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LevelFILM to distribute in Canada.

Paris-based Elle Driver will launch worldwide sales excluding Canada next week on Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) selection and vampire dark comedy Kicking Blood.

Blaine Thurier directed the feature from New Real Films and Generativity Productions which receives its world premiere in Contemporary World Cinema on September 10.

Alanna Bale stars as a modern-day vampire who falls for a charming recovering alcoholic and resolves to quit drinking blood and become human again. Luke Bilyk, Vinessa Antoine, Ella Jonas Farlinger, Ben Sutherland and Rosemary Dunsmore round out the principal cast.

Thurier co-wrote the screenplay to Kicking Blood with Leonard Farlinger.

Vertical Entertainment to release in Us and UK, Game Theory in Canada.

Montreal-based WaZabi Films has picked up worldwide sales rights excluding North America and UK to Andrea Dorfman’s “anti” rom-com Spinster starring Chelsea Peretti of Brooklyn Nine Nine.

Vertical Entertainment will release the film from Woods Entertainment, Northeast Films and Shut Up & Colour Pictures in the Us and UK, while Game Theory will handle distribution in Canada.

WaZabi will launch talks with buyers immediately on Spinster, which follows Peretti’s character Gaby as she is unceremoniously dumped on her 39th birthday and embarks on a dating rampage...

From Vertical Entertainment, we have the first trailer for Edge of Winter. The movie will come as some interest to superhero fans, as it pairs two actors from the world of Marvel and DC Comics. Headlining this intense thriller is Joel Kinnaman, who stars as Rick Flagg in Suicide Squad this August. And co-starring in the movie is Tom Holland, who made his debut appearance as Peter Parker in this summer's Captain America: Civil and will return next summer as the title character in Spider-Man: HomeComing.

Also starring in this drama are Percy Hynes White, Rachelle Lefevre, Shiloh Fernandez and Rossif Sutherland. The thriller was directed by Rob Connolly. It will be hitting theaters on August 12th. But first, fans can catch it on VOD July 26th via Vertical Entertainment. Along with the first look footage, we also have the first poster.

In the film, two brothers get stuck...

Teen Lust is definitely a dubious title. It's not one you want to order on the company dime while on a business trip. Nor do you want it read back to you while Visa runs a credit fraud check. And it's probably not a title you want your spouse spotting during that end of the month bill pay. Perhaps that's why we haven't heard too much about it yet. People are afraid. The movie may be hampered by it's gleefully inappropriate nomenclature. But that saucy title barely scratches at the surface of what hides behind it.

Yes, lovers of 80s sex comedies are in for a real treat. And the movie certainly trumps the idea that Hollywood has run out of original ideas. We, as true movie fans, just have to dig a litter deeper. If Teen Lust had of been released in 1986, or even in 1996, untouched, we'd be celebrating its anniversary as a classic.

Teen Lust stars Woodbridge, Ontario’s Jesse Carere as Neil, a high school student whose parents worship Satan. Unbeknownst to Neil, he’s going to be sacrificed to the Dark Lord on the eve of his 18th birthday thanks to his status as a virgin. When he finds out, he realizes the only way to save his life is to stop being a virgin, and fast. As you can imagine, the shoot involved a litany of embarrassing, intimate acts.

Yet the thing Carere remembers most about making Teen Lust has nothing to do with any of them.

“My hair, for sure. It was like a happy accident,” he says over the phone from New York, where he’s playing tourist while his girlfriend and co-star from TV’s "Between", Jennette McCurdy, is in town doing press.

“We didn’t know what we were going to do with my hair,” continues Carere.

Emmanuelle Vaugier has booked a six-episode guest role on the upcoming third season of ABC's summer series Mistresses. She will play Niko, who’s tough, sexy, rocks a very distinctive style and doesn’t care what you think about it. She becomes the new mixologist at Wunderbar and a thorn in Joss’ (Jes Macallan) side. Vaugier recurs on Two And A Half Men and Canada’s Lost Girl, and her feature credits include Stepdaughter and Teen Lust. She is repped by Evolution…...

Rachel Brosnahan has been cast in family drama Louder Than Bombs, director Joachim Trier’s English-language debut. It follows Gene (Gabriel Byrne) and his two sons (Jesse Eisenberg and Devin Makenzie Druid) three years after the death of their wife and mother. Brosnahan plays an ex-girlfriend of Eisenberg’s character. She stars on Wgn America’s Manhattan, and her TV credits also include House Of Cards, The Blacklist and Black Box. She next stars in the feature I’m Obsessed With You (But You’ve Got To Leave Me Alone). Brosnahan is repped by Innovative, Carole Dibo Talent Management and Schreck Rose.

Jesse Carere has joined the cast of The Stanford Prison Experiment, Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s film about the infamous 1971 psychological tests in which college students played the roles of prisoners and guards, with disturbing results. Carere will play Paul, Prisoner 5704, a gangly young man who counts smoking as his only vice.

Producers Kyle Mann and Michael Risley have launched development, production and financing company Drive Productions focused on elevated genre.

Mann and Risley are based in Los Angeles and Vancouver and say they have raised closed to $2m for development funds.

“The quality of the script is paramount, however there has been a dangerous decline in development financing for projects with unforeseen potential,” said Mann, whose latest comedy Teen Lust (pictured) premieres in Toronto.

“Drive is looking to invest in innovative pitches, books and scripts and is seeking to build relationships with distributors and talent agencies in order to help fill the development shortfall in the marketplace.”

The development slate includes college-set comedy The Arrangement, dark comedy TV series Blackcomb, thriller Beyond The Stars and WWII thriller Undaunted.

The partners are in pre-production on psychological thrillers Backcountry and The Estate.

Mann’s credits include Wrecked. Risley produced Toronto 2011 selection Revolution #9, among others.

Toronto film festival organisers have programmed features from 42 countries in the Contemporary World Cinema (Cwc) programme and unveiled eight South Korean selections in the City To City.

Cwc features latest work by Jessica Hausner, Rolf de Heer, Christian Zübert and Ryuichi Hiroki, among others.

For the third year, Tiff (Sept 4-14) has partnered with the University of Toronto’s Munk School Of Global Affairs on the Contemporary World Speakers series, pairing five films in selection with expert scholars.

The Contemporary World Speakers series is programmed in conjunction with the Tiff Adult Learning department.

Contemporary World Cinema

Wp = World premiere / Nap = North American premiere / IP = International premiere / Cp = Canadian premiere.

Aire Libre (Argentina), Anahí Berneri IP

Amour Fou (Austria-Luxembourg-Germany), Jessica Hausner Nap

Behavior (Conducta) (Cuba), Ernesto Daranas Cp

Bird People (France), Pascale Ferran Nap

Black Souls (Anime Nere) (Italy), Francesco Munzi IP

Breathe (Respire) (France), Mélanie Laurent Nap

Charlie’s Country (Australia), Rolf de Heer Nap

*John Stackhouse...

The luxurious banquet hall in Toronto’s Royal York hotel was electric with excitement as Tiff senior programmers including Steve Gravestock and Agata Smoluch Del Sorbo announced the robust lineup of Canadian films (several world preems) at this year’s Tiff plus the 40+ short titles (out of an astounding 840 short films — an increase of over 200 titles from last year) that will screen at the prestigious festival. With features populating almost every section at the fest, among the headliner items from English Canada, Cairo Time‘s Ruba Nadda returns to the fest with October Gale, while also world preeming is Bang Bang Baby — Jeffrey St. Jules marks his feature film debut with a film that is equal parts Rocky Horror Picture Show and early Cronenberg. Starring Jane Levy of the recent About Alex, it revolves around a small-town teenager in the ’60s whose dream of becoming a famous singer is dashed...

New work by Sturla Gunnarsson, Denys Arcand, Ruba Nadda and Xavier Dolan are among the selection set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) next month.

“These are filmmakers at the top of their craft, bringing fresh perspectives to traditional genres like comedies and less traditionally Canadian genres, such as musicals,” said Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) senior programmer Steve Gravestock. “This year’s slate truly showcases the diversity of talent in our country, featuring films from coast to coast.”

“We are inspired by the number of exceptional debut features from Canadian directors, reflecting the depth of talent in this country,” said Tiff’s Canadian features programmer Agata Smoluch Del Sorbo.

“Extremely exciting is also the fact that female-driven narratives play a significant part in this year’s programming, highlighting the strong, rich tapestry of our storytelling.”

The Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film is up for grabs, as is the...

Losing one's virginity is a daunting enough task for a young person, as I'm sure most of you reading this right now can attest. But what if the stakes were even higher? And what if your life depended on popping your proverbial cherry?

Read on for details and first images from Teen Lust, which stars Saw's Cary Elwes and "True Blood"'s sexy vamp Kristin Bauer van Straten!

Directed by Blaine Thurier, the film also stars Daryl Sabara, Jon Cor, Annie Clark, Jon Dore, Ali Tataryn, Amy Groening, Hilary Jardine and Jesse Carere.

Synopsis

An awkward high school student strives to lose his virginity before his parents and their Satanic cult can sacrifice him to the devil.

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Darclight Films have unveiled a batch of new stills from writer and director Blaine Thurier's new comedy horror feature 'Teen Lust'. The Canadian project, currently in post-production, features 'Saw 3D' star Cary Elwes and 'True Blood' hottie Kristin Bauer van Straten (below) and revolves around an awkward high school student who strives to lose his virginity before his parents and their Satanic cult can sacrifice him to the devil. Thurier helms from a script that he co-wrote alongside Jason Stone who directed 'Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse', the original short film that Seth Rogen's 'This is the End' was based on. 'Teen Lust' also stars Daryl Sabara, Annie Clark, Jon Cor, Jon Dore, Jesse Carere, Ali Tataryn, Amy Groening and Hilary Jardine. Head below for the new images....

Photos from Parkland, Lee Daniels' The Butler, Lone Survivor.

Posters for The Butler, Lone Survivor, Lovelace, Paranoia, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Jayne Mansfield's Car, Haunter, Bad Milo, C.O.G., Walking with Dinosaurs 3D, and a motion poster for 300: Rise of an Empire.

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The Canadian giant has taken English-speaking territories to Blaine Thurier’s upcoming comedy Teen Lust.

Production is set to commence in mid-August in Canada. eOne will release in the Us, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand and South Africa. Jeff Sackman’s Tajj Media handles international sales.

Teen Lust centres on an awkward high school student who must lose his virginity before being a local religious cult sacrifices him. Cary Elwes, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Jesse Carere, Daryl Sabara and Annie Clark star.

Thurier co-wrote the screenplay with Jason Stone. Kyle Mann produces through his Independent Edge Films while Tajj Media’s Sackman and Farpoint Films’ Kyle Bornais serve as executive producers alongside Scott Leary.

President of eOne Films North America David Reckziegel negotiated the deal...

eOne has acquired rights in English-speaking territories to the upcoming feature comedy Teen Lust, which is set to begin production in mid-August in Canada. eOne will handle distribution of the film in the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia/New Zealand and South Africa. Jeff Sackman’s Tajj Media will handle international sales. The story centers on an awkward high school student who must lose his virginity before being sacrificed by a local religious cult. The film will star Cary Elwes (Saw), Kristin Bauer van Straten (True Blood), Jesse Carere (Skins), Daryl Sabara (The Philosopher) and Annie Clark (Degrassi: The Next Generation). Blaine Thurier

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