News

Four star athletes, some already part of the burgeoning ranks of sports players in the film and television world, have come together to make up part of an all-star producing roster.

NFL quarterback Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints, NBA all-star guard Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs, retired NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks and retired NBA all-star Michael Finley have joined Argent Pictures as partners.

The Los Angeles-based film production and financing outfit is run by Jill Ahrens, Ryan Ahrens and Ben Renzo and was involved in the making of Tom Cruise’s American Made, Nate...

Constant Beta Motion Picture Company, Creative Control and Abramorama will collaborate on the theatrical distribution of “The First to Do It,” a documentary about the life and times of Earl Lloyd, the first Black American to play in the NBA. The film brings together current basketball players including Carmelo Anthony, Kawhi Leonard and Chris Paul, as well as Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson, Dave Bing and Bob Lanier. Dean Cole provides the voice of Lloyd. Abramorama is planning a wide theatrical release in February 2018. “The First to Do It” is produced by Arka Sengupta and executive produced by Michael Finley,...

Constant Beta Motion Picture Company, Creative Control and Abramorama are collaborating for the North American distribution of The First to Do It, a documentary about Earl Lloyd, the first African-American to play in the NBA. Abramorama plans a wide theatrical release for the film in February.

Directed by Coodie and Chike, First to Do It was produced by Arka Sengupta and in association with the National Basketball Players Association, and was executive produced by Michael Finley, Tony Parker, Carmelo Anthony, Kawhi Leonard, Pj Tucker, Harry I. Martin, Amit Sharma, Jason Cole, David T. Friendly, Jack Lechner, Michele Roberts and Chrysa Chin. Anthony, Leonard and Chris Paul,...

It’s well known at this point that Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation” was bought for a record-setting $17.5 million at Sundance this year, just as it’s well known that the writer/director/star — and by extension the film itself — is now mired in controversy. Less well known until now is how “The Birth of a Nation” was financed in the first place. The Hollywood Reporter broke down the $10 million that went into the project earlier this year, noting that Parker put $100,000 of his own money into it.

Read More: Nate Parker Says He Was ‘Vindicated’ in 1999 Rape Trial, Won’t Apologize

A dozen or so other sources backed him. Parker, Jason Michael Berman of Mandalay Pictures and Kevin Turen are responsible for tracking down approximately 60 percent of the film’s funding, with most of the rest coming from Aaron L. Gilbert of Bron Studios. Filmmaker Edward Zwick...

Feast your eyes on the first poster for Mike Epps’ hilarious new comedy Meet The Blacks. The film will release nationwide on April Fool’s Day (April 1st) – no joke!

In the meantime, check out the trailer.

From writer/director/producer Deon Taylor, Meet The Blacks is comedy/horror hybrid spoofing the hit film “The Purge,” and stars Mike Epps (“The Hangover,” “50 Shades of Black,” “Resident Evil: Apocalypse”), George Lopez (“Lopez Tonight,” “Swing Vote,” “Balls of Fury”), Mike Tyson (“The Hangover” series “Scary Movie 5”), Bresha Webb (NBC’s “Truth Be Told”), Zulay Henao (“True Memoirs of An International Assassin”) as well as a ‘who’s who’ of pop culture personalities including Gary Owen (“Ride Along”) Charlie Murphy (“The Chappelle Show”), Tameka “Tiny” Cottle (VH1’s Ti & Tiny with Rap artist husband Ti), gossip columnist Perez Hilton, Paul Mooney (Richard Pryor’s longtime writing partner), Vine star Andrew Bachelor, and comedians Lil Duvall,...

Jackie Earle Haley and Mark Boone Jr have joined Nate Parker’s slave drama, currently shooting in Savannah, Georgia.

The story tells of slave-preacher turned revolutionary Nat Turner, who in 1831 led the most successful slave revolt in American history.

Haley will portray slave patrol captain Raymond Cobb while Boone Jr will play Reverend Walthall, a preacher who develops a plan to use Turner to pull his owner Samuel Turner out of debt.

Parker stars alongside previously announced Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King, Aunjanue Ellis, Coleman Domingo, Dwight Henry, Roger Guenveur Smith and Gabrielle Union.

The Birth Of A Nation hails from Bron Studios, Phantom Four, Mandalay Pictures and Tiny Giant Productions in association with Follow Through Productions, Infinity Entertainment, and Creative Wealth Media Finance.

Bron’s Aaron L Gilbert produces with Parker, Kevin Turen, Jason Michael Berman and Preston Holmes.

Executive producers are David Goyer, Mike Novogratz, Michael Finley, Tony Parker, Jason Cloth, [link...

The distributor has picked up writer-director Andrew Renzi’s feature debut and recent Tribeca selection starring Richard Gere. Fortitude International handles sales in Cannes on behalf of Qed International.

Franny centres on a hedonistic philanthropist who inveigles his way into the lives of a deceased friend’s daughter and new husband.

Dakota Fanning, Theo James, Clarke Peters, Cheryl Hines and Dylan Baker round out the key cast.

Celerity Pictures and TideRock Media present Franny in association with Treehouse Pictures, Follow Through Productions, Soaring Flight Productions, Audax Films and Magnolia Entertainment.

Kevin Turen, Jason Michael Berman, Jay Schuminsky and Thomas B Fore produced.

Michael Finley, Ruth Mutch, Walter Kortschak, Justin Nappi, Richard Loughran, Shelley Browning, Michael Diamond, George Paaswell, Andrew Corkin, John Friedberg and Mark Moran are on the executive producer roster.

Samuel Goldwyn Films brokered the deal with Wme Global and CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.

That's right — "Lee Daniels' The Butler" has 39 credited producers to its name, and it isn't just Lee Daniels 39 times. We're not sure if this is a record, but we are sure that it's a lot of f**king producers.

So what, exactly, did each producer do for the movie? In a NextMovie exclusive, we've obtained a verified* list of the various roles each producer filled during the production of the film. Needless to say, each was wholly necessary to the quality of the end result.

*Note: By "verified" we mean "not verified."

Horatio Bacon: Responsible for convincing director Lee Daniels to not film the movie in 3D.

Julia Barry: Responsible with supplying the production office with the proper Nerf guns for anticipated downtime.

Len Blavatnik: Responsible for assaulting any "nerd" who insists on putting another "s" after the apostrophe in the film's title.

Charles Sauveur Bonan:...

The Weinstein Company has picked up distribution rights to his star-studded period drama The Butler, directed by Precious helmer Lee Daniels.

Based on the screenplay by Danny Strong (who just won an Emmy last night for Game Change) and Daniels, The Butler is inspired by Wil Haygood’s Washington Post article about an African-American man who served as a butler (Forest Whitaker) to eight Presidents such as Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in the White House for over thirty years.

Obviously, Harvey Weinstein has liked what he’s seen of the footage. The film, which has been shooting down in New Orleans for weeks, also stars Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Minka Kelly, Lenny Kravitz, Melissa Leo, James Marsden, David Oyelowo, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber and Robin Williams.

Hit the jump to check out the...

Filmmaker Douglas Aarniokoski's post-apocalyptic siege flick The Day is playing in limited release courtesy of WWE Studios and Anchor Bay Entertainment, and we have the verdict on whether it's victorious or if it tapped out like Triple H at Summerslam!

Click here to read our The Day review!

The Day stars Shawn Ashmore (X-Men trilogy), Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism), Michael Eklund (The Divide), Cory Hardrict (Battle Los Angeles, Gran Torino), Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings, "Lost"), and Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight’s Tale, Rules of Attraction, 40 Days & 40 Nights) and was executive produced by Douglas Aarniokoski (who also directed), Michael Finley, Tim James, Antonina Armato, and Ross M. Dinerstein (The Pact, The Divide, The Killing Room).

Related Story: Exclusive Interview: Director Douglas Aarniokoski Talks The Day, Nurse 3D and More

Synopsis

A group of five survivors, armed with shotguns, axes and machetes, wander the back roads of...

Today, August 29th, filmmaker Douglas Aarniokoski's post-apocalyptic siege flick The Day is hitting the big screen courtesy of WWE Studios and Anchor Bay Entertainment.

To get you guys ready, Dread Central recently chatted with the director about his experiences working on the ambitious indie film that was shot in only 12 days during a grisly winter up in Ottawa, Canada.

Aarniokoski also discussed how the shooting conditions affected his casting process, how the film's moody saturated look was all done in-camera by cinematographer Boris Mojsovski and his thoughts on The Day being the first acquisition of WWE Studios.

The director also teased some tidbits on his upcoming Lionsgate project, Nurse 3D, which he promises lives up to this wildly provocative posters that have been released in support of the film.

Check out our exclusive interview with Aarniokoski below and make sure to check out The Day in theaters tomorrow!

Dread...

What better way could there be to celebrate Hump Day than by digging on an exclusive clip from WWE Studios and Anchor Bay Films' provocative action thriller The Day? Well, I suppose if you took the hump part literally...

The Day stars Shawn Ashmore (X-Men trilogy), Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism), Michael Eklund (The Divide), Cory Hardrict (Battle Los Angeles, Gran Torino), Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings, "Lost"), and Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight’s Tale, Rules of Attraction, 40 Days & 40 Nights) and was executive produced by Douglas Aarniokoski (who also directed), Michael Finley, Tim James, Antonina Armato, and Ross M. Dinerstein (The Pact, The Divide, The Killing Room).

Look for it in select theatres on August 29th.

Synopsis

A group of five survivors, armed with shotguns, axes and machetes, wander the back roads of a ravaged landscape looking for refuge in The Day, a terrifying look into a post-apocalyptic future.

Several new images have come our way for WWE Studios and Anchor Bay Films' provocative action thriller The Day. Get ready to dig on every single post-apocalyptic pixel right now. Really, do it now. Would you just friggin' click already?

The Day stars Shawn Ashmore (X-Men trilogy), Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism), Michael Eklund (The Divide), Cory Hardrict (Battle Los Angeles, Gran Torino), Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings, "Lost"), and Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight’s Tale, Rules of Attraction, 40 Days & 40 Nights) and was executive produced by Douglas Aarniokoski (who also directed), Michael Finley, Tim James, Antonina Armato, and Ross M. Dinerstein (The Pact, The Divide, The Killing Room).

Look for it in select theatres on August 29th.

Synopsis

A group of five survivors, armed with shotguns, axes and machetes, wander the back roads of a ravaged landscape looking for refuge in The Day, a terrifying look into a post-apocalyptic future.

More trailer madness for you, cats. Next on tap the official trailer premiere for WWE Studios and Anchor Bay Films' provocative action thriller The Day. Click through for every single pixel that's just waiting for your perusal.

The Day stars Shawn Ashmore (X-Men trilogy), Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism), Michael Eklund (The Divide), Cory Hardrict (Battle Los Angeles, Gran Torino), Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings, "Lost"), and Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight’s Tale, Rules of Attraction, 40 Days & 40 Nights) and was executive produced by Douglas Aarniokoski (who also directed), Michael Finley, Tim James, Antonina Armato, and Ross M. Dinerstein (The Pact, The Divide, The Killing Room).

Look for it in select theatres on August 29th. Dig on the new artwork below courtesy of Bloody Disgusting.

Synopsis

A group of five survivors, armed with shotguns, axes and machetes, wander the back roads of a ravaged landscape looking for refuge in The Day,...

A new one-sheet is here for WWE Studios and Anchor Bay Films' provocative action thriller The Day, and we have the goods right here for you. Who doesn't need a little post-apocalyptic chaos added to their afternoon?

The Day stars Shawn Ashmore (X-Men trilogy), Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism), Michael Eklund (The Divide), Cory Hardrict (Battle Los Angeles, Gran Torino), Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings, "Lost"), and Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight’s Tale, Rules of Attraction, 40 Days & 40 Nights) and was executive produced by Douglas Aarniokoski (who also directed), Michael Finley, Tim James, Antonina Armato, and Ross M. Dinerstein (The Pact, The Divide, The Killing Room).

Look for it in select theatres on August 29th. Dig on the new artwork below courtesy of Bloody Disgusting.

Synopsis

A group of five survivors, armed with shotguns, axes and machetes, wander the back roads of a ravaged landscape looking for refuge in The Day,...

More mega than The Megapowers! Bigger than every Giant Machine. Slicker than the Rock and Sock Connection! The world may never be the same! Okay, so that's all a bit hyperbolic. Still, some pretty good news is coming in...

According to Deadline, WWE Studios and Anchor Bay Films have made a deal to co-distribute The Day, a provocative action thriller that premiered in the Midnight Madness section of the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. WWE Studios bought U.S. distribution rights shortly after the film’s first screening.

The Day stars Shawn Ashmore ('X-Men trilogy'), Ashley Bell ('The Last Exorcism'), Michael Eklund ('The Divide'), Cory Hardrict ('Battle Los Angeles', 'Gran Torino'), Dominic Monaghan ('The Lord of the Rings', "Lost"), and Shannyn Sossamon ('A Knight’s Tale', 'Rules of Attraction', '40 Days & 40 Nights') and was executive produced by Douglas Aarniokoski (who also directed), Michael Finley,...

WWE Studios announced today it has acquired all U.S. distribution rights to the Toronto International Film Festival cult hit The Day, Doug Aarniokoski's visceral action thriller. The film screened to sold-out crowds in the Midnight Madness section of the Festival.

"The Day is a renegade thrill-ride that will not disappoint audiences," said newly named WWE Studios President Michael Luisi. "We went to Toronto looking for films to showcase and expand the WWE Studios brand and found exactly that with Doug’s exceptional film," added Luisi.

The Day stars Shawn Ashmore ('X-Men trilogy'), Ashley Bell ('The Last Exorcism'), Michael Eklund ('The Divide'), Cory Hardrict ('Battle Los Angeles', 'Gran Torino'), Dominic Monaghan ('The Lord of the Rings', "Lost"), and Shannyn Sossamon ('A Knight’s Tale', 'Rules of Attraction', '40 Days & 40 Nights') and is executive produced by Aarniokoski, Michael Finley,...

WWE Studios announced today they have acquired distribution rights to the indie thriller The Day. We also have five character posters from The Day, which feature the main characters Shawn Ashmore, Ashley Bell, Cory Hardrict, Dominic Monaghan, and Shannyn Sossamon. You can read the full press release below the character posters.

WWE Studios announced today it has acquired all Us distribution rights to the Toronto International Film Festival cult hit The Day, Douglas Aarniokoski's visceral action thriller. The film screened to sold-out crowds in the Midnight Madness section of the Festival. WWE will use its television, digital/social media and print assets, which reach more than 20 million people domestically each week, to help market the release of film.

"The Day is a renegade thrill-ride that will not disappoint audiences," said newly named WWE Studios President, Michael Luisi. "We went to Toronto looking for films to showcase and expand the...

Exclusive: In a deal that just kisses seven-figures, WWE Studios has acquired U.S. distribution rights to The Day, the Douglas Aarniokoski-directed post apocalyptic thriller that played last night in the Midnight Madness program. WWE Studios is a surprise combatant in the film acquisitions ring, but newly named WWE Studios president Michael Luisi said the company will use its TV, digital/social media and print assets–which reach more than 20 million people each week–to generate heat for the film. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, five survivors wander along the back roads, trying to survive. Food and ammunition is dwindling and their attempt at seeking shelter leads them into a battleground where they must make a final stand. The film takes place over a nightmarish 24 hours. Shawn Ashmore, Ashley Bell, Michael Eklund, Cory Hardrict, Dominic Monaghan and Shannyn Sossamon star. The soundtrack is by Rock Mafia. The film first screened for media on Monday,...

With the Toronto International Film Festival getting ready to open up its doors, films are already landing distro. Case in point: director Doug Aarniokoski post-apocalyptic thriller The Day.

As per Preferred Content:

"[We are] representing international rights, and Kevin Iwashina of Preferred Content is handling North American rights. The Day will have its world premiere screening at Tiff in the Midnight Madness section."

The Day stars Shawn Ashmore ('X-Men trilogy'), Ashley Bell ('The Last Exorcism'), Michael Eklund ('The Divide'), Cory Hardrict ('Battle Los Angeles', 'Gran Torino'), Dominic Monaghan ('The Lord of the Rings', "Lost"), and Shannyn Sossamon ('A Knight’s Tale', 'Rules of Attraction', '40 Days & 40 Nights') and is executive produced by Aarniokoski, Michael Finley, Tim James, Antonina Armato, and Ross M. Dinerstein ('The Pact', 'The Divide', 'The Killing Room').

The film is a...

Some Tiff pics are already starting to pick up distribution and the post apocalyptic thriller The Day is one of them. Per Content, "[we are] representing international rights and Kevin Iwashina of Preferred Content is handling North American rights. The Day will have its world premiere screening at Tiff in the Midnight Madness section." The Day stars "Shawn Ashmore ('X-Men trilogy'), Ashley Bell ('The Last Exorcism'), Michael Eklund ('The Divide'), Cory Hardrict ('Battle Los Angeles', 'Gran Torino'), Dominic Monaghan ('The Lord of the Rings', "Lost"), Shannyn Sossamon ('A Knights Tale', 'Rules of Attraction', '40 Days & 40 Nights') and is executive produced by Aarniokoski, Michael Finley, Tim James, Antonina Armato and Ross M. Dinerstein ('The Pact', 'The Divide', 'The Killing Room')." Check out the trailer again after the jump!

'My personality as a humble person kinda doesn't contribute to letting people know what I do or how I do it,' he says.

By Shaheem Reid

Twista

Photo: Gmg

When you look at the criteria to make our Hottest MCs in the Game list, the first thing the MTV News Hip-Hop Brain Trust analyzes is artists' lyrics, flow and how they implant their gift of gab into hit songs and albums.

Going off that alone, Twista definitely has an almost airtight case to make this year's list. The Chicago legend has been a song assassin. Rappers from Jay-z to Ugk have called him to out and out murder their tracks with a cameo appearance. Just for his nonstop rapid flow alone, Twista has earned himself a spot with the all-time coldest on the microphones. Still, Twista has yet to make a Hottest MCs list.

Could 2009 be Twista's year? His...