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"Queen of the Ring”, the new live-action ‘wrestling’ sports drama feature, written and directed by Ash Avildsen, chronicling the life of female wrestler ‘Mildred Burke’, stars Emily Bett Rickards (“Arrow”), Josh Lucas, Kelli Berglund and Walton Goggins (“The Shield”), now streaming on digital platforms:

“…in the early days, wrestler ‘Mildred Burke’, found it tough to make a living in professional sports…

“…even though she was a three-time women's world champion under different incarnations and recognitions.

“ As ‘Queen of the Ring’, Burke's heyday lasted from the mid-1930’s to the mid-1950’s , when she held the ‘Nwa World Women's Champion’ for almost twenty years.

“Burke started out in 1935, wrestling men at carnivals.

“She was eventually managed by her second husband, promoter ‘Billy Wolfe’ and became a .charter member of ‘WWE Hall of Fame's Legacy Wing’, ‘Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame’, ‘Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame’ and the ‘Wrestling Observer Newsletter...

“Queen of the Ring”, the new live-action ‘wrestling’ sports drama feature, written and directed by Ash Avildsen, chronicling the life of ‘Mildred Burke’, stars Emily Bett Rickards, Josh Lucas, Kelli Berglund and Walton Goggins, now streaming on digital platforms:

“…in the early days, wrestler ‘Mildred Burke’, found it tough to make a living in professional sports…

“…even though she was a three-time women's world champion under different incarnations and recognitions.

“ As ‘Queen of the Ring’, Burke's heyday lasted from the mid-1930’s to the mid-1950’s , when she held the ‘Nwa World Women's Champion’ for almost twenty years.

“Burke started out in 1935, wrestling men at carnivals.

“She was eventually managed by her second husband, promoter ‘Billy Wolfe’ and became a .charter member of ‘WWE Hall of Fame's Legacy Wing’, ‘Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame’, ‘Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame’ and the ‘Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame’…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Wrestling has long been considered primarily a men’s sport, and with huge personas like Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Andre the Giant in the late 70s and 80s, and masculinity is definitely what we’ve come to associate with the history of professional wrestling. But here we are talking about the first million-dollar female athlete in history, and she made it long before Vince McMahon revolutionized wrestling for the broader audience. In a time when two women fighting in the ring was considered illegal in most of the states of America, a waitress dared to dream big. Directed by Ash Avildsen, Queen of the Ring crackles with the same electric energy you’d expect from the most thrilling storylines in the wrestling world.

Spoilers Ahead

What happens in the movie?

Young Mildred Bliss works at a diner with her mother, Bertha, and tired from slinging burgers and fries while...

Queen Of The Ring

Ash Avildsen's Queen Of The Ring, based on Jeff Leen's 2009 biography, Queen Of The Ring: Sex, Muscles, Diamonds, And The Making Of An American Legend, is based on the real-life story of pioneering female wrestler, Mildred Burke, played by Emily Bett Rickards.

Unfortunately for ambitious single-mother Mildred Burke, women's wrestling is illegal across the United States. When she persuades wrestling heel Billy Wolfe (Josh Lucas) to train her how to wrestle, neither can imagine that they're set to make women's wrestling respectable. From shows at carnivals to sold out professional venues, they took women's wrestling to heights no one could have foreseen. However, Burke's complicated and sometimes violent relationship with Wolfe tells of the behind-the-scenes struggle for this trailblazer to hold onto her fair share of the prize.

Emily Bett Rickards is known for playing Felicity Smoak in Arrow (2012-2020), The Flash (2014-2023), Legends Of Tomorrow.

The “Summer Slaughter” tour is back for another year, and Jamey Jasta and his band Hatebreed have taken the reins for the 2025 edition of the long-running metal/hardcore package.

Hatebreed will headline a bill that features rotating support from Fugitive, Gridiron, Malevolence, Bleeding Through, Incite, Escuela Grind, and Snuffed on Sight. Dates run from July 8th in St. Petersburg, Florida, through July 28th in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Get Hatebreed Tickets Here

A Live Nation ticket pre-sale for select dates begins Thursday (May 1st) at 10 a.m. local time using the code Dance. General ticket sales start Friday (May 2nd) at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster.

A longtime staple on the extreme-metal circuit, “Summer Slaughter” returned for the first time in five years in 2024, and now the package is being booked and promoted by its creator Ash Avildsen of Sumerian Records in conjunction with Jamey Jasta and Sound Talent Group.

Screen International is tracking the key packages launched before and during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival’s market, which runs May 13-21.

Refresh the page for latest updates. Most recently announced projects top.

The Rule Of Three

Thomasin McKenzie and Katie Douglas to star in this horror from Smile producer Temple Hill Entertainment. James Roday Rodriguez directs and wrote the screenplay alongside Todd Harthan, which is based on Sam Ripley’s novel.

International sales: Protagonist Pictures

Alma

Pamela Anderson, Dakota Fanning, and Lindsay Duncan will star in Sally Potter’s latest feature about a family gathered to scatter the ashes of...

Exclusive: Myriad Pictures will launch international sales in Cannes on Queen Of The Ring, the biopic of pioneering female pro wrestler Mildred Burke starring Emily Bett Rickards, Josh Lucas, Walton Goggins, and Tyler Posey.

Myriad founder Kirk D’Amico and his team will screen the film in the market. Ash Avildsen directs from a screenplay by Avildsen and Alston Ramsay based on the book The Queen Of The Ring: Sex, Muscles, Diamonds, And The Making Of An American Legend by Pulitzer Prize winner Jeff Leen.

The feature from Intrinsic Value Films follows Burke’s career as she defies societal norms to...

Update March 10, 2025: Bong Joon Ho's Mickey 17 topped the box office in its first weekend of release, earning $19.1 million from March 7 to March 9. The Warner Bros. movie starring Robert Pattinson came in slightly under its $20 million forecast. Disney's latest Marvel movie Captain America: Brave New World held on for second place, adding $8.5 million to the film's total domestic gross of $176 million. Focus Features' Last Breath finished in third place with $4.2 million, followed by Neon's The Monkey and Sony's Paddington in Peru, each earning $3.9 million over the weekend.

Original story published March 7, 2025:What will be the winners and the losers this week at the U.S. box office? Five new movies are crashing theaters this weekend led by Mickey 17, Bong Joon Ho's follow-up to his Oscar-winning 2019 film, Parasite. They will be facing off against the current top five money-makers: Captain America: Brave New World, Last Breath,...

Often wrestling biopics are quite tragic, with the focus being on the dark side of the ring. So it’s nice when a film comes along that just wants to tell us a feel good story about the past. Sure, there’s still plenty of dark moments, it is based on real life after all, but it’s finally time to put lady wrestler’s in the spotlight; more specifically: Mildred Burke. Casual viewers may not know the name, but Burke was a pioneer for women in the sport, and the film does a great job of highlighting that. But when it comes to making a wrestling movie, it’s about so much more than the drama on screen, as the drama between the ropes has just as much weight behind it. And that can be a lot of pressure for any cast and crew. I think they pulled it...

While All Elite Wrestling fans know her as high-maintenance, low-saturation champion “Timeless” Toni Storm, moviegoers will meet her Clara Mortensen in Ash Avildsen’s Mildred Burke biopic “Queen of the Ring,” in theaters now.

As both a lifelong wrestling fan and an active participant in the sport, Storm says she was honored to embody an early women’s wrestling pioneer like Mortensen. “It was surreal for me, very surreal. Clara, she was a real person once upon a time. I felt like there was an uncanny resemblance as well. I had no idea I looked so good in yellow.”

Despite limited footage, Storm worked to nail Mortensen’s specific in-ring mannerisms. “I studied absolutely everything and really tried to nail stepping into the role of a female wrestler from the 30s and 40s. When I was filming the actual wrestling part of it, I really tried to make it look...

“Queen of the Ring” starts in the middle of a wrestling match, as an athlete musters all their determination to take control of a pivotal career match-up. The film then goes into flashback to tell the story of said athlete, Mildred Burke (Emily Bett Rickards), a female pioneer in the male-dominated professional wrestling world. Writer and director Ash Avildsen tries to show Burke’s life as a historical epic of triumph and perseverance, but he neglects to infuse it with credible dialogue or stylistic specificity.

Spanning two decades in Burke’s life, from her start in the 1930s to that aforementioned championship title in the 1950s, “Queen of the Ring” has a lot of story to cover. Avildsen, working from Jeff Leen’s book of the same name, goes about it doggedly, but with no finesse nor flair. His script is the type where characters are introduced by their full...

“I can’t sing and I can’t dance,” Mildred Burke tells her future manager, husband, business partner (and later ex-husband and rival) Billy Wolfe. “But I can tell a story and beat some ass.”

What a story, and what an ass-beating. “Queen of the Ring” is a wide-eyed and inspirational biopic about Burke, born Mildred Bliss, who defied gender norms, broke arbitrary laws separating and limiting the participation of all genders in sports, and shattered the glass ceiling. She was a single mother, an entrepreneur and I hope I never get punched as hard as she can punch. At a time when women’s wrestling was outlawed throughout much of the United States, she not only proved it could be done, but also that it could be profitable as hell.

Mildred Burke is played by Emily Bett Rickards, who is best known for playing the hacker Felicity Smoak on the superhero TV series “Arrow.

There’s a wave of new and intelligent life at the indie box office this weekend post-Academy Awards after the traditionally slow, slow period for new openings. There have been a smattering of interesting films (Universal Language for one) but things have absolutely picked up with a George R.R. Martin short story on screen, a nursing home creep-out starring John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush, the latest Atom Egoyan film, a duo that landed really well at Cannes, a Bruno Dumont sci-fi, a Bruce Labruce sex romp, an Italian box office hit and more.

Moderate-wide: Vertical opens action fantasy In The Lost Lands on 1,365 screens as the distributor continues a push to dot its schedule with more moderate-wide releases. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and based on a George R.R. Martin short story of the same name, the pic stars Milla Jovovich, Dave Bautista and Arly Jover. Log line: A...

The world of professional wrestling has always tried to blur the lines between fiction and reality, and last night's red carpet event for Queen of the Ring continued that trend when star Toni Storm got into a heated confrontation with Mariah May. For those not in the know, yes, this was a wrestling angle, but it only served to highlight the fact that the sport is nothing if not entertaining. Storm portrays Clara Mortensen in the new biopic, which comes from director Ash Avildsen and examines how wrestler Mildred Burke became the first million-dollar female athlete in history.

The brouhaha occurred during a Queen of the Ring event that had all the stars on hand to walk the red carpet for photographers and journalists. Storm was posing for the cameras when the glamorous May came out of nowhere and delivered a devastating slap that sent Storm crashing to the ground...

Plot: In a time when pro wrestling for women was illegal all over the United States, a small town single mother embraces the danger as she dominates America’s most masculine sport and becomes the first million dollar female athlete in history.

Review: Wrestling biopics prove that what happens behind the scenes in the industry, is often more entertaining than what happens between the ropes. While frequently labeled as “fake”, there’s plenty that goes into who gets the 1,2,3. The politics of who wins being settled in a real “shoot” match feels like something that only cinema can provide. Yet this was a reality back in the day, and Queen of the Ring puts these stories at the forefront, giving us an insight into the squared circle that often goes unspoken.

Emily Bett Rickards stars as Mildred Burke, a pioneer in professional wrestling. She wrestled at a time when lady...

“Queen of the Ring” is the new live-action ‘wrestling’ sports drama feature, written and directed by Ash Avildsen, chronicling the life of ‘Mildred Burke’, starring Emily Bett Rickards (“Arrow”) as ‘Millie’, with Josh Lucas, Kelli Berglund and Walton Goggins (“The Shield”), releasing March 7, 2025 in theaters:

“…in the early days, wrestler ‘Mildred Burke’, found it tough to make a living in professional sports…

“…even though she was a three-time women's world champion under different incarnations and recognitions.

“ As ‘Queen of the Ring’, Burke's heyday lasted from the mid-1930’s to the mid-1950’s , when she held the ‘Nwa World Women's Champion’ for almost twenty years.

“Burke started out in 1935, wrestling men at carnivals.

“She was eventually managed by her second husband, promoter ‘Billy Wolfe’ and became a .charter member of ‘WWE Hall of Fame's Legacy Wing’, ‘Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame’, ‘Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame’ and the ‘Wrestling Observer...

Kittie have teamed up with Diamante and The Pretty Wild for a cover of Metallica’s “The Unforgiven,” included on the soundtrack for the upcoming Sumerian Films biopic Queen of the Ring.

The cover, which also features composer Aaron Gilhuis, offers a chance for Kittie to mellow out, setting aside their usual aggressive thrash-metal sound, just like Metallica did when they recorded the iconic ballad. Kittie singer Morgan Lander and her fellow collaborators are backed by sweeping strings and acoustic instrumentation, with the song’s crescendo unfolding into a lush Celtic folk arrangement. For Metallica fans, the cover might trigger a flashback to the cinematic treatment of “Nothing Else Matters” for the Disney film Jungle Cruise.

It’s also the second cover song we’ve heard from the Queen of the Ring soundtrack to involve major metal-leaning artists. We previously reported on Corey Taylor and Bad Omens’ version of the...

Ash Avildsen adapts Jeff Leen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book following the life of the first million-dollar female athlete, Mildred Burke, in Queen of the Ring. Burke broke down barriers by wrestling men at carnivals and turning the once-illegal women’s wrestling into a revolutionary movement in the U.S. Emily Bett Rickards stars as Burke in this story of triumph, tragedy, and resilience.

Queen of the Ring Review

Queen of the Ring follows Mildred Burke, a single mom who wants to become a professional wrestler. However, with laws in place to block women from wrestling in the ring, Burke takes on men at the carnival to begin her journey to fight for women to be allowed to wrestle in squared circle.

When we meet Mildred Burke, she is down on her luck as a single mother working at a diner with her mother, seemingly with no signs of things going up.

I'm usually not the biggest of biopic fans. More often than not, they are formulaic and melodramatic, as we watch our hero rise to fame, only to lose it all, then get it back in the end. However, as a lifelong wrestling fan, Queen of the Ring, written and directed by Ash Avildsen, had me intrigued. Based on the book of the same title by Jeff Leen, Queen of the Ring tells the story of Mildred Burke (in a dazzling performance by Emily Bett Rickards), one of the very first professional wrestlers, who began her career in the 1930s and wrestled for twenty years. From the moment we meet her, Mildred knows exactly what she wants, and she won't let anyone, including the man (Josh Lucas) who got her started, stand in the way of a dream that might sound outlandish to many.

Corey Taylor and Bad Omens have teamed up for a cover of the Kansas classic “Dust in the Wind,” an inclusion on the soundtrack for the upcoming biopic Queen of the Ring.

Produced, mixed, and mastered by Aaron Gilhuis, the cover features a stunning Celtic-inspired arrangement that builds on the minimal acoustic structure of the original. Slipknot’s Taylor and Bad Omens’ Noah Sebastian put their soaring voices on display, with atmospheric reverb making their duet sound like a singular voice at times.

The soundtrack for Queen of the Ring is set to release the day the film premieres on March 7th via Sumerian Records, the label of the movie’s director/writer Ash Avildsen (American Satan).

Per a press release, Queen of the Ring “brings to life the untold story of wrestling legend Mildred Burke, who shattered barriers in the 1930s–1950s to become the first million-dollar female athlete...

Exclusive: Kasey Kitchen’s boutique entertainment and lifestyle firm Marque PR is expanding with a new Atlanta office set to open in April.

Marque PR was founded by Kitchen in 2020 and is headquartered in Los Angeles.

Clients of Marque PR include Hayden Panettiere, Peter Facinelli (Twilight franchise), Isaiah Mustafa, Steven Krueger (Yellowjackets), Toni Trucks (Seal Team) , Suzana Pires, Jae Suh Park, Kearran Giovanni (Major Crimes), Shanti Lowry, Riley Voelkel, Aleks Paunovic (Suits LA), Maz Jobrani, Daniella Monet (Victorious), Lauren Buglioli (Bad Monkey), Sarah Wynter (24), Zibby Allen (Virgin River), Alyshia Ochse (True Detective), Jenn Lyon, Susie Abromeit (The Purge), Carson Boatman (Days of Our Lives), Jessi Case (Mother’s Day), Seth Lee, Rhoyle Ivy King (All American: Homecoming), Patrick Gilmore (Travelers), Christopher Russell, Dan Payne (Virgin River), Nathaniel Potvin, Ross McCall, Andrea Laing (Yule Log), Julie Tolivar...

Universal Music Group and non-profit Music Health Alliance are launching a new mental health initiative for the music industry, they announced Thursday.

The Music Industry Mental Health Fund will “provide comprehensive, high-quality outpatient mental health resources for music industry professionals nationwide,” according to a release. “We have been working on ways to establish a streamlined pathway for mental health access, funding and care planning,” Umg’s chief impact officer Susan Mazo said in a statement.

The fund will offer musicians access to personalized recommendations for mental health professionals, grants to help with care costs and funding resource recommendations, if needed, to continue care.

“Growing and continuing our partnership with Tatum [Hauck Allsep] and the Music Health Alliance was the most natural way to ensure continuous and effective mental health support for anyone working in our industry,” Mazo said in a statement.

“Music Health Alliance possesses the comprehensive resources necessary to address the...

Queen of the Ring brings out the beast within fan-favorite Daredevil star Deborah Ann Woll.

Fans got an early look at Woll as real-life pro wrestler Gladys "Kill 'Em" Gillem in writer and director Ash Avildsen's hotly anticipated Queen of the Ring courtesy of a series a photos posted to Instagram on January 22. The images feature Woll both in and out of the ring, looking her fiercest, friendliest, and most contemplative throughout a variety of scenes and locations.

Related Martin Scorsese & Leonardo DiCaprio in Talks to Make Their Next Movie Together

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio are reportedly in talks to produce a long awaited thriller series as their next feature film instead.

Based on Jeff Leen's book The Queen of the Ring: Sex, Muscles, Diamonds, and the Making of an American Legend, Avildsen's feature film follows the life and career of Mildred Burke, portrayed by Arrowverse and...

“Queen of the Ring” is the new live-action ‘wrestling’ sports drama feature, written and directed by Ash Avildsen, chronicling the life of ‘Mildred Burke’, starring Emily Bett Rickards (“Arrow”) as ‘Millie’, with Josh Lucas, Kelli Berglund and Walton Goggins (“The Shield”), releasing March 7, 2025 in theaters:

“…in the early days, wrestler ‘Mildred Burke’, found it tough to make a living in professional sports…

“…even though she was a three-time women's world champion under different incarnations and recognitions.

“ As ‘Queen of the Ring’, Burke's heyday lasted from the mid-1930’s to the mid-1950’s , when she held the ‘Nwa World Women's Champion’ for almost twenty years.

“Burke started out in 1935, wrestling men at carnivals.

“She was eventually managed by her second husband, promoter ‘Billy Wolfe’ and became a .charter member of ‘WWE Hall of Fame's Legacy Wing’, ‘Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame’, ‘Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame’ and the ‘Wrestling Observer...

“Queen of the Ring” is the 2024 live-action ‘wrestling’ sports drama feature, written and directed by Ash Avildsen, chronicling the life of ‘Mildred Burke’, starring Emily Bett Rickards (“Arrow”) as ‘Millie’, with Josh Lucas, Kelli Berglund and Walton Goggins (“The Shield”), releasing Tba:

“…professional wrestler ‘Mildred Burke’, was a three-time women's world champion under different incarnations and recognitions.

“ Burke's heyday lasted from the mid-1930’s to the mid-1950’s , when she held the ‘Nwa World Women's Champion’ for almost twenty years.

“Burke started out in 1935, wrestling men at carnivals.

“She was eventually managed by her second husband, promoter ‘Billy Wolfe’ and became a .charter member of ‘WWE Hall of Fame's Legacy Wing’, ‘Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame’, ‘Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame’ and the ‘Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame’…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

The Queen of the Ring trailer reveals an Arrowverse star bulking up as the first-million dollar female athlete in the upcoming wrestling biopic.

Today, Sumerian shared the first official teaser trailer for Queen of the Ring. Watch it below:

More to come...

Source: Sumerian

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Queen of the Ring

Queen of the Ring chronicles the journey of Mildred Burke, a waitress who transformed into a pioneering female wrestler. Burke challenged gender norms by defeating male wrestlers and became the longest reigning champion, navigating the duality of being both a formidable brawler and maintaining her feminine identity.

Release Date  October 25, 2024Runtime  130 minutesGenres  DramaCast  Byron Johnson II, Barron Boedecker, Kailey Dawn Latimer, Brittany Baker, Toni Rossall, Trinity Fatu, Chaney Morrow, Marie Evans James, Damaris Lewis, Ash Avildsen, Marie Avgeropoulos, Jim Cornette, Gavin Casalegno, Adam Demos, Deborah Ann Woll, Walton Goggins,...

Exclusive: LA-based production company Intrinsic Value Films, coming off indie movies Queen Of The Ring and 5lbs Of Pressure, has hired Megan Freels Johnston as Head of Development, where she will manage both scripted and unscripted projects.

Johnston has worked for more than 20 years years in the entertainment industry. She will be based in Los Angeles and report to company Co-Presidents Aimee Schoof and Isen Robbins.

Intrinsic Value has produced more than 40 independent films. Previous titles include Experimenter with Winona Ryder, Tesla with Ethan Hawke and most recently, Queen Of The Ring, starring Emily Bett Rickards, Josh Lucas, Francesca Eastwood, Walter Goggins, and Tyler Posey. The latter, directed by Ash Avildsen, premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival and is continuing its festival run this winter.

Upcoming on the slate are comedy Out Of Order! with Brooke Shields, which is co-written by Johnston, drama Montauk with Molly Ringwald, and thriller...

“Queen of the Ring” is a powerful biographical film that tells the incredible story of Mildred “Millie” Burke, a trailblazing wrestler who broke glass ceilings long before it became a cultural catchphrase. The film, directed by Ash Avildsen and based on Jeff Leen’s book, tells the incredible story of a woman who converted wrestling from a male-dominated spectacle to a platform for female athletic prowess.

The film, set in 1930s and 1940s America, depicts Burke’s transformation from a struggling single mother working in a Kansas cafe to the first million-dollar female athlete in history. Her story is nothing short of revolutionary, coming at a time when women’s wrestling was neglected and frequently illegal throughout most of the United States.

Emily Bett Rickards has a standout performance, embodying Burke’s ferocious determination and complex personal life. The film does more than just praise athletic achievement; it also portrays...

Wrestling pics are having a moment. Last year saw the excellent, if unjustly ignored, The Iron Claw, about the ill-fated Von Erich brothers. Now comes Ash Avildsen’s hugely entertaining, old-fashioned biopic about Mildred Burke. If you don’t know who Burke is (and the vast majority probably don’t), this film aims to correct that. A pioneer of the sport who became the first million-dollar female athlete in history, Burke was a three-time women’s world champion from the 1930s through the 1950s, a time when women’s wrestling wasn’t even legal in most of the country. Her story fairly demands to be told, and Queen of the Ring, which served as the opening night film of the 39th annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, largely does it justice.

Based on Jeff Leen’s extravagantly titled 2009 book The Queen of the Ring: Sex, Muscles, Diamonds, and the Making...

The 2024 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival opened Nov. 8 with a screening of “Queen of the Ring,” writer-director Ash Avildsen’s biopic of female wrestler Mildred Burke starring Emily Bett Rickards, Josh Lucas, Walton Goggins and Gavin Casalegno. Marking the festival’s 39th year, the film commenced ten days of programming across seven South Florida venues, including the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award to costume designer Bob Mackie.

Speaking from the red carpet Friday night, Fliff chair Lisa Grigorian thrilled at this year’s programming. “We are so excited for this year’s festival,” Grigorian said. “We’ve got a hundred films from 35 countries — something for everybody.”

Attending the festival for the first time, “Queen of the Ring” costar Casalegno spoke about what resonated with him in Burke’s true life story. “I really wanted to make films that will make the world a better place, and I wanted to...

Kelli Berglund, who plays the heroic champion pro wrestler Crystal Tyler on Netflix's Heels, takes a turn as a villainous wrestler in Queen of the Ring. Written and directed by Ash Avildsen, Queen of the Ring is an upcoming film chronicling the life and career of Mildred Burke (Emily Bett Rickards), the first million-dollar female pro wrestler who was a superstar in the 1940s and 1950s. I was delighted to screen Queen of the Ring at the Newport Beach Film Festival, and it's a riveting and rousing pro wrestling biopic with a stellar cast from top to bottom.

In Heels, Crystal Tyler is the underdog female star of the Duffy Wrestling League (Dwl) run by Jack Spade (Stephen Amell). Crystal fights her way up from her role as the valet of Ace Spade (Alexander Ludwig) to a legitimate pro wrestler, spearheading the creation of the Dwl's women's division. In...

Before Florence Pugh breaks hearts in the upcoming A24 drama We Live in Time (co-starring Andrew Garfield), watch her break faces in the criminally underrated wrestling drama, Fighting With My Family. Written and directed by Stephen Merchant, and produced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Fighting With My Family is a dramatized version of WWE superstar Paige's journey to starring in the prestigious organization. Pugh plays a young Paige, then known as Saraya, as she gets a shot at WWE's tryouts while contending with her overbearing family and jealous brother.

Fighting With My Family is ready to jump from the top rope of Netflix's streaming library. Despite impressive reviews and a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Fighting With My Family struggled at the box office. Even with big names like Pugh, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn, Dwayne Johnson, Jack Lowden, and a roster of pro-wrestlers, the film only grossed $41.5 million during its theatrical run.

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Emily Bett Rickards & Ash Avildsen speak to MovieWeb's James Melzer about their new film, Queen of the Ring, which has been making the film festival run and premiered at the 25th annual Newport Beach Film Festival.

Queen of the Ring is an extraordinary, true-life tale that follows Mildred Burke, the legendary professional wrestler and single mom who defied incredible odds to become the first million-dollar female athlete and longest reigning champion at a time when the sport was banned across most of America.

Queen of the Ring will be hitting the following film festivals soon:

October 25 Minneapolis, Mn Twin Cities Film Festival

October 27 Wichita, Ks Tallgrass Film Festival

November 8 Ft. Lauderdale, Fl Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival Cast Q&a

November 10 Coronado Island, CA Coronado Island Film Festival

November 16 St. Louis, Mo St. Louis International Film Festival

Emily Bett Rickards has become...

System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian has unveiled his new band, Seven Hours After Violet, along with their debut single, “Paradise” (stream below).

In addition to Odadjian, Seven Hours After Violet are comprised of singer Taylor Barber (Left to Suffer), guitarist Morgoth, singer-guitarist Alejandro Aranda, and drummer Josh Johnson (Winds of Plague).

Regarding the single “Paradise,” Odadjian stated, “The song opens the album and showcases the various dynamics we explore throughout which makes it the perfect introduction to Seven Hours After Violet. I’ve been making music for over 30 years, I wanted to do something super heavy, but melodic and come back to my roots. Until this band, every side project I’ve done has been outside of the walls of heavy music.”

He continued, “I steered away from anything heavy because System of a Down is heavy. Once I started with Seven Hours After Violet, I had to let go of that.

The Mayhem Festival is back for the first time since 2015. The heavy music experience is set to take place in 2024 as a one-day event October 12th at the Glen Helen Ampitheater in San Bernardino, California, before returning to its usual traveling festival next year.

Leading the 2024 lineup are Bad Omens, Parkway Drive, Poppy, Architects, Jinjer, Kittie, and August Burns Red. The bill also features We Came As Romans, Suicide Silence, After the Burial, Born of Osiris, Seven Hours After Violet, Darkest Hour, Unearth, Holy Wars, and more.

Fans can sign up via the festival’s official website to get early access to tickets.

The original Mayhem Festival, founded by John Reese and Kevin Lyman (Warped Tour), ran from 2008 through 2015 as an annual package tour across North America. Headliners throughout the years included Slipknot, Disturbed, Rob Zombie, Avenged Sevenfold, and Slayer.

The revival of Mayhem Festival is being overseen by Sumerian Records founder Ash Avildsen,...

The long-running “Summer Slaughter Tour” is back for the first time in five years, with Veil of Maya and Brand of Sacrifice as co-headliners. Gideon, Left to Suffer, Ten56, Tallah, Cabal, and Brat are also on the bill of the 2024 edition of the extreme-metal package trek.

The outing kicks off July 12th in Brooklyn, New York, and runs through an August 10th show in Reading, Pennsylvania, making stops in such cities as Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Chicago along the way.

Get Veil of Maya Tickets Here

Tickets for the 2024 run go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster and the Summer Slaughter website. Fans can also check for deals or pick up tickets to sold-out shows via StubHub, where your purchase is 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s Fan Protect program.

The “Summer Slaughter Tour” was last staged in 2019, but has been hiatus since the pandemic put a pause on the annual outing,...

The sci-fi thriller Divinity, written and directed by Eddie Alcazar (Perfect) and produced by Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven), is set to receive a nationwide theatrical release in the United States this Friday, November 3rd – and in anticipation of this release, a red band trailer for the film has arrived online. Check it out in the embed above and see if this looks like a movie you’d like to see on the big screen.

Divinity is described as an “experimental film” that is set in an otherworldly human existence, where the creation of a groundbreaking immortality serum named Divinity is wreaking havoc. Jaxxon Pierce, the creator’s son, now controls and manufactures his father’s once-benevolent dream, and society on the barren planet has been entirely perverted by the supremacy of the drug. However, when two mysterious brothers arrive with a plan to abduct the mogul with the help of a seductive woman named Nikita,...

Exclusive: Indie distributors Utopia and Sumerian have set an October 13th nationwide theatrical release for Divinity, the sci-fi thriller starring Stephen Dorff, Bella Thorne, Scott Bakula and more, which world premiered in the Next section of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Competitors in its opening weekend at the box office will include Uni/Blumhouse’s The Exorcist: Believer, Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company’s inspirational drama Ordinary Angels with Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson, and the Spanish animation Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow.

An immersive black-and-white title from writer-director Eddie Alcazar, which is presented and executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, Divinity is set in an otherworldly human existence where scientist Sterling Pierce (Bakula) has dedicated his life to the quest for immortality, slowly creating the building blocks of a groundbreaking serum named “Divinity.” Jaxxon Pierce (Dorff), his son, now controls and manufactures his father’s once-benevolent dream,...

Poppy will unleash a new album titled Zig on October 27th via Sumerian Records. In advance of the LP’s release and a previously announced late summer co-headlining US tour with Pvris, she has dropped the single “Knockoff.”

Poppy had previously teased the new album with the strong lead single and album opener “Church Outfit” — a Heavy Song of the Week selection — back in April.

The only knock on that track was its rather brief duration, though the latest single “Knockoff” effectively mitigates that criticism. It’s the second song on the album, clocking in at three minutes, and acts as a continuation of “Church Outfit” with a strong electronic beat and full-blown industrial-pop production.

Zig will mark Poppy’s first LP since rejoining Sumerian following a brief stint with Republic Records. The label change is indicative of Poppy’s shift toward a heavier and more industrial sound over the years.

Gavin Casalegno is entering his wrestling era.

“The Summer I Turned Pretty” actor has joined director Ash Avildsen’s “Queen of the Ring,” his reps confirmed to Variety. “Queen of the Ring” follows the story of WWE Hall of Fame-inducted wrestler Mildred Burke, a world champion who broke glass ceilings throughout the course of her career from the 1930s through the 1950s.

Casalegno will play the teenage version of Joe, Burke’s son. Avildsen will direct based on a script he penned. The film is inspired by 2010’s “The Queen of the Ring: Sex, Muscles, Diamonds, and the Making of an American Legend,” a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Jeff Leen. The book which walks through Burke’s story as the longest-reigning female wrestling champion in American history.

Jim Ross, Aimee Schoof and Isen Robbins reportedly serve as producers on the film.

Following his roles on “Vampire Diaries,” “Walker” and Darren Aronofsky’s “Noah,...

Sumerian has acquired the North American rights to brutal coming-of-age story “Mascot,” which had its world premiere in January at Slamdance, and its international premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam the same month.

Sumerian is planning a limited theatrical release this year under the English title “Fortunate Son.” The pickup marks the second acquisition for Sumerian’s new film and streaming division, which launched this year.

Sumerian founder Ash Avildsen said the film is “a dark, brutally authentic and beautifully shot independent film centered around troubled youth in unorthodox households. It will undoubtedly strike a nerve with audiences who appreciate gritty arthouse drama, as it did with me.”

With his radical behavior, teenager Jerry endangers not only himself but his entire family. At first glance, Jerry seems like a normal teenager. He lives with his single mother Abbey and younger sister in a quiet coastal town and helps out...

The Dillinger Escape Plan’s 2013 album One of Us Is the Killer has inspired a new graphic novel of the same name, arriving in the near future via Sumerian Comics.

Rock & Roll Hell creators Sam Romesburg and Ben Roberts were inspired by the album title to pen the original story, which was then influenced by various concepts within the LP’s songs and lyrics. Visual artist Greg Di Angilla (Rock & Roll Hell) and colorist Warnia Sahadewa (Doctor Who) are credited with the cover art and colors, respectively.

The plot synopsis reads: “A string of assassinations made by a politically-motivated killer known only to the public as The Quill serves as the spark to ignite a full scale revolution. Set in a technologically advanced American City in the not too distant future, Vertical Integration Corp. has seized all means of production and capital available, creating a financial synergy unlike any that has ever existed.

The sci-fi thriller Divinity, written and directed by Eddie Alcazar (Perfect) and produced by Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven), had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last month, and now Variety is reporting that the film has secured a worldwide distribution deal with Utopia and Sumerian. The plan is for Divinity to have an exclusive theatrical release sometime this fall.

Divinity is described as an “experimental film” that is set in an otherworldly human existence, where the creation of a groundbreaking immortality serum named Divinity is wreaking havoc. Jaxxon Pierce, the creator’s son, now controls and manufactures his father’s once-benevolent dream, and society on the barren planet has been entirely perverted by the supremacy of the drug. However, when two mysterious brothers arrive with a plan to abduct the mogul with the help of a seductive woman named Nikita, everyone will be set on a path hurtling toward true immortality.

Utopia and Sumerian have acquired worldwide rights to Eddie Alcazar’s Sundance-premiering “Divinity.”

The film had a memorable premiere in Park City, where there was a medical incident (unrelated to the movie) during its world premiere at the Egyptian Theater. Guests in attendance — who received zines and VHS boxes upon arrival — were also treated to writer-director Alcazar showing up to the event in a terrifying mask.

Executive produced by Steven Soderbergh and starring Stephen Dorff, the experimental film is set in an otherworldly human existence, where the creation of a groundbreaking immortality serum named “Divinity” is wreaking havoc.

Jaxxon Pierce, the creator’s son (Dorff), now controls and manufactures his father’s once-benevolent dream, and society on the barren planet has been entirely perverted by the supremacy of the drug. However, when two mysterious brothers arrive with a plan to abduct the mogul with the help of a seductive woman named Nikita,...

Alex Pettyfer, Frank Grillo, Maria Bakalova and Tom Hopper are set to star in a crime drama called “Branded” that is based on a David Grann article in The New Yorker about the story of organized crime within America’s prison system.

Kieron Hawkes (“Power”) will direct the film from a script by Alessandro Camon. HanWay Films has picked-up international sales rights and will commence sales at Cannes, while CAA Media Finance is representing U.S. rights.

The film is currently in pre-production for a fall start date.

“Branded,” which is based on The New Yorker article “The Brand,” tells the origin story of organized crime gangs in America’s prison system. Pettyfer plays Taylor, a once promising football player, serving life for murdering a drug dealer. Grillo plays Carter, feared leader of the dominant white gang in San Quentin, who takes Taylor under his wing and grooms him as a future leader.

Alex Pettyfer, Maria Bakalova, Tom Hopper and Frank Grillo are set to star in Branded, based on the New Yorker article “The Brand” by New York Times bestselling author David Grann.

Kieron Hawkes (Power) directs from a screenplay by Alessandro Camon, whose work includes The Messenger and the upcoming The Listener.

Branded tells the origin story of organized crime gangs in America’s prison system. Pettyfer plays Taylor, a once promising football player, serving life for murdering a drug dealer. Grillo plays Carter, feared leader of the dominant white gang in San Quentin, who takes Taylor under his wing and grooms him as a future leader. The authorities’ attempt to break down the gang by dispersing members to other prisons only psreads its influence through the entire system, and eventually to the streets. Taylor finds himself at the center of a growing empire, earing serious money and the ability to...

“Magic Mike” star Alex Pettyfer, Frank Grillo (“Kingdom”) and “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’s” Maria Bakalova are set to star in “Branded.”

Tom Hopper will also appear in the film.

Kieron Hawkes (“Power”) is set to direct the feature, which is based on New Yorker article “The Brand” by longform journalist David Grann, whose book “Killers of the Flower Moon” has been adapted in the upcoming Martin Scorsese film of the same name. Alessandro Camon (“The Messenger”) has written the screenplay for “Branded.”

“Branded” tells the story of America’s prison gangs, with Pettyfer playing Taylor, a football player incarcerated for murdering a drug dealer who joins a white gang in San Quentin. Grillo will play the gang’s leader Carter, who sees Taylor as his future replacement.

When the authorities try to disband the gang by dispersing its members throughout the prison system, Taylor soon finds himself at the helm of a veritable criminal empire.

Film is based on an article by ‘The New Yorker’ writer David Grann.

Alex Pettyfer, Maria Bakalova, Frank Grillo and Tom Hopper will lead the cast of Kieron Hawkes’ crime drama Branded, based on an article by David Grann, a writer at The New Yorker magazine

The film is in pre-production ahead of an autumn shoot. HanWay Films has acquired international sales rights and will debut the film at Cannes; CAA Media Finance is selling for the US.

Hawkes will direct from a screenplay by Alessandro Camon, who received an Oscar nomination and won the Berlinale Silver Bear for The Messenger...

Tom Hopper, Frank Grillo also on cast.

Alex Pettyfer, Maria Bakalova, Tom Hopper and Frank Grillo will lead the cast of Kieron Hawkes’ crime drama Branded, based on an article by David Grann, a writer at The New Yorker magazine

The film is in pre-production ahead of an autumn shoot. HanWay Films has acquired international sales rights and will debut the film at Cannes; CAA Media Finance is selling for the US.

Hawkes will direct from a screenplay by Alessandro Camon, who received an Oscar nomination and won the Berlinale Silver Bear for The Messenger in 2009.

Based Grann’s 2004 article...

Season one of music competition No Cover is set to launch for free on YouTube today [April 20].

In the series, a group of artists perform their best song in front of Alice Cooper, Bishop Briggs, Gavin Rossdale, Lzzy Hale and Tosin Abasi and the judges choose one band to proceed to the finals. The season is comprised of eleven episodes that will chart the journey of the hopeful musicians until one is crowned the winner and the recipient of prizes including a contract with Sumerian Records, booking agency representation from UTA and management from the Shelter Music Group.

The series was created by music and film producer Ash Avildsen and the first two episodes will debut on the YouTube page of his Sumerian Records.

Producers told us about the YouTube release: “We are self-distributing the first season so everyone can watch for free. We will explore an exclusive music streaming partner for the second season.”

The show is filmed live at the Troubadour venue and Sunset Marquis Hotel in West Hollywood.

In 2020, Avildsen relaunched rock and roll mag Hit Parader as a TV and film and live event production studio with their first original scripted series Paradise City debuting on Amazon Prime and iTunes. No Cover is also part of the Hit Parader output.