exist in that story, it was a fake world). But all fans could get excited at...
Last month we took a look at Doctor Who Series One as it celebrated its 10th Anniversary. Specifically, we delved deep into the murky world of in-jokes and sweet nerdy references.
Let’s take another trip back in time and have a look at the more notable and interesting references and in-jokes from Doctor Who Series Two, starring David Tennant and Billie Piper, where the credit of “Doctor Who” had been changed back to “The Doctor”. Pfft, party poopers.
New Earth
Old-skool fans would have been forgiven for being excited at the prospect, given that “New Earth” was a planet mentioned in the 1974 classic Invasion Of The Dinosaurs (though it didn’t actually exist in that story, it was a fake world). But all fans could get excited at...
- 4/29/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Evan Peters is taking a room in Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story: Hotel. Also included in our latest round-up are details on The Girl in the Photographs, starring Kal Penn and executive produced by Wes Craven, as well as recently revealed photos from Fox's Scream Queens.
American Horror Story: Hotel: Ryan Murphy announced on Twitter today that Evan Peters has officially joined the cast of FX's American Horror Story: Hotel. Peters, a frequent American Horror Story actor, joins a cast that includes Lady Gaga, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Matt Bomer, Cheyenne Jackson, Wes Bentley, and Chloë Sevigny.
This season, Evan Peters will be waiting for you in Room 64. #Ahshotel
— Ryan Murphy (@MrRPMurphy) April 24, 2015
------------------
The Girl in the Photographs: Press Release -- "Los Angeles, CA (April 23, 2015) – Al-Ghanim Entertainment (Age), a specialty financing and production company founded by Kuwaiti industrialist Nawaf Alghanim, has announced today that Kal Penn...
American Horror Story: Hotel: Ryan Murphy announced on Twitter today that Evan Peters has officially joined the cast of FX's American Horror Story: Hotel. Peters, a frequent American Horror Story actor, joins a cast that includes Lady Gaga, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Matt Bomer, Cheyenne Jackson, Wes Bentley, and Chloë Sevigny.
This season, Evan Peters will be waiting for you in Room 64. #Ahshotel
— Ryan Murphy (@MrRPMurphy) April 24, 2015
------------------
The Girl in the Photographs: Press Release -- "Los Angeles, CA (April 23, 2015) – Al-Ghanim Entertainment (Age), a specialty financing and production company founded by Kuwaiti industrialist Nawaf Alghanim, has announced today that Kal Penn...
- 4/24/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Another month, another horror film about possession.
This one takes us down to Columbia where a dysfunctional family finds themselves trapped in a secluded house that has a dark evil within. Best known for horror film sequels, Spanish director Victor Garcia was tapped to direct The Damned (formerly known as Gallows Hill) to bring a certain authenticity to the film. But not even he can breathe any life into this imitation horror film. American David Reynolds (Peter Facinelli) comes to Bogota with his British fiancé Lauren (Sophia Myles) to find his disapproving daughter Jill (Nathalia Ramos) who is hiding from life with her boyfriend Ramon (Sebastian Martinez), a cameraman, and her Columbian aunt Gina (Carolina Guerra), an eager journalist. But a terrible storm leaves this group stranded in the middle of nowhere, with only an isolated house as refuge. The owner of the house, Felipe (Gustavo Angarita), is wary of...
This one takes us down to Columbia where a dysfunctional family finds themselves trapped in a secluded house that has a dark evil within. Best known for horror film sequels, Spanish director Victor Garcia was tapped to direct The Damned (formerly known as Gallows Hill) to bring a certain authenticity to the film. But not even he can breathe any life into this imitation horror film. American David Reynolds (Peter Facinelli) comes to Bogota with his British fiancé Lauren (Sophia Myles) to find his disapproving daughter Jill (Nathalia Ramos) who is hiding from life with her boyfriend Ramon (Sebastian Martinez), a cameraman, and her Columbian aunt Gina (Carolina Guerra), an eager journalist. But a terrible storm leaves this group stranded in the middle of nowhere, with only an isolated house as refuge. The owner of the house, Felipe (Gustavo Angarita), is wary of...
- 2/6/2015
- by John Keith
- JustPressPlay.net
Sundance: Kuwaiti industrialist Nawaf Alghanim announced in Park City on Friday (January 23) the formation of his Los Angeles and Kuwaiti-based financing and production company.
The Alghanim family, which owns international conglomerates and has ties to the majority of theatres in Kuwait, will back the new entity, set up to make two to four films a year budgeted up to $15m.
Alghanim (pictured, at top left) will serve as CEO and is joined by industry veterans and partners Andrea Chung, Krystal Tiffany Vayda and Brandon M Vayda.
Al-Ghanim Entertainment kicks off with The Girl In The Photographs from Wes Craven protégé Nick Simon. Alghanim will fully finance and produce and the project will shoot in British Columbia.
The Girl In The Photographs will be in a similar vein to Craven’s iconic Scream films and is set against the glamorous backdrop of the fashion world.
Craven serves as executive producer alongside the Vaydas and Alghanim. Thomas Mahoney produces...
The Alghanim family, which owns international conglomerates and has ties to the majority of theatres in Kuwait, will back the new entity, set up to make two to four films a year budgeted up to $15m.
Alghanim (pictured, at top left) will serve as CEO and is joined by industry veterans and partners Andrea Chung, Krystal Tiffany Vayda and Brandon M Vayda.
Al-Ghanim Entertainment kicks off with The Girl In The Photographs from Wes Craven protégé Nick Simon. Alghanim will fully finance and produce and the project will shoot in British Columbia.
The Girl In The Photographs will be in a similar vein to Craven’s iconic Scream films and is set against the glamorous backdrop of the fashion world.
Craven serves as executive producer alongside the Vaydas and Alghanim. Thomas Mahoney produces...
- 1/23/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Stepping outside your comfort zone to truly embrace both new experiences and what you love most in life is the enthralling theme that not only pushes the actions of the lead character in the new independent horror film, ‘The Damned,’ but also the actor who portrays him. Versatile actor Peter Facinelli powerfully showcased the harrowing and realistic emotions and motivations of a protective father who’s desperate to take any means necessary to save his teenage daughter in the latest movie from director Victor Garcia. While ‘The Damned’ is the first horror film Facinelli has starred in, the actor creatively embraced shooting the film independently on location in Columbia to highlight [ Read More ]
The post Interview: Peter Facinelli Talks The Damned appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Interview: Peter Facinelli Talks The Damned appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 8/30/2014
- by Karen Benardello
- ShockYa
Stop me if you’ve heard this one. It was a dark and stormy night. Five travelers on a remote mountain road get caught in a flash flood and their car runs off the road. Even though they were warned not to take the road they are on by local law enforcement. Some are slightly injured; the only building for miles around is a strangely isolated, forebodingly huge house high on a hill.
Wait, it gets better. The old man who appears to be the only inhabitant does not want them to come in the house; they beg and plead since some in their group are injured. The bearded old man reluctantly lets them in to give them shelter, but orders them not to go anywhere in the building but the lobby. The building is an inn but nobody has signed the register since 1978 you see.
Naturally the American (Peter Facinelli,...
Wait, it gets better. The old man who appears to be the only inhabitant does not want them to come in the house; they beg and plead since some in their group are injured. The bearded old man reluctantly lets them in to give them shelter, but orders them not to go anywhere in the building but the lobby. The building is an inn but nobody has signed the register since 1978 you see.
Naturally the American (Peter Facinelli,...
- 8/28/2014
- by Sam Moffitt
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Exploring the motivations and secrets of the main characters of a film is often one of the most important aspects that truly allows audiences to relate to, and understand, the protagonists and antagonists of any story. While horror movies often forgo those character studies to instead frighten audiences with physical threats and stunts, the best entries in the genre are often the ones that incorporate the characters’ emotions in with the action. Actress Sophia Myles enthralling embraced the need to infuse her new horror independent film, ‘The Damned,’ which was helmed by genre veteran Victor Garcia, with both powerful emotions and physicality to showcase the true terrors of the story. [ Read More ]
The post Interview: Sophia Myles Talks The Damned appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Interview: Sophia Myles Talks The Damned appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 8/28/2014
- by Karen Benardello
- ShockYa
Damned If You Do: Garcia’s Creepy House Horror a Non-Entity
For some strange reason, IFC Midnight decided to release direct-to-dvd pro Victor Garcia’s latest film, The Damned (originally, and more colorfully titled Gallows Hill) in theaters, even though its questionable quality clearly doesn’t support such conviction. Tiredly cliché and doggedly dull, its existence begs one to inquire, who the hell is the audience for these lifeless films, filled with cheap flourishes and routines so commonplace that you can sleepwalk through its checklist of events?
David (Peter Facinelli), an estranged father attempts to retrieve his daughter Jill (Nathalia Ramos) in Bogota, where she is vacationing with her aunt (Carolina Guerra) and a cameraman (Sebastian Martinez) turned boyfriend. About to be remarried, this time to his fiancée, Lauren (Sophia Myles), there’s vague tension between father and daughter relating to the mysterious death of Jill’s mother. A...
For some strange reason, IFC Midnight decided to release direct-to-dvd pro Victor Garcia’s latest film, The Damned (originally, and more colorfully titled Gallows Hill) in theaters, even though its questionable quality clearly doesn’t support such conviction. Tiredly cliché and doggedly dull, its existence begs one to inquire, who the hell is the audience for these lifeless films, filled with cheap flourishes and routines so commonplace that you can sleepwalk through its checklist of events?
David (Peter Facinelli), an estranged father attempts to retrieve his daughter Jill (Nathalia Ramos) in Bogota, where she is vacationing with her aunt (Carolina Guerra) and a cameraman (Sebastian Martinez) turned boyfriend. About to be remarried, this time to his fiancée, Lauren (Sophia Myles), there’s vague tension between father and daughter relating to the mysterious death of Jill’s mother. A...
- 8/27/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Is The Damned scary? Yes, a bit. But full enjoyment of this horror film might depend on the depth of your sympathy for characters who are teeth-gnashingly stupid, ignore grim warnings, wander off alone in a sprawling old inn after it becomes clear that something is creepily amiss — and who are almost uniformly some variation of jerk.
True, those are the structural beams of the genre, but The Damned's firm adherence to template and its built-in contrivances are a weakness. After a thoroughly avoidable car accident en route to Medellín, an extended-family group — an American father (Peter Facinelli;) his new British fiancée (Sophia Myles;) his teen daughter; her boyfriend; and her Colombian aunt, an ethically challenged TV reporter &...
True, those are the structural beams of the genre, but The Damned's firm adherence to template and its built-in contrivances are a weakness. After a thoroughly avoidable car accident en route to Medellín, an extended-family group — an American father (Peter Facinelli;) his new British fiancée (Sophia Myles;) his teen daughter; her boyfriend; and her Colombian aunt, an ethically challenged TV reporter &...
- 8/27/2014
- Village Voice
No, this has nothing to do with crowdfunding! We're referring to the content in this new clip from IFC's latest acquisition, Victor Garcia's The Damned (review), starring The Twilight Saga's Peter Facinelli. Look for The Damned in select theaters August 29.
Sophia Myles and Nathalia Ramos co-star. Written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts), the story follows an American (Facinelli), widowed from his Colombia-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter, Jill (Ramos).
Synopsis
A widower takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown. En route, the family are involved in an accident and take refuge in a secluded inn, where they free a girl locked in a basement and set in motion a terrifying sequence of events.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Subscribe to the Dread Central YouTube Channel!
Swing...
Sophia Myles and Nathalia Ramos co-star. Written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts), the story follows an American (Facinelli), widowed from his Colombia-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter, Jill (Ramos).
Synopsis
A widower takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown. En route, the family are involved in an accident and take refuge in a secluded inn, where they free a girl locked in a basement and set in motion a terrifying sequence of events.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Subscribe to the Dread Central YouTube Channel!
Swing...
- 8/18/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
Is it just me, or does horror material come in waves? Just as I was complaining how witches have lost their popularity status in modern day horror, during my Witching & Bitching review none the less, The Damned comes along with a sinister “bruja” cursing poor victims and raising Hell. Originally titled Gallows Hill – a more interesting headline when compared to The Damned‘s nondescript nature – director Víctor García attempts to redefine typical haunted house stories with a dash of occultism, but something feels constantly amiss. Despite a menacing child, morphing skin, and some seriously tingling chills, García’s film just isn’t as damning as we’d hope.
Peter Facinelli plays David Reynolds, an overprotective husband and father who only wants to retrieve his vacationing daughter (Nathalia Ramos) before his wedding day. Driving down a twisty, beaten road, David’s family – along with a journalist Aunt and her cameraman – find...
Peter Facinelli plays David Reynolds, an overprotective husband and father who only wants to retrieve his vacationing daughter (Nathalia Ramos) before his wedding day. Driving down a twisty, beaten road, David’s family – along with a journalist Aunt and her cameraman – find...
- 7/23/2014
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
On tap right now are several new images from IFC's latest acquisition, Victor Garcia's The Damned (formerly Gallows Hill and Encerrada), starring The Twilight Saga's Peter Facinelli. Look for The Damned on VOD platforms July 25 and in select theaters August 29.
Sophia Myles and Nathalia Ramos co-star. Written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts), the story follows an American (Facinelli), widowed from his Colombia-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter, Jill (Ramos).
Synopsis
A widower takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown. En route, the family are involved in an accident and take refuge in a secluded inn, where they free a girl locked in a basement and set in motion a terrifying sequence of events.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
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Subscribe to the Dread Central YouTube Channel!
Swing...
Sophia Myles and Nathalia Ramos co-star. Written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts), the story follows an American (Facinelli), widowed from his Colombia-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter, Jill (Ramos).
Synopsis
A widower takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown. En route, the family are involved in an accident and take refuge in a secluded inn, where they free a girl locked in a basement and set in motion a terrifying sequence of events.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Subscribe to the Dread Central YouTube Channel!
Swing...
- 7/11/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
Adding another spooky entry into the supernatural thriller genre comes The Damned.
The film follows American David Reynolds (Peter Facinelli), widowed from his Colombian-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Sophia Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter Jill (Nathalia Ramos).
En route to the city of Medellin, a car accident leaves them stranded in a rundown isolated inn. When they discover the old innkeeper has locked a young girl in the basement, they are determined to set her free. But have they made a terrible mistake?
aka Gallows Hill, the film is written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts) and directed by Victor Garcia (Return To House On Haunted Hill). Here’s a look at the trailer.
Stars Peter Facinelli (The Twilight Saga, Nurse Jackie), Sophia Myles (Transformers: Age of Extinction, Underworld), Nathalia Ramos, Carolina Guerra (Da Vinci’s Demons), and Sebastian Martínez.
IFC Films will...
The film follows American David Reynolds (Peter Facinelli), widowed from his Colombian-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Sophia Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter Jill (Nathalia Ramos).
En route to the city of Medellin, a car accident leaves them stranded in a rundown isolated inn. When they discover the old innkeeper has locked a young girl in the basement, they are determined to set her free. But have they made a terrible mistake?
aka Gallows Hill, the film is written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts) and directed by Victor Garcia (Return To House On Haunted Hill). Here’s a look at the trailer.
Stars Peter Facinelli (The Twilight Saga, Nurse Jackie), Sophia Myles (Transformers: Age of Extinction, Underworld), Nathalia Ramos, Carolina Guerra (Da Vinci’s Demons), and Sebastian Martínez.
IFC Films will...
- 7/11/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Victor Garcia returns to the genre with The Damned (formerly known as Gallows Hill) and we now have a trailer and one-sheet to share today. The synopsis: After suffering the recent loss of his wife, David Reynolds (Peter Facinelli) decides to take his family on a cathartic trip to her home village in Columbia. While en route, they get into a car accident and seek refuge in a secluded inn.While there they find a mysterious young girl, Ana Maria, locked up with cryptic symbols painted on the walls of her cell.
The post Trailer & One-Sheet for Victor Garcia’s The Damned Arrive appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
The post Trailer & One-Sheet for Victor Garcia’s The Damned Arrive appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
- 7/1/2014
- by Ryan Turek
- shocktillyoudrop.com
IFC's latest acquisition, Victor Garcia's Gallows Hill (Encerrada), starring The Twilight Saga's Peter Facinelli, has gotten itself a brand new name and a poster to go along with it! Look for The Damned on VOD platforms July 25 and in select theaters August 29.
Sophia Myles and Nathalia Ramos co-star. Written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts), the story follows an American (Facinelli), widowed from his Colombia-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter, Jill (Ramos).
Synopsis
A widower takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown. En route, the family are involved in an accident and take refuge in a secluded inn, where they free a girl locked in a basement and set in motion a terrifying sequence of events.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Subscribe to the Dread Central YouTube Channel!
Sophia Myles and Nathalia Ramos co-star. Written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts), the story follows an American (Facinelli), widowed from his Colombia-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter, Jill (Ramos).
Synopsis
A widower takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown. En route, the family are involved in an accident and take refuge in a secluded inn, where they free a girl locked in a basement and set in motion a terrifying sequence of events.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Subscribe to the Dread Central YouTube Channel!
- 6/26/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
Victor Garcia's new film, Gallows Hill, is getting retitled for its release. According to Fangoria, IFC picked up the film and it will now be called The Damned. The synopsis: After suffering the recent loss of his wife, David Reynolds (Peter Facinelli) decides to take his family on a cathartic trip to her home village in Columbia. While en route, they get into a car accident and seek refuge in a secluded inn.
The post ‘Gallows Hill’ Now ‘The Damned,’ Distributor Revealed appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
The post ‘Gallows Hill’ Now ‘The Damned,’ Distributor Revealed appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
- 6/17/2014
- by Ryan Turek
- shocktillyoudrop.com
On tap right now we have a look at some International promotional goodies for IFC's latest acquisition, Victor Garcia's Gallows Hill, starring The Twilight Saga's Peter Facinelli!
Sophia Myles and Nathalia Ramos co-star. Written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts), the story follows an American (Facinelli), widowed from his Colombia-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter, Jill (Ramos).
Synopsis
A widower takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown. En route, the family are involved in an accident and take refuge in a secluded inn, where they free a girl locked in a basement and set in motion a terrifying sequence of events.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Subscribe to the Dread Central YouTube Channel!
Swing from the gallows in the comments section below.
Sophia Myles and Nathalia Ramos co-star. Written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts), the story follows an American (Facinelli), widowed from his Colombia-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter, Jill (Ramos).
Synopsis
A widower takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown. En route, the family are involved in an accident and take refuge in a secluded inn, where they free a girl locked in a basement and set in motion a terrifying sequence of events.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Subscribe to the Dread Central YouTube Channel!
Swing from the gallows in the comments section below.
- 5/26/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
From director Victor Garcia comes the supernatural thriller Gallows Hill. Garcia's previous efforts include Hellraiser: Revelations, Return To House On Haunted Hill as well as Mirrors 2. Rich D'Ovidio, whose credits include The Call and THIR13EN Ghosts, penned the screenplay. Gallows Hill looks to bring the stranded, out of control terror to the forefront. We have the trailer for the film waiting for you below. Starring Peter Facinelli, Sophia…...
- 5/26/2014
- Horrorbid
Victor Garcia's latest film, Gallows Hill, has an international trailer, which you can watch here. Sources tell us a trailer for the domestic release - handled by IFC Films - is on the way soon. Garcia previously helmed Return to House on Haunted Hill and Hellraiser: Revelations. This time he's working from a script by Richard D'Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts); check out the promo below and stay tuned for a release date!
The post Check Out an International Trailer for Gallows Hill appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
The post Check Out an International Trailer for Gallows Hill appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
- 5/25/2014
- by Ryan Turek
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Reporting from Cartagena Film Festival.
Coproductions are increasing in Colombia.The French are participating as special guests at the Encuentros (Coproduction Meetings) this year but coproductions of the last four years have been with Germany, Norway, Spain in Europe as well as with Argentina, Peru and Uruguay. In 2013 the U.S. joined in as well.
There is a special relationship and notable variations on the coproduction theme between U.S. and Colombia. It doesn’t hurt that there is a direct flight on Jet Blue from N.Y. to Colombia , making travel less difficult to Colombia from the U.S. than it is from Europe.
Colombian directors such as Simon Brand (who lives in U.S.) are making English language genre films such as this year’s festival debuting Default which Wild Bunch has already sold in Hong Kong, the Middle East and the Netherlands. For budgets under Us$1 million, action, thrillers and horror genres can cross borders, and can recoup costs and even profit because they are in English and as such are perceived as more “Hollywood”, a positive marketing point.
There are other such coproductions: Gallows Hill coproduced with Peter Block’s L.A.-based A Bigger Boat, David and Angelique Higgins’ Launchpad Productions and Andrea Chung of Bowery Hills Entertainment which has the further distinction of being sold internationally by Im Global. And there is Out of the Dark, a coproduction with the prestigious Participant. These are not represented at the festival, and so they are not really the subject of this blog.
The reverse is also notable. Four films screening at the Cartagena Film Festival are Colombian films made by Americans. Each one has been created by unique and different types of Americans. They are the subject of this blog.
The winner of three (3!) prizes here for Audience Favorite, Best Director and Best Picture, Marmato by Mark Grieco was work-shopped twice at Sundance labs and premiered at Sundance this January 2014 (Isa: Ro*co, U.S. contact Ben Weiss at Paradigm). Manos Sucias by Josef Wladyka is a film with great pedigrees, directed, produced and shot by a team who have received the highest film and business educations from Tisch and Stern Schools at Nyu, Parador Hungaro by Patrick Alexander and Aseneth Suarez Ruiz a work of passion made with love and sweat, and Mambo Cool by Chris Gude and uniquely beautiful and soulful study of a small part of the underbelly of the underworld in Medelin.
Following is an interview with Chris Gude, the director of Mambo Cool. Interviews will soon follow with the other three directors who came to Colombia and, because of their experiences here, decided to make these exceptional movies. With its 40% cash rebate, Colombia is a great place to make movies.
Mambo Cool
While only 60 minutes long, Mambo Cool stirred great interest in the beautiful and packed theater Teatro Adolfo Maijia Cine Colombia (Tam). In a unique impressionistic style, the depiction of a micro-ecology of the underbelly of Medellin. Colombia. At the core of the film is the connection between the characters' passion for mambo dancing, music and history. Drug dealers and drug takers, whores and salsa dancers spend time in the shadows, in rat-hole apartments or in a dance bar which actually exists in Medellin under the name El Bururu Barara, talking poetically and philosophically about the meaning of friendship vs. loyalty. The main salsero of this film gave us 5 minutes of dancing which I am going to post here as soon as I can figure out how.
I interviewed the filmmaker Chris Gude, an American who in 2006 came here to work with an Ngo for displaced persons, met and established a friendship with the people in this fiction film in Medellín. Chris lives in New York. He graduated from Middlebury and attended Columbia grad school in anthropology. Perhaps his anthropology interests were part of the inspiration for this work. He returned to make this film when his friends here suggested he return to make a movie that he wrote in close collaboration with the film’s protagonist, Jorge Gavidor and other protagonist-friends. Jorge, who is the bald guy in the film is self-described as an industrial mechanic and inventor. The dialogue is stylized to communicate the magic of the environment. Cinema veritè would not work to communicate what they wanted about the environment. Chris also says that the film does not come close to fully communicating the community and mythology of the place. But for me it captures an essential rhythm and soulful quality that kept me immersed in the story.
The film has shown in various festivals and has no sales or distribution representation. Fid Marseilles invited it to play and since then it has played at the Transinema Festival in Lima, Split Film Festival, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma de Montréal, , Free Zone Festival in Belgrade, Serbia, Mar del Plata in Argentina and the Museum of the Moving Image in New York.
Coproductions are increasing in Colombia.The French are participating as special guests at the Encuentros (Coproduction Meetings) this year but coproductions of the last four years have been with Germany, Norway, Spain in Europe as well as with Argentina, Peru and Uruguay. In 2013 the U.S. joined in as well.
There is a special relationship and notable variations on the coproduction theme between U.S. and Colombia. It doesn’t hurt that there is a direct flight on Jet Blue from N.Y. to Colombia , making travel less difficult to Colombia from the U.S. than it is from Europe.
Colombian directors such as Simon Brand (who lives in U.S.) are making English language genre films such as this year’s festival debuting Default which Wild Bunch has already sold in Hong Kong, the Middle East and the Netherlands. For budgets under Us$1 million, action, thrillers and horror genres can cross borders, and can recoup costs and even profit because they are in English and as such are perceived as more “Hollywood”, a positive marketing point.
There are other such coproductions: Gallows Hill coproduced with Peter Block’s L.A.-based A Bigger Boat, David and Angelique Higgins’ Launchpad Productions and Andrea Chung of Bowery Hills Entertainment which has the further distinction of being sold internationally by Im Global. And there is Out of the Dark, a coproduction with the prestigious Participant. These are not represented at the festival, and so they are not really the subject of this blog.
The reverse is also notable. Four films screening at the Cartagena Film Festival are Colombian films made by Americans. Each one has been created by unique and different types of Americans. They are the subject of this blog.
The winner of three (3!) prizes here for Audience Favorite, Best Director and Best Picture, Marmato by Mark Grieco was work-shopped twice at Sundance labs and premiered at Sundance this January 2014 (Isa: Ro*co, U.S. contact Ben Weiss at Paradigm). Manos Sucias by Josef Wladyka is a film with great pedigrees, directed, produced and shot by a team who have received the highest film and business educations from Tisch and Stern Schools at Nyu, Parador Hungaro by Patrick Alexander and Aseneth Suarez Ruiz a work of passion made with love and sweat, and Mambo Cool by Chris Gude and uniquely beautiful and soulful study of a small part of the underbelly of the underworld in Medelin.
Following is an interview with Chris Gude, the director of Mambo Cool. Interviews will soon follow with the other three directors who came to Colombia and, because of their experiences here, decided to make these exceptional movies. With its 40% cash rebate, Colombia is a great place to make movies.
Mambo Cool
While only 60 minutes long, Mambo Cool stirred great interest in the beautiful and packed theater Teatro Adolfo Maijia Cine Colombia (Tam). In a unique impressionistic style, the depiction of a micro-ecology of the underbelly of Medellin. Colombia. At the core of the film is the connection between the characters' passion for mambo dancing, music and history. Drug dealers and drug takers, whores and salsa dancers spend time in the shadows, in rat-hole apartments or in a dance bar which actually exists in Medellin under the name El Bururu Barara, talking poetically and philosophically about the meaning of friendship vs. loyalty. The main salsero of this film gave us 5 minutes of dancing which I am going to post here as soon as I can figure out how.
I interviewed the filmmaker Chris Gude, an American who in 2006 came here to work with an Ngo for displaced persons, met and established a friendship with the people in this fiction film in Medellín. Chris lives in New York. He graduated from Middlebury and attended Columbia grad school in anthropology. Perhaps his anthropology interests were part of the inspiration for this work. He returned to make this film when his friends here suggested he return to make a movie that he wrote in close collaboration with the film’s protagonist, Jorge Gavidor and other protagonist-friends. Jorge, who is the bald guy in the film is self-described as an industrial mechanic and inventor. The dialogue is stylized to communicate the magic of the environment. Cinema veritè would not work to communicate what they wanted about the environment. Chris also says that the film does not come close to fully communicating the community and mythology of the place. But for me it captures an essential rhythm and soulful quality that kept me immersed in the story.
The film has shown in various festivals and has no sales or distribution representation. Fid Marseilles invited it to play and since then it has played at the Transinema Festival in Lima, Split Film Festival, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma de Montréal, , Free Zone Festival in Belgrade, Serbia, Mar del Plata in Argentina and the Museum of the Moving Image in New York.
- 4/12/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival starts this week and here are ten reasons not to miss it. Expect more news and insight from this exciting festival as I will be attending this year.
1.The entire festival continues to be free with priority access to accredited participants.
2.Two additional Cine Colombia theaters (Centro Comercial La Castellana), 260 showings, more than 135 films, 27 countries, 48 daily screenings, 40 World Premieres and 26 Latin American premieres.
3.The directors of the Festival's Official Competitions, the latest and best film productions and a prestigious international jury all make their way to Cartagena this week for the festival.
4.The outstanding British actor Clive Owen will be the guest of honor. In addition to a Tribute of his work and the screening of his latest film Blood Ties, he will participate in a public dialogue at the Teatro Adolfo Mejía, free of charge.
5.Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu, well-known for his feature films Amores Perros and Babel , will be honored with a Tribute; he will participate in a public dialogue at the Teatro Adolfo Mejía and also offer a master class, free.
6.Retrospectives will include the essential work of Iranian Master Abbas Kiarostami, the best of John Sayles, the North American independent film icon, and the complete work of brilliant Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski. The three directors will travel to Cartagena to present their films, and participate in public dialogues and master classes at Salón Ficci.
7.Salón Ficci will include 17 events including master classes, panels, public dialogues, workshops and press conferences by well-known film makers, screenwriters, producers, actors and other leading film industry professionals. Participation in Salón Ficci is free with priority access to with accredited festival-goers.
8.In a joint effort with the Ministry of Culture, Proimágenes Colombia will once again offer Encuentros Cartagena, a space for learning about and promoting cinema that will bring together both national and international professionals.
9.For the first time, the festival will have a Midnight Movies section, presenting two Colombian films: Gallows Hill (Encerrada), directed by Víctor García and written by Richard D'Ovidio (screenwriter of 13 Ghosts); and Demental, by young Colombian filmmaker David Bohorquez .
10.Actor and director John Turturro's hilarious Fading Gigolo, starring himself and Woody Allen together with Colombian actress Sofía Vergara will close the festival.
1.The entire festival continues to be free with priority access to accredited participants.
2.Two additional Cine Colombia theaters (Centro Comercial La Castellana), 260 showings, more than 135 films, 27 countries, 48 daily screenings, 40 World Premieres and 26 Latin American premieres.
3.The directors of the Festival's Official Competitions, the latest and best film productions and a prestigious international jury all make their way to Cartagena this week for the festival.
4.The outstanding British actor Clive Owen will be the guest of honor. In addition to a Tribute of his work and the screening of his latest film Blood Ties, he will participate in a public dialogue at the Teatro Adolfo Mejía, free of charge.
5.Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu, well-known for his feature films Amores Perros and Babel , will be honored with a Tribute; he will participate in a public dialogue at the Teatro Adolfo Mejía and also offer a master class, free.
6.Retrospectives will include the essential work of Iranian Master Abbas Kiarostami, the best of John Sayles, the North American independent film icon, and the complete work of brilliant Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski. The three directors will travel to Cartagena to present their films, and participate in public dialogues and master classes at Salón Ficci.
7.Salón Ficci will include 17 events including master classes, panels, public dialogues, workshops and press conferences by well-known film makers, screenwriters, producers, actors and other leading film industry professionals. Participation in Salón Ficci is free with priority access to with accredited festival-goers.
8.In a joint effort with the Ministry of Culture, Proimágenes Colombia will once again offer Encuentros Cartagena, a space for learning about and promoting cinema that will bring together both national and international professionals.
9.For the first time, the festival will have a Midnight Movies section, presenting two Colombian films: Gallows Hill (Encerrada), directed by Víctor García and written by Richard D'Ovidio (screenwriter of 13 Ghosts); and Demental, by young Colombian filmmaker David Bohorquez .
10.Actor and director John Turturro's hilarious Fading Gigolo, starring himself and Woody Allen together with Colombian actress Sofía Vergara will close the festival.
- 3/12/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The International Film Festival of Cartagena de Indias has confirmed the rest of its programme.
Cartagena has added a Midnight Cinema section including two Colombian horror films: Gallows Hill (Encerrada), directed by Víctor García and written by Richard D´Ovidio and starring Peter Facinelli; and Demental by young Colombian David Bohórquez, which will have its world premiere at the festival.
The outdoor series Cinema Under the Stars includes:
Gloria, Sebastián Lelio (Chile)La Jaula de Oro, Diego Quemada Diez (Mexico)The Lunchbox, Ritesh Batra (India)Ciudad Delirio, Chus Gutiérrez (festival opening film)Porro Hecho en Colombia, Adriana Lucía, who will give a concert at the end of the screening.
Special Presentations section include Simon Brand’s Default, Laurie Collyer’s Sunlight Jr, Spike Jonze’s Her, Go for Sisters by John Sayles (the subject of a retrospective), and Medeas by Andrea Pallaoro.
There are also two films that are also part of Tributes: Alejandro González Iñárritu’s [link...
Cartagena has added a Midnight Cinema section including two Colombian horror films: Gallows Hill (Encerrada), directed by Víctor García and written by Richard D´Ovidio and starring Peter Facinelli; and Demental by young Colombian David Bohórquez, which will have its world premiere at the festival.
The outdoor series Cinema Under the Stars includes:
Gloria, Sebastián Lelio (Chile)La Jaula de Oro, Diego Quemada Diez (Mexico)The Lunchbox, Ritesh Batra (India)Ciudad Delirio, Chus Gutiérrez (festival opening film)Porro Hecho en Colombia, Adriana Lucía, who will give a concert at the end of the screening.
Special Presentations section include Simon Brand’s Default, Laurie Collyer’s Sunlight Jr, Spike Jonze’s Her, Go for Sisters by John Sayles (the subject of a retrospective), and Medeas by Andrea Pallaoro.
There are also two films that are also part of Tributes: Alejandro González Iñárritu’s [link...
- 2/27/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
You hear it all the time: Quality a bit soft. Not a lot of Big Titles. Not a lot of Big News. But Americans were buying all the same, and to quote Screen International: “The current market is focused on smart money and smart deals, not volume of product”. Business at Afm was also solid though unspectacular. Moreover, the pre-buying of projects may be below the radar of this $3 billion business of international film buying and selling. TrustNordisk’s CEO Rikke Ennis says that 70% of their films are pre-sold. As you look at the upcoming Winter Rights Roundup due out in two weeks from SydneysBuzz.com/Reports, you will notice many of the films have been pre-buys this market and many films screening were already pre-sold during Afm in November.
And for all the complaints about Berlin, many sales agents set up private screenings before the market kicked off. What is that about?
Beki Probst, who has run the Efm since 1988, responded to the many media reports of a quieter market in an interview with ScreenDaily which sounds almost the same as the one she gave in 2009.
Quoting her current statement which I take the liberty of quoting here as it appears in Screen:
“I think that there was a good movement of business this year,” she said. In the opinion of Probst, there had been a muddying of the distinction between the Efm and the more general term of the ‘market’.
“Daphné Kapfer of Europa International representing 35 sales agents said that it was a very good Berlin, and Glen Basner of FilmNation commented that it was ‘the best Berlin’.
“Even Harvey Weinstein came just for 24 hours to sign a $7m check, and Aloft was bought by Sony Pictures Classics.
“It’s the players, and not the market, that is important. The players come here if they have the right line-up. All we can do is provide the best infrastructure, but what happens after that is up to them.”
"Sales agents were not sitting idle at their stands if one takes the example of one company in the Martin Gropius Bau: the CEO met with 90 buyers and the members of staff responsible for marketing had no less than 180 meetings in addition to ad-hoc discussions at events in the evenings."
Coproductions are the engine driving the business these days.
This year’s Berlinale Co-Production Market ended after two-and-a-half days with awards handed out to projects from Kazakhstan and Belgium.
The €6,000 Arte International Prize went to Kazakh film-maker Emir Baigazin’s planned second feature The Wounded Angel, the second part of a trilogy after his Silver Bear-winning Harmony Lessons. The €1.2m Almaty-based Kazakhfilm Jsc production has already attracted France’s Capricci Production as a co-producer and has backing in place from the Doha Film Institute and the Hubert Bals Fund.
The €10,000 Vff Talent Highlight Pitch Award was presented to Belgian director Bavo Defurne for his romantic dramedy Souvenir. The €2m co-production by Oostende-based Indeed Films with Belgium’s Frakas Productions and Germany’s Karibufilm already has backing from Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Cinefinance and public broadcaster Vrt/ Een.
India-Norway’s $55 million film to be directed by Hans Petter Moland (In Order of Disappearance)’s The Indian Bride is an exciting example of an unusual pairing of countries.
Bavaria and Senator’s joint venture Bavaria Pictures’ The Postcard Killers to be directed by Mexican director Everardo Gout shows the international expansion of talent.
The Hungary-Austria-Germany co-production of Stefan Zweig’s Beware of Pity, or U.K.-Lithuania action comedy Redirected being sold by Content brings unusual European partners together.
U.S. born Damian John Harper’s coproduction with the German producers, brothers Jakob and Jonas Weydemann, on Los Angeles will be followed by In the Middle of the River now being developed with Zdf’s Das Kleine Fernsehspiel unit.
Shoreline’s The Infinite Man produced with Australia’s Hedone Productions in association with Bonsai Films with investment from South Australia Film Corporation through its Filmlab funding initiative, development assistance from Screen Australia is also a new sort of pairing.
Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me), Bac Films, 20 Steps Productions and Bruemmer & Herzog’s The President is shooting in Tbilisi, Georgia and is being directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
Italian-Canadian producer Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s Sights of Death starring Danny Glover, Daryl Hannah, Rutger Hauer, Stephen Baldwin and Michael Madsen is directed by Allessandro Capone in Rome.
The Spain-u.K. co-production Second Origin is based on the best selling Catalan novel Mecanoscrit Del Segon Orgen.
The Golden Bear Winner Black Coal, Thin Ice is a Boneyard Entertainment (New York & Hong Kong) co-production with Boneyard Entertainment China (Bec), Omnijoi Media (Jiangsu, China), China Film co-production.
A sign of the times is the Swedish Film in Berlin advertisement which lists all Swedish co-productions:
In Competition: In Order of DisappearanceOut of Competition: NymphomaniacBerlinale Special: Someone You Love Generation Kplus: A Christmoose StoryPerspektive Deutsches Kino: Lamento
All are with European co-producers as is Antboy a Danish-German co-production.
One of my favorites is Gallows Hill, being sold by Im Global and already picked up by IFC for U.S. Starring Twilight actor Peter Facinelli, U.K. actress Sophia Myles, Nathalia Ramos and Colombian model and actress Carolina Guerra, it was entirely financed from within Colombia by television network Rcn’s affiliate Five 7 Media which produced with Peter Block's A Bigger Boat, David Higgins and Angelique Higgins' Launchpad Productions and Andrea Chung. The screenplay was written by Rich D’Ovidio ( The Call, Thir13en Ghosts) about a widower who takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown.
Another interesting combo is the Australian-Singapore co-production Canopy being sold by Odin’s Eye which was acquired by Kaleidoscope for U.K., by Kinosmith for Canada and Odin’s Eye itself for Australia. After its Tiff 2013 premiere, Monterrey acquired U.S. rights.
Cathedrals of Culture, was produced by Wim Wenders’ production company: Neue Road Movies in Germany and co-produced by Final Cut For Real (Denmark), Lotus Film (Austria), Mer Film (Norway), Les Films d'Ici 2 (France), Sundance Productions / RadicalMedia (U.S.), Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg In collaboration with Arte (Germany and France) and Wowow (Japan).
Grand Budapest Hotel is a co-production of Scott Rudin in U.S. and Studio Babelsburg in Germany.
Wouldn't you say there had to be an awful lot of business going on? If only the media knew where to look for it. Instead, they moan the same old tired tune, "Quality a bit soft. Not a lot of Big Titles. Not a lot of Big News". Oh well...
Efm Coproduction Market
Asian producer Raymond Phathanavirangoon, who was pitching the Hong Kong comedy Grooms by writer-director Arvin Chen at the Berlin Coproduction Market, announced that Germany’s augenschein filmproduktion will be a coproducer on Singaporean director Boo Junfeng’s second feature Apprentice. The film has already received backing from France’s World Cinema Support, the Film- und Medienstiftung Nrw of Germany and Germany's second network, Zdf’s Das kleine fernsehspiel unit. It also has Cinema Defacto as its French co-producer. Junfeng’s first film, Sandcastle, was screened at the Critics’ Week in Cannes in 2010.
Cologne-based augenschein, who produced Maximilian Leo’s My Brother’s Keeper, the opening film of this year’s Perspektive Deutsches Kino and is handled internationally by Media Luna, is currently in post-production on Romanian filmmaker Florin Serban’s Box, his second feature after the 2010 Berlinale Competition film If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle.
Argentinian filmmaker Santiago Mitre whose debut The Student established him as one of the brightest and most courted young directors in Latin America was in the Co-production Market with his untitled second feature which France’s Full House connected to along with Argentina’s Union de los Rio, Argentine broadcast network Telefe, Ignacio Viale and the ubiquitous Lita Stantic.
Full House was also at the Coproduction Market with Peter Webber’s Fresh about a young thief learning the art of pickpocketing in Bogota, Colombia. It will be co-produced with Rcn affiliate Five 7 Media and 4Direcciones in Colombia and by Webber himself.
Raymond van der Kaaij, the producer of Tamar van den Dop’s Panorama title Supernova, is now financing Sundance winner Ernesto Contreras’ next feature I Dream In Another Language. The Spanish-English language project will be produced with Mexico-based Agencia Sha, and it is now casting the American lead according to producer van der Kaaij of Revolver Amsterdam. Developed at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the winner of the Sundance-Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award, I Dream has already received support from Imcine in Mexico. Shooting is scheduled in Mexico for the end of 2014.
Revolver is now editing Bodkin Ras, the debut film of Iranian-Dutch director Kaweh Modiri, an English-language documentary-thriller set in North Scotland. The Dutch-Belgian-u.K. coproduction is set for release at the end of 2014.
Finnish film-maker Jukka-Pekka Valkeapaa’s is editing his latest feature They Have Escaped, which Revolver coproduced with Helsinki Film.
Trend of smart art genres
Another continuing trend, which began with Xyz and Celluloid Nightmares and continued with Memento, is the character-driven art genre films with tight budgets, like the Danish coming-of-age-werewolf-romance, When Animals Dream, directed by first timer Jonas Arnby, sold by Gaumont to Radius-twc for No. Americ. The Scandinavians, formerly making a mark with "Nordic Noir" are now making what they call "Nordic Twilight".
Trend of remake rights
Another trend is that of remake rights. Film Sharks reports it makes more from selling remake rights than from licensing distribution rights.
The Intouchables is selling remake rights to more countries than only India as is the sale of Other Angle’s Babysitting remake rights. Negotiations are underway with Russia, Italy and Germany.
Fruit Chan is considering an English language remake of his 2004 cult horror film Dumplings.
The market is bit too calm?…Then let us look at Cannes…
Usually by Afm you can begin the Tipped for Cannes List (which Gilles Jacob detested), but even that is a little on the quiet side. I begin to question whether all media fueled news is accurate: the slow sales being reported, the lack of pre-Cannes buzz… Is the media really investigating deeply?
Of all the trades, while Screen has the most international news and deepest analyses, Variety reports things no other trade is covering. But…still the non-news of a quiet market persists as if it were headline news. We always hear this and we are still in an economic slump, so what we wish for is not apparent, but this is not news.
Tipped for Cannes
Tipped for Cannes are Zhang Yimou’s Coming Home staring Gong Li and to be sold by Wild Bunch, Stealth’s First Law starring Mads Mikkelsen (Cannes 2012 Best Actor Award for The Hunt); Self Made (Boreg) by Shira Geffen and to be sold by Westend, shot in Hebrew and Arabic by the production and sales team behind Oscar nominated 2011 drama Footnote, the second film after Geffen’s 2007 debut Jellyfish which won the Cannes Camera d’Or. MK2’s Clouds of Sils Maria by Olivier Assayas and starring Juliette Binoche, Chloe Grace Moretz and Kristen Stewart, and Naomi Kawase’s Still the Water will be delivered in time for Cannes. Pyramide International is plannng for Leviathan, a modern retelling of the biblical story which deals with some of Russia’s most important social issues to be ready for Cannes. It is directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev and produced by Alexander Rodnyansky (Stalingrad) as their followup to Elena. Gaumont-cj co-production, The Target, the Korean remake of Fred Cavaye’s action thriller Point Blank will be ready in time for Cannes.
Rumors and truths about people changing positions
Rumors about Dieter Kosslick replacing Berlin’s Culture Secretary who resigned after a tax evasion scandal in which he admitted to stashing $575,000 in a Swiss bank account…Charlotte Mickie has left eOne and knowing her, she is bound to find something good elsewhere as she's too good to lose...StudioCanals Harold van Lier now leads eOne’s newly ramped international sales team and Montreal based Anick Poirier leads its subsidiary label, Seville International. Jeff Nuyts is leaving Intramovies. Nigel Sinclair and Guy East seem to be leaving Exclusive Media the company they founded as discussions with partners from Dasym Investment Strategies Bv move forward. Kevin Hoiseth from Voltage Pictures has joined International Film Trust as their director of international sales...and of course, Nadine de Barros has founded her own company, Fortitude, and was holding court at the Ritz Carlton the buzziest spot outside of the Martin Gropius Bau.
What I Saw and What I Thought
For what it's worth, here is my limited list of screenings of films seen only in the last 3 days of the festival when I was no longer "working". I am including some I actually saw at Sundance.
First and foremost -- and to be written about further in a "thought piece" as I term the articles I think long about before writing and to include my interview with the director Goran Hugo Olsson's (The Black Power Mixtapes winner of Sundance 2011 World Cinema Documentary Film Editing Award) -- Concerning Violence (Isa: Films Boutique, U.S.: Cinetic), based on Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth and seen at Sundance this year next to Stanley Nelson's outstanding Freedom Summer (PBS) and Greg Barker's We Are The Giant (Submarine), is a call to action for new societal models ringing out loud and clear.
Golden Bear Winner, Black Coal, Thin Ice by Diao Yinan, a Chinese noir, lacked the momentum and substance I would have expected in a winning film, though it was a fascinating way to see today's urban China. Had I been on the jury, I would have chosen the Best Director Award winning Boyhood (Isa: IFC) by Richard Linklater. But perhaps because James Schamus, an American who loves Chinese films, was President of the Jury, there might have arisen a question of disinterested objectivity. I would have to hear what jurists Barbara Broccoli, Trine Dyrhom, Chistoph Waltz, Tony Leung, Greta Gerwig, Mitra Farahani and Michel Gondry would have to say about the deliberations.
Speaking of jury prizes, it was a surprise the much acclaimed '71 (Isa: Protagonist, now headed by our dear Mike Goodridge) won nothing, and good Alain Renais' Life of Riley (Isa: Le Pacte) received recognition. I found Christophe Gans' La belle et la bete (Beauty and the Beast) (Isa: Pathe) an overproduced unwieldy special effects-ridden mess, even though it was exec-produced by Jérôme Seydoux who also produced the masterpiece La Grande Belleza (The Great Beauty), and starred his granddaughter Lea Seydoux. I'll stand by Cocteau's versoin. I heard Claudia Llosa (Milk of Sorrow)'s Aloft was also not widely admired.
About the best actress winning film The Little House (Isa: Shochiku could have marketed it more widely), I heard nothing at all, though it sounds really good. Kreuzweg (Stations of the Cross) (Isa: Beta) by brother and sister team Anna and Dietrich Brueggemann (any relation to our own Tom Brueggeman?) had a satisfying denouement and was quite engrossing with moments of humor lightening the heavy weight of the cross carried by 14 year old Maria played by Lea van Acken, a picture face out of a George de la Tour painting (Magdeline with a Smoking Flame or A Piece of Art). Macondo (Isa: Films Boutique - again! ) by Sudabeh Mortezai of Austria was a window on a world never seen before and very engrossing although the coming of age story was one we have seen before.
Not sorry to say I missed The Monuments Men and Nymphomaniac Volume I, but sorry that I missed Beloved Sisters (Isa: Global Screen) of Dominik Graf, The Grand Budapest Hotel (will see it in U.S.), Argentinian Benjamin Naishat's History of Fear (Isa: Visit) -- I'll catch it in Carthegena, Guadalajara or San Sebastian I'm sure, Jack, In Order of Disappearance which sounds like the sleeper hit of the festival, Argentinan (again!) La tercera orilla (The Third Side of the River), Lou Ye's Tui Na (Blind Massage) and Rachid Bouchareb's Two Men in Town (Isa: Pathe - again!), which I heard was rather flat which is not surprising, for when non-Americans try to make an American genre, it usually misses a certain verve, but still is such an interesting subject for him to tackle, Zwischen Welten (Inbetween Worlds) (Isa: The Match Factory) from Germany, another "American" subject, but here about a German soldier in Afghanistan, not an American one.
Among the Berlinale Specials, I wish I had seen Nancy Buirski's Afternoon of a Faun which everyone said was good (Isa: Cactus Three the doc production company of Krysanne Katsoolis and Caroline Stevens) and Volker Schloendorff's 1969 Brecht piece Baal starring Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Margarethe von Trotta. I did see his Diplomacy (Isa: Gaumont) which was a great treat, erudite, intimate and reminiscent of the novels of Sandor Marai (Embers and Casanova in Bolzano). Wish I could have seen Wim Wenders' Cathedrals of Culture (Isa: Cinephil), Diego Luna's Cesar Chavez (Isa: Mundial) and In the Courtyard aka Dans la cours (Isa: Wild Bunch) starring Catherine Deneuve and The Kidnapping of Michel Houllebecq (Isa: Le Pacte - again!!). I will see The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (Isa: The Film Sales Company) by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, produced by Jonathan Dana, Dayna Goldfine, Dan Geller and Celeste Schaefer Snyder (Ballets Russes), back home. The Turning (Isa: Level K), an experimental omnibus produced by my favorite Australian producer, Robert Connelly who also directed in part and Maggie Myles, is also a must-see as is Errol Morris' companion piece to The Fog of War, The Unknown Known (Isa: HanWay) and Houssein Amini's Two Faces of January (Isa: StudioCanal) starring my favorites Viggo Mortenson and Kirsten Dunst. We Come as Friends (Isa: Le Pacte), by Hubert Sauper whose earlier film Darwin's Destiny astounded me, was worth watching although so often his films plunge one into a hopeless helplessness. Fresh from Sundance, it was raising controversy and the story of the Sudan is worth knowing. His particular and peculiar Pov is valuable. Watermark (Isa: Entertainment One), another social issue worth knowing about will have to wait for a more propitious time. Personally I'm hoping Israel's current venture into desalination of water will lead the world into peace and that I will rejoice watching the doc about that.
Difret (Isa: Films Boutique - again!), fresh from Sundance where I saw it was really good and it sold well. I got to hang out with the team at the Panorama party. Gueros (Isa: Mundial - again!), was a disappointment -- too like The Year of the Nail (though different) in tone. But what a great company Canana is!
Panorama's Finding Vivian Maier (Isa: HanWay - again!) is brilliantly interesting. It is about to be released in U.S. by IFC. I highly recommend seeing this documentary about an eccentric, unknown photographer. It premiered at Tiff 2013. Fresh from Sundance where it won a Special Jury Prize, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (Isa: Submarine) was a treasure; Velvet Terrorists was about the oddest piece I have ever seen. About three former opponents of the Czechoslovakian Soviet Regime, each has continued to enjoy blowing up things. One is still training the next generation in urban guerilla warfare. They are otherwise unremarkable, sweet even, but twisted. What an odd documentary.
A quick look at the Market Films I have seen: of the 400+ premieres: Zero -- no I did see German Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, Two Lives (Isa: Beta), and I will soon be home to celebrate its nomination at the famous Villa Aurora, the former home of German expatriate writer Leon Feuchtwanger. So many more films look sooooo attractive! A pity I may never get to see them. I would need all the time in the world, and I have so little. I have so much and yet I want more!
And for all the complaints about Berlin, many sales agents set up private screenings before the market kicked off. What is that about?
Beki Probst, who has run the Efm since 1988, responded to the many media reports of a quieter market in an interview with ScreenDaily which sounds almost the same as the one she gave in 2009.
Quoting her current statement which I take the liberty of quoting here as it appears in Screen:
“I think that there was a good movement of business this year,” she said. In the opinion of Probst, there had been a muddying of the distinction between the Efm and the more general term of the ‘market’.
“Daphné Kapfer of Europa International representing 35 sales agents said that it was a very good Berlin, and Glen Basner of FilmNation commented that it was ‘the best Berlin’.
“Even Harvey Weinstein came just for 24 hours to sign a $7m check, and Aloft was bought by Sony Pictures Classics.
“It’s the players, and not the market, that is important. The players come here if they have the right line-up. All we can do is provide the best infrastructure, but what happens after that is up to them.”
"Sales agents were not sitting idle at their stands if one takes the example of one company in the Martin Gropius Bau: the CEO met with 90 buyers and the members of staff responsible for marketing had no less than 180 meetings in addition to ad-hoc discussions at events in the evenings."
Coproductions are the engine driving the business these days.
This year’s Berlinale Co-Production Market ended after two-and-a-half days with awards handed out to projects from Kazakhstan and Belgium.
The €6,000 Arte International Prize went to Kazakh film-maker Emir Baigazin’s planned second feature The Wounded Angel, the second part of a trilogy after his Silver Bear-winning Harmony Lessons. The €1.2m Almaty-based Kazakhfilm Jsc production has already attracted France’s Capricci Production as a co-producer and has backing in place from the Doha Film Institute and the Hubert Bals Fund.
The €10,000 Vff Talent Highlight Pitch Award was presented to Belgian director Bavo Defurne for his romantic dramedy Souvenir. The €2m co-production by Oostende-based Indeed Films with Belgium’s Frakas Productions and Germany’s Karibufilm already has backing from Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Cinefinance and public broadcaster Vrt/ Een.
India-Norway’s $55 million film to be directed by Hans Petter Moland (In Order of Disappearance)’s The Indian Bride is an exciting example of an unusual pairing of countries.
Bavaria and Senator’s joint venture Bavaria Pictures’ The Postcard Killers to be directed by Mexican director Everardo Gout shows the international expansion of talent.
The Hungary-Austria-Germany co-production of Stefan Zweig’s Beware of Pity, or U.K.-Lithuania action comedy Redirected being sold by Content brings unusual European partners together.
U.S. born Damian John Harper’s coproduction with the German producers, brothers Jakob and Jonas Weydemann, on Los Angeles will be followed by In the Middle of the River now being developed with Zdf’s Das Kleine Fernsehspiel unit.
Shoreline’s The Infinite Man produced with Australia’s Hedone Productions in association with Bonsai Films with investment from South Australia Film Corporation through its Filmlab funding initiative, development assistance from Screen Australia is also a new sort of pairing.
Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me), Bac Films, 20 Steps Productions and Bruemmer & Herzog’s The President is shooting in Tbilisi, Georgia and is being directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
Italian-Canadian producer Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s Sights of Death starring Danny Glover, Daryl Hannah, Rutger Hauer, Stephen Baldwin and Michael Madsen is directed by Allessandro Capone in Rome.
The Spain-u.K. co-production Second Origin is based on the best selling Catalan novel Mecanoscrit Del Segon Orgen.
The Golden Bear Winner Black Coal, Thin Ice is a Boneyard Entertainment (New York & Hong Kong) co-production with Boneyard Entertainment China (Bec), Omnijoi Media (Jiangsu, China), China Film co-production.
A sign of the times is the Swedish Film in Berlin advertisement which lists all Swedish co-productions:
In Competition: In Order of DisappearanceOut of Competition: NymphomaniacBerlinale Special: Someone You Love Generation Kplus: A Christmoose StoryPerspektive Deutsches Kino: Lamento
All are with European co-producers as is Antboy a Danish-German co-production.
One of my favorites is Gallows Hill, being sold by Im Global and already picked up by IFC for U.S. Starring Twilight actor Peter Facinelli, U.K. actress Sophia Myles, Nathalia Ramos and Colombian model and actress Carolina Guerra, it was entirely financed from within Colombia by television network Rcn’s affiliate Five 7 Media which produced with Peter Block's A Bigger Boat, David Higgins and Angelique Higgins' Launchpad Productions and Andrea Chung. The screenplay was written by Rich D’Ovidio ( The Call, Thir13en Ghosts) about a widower who takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown.
Another interesting combo is the Australian-Singapore co-production Canopy being sold by Odin’s Eye which was acquired by Kaleidoscope for U.K., by Kinosmith for Canada and Odin’s Eye itself for Australia. After its Tiff 2013 premiere, Monterrey acquired U.S. rights.
Cathedrals of Culture, was produced by Wim Wenders’ production company: Neue Road Movies in Germany and co-produced by Final Cut For Real (Denmark), Lotus Film (Austria), Mer Film (Norway), Les Films d'Ici 2 (France), Sundance Productions / RadicalMedia (U.S.), Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg In collaboration with Arte (Germany and France) and Wowow (Japan).
Grand Budapest Hotel is a co-production of Scott Rudin in U.S. and Studio Babelsburg in Germany.
Wouldn't you say there had to be an awful lot of business going on? If only the media knew where to look for it. Instead, they moan the same old tired tune, "Quality a bit soft. Not a lot of Big Titles. Not a lot of Big News". Oh well...
Efm Coproduction Market
Asian producer Raymond Phathanavirangoon, who was pitching the Hong Kong comedy Grooms by writer-director Arvin Chen at the Berlin Coproduction Market, announced that Germany’s augenschein filmproduktion will be a coproducer on Singaporean director Boo Junfeng’s second feature Apprentice. The film has already received backing from France’s World Cinema Support, the Film- und Medienstiftung Nrw of Germany and Germany's second network, Zdf’s Das kleine fernsehspiel unit. It also has Cinema Defacto as its French co-producer. Junfeng’s first film, Sandcastle, was screened at the Critics’ Week in Cannes in 2010.
Cologne-based augenschein, who produced Maximilian Leo’s My Brother’s Keeper, the opening film of this year’s Perspektive Deutsches Kino and is handled internationally by Media Luna, is currently in post-production on Romanian filmmaker Florin Serban’s Box, his second feature after the 2010 Berlinale Competition film If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle.
Argentinian filmmaker Santiago Mitre whose debut The Student established him as one of the brightest and most courted young directors in Latin America was in the Co-production Market with his untitled second feature which France’s Full House connected to along with Argentina’s Union de los Rio, Argentine broadcast network Telefe, Ignacio Viale and the ubiquitous Lita Stantic.
Full House was also at the Coproduction Market with Peter Webber’s Fresh about a young thief learning the art of pickpocketing in Bogota, Colombia. It will be co-produced with Rcn affiliate Five 7 Media and 4Direcciones in Colombia and by Webber himself.
Raymond van der Kaaij, the producer of Tamar van den Dop’s Panorama title Supernova, is now financing Sundance winner Ernesto Contreras’ next feature I Dream In Another Language. The Spanish-English language project will be produced with Mexico-based Agencia Sha, and it is now casting the American lead according to producer van der Kaaij of Revolver Amsterdam. Developed at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the winner of the Sundance-Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award, I Dream has already received support from Imcine in Mexico. Shooting is scheduled in Mexico for the end of 2014.
Revolver is now editing Bodkin Ras, the debut film of Iranian-Dutch director Kaweh Modiri, an English-language documentary-thriller set in North Scotland. The Dutch-Belgian-u.K. coproduction is set for release at the end of 2014.
Finnish film-maker Jukka-Pekka Valkeapaa’s is editing his latest feature They Have Escaped, which Revolver coproduced with Helsinki Film.
Trend of smart art genres
Another continuing trend, which began with Xyz and Celluloid Nightmares and continued with Memento, is the character-driven art genre films with tight budgets, like the Danish coming-of-age-werewolf-romance, When Animals Dream, directed by first timer Jonas Arnby, sold by Gaumont to Radius-twc for No. Americ. The Scandinavians, formerly making a mark with "Nordic Noir" are now making what they call "Nordic Twilight".
Trend of remake rights
Another trend is that of remake rights. Film Sharks reports it makes more from selling remake rights than from licensing distribution rights.
The Intouchables is selling remake rights to more countries than only India as is the sale of Other Angle’s Babysitting remake rights. Negotiations are underway with Russia, Italy and Germany.
Fruit Chan is considering an English language remake of his 2004 cult horror film Dumplings.
The market is bit too calm?…Then let us look at Cannes…
Usually by Afm you can begin the Tipped for Cannes List (which Gilles Jacob detested), but even that is a little on the quiet side. I begin to question whether all media fueled news is accurate: the slow sales being reported, the lack of pre-Cannes buzz… Is the media really investigating deeply?
Of all the trades, while Screen has the most international news and deepest analyses, Variety reports things no other trade is covering. But…still the non-news of a quiet market persists as if it were headline news. We always hear this and we are still in an economic slump, so what we wish for is not apparent, but this is not news.
Tipped for Cannes
Tipped for Cannes are Zhang Yimou’s Coming Home staring Gong Li and to be sold by Wild Bunch, Stealth’s First Law starring Mads Mikkelsen (Cannes 2012 Best Actor Award for The Hunt); Self Made (Boreg) by Shira Geffen and to be sold by Westend, shot in Hebrew and Arabic by the production and sales team behind Oscar nominated 2011 drama Footnote, the second film after Geffen’s 2007 debut Jellyfish which won the Cannes Camera d’Or. MK2’s Clouds of Sils Maria by Olivier Assayas and starring Juliette Binoche, Chloe Grace Moretz and Kristen Stewart, and Naomi Kawase’s Still the Water will be delivered in time for Cannes. Pyramide International is plannng for Leviathan, a modern retelling of the biblical story which deals with some of Russia’s most important social issues to be ready for Cannes. It is directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev and produced by Alexander Rodnyansky (Stalingrad) as their followup to Elena. Gaumont-cj co-production, The Target, the Korean remake of Fred Cavaye’s action thriller Point Blank will be ready in time for Cannes.
Rumors and truths about people changing positions
Rumors about Dieter Kosslick replacing Berlin’s Culture Secretary who resigned after a tax evasion scandal in which he admitted to stashing $575,000 in a Swiss bank account…Charlotte Mickie has left eOne and knowing her, she is bound to find something good elsewhere as she's too good to lose...StudioCanals Harold van Lier now leads eOne’s newly ramped international sales team and Montreal based Anick Poirier leads its subsidiary label, Seville International. Jeff Nuyts is leaving Intramovies. Nigel Sinclair and Guy East seem to be leaving Exclusive Media the company they founded as discussions with partners from Dasym Investment Strategies Bv move forward. Kevin Hoiseth from Voltage Pictures has joined International Film Trust as their director of international sales...and of course, Nadine de Barros has founded her own company, Fortitude, and was holding court at the Ritz Carlton the buzziest spot outside of the Martin Gropius Bau.
What I Saw and What I Thought
For what it's worth, here is my limited list of screenings of films seen only in the last 3 days of the festival when I was no longer "working". I am including some I actually saw at Sundance.
First and foremost -- and to be written about further in a "thought piece" as I term the articles I think long about before writing and to include my interview with the director Goran Hugo Olsson's (The Black Power Mixtapes winner of Sundance 2011 World Cinema Documentary Film Editing Award) -- Concerning Violence (Isa: Films Boutique, U.S.: Cinetic), based on Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth and seen at Sundance this year next to Stanley Nelson's outstanding Freedom Summer (PBS) and Greg Barker's We Are The Giant (Submarine), is a call to action for new societal models ringing out loud and clear.
Golden Bear Winner, Black Coal, Thin Ice by Diao Yinan, a Chinese noir, lacked the momentum and substance I would have expected in a winning film, though it was a fascinating way to see today's urban China. Had I been on the jury, I would have chosen the Best Director Award winning Boyhood (Isa: IFC) by Richard Linklater. But perhaps because James Schamus, an American who loves Chinese films, was President of the Jury, there might have arisen a question of disinterested objectivity. I would have to hear what jurists Barbara Broccoli, Trine Dyrhom, Chistoph Waltz, Tony Leung, Greta Gerwig, Mitra Farahani and Michel Gondry would have to say about the deliberations.
Speaking of jury prizes, it was a surprise the much acclaimed '71 (Isa: Protagonist, now headed by our dear Mike Goodridge) won nothing, and good Alain Renais' Life of Riley (Isa: Le Pacte) received recognition. I found Christophe Gans' La belle et la bete (Beauty and the Beast) (Isa: Pathe) an overproduced unwieldy special effects-ridden mess, even though it was exec-produced by Jérôme Seydoux who also produced the masterpiece La Grande Belleza (The Great Beauty), and starred his granddaughter Lea Seydoux. I'll stand by Cocteau's versoin. I heard Claudia Llosa (Milk of Sorrow)'s Aloft was also not widely admired.
About the best actress winning film The Little House (Isa: Shochiku could have marketed it more widely), I heard nothing at all, though it sounds really good. Kreuzweg (Stations of the Cross) (Isa: Beta) by brother and sister team Anna and Dietrich Brueggemann (any relation to our own Tom Brueggeman?) had a satisfying denouement and was quite engrossing with moments of humor lightening the heavy weight of the cross carried by 14 year old Maria played by Lea van Acken, a picture face out of a George de la Tour painting (Magdeline with a Smoking Flame or A Piece of Art). Macondo (Isa: Films Boutique - again! ) by Sudabeh Mortezai of Austria was a window on a world never seen before and very engrossing although the coming of age story was one we have seen before.
Not sorry to say I missed The Monuments Men and Nymphomaniac Volume I, but sorry that I missed Beloved Sisters (Isa: Global Screen) of Dominik Graf, The Grand Budapest Hotel (will see it in U.S.), Argentinian Benjamin Naishat's History of Fear (Isa: Visit) -- I'll catch it in Carthegena, Guadalajara or San Sebastian I'm sure, Jack, In Order of Disappearance which sounds like the sleeper hit of the festival, Argentinan (again!) La tercera orilla (The Third Side of the River), Lou Ye's Tui Na (Blind Massage) and Rachid Bouchareb's Two Men in Town (Isa: Pathe - again!), which I heard was rather flat which is not surprising, for when non-Americans try to make an American genre, it usually misses a certain verve, but still is such an interesting subject for him to tackle, Zwischen Welten (Inbetween Worlds) (Isa: The Match Factory) from Germany, another "American" subject, but here about a German soldier in Afghanistan, not an American one.
Among the Berlinale Specials, I wish I had seen Nancy Buirski's Afternoon of a Faun which everyone said was good (Isa: Cactus Three the doc production company of Krysanne Katsoolis and Caroline Stevens) and Volker Schloendorff's 1969 Brecht piece Baal starring Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Margarethe von Trotta. I did see his Diplomacy (Isa: Gaumont) which was a great treat, erudite, intimate and reminiscent of the novels of Sandor Marai (Embers and Casanova in Bolzano). Wish I could have seen Wim Wenders' Cathedrals of Culture (Isa: Cinephil), Diego Luna's Cesar Chavez (Isa: Mundial) and In the Courtyard aka Dans la cours (Isa: Wild Bunch) starring Catherine Deneuve and The Kidnapping of Michel Houllebecq (Isa: Le Pacte - again!!). I will see The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (Isa: The Film Sales Company) by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, produced by Jonathan Dana, Dayna Goldfine, Dan Geller and Celeste Schaefer Snyder (Ballets Russes), back home. The Turning (Isa: Level K), an experimental omnibus produced by my favorite Australian producer, Robert Connelly who also directed in part and Maggie Myles, is also a must-see as is Errol Morris' companion piece to The Fog of War, The Unknown Known (Isa: HanWay) and Houssein Amini's Two Faces of January (Isa: StudioCanal) starring my favorites Viggo Mortenson and Kirsten Dunst. We Come as Friends (Isa: Le Pacte), by Hubert Sauper whose earlier film Darwin's Destiny astounded me, was worth watching although so often his films plunge one into a hopeless helplessness. Fresh from Sundance, it was raising controversy and the story of the Sudan is worth knowing. His particular and peculiar Pov is valuable. Watermark (Isa: Entertainment One), another social issue worth knowing about will have to wait for a more propitious time. Personally I'm hoping Israel's current venture into desalination of water will lead the world into peace and that I will rejoice watching the doc about that.
Difret (Isa: Films Boutique - again!), fresh from Sundance where I saw it was really good and it sold well. I got to hang out with the team at the Panorama party. Gueros (Isa: Mundial - again!), was a disappointment -- too like The Year of the Nail (though different) in tone. But what a great company Canana is!
Panorama's Finding Vivian Maier (Isa: HanWay - again!) is brilliantly interesting. It is about to be released in U.S. by IFC. I highly recommend seeing this documentary about an eccentric, unknown photographer. It premiered at Tiff 2013. Fresh from Sundance where it won a Special Jury Prize, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (Isa: Submarine) was a treasure; Velvet Terrorists was about the oddest piece I have ever seen. About three former opponents of the Czechoslovakian Soviet Regime, each has continued to enjoy blowing up things. One is still training the next generation in urban guerilla warfare. They are otherwise unremarkable, sweet even, but twisted. What an odd documentary.
A quick look at the Market Films I have seen: of the 400+ premieres: Zero -- no I did see German Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, Two Lives (Isa: Beta), and I will soon be home to celebrate its nomination at the famous Villa Aurora, the former home of German expatriate writer Leon Feuchtwanger. So many more films look sooooo attractive! A pity I may never get to see them. I would need all the time in the world, and I have so little. I have so much and yet I want more!
- 2/27/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Keeping up with the constant barrage of news today? Well, strap in because there's Tons more coming. IFC has picked up North American rights to the new film from Victor Garcia, Gallows Hill, starring The Twilight Saga's Peter Facinelli!
Sophia Myles and Nathalia Ramos co-star. Written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts), the story follows an American (Facinelli), widowed from his Colombia-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter, Jill (Ramos).
Synopsis
A widower takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown. En route, the family are involved in an accident and take refuge in a secluded inn, where they free a girl locked in a basement and set in motion a terrifying sequence of events.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Swing from the gallows in the comments section below.
Sophia Myles and Nathalia Ramos co-star. Written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts), the story follows an American (Facinelli), widowed from his Colombia-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter, Jill (Ramos).
Synopsis
A widower takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown. En route, the family are involved in an accident and take refuge in a secluded inn, where they free a girl locked in a basement and set in motion a terrifying sequence of events.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Swing from the gallows in the comments section below.
- 2/7/2014
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Exclusive: IFC takes North American rights to Victor Garcia’s genre outing.
IFC has picked up North American rights to Victor Garcia’s genre title Gallows Hill following a strong buyer response at a recent Los Angeles screening.
Im Global’s Octane division handles international sales at Efm.
The film screens in the market tomorrow (Feb 8) and stars Peter Facinelli, the UK’s Sophia Myles, Nathalia Ramos and Colombian model and actress Carolina Guerra, part of a large Colombian contingency.
Gallows Hill was financed entirely within Colombia by television network RCN¹s affiliate Five 7 Media, who produced with A Bigger Boat and Launchpad Productions. Peter Block, David Higgins and Andrea Chung produced.
Rich D’Ovidio, whose credits include The Call and Thir13en Ghosts, wrote the screenplay about a widower who takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown.
En route, the family are involved in an accident and take refuge in a secluded...
IFC has picked up North American rights to Victor Garcia’s genre title Gallows Hill following a strong buyer response at a recent Los Angeles screening.
Im Global’s Octane division handles international sales at Efm.
The film screens in the market tomorrow (Feb 8) and stars Peter Facinelli, the UK’s Sophia Myles, Nathalia Ramos and Colombian model and actress Carolina Guerra, part of a large Colombian contingency.
Gallows Hill was financed entirely within Colombia by television network RCN¹s affiliate Five 7 Media, who produced with A Bigger Boat and Launchpad Productions. Peter Block, David Higgins and Andrea Chung produced.
Rich D’Ovidio, whose credits include The Call and Thir13en Ghosts, wrote the screenplay about a widower who takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown.
En route, the family are involved in an accident and take refuge in a secluded...
- 2/7/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
It's been awhile since last we heard anything regarding the new film from Victor Garcia, Gallows Hill, starring The Twilight Saga's Peter Facinelli, but that's about to change as we have the first poster for you right here!
Sophia Myles and Nathalia Ramos co-star. Written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts), the story follows an American (Facinelli), widowed from his Colombia-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter, Jill (Ramos). After a car accident leaves them stranded in a rundown isolated inn, they discover the old innkeeper has locked a young girl in the basement, and their decision to set her free has unintended consequences.
No word on distribution yet, but stay tuned!
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Swing from the gallows in the comments section below.
Sophia Myles and Nathalia Ramos co-star. Written by Richard D’Ovidio (Thirteen Ghosts), the story follows an American (Facinelli), widowed from his Colombia-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter, Jill (Ramos). After a car accident leaves them stranded in a rundown isolated inn, they discover the old innkeeper has locked a young girl in the basement, and their decision to set her free has unintended consequences.
No word on distribution yet, but stay tuned!
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Swing from the gallows in the comments section below.
- 10/10/2013
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Ready to make its Sitges Film Festival Premiere, Gallows Hill now has a one-sheet and we have it waiting for you after the jump.
Peter Facinelli, Sophia Myles and Nathalia Ramos star in the film, directed by Victor Garcia, which follows an American widowed husband who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter Jill. A car accident leaves these group stranded at a anisolated inn. There, they discover the old innkeeper has locked a young girl in the basement and their decision to set her free has unintended consequences.
The film doesn't have distribution yet; we'll keep you updated as more details come in.
Read more...
Peter Facinelli, Sophia Myles and Nathalia Ramos star in the film, directed by Victor Garcia, which follows an American widowed husband who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter Jill. A car accident leaves these group stranded at a anisolated inn. There, they discover the old innkeeper has locked a young girl in the basement and their decision to set her free has unintended consequences.
The film doesn't have distribution yet; we'll keep you updated as more details come in.
Read more...
- 10/10/2013
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Well, not really. They're not crawling to me... that would just be awkward. What Rodar y Rodar is doing though is adapting another bone-chilling graphic novel for the screen. Read on for details.
From the Press Release
The Orphanage producer Rodar y Rodar has teamed up with Crawl to Me creator Alan Robert and his producing partners Jeff Mazzola (Descent) and Chris White (My Super Psycho Sweet 16 franchise) to adapt the critically acclaimed Idw Publishing graphic novel.
Victor Garcia, who helmed the upcoming Gallows Hill (starring Twilight’s Peter Facinelli), is in the director’s chair for the character-driven psychological horror film with a screenplay penned by Tj Cimfel and David White. Glenn Allen, Co-Founder/VFX Producer of Emmy-award winning Brainstorm Digital (Boardwalk Empire) is on board as VFX Supervisor. Producers aim to shoot interiors on a sound stage in Spain, where Rodar is based, and exteriors in Canada.
In...
From the Press Release
The Orphanage producer Rodar y Rodar has teamed up with Crawl to Me creator Alan Robert and his producing partners Jeff Mazzola (Descent) and Chris White (My Super Psycho Sweet 16 franchise) to adapt the critically acclaimed Idw Publishing graphic novel.
Victor Garcia, who helmed the upcoming Gallows Hill (starring Twilight’s Peter Facinelli), is in the director’s chair for the character-driven psychological horror film with a screenplay penned by Tj Cimfel and David White. Glenn Allen, Co-Founder/VFX Producer of Emmy-award winning Brainstorm Digital (Boardwalk Empire) is on board as VFX Supervisor. Producers aim to shoot interiors on a sound stage in Spain, where Rodar is based, and exteriors in Canada.
In...
- 7/20/2013
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Colombian broadcast giant Rcn is looking to shift its film production focus away from local product in favour of low budget English-language genre fare, top brass said on Thursday [11].
During a tour of the company’s premises in Bogota, newly promoted executive vice-president of international channels Julian Giraldo told a group of mostly Us producers and trade press that the move was a result of market forces at home and abroad.
“We are now trying to focus more on co-productions in English,” said Giraldo after screening footage from in-house Rcn Films’ first two such projects, Gallows Hill and Default. Rcn Films is currently raising funds for a couple of further projects budgeted in the $1m-$3m range.
Although Rcn Films has backed more than 45 local titles, Giraldo said it was difficult to raise more than $3m from local investors in Colombia and intimated that indigenous product lacked global appeal.
“That’s why we are moving towards English-language...
During a tour of the company’s premises in Bogota, newly promoted executive vice-president of international channels Julian Giraldo told a group of mostly Us producers and trade press that the move was a result of market forces at home and abroad.
“We are now trying to focus more on co-productions in English,” said Giraldo after screening footage from in-house Rcn Films’ first two such projects, Gallows Hill and Default. Rcn Films is currently raising funds for a couple of further projects budgeted in the $1m-$3m range.
Although Rcn Films has backed more than 45 local titles, Giraldo said it was difficult to raise more than $3m from local investors in Colombia and intimated that indigenous product lacked global appeal.
“That’s why we are moving towards English-language...
- 7/12/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The anthology horror film is back in the wake of the success of chapter-style horror films like The Theatre Bizarre (2011) and its announced follow-up, V/H/S (2012), the soon-to-be-released sequel V/H/S 2 (2013) and The ABC’s of Death (2012).
While this movement generates a good deal of conversation about the fondly remembered Amicus productions of the 1960’s and 1970’s like Dr. Terror’s House Of Horrors (Freddie Francis, 1965), Torture Garden (Freddie Francis, 1967), The House That Dripped Blood (Peter Duffell, 1971) and Asylum (Roy Ward Baker, 1972) among others, the comparison is not exactly accurate across the board.
While the segments of V/H/S are unified by shared visual style and a wraparound story, The Theatre Bizarre and The ABC’s of Death come off as collections of essentially unrelated horror short films loosely bound by a flimsy wraparound segment in the case of The Theatre Bizarre or a basic concept as...
While this movement generates a good deal of conversation about the fondly remembered Amicus productions of the 1960’s and 1970’s like Dr. Terror’s House Of Horrors (Freddie Francis, 1965), Torture Garden (Freddie Francis, 1967), The House That Dripped Blood (Peter Duffell, 1971) and Asylum (Roy Ward Baker, 1972) among others, the comparison is not exactly accurate across the board.
While the segments of V/H/S are unified by shared visual style and a wraparound story, The Theatre Bizarre and The ABC’s of Death come off as collections of essentially unrelated horror short films loosely bound by a flimsy wraparound segment in the case of The Theatre Bizarre or a basic concept as...
- 4/5/2013
- by Terek Puckett
- SoundOnSight
In August of 2012 we hit the set of the then-shooting Sony TriStar flick The Hive, now titled The Call, in Westlake, CA, to chat with the film’s writer, Richard D’Ovidio. Read on for the skinny on the suspense flick, which releases theatrically March 15.
Arriving to the set of the Brad Anderson (Session 9, The Machinist) directed feature, which stars Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin (Carrie), we found the production in full swing, shooting on location in an office building in the upscale California enclave. Set against the backdrop of a 911 call center, the flick finds Berry playing ‘Jordan’, a 911 emergency operator who must face her own fears in order to save ‘Casey’ (Breslin), a teenage girl abducted by disturbed killer ‘Michael Foster’ (actor Michael Eklund).
Erected within the extensive central lobby in the center of the two-story structure was a rather believable recreation of the City of Los...
Arriving to the set of the Brad Anderson (Session 9, The Machinist) directed feature, which stars Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin (Carrie), we found the production in full swing, shooting on location in an office building in the upscale California enclave. Set against the backdrop of a 911 call center, the flick finds Berry playing ‘Jordan’, a 911 emergency operator who must face her own fears in order to save ‘Casey’ (Breslin), a teenage girl abducted by disturbed killer ‘Michael Foster’ (actor Michael Eklund).
Erected within the extensive central lobby in the center of the two-story structure was a rather believable recreation of the City of Los...
- 1/14/2013
- by Sean Decker
- DreadCentral.com
Adam Wimpenny's directorial debut comes in the form of new supernatural thriller 'Blackwood'. Production on the Wildcard Films has commenced and shooting has begun in and around London and is scheduled to continue for the next few weeks. Wimpenny helms the new British horror from a script penned by Joe Hill and a trio of Brit actors are on board. Ed Stoppard, the gorgeous Sophia Myles -below ('Spooks', 'Gallows Hill') and Russell Tovey ('Being Human', 'Grabbers') have begun shooting their leading roles in the movie and join fellow castmates Isaac Andrews, Greg Wise and the sexy Joanna Vanderham. Head below to check out the plot details....
- 12/12/2012
- Horror Asylum
We recently had the opportunity to catch up with the writer behind the upcoming supernatural thriller Gallows Hill, Richard D'Ovidio, who has made a name for himself as a successful screenwriter on several projects over the last few years including Thir13en Ghosts, Exit Wounds and Brad Anderson's next project, The Hive.
During our interview with D'Ovidio, we heard more about how his love for 70's horror films inspired his latest supernaturally-infused thriller, his experiences collaborating with director Victor Garcia and the cast of Gallows Hill, and more.
Read on for our exclusive Q&A with D'Ovidio, and look for more on Gallows Hill in the near future! In the meantime be sure to "like" Gallows Hill on Facebook.
Dread Central: Can you start off by discussing what inspired the story behind Gallows Hill?
Richard D'Ovidio: I have always been a big fan of contained thrillers, and I’ve always wanted to write one.
During our interview with D'Ovidio, we heard more about how his love for 70's horror films inspired his latest supernaturally-infused thriller, his experiences collaborating with director Victor Garcia and the cast of Gallows Hill, and more.
Read on for our exclusive Q&A with D'Ovidio, and look for more on Gallows Hill in the near future! In the meantime be sure to "like" Gallows Hill on Facebook.
Dread Central: Can you start off by discussing what inspired the story behind Gallows Hill?
Richard D'Ovidio: I have always been a big fan of contained thrillers, and I’ve always wanted to write one.
- 11/21/2012
- by thehorrorchick
- DreadCentral.com
Gallows Hill, the upcoming supernatural thriller from director Victor Garcia, is a film that only recently popped up on our radar, but once it did, we knew we wanted to hear more from the up-and-coming filmmaker, who is now currently in post-production with the project.
Peter Facinelli (The Twilight Saga flicks), Sophia Myles (Underworld) and Nathalia Ramos star in the film, which follows an American widower who flies to Colombia with his new fiancée to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter, Jill. But when a car accident leaves the group stranded at an isolated inn, it's there that they discover the old innkeeper has locked a young girl in the basement, and their decision to set her free has unintended consequences.
Written by Richard D'Ovidio, Gallows Hill was shot on location in Bogota, Colombia, and was produced by Launchpad Productions, A Bigger Boat and Bowery Hills Entertainment.
Check out our interview with Garcia below,...
Peter Facinelli (The Twilight Saga flicks), Sophia Myles (Underworld) and Nathalia Ramos star in the film, which follows an American widower who flies to Colombia with his new fiancée to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter, Jill. But when a car accident leaves the group stranded at an isolated inn, it's there that they discover the old innkeeper has locked a young girl in the basement, and their decision to set her free has unintended consequences.
Written by Richard D'Ovidio, Gallows Hill was shot on location in Bogota, Colombia, and was produced by Launchpad Productions, A Bigger Boat and Bowery Hills Entertainment.
Check out our interview with Garcia below,...
- 11/20/2012
- by thehorrorchick
- DreadCentral.com
With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us this week, the world of horror tends to slow to a crawl and here at ShockTillYouDrop.com we thought we would take this opportunity to preview what is in store for genre fans in 2013. Over the next five days we'll be previewing select titles arriving next year.
We begin with Gallows Hill, a new supernatural thriller from director Victor Garcia (pictured, left). The film, now in post-production, follows an American widowed husband who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter Jill. A car accident leaves these group stranded at a anisolated inn. There, they discover the old innkeeper has locked a young girl in the basement and their decision to set her free has unintended consequences.
Peter Facinelli (Twilight), Sophia Myles (Underworld) and Nathalia Ramos star in the film which was scripted by Richard D'Ovidio.
D'Ovidio landed on...
We begin with Gallows Hill, a new supernatural thriller from director Victor Garcia (pictured, left). The film, now in post-production, follows an American widowed husband who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter Jill. A car accident leaves these group stranded at a anisolated inn. There, they discover the old innkeeper has locked a young girl in the basement and their decision to set her free has unintended consequences.
Peter Facinelli (Twilight), Sophia Myles (Underworld) and Nathalia Ramos star in the film which was scripted by Richard D'Ovidio.
D'Ovidio landed on...
- 11/19/2012
- shocktillyoudrop.com
There are several new items of Twilight news to share today, so to keep it short and simple, here's a wrap-up of the latest! Peter Facinelli (Carlisle Cullen) has, according to The Hollywood Reporter, snagged a new film role in the supernatural thriller Gallows Hill about a widower who treks to Bogota, Colombia to pick up his daughter. He finds himself stranded at an inn where a girl is being trapped downstairs and tries to rescue her. Scary stuff ensues. Shooting on the project is expected to begin in Colombia this month. View slideshow: 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2' Catherine Hardwicke (director, Twilight), meanwhile, has landed her own new project. Per Deadline, Hardwicke - ...
- 9/14/2012
- by thetwilightexaminer
- Twilight Examiner
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