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Sunrise Films has acquired North American distribution rights to “Bang Bang,” the emotionally charged boxing drama starring Tim Blake Nelson.

Vincent Grashaw directed, wrote and produced the Detroit-set drama, which explores themes of family, legacy and redemption against the backdrop of the boxing world. The film, which made the festival rounds at Tribeca, Locarno, Deauville American Film Festival, and Oldenburg, centers on retired boxer Bernard “Bang Bang” Rozyski (Nelson), who finds renewed purpose training his estranged grandson. But questions swirl around Bang Bang’s true motivations, including from an old flame who witnessed his 1980s rise and bitter rivalry with her cousin, now Detroit mayoral candidate Darnell Washington.

The ensemble cast includes Glenn Plummer (“Sons of Anarchy”), Kevin Corrigan (“Goodfellas”), Nina Arianda (“Tower Heist”), Andrew Liner (“Vampire Academy”), Erica Gimpel (“Criminal Minds”), and Daniella Pineda (“The Vampire Diaries”).

“With Bang Bang, we were drawn to a powerfully written story filled with emotionally rich characters,...

Everyone tells filmmakers to write what they know, so Nina Conti wrote a movie about a woman who can’t stop pretending to be a monkey.

If you know much about ventriloquism, Conti’s name should be instantly familiar to you. The actress and comedian, a fixture in the worlds of live theatre and comedy for the past quarter century, is best known for her signature Monkey puppet, whose sweet and unexpressive face masks an unfiltered, cynical personality. She’s performed with Monkey in a variety of stage shows, and incorporated it into a performance in frequent collaborator Christopher Guest’s 2006 film “For Your Consideration.”

Now, she’s adding a new job to her monkey-centric resume: filmmaker. Conti directs and stars in the new film “Sunlight,” which she co-wrote with comedian Shenoah Allen, who stars alongside her. The film follows a suicidal man who befriends a woman who refuses to...

Hip-hop pioneers Wu-Tang Clan kicked off their final tour, “Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber,” at Cfg Bank Arena in Baltimore, Maryland on Friday, June 6th.

Spanning roughly two hours, the concert saw the fully reunited group performing hits from throughout Wu-Tang Clan’s discography and the members’ solo catalogs. The first part of the 40-song set saw them running through classics including”Bring da Ruckus,” “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta F’ Wit,” and “Protect Ya Neck.”

Get Wu‐Tang Clan Tickets Here

After that, Method Man (“Bring the Pain”), Ghostface Killah (“Daytona 500”), Raekwon (“Ice Cream”), Gza (“Liquid Swords”), and more took turns performing some of their signature tracks, with Inspectah Deck rapping his standout verse from Gang Starr’s “Above the Clouds.”

Not nearly done yet, Wu-Tang Clan played “Impossible” for the first time since 2013, “Tearz,” and “Reunited” before paying tribute to late member Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Odb’s son,...

We've likely all had very strange reactions to a great trauma in our lives, be it the death of a loved one, the loss of a treasured lover, intimate abuse. Or at least we might have thought about doing something crazy, or even becoming someone else. Letting someone else, some latent personality traits take over to do those strange things that you don't feel capable of. That's what happens with one understandable traumatized, and in plain speak, (understandably) messed up person, and she takes someone along for this crazy ride, in Sunlight. Directed by Nina Conti, British actress and comedian most well-known for her appearance in For Your Consideration, and co-written by and co-starring Conti and Shenoah Allen, it's a road trip with some distinct...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

"We're going to leave our old lives behind, tear up the road ahead, and cause a travesty!"...

Nina Conti (Family Tree) isn’t monkeying around in Collider’s exclusive trailer debut for the comedy creative’s film, Sunlight. While audiences have known her and seen her perform on stage and in front of the camera as an actress, comedian, and ventriloquist, her latest project gives her another hat to wear — that of a filmmaker. The title, which is presented by the legendary Christopher Guest, not only marks Conti’s feature-length directorial debut but also blends her famed ventriloquist act with a screenplay co-penned alongside her co-star and frequent collaborator, Shenoah Allen (Breaking Bad). The first look at the trailer reveals one woman’s attempt to leave her toxic relationship behind and move towards new opportunities. She’ll just get there in her own way — which means staying hidden underneath a giant monkey suit.

At the top of the teaser, we meet Roy (Allen), a man down on...

Exclusive: With a horror project for Universal/Monkeypaw and a Night of the Living Dead sequel still in the offing, Nikyatu Jusu has begun development on The Fly, a new film based on David Cronenberg’s body horror masterwork, which she wrote and will direct for 20th Century Studios and Chernin Entertainment.

While the film’s plot is under wraps, sources stressed that it’s set in the universe of Cronenberg’s film, rather than a straightforward remake. Nikyatu will direct from her own script, with Chernin Entertainment’s Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping producing. The project coalesces in a moment when body horror is very much back in vogue, with the success of Coralie Fargeat’s Cannes prize-winner The Substance, which has grossed over $43M worldwide and drummed up Oscar buzz for star Demi Moore.

A landmark in both science fiction and horror cinema, Cronenberg’s The Fly follows...

The feature directorial debut of actress and comedian Nina Conti, “Sunlight,” reimagines Monkey, one of the characters she performs in her ventriloquist act, as the human-sized alter ego of a woman on the run from a toxic relationship. In addition to wearing multiple hats behind the scenes of the film, Conti wears two costumes, playing both the woman and the monkey.

“The monkey is much easier,” she tells Variety.

Principal photography took place in Albuquerque, N.M., just a few dozen miles from the Santa Fe International Film Festival, where the film screened on Oct. 19 with Conti and executive producer Christopher Guest in attendance. Speaking in the El Dorado Hotel lobby right after the screening, she exuded a joyful relief that “Sunlight” was well-received by festival attendees; the film’s completion and current festival run marks the payoff to a journey that began more than 20 years ago when she first...

We’re introduced to Roy at his lowest point, alone in a motel room with nothing left to live for. But fate has other plans when a surprise visitor bursts through the door – or should I say, bursts through wearing a full-body monkey costume. Under the flashy fur lies Jane, a woman fleeing her past who saves Roy from ending his life. With her bold personality and wild ideas, Monkey whisks our depressed protagonist away on an outrageous road trip that will challenge everything he thought he knew.

Played by comedian Nina Conti in her directorial debut, Monkey is as freewheeling and fiery as the simian persona Conti has brought to stages worldwide. Joining her is Shenoah Allen as the straight-laced Roy, thrown for a loop by this bizarre stranger with grand schemes of starting a business.

As their van barrels across the deserts of New Mexico, banter and hijinks...

Jack King’s The Ceremony has won the inaugural £50,000 Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence at the revamped Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff), which drew to a close tonight (August 21).

Yorkshire-born King’s feature debut follows two migrant workers who are forced to bury a colleague in the Yorkshire hills. When one demands to accord the dead man his rightful Islamic burial, nerves begin to fray, and a power struggle emerges.

Cast includes Tudor Cucu Dumitrescu, Erdal Yildiz, Liam Thomas, Arnold Bakshi and Mo’min Swaitat. Producers are Hollie Bryan and Lucy Meer for the UK’s Cosmosquare Films and Strive Films.

“Cinema is in a very bad way – I think it’s lost its place,” Brian Cox told the Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) during a surprise appearance in the festival’s industry programme.

“I think it has lost its place, partly because of the grandiose element between Marvel and DC and all of that, and it’s beginning to implode. You’re losing the plot, I think. Television has really stolen the march, when you get incredible things like Ripley, like Succession,” said Cox.

“In terms of the work,” continued the Succession star, referencing films in the vein of Deadpool & Wolverine,...

All official communications from the 2024 Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) organizers have described this year’s edition as “revamped” or “revitalized” — a pointed note to signpost that new management is at the helm. The declaration is perhaps odd for an event that has often trumpeted its heritage, self-styling as the world’s “oldest continuously running film festival.” For the past two years, however, Edinburgh has been at the center of a significant period of turbulence within the Scottish film industry.

All the chaos can be traced back to the finances of Scotland’s Centre for the Moving Image (Cmi), which collapsed in 2022. At the time, a statement from Cmi executives said a “perfect storm” of rising costs and falling admissions numbers due to the pandemic had been exacerbated by the current cost of living crisis. As part of the Cmi’s closure, operations at Eiff were shut down. The Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen,...

The 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has launched its entire program for the Aug. 15-21 event, where it will screen 37 new feature films and 18 world premieres.

Ten world premieres will compete for the new Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence as the fest showcases talent from filmmakers in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Mexico, Norway, China, Kazakhstan, Belgium, Iran and beyond. Screenings will take place in the heart of Scotland’s picturesque capital at some of the city’s most iconic venues including Cameo Cinema, Summerhall, and 50 George Square.

Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun, starring Saoirse Ronan, was previously confirmed as the Fest’s opening night film, with the world premiere of Carla J. Easton and Blair Young’s documentary Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands set to close. Its Midnight Madness strand will close with the body horror The Substance, starring Demi Moore.