Elegance Bratton, whose documentary “Move Ya Body: The Birth of House” had its international premiere this week at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, speaks to Variety about the relevance of house music’s history in Trump’s America, and his feelings as he prepares to shoot crime thriller “By Any Means,” starring Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
Bratton, who first broke through with documentary “Pier Kids” and drama “The Inspection,” and was selected as one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch in 2023, has a personal connection to house music because of how it empowered him as a gay teenager. When he was growing up, he was bullied because of his name. “There was all this pressure on me to be less effeminate,” he says. Within his family and community, if he were “naturally flamboyant,” “they attempted to bully or beat it out of me,” he says. Then, on television, he saw...
Bratton, who first broke through with documentary “Pier Kids” and drama “The Inspection,” and was selected as one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch in 2023, has a personal connection to house music because of how it empowered him as a gay teenager. When he was growing up, he was bullied because of his name. “There was all this pressure on me to be less effeminate,” he says. Within his family and community, if he were “naturally flamboyant,” “they attempted to bully or beat it out of me,” he says. Then, on television, he saw...
- 3/14/2025
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
House music typically thumps at 120-130 beats per minute, in 4/4 time.
That’s an awfully clinical description of the sound that shakes the floor and the walls at dance clubs around the world. What’s truly important — it makes you move ya body.
That, in fact, is the title of Elegance Bratton’s new documentary – Move Ya Body: The Birth of House, which screens at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival on Monday after holding its international premiere at TiDF on Saturday.
Bratton, director of Pier Kids and The Inspection, hails from New Jersey, but his documentary takes him to Chicago, where House Music emerged in the late 1970s. “Out of the underground dance clubs on the South Side,” notes TiDF, “a group of friends turn a new sound into a global movement.”
Vince Lawrence at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival
One of those friends, Vince Lawrence, played a key role developing the music,...
That’s an awfully clinical description of the sound that shakes the floor and the walls at dance clubs around the world. What’s truly important — it makes you move ya body.
That, in fact, is the title of Elegance Bratton’s new documentary – Move Ya Body: The Birth of House, which screens at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival on Monday after holding its international premiere at TiDF on Saturday.
Bratton, director of Pier Kids and The Inspection, hails from New Jersey, but his documentary takes him to Chicago, where House Music emerged in the late 1970s. “Out of the underground dance clubs on the South Side,” notes TiDF, “a group of friends turn a new sound into a global movement.”
Vince Lawrence at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival
One of those friends, Vince Lawrence, played a key role developing the music,...
- 3/10/2025
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has been cast in By Any Means, an upcoming crime thriller directed by Elegance Bratton. He will star alongside Mark Wahlberg in a film based on real events involving a mafia hitman working with the FBI to track down those behind the killings of civil rights leaders in 1966 Mississippi.
The role was originally assigned to Sterling K. Brown, who exited the project due to scheduling conflicts. The film is based on CI34, a screenplay by Sascha Penn and Theodore Witcher, which appeared on the Black List, an industry-recognized collection of unproduced scripts. Witcher completed multiple revisions, with Bratton also contributing to the development process.
The project is backed by several production companies, including Hammerstone Studios, Thunder Road, and Freedom Principle. International sales are being handled by North.Five.Six., which introduced the film to buyers at the American Film Market. Producers include Alex Lebovici (Hammerstone Studios), Basil Iwanyk and...
The role was originally assigned to Sterling K. Brown, who exited the project due to scheduling conflicts. The film is based on CI34, a screenplay by Sascha Penn and Theodore Witcher, which appeared on the Black List, an industry-recognized collection of unproduced scripts. Witcher completed multiple revisions, with Bratton also contributing to the development process.
The project is backed by several production companies, including Hammerstone Studios, Thunder Road, and Freedom Principle. International sales are being handled by North.Five.Six., which introduced the film to buyers at the American Film Market. Producers include Alex Lebovici (Hammerstone Studios), Basil Iwanyk and...
- 2/20/2025
- by Naser Nahandian
- Gazettely
Exclusive: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Wonder Man) has closed a deal to star opposite Mark Wahlberg in By Any Means, the crime thriller from The Inspection‘s Elegance Bratton, on which we were first to report in October.
The actor steps into the lead role originally to have been played by Sterling K. Brown, who we’re told departed the project due to scheduling conflicts.
Based on the Black List script CI34 by Sascha Penn, By Any Means is based on the incredible true story of the notorious mafia hitman who was hired by Hoover’s FBI off-the-books and partnered with a young Black special agent to hunt down those responsible for the murders of civil rights leaders in 1966 Mississippi.
The project hails from Hammerstone Studios, Thunder Road, Freedom Principle, and North.Five.Six., which is handling international sales, having first introduced the project to buyers at AFM last fall.
Alex Lebovici is producing for Hammerstone Studios,...
The actor steps into the lead role originally to have been played by Sterling K. Brown, who we’re told departed the project due to scheduling conflicts.
Based on the Black List script CI34 by Sascha Penn, By Any Means is based on the incredible true story of the notorious mafia hitman who was hired by Hoover’s FBI off-the-books and partnered with a young Black special agent to hunt down those responsible for the murders of civil rights leaders in 1966 Mississippi.
The project hails from Hammerstone Studios, Thunder Road, Freedom Principle, and North.Five.Six., which is handling international sales, having first introduced the project to buyers at AFM last fall.
Alex Lebovici is producing for Hammerstone Studios,...
- 2/20/2025
- by Matt Grobar and Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
There’s a moment in Elegance Bratton’s illuminating documentary Move Ya Body: The Birth of House when Vince Lawrence, a key architect of the music genre, recounts his experience at Disco Demolition Night, a riot that took place in Comiskey Park in 1979. The event was organized by the radio host Steve Dahl as a publicity stunt: In exchange for White Sox tickets, fans were instructed to bring a disco record to the Chicago ballpark, to be blown up in the middle of the field. More than 50,000 people showed up and the event took a hostile turn.
At a certain point, Dahl lost control as the crowd stormed the field, chanting “Disco sucks!” Later that night, as Lawrence, who was 15 at the time, walked home from the event, a group of white guys used the chant while accosting him. The moment revealed the racist and homophobic undercurrents propelling the initial...
At a certain point, Dahl lost control as the crowd stormed the field, chanting “Disco sucks!” Later that night, as Lawrence, who was 15 at the time, walked home from the event, a group of white guys used the chant while accosting him. The moment revealed the racist and homophobic undercurrents propelling the initial...
- 2/6/2025
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Move Ya Body: The Birth of House” tells the story of how house music was born in the late 1970s. A history reconstructed by director Elegance Bratton (“The Inspection”) through the memories of the trailblazers who birthed it at underground clubs in racially segregated and violent Chicago, this is the story of how Black, brown and queer kids came up with a unique rhythm that people still dance to today. After watching this entertaining and nostalgic documentary, audiences’ most likely recourse may be to find the nearest club and spend the rest of their night dancing.
The first few minutes of “Move Ya Body: The Birth of House” dynamically set the stage for this revolution: Voiceover describes music whose beat “can be heard blocks away,” while the images show Chicago’s denizens rioting against the police and dancing all night. Bratton introduces his main protagonist, Vince Lawrence, who claims nervousness about the endeavor.
The first few minutes of “Move Ya Body: The Birth of House” dynamically set the stage for this revolution: Voiceover describes music whose beat “can be heard blocks away,” while the images show Chicago’s denizens rioting against the police and dancing all night. Bratton introduces his main protagonist, Vince Lawrence, who claims nervousness about the endeavor.
- 1/31/2025
- by Murtada Elfadl
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Pulsar Content has board worldwide sales on U.S. directorial duo Justin Powell and David Charbonier’s horror feature Push for a European Film Market rollout next month.
The deal was brokered with UTA which boarded U.S sales rights ahead of the movie’s well received premiere at the Sitges Film Festival last October.
The tense home invasion horror thriller stars Alicia Sanz as a pregnant realtor preparing for an open house at a property with a dark past.
When a sadistic killer (Raúl Castillo) posing as a potential client shows up, Natalie goes into premature labor and must find a way to escape before she gives birth.
“Justin and David have already shown their great talent to create jumpscares and keep the audience on the edge and we are delighted to present their new film to the market,” Pulsar Content said in a statement. The Paris-based company...
The deal was brokered with UTA which boarded U.S sales rights ahead of the movie’s well received premiere at the Sitges Film Festival last October.
The tense home invasion horror thriller stars Alicia Sanz as a pregnant realtor preparing for an open house at a property with a dark past.
When a sadistic killer (Raúl Castillo) posing as a potential client shows up, Natalie goes into premature labor and must find a way to escape before she gives birth.
“Justin and David have already shown their great talent to create jumpscares and keep the audience on the edge and we are delighted to present their new film to the market,” Pulsar Content said in a statement. The Paris-based company...
- 1/30/2025
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
New York City has hip-hop, and Chicago has house music. Although each genre became a global phenomenon, the latter still generates far less mainstream coverage. To this day, a cloud of mystery still surrounds house music with most people largely unfamiliar with its origins and its impact. Director and producer Elegance Bratton, best known for his 2022 feature debut “The Inspection,” along with Oscar and two-time Emmy winner Roger Ross Williams set out to change that with their documentary, “Move Ya Body: The Birth of House Music,” which premiered at Sundance.
Named after the 1986 Marshall Jefferson classic “Move Your Body,” widely considered the house music anthem, Bratton begins the doc with a postcard-worthy nighttime image of the city with “Chicago” in yellow letters emblazoned in the middle. Easing into the meat of the documentary, a nightclub becomes the focal point as the pulsating sounds of “Move Your Body” play as an...
Named after the 1986 Marshall Jefferson classic “Move Your Body,” widely considered the house music anthem, Bratton begins the doc with a postcard-worthy nighttime image of the city with “Chicago” in yellow letters emblazoned in the middle. Easing into the meat of the documentary, a nightclub becomes the focal point as the pulsating sounds of “Move Your Body” play as an...
- 1/29/2025
- by Ronda Racha Penrice
- The Wrap
Elegance Bratton’s documentary “Move Ya Body,” which tracks both the artistic evolution of house music and its historical and sociopolitical impact, emerged from the unlikeliest of sources: Hillary Clinton.
Bratton and “Move Ya Body” producers Roger Ross Williams and Chester Algernal Gordon visited the IndieWire Studio at Sundance, presented by Dropbox, to discuss the origins of the film. Williams was approached by the former Secretary of State, a Chicago native with a deep passion for the city’s distinct brand of joyfully repetitive dance music. He then brought Bratton, who was eager for a fun “palette cleanser” after directing “The Inspection,” on board.
“The project was brought to me by Roger, and he was like ‘I’ve got this project with Hillary Clinton, because she loves house music,” Bratton said. “I didn’t know she was a house head!”
Williams was excited by the enthusiasm he felt from Clinton,...
Bratton and “Move Ya Body” producers Roger Ross Williams and Chester Algernal Gordon visited the IndieWire Studio at Sundance, presented by Dropbox, to discuss the origins of the film. Williams was approached by the former Secretary of State, a Chicago native with a deep passion for the city’s distinct brand of joyfully repetitive dance music. He then brought Bratton, who was eager for a fun “palette cleanser” after directing “The Inspection,” on board.
“The project was brought to me by Roger, and he was like ‘I’ve got this project with Hillary Clinton, because she loves house music,” Bratton said. “I didn’t know she was a house head!”
Williams was excited by the enthusiasm he felt from Clinton,...
- 1/29/2025
- by Christian Zilko and Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Paramount has announced the lineup of movies, TV shows and live sports coming to the Paramount+ streaming service in February. The Paramount Plus February 2025 schedule includes the season three premiere of Yellowjackets and the second season of Taylor Sheridan’s 1923.
Audiences will also be able to dive into refreshed and expertly curated collections, including the expanded Black Voices collection in celebration of Black History Month and the Peak Romance collection, featuring an assortment of romance-themed movies and seasonal episodes just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Yellowjackets Season 3
Following a jaw-dropping conclusion to season two, members of the Yellowjackets past and present are left to pick up the pieces in season three of the critically acclaimed series, premiering on February 14. In the ’90s, summer arrives and the team celebrates surviving a harsh winter while the present-day characters reel from a death.
For the Yellowjackets in the ’90s, the team has...
Audiences will also be able to dive into refreshed and expertly curated collections, including the expanded Black Voices collection in celebration of Black History Month and the Peak Romance collection, featuring an assortment of romance-themed movies and seasonal episodes just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Yellowjackets Season 3
Following a jaw-dropping conclusion to season two, members of the Yellowjackets past and present are left to pick up the pieces in season three of the critically acclaimed series, premiering on February 14. In the ’90s, summer arrives and the team celebrates surviving a harsh winter while the present-day characters reel from a death.
For the Yellowjackets in the ’90s, the team has...
- 1/23/2025
- by Mirko Parlevliet
- Vital Thrills
“I definitely arrived here with some films that I was like, ‘I want to make sure I grab that’ and ‘I own it and I have it,’ but upon arrival I have been washed in in the blood of Criterion.”
This was actor Jeremy Pope’s reaction upon entering the sacred Criterion Closet and seeing all the stunning cinema that lay before him. Without delay, Pope’s first selection was Carl Franklin’s Los Angeles-set noir, “Devil in a Blue Dress.”
“This film speaks to me because my first real job was this show called ‘Hollywood’ that I shot with Ryan Murphy for Netflix and this film, set in the I think it’s like, late ‘40s/‘50s, felt very identical to the experience that my character Archie was about to go on, so this became like such an inspiration and like a point of reference,” said Pope. “Love the film,...
This was actor Jeremy Pope’s reaction upon entering the sacred Criterion Closet and seeing all the stunning cinema that lay before him. Without delay, Pope’s first selection was Carl Franklin’s Los Angeles-set noir, “Devil in a Blue Dress.”
“This film speaks to me because my first real job was this show called ‘Hollywood’ that I shot with Ryan Murphy for Netflix and this film, set in the I think it’s like, late ‘40s/‘50s, felt very identical to the experience that my character Archie was about to go on, so this became like such an inspiration and like a point of reference,” said Pope. “Love the film,...
- 11/17/2024
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
On this special day, we are more grateful than ever for the sacrifices made by those who have served in the armed forces. Why does Veterans Day always fall on the 11th of November, you might ask? A day when everyone from all walks of life can unite to pay our respects to veterans from all wars has its origins dating back to World War I. At 11:00a.m. Paris local time on the 11th of November, 1918, the Armistice of Compiègne was signed to officially end WWI.
This Veterans Day, we are recognizing the importance of Veterans as storytellers. To celebrate, with the support of an anonymous generous donor, Film Independent is inviting 100 U.S. Military Veteran (working or aspiring) filmmakers or actors in the entertainment industry to receive a Film Independent Membership, for a contribution of just $1.00! If you are a U.S. Military Veteran and would like to become a Member,...
This Veterans Day, we are recognizing the importance of Veterans as storytellers. To celebrate, with the support of an anonymous generous donor, Film Independent is inviting 100 U.S. Military Veteran (working or aspiring) filmmakers or actors in the entertainment industry to receive a Film Independent Membership, for a contribution of just $1.00! If you are a U.S. Military Veteran and would like to become a Member,...
- 11/11/2024
- by Su Fang Tham
- Film Independent News & More
While Tarsem Singh is currently enjoying the The Fall, Distribution Woes, and the Next Chapter”>recent restoration of his cult classic The Fall, he’s still seeking distribution for his last film Dear Jassi. In the meantime, he’s moving on to his next project, set to begin shooting next year. Deadline reports he’ll direct Dev Patel in The Journeyman, a crime thriller scripted by the husband-and-wife duo of Bryan and Alexis Roberts, aka The Roberts. The film will tell the “story of a struggling pro tennis player who is lured into an illegal match-fixing ring to support his family and finds himself trapped in a ruthless world of corruption and violence he may never escape.”
In a small update, Julia Ducournau is in production on her mysterious Titane follow-up Alpha and a report from France gives a few more details, noting the title is the name of the female main character,...
In a small update, Julia Ducournau is in production on her mysterious Titane follow-up Alpha and a report from France gives a few more details, noting the title is the name of the female main character,...
- 11/1/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Oscar nominees Mark Wahlberg and Sterling K. Brown are joining forces for an exciting new crime thriller entitled By Any Means, which is based on a true story. Following his impressive feature film debut The Inspection, which came out in 2022, director Elegance Bratton is stepping behind the camera once more to helm the movie, which is being produced by Hammerstone Studios, Thunder Road, Freedom Principle, and North.Five.Six. The movie is based on the Black List script CI34 from Sascha Penn with revisions from Bratton and Ted Witcher. Production on the film is set to kick off in March of next year, while further casting announcements are expected in the near future.
- 10/30/2024
- by Chris McPherson
- Collider.com
Exclusive: After seeing his first narrative feature The Inspection garner rave reviews in 2022, director Elegance Bratton is getting back behind the camera for By Any Means, a true-life crime thriller starring Oscar nominees Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter) and Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction) for Hammerstone Studios, Thunder Road, Freedom Principle, and North.Five.Six.
Based on the Black List script CI34 from Sascha Penn and Theodore Witcher, By Any Means is being introduced to buyers at the upcoming AFM by Michael Rothstein and Samuel Hall’s North.Five.Six., which is handling international sales. Witcher completed multiple revisions of the script, with Bratton also taking part in the process.
Pic is based on the incredible true story of the notorious mafia hitman who was hired by Hoover’s FBI off-the-books and partnered with a young Black special agent to hunt down those responsible for the murders of civil rights leaders in 1966 Mississippi.
Based on the Black List script CI34 from Sascha Penn and Theodore Witcher, By Any Means is being introduced to buyers at the upcoming AFM by Michael Rothstein and Samuel Hall’s North.Five.Six., which is handling international sales. Witcher completed multiple revisions of the script, with Bratton also taking part in the process.
Pic is based on the incredible true story of the notorious mafia hitman who was hired by Hoover’s FBI off-the-books and partnered with a young Black special agent to hunt down those responsible for the murders of civil rights leaders in 1966 Mississippi.
- 10/30/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
We at Film Independent have always been proud of our producing lab fellows. They’ve gone on to make some big hits and some big careers. But that was all in the world of scripted.
“Producers are the backbone behind every great film and supporting their work in these turbulent times is all the more vital.” said Angela C. Lee, Director of Artist Development. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to expand our programming to include documentary Producers and welcome this incredibly talented and tenacious cohort of fiction and non-fiction Producers in this year’s Producing Labs.”
In its 24th year, the Producing Labs have a strong track record of pushing exciting talent and diverse (and award winning) stories. The Film Independent Producing Lab has supported films such as In the Summers produced by Daniel Tantalean which was awarded the 2024 Sundance Grand Jury Prize, The Inspection,produced by Chester Algernal Gordon,...
“Producers are the backbone behind every great film and supporting their work in these turbulent times is all the more vital.” said Angela C. Lee, Director of Artist Development. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to expand our programming to include documentary Producers and welcome this incredibly talented and tenacious cohort of fiction and non-fiction Producers in this year’s Producing Labs.”
In its 24th year, the Producing Labs have a strong track record of pushing exciting talent and diverse (and award winning) stories. The Film Independent Producing Lab has supported films such as In the Summers produced by Daniel Tantalean which was awarded the 2024 Sundance Grand Jury Prize, The Inspection,produced by Chester Algernal Gordon,...
- 10/10/2024
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent News & More
Evan Peters Joined by Twisters and That '70s Show Stars in Comic Book Adaptation From Dahmer Creator
Primetime Emmy Award-winning actor Evan Peters will reunite with Dahmer creator Ryan Murphy for a new series. The two, who have previously worked together on American Horror Story and Pose, are working together again for an adaptation of The Beauty.
Per Variety, the new FX series The Beauty is based on the comic book series of the same name by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley. It will also star Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope, and Ashton Kutcher. The Beauty has been ordered to series and Season 1 will consist of 11 episodes, and comes from Ryan Murphy and his frequent collaborator, Matt Hodgson.
Related Ryan Murphy's New Medical Drama Sets Major Record With Its Trailer
A new medical drama from Ryan Murphy sets a major record with its trailer.
The Beauty is set to start production this fall. There are no details about the plot and the character, but the comic book's description reads,...
Per Variety, the new FX series The Beauty is based on the comic book series of the same name by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley. It will also star Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope, and Ashton Kutcher. The Beauty has been ordered to series and Season 1 will consist of 11 episodes, and comes from Ryan Murphy and his frequent collaborator, Matt Hodgson.
Related Ryan Murphy's New Medical Drama Sets Major Record With Its Trailer
A new medical drama from Ryan Murphy sets a major record with its trailer.
The Beauty is set to start production this fall. There are no details about the plot and the character, but the comic book's description reads,...
- 9/30/2024
- by Monica Coman
- Comic Book Resources
FX will be home to yet another series from Ryan Murphy.
The Disney-owned outlet has picked up a drama titled The Beauty from the prolific Murphy’s eponymous production company and 20th Television, where Murphy is based. The series, which will star Evan Peters, Ashton Kutcher, Anthony Ramos and Jeremy Pope, is based on a 2016 Image Comics title of the same title. Murphy and Matthew Hodgson (American Sports Story, 911) are credited as co-creators.
Per usual with Murphy productions, story details are being kept quiet. The graphic novel on which the series is based, by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley, is set in a world where a sexually transmitted disease spreads across the world — largely because it makes people more physically attractive. Two detectives, however, stumble on a conspiracy surrounding the disease’s origins.
The Beauty is set to begin production in the fall and follows a run of...
The Disney-owned outlet has picked up a drama titled The Beauty from the prolific Murphy’s eponymous production company and 20th Television, where Murphy is based. The series, which will star Evan Peters, Ashton Kutcher, Anthony Ramos and Jeremy Pope, is based on a 2016 Image Comics title of the same title. Murphy and Matthew Hodgson (American Sports Story, 911) are credited as co-creators.
Per usual with Murphy productions, story details are being kept quiet. The graphic novel on which the series is based, by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley, is set in a world where a sexually transmitted disease spreads across the world — largely because it makes people more physically attractive. Two detectives, however, stumble on a conspiracy surrounding the disease’s origins.
The Beauty is set to begin production in the fall and follows a run of...
- 9/30/2024
- by Rick Porter
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Evan Peters, Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope and Ashton Kutcher are set to star in Ryan Murphy’s new FX series, “The Beauty.”
The new drama series, which was co-created by Murphy and Matt Hodgson, has received a series order, the network announced Monday. The pair will also executive produce the series, which is slated to begin production this fall, alongside Peters, Ramos and Pope.
Though details of plot and character descriptions for “The Beauty” are being held under wraps, the 11-episode series is based on the comic books by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley, which centers on an Std that passes along beauty to those whom it impacts.
The description for the Image Comics series is as follows: “Modern society is obsessed with outward beauty. What if there was a way to guarantee you could become more and more beautiful every day? What if it was a sexually transmitted disease?...
The new drama series, which was co-created by Murphy and Matt Hodgson, has received a series order, the network announced Monday. The pair will also executive produce the series, which is slated to begin production this fall, alongside Peters, Ramos and Pope.
Though details of plot and character descriptions for “The Beauty” are being held under wraps, the 11-episode series is based on the comic books by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley, which centers on an Std that passes along beauty to those whom it impacts.
The description for the Image Comics series is as follows: “Modern society is obsessed with outward beauty. What if there was a way to guarantee you could become more and more beautiful every day? What if it was a sexually transmitted disease?...
- 9/30/2024
- by Loree Seitz
- The Wrap
Evan Peters and Ryan Murphy are returning to FX together, with the network giving out a series order to the drama “The Beauty.”
Peters will star in “The Beauty” with Murphy serving as co-creator. Ashton Kutcher, Anthony Ramos, and Jeremy Pope will also star in the show, which is based on the Image Comics series of the same name by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley. Matthew Hodgson is also a co-creator on the series. Peters, Murphy, Hodgson, Kutcher, Ramos, and Pope are all executive producers along with Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, Nissa Diederich and Eric Gitter. The series is produced by 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television. Murphy is under an overall deal at Disney, which includes 20th Television.
Production is slated to begin this fall, with FX ordering 11 episodes. Exact plot and character details are being kept under wraps, but the description of the comic books states,...
Peters will star in “The Beauty” with Murphy serving as co-creator. Ashton Kutcher, Anthony Ramos, and Jeremy Pope will also star in the show, which is based on the Image Comics series of the same name by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley. Matthew Hodgson is also a co-creator on the series. Peters, Murphy, Hodgson, Kutcher, Ramos, and Pope are all executive producers along with Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, Nissa Diederich and Eric Gitter. The series is produced by 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television. Murphy is under an overall deal at Disney, which includes 20th Television.
Production is slated to begin this fall, with FX ordering 11 episodes. Exact plot and character details are being kept under wraps, but the description of the comic books states,...
- 9/30/2024
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Another month, another star-studded new series from Ryan Murphy under his Disney deal. FX has given a series order to The Beauty, a drama starring Evan Peters, Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope and Ashton Kutcher. Peters, Ramos and Pope also executive produce.
Co-created, written and exec produced by Murphy and Matt Hodgson, The Beauty is based on the comic books by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley. Production on the 11-episode first season is slated to begin this fall, likely in November. Per usual for a Ryan Murphy project, no official details about the premise and the characters are provided.
The 2016 graphic novel The Beauty is about an Std that makes those affected beautiful. But the disease, dubbed “the Beauty,” eventually kills its hosts as part of a suspected sinister government plot. The main characters in the comics are detectives Drew Foster and Kara Vaughn, partners on beauty crime cases who...
Co-created, written and exec produced by Murphy and Matt Hodgson, The Beauty is based on the comic books by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley. Production on the 11-episode first season is slated to begin this fall, likely in November. Per usual for a Ryan Murphy project, no official details about the premise and the characters are provided.
The 2016 graphic novel The Beauty is about an Std that makes those affected beautiful. But the disease, dubbed “the Beauty,” eventually kills its hosts as part of a suspected sinister government plot. The main characters in the comics are detectives Drew Foster and Kara Vaughn, partners on beauty crime cases who...
- 9/30/2024
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
UTA Independent Film Group has boarded U.S. sales for horror-thriller “Push.” The film, which stars Alicia Sanz and Raúl Castillo, will have its world premiere at the Sitges Film Festival.
Sanz’s credits include “Simulant” and “El Cid.” Castillo’s credits include “The Inspection” and “Army of the Dead.”
“Push” is written, directed and produced by David Charbonier and Justin Powell.
The film follows Natalie Flores (Sanz), a pregnant realtor who is attacked by a sadistic killer (Castillo) at her open house, sending her into premature labor. Up against a physiological ticking clock, Natalie must find a way to escape before she gives birth.
The film is produced by Ryan Scaringe, and executive produced by Del Charbonier, Amy Lippens and Jilbert Daniel. Sanz and Castillo also serve as executive producers on the film.
The production companies are Kinogo Pictures and Mad Descent.
Castillo is represented by CAA, Jws Entertainment and Goodman,...
Sanz’s credits include “Simulant” and “El Cid.” Castillo’s credits include “The Inspection” and “Army of the Dead.”
“Push” is written, directed and produced by David Charbonier and Justin Powell.
The film follows Natalie Flores (Sanz), a pregnant realtor who is attacked by a sadistic killer (Castillo) at her open house, sending her into premature labor. Up against a physiological ticking clock, Natalie must find a way to escape before she gives birth.
The film is produced by Ryan Scaringe, and executive produced by Del Charbonier, Amy Lippens and Jilbert Daniel. Sanz and Castillo also serve as executive producers on the film.
The production companies are Kinogo Pictures and Mad Descent.
Castillo is represented by CAA, Jws Entertainment and Goodman,...
- 9/24/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Fresh off the TIFF premiere of their new documentary Vice Is Broke, Get Out producer QC Entertainment has enlisted Gabrielle Union (Riff Raff) to star in The Casket Girls, a new horror film to be directed by Justin Dyck (Anything for Jackson), which they will produce and fully finance.
Written by Thomas Lennon & Robert Ben Garant (Night at the Museum), with revisions by Keith Cooper (Anything for Jackson) & Dyck, The Casket Girls is inspired by the true story of a group of young women sent from France to New Orleans to become brides to French colonists in the early 1700s. They arrived with small chests, or “caskets” of their belongings, hence the name given by locals. According to legend, upon the girls’ arrival, the homicide rate in New Orleans rose dramatically, with stories of men drained of their blood. The girls were blamed and feared to be demons or vampires,...
Written by Thomas Lennon & Robert Ben Garant (Night at the Museum), with revisions by Keith Cooper (Anything for Jackson) & Dyck, The Casket Girls is inspired by the true story of a group of young women sent from France to New Orleans to become brides to French colonists in the early 1700s. They arrived with small chests, or “caskets” of their belongings, hence the name given by locals. According to legend, upon the girls’ arrival, the homicide rate in New Orleans rose dramatically, with stories of men drained of their blood. The girls were blamed and feared to be demons or vampires,...
- 9/18/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: In advance of its Monday Toronto Film Festival World Premiere, the Dito Montiel-directed Riff Raff has been acquired for U.S. rights by Lionsgate’s Grindstone Entertainment Group and Roadside Attractions which made the deal with Capstone, the domestic sales agent. Roadside Attractions plans a domestic theatrical release of 750 theaters minimum in 2025.
Scripted by John Pollono (Stronger), the film centers on a former criminal whose ordinary life is thrown upside down when his family shows up for a long-awaited reckoning. The cast includes Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus), Ed Harris (Love Lies Bleeding), Gabrielle Union (The Inspection), Lewis Pullman (Top Gun: Maverick), Emanuela Postacchini (Robots), Miles J. Harvey (American Vandal), Pete Davidson (The King of Staten Island), Michael Covina (The Climb), and Bill Murray (Ghostbusters).
Signature Entertainment, which is handling international sales on the title, has closed territory deals in Italy (Maestro Distribution), Scandinavia (Scanbox), the Middle East...
Scripted by John Pollono (Stronger), the film centers on a former criminal whose ordinary life is thrown upside down when his family shows up for a long-awaited reckoning. The cast includes Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus), Ed Harris (Love Lies Bleeding), Gabrielle Union (The Inspection), Lewis Pullman (Top Gun: Maverick), Emanuela Postacchini (Robots), Miles J. Harvey (American Vandal), Pete Davidson (The King of Staten Island), Michael Covina (The Climb), and Bill Murray (Ghostbusters).
Signature Entertainment, which is handling international sales on the title, has closed territory deals in Italy (Maestro Distribution), Scandinavia (Scanbox), the Middle East...
- 9/3/2024
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Daughters, the award-winning Netflix documentary set behind the walls of a Washington DC prison, will serve as the closing night selection of a new film festival taking place at California’s San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.
The film, winner of the Festival Favorite Award as well as the Audience Award for U.S. Documentary at Sundance, centers on a special “Daddy-Daughter Dance” where incarcerated men and their daughters participate in a unique and emotional bonding experience. It will screen October 11 at the San Quentin Film Festival, a two-day event on the grounds of the prison that houses upwards of 4,000 men.
‘Daughters’
“We are honored to have Daughters screen as the Closing Night film in San Quentin!” said Natalie Rae, who directed the documentary with Angela Patton. “To connect incarcerated fathers...
The film, winner of the Festival Favorite Award as well as the Audience Award for U.S. Documentary at Sundance, centers on a special “Daddy-Daughter Dance” where incarcerated men and their daughters participate in a unique and emotional bonding experience. It will screen October 11 at the San Quentin Film Festival, a two-day event on the grounds of the prison that houses upwards of 4,000 men.
‘Daughters’
“We are honored to have Daughters screen as the Closing Night film in San Quentin!” said Natalie Rae, who directed the documentary with Angela Patton. “To connect incarcerated fathers...
- 8/14/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Army of the Dead and Cha Cha Real Smooth actor Raúl Castillo has been set as the lead in William Atticus Parker’s third film, The Auction, which we told you about earlier this month.
Today, we can tell you a little more about the suspense science-fiction tale, loosely inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. The film is set at the Aztec Corp., a company that auctions off ancient antiquities and semi-distinct wild exotic animals. Castillo will portray the newest sales representative, David Valdez, with Ben Vereen appearing as his father and K. Todd Freeman as the head of the corporation.
The previously announced cast also includes Audra McDonald, Mary-Louise Parker, and Richard Kind. Details about their specific roles are not being released yet.
Parker — son of actors Mary-Louise Parker and Billy Crudup — will make his film acting debut in the pic alongside his mom Parker.
Today, we can tell you a little more about the suspense science-fiction tale, loosely inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. The film is set at the Aztec Corp., a company that auctions off ancient antiquities and semi-distinct wild exotic animals. Castillo will portray the newest sales representative, David Valdez, with Ben Vereen appearing as his father and K. Todd Freeman as the head of the corporation.
The previously announced cast also includes Audra McDonald, Mary-Louise Parker, and Richard Kind. Details about their specific roles are not being released yet.
Parker — son of actors Mary-Louise Parker and Billy Crudup — will make his film acting debut in the pic alongside his mom Parker.
- 7/24/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
The San Quentin Film Festival — the first-ever film festival held inside a prison — has named its inaugural industry jury, which includes Jeffrey Wright, Billy Crudup, Mary-Louise Parker and more.
The festival, taking place Oct. 10 and 11 at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in northern California, will highlight short films and pitches from current and formerly incarcerated filmmakers in front of a jury made up of entertainment industry artists and executives. Separately, an “inside jury” made up of currently incarcerated people will judge narrative and documentary feature films about the prison experience made by filmmakers who have never served prison time.
Actors on the industry jury include Wright, Crudup, Parker and Kathy Najimy.
Directors on the jury include Elegance Bratton, Taylor Hackford, Lynn Novick, Greg Kwedar, Jeff Stanzler and Joe Talbot.
Writer-producers on the jury include Sam Catlin, Lawrence O’Donnell, Piper Kerman (“Orange Is the New Black”) and J.T. Rogers.
The jury also includes Len Amato,...
The festival, taking place Oct. 10 and 11 at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in northern California, will highlight short films and pitches from current and formerly incarcerated filmmakers in front of a jury made up of entertainment industry artists and executives. Separately, an “inside jury” made up of currently incarcerated people will judge narrative and documentary feature films about the prison experience made by filmmakers who have never served prison time.
Actors on the industry jury include Wright, Crudup, Parker and Kathy Najimy.
Directors on the jury include Elegance Bratton, Taylor Hackford, Lynn Novick, Greg Kwedar, Jeff Stanzler and Joe Talbot.
Writer-producers on the jury include Sam Catlin, Lawrence O’Donnell, Piper Kerman (“Orange Is the New Black”) and J.T. Rogers.
The jury also includes Len Amato,...
- 7/9/2024
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
Kanopy – the no-fee, ad-free film and TV show streaming service that’s available to some 45 million people in the United States with a library card and through more than 85% of large American colleges and universities – is featuring movies selected by GLAAD in celebration of Pride Month in June. The GLAAD Pride Month Picks include films that feature “fair, accurate and inclusive LGBTQ+ representation” as part of the service’s full Pride Month collection of 107 movies and documentaries.
GLAAD is the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer media advocacy organization. Its Pride Month choices (including the 2023 Oscar Best Picture winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once”) are below:
“The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” (1994) “The Aggressives: The World of Lesbian Subculture” (2005) “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” (2022) “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (2022) “The Blue Caftan” (2022) “But I’m a Cheerleader” (1999) “Call Her Ganda” (2018) “Changing the Game” (2019) “Everything Everywhere All at Once...
GLAAD is the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer media advocacy organization. Its Pride Month choices (including the 2023 Oscar Best Picture winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once”) are below:
“The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” (1994) “The Aggressives: The World of Lesbian Subculture” (2005) “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” (2022) “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (2022) “The Blue Caftan” (2022) “But I’m a Cheerleader” (1999) “Call Her Ganda” (2018) “Changing the Game” (2019) “Everything Everywhere All at Once...
- 6/9/2024
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
Signature Entertainment has acquired the U.K. and Irish rights to Sylvester Stallone (“Tulsa King”) action thriller “Alarum” from Highland Film Group.
The feature is produced and financed by Convergence Entertainment Group (“Cash Out”) and is directed by Michael Polish (“Force of Nature”) from a script written by Alexander Vesha (“Deadly Impact”). The film stars Scott Eastwood (“Fast X”) and Stallone.
“Alarum” follows retired assassin couple Joe and Lara Travers, who are in hiding at a holiday resort in Belize when a plane crashes nearby. After retrieving a top-secret flash drive from the crash, the couple are pulled back into their shadowy past, fending off government operatives determined to retrieve the drive.
The deal was negotiated between Signature’s chief commercial officer Elizabeth Williams and Highland Film Group’s president of international sales Todd Olsson. Highland Film Group is handling international rights to the actioner.
“Everyone loves the legend that...
The feature is produced and financed by Convergence Entertainment Group (“Cash Out”) and is directed by Michael Polish (“Force of Nature”) from a script written by Alexander Vesha (“Deadly Impact”). The film stars Scott Eastwood (“Fast X”) and Stallone.
“Alarum” follows retired assassin couple Joe and Lara Travers, who are in hiding at a holiday resort in Belize when a plane crashes nearby. After retrieving a top-secret flash drive from the crash, the couple are pulled back into their shadowy past, fending off government operatives determined to retrieve the drive.
The deal was negotiated between Signature’s chief commercial officer Elizabeth Williams and Highland Film Group’s president of international sales Todd Olsson. Highland Film Group is handling international rights to the actioner.
“Everyone loves the legend that...
- 5/17/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Bill Murray has joined the cast of “Riff Raff,” the upcoming crime comedy from director Dito Montiel set to feature Jennifer Coolidge (“The White Lotus”), Ed Harris (“Love Lies Bleeding”) Gabrielle Union (“The Inspection”), Lewis Pullman (“Top Gun: Maverick”), Emanuela Postacchini (“Robots”), Miles J. Harvey (“American Vandal”) and Pete Davidson (“The King of Staten Island”).
Signature Films, which is handling international sales on the title, has closed territory deals in Italy (Maestro Distribution), Scandinavia (Scanbox), the Middle East (Phoenicia), Eastern Europe (ProRom), Poland (Kino Siwiat), Taiwan (MovieCloud), airline rights (CineSky), Commonwealth of Independent States (Mgn), Greece (Tanweer), Portugal (Lusomundo) and Turkey (Vagon). Signature will distribute the film in the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Based on a script by John Pollono (“Stronger”), “Riff Raff” centers on a former criminal’s ordinary life which is thrown upside down when his old family shows up for a long-awaited reckoning.
Signature...
Signature Films, which is handling international sales on the title, has closed territory deals in Italy (Maestro Distribution), Scandinavia (Scanbox), the Middle East (Phoenicia), Eastern Europe (ProRom), Poland (Kino Siwiat), Taiwan (MovieCloud), airline rights (CineSky), Commonwealth of Independent States (Mgn), Greece (Tanweer), Portugal (Lusomundo) and Turkey (Vagon). Signature will distribute the film in the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Based on a script by John Pollono (“Stronger”), “Riff Raff” centers on a former criminal’s ordinary life which is thrown upside down when his old family shows up for a long-awaited reckoning.
Signature...
- 5/14/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
London- and Paris-based production, finance and international sales outfit Film Constellation has unveiled a first exclusive clip from Titus Kaphar’s well-received drama “Exhibiting Forgiveness.”
Film Constellation will screen the film for buyers in Cannes on Tuesday.
The film received glowing reviews after its January premiere at Sundance in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section, and was picked up for North American distribution by Roadside Attractions, with a theatrical release scheduled for the Fall awards season.
In the film, an artist finds his path to success derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, a troubled man desperate to reconcile. Together they learn that forgetting may be harder than forgiving.
The directorial debut of visual artist Kaphar, “Exhibiting Forgiveness” stars Spirit Award winner and SAG nominee André Holland, Academy Award nominee, Golden Globes winner and Grammy Award winner Andra Day, Tony Award nominee John Earl Jelks, and Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.
Film Constellation will screen the film for buyers in Cannes on Tuesday.
The film received glowing reviews after its January premiere at Sundance in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section, and was picked up for North American distribution by Roadside Attractions, with a theatrical release scheduled for the Fall awards season.
In the film, an artist finds his path to success derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, a troubled man desperate to reconcile. Together they learn that forgetting may be harder than forgiving.
The directorial debut of visual artist Kaphar, “Exhibiting Forgiveness” stars Spirit Award winner and SAG nominee André Holland, Academy Award nominee, Golden Globes winner and Grammy Award winner Andra Day, Tony Award nominee John Earl Jelks, and Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.
- 5/14/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
London- and Paris-based production, finance and sales outfit Film Constellation has boarded international sales on Titus Kaphar’s drama “Exhibiting Forgiveness.”
The film received strong reviews after its January premiere at Sundance in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section, and was picked up for North American distribution by Roadside Attractions, with plans for a wide theatrical release in the fall and awards campaign.
Film Constellation will screen the film for buyers in Cannes.
In the film, an artist finds his path to success derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, a troubled man desperate to reconcile. Together, they learn that forgetting may be harder than forgiving.
The directorial debut of visual artist Kaphar, “Exhibiting Forgiveness” stars André Holland, Andra Day, John Earl Jelks and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.
Variety’s Owen Gleiberman gave the film a positive review, describing it as “a forceful drama free of feel-good fakery” and praising Holland’s performance as “fierce,...
The film received strong reviews after its January premiere at Sundance in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section, and was picked up for North American distribution by Roadside Attractions, with plans for a wide theatrical release in the fall and awards campaign.
Film Constellation will screen the film for buyers in Cannes.
In the film, an artist finds his path to success derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, a troubled man desperate to reconcile. Together, they learn that forgetting may be harder than forgiving.
The directorial debut of visual artist Kaphar, “Exhibiting Forgiveness” stars André Holland, Andra Day, John Earl Jelks and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.
Variety’s Owen Gleiberman gave the film a positive review, describing it as “a forceful drama free of feel-good fakery” and praising Holland’s performance as “fierce,...
- 5/3/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Sony Pictures International Productions (Spip) has hired veteran executive Milada Kolberg in the new role of production director.
Starting from tomorrow, Kolberg will oversee local film development and production in Germany, joining the Sony Pictures Germany team headed by Benjamin Bach. She will report to Shebnem Askin, EVP, creative production and head of Sony Pictures International Productions.
Kolberg has over 20 years of experience in film acquisitions, sales and consulting. She joins Sony from X Verleih Ag, the distribution arm of German production company X Filme Creative Pool, where she had been head of acquisitions and international co-productions since 2019.
Films Kolberg...
Starting from tomorrow, Kolberg will oversee local film development and production in Germany, joining the Sony Pictures Germany team headed by Benjamin Bach. She will report to Shebnem Askin, EVP, creative production and head of Sony Pictures International Productions.
Kolberg has over 20 years of experience in film acquisitions, sales and consulting. She joins Sony from X Verleih Ag, the distribution arm of German production company X Filme Creative Pool, where she had been head of acquisitions and international co-productions since 2019.
Films Kolberg...
- 1/31/2024
- ScreenDaily
Sony Pictures International Productions (Spip) has hired veteran executive Milada Kolberg in the new role of production director.
Starting from tomorrow, Kolberg will oversee local film development and production in Germany, joining the Sony Pictures Germany team headed by Benjamin Bach. She will report to Shebnem Askin, EVP, creative production and head of Sony Pictures International Productions.
Kolberg has over 20 years of experience in film acquisitions, sales and consulting. She joins Sony from X Verleih Ag, the distribution arm of German production company X Filme Creative Pool, where she had been head of acquisitions and international co-productions since 2019.
Films Kolberg...
Starting from tomorrow, Kolberg will oversee local film development and production in Germany, joining the Sony Pictures Germany team headed by Benjamin Bach. She will report to Shebnem Askin, EVP, creative production and head of Sony Pictures International Productions.
Kolberg has over 20 years of experience in film acquisitions, sales and consulting. She joins Sony from X Verleih Ag, the distribution arm of German production company X Filme Creative Pool, where she had been head of acquisitions and international co-productions since 2019.
Films Kolberg...
- 1/31/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Aaron Dominguez has signed with Anonymous Content for representation.
Dominguez is best known for his breakout role in Season 1 of the hit Hulu murder mystery series Only Murders in the Building. He portrayed the cryptic Oscar Torres — better known as Tie-Dye Guy — an old friend of Mabel’s (Selena Gomez) with whom she teams up to help solve a crime alongside her two new podcast buddies, Charles-Haden (Steve Martin) and Oliver (Martin Short). Also for the small screen, Dominguez starred in the Max series Gossip Girl.
Next, he focused on feature projects including work in The Inspection (2022) for A24 starring opposite Jeremy Pope and Gabrielle Union. The Elegance Bratton-directed film tells the story of a young, gay Black man (Pope), rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, who decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes...
Dominguez is best known for his breakout role in Season 1 of the hit Hulu murder mystery series Only Murders in the Building. He portrayed the cryptic Oscar Torres — better known as Tie-Dye Guy — an old friend of Mabel’s (Selena Gomez) with whom she teams up to help solve a crime alongside her two new podcast buddies, Charles-Haden (Steve Martin) and Oliver (Martin Short). Also for the small screen, Dominguez starred in the Max series Gossip Girl.
Next, he focused on feature projects including work in The Inspection (2022) for A24 starring opposite Jeremy Pope and Gabrielle Union. The Elegance Bratton-directed film tells the story of a young, gay Black man (Pope), rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, who decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes...
- 1/11/2024
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Eman Esfandi knew he would play the role of Ezra Bridger in Ahsoka six months before auditioning. When he received the cryptic auditioning information, he realized that he was right all along, and he would play Ezra. Esfandi captures every detail that makes the animated Ezra unique and has a strong chemistry with Natasha Liu Bordizzo's Sabine.
Eman Esfandi planned to play Ezra Bridger long before he was cast in Ahsoka. Ezra first appeared in the animated show Star Wars: Rebels, where he played the part of a young rebel Jedi apprentice desperately working to stop the Empire. Esfandi plays the live-action version in Ahsoka, as the Rebels team tries to stop Thrawn and retrieve Ezra from exile.
While Disney may not have wanted Esfandi to know what he was auditioning for, Esfandi recognized his part immediately. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he revealed that he decided...
Eman Esfandi planned to play Ezra Bridger long before he was cast in Ahsoka. Ezra first appeared in the animated show Star Wars: Rebels, where he played the part of a young rebel Jedi apprentice desperately working to stop the Empire. Esfandi plays the live-action version in Ahsoka, as the Rebels team tries to stop Thrawn and retrieve Ezra from exile.
While Disney may not have wanted Esfandi to know what he was auditioning for, Esfandi recognized his part immediately. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he revealed that he decided...
- 12/31/2023
- by Lukas Shayo
- ScreenRant
Bookmark this page for the latest updates in the territory.
Screen is listing the 2023 release dates for films in the UK and Ireland in the calendar below.
For distributors who wish to add/amend a date on the calendar, please get in touch with Screen here. Screen is also running a calendar for festival and market dates throughout 2023 here.
December
December 31
Berliner Philharmoniker Live: New Year’s Eve Concert 2023 (Trafalgar - event cinema)
Previous releases January
January 6
Piggy (Vertigo), The Enforcer (Vertigo), Alcarràs (Mubi), A Man Called Otto (Sony), Rashomon (BFI), Till (Universal)
January 7
Andre Rieu In Dublin 2023 (Piece of...
Screen is listing the 2023 release dates for films in the UK and Ireland in the calendar below.
For distributors who wish to add/amend a date on the calendar, please get in touch with Screen here. Screen is also running a calendar for festival and market dates throughout 2023 here.
December
December 31
Berliner Philharmoniker Live: New Year’s Eve Concert 2023 (Trafalgar - event cinema)
Previous releases January
January 6
Piggy (Vertigo), The Enforcer (Vertigo), Alcarràs (Mubi), A Man Called Otto (Sony), Rashomon (BFI), Till (Universal)
January 7
Andre Rieu In Dublin 2023 (Piece of...
- 12/30/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Have you ever showed up to speed dating only to find the opposite side of the barcade banquette occupied by a Puritan it-girl, Chicano art collective or trans-femme disco-dancing granny? For that matter, has your scorecard of prospective singles ever included A24? Hulu? ABC News? If not, then you’ve never been on the floor to pitch your latest film project at Film Independent Fast Track.
Now in its 21st year, Fast Track seeks to inject some much-needed capital and support into a diverse range of deserving independent film projects, both fiction and nonfiction. Taking place online December 4–6, the program is an intensive four-day film-financing market; participating filmmakers are connected with established financiers, production companies, agents, managers and other pros who can move their current projects forward.
Making friends at Fast Track
“This year’s Fast Track line-up of projects reflects the current landscape’s desire for bold, innovative and entertaining films.
Now in its 21st year, Fast Track seeks to inject some much-needed capital and support into a diverse range of deserving independent film projects, both fiction and nonfiction. Taking place online December 4–6, the program is an intensive four-day film-financing market; participating filmmakers are connected with established financiers, production companies, agents, managers and other pros who can move their current projects forward.
Making friends at Fast Track
“This year’s Fast Track line-up of projects reflects the current landscape’s desire for bold, innovative and entertaining films.
- 12/12/2023
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent News & More
Jeremy Pope conquered Broadway (and earned two Tony nominations in the same year) for work in Choir Boy and Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations. He earned an Emmy nomination for a starring role in Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood, and drew raves last year for his dramatic work on the big-screen in The Inspection. With his latest, the 31-year-old is shifting focus to photography as a way to investigate a childhood growing up as gay with a pastor father who also happened to be a professional bodybuilder. The result is a photo series called “Flex (bitch)” that challenges gender norms, finds Pope in drag for the first time and casts RuPaul’s Drag Race star Symone as a shirtless, masculine man puffing on a cigarette. Days before traveling to Miami to debut the series at Scope Art Show (where he’ll also sit for a...
- 12/5/2023
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris (Westworld), Lewis Pullman (Top Gun: Maverick), Miles J. Harvey (American Vandal) and Pete Davidson (The King of Staten Island) have joined Emmy winner Jennifer Coolidge, Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman, and Gabrielle Union (The Inspection) in director Dito Montiel’s crime comedy movie Riff Raff, which has begun filming in New Jersey.
The film centers on a former criminal whose ordinary life is thrown upside down when his family shows up for a long-awaited reckoning.
Signature Films and Canopy Media Partners are behind the production, based on a script by John Pollono.
Canopy Media Partners’ Noah Rothman (Small Engine Repair), Signature Films’ Marc Goldberg and Sarah Gabriel (The Estate), and Adam Paulsen are producing.
Executive producers include David Sullivan, John Pollono, Chris Dennis for Canopy Media Partners, Capstone’s Christian Mercuri, and Patrick Hibler and Patrick Muldoon from Storyboard Media.
The film centers on a former criminal whose ordinary life is thrown upside down when his family shows up for a long-awaited reckoning.
Signature Films and Canopy Media Partners are behind the production, based on a script by John Pollono.
Canopy Media Partners’ Noah Rothman (Small Engine Repair), Signature Films’ Marc Goldberg and Sarah Gabriel (The Estate), and Adam Paulsen are producing.
Executive producers include David Sullivan, John Pollono, Chris Dennis for Canopy Media Partners, Capstone’s Christian Mercuri, and Patrick Hibler and Patrick Muldoon from Storyboard Media.
- 11/21/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
2023 edition of international finance forum adds episodic content to line-up.
Canadian 2Slgbtq+ film festival Inside Out has unveiled 11 projects to participate in this weekend’s seventh annual international finance forum, which is moving ahead after the end of the Hollywood strikes.
The two-day forum had been scheduled to run during Inside Out’s flagship festival in Toronto in May and now takes place from November 17-18.
The agenda includes in-person conversations and interactive panel discussions with queer filmmakers and producers, as well as one-on-one meetings with executives, and roundtable sessions on co-producing with Canada, and entertainment law and music rights.
Canadian 2Slgbtq+ film festival Inside Out has unveiled 11 projects to participate in this weekend’s seventh annual international finance forum, which is moving ahead after the end of the Hollywood strikes.
The two-day forum had been scheduled to run during Inside Out’s flagship festival in Toronto in May and now takes place from November 17-18.
The agenda includes in-person conversations and interactive panel discussions with queer filmmakers and producers, as well as one-on-one meetings with executives, and roundtable sessions on co-producing with Canada, and entertainment law and music rights.
- 11/17/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Aaron Dominguez (Only Murders in the Building), Melissa Fumero (Blockbuster), Alejandro Edda (Narcos: Mexico), Sebastian Chacon (Daisy Jones & The Six), and Carlos Pratts (Fatal Attraction) have been set to star in Red Dirt, an indie action thriller from director Crash Buist (The Stratum) that has been handed an interim agreement from SAG.
Written by Buist, Jonathan Medina (Primo), and Lauren Senechal (The Stratum), the film is a family-driven revenge tale about two brothers, Miguel (Dominguez) and Dom (Edda) who are thrust back together after years apart when their family is murdered by cartel gangsters in a New Mexico border town. The brothers are the only surviving members of a family that dies crossing the border between Mexico and the United States. Upon doing so, they’re found and cared for by a white couple, Brent and Margaret. The backdrop of their struggle arises with the opposing realities of where...
Written by Buist, Jonathan Medina (Primo), and Lauren Senechal (The Stratum), the film is a family-driven revenge tale about two brothers, Miguel (Dominguez) and Dom (Edda) who are thrust back together after years apart when their family is murdered by cartel gangsters in a New Mexico border town. The brothers are the only surviving members of a family that dies crossing the border between Mexico and the United States. Upon doing so, they’re found and cared for by a white couple, Brent and Margaret. The backdrop of their struggle arises with the opposing realities of where...
- 11/6/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Film Independent has set seven filmmakers for the 2023 edition of its Producing Lab, an intensive program designed to help creative, independent producers develop their skills and further their careers. The list includes Camila Grimaldi & Farah Jabir (AmeriGirl), Rob Cristiano (Gone by Morning), Daniel Tantalean (In the Summers), Valeria Contreras (Not My Name), Annalisa Shoemaker (Obsolete), and Fiona Hardingham (Smoke Country).
Film Independent looks to bolster its Fellows by introducing them to film professionals who can advise them on both the craft and business of independent producing. Each is paired with a Creative Advisor, with whom they’ll look to develop a project over the course of the program. Rebecca Green will serve as lead creative advisor for this year’s program, which will also feature an expansive roster of guest speakers: Jason Michael Berman, Apoorva Charan, Marissa Frobes, Nate Kamiya, Kristen Konvitz, Stephen Lee, Alex Lo, Lauren Mann, Jack Pearkes,...
Film Independent looks to bolster its Fellows by introducing them to film professionals who can advise them on both the craft and business of independent producing. Each is paired with a Creative Advisor, with whom they’ll look to develop a project over the course of the program. Rebecca Green will serve as lead creative advisor for this year’s program, which will also feature an expansive roster of guest speakers: Jason Michael Berman, Apoorva Charan, Marissa Frobes, Nate Kamiya, Kristen Konvitz, Stephen Lee, Alex Lo, Lauren Mann, Jack Pearkes,...
- 10/11/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Even amid the concurrent strikes of the past year, there’s been a lot of bonus hand-wringing over the state of the independent producer. Producers, after all, have no SAG or WGA equivalent. Where then does the workaday, blue-collar movie producer find community support? Or work with peers to advance their collective interests?
Well… linking up with a good Artist Development cohort is a great place to star. Which is why we’re thrilled to announce seven new Fellows representing six new projects to kick off the 2023 edition (and 23rd overall!) of the Film Independent Producing Lab.
“We’re delighted to shepherd this group of devoted creative producers through the Lab and give them a dedicated space to further their projects and careers,” says Dea Vazquez, Film Independent’s Associate Director of Fiction Programs.
“We’re thrilled to have feature films in both development and post-production, to support producers at...
Well… linking up with a good Artist Development cohort is a great place to star. Which is why we’re thrilled to announce seven new Fellows representing six new projects to kick off the 2023 edition (and 23rd overall!) of the Film Independent Producing Lab.
“We’re delighted to shepherd this group of devoted creative producers through the Lab and give them a dedicated space to further their projects and careers,” says Dea Vazquez, Film Independent’s Associate Director of Fiction Programs.
“We’re thrilled to have feature films in both development and post-production, to support producers at...
- 10/11/2023
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent News & More
This article contains Spoilers for Ahsoka episode 6.
Star Wars fans finally witness Ezra Bridger's long-awaited return in Ahsoka, played by new actor Eman Esfandi. Ezra reunites with Sabine Wren and makes his captivating live-action debut, leaving viewers wondering about the actors' other roles. Taylor Gray skillfully voiced Ezra Bridger in Star Wars Rebels, appearing in all four seasons and various animated shorts before Eman Esfandi's portrayal in Ahsoka.
After five years of waiting, Star Wars fans saw Ezra Bridger's return in Ahsoka episode 6 "Part Six: Far, Far Away", played by a new actor. Ezra was the main character of the Star Wars Rebels animated series, a street rat from Lothol who joined the Ghost crew in the fight against the Empire. He trained under Kanan Jarrus to become a Jedi Knight, and at the Battle of Lothol, he disappeared into hyperspace alongside Grand Admiral Thrawn. Ezra's disappearance set up the plot for Ahsoka,...
Star Wars fans finally witness Ezra Bridger's long-awaited return in Ahsoka, played by new actor Eman Esfandi. Ezra reunites with Sabine Wren and makes his captivating live-action debut, leaving viewers wondering about the actors' other roles. Taylor Gray skillfully voiced Ezra Bridger in Star Wars Rebels, appearing in all four seasons and various animated shorts before Eman Esfandi's portrayal in Ahsoka.
After five years of waiting, Star Wars fans saw Ezra Bridger's return in Ahsoka episode 6 "Part Six: Far, Far Away", played by a new actor. Ezra was the main character of the Star Wars Rebels animated series, a street rat from Lothol who joined the Ghost crew in the fight against the Empire. He trained under Kanan Jarrus to become a Jedi Knight, and at the Battle of Lothol, he disappeared into hyperspace alongside Grand Admiral Thrawn. Ezra's disappearance set up the plot for Ahsoka,...
- 9/20/2023
- by Nathaniel Roark
- ScreenRant
GLAAD has released the 11th installment of its Studio Responsibility Index, an annual study that tracks “the quantity, quality and diversity” of LGBTQ characters in films released in a calendar year by 10 Hollywood distributors.
The results found that of 350 titles released in 2022, 100 films, or 28.5 percent, featured an LGBTQ character, marking the highest number recorded in the time GLAAD has conducted the study. It should be noted, however, that in today’s peak content landscape, the number of films tracked has also increased, per GLAAD.
In those 100 films, there were 292 LGBTQ characters including 117, or 40 percent, characters of color. Of the 292, 163 were men, 119 women and 10 nonbinary. Seven of the women characters and six of the men were transgender. The showings marked a record number of nonbinary characters. Also a record: 12 of 350 films included a transgender character. Eleven LGBTQ characters were counted with a disability, also a high.
While the data showed gains for LGBTQ representation,...
The results found that of 350 titles released in 2022, 100 films, or 28.5 percent, featured an LGBTQ character, marking the highest number recorded in the time GLAAD has conducted the study. It should be noted, however, that in today’s peak content landscape, the number of films tracked has also increased, per GLAAD.
In those 100 films, there were 292 LGBTQ characters including 117, or 40 percent, characters of color. Of the 292, 163 were men, 119 women and 10 nonbinary. Seven of the women characters and six of the men were transgender. The showings marked a record number of nonbinary characters. Also a record: 12 of 350 films included a transgender character. Eleven LGBTQ characters were counted with a disability, also a high.
While the data showed gains for LGBTQ representation,...
- 9/14/2023
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Canadian distributor LevelFilm has hired two executives from Sphere Films in leadership roles.
Olivier Gauthier-Mercier joins as VP, distribution and Lainie Elton as VP, sales and acquisitions. Gauthier-Mercier was previously VP, distribution at Sphere Films where he oversaw the releases of Ari Aster’s “Beau is Afraid,” Kelly Reichardt’s “Showing Up” and Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun.”
Lainie Elton returns to LevelFilm after heading up licensing and digital strategy at Sphere Films as a vice president. Elton was previously VP, sales at LevelFilm for five years shepherding “Firecrackers,” “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” and “The Assistant.” The executive was also instrumental in establishing LevelFilm’s relationships with Netflix and Rogers.
Upcoming LevelFilm releases include musical biopic “Dreamin’ Wild,” starring Casey Affleck, Zooey Deschanel, Chris Messina and Walton Goggins and Ben Kingsley-led drama “Jules.’ At the Toronto International Film Festival 2023, LevelFilm has Elliot Page-produced queer cheer drama “Backspot,...
Olivier Gauthier-Mercier joins as VP, distribution and Lainie Elton as VP, sales and acquisitions. Gauthier-Mercier was previously VP, distribution at Sphere Films where he oversaw the releases of Ari Aster’s “Beau is Afraid,” Kelly Reichardt’s “Showing Up” and Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun.”
Lainie Elton returns to LevelFilm after heading up licensing and digital strategy at Sphere Films as a vice president. Elton was previously VP, sales at LevelFilm for five years shepherding “Firecrackers,” “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” and “The Assistant.” The executive was also instrumental in establishing LevelFilm’s relationships with Netflix and Rogers.
Upcoming LevelFilm releases include musical biopic “Dreamin’ Wild,” starring Casey Affleck, Zooey Deschanel, Chris Messina and Walton Goggins and Ben Kingsley-led drama “Jules.’ At the Toronto International Film Festival 2023, LevelFilm has Elliot Page-produced queer cheer drama “Backspot,...
- 8/21/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
“It’s a great honor to close the esteemed New York Film Festival with ‘Ferrari,'” said director Michael Mann in a statement regarding the news that his film has been named the Closing Night selection for the 61st annual fest on October 13. This will be the North American premiere of the film following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September. It will be released to general audiences in the United States on Christmas Day.
NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim said in a statement, “Michael Mann has made many remarkable movies but perhaps never one as simultaneously thrilling and moving as ‘Ferrari.’ Not just a feat of virtuosity, this is a grand and striking evolution of his career themes and his most deeply personal work. We are honored to welcome him to the festival for what I’m sure will be a Closing Night for the ages.
NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim said in a statement, “Michael Mann has made many remarkable movies but perhaps never one as simultaneously thrilling and moving as ‘Ferrari.’ Not just a feat of virtuosity, this is a grand and striking evolution of his career themes and his most deeply personal work. We are honored to welcome him to the festival for what I’m sure will be a Closing Night for the ages.
- 7/27/2023
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Star Wars fans will soon be tuning in to Disney+ to journey back to the galaxy far, far away with the release of Ahsoka on the streaming service. Starring Rosario Dawson as the titular lead, the series will be heavily influenced by Star Wars Rebels, a beloved animated show that continues the adventures of the former Jedi. Trailers for Ahsoka have showcased the Rebels crew pitted against the antagonistic Thrawn. These early previews also found time to hint toward the inclusion of fan-favorite Ezra Bridger.
Although a huge portion of the Ahsoka audience will be familiar with Ezra and are excited to see what role he plays in the wider story, there are still those who are yet to have the privilege of watching Star Wars Rebels. Luckily, the casting of the Jedi appears to be spot-on, meaning newcomers will get the opportunity to see an accurate version of Ezra...
Although a huge portion of the Ahsoka audience will be familiar with Ezra and are excited to see what role he plays in the wider story, there are still those who are yet to have the privilege of watching Star Wars Rebels. Luckily, the casting of the Jedi appears to be spot-on, meaning newcomers will get the opportunity to see an accurate version of Ezra...
- 7/13/2023
- by George Chrysostomou
- Comic Book Resources
“When the LAPD Blows Up Your Neighborhood” by director Nathan Truesdell won TheWrap’s ShortList Film Festival Industry Award Wednesday night at The Culver Theater in Culver City, California.
Truesdell, who was also a producer and cinematographer on the Oscar-nominated doc “Ascension,” documented the disastrous LAPD operation of 2021 that devastated South Central after police accidentally blew up a truck full of confiscated fireworks. The 19-minute doc follows local residents, many of whom are still homeless two years later.
“For its experimental, bold truth-telling and for pushing the form of what a documentary can be while balancing tremendous narrative tension, this film brings to light issues of oppression while challenging us to find solutions,” the festival’s jury said in a statement explaining their decision.
Also Read:
ShortList 2023: ‘Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó’ Director Hopes You’ll Fall in Love With His Grandmothers
The jury was comprised of producer Amy Baer,...
Truesdell, who was also a producer and cinematographer on the Oscar-nominated doc “Ascension,” documented the disastrous LAPD operation of 2021 that devastated South Central after police accidentally blew up a truck full of confiscated fireworks. The 19-minute doc follows local residents, many of whom are still homeless two years later.
“For its experimental, bold truth-telling and for pushing the form of what a documentary can be while balancing tremendous narrative tension, this film brings to light issues of oppression while challenging us to find solutions,” the festival’s jury said in a statement explaining their decision.
Also Read:
ShortList 2023: ‘Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó’ Director Hopes You’ll Fall in Love With His Grandmothers
The jury was comprised of producer Amy Baer,...
- 7/13/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
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