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Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi is set to star in “Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!,” the third feature film from writer-director Josef Kubota Wladyka. Alberto Guerra, Alejandro Edda, You and Yoh Yoshida round out the international cast of the project, which is filming in Japan.

Plot details are currently being kept under wraps, but the film is described as a fantasy dance drama set in the vibrant city of Tokyo.

Nicholas Huynh co-wrote the script with Wladyka, who is also producing alongside Kimberly Parker Zox and Mao Nagakura. James Hausler and Kenji Ito are executive producing, and Thefool, Inc. is providing production services in Japan.

Wladyka’s prior work includes the two critically acclaimed and Indie Spirit Award-nominated features “Manos Sucias” and “Catch the Fair One.” The latter introduced boxing champion and Emmy nominee Kali Reis as a breakout star.

In 2007, Kikuchi became the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Academy Award in 50 years,...

Apple TV+ series’ Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters and Neuromancer, and a feature from Tokyo Vice director Josef Kubota Wladyka are among the latest projects to be granted funding from Japan’s location production incentive programme.

The second season of action-adventure series Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters will qualify for the incentive as it is set to film on location in Japan for several days in November. The series, based around Japanese icon Godzilla, is largely shooting in Australia, having relocated from Canada’s British Colombia where season one was primarily filmed.

Japan’s Toho Co. licensed the rights to Legendary Entertainment...

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has signed on to star in Pendulum, a new feature produced by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky and directed by Mark Heyman (Black Swan).

The film will start principal photography in March 2025 in New Mexico. Black Bear is repping international rights on the film and will introduce the project to buyers at the American Film Market next week. UTA Independent Film Group, CAA Media Finance, and WME Independent hold domestic rights.

Described as a “terrifying new genre film,” the film follows the young couple Patrick (Gordon-Levitt) and Abigail on a journey to a new-age retreat in New Mexico, drawn by the possibility of healing after a traumatic event. Patrick is willing to do anything to help his wife but becomes distrustful of the retreat’s enigmatic leader even as Abigail falls under her spell. As paranoia builds, the couple must determine if the group’s unconventional spiritual practices offer genuine...

[This story contains spoilers from True Detective: Night Country.]

Kali Reis and the rest of the Night Country brain trust faced a tall order as the new stewards of the True Detective franchise.

Reis, alongside showrunner Issa López and two-time Oscar-winning co-star Jodie Foster, opted to chart a new course for HBO’s well-regarded crime anthology in the wake of series creator Nic Pizzolatto’s departure after three seasons and five Emmys. On a personal level for Reis, the professional boxer turned actor still felt she had a lot to prove as a relative newcomer to the entertainment industry. Her Indie Spirit-nominated debut in 2021’s Catch the Fair One popped up on López’s radar during casting, leading to an audition that she willed into the role of Alaska State Trooper Evangeline Navarro.

Joining Foster’s local police chief character, Liz Danvers, as this season’s detective-adjacent duo, Reis knew she had big shoes to...

Indigenous actresses Lily Gladstone and Kali Reis have made history with their first Primetime Emmy nominations.

On Wednesday, Gladstone and Reis received nominations in the supporting actress in a limited series category for their roles in Hulu’s “Under the Bridge” and HBO/Max’s “True Detective: Night Country.” This major recognition marks the first time Indigenous women have been nominated for acting Emmys, and they are only the second and third Indigenous actors ever to be recognized in the 76-year history of the television awards.

The only other Native American person nominated in any acting category was August Schellenberg, who received an Emmy nomination in 2007 for his performance as Sitting Bull in the HBO television movie “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.”

Nominated alongside Gladstone and Reis are Dakota Fanning (“Ripley”), Jessica Gunning (“Baby Reindeer”), Aja Naomi King (“Lessons in Chemistry”), Diane Lane (“Feud: Capote vs. The Swans”) and...

Zoë Kravitz is in talks to join Austin Butler in Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

The film is based on the book of the same name by Charlie Huston, who also wrote the script. The story, per the logline, follows Hank Thompson, a burned-out former baseball player, who’s unwittingly plunged into a wild fight for survival in the downtown criminal underworld of 1990s New York City.

Aronofsky’s Protozoa Pictures, which is based in New York, is producing the film, alongside his partner Ari Handel. Together, they’ve worked on the director’s π, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Black Swan, Noah, Mother! and The Whale; as well as Tobias Lindholm’s The Good Nurse, Pablo Larraín’s Jackie, Lance Oppenheim’s Some Kind of Heaven, Josef Kubota Wladyka’s Catch the Fair One and Alex Pritz’s documentary The Territory.

Halfway through True Detective: Night Country, Kali Reis’ character experiences a loss so traumatic it would make most people lose their minds. Steely State Trooper Evangeline Navarro has but one way of coping with the situation: She instigates a brawl, in essence begging for a physical manifestation of her pain. Watching one of the most heart-wrenching sequences of the anthology series play out, and Reis’ portrayal of her stoic character’s momentary collapse, it is near impossible to comprehend that this is only the 37-year-old’s third on-screen role.

To those who have followed her career, Reis is still best known as a champion boxer with six world titles in two weight classes under her belt. All this to say, Reis has never been afraid of hard work and discipline. But her move from competitive sports to acting was not the kind of career evolution she had consciously been looking for.

HBO broadcast its first women’s boxing bout, between Kali Reis and Cecilia Brækhus, in 2018. Just six years later, Reis is one of the stars on HBO’s “True Detective: Night Country,” where she plays Detective Evangeline Navarro alongside Jodie Foster. That could very well be the first time any HBO lead was first seen on the pay cabler in a boxing match.

“What’s really great about this whole journey is that things that are so far fetched are like not impossible in some part of my brain that understands that it’s a possibility,” Reis tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast. “And I think that’s one of the many things that keeps me grinding so hard.”

In the series, Reis plays Evangeline Navarro, a half-Dominican state trooper in Ennis, a fictional town in rural northern Alaska. Reis spoke to the Awards Circuit Podcast about her interpretation of...

World Boxing Council middleweight champ Kali Reis recently shared the screen with Jodie Foster in the HBO series True Detective: Night Country, and now Deadline reports that she is following up the success of that season of television by signing on to join previously announced cast members Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), Rebecca Ferguson (Dune), and Annabelle Wallis (Malignant) in the sci-fi thriller Mercy.

Mercy reunites Pratt with his Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov to tell a story that is “set in the near future when capital crime has increased” and follows “a detective (Pratt] who is accused of a violent crime and forced to prove his innocence.” The screenplay was written by Marco Van Belle (Arthur & Merlin).

Coming our way from Amazon MGM Studios, the film is expected to go into production this spring and is already scheduled to receive a worldwide theatrical release on August 15, 2025.

Charles Roven, who...

True Detective: Night Country star Kali Reis has become the latest actor to join the upcoming Chris Pratt-led science fiction thriller, Mercy.

According to Deadline, Reis has boarded the cast of the Amazon MGM Studios thriller, which currently consists of Pratt, Dune: Part Two's Rebecca Ferguson, and Peaky Blinders' Annabelle Wallis. Details of Reis' role are being kept under wraps at this time. Beginning her career as a professional boxer (with multiple world champions), Reis pivoted to acting in 2021 with a role in the thriller, Catch the Fair One, which she also co-wrote. She then appeared in 2023's Asphalt City, followed by a co-starring role in True Detective Season 4 opposite Jodie Foster. Besides Mercy, upcoming projects for Reis include Wind River: Rising, Castle Rock Entertainment's sequel to Taylor Sheridan's acclaimed 2017 drama.

Related The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Showrunner Offers Exciting Update on Amazon Reboot The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo...

Exclusive: True Detective star and World Boxing Council middleweight champ and Independent Spirit nominee Kali Reis has boarded Amazon MGM Studios’ upcoming thriller Mercy opposite Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson and Annabelle Wallis. The pic is looking to roll cameras this spring for an August 15, 2025 theatrical release.

The movie, from director Timur Bekmambetov, is set in the near future when capital crime has increased. A detective (Pratt) has been accused of a violent crime and is forced to prove his innocence.

Bekmambetov (Wanted) is directing the sci-fi thriller from a script penned by Marco van Belle (Arthur & Merlin). The project came to Amazon MGM Studios from Charles Roven, who just earned an Academy Award for Best Picture as a producer on Oppenheimer. Roven is producing Mercy with Atlas Entertainment SVP Robert Amidon alongside Bekmambetov’s Bel banner and Majd Nassif.

Now only three short years into a career pivot, multi world-title-winning...

Exclusive: After strong start to 2024 with Masters of the Air and Dune Part 2, Oscar-nominee Austin Butler is looking to build on that success and is teaming up with another Oscar-nominated director. Sources tell Deadline Butler is set to star in Academy Award nominee Darren Aronofsky’s crime thriller Caught Stealing for Sony Pictures. The studio recently landed the package which is based on the book by Charlie Huston. The script will be written by Huston with Protozoa producing.

“I am excited to be teaming up with my old friends at Sony Pictures to bring Charlie’s adrenaline-soaked roller coaster ride to life. I can’t wait to start working with Austin and my family of NYC filmmakers,” said Aronofsky.

Written by and based on the books by Huston, Caught Stealing follows Hank Thompson, a burned-out former baseball player, as he’s unwittingly plunged into a wild...

Kali Reis does not take her identity for granted.

“I’m the first generation of my line who was actually able to grow up in the culture,” said the True Detective: Night Country star of being from the Seaconke Wampanoag people. “My great-grandmother, grandmother, mother were taught, generation after generation, ‘You don’t say you’re Wamp.’”

She explained that New England, where she grew up, was a hostile place for Wampanoag people even as recently as 20 years ago, with hostility tracing back to bloodshed between the tribe and the British colonists in King Philip’s War in the 17th century. (The Seaconke are not one of the two Wampanoag tribes recognized by the federal government.)

Reis’ comments came from the stage at a brunch on Friday that was the capper to the 15th annual Native Women in Film Festival, a weeklong event that saw the screening of 45 films. The actress,...

True Detective shows hints of greatness but ultimately borrows heavily from better films, books, and thinkers. Rust Cohle, the standout character, was the first embodiment of the series' tendency to steal its greatest moments. Each season of True Detective draws inspiration from different genres and sources, often resulting in a watered-down imitation. Especially season four.

Pretty much every artist steals. Culture is an ongoing communication between people across centuries and countries; it's a dialogue between artists of the past and present. It's a dialectical process in which things are imitated, mixed with different copies, and eventually become something different. But there's a line between simply being unoriginal (most art is to varying degrees) and being egregiously parasitic, taking far more than it gives and without any credit. It's the difference between a paraphrase and copying a quotation without citation. That's the line True Detective walks.

For many of us, True Detective...

Kali Reis, star of True Detective: Night Country, discusses the forgotten Indigenous population and their struggles. Reis, who has personally experienced the issues faced by Indigenous people, is passionate about telling their stories. Through projects like True Detective and Catch the Fair One, Reis aims to shed light on the problems Indigenous communities face, including violence and addiction rates.

In an exclusive interview with MovieWeb, True Detective: Night Country star Kali Reis opened up about some deeply personal issues, as she discussed how the Indigenous population have been “forgotten.” During the interview, Reis, who is currently starring alongside Jodie Foster in True Detective season 4, explained how, through such projects as the HBO series and her previous film Catch the Fair One, she is able to tell the stories she feels are important.

"We all have gifts. We all have our own medicine, so to speak, in the indigenous world, and...

When Kali Reis' mother gave her the Native name Mequinonoag, meaning 'many talents,' she couldn't have been more accurate. Reis is a world champion boxer who dominated the female light welterweight field, and is now starring in the immensely popular and acclaimed fourth season of True Detective, dubbed Night Country. Before that, however, she co-wrote and starred in her first film, Catch the Fair One (a phrase which means 'to fight' but also refers to its own plot) to rave reviews. She is a vocal and inspiring activist fighting for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement, something which is crucially related to the plots of both True Detective and Catch the Fair One.

Catch the Fair One holds a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and won the Audience Award at the hallowed Tribeca Film Festival, along with earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actor. Famed critic...

True Detective finally returns with a new chapter as Night Country kicks off on HBO beginning Sunday, January 14. Taking on the lead roles for this Alaska-set season are veteran actor Jodie Foster and up-and-coming actor Kali Reis. While Foster is no stranger to the spotlight, Reis has only been acting onscreen since 2021. Playing detective Evangeline Navarro, she is sure to capture viewers’ attention with her gripping performance. A member of the Seaconke Wampanaak tribe, Reis was born and grew up in Rhode Island as a member of the Indigenous community. (Credit: Billie Weiss/Getty Images) But before Reis made her performance debut in the 2021 film Catch the Fair One, she was kicking some serious butt in the ring as a professional boxer. Growing up, Reis began training and had a successful amateur career by the mid-2000s with accolades including the 2007 Rocky Marciano Championship, the 2007 NYC Golden Gloves, and the 2006 New England 154 Championship.

The fourth installment of HBO’s True Detective series is poised to be the spookiest yet. Set in the remote town of Ennis, Alaska, Night Country follows former partners Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro as they investigate the disappearance of eight researchers from a remote facility. The pair have a tense past, not only with each other, but with others in their small town.

True Detective: Night Country marks Jodie Foster’s first television appearance since the ’70s – not counting her handful of voiceover and narration guest roles in the ’90s and early ’00s – though certainly not her first time starring in a thriller. Foster is joined by a number of other talented actors, including Kali Reis, Fiona Shaw, and Christopher Eccleston.

Here’s everyone you need to know in True Detective: Night Country, and where you’ve seen them before.

Jodie Foster is Liz Danvers

Jodie Foster plays Detective Liz Danvers,...

As a series, True Detective: Night Country represents a lot of firsts. It's the first installment of the long-running anthology show that doesn't have creator and executive producer Nic Pizzolatto at the helm. It's also Jodie Foster's first starring role in a television series in over 40 years, although the actor has also carved out a name for herself as a director for various shows recently within her career, from Orange Is the New Black to Black Mirror. And while previous installments of True Detective have boasted all manner of polar-opposite investigative partners, Night Country also represents the first time the series is anchored around women, as Kali Reis (Catch the Fair One) steps into a role that positions her opposite Foster for arguably the show's most complicated and intriguing dynamic.

As a series, True Detective: Night Country represents a lot of firsts. It's the first installment of the long-running anthology show that doesn't have creator and executive producer Nic Pizzolatto at the helm. It's also Jodie Foster's first starring role in a television series in over 40 years, although the actor has also carved out a name for herself as a director for various shows recently within her career, from Orange Is the New Black to Black Mirror. And while previous installments of True Detective have boasted all manner of polar-opposite investigative partners, Night Country also represents the first time the series is anchored around women, as Kali Reis (Catch the Fair One) steps into a role that positions her opposite Foster for arguably the show's most complicated and intriguing dynamic.

It's been four years since we dipped into the moral morass of "True Detective," and this season promises to be, literally, the darkest yet.

Set in the fictional small town of Ennis, Alaska, the show's fourth season, subtitled "Night Country," is going to use the region's punishingly long nights to evoke a deep sense of dread -- and it's going to do so without extensive story input from series creator Nic Pizzolatto. Though he will receive an executive producer credit, this season belongs to writer-director Issa López, who made a startlingly creepy impression in 2017 with her clever crime-horror flick "Tigers Are Not Afraid."

López is a particularly inspired choice because she values the importance of atmosphere in conveying a pervasive feeling of foreboding that sticks to you long after the film or episode is over. She also understands what made the first and best season of "True Detective" so effective...

During the HBO panel at Ccxp in Brazil this weekend, fans were stoked to see True Detective: Night Country stars Jodie Foster (Nyad), Kali Reis (Catch the Fair One), and new showrunner and director Issa López (Todo Mal). The trio went down to São Paulo to talk a little about the hit series’ new season, filming in Alaska and unveiling a highly expected new trailer for the show.

Meaningful representation of Indigenous Peoples on screen has exploded in the last few years but there’s still work to do. High profile stories about fraudulent claims to Indigenous identity can leave the harmful impression that there aren’t many accomplished or talented genuinely Indigenous artists. Of course that’s far from the truth. Actors and Ancestors is a brand new podcast that aims to create a space for Indigenous actors to tell their own stories on their own terms, push back against old stereotypes, and inspire positive change in the broader film and TV industry.

Actors and Ancestors launches on November 26th, 2023. Guided by the show’s creator and host, Rocky Cree actor, Joel D. Montgrand, every episode of Actors and Ancestors features a screen-based Indigenous actor with a story to tell. Montgrand aims to center joy and laughter while not shying away from difficult topics. His guests dive...

One Piece is one of the world’s most popular animes and is the best-selling manga series of all time. It’s even the best-selling comic book internationally with a higher-grossing media franchise than Superman. And now Netflix has made it into a live-action anime. As we know, Netflix has a capable cast lined up and has the series creator Eiichiro Oda executive producing. Hopefully, it will be a show that sticks to the real tenets of what makes One Piece good and such a mainstay in pop culture in the first place.

One Piece has maintained sincere popularity in the United States since it debuted. And it has had an even greater following in Japan, where the manga originated. The series has over 1,000 episodes and a fan base that refuses to quit. It follows the story of Monkey D. Luffy on his journey to become King of the Pirates...

Exclusive: Prime Video has expanded the cast for Season 2 of its neo-Western series Outer Range. Christian James (All American), Megan West (How To Get Away With Murder), Daniel Abeles (Women of the Movement), Kimberly Guerrero (The English) and Monette Moio (The Real Bros Of Simi Valley) have been tapped for recurring roles opposite Josh Brolin in the drama series. Character descriptions are being kept under wraps.

Created by Brian Watkins, Outer Range centers on Royal Abbott (Brolin), a rancher fighting for his land and family, who discovers an unfathomable mystery at the edge of Wyoming’s wilderness.

In addition to Brolin, cast also includes Imogen Poots, Lili Taylor, Tamara Podemski, Lewis Pullman, Tom Pelphrey, Noah Reid, Shaun Sipos, Isabel Arraiza, Olive Abercrombie and Will Patton.

The series comes from executive producers Charles Murray, who also serves as showrunner for Season 2, Heather Rae, Josh Brolin, Zev Borow, Watkins, Tony Krantz, and...

The True Detective season 4 trailer tackles horror in the Alaskan darkness. After a long hiatus, HBO's acclaimed anthology series is returning with a new mystery. Each season features a self-contained story, a different ensemble cast, and follows two mismatched detectives investigating an increasingly intricate crime. The new season, which is subtitled Night Country, follows two detectives played by Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as they investigate the sudden disappearance of a group of men in Alaska.

Now, HBO has unveiled the first True Detective season 4 trailer, which can be watched below:

The teaser trailer introduces the dark and frigid land of Ennis, Alaska as the setting for the new season, as well as the two detectives, Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro, who are assigned to solve the bone-chilling mystery.

Everything Revealed By The True Detective Season 4 Trailer

The teaser trailer for True Detective: Night Country provides the basic setup for...

Last year we learned Castle Rock Entertainment is returning to Wind River for Wind River: The Next Chapter. Production kicked off in January with Kari Skogland directing from a script written by Patrick Massett and John Zinman. After several notable casting announcements, the anticipated sequel is thrilled to announce a list of exciting actors joining the cast. According to Deadline, Wind River alum Gil Birmingham will reprise his role as Martin, with Alan Ruck, Kali Reis (Catch the Fair One), and Tatanka Means (Killers of the Flower Moon) also joining the cast.

Taylor Sheridan directed and wrote the original Wind River, focusing on a veteran hunter who helps an FBI agent investigate the murder of a young woman on a Wyoming Native American reservation. Starring Jeremy Renner (Mayor of Kingstown, Hawkeye), Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision, Ingrid Goes West), Graham Greene, and Sensmeiser, Wind River invites audiences into a bone-chilling mystery against a picturesque yet dangerous backdrop.

Exclusive: Wind River alum Gil Birmingham has closed a deal to return for Castle Rock Entertainment’s sequel Wind River: The Next Chapter, with Alan Ruck (Succession), Kali Reis (Catch the Fair One) and Tatanka Means (Killers of the Flower Moon) also joining the cast.

Related Story ‘Mean Girls’ Movie Musical From Paramount Finds Its Kevin G. In Mahi Alam; Connor Ratliff Also Set Related Story 'Wind River: The Next Chapter' Adds Jason Clarke, Scott Eastwood & Chaske Spencer Related Story 'Succession's Alan Ruck To Reteam With 'Twister' Co-Star Sean Whalen On Creature Feature 'Crust'

The film, which is in production in Calgary with Kari Skogland (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) at the helm, also will see the return of Wind River original Martin Sensmeier, with Jason Clarke, Scott Eastwood and Chaske Spencer rounding out the ensemble.

Written and directed by Oscar-nominated Yellowstone Universe architect Taylor Sheridan,...

In solid, Cherokee-centric drama “Fancy Dance” — a project supported by the Sundance Institute across multiple development labs — writer-director Erica Tremblay gives audiences a glimpse into Native culture, focusing on a family devastated by the indifference of the world beyond the reservation. Thirteen-year-old Roki’s mom has gone missing, and society has a funny way of showing its concern, to the extent that law enforcement seems more motivated to find a white fisherman’s stolen truck than to address the latest in an alarming number of disappearances.

That leaves any detective work up to Roki (promising newcomer Isabel Deroy-Olson) and her aunt Jax (Lily Gladstone) in a film that’s only nominally more interested in solving the case than the ambivalent authorities. Like recent Cannes Camera d’Or winner “War Pony” (which screens alongside “Fancy Dance” at this year’s SXSW film fest), Tremblay’s hardscrabble debut offers an unvarnished look at life on the rez,...

Exclusive: Authentic Talent & Literary Management on Tuesday announced its hiring of manager Christina Shams, a veteran of the comedy world who counts Matt Rife, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Paul Elia, and Jeffrey Jay amongst her clients.

In her new role at Authentic, which will also have her producing, Shams will continue to pursue her passion for scaling the careers of multi-hyphenate artists. She’ll also oversee strategic touring growth for the Authentic comedy department, while enhancing digital opportunities for clients, and will be based out of the company’s Los Angeles office.

Related Story Monica Villarreal Joins Anonymous Content As Manager & Producer Related Story Mohammed Ali Joins Authentic Talent & Literary Management Related Story ICM & Authentic Talent & Lit Management Sign 'Catch The Fair One' Boxer, Actress & Writer Kali Reis

Shams has solidified her reputation as a stand-up touring specialist, with the ability to foster a wide net of opportunities for stand-ups,...

The narrative feature debut of Erica Tremblay traverses much of the same ground as other films set on and around reservations, highlighting poverty, a spirit to hustle, human trafficking, and the quagmire of political relations between sovereign nations. The domain of recent films like the dark thriller Catch the Fair One as well as Tracey Deer’s Beans and Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.’s Wild Indian, Fancy Dance also deserves recognition as a landmark of indigenous representation. Co-written by Tremblay and Miciana Alise, their thriller is grounded in the rhythms of everyday life, a little lighter than Catch the Fair One but bearing an equally devastating conclusion.

Set on the Seneca-Cayuga Nation adjacent to the northeast corner of Oklahoma, Fancy Dance stars Lily Gladstone as Jax, a strong-willed hustler who, in the first scene, takes off with a fisherman’s truck to sell it for scrap. She’s taking care...

Exclusive: Mark O’Brien (Your Honor) will exec produce and star in the coming-of-age drama Topper from 1A Motion Pictures and Bad Lad Productions, which has wrapped production in Detroit. Others set for major roles include Paul Johansson (God Is a Bullet), Amanda Clayton (City on a Hill), and actor-comedians Jimmy Shubert (Entourage), Bryan Callen (Warrior) and Erik Griffin (Workaholics).

The first feature written and directed by actor Kevin McNamara (Why Women Kill) follows Topper (O’Brien), a hard-drinking middling comedian with a seemingly endless capacity for self-sabotage. Topper receives news that his estranged father (Johansson) is terminally ill and begrudgingly returns to Detroit to sell the family home, which was never much of a home to him.

While back in Detroit, the friends he left behind — Lucas (Callen), Cooper (Griffin) and Ray (Shubert) — aren’t shy about pointing out how far he has drifted off course, despite showing early promise as a young comic.

Exclusive: Asante Blackk (When They See Us) and Luis Guzmán (Traffic) have been tapped as the leads for Aristotle Torres’ feature directorial debut Story Ave, for FirstGen Content and Jamie Foxx’s Foxxhole Productions. The film, which has wrapped production in New York, will also star Alex Hibbert (Moonlight), Melvin Gregg (Nine Perfect Strangers), Cassandra Freeman (Monsters and Men) and Coral Peña (For All Mankind).

Based on Torres’ 2018 short of the same name — which was, in turn, based on his life — Story Ave follows a teenage graffiti artist (Blackk) who, after running away from home, holds up an unsuspecting Mta worker (Guzmán) in a robbery gone right that changes their lives forever.

Story Ave is a FirstGen Content and Foxxhole Entertainment Production, in association with Mero Mero Production, The Space Program, and Dark Rabbit Productions. Torres developed the feature through the Sundance Director and Screenwriter Labs,...

The AMC+ streaming service will be host to new movies every Friday. Films on the service will feature an array of titles from distributors IFC Films, IFC Midnight, Rlje Films and Shudder, serving as the streaming home following the theatrical releases of films from these distributors, AMC Networks announced on Tuesday.

Films will be streaming on AMC+ 90 days after they first hit theaters thanks to a new agreement with AMC Networks Film Group through which AMC+ is the exclusive streaming home of the company’s full slate of films following their theatrical and digital distribution.

While most titles will be streaming 90 days after their theatrical release, select titles will be premiering day-and-date in theaters and on AMC+.

The first film to kick off this new agreement is the IFC Films feature “Clean,” starring Adrien Brody, which will be streaming on AMC+ on Friday, May 6. Additionally, the last Friday of every...

Another major film distributor’s output is staying within the corporate ecosystem with a pact at the sibling streamer. AMC Networks-owned IFC Films has signed Pay 1 (post-theater window) output deal with AMC+ as part of AMC Networks’ efforts to boost its flagship streaming platform.

Beginning May 6, AMC+ is launching Friday night movie night, featuring a new feature direct from theaters, every Friday, from IFC Films, IFC Midnight, Rlje Films and Shudder, all sister businesses of the streamer. The films will be available on AMC+ 90 days after their theatrical release and, in some cases, day and date with their premiere in theaters.

The initiative kicks off May 6 with crime drama Clean, starring Adrien Brody and RZA, followed by revenge thriller Catch the Fair One on May 13, Riley Stearns’ Sundance pic Dual, starring Karen Gillan and Aaron Paul on May 20, and The Banquet, from Shudder and IFC Midnight, on May 27. The...

IFC Films is moving its first pay television window to AMC+, in a bid by AMC Networks to carve out a weekly exclusive movie premiere every week of the year for its in-house streaming service. Under the new deal, announced on Tuesday, AMC+ will be the exclusive streaming home of movies from AMC Networks Film Group — which includes IFC Films, IFC Midnight and Rlje Films — in the “Pay 1” window, following theatrical and digital distribution.

The films, premiering each Friday on AMC+, will stream 90 days after their initial theatrical release, but select titles will premiere day-and-date in both theaters and simultaneously on AMC+. IFC Films had previously held distribution pacts with Showtime and Hulu.

The new pact starts on May 6, with the streaming premiere of IFC Films’ “Clean,” starring Adrien Brody and RZA. “Clean” was released in theaters on January 28.

As part of the 52-week premiere strategy, the last Friday of...

Adrien Brody thriller Clean, Keira Knightley comedy horror Silent Night on the roster.

AMC Networks is bulking up its streaming platform and has announced AMC+ will carry weekly streaming premieres of films from sister companies IFC Films, IFC Midnight, Rlje Films and Shudder.

The arrangement starts on May 6 with the streaming premiere of IFC Films’s Adrien Brody thriller Clean. The platform will serve as the exclusive pay 1 partner for AMC Networks Film Group’s stable of IFC Films, IFC Midnight and Rlje Films.

Most of the Friday releases on AMC+ will stream 90 days after their initial theatrical release, with...

Very few athletes have successfully made the transition into the world of acting, but Kali Reis is the exception.

The current Wba, Ibo & Wbo Super lightweight champion makes her feature debut in Josef Kubota Wladyka’s Catch the Fair One – a story about a pro-boxer who goes to extreme lengths to find and save her sister.

We sit down with Kali to talk about her feature debut, the nomination for an Indie Spirit Award and tackling the serious issue of human trafficking.

Catch The Fair One is available on digital platforms from 4th April

The post Kali Reis on Catch the Fair One, raising awareness of serious issues & how boxing helped her performance appeared first on HeyUGuys.

The 37th Annual Independent Spirit Awards took place on Sunday, returning to an in-person format following last year’s virtual ceremony. Many of the biggest names in the independent film community made the trek out to the beach in Santa Monica with the hopes of taking home the most coveted prizes in indie film. While the Spirit Awards typically take place the week before the Oscars, this year’s unique Covid-influenced awards season calendar meant that they were held nearly a month in advance. Hollywood couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally served as emcees of the proceedings.

This year’s class of nominees draws from films largely shut out from the Oscars, with indie hits like Oscar nominee “The Lost Daughter,” “C’mon C’mon,” and “Zola” racking up the most nominations. “The Lost Daughter” cleaned up, with three wins for Netflix including Best Feature and Best Director Maggie Gyllenhaal. Oscar no-show...

Who were the big winners at the 37th Independent Spirit Awards, presented on Sunday, March 6, at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California? Scroll down for the complete list of results in all categories, updated throughout the ceremony as the awards were handed out.

SEE2022 Oscars guild awards scorecard: ‘King Richard’ reigns over SAG and Ace Eddies to grab early lead

These awards are unique in that they are limited to American films made for under $20 million; films made outside the United States are eligible for Best International Feature. And the awards are decided in two stages. In the first round, committees of film professionals, experts, and critics choose the nominees. In the second round, the entire Film Independent membership gets to vote for the winners. Members include industry insiders, but also anyone in the general public who wish to pay yearly dues starting at $95 per year.

The Oscars...

Three awards ceremonies are taking place the weekend of March 5. On Saturday, a double dose of the Art Directors Guild (Adg) and American Cinema Editors Awards (Ace Eddies), and on Sunday, the Film Independent Spirit Awards, airing on IFC.

Paying special attention to Adg and Ace Eddies since there’s Oscar crossover, we’re expecting a couple of surprises at both. On the Adg side, “Dune” and “Nightmare Alley” should reign triumphant, but “Don’t Look Up” may overcome fellow Netflix property “The Lost Daughter.”

At Ace Eddies, there’s a possible upset on the drama side in the favor of “King Richard’s” Pamela Martin, besting Joe Walker for “Dune.” On the other hand, “Tick, Tick … Boom!” is expected to sneak past “Licorice Pizza.”

What’s most interesting is that there is very little to no presence of the presumed Oscar frontrunners this weekend, including Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,...

Almost 2,000 Gold Derby readers have made their Indie Spirit predictions in advance of Sunday’s ceremony. Scroll down to see our official odds in all 13 movie categories based on those combined predictions. Our projected winners are highlighted in gold.

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The Indie Spirit Awards winners are voted on by members of Film Independent. Membership is open to any movie fans who pay $95 in yearly dues, which often leads to the highest-profile Oscar contenders winning top prizes against less widely publicized films. But this year Film Independent snubbed many of the Oscar front-runners; this is only the second time in the last 13 years that there are no Best Picture Oscar nominees among the Spirit contenders for Best Feature.

The black comedy “Zola” led the nominations with seven including Best Feature, Best...

Champion boxer Kali Reis and writer and director Josef Kubota Wladyka discussed the backstory behind their film Catch The Fair One in their new uInterview. The film centers around a boxer who voluntarily joins a sex-tracking ring in order to find her younger sister who was kidnapped. Reis is a boxer and is making her […]

The post Video Exclusive: Boxer Kali Reis & Josef Kubota Wladyka on ‘Catch The Fair One,’ Abuse Of Native Women appeared first on uInterview.

Exclusive: Film Independent Spirit Award nominee Kali Reis has inked with ICM Partners and Authentic Talent and Lit Management for representation.

Reis has a nom in the Best Female Lead category for her turn in the critically-acclaimed movie Catch the Fair One, which she also has a story by credit on.

Directed and written by Josef Kubota Wladyka, Reis plays a former champion boxer who embarks on the fight of her life when she goes in search of her missing sister. The movie is 91% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Oscar-winning Nomadland producer Mollye Asher produced Catch the Fair One, and Darren Aronofsky is an EP.

IFC Films is releasing the movie today.

Reis helped develop the story with Wladyka, and also received a special Jury Mention for Best Actress at the Tribeca Film Festival where the film won The Audience Award.

A professional boxer who was recently inducted into the...

Films from Belfast to Drive My Car, from The Worst Person In The World to Nightmare Alley saw ticket sales pop after Academy Award nominations and as distributors kick into high gear for this weekend and beyond, juggling theater counts and ramped up media campaigns that now have a shiny new imprimatur.

For Neon’s The Worst Person Person In The World, “TV, digital, radio, print all kick into high gear as a consumer facing academy campaign, highlighting the film’s double Oscar nomination, some of the best reviews of the year and buzzy, strong word of mouth, ” said distribution chief Elissa Federoff. “It’s always a gamble to open this late in the Oscar season, but when it works, it really works.” The Joachim Trier Best International Feature nominated film from Norway in week 2.

New specialty releases this weekend — Johnny Depp-starrer Minamata from Samuel Goldwyn, The Sky Is Everywhere from Apple and A24,...

Crimes against Indigenous people, especially Indigenous women, rarely get mainstream attention, a cruel reality of which “Catch the Fair One” is painfully aware.

Crafted by award-winning filmmaker Josef Kubota Wladyka (“Manos Sucias”) and his collaborator and star Kali Reis, herself a biracial Indigenous woman, “Catch the Fair One” is highly personal and extremely intentional in bringing awareness to the crisis of missing Indigenous girls and its link to human trafficking.

Though billed as a thriller, “Catch the Fair One” feels more pressing and urgent than what Hollywood usually produces within this genre. Former championship boxer K.O. (Reis), driven by the marginalization and invisibility imposed by the dominant society, makes the rash and foolhardy decision to go undercover to find her younger sister Weeta (Mainaku Borrero), who has been missing for some time.

Fallen from her former glory and living in a women’s shelter, the assumption is K.O.

“Making It” work! After last year’s virtual Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony, Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman are slated to co-host the 2022 awards show in-person in Santa Monica on Sunday, March 6.

“We are sincerely excited to be hosting the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards. We hope to get a little rowdy, but it’ll mainly be legitimate cinematic discourse,” the comedy power couple said in a press statement. “Although, with the two of us involved, it’s more likely to be intercourse. Either way it’ll be legit.”

Emmy winner Mullally and “Pam & Tommy” star Offerman have toured the U.S. and the U.K. with joint comedy show, “Summer of 69: No Apostrophe,” and released The New York Times bestselling book, “The Greatest Love Story Ever Told.”

Film Independent President Josh Welsh called Mullally and Offerman the “dream team” to host. “Why have just one host when you can have two?...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Ballad of a White Cow (Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam)

The cruelty of the Iranian justice system is in the spotlight again in Ballad of a White Cow, the compelling debut of directing team Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam that unfurled in competition at Berlin. Just last year, Mohamad Rasoulof won the festival’s top prize for his anti-capital punishment polemic There Is No Evil, a masterful weaving of four storylines that showed how a morally bankrupt state corrodes those forced to carry out its functions, a searing portrait of the banality of evil. – Ed F. (full review)

Where to Stream: Mubi (free for 30 days)

Bigbug (Jean-Pierre Jeunet)

Bigbug is set in the year 2045 and centers on a group of mismatched suburbanites who,...

With its outrageous and eye-catching theatrics, making the jump from professional wrestler to movie star has become fairly common. Just look at The Rock, John Cena, and Dave Bautista. Rarely does a professional boxer make the same transition, however, and even fewer women. But world champion Kali “K.O.” Reis, a two-spirit Indigenous boxer and a vocal Indigenous rights advocate, is no stranger to breaking new ground.

Reis is the star and co-writer of “Catch the Fair One,” a new film that sheds much-needed light on the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (Mmiw) movement. Directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka and executive produced by Darren Aronofsky, “Catch the Fair One” is a gripping and tightly-wound drama about this overlooked issue, galvanized by a knockout breakout performance from Reis.

Wladyka found Reis on Instagram in 2017, and brought her on as his lead and creative collaborator after seeing her fight and an initial screen test.

Kali Reis in Catch The Fair One Photo: courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.

Kaylee (Kali Mequinonoag Reis) is a boxer. She’s also the sister of a missing girl, and as a mixed indigenous woman, she knows all too well that that disappearance is unlikely to be properly investigated unless she can do it herself. A blend of mystery, revenge thriller and social issue drama directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka, Catch The Fair One has enjoyed a lot of positive critical attention, not least in relation to Kali’s performance, which has now won her an Independent Spirit nomination. The current Wba Super lightweight champion, and a dedicated champion of indigenous women and girls, Kali was also instrumental in developing the story and ensuring the authenticity of the characters and situations it depicts. When we meet to discuss the film, I ask her how that came about.