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“America is the final girl, and I hope she survives.”

Salem Horror Fest‘s eighth annual event kicked off last night at Salem’s Peabody Essex Museum, and festival manager Leslie Adams‘ brief opening statement — which concluded with the above quote — assured attendees that the event remains steadfast in its mission to cultivate a safe, inclusive, and fun community for genre fans.

This year’s festival is the first under the new leadership of Horror Arts Collective — formed by legacy staff members in the wake of founder Kay Lynch stepping down last year — but the team upholds the ethos instilled by Lynch, who cheered on her successors from the front row like a proud mom.

The new guard also upheld the tradition of kicking off with a memorable opening night headlined by a horror icon, with Hellraiser‘s Ashley Laurence serving as this year’s guest of honor. Media personality...

Dwayne Johnson's intriguing collaboration with Uncut Gems co-director Benny Safdie has landed a fall release date, putting it in the upcoming Oscar race. Johnson is set to star in The Smashing Machine, the biopic of Mma fighter Mark Kerr and is directed by Benny Safdie, one half of the directing duo The Safdie Brothers, who previously directed Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems and Robert Pattinson in Good Time. Johnson will co-star with Emily Blunt, with whom he previously worked on The Jungle Cruise. Johnson is also producing the film through his company, Seven Bucks Productions, alongside A24.

According to Deadline, A24 has set The Smashing Machine for an October 3, 2025, release date. The news came shortly after it was reported that Lionsgate would remove their Michael Jackson biopic Michaelfrom that date. The Smashing Machine will now open opposite the crime drama Roofman starring Channing Tatum, the Christmas comedy The Man with the Bag,...

Exclusive: A24’s Dwayne Johnson-starring and Benny Safdie-directed The Smashing Machine, about Mma fighter Mark Kerr, has set a theatrical release date of October 3, 2025.

The news comes in the wake of Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic Michael looking to vacate that date as it mulls a two-part release strategy. The Smashing Machine now pushes its way onto a weekend against Paramount’s Derek Cianfrance-directed Roofman starring Channing Tatum, and Neon’s next Oz Perkins horror film The Keeper. That’s the quite the auteur brawl.

Safdie also wrote and produced Smashing Machine, which features Johnson’s The Jungle Cruise co-star Emily Blunt.

Pic follows Kerr (Johnson) from the no-holds-barred era of the UFC at the peak of his career as he questions himself and struggles with life and his relationships. Meanwhile, Mark’s girlfriend Dawn Staples (Blunt) struggles as well to find her place in Mark’s chaotic and contradictory world.

Horror fans at the American Film Market (AFM) are in for a frightful treat as Film Mode Entertainment presents its latest horror-thriller, Chateau. Directed by Luke Genton, known for his work on Snow Falls and The Keeper, Chateau stars Cathy Marks and Colton Tran and marks its debut market screening at AFM.

Chateau tells the story of Olivia (played by Marks), an aspiring influencer on a quest for more followers during a trip to France. Intrigued by the eerie aura of a mysterious chateau with a shadowy history, she decides to sneak onto the property for an exclusive live-stream experience. But as the broadcast begins, Olivia’s seemingly thrilling adventure unravels into a terrifying ordeal. Dark, unseen forces emerge, intent on ensuring she doesn’t leave. With every corner haunted and every sound amplified, her digital quest for fame becomes a brutal struggle for survival.

For director Luke Genton, Chateau...

For years, Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net has been about two things only – awesome art and the artists that create it. With that in mind, we thought why not take the first week of the month to showcase these awesome artists even more? Welcome to “Awesome Artist We’ve Found Around The Net.” In this column, we are focusing on one artist and the awesome art that they create, whether they be amateur, up and coming, or well established. The goal is to uncover these artists so even more people become familiar with them. We ask these artists a few questions to see their origins, influences, and more. If you are an awesome artist or know someone that should be featured, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com.This month we are very pleased to bring you the awesome art of…

Adam Young...

Though I'm excited about it, all the hype building for the 'Salem's Lot reboot this year only makes me more disappointed that a relatively recent TV show based on Stephen King's vampire stories wasn't more successful: Chapelwaite. The long-gestating 'Salem's Lot remake is finally coming to Max on October 3, and it's been eagerly awaited by Stephen King fans like me. It tells the story of writer Ben Mears, who returns to his temporary boyhood home of Jerusalem's Lot to write a novel only to discover that a creeping, malevolent evil is taking over the town.

'Salem's Lot was Stephen King's first real foray into the world of vampires, and, as with so many things King, it evolved over time into his own expansive lore. An important part of that lore is the short story "Jerusalem's Lot," which hasn't gotten nearly as many adaptations as 'Salem's Lot.

Paying Tribute tells the story of a veteran named George who hiked the entire 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail to honor his fallen comrades. Directed by Angus Benfield and Kendall Bryant, The Keeper follows George as he carries the name tags of 363 veterans who lost their lives to suicide.

After losing his best friend in a failed attempt, George sets out on a solo mission to raise awareness of the crisis among former military members. He hopes his journey will prevent others from sharing the same tragic fate.

On his walk from Maine to Georgia, George encounters other hiker veterans who provide company and meaning along the way. Their shared bond and understanding offer solace during challenging times on the trail. While shouldering immense grief, George discovers healing and purpose through celebrating the lives of those he carries with him each step of the nature-filled path.

A Veteran’s Heavy Burden

After...

Film Mode Entertainment has closed a raft of deals on its elevated genre films The Last Stop In Yuma County and The Keeper as sales talks continue here.

Francis Galluppi’s Yuma County has sold to the UK (Arrow Films), France (Jokers), Germany (Pandastorm), Scandinavia (Smile), Spain (Yoda Films), Benelux (Premiere TV Distribution), and airlines (Ricochet Digital Media).

Richard Brake, Jim Cummings, and Jocelin Donahue star in the story about a traveling knife salesman stranded at an isolated rest stop who unwittingly walks into a violent hostage situation. Well Go USA holds North American rights.

Randy Couture starrer The Keeper...

This just in — Angus Macfadyen (Braveheart), Jamie King (Sin City), Doug Jones (The Shape Of Water), Corbin Bernsen (LA Law), and Angus Benfield (Inventing Anna), have just joined the cast of Mark Furmie’s upcoming action-thriller The Weight of Darkness. The film marks the first collaboration between Benfield’s Lama Entertainment and Rezistor Films with Simone Bonser (The Keeper) coming on board as the producer.

Film Mode is lining up talks at EFM this week on two genre titles after acquiring international sales on Sitges award winner The Last Stop In Yuma County and The Keeper.

Well Go USA holds North American rights to Francis Galluppi’s crime thriller The Last Stop In Yuma County. The feature centres on a travelling knife salesman stranded at an isolated rest stop when two fugitive bank robbers arrive.

The ensemble cast is led by Richard Brake (Barbarian), Jim Cummings (The Wolf Of Snow Hollow), Jocelin Donahue (The House Of The Devil), Sierra McCormick (The Vast Of Night), Nicholas Logan...

Launching this fall: Shook! Songs Of The Dark Sirens: "Coming to Kickstarter this month, Second Sight Publishing has once again gathered an award-winning team of Black comic writers and artists in the follow up volume of its hit horror anthology, Shook! A Black Horror Anthology.

COO of Second Sight Publishing, Marcus Roberts, has announced the lineup for the follow up volume of the history making Shook! A Black Horror Anthology which will be coming to comic bookstores and other retail outlets Jan 2024 through Dark Horse Comics. Roberts states that a Kickstarter for the project will launch this month. The volume, entitled Shook! Songs Of The Dark Sirens will once again feature a group of the top Black writers and artists in comics along with talented newcomers and is continuing in the tradition of volume 1. “We have brought in people like Alitha Martinez, Tananarive Due, and Micheline Hess to name few,...

A week in, and the Indiegogo campaign for the Resident Evil fan film The Keeper’s Diary: A Biohazard Story is already at 44% funding with 20 days left. Director/producer Andrew Saullo and team are still forging ahead with preparations for the shoot, and have shared a behind-the-scenes look at one of the sets for the film.

Courtesy of Will at Resident Evil Central, the set in question is of The Keeper’s Room, specifically modelled after the 2002 remake of Resident Evil. On top of showing The Keeper slowly succumbing to the T-Virus infection, will the film include just how that zombie ended up in the closet? We’ll have to wait and see.

Of course, that all depends on the film getting its funding, which is an “all or nothing” project.

Inspired by the original Resident Evil and its 2002 remake, The Keeper’s Diary is an adaptation of the diary...

Jewish streaming platform ChaiFlicks is launching an all-new slate of TV programs and films set to begin rolling out in August. Programming includes “Wartime Girls,” the Israeli series “The New Black (Shababnakim)” and drama series “Normal” from Lior Dayan and Dori Media.

The new program additions follow “The Lesson,” which debuted earlier this summer. Starting in August, documentary series “The Hebrews” (August 2) and drama film “Those Who Remained” (August 8) will debut on ChaiFlicks, followed by “The Elected” on September 7.

“Normal,” the semi-autographical story from Dayan (the son of Israeli actor/writer Assi Dayan and grandson of Israeli military leader Moshe Dayan), will join ChaiFlicks on October 4, and “Wartime Girls” Season 4 will hit the streamer in December.

On December 20, ChaiFlicks will premiere the fourth season of “Wartime Girls,” which centers on three young Polish women as they fight Nazi occupation during World War II.

ChaiFlicks is also hosting the inaugural Free Summer Film Festival,...

For those Resident Evil fans wondering just what’s going on with director/producer Andrew Saullo‘s fan film The Keeper’s Diary, the team dropped us a line to give a small update on the film.

As you might recall, Saullo, together with the folks at Residence of Evil, dropped a trailer last August for the film, which is now aiming to launch a Kickstarter campaign next month at the earliest for funding the project. In addition, Saullo has relocated production from Germany (where production on the film was taking place) to work with Andy from Biohazard Declassified in order to help launch the crowdfunding campaign, as well as help manage the social media aspects.

Once again, this is all separate from Residence of Evil’s own film about The Keeper’s Diary called The Keeper, which will be directed by Shawn Lebert.

For those unaware, “The Keeper’s...

On the JoBlo Movies YouTube channel, we will be posting one full movie every other day throughout the week, giving viewers the chance to watch them entirely free of charge. The Free Movie of the Day we have for you today is the 2004 thriller The Keeper, starring Dennis Hopper and Asia Argento. You can watch it over on the YouTube channel linked above, or you can just watch it in the embed at the top of this article.

Directed by Paul Lynch from a screenplay by Gerald Sanford, The Keeper has the following synopsis: When an apparently exemplary cop abducts and secretly imprisons a beautiful dancer, a deadly battle of wills between captor and captive ensues.

Hopper and Argento are joined in the cast by Helen Shaver, Lochlyn Munro, Charles Frederick, Alex Zahara, Alejandro Abellan, Fred Keating, Philip Granger, Joe McCoy, Angela Uyeda, Brad Loree, Robert Saunders, Charlie Gudgeon, Garfield Wilson,...

Jennifer Hudson, Trevor Noah and Viola Davis are among the winners from the second night of the NAACP Image Awards‘ non-televised ceremonies.

Hudson won for hosting her eponymous daytime talk show, while the Noah-hosted Daily Show won best variety or game show series or special and Davis, just a little over two weeks after achieving Egot status with her Grammy win, took home the award for best literary work, non-fiction for Finding Me.

Other high-profile winners Tuesday night, which featured literary, variety show, reality program and news information categories, include Michael K. Williams and Jon Sternfeld’s Scenes from My Life and Stacey Abrams for outstanding literary work – children for Stacey’s Remarkable Books, written with Kitt Thomas.

Additionally, Lizzo’s reality TV series Watch Out for the Big Grrrls added to its trophy collection, winning best reality program, competition or game show series. And Robin Roberts’ conversation with Michelle Obama...

Bloody Disgusting has an exclusive look at the trailer and art for Wolf Manor, described as a “full-throttle, gore-filled tale” of a film crew caught in the claws of a manor house’s resident werewolf.

Directed by Dominic Brunt, the film was shot in three weeks in locations in Shropshire.

In the film…

During filming of a British, low-budget horror movie, the cast and crew begin disappearing. As the full moon rises, the nightmare begins, and the werewolf strikes.

Wolf Manor’s creature design was created by renowned special make-up effects artist Shaune Harrison with make-up design by Katie Wrigley.

It stars James Fleet (“Bridgerton”, Operation Mincemeat), Jay Taylor (Donkey Punch, Misfits), Thaila Zucchi (Evie, Attack of the Adult Babies), Rupert Procter, and John Henshaw (The Keeper, Looking For Eric).

Wolf Manor will be available to own or rent on DVD & Digital Download on January 9, 2023.

The post ‘Wolf Manor’ Trailer...

Dark Sky Films has announced that they will be giving the film Sinphony: A Clubhouse Horror Anthology a theatrical release on October 21st – and with that release just one month away, we’ve gotten our hands on the trailer for the film. Check it out in the embed above!

Dark Sky will also be giving Sinphony a digital and VOD release on October 21st.

Sinphony has an interesting back story, as all of the stories that make up this anthology were conceived and curated on the audio-based social media app Clubhouse, “where users can communicate in audio chat rooms that accommodate groups of thousands of people.” The stories told in Sinphony include “an innkeeper’s growing concern about his secretive new guests; a contractor who inhales mold spores that lead to murder; a couple confronting the fact that one of them is a ghost; a witch protecting her child from...

On October 21st, Dark Sky Films will bring the highly anticipated release of Sinphony: A Clubhouse Horror Anthology to theaters and digital/VOD platforms, Bd has learned.

What makes this particular anthology unique? These nine visions of horror were conceived of and curated entirely on Clubhouse, the audio-based social media platform for casual, drop-in audio chats with friends and new people around the world to tell stories, ask questions, debate, learn, and have impromptu conversations on thousands of different topics.

Sinphony: A Clubhouse Horror Anthology features a group of international filmmakers each exploring a character dealing with tragedy caused by a supernatural entity.

The directors contributing segments to the film include a new who’s who of horror: Haley Bishop, Jason Ragosta, Sebastien Bazile & Michael Galvan, Mark Pritchard, Kimberley Elizabeth, Jason Wilkinson, Nichole Carlson, Steven Keller and Wes Driver.

Sinphony’s shocking stories include: an innkeeper’s growing concern about...

Earlier this week, director/producer Andrew Saullo dropped the trailer for his upcoming Resident Evil fan short The Keeper, while also promising more goodies related to the shoot. Well, the first one dropped yesterday, with the trio of original Resident Evil cast members from the game sitting down for a little chat.

If you missed it, Saullo originally had contacted the three actors to audition for the role in The Keeper, with Kraslavsky winning the part. But, seeing as the cast had never sat down to chat about their experience working on Resident Evil together, it only made sense to do do. The trio in fact will be reprising their iconic roles in a separate short directed by Saullo.

“For me, it’s just like a dream come true,” says Kraslavsky when asked about stepping into the boots of Chris Redfield once again. “Over the years, I’ve been contacted...

Okay, so Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City wasn’t to everyone’s tastes, but just like the video games, leave it to the fans to be making amends. Case in point: director/producer Andrew Saullo is currently working on an adaptation of The Keeper’s Diary starring Charlie Kraslavsky from the original live-action cutscene for Resident Evil.

For those unaware, “The Keeper’s Diary” refers to the file written by an Umbrella researcher responsible for the Arklay Laboratory’s animals being prepped for experimentation. This is the one involving the famous “Itchy. Tasty.” line. Saullo had auditioned Kraslavsky, Greg Smith and Eric Pirius for the role of the ill-fated Umbrella researcher known as The Keeper for the short, with Kraslavsky being selected. Don’t feel bad for Pirius and Smith, as you’ll soon read later.

Saullo has partnered up with the folks at Residence of Evil to...

Seemingly coming out of nowhere, the werewolf horror-thriller Wolf Manor, from actor and director Dominic Brunt has entered post-production. Directed by Brunt, the full-throttle, gore-filled film is the tale of a film crew caught in the claws of a manor house’s resident werewolf, was shot in three weeks in locations in Shropshire.

Shooting a vampire flick in an old, abandoned manor house should have worked like a dream, but the film crew are out of their depth, over schedule and desperate to get the shoot finished and go home. However, as the moon turns full, the nightmare begins. Blood flows and the body count rises as cast & crew meet the manor’s resident werewolf…

Brunt’s UK-produced film, which was written by Pete Wild and Joel Ferrari, stars James Fleet, Jay Taylor, Thaila Zucchi, Rupert Procter and John Henshaw. Wolf Manor’s creature design was created by renowned special make-up effects artist Shaune Harrison.

The film is produced by Backscatter Productions, Lunapark Pictures.

Screen Star of Tomorrow 2021 Thalissa Teixeira will star in the first section of Kink, an anthology film about desire, intimacy and sexuality that is the debut directorial feature of UK filmmaker Freya Mavor.

Written by Mavor, the first part of the feature will shoot in the UK at the end of March, with further parts from different writers filming across the next 12 months. Each segment will run between 20-40 minutes, with Mavor directing and curating the entire project.

It is produced by Isabella Speaight and Molly Murphy of Backscatter Productions, with Pietro Greppi of Lunapark Pictures.

Berlin-based sales agency Picture Tree Intl. has added to its European Film Market slate “Love Thing,” starring top German actor Elyas M’Barek, whose credits include “The Collini Case.” Also on the slate is “Soul of a Beast,” which debuts its trailer below.

Despite the virtual nature of the EFM, the company has taken additional office space at the Marriott Hotel in Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz.

“Love Thing,” which also stars Lucie Heinze, Peri Baumeister and Alexandra Maria Lara, is directed and written by Anika Decker, whose last feature “High Society” sold widely. Decker scripted box office successes like “Rabbit Without Ears,” which grossed $85 million.

“Love Thing” is produced by German production-distribution powerhouse Constantin Film, which has set its release for July 7. The producers are Rüdiger Böss and Philipp Reuter; the co-producers are Anika Decker and Jan Decker; and the executive producer is Martin Moszkowicz. Picture Tree will present a first teaser trailer to select buyers.

Exclusive: Industry and Skins star Freya Mavor has joined the cast of UK thriller Freegard, which is filming in London.

As previously revealed, cast is led by James Norton (Little Women), Gemma Arterton (The King’s Man), Shazad Latif (Star Trek Discovery), Marisa Abela (Industry), Edwina Findley (The Wire), Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh), Sarah Goldberg (Barry) and Jimmy Akingbola (In The Long Run).

Rounding out the cast are Rob Malone (Vikings), Philip Wright (Line Of Duty), Micheal Fenton Stevens (Benidorm) and Charlotte Avery (Doctors).

Based on true events, the movie will chart the story of career conman, Robert Freegard, played by Norton, with Gemma Arterton as the woman who brought him down.

Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn — who won an IFTA last night for their short film Rough — are directing from a script by Michael Bronner (The Mauritanian), Patterson and Lawn (The Salisbury Poisonings). Rabbit Track Pictures and The Development Partnership...

The Munich-based independent has picked eight titles.

New films by Renny Harlin and Aisling Walsh are among eight titles acquired in all rights deals by German distributor SquareOne Entertainment.

The Munich-based independent picked up three titles from the Highland Film Group; action movie veteran Renny Harlin’s heist thriller Misfits, now in postproduction and starring Pierce Brosnan, Nick Cannon and Tim Roth, and two projects in pre-production The Lair and Not Without Hope.

Horror The Lair, directed by Neil Marshall, is about a fighter pilot shot down in Afghanistan who ends up in a disused bunker full of mutated monsters.

Picture Tree International has picked up world sales rights to animated feature “Snotty Boy,” which will world premiere in the main competition section of the Annecy Film Festival. The film is produced by Josef Aichholzer, whose credits include Oscar winner “The Counterfeiters.” Picture Tree has released the first trailer.

“Snotty Boy” is based on the art and childhood of Austrian artist Manfred Deix, whose admirers included Hollywood director Billy Wilder. It is set in the 1960s in the reactionary and ultra-Catholic village of Siegheilkirchen, where the gifted son of a hard-working innkeeper, called Snotty Boy, saves the live of the ravishingly pretty Mariolina from the malicious persecution by the village’s rightwing political die-hards.

The film is directed by Spaniard Santiago Lopez Jover, whose credits as an animator include “A Hologram for the King” and “Song of the Sea,” and Germany’s Marcus H. Rosenmüller, who directed “The Keeper” (Trautmann) and “Grave Decisions,...

The Keeper (Trautmann) Menemsha Films Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Marcus H. Rosenmüller Writer: Robert Marciniak, Marcus H. Rosenmüller, Nicholas J. Schofield Cast: David Kross, Freya Mavor, John Henshaw, Harry Melling, Michael Socha, Dave Johns Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 9/26/20 Opens: October 2, 2020 Do you […]

The post The Keeper Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Festival adds ‘Quiz’ series with Matthew Macfadyen, Sian Clifford.

Franco-uk event the Dinard Film Festival will open its 31st edition with Days Of The Bagnold Summer, the directorial debut of The Inbetweeners star Simon Bird.

The event will run from September 30 to October 4 and is scheduled to go ahead as a physical event.

The festival will also screen ITV series Quiz starring Matthew Macfadyen and Sian Clifford, telling the true story of Major Charles Ingram and his wife Diana, who were accused of cheating on UK TV show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in 2001.

Produced by Left Bank Pictures,...

Festival adds ‘Quiz’ series with Matthew Macfadyen, Sian Clifford.

Franco-British event Dinard Film Festival will open its 31st edition with Days Of The Bagnold Summer, the directorial debut of The Inbetweeners star Simon Bird.

The event will run from September 30 to October 4 and is currently scheduled to go ahead as a physical event.

The festival will also screen ITV series Quiz starring Matthew Macfadyen and Sian Clifford, telling the true story of Major Charles Ingram and his wife Diana, who were accused of cheating on UK TV show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in 2001.

Produced by Left Bank Pictures,...

“It will be different, but it will be!”

Dinard Film Festival, the event for British cinema held every year in northern France, has confirmed it will run from September 30 – October 4 with the presence of international guests to be “determined later this summer”.

The festival said the other three of four “foundations” of the festival will continue: British films, in Dinard cinemas, with French audiences.

Other film events currently scheduled to take place in September include Venice (September 2-12), Toronto (September 10-20), San Sebastian (September 18-26), and Zurich (September 24-October 4).

“All the measures necessary to guarantee the health and safety of...

It is also putting three planned theatrical releases on hold until later in 2020.

UK distributor Parkland Entertainment has revealed plans to release a raft of new titles onto digital platforms early, including three new acquisitions, as cinemas remain closed nationwide due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Astronaut, starring Richard Dreyfuss, was set to be released on 65 screens on March 20 – three days before theatres shut their doors – but will now be available to rent and own from digital platforms on April 27.

Documentary Camino Skies will be released as a premium VOD title on Curzon Home Cinema from May 8, the original theatrical release date,...

This breezy German comedy-thriller follows an unscrupulous wheeler-dealer with an illegal get-rich-quick scheme

This breezy, sleazy comedy-thriller from Germany has as its original title Betonrausch: literally, concrete-drunk or concrete-crazy – the state of ecstasy induced by speculating in the housing market and making money apparently out of nothing and nowhere. The star is David Kross, who played the seduced boy opposite Kate Winslet in The Reader and Manchester City’s famous injured footballer Bert Trautmann in the recent film The Keeper.

In an unfortunate twist of fate, Dave Johns, who shot to fame as the star of Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or and BAFTA-winning social realist drama I, Daniel Blake, says he has been told to claim employment benefits due to coronavirus disrupting his work.

The actor and comedian made his film debut as the titular character in Loach’s 2016 film, playing a man who, after suffering a heart attack, can’t return to work and has to navigate the UK’s employment support allowance system.

More from Deadline'Grey's Anatomy', 'Station 19', 'The Good Doctor' Among Medical Shows Donating Supplies Amid Coronavirus CrisisUK Cinemas & Theatres Ordered To Close Tonight Amid Coronavirus BattlePresident Donald Trump Goes Off On NBC News' Peter Alexander During Coronavirus Press Briefing

Since then, Johns has had roles in UK box office smash Fisherman’s Friends, and soccer biography The Keeper. Upcoming he has comedy Blithe Spirit,...

23 Walks is directed by Paul Morrison, Oscar-nominated for his debut feature Solomon & Gaenor.

UK outfit Parkland has struck a double deal on romantic drama 23 Walks, starring Alison Steadman and Dave Johns.

Distributor Parkland Entertainment will release the film in the UK and Ireland, while Parkland Pictures will look after the international sales for the rest of the world.

23 Walks is directed by Paul Morrison, Oscar-nominated for his debut feature Solomon & Gaenor, and whose other credits include Little Ashes and Wondrous Oblivion.

For Parkland, the deal was negotiated by Tom Stewart and Andrew Brown. For the production, the deal...

The 2020 Sundance Film Festival has broken a record weeks before it begins: Of the 16 films in Dramatic Competition, seven tell stories primarily about the lives of black characters: “The 40-Year-Old Version,” “Charm City Kings,” “Farewell Amor,” “Miss Juneteenth,” “Nine Days,” “Sylvie’s Love” and “Zola.”

Surveying the last 30 years of Sundance, there’s usually been at least one in-competition film with black leads. In 1992 and 1989, there was one black film in competition, while 1993 had two. But prior to 2020, there had never been more than five.

Black filmmakers saw a renaissance in the late ’80s and early ’90s, a period that introduced Spike Lee, Wendell B. Harris Jr, Robert Townsend, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Julie Dash, Matty Rich, the Hudlin Brothers, Leslie Harris, and others. Some of their films premiered and competed at Sundance, but even then they never composed a significant presence.

Between 1989 and 1993, a total of 10 films with black leads...

The post-war romance picked up two awards.

Marcus H. Rosenmuller’s The Keeper, about acclaimed German prisoner of war-turned-footballer Bert Trautmann and his romance with an English woman, won the Golden Hitchcock for best film at the Dinard Film Festival on Saturday, September 28.

The film also picked up the audience award at the festival, which showcases UK films to French audiences.

The Keeper is produced by Chris Curling for Zephyr Films, Steve Milne for British Film Company (both UK operations), and Robert Marciniak for Germany’s Lieblingsfilm.

It tells the story of Bert Trautmann, a German prisoner of war in...

Marcus H Rosenmüller’s German-uk co-production has pulled off a double win, having been awarded by both the jury and the audience at the 30th Dinard Film Festival. Amidst today’s European geopolitical climate plagued by the constant toing and froing of Brexit, the jury of the 30th Dinard Film Festival, dedicated to British cinema, has sent a crystal-clear message by handing the Golden Hitchcock Grand Jury Prize for Best Film to a co-production between Germany and the UK, a feature that is also symbolic of the reconciliation between the peoples of different countries: The Keeper by Marcus H Rosenmüller. This view was shared by the viewers as well, as the movie also took home the Audience Award.First unveiled at the Zurich Film Festival and screened at the Berlinale (as part of the Lola programme), the film, starring Davis Kross, Freya Mavor, John Henshaw and Gary Lewis, depicts the extraordinary life and.

Film premiered at this year’s Edinburgh film festival.

UK distributor Parkland Entertainment has picked up Shelagh McLeod’s space drama Astronaut, which stars Richard Dreyfuss as a widower who enters a competition to win a trip to space.

The film premiered at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival. Parkland is lining up a theatrical release in early 2020 across the UK and Ireland.

Producers on the project are Jessica Adams and Sean Buckley. It marks the feature directing debut of UK-based Canadian actress McLeod, who also wrote the screenplay.

Parkland Entertainment was launched last year by former Arrow Films...

‘Defend, Conserve, Protect.’

Disney’s The Lion King roared through its second weekend in Australia as the studio smashed its own annual global box office record set in 2016 last weekend.

Meanwhile Defend, Conserve, Protect, Stephen Amis’ feature doc which examines the long-running campaign to stop Japanese fishermen killing whales in the Southern Ocean, opened on seven screens in limited sessions.

Narrated by Dan Aykroyd and produced by Amis, Sea Shepherd Australia MD Jeff Hansen and Sea Shepherd colleague Omar Todd, the film fetched an estimated $7,200 but had already netted $37,000 from about 40 advance screenings and festivals.

The executive producer, Label Distribution’s Tait Brady, is happy with the reviews and media coverage and says the film will play through the end of the year with screenings for activists and community groups, after which he will negotiate ancillary deals.

He offered the film to several sales agents but they were wary of the anti-whaling stance.

China’s Huanxi Media has acquired a slate of recent film titles that played prominently on the international festival circuit and collected multiple prizes.

They include Julian Schnabel’s “At Eternity’s Gate”; Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s “Never Look Away”; Marcus H. Rosenmueller’s “The Keeper”; Ziad Doueiri’s “The Insult”; Andrzej Zulawski’s “Cosmo”; Frederic Tellier’s “Serial Killer 1” from 2017; Dom Lenoir’s 2018 title “Winter Ridge”; and Mina Shum’s “Meditation Park,” starring Sandra Oh.

Huanxi, which is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, is best-known as a producer backed by some of China’s leading talent. Its principal shareholders include directors Ning Hao and Xu Zheng, whose films “Crazy Alien” and “Dying to Survive” it has released in the past year.

However, the company sees its future as a specialist subscription-only video streaming platform. The platform’s lineup is a mix of tiles produced by Huanxi’s own directors and producers,...

‘Shazam!’ down to second; ‘Hellboy’ opens fifth.

Today’s Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.31

Rank Film (Distributor) Three-day gross (Mar 5-7) Total gross to date Week 1 Dumbo (Disney) £2.3m £17.7m 3 2 Shazam! (Warner Bros) £2.1m £8.9m 2 3 Captain Marvel (Disney) £885,000 £36.4m 6 4 Wonder Park (Paramount) £810,000 £1.6m 1 5 Hellboy (Lionsgate) £757,124 £979,328 1 Disney

Fantasy adventure Dumbo rose up the chart to retake top spot on its third weekend, recording a £2.3m Friday to Sunday total.

The film fell just 34% on its previous session, and has now grossed £17.7m in the UK in total.

It has now passed the lifetime of director Tim Burton’s Miss Peregrine’s...

Superhero feature Shazam! opened top of the UK box office this weekend, posting a £4m debut from 603 sites – an average of £6,634.

The film is part of the DC universe of comic book films, but as one of the lesser-known properties the result looks decent,...

New Peppa Pig film, Jacques Audiard’s The Sisters Brothers also opening.

There’s no obvious front-runner at the UK box office this weekend, with Warner Bros’ superhero feature Shazam!, Paramount’s Stephen King adaptation Pet Sematary, eOne’s family property Peppa Pig: Festival Of Fun, and Lionsgate’s Missing Link all new on release.

They will challenge Disney’s Dumbo, which opened with a solid £6.1m last weekend.

There’s good buzz around Shazam!, and, as an unconventional comic book feature, the film could provide a good stop-gap for superhero fans now eagerly anticipating the conclusion of the Avengers series on April 24.

Shazam!

Marcus H. Rosenmüller’s The Keeper tells the extraordinary true story of Bert Trautmann (David Kross), a former German prisoner of war who stayed in Britain after the end of World War Two and went on to become one of Manchester City football club’s most respected and loved players. Trautmann, who fought prejudice and backlash from those who objected to his signing as goalkeeper, later gained somewhat of a legendary status with supporters after famously playing in the 1956 Fa cup final with a broken neck, refusing to leave his post until the final whistle of the match was blown.

When he is captured by British forces whilst fighting in Europe on the German side, Bert Trautmann, a paratrooper for the Luftwaffe, is soon transported to a PoW camp in the north of England. Here, in between the arduous chores he is expected to perform and the poor treatment he...

As a self-professed film and football fanatic, it’s fair to say that The Keeper is a film for me – though certainly one that should appeal to anyone, such is the strength of this quite remarkable take. It’s a biopic of former Manchester City goalkeeper Bert Trautmann, who was at one stage a German prisoner of war. Played here by David Kross, we sat down with the actor, alongside Freya Mavor, who plays his wife Margaret, to discuss this drama.

The pair comment on the pressure that derives from playing real life people who will have family members still around watching this film, and how great the two characters were for them to get their teeth stuck into. They also talk about collaborating with director Marcus H. Rosenmuller, while we place the film in a contemporary context, as one that celebrates love between two Europeans, which feels particularly pertinent...

German FIlms is supporting 45 films with nearly $400,000 in total.

Film promotion agency German Films will support the foreign releases of 45 German films for a combined €348,360.

Among the films selected in the first 2019 sitting of its distribution support awards committee were Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Oscar-nominated Never Look Away, Marcus H. Rosenmüller’s The Keeper, and Eva Trobisch’s Munich winner All Good.

The next sitting will be held on April 30, 2019.

German Films’ distribution support funding programme has existed since 2005, with a maximum of €50,000 allocated as conditionally repayable loan. Funding of up to €10,000 can also be allocated as a grant.

Tony Sokol Feb 18, 2019

Brad Pitt and Peter Berg’s Film 45 will document the late Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman.

"Cry, if you want to cry," Chris Cornell sang on the song "My Wave." Brad Pitt and Peter Berg’s production company Film 45 will help you see and clear your eyes in a documentary about the late frontman and songwriter for Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog, according to Variety. Cornell’s widow, Vicky Cornell, will participate as a producer. Paramount recently yanked Pitt's World War Z 2, which he hoped to make with Fight Club director David Fincher, from its production schedule. Berg will direct the as-yet-untitled movie. No other details of the Chris Cornell documentary have been announced.

Cornell died on May 18, 2017, a few hours after a Soundgarden show at Detroit's Fox Theater. His death was ruled a suicide. An autopsy revealed painkillers and anti-anxiety medication in Cornell's bloodstream.

Sam Riley, Alice Lowe also in the cast.

Recently launched distributor Parkland Entertainment has acquired all UK rights to Hurricane Films’ Sometimes Always Never, the directorial debut of Carl Hunter starring Bill Nighy.

The film will receive a nationwide theatrical release in all major cities from Friday 14 June this year. Parkland’s Tom Stewart negotiated the deal with Jason Moring of Double Dutch International representing the producers.

The film follows Alan (Nighy), a tailor who has spent years searching for his missing son Michael, who stormed out over a game of Scrabble. Alan looks to repair his relationship with his...

Brian Cox stars in film from Oscar-winning producer Arthur Cohn.

New UK distributor Parkland Entertainment, now in its second market following last year’s Afm, has taken UK and Ireland rights to Us drama Rory’s Way, starring Brian Cox and Rosanna Arquette.

The film, previously titled The Etruscan Smile, is based on the novel by José Luis Sampedro. It was directed by Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis. Arthur Cohn, the three-time Oscar winning producer of films including the documentary One Day In September, produced.

Parkland struck the deal with the producers here in Berlin.

Cox stars as Rory MacNeil,...