Exclusive: Topic Studios, the award-winning production company behind titles like Theater Camp and 100 Foot Wave, has laid off over 20 employees, multiple sources tell Deadline. Employees were notified on Tuesday, and we hear that almost all divisions are affected, with all of those working on the TV side being cut.
A company spokesperson emphasizes that despite changes being made when it comes to the small-screen arena, “Topic Studios continues to produce television programs. This week’s staff changes have not impacted the multiple scripted and non-scripted television projects in production and development. While our scripted television strategy will be evolving, we plan to increase investment in this area.”
The layoffs come at a time of general turbulence in entertainment, which is still reeling from last summer’s double strikes and the pandemic that preceded it. Other media companies hit with mass layoffs just recently include Amazon, Hallmark Media, Great American Media,...
A company spokesperson emphasizes that despite changes being made when it comes to the small-screen arena, “Topic Studios continues to produce television programs. This week’s staff changes have not impacted the multiple scripted and non-scripted television projects in production and development. While our scripted television strategy will be evolving, we plan to increase investment in this area.”
The layoffs come at a time of general turbulence in entertainment, which is still reeling from last summer’s double strikes and the pandemic that preceded it. Other media companies hit with mass layoffs just recently include Amazon, Hallmark Media, Great American Media,...
- 1/12/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Rathaus, the New York and Detroit-based production company behind such films as Tim Sutton’s Funny Face, Cedric Cheung-Lau’s The Mountains Are a Dream that Call to Me and Diana Peralta’s De Lo Mio, has announced a new grant supporting Detroit-based filmmakers. The Rathaus Film Grant will give $10,000 to one moving image artist in support of a short film, feature film, documentary, hybrid piece, or video art. Funds are unrestricted. As the Faq notes, they “can be used in any way that significantly progresses your project forward. This could be anything from; supporting you to take time off to write […]
The post Rathaus Announces Detroit-Focused $10,000 Film Production Grant first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Rathaus Announces Detroit-Focused $10,000 Film Production Grant first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 9/20/2023
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Rathaus, the New York and Detroit-based production company behind such films as Tim Sutton’s Funny Face, Cedric Cheung-Lau’s The Mountains Are a Dream that Call to Me and Diana Peralta’s De Lo Mio, has announced a new grant supporting Detroit-based filmmakers. The Rathaus Film Grant will give $10,000 to one moving image artist in support of a short film, feature film, documentary, hybrid piece, or video art. Funds are unrestricted. As the Faq notes, they “can be used in any way that significantly progresses your project forward. This could be anything from; supporting you to take time off to write […]
The post Rathaus Announces Detroit-Focused $10,000 Film Production Grant first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Rathaus Announces Detroit-Focused $10,000 Film Production Grant first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 9/20/2023
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Clockwise from top left: The Banshees Of Inisherin (Fox Searchlight), Sanctuary (Neon), Mad Max: Fury Road (Warner Bros.), Ready Player One (Warner Bros.)Image: The A.V. Club
It’s back-to-school time, but for Hulu it’s business as usual as more classics make their way to the streaming service. That...
It’s back-to-school time, but for Hulu it’s business as usual as more classics make their way to the streaming service. That...
- 8/28/2023
- by Robert DeSalvo
- avclub.com
Exclusive: Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr., the rising actor best known for starring in the hit Starz series Bmf (or Black Mafia Family), has signed with M88 for management.
The show inspired by a true story has Flenory playing his own father, notorious hip-hop icon and kingpin Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory Sr., who with his brother Terry “Southwest T” Flenory (Da’Vinchi) rose from the decaying streets of southwest Detroit in the late 1980s to give birth to one of the most influential crime families in the country.
The project from executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, which is heading into its third season, marks the younger Flenory’s acting debut. And despite his unusually intimate connection to the story, he only won his role following a highly competitive casting process, and more than a year spent in intensive acting training.
The Detroit-based family drama’s January renewal comes on the...
The show inspired by a true story has Flenory playing his own father, notorious hip-hop icon and kingpin Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory Sr., who with his brother Terry “Southwest T” Flenory (Da’Vinchi) rose from the decaying streets of southwest Detroit in the late 1980s to give birth to one of the most influential crime families in the country.
The project from executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, which is heading into its third season, marks the younger Flenory’s acting debut. And despite his unusually intimate connection to the story, he only won his role following a highly competitive casting process, and more than a year spent in intensive acting training.
The Detroit-based family drama’s January renewal comes on the...
- 4/12/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Rlje Films has snapped up rights to the psychological thriller Sympathy for the Devil, starring Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage (Mandy) and Joel Kinnaman (Suicide Squad films), for North America, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Bringing the film to the AMC Networks business unit was Christian Mercuri’s Capstone Global, which is handling global sales. It’s set for release on July 28.
The film written by Luke Paradise and directed by Yuval Adler (The Operative) watches as a man is forced to drive a mysterious passenger at gunpoint, finding himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything is at it seems.
Cage was joined in producing the pic by Alex Lebovici (Barbarian), Allan Ungar (Bandit) and Stuart Manashil (Pieces of a Woman). Exec producers included Paradise, Mercuri (Out of the Furnace), David Haring (The Old Way), Marc Goldberg (Final Score...
The film written by Luke Paradise and directed by Yuval Adler (The Operative) watches as a man is forced to drive a mysterious passenger at gunpoint, finding himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything is at it seems.
Cage was joined in producing the pic by Alex Lebovici (Barbarian), Allan Ungar (Bandit) and Stuart Manashil (Pieces of a Woman). Exec producers included Paradise, Mercuri (Out of the Furnace), David Haring (The Old Way), Marc Goldberg (Final Score...
- 3/16/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Ben Foster (The Survivor), Justice Smith (Sharper), Katherine Waterston (Babylon) and Maria Bakalova (Bodies Bodies Bodies) are set to star in the Topic Studios thriller Floodplain from director Tim Sutton.
The film explores themes of family trauma, environmental justice and race via the story of a man (Foster) who must return to his hometown to help prevent a catastrophic flood and confront the mistakes from his past.
Floodplain reteams Topic Studios with Foster following their work together on Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace. Bill Gullo wrote the script, with Oscar nominee Jordan Horowitz (La La Land) of Original Headquarters to produce alongside Annie Marter (The Devil All the Time). Topic Studios will finance the pic, with Ryan Heller, Michael Bloom and Jennifer Westin exec producing for the company.
Crystal Bourbeau will introduce the project to buyers at EFM with UTA Independent Film Group, which is co-repping the domestic rights.
The film explores themes of family trauma, environmental justice and race via the story of a man (Foster) who must return to his hometown to help prevent a catastrophic flood and confront the mistakes from his past.
Floodplain reteams Topic Studios with Foster following their work together on Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace. Bill Gullo wrote the script, with Oscar nominee Jordan Horowitz (La La Land) of Original Headquarters to produce alongside Annie Marter (The Devil All the Time). Topic Studios will finance the pic, with Ryan Heller, Michael Bloom and Jennifer Westin exec producing for the company.
Crystal Bourbeau will introduce the project to buyers at EFM with UTA Independent Film Group, which is co-repping the domestic rights.
- 2/11/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
An adaptation of what I still believe to be one of the creepiest and genuinely unnerving short stories Stephen King ever wrote, the latest Children of the Corn movie (the eleventh overall in the film franchise) has been acquired by Rlje Films and Shudder, and the film is slated for a March 3rd theatrical release, followed by an On Demand and Digital release on March 21st:
Press Release: Los Angeles, January 26, 2023 — Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, and Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, have partnered to acquire the horror film Children Of The Corn from writer/director Kurt Wimmer (Ultraviolet). Based upon the short story “Children of the Corn” by Stephen King, the film stars Elena Kampouris (Before I Fall), Kate Moyer (“Station Eleven”), Callan Mulvey (The Gray Man) and Bruce Spence (The Road Warrior). The film will be in released In...
Press Release: Los Angeles, January 26, 2023 — Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, and Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, have partnered to acquire the horror film Children Of The Corn from writer/director Kurt Wimmer (Ultraviolet). Based upon the short story “Children of the Corn” by Stephen King, the film stars Elena Kampouris (Before I Fall), Kate Moyer (“Station Eleven”), Callan Mulvey (The Gray Man) and Bruce Spence (The Road Warrior). The film will be in released In...
- 1/27/2023
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Machine Gun Kelly releases “Taurus” featuring Naomi Wild, the feature song from the major motion picture ‘Taurus’. The movie features Machine Gun Kelly in a lead role acting under his real name, Colson Baker. He plays a rising but troubled musician searching endlessly for the inspiration to record his next song. Taurus written and directed by Tim Sutton, starring Colson Baker, Maddie Hasson, Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory, Ruby Rose, Scoot McNairy, Lil Tjay, and Naomi Wild is currently available in select theatres and on demand.
Taurus the film has been garnering acclaim with lead actor Colson Baker (Mgk) receiving several key industry awards along the way including the Spotlight Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival Honours, the Discovery Award at the San Diego International Film Festival and a Spotlight Award at Scad Savannah Film Festival. David Ehrlic of IndieWire proclaimed of Bakers performance “he’s never been more hypnotic than he is here.
Taurus the film has been garnering acclaim with lead actor Colson Baker (Mgk) receiving several key industry awards along the way including the Spotlight Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival Honours, the Discovery Award at the San Diego International Film Festival and a Spotlight Award at Scad Savannah Film Festival. David Ehrlic of IndieWire proclaimed of Bakers performance “he’s never been more hypnotic than he is here.
- 11/26/2022
- by Glamsham Editorial
- GlamSham
Across six previous features, writer/director Tim Sutton has excelled at crafting moody, ephemeral character studies that have prioritized feeling over plot, sometimes for the best (see “Donnybrook”) and sometimes to a film’s complete detriment (see last year’s languid “The Last Son”). He reunites with his “Son” star for his newest, the Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) meta-fiction “Taurus.” An odd mash-up of biofiction and celebrity cautionary tale, “Taurus” is heavy on mood — utilizing woozy, overexposed cinematography and a dread-inducing score by Baker — to showcase a burgeoning rapper’s self-implosion over the course of a week or so.
Continue reading ‘Taurus’ Review: A Dreary Music-Based Cautionary Tale That Nevertheless Features a Standout Colson Baker Performance at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Taurus’ Review: A Dreary Music-Based Cautionary Tale That Nevertheless Features a Standout Colson Baker Performance at The Playlist.
- 11/18/2022
- by Christian Gallichio
- The Playlist
Exclusive: Rlje Films has picked up North American rights to actor Mo McRae’s feature directorial debut, A Lot of Nothing — a satirical thriller starring Y’Ian Noel (Insecure), Cleopatra Coleman (The Last Man on Earth), Lex Scott Davis (Rebel), Shamier Anderson (Invasion) and Justin Hartley (This Is Us). AMC Networks’ business unit has slated the film for release in theaters and on demand on February 3rd.
A Lot of Nothing centers around James (Noel) and Vanessa (Coleman), who seem to be the perfect couple — happily married, successful, and comfortable. But one night, their lives are rocked to the core when, after watching a tragedy play out on the evening news, they realize their neighbor was involved. In a state of shock, and with opposing viewpoints on how to address the issue, they embark on a highly combustible journey to ‘do something’ about it.
McRae and Sarah Kelly Kaplan (Perry Mason) wrote the film,...
A Lot of Nothing centers around James (Noel) and Vanessa (Coleman), who seem to be the perfect couple — happily married, successful, and comfortable. But one night, their lives are rocked to the core when, after watching a tragedy play out on the evening news, they realize their neighbor was involved. In a state of shock, and with opposing viewpoints on how to address the issue, they embark on a highly combustible journey to ‘do something’ about it.
McRae and Sarah Kelly Kaplan (Perry Mason) wrote the film,...
- 11/17/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Featuring segments directed by Greg Nicotero, Joe Lynch, Axelle Carolyn, and other talented filmmakers, Shudder's Creepshow Season 3 is coming to Blu-ray and DVD on December 6th via Rlje Films, and we have a look at the cover art and full list of bonus features ahead of its release:
Press Release: Los Angeles – Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has picked up select rights to the horror series Creepshow 3 from Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural. Rlje Films will release Creepshow 3 on DVD and Blu-ray on December 6, 2022.
The six-episode season is directed by Rusty Cundieff (“Chappelle’s Show”), Greg Nicotero (“The Walking Dead”), Joe Lynch (Mayhem), Jeffrey F. January (“The Walking Dead”), John Harrison (Tales from the Darkside: The Movie), and Axelle Carolyn (Tales of Halloween). The series stars Ali Larter (“Heroes”), Justin Long (Jeepers Creepers), Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect), and Ethan Embry (Sweet...
Press Release: Los Angeles – Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has picked up select rights to the horror series Creepshow 3 from Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural. Rlje Films will release Creepshow 3 on DVD and Blu-ray on December 6, 2022.
The six-episode season is directed by Rusty Cundieff (“Chappelle’s Show”), Greg Nicotero (“The Walking Dead”), Joe Lynch (Mayhem), Jeffrey F. January (“The Walking Dead”), John Harrison (Tales from the Darkside: The Movie), and Axelle Carolyn (Tales of Halloween). The series stars Ali Larter (“Heroes”), Justin Long (Jeepers Creepers), Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect), and Ethan Embry (Sweet...
- 11/9/2022
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
One of my absolute favorite (and mind-bending) films that had its world premiere at this year's Popcorn Frights Film Festival was Old Man, directed by Lucky McKee from a screenplay by Joel Veach (and featuring phenomenal performances by Stephen Lang and Marc Senter), so I'm thrilled that in addition to its theatrical and VOD release back in October, the twist-filled thriller is coming to Blu-ray and DVD on December 6th via Rlje Films:
Press Release: Los Angeles – -Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, will release the thriller film, Old Man, on DVD and Blu-ray December 6, 2022.
Directed by Lucky McKee (May, All Cheerleaders Die) with the screenwriting debut of Joel Veach, Old Man stars Stephen Lang (Avatar franchise, Vfw), Marc Senter (Starry Eyes), with Liana Wright-Mark (Ocean’s 8), and Patch Darragh (“Succession”). Old Man will be available on DVD for an Srp of 27.97 and on Blu-ray for an Srp of 28.96.
In Old Man,...
Press Release: Los Angeles – -Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, will release the thriller film, Old Man, on DVD and Blu-ray December 6, 2022.
Directed by Lucky McKee (May, All Cheerleaders Die) with the screenwriting debut of Joel Veach, Old Man stars Stephen Lang (Avatar franchise, Vfw), Marc Senter (Starry Eyes), with Liana Wright-Mark (Ocean’s 8), and Patch Darragh (“Succession”). Old Man will be available on DVD for an Srp of 27.97 and on Blu-ray for an Srp of 28.96.
In Old Man,...
- 11/7/2022
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
photo credit Kane Skennar
The first look photo has been released for the upcoming action thriller Land Of Bad starring Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth (Independence Day: Resurgence, The Hunger Games), Luke Hemsworth (HBO’s “Westworld”), Milo Ventimiglia (NBC’s “This is Us”), Ricky Whittle (Starz’s “American Gods”), Daniel MacPherson and Chika Ikogwe (Netflix’s “Heartbreak High”).
Directed by Will Eubank and co-written by Eubank and David Frigerio (Lionsgate’s Crypto, Focus Features’ The Signal), Highland Film Group has locked distribution deals in key territories for Land of Bad with Rialto Distribution for Australia and New Zealand, Wild Bunch for Germany, Blue Swan Entertainment for Italy, YouPlanet Pictures for Spain, Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuals for Portugal, Spentzos Film for Greece, Vertical Entertainment for Eastern Europe, Moviebox for Turkey, MovieCloud for Taiwan, Pictureworks for India, First Run Inc. for South Korea, Imagem Filmes for South America, Filmfinity for South...
The first look photo has been released for the upcoming action thriller Land Of Bad starring Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth (Independence Day: Resurgence, The Hunger Games), Luke Hemsworth (HBO’s “Westworld”), Milo Ventimiglia (NBC’s “This is Us”), Ricky Whittle (Starz’s “American Gods”), Daniel MacPherson and Chika Ikogwe (Netflix’s “Heartbreak High”).
Directed by Will Eubank and co-written by Eubank and David Frigerio (Lionsgate’s Crypto, Focus Features’ The Signal), Highland Film Group has locked distribution deals in key territories for Land of Bad with Rialto Distribution for Australia and New Zealand, Wild Bunch for Germany, Blue Swan Entertainment for Italy, YouPlanet Pictures for Spain, Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuals for Portugal, Spentzos Film for Greece, Vertical Entertainment for Eastern Europe, Moviebox for Turkey, MovieCloud for Taiwan, Pictureworks for India, First Run Inc. for South Korea, Imagem Filmes for South America, Filmfinity for South...
- 11/1/2022
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Machine Gun Kelly didn’t have to stretch his acting muscles too hard for his upcoming role. On Thursday, the trailer for the singer’s own semi-autobiographical film Taurus dropped, showing Kelly as a rising rockstar navigating fame.
In the zodiac-titled film, Kelly (real name Colson Baker) plays Cole, a rock star attempting to manufacture one more hit song amid the escalating pressures of celebrity and addiction. The trailer splices cuts from real life, with a shot of Baker walking through the 2021 Lollapalooza festival in Chicago for a surprise set...
In the zodiac-titled film, Kelly (real name Colson Baker) plays Cole, a rock star attempting to manufacture one more hit song amid the escalating pressures of celebrity and addiction. The trailer splices cuts from real life, with a shot of Baker walking through the 2021 Lollapalooza festival in Chicago for a surprise set...
- 10/27/2022
- by Charisma Madarang
- Rollingstone.com
Colson Baker, aka Machine Gun Kelly, has found his onscreen flame in the meta music drama “Taurus.”
Written and directed by Tim Sutton (“Dark Night”), the film stars Baker in “Last Days” mode as a troubled musician looking for inspiration to record one final song before delving further into his drug addiction. Cole (Baker) struggles with the pain of fame and the suffocation of stardom as record companies pressure him to churn out a hit.
“Taurus” premieres in theaters, on demand, and on digital November 18 from Rlje Films. The film debuted at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and stars Maddie Hasson, Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory, Ruby Rose, Scoot McNairy, Lil Tjay, and Naomi Wild. Baker’s fiancée Megan Fox plays Cole’s ex-girlfriend in the film.
“We were almost shying away from it being autobiographical, it felt like, at first. And then, I think, it just became me,” Baker said during...
Written and directed by Tim Sutton (“Dark Night”), the film stars Baker in “Last Days” mode as a troubled musician looking for inspiration to record one final song before delving further into his drug addiction. Cole (Baker) struggles with the pain of fame and the suffocation of stardom as record companies pressure him to churn out a hit.
“Taurus” premieres in theaters, on demand, and on digital November 18 from Rlje Films. The film debuted at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and stars Maddie Hasson, Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory, Ruby Rose, Scoot McNairy, Lil Tjay, and Naomi Wild. Baker’s fiancée Megan Fox plays Cole’s ex-girlfriend in the film.
“We were almost shying away from it being autobiographical, it felt like, at first. And then, I think, it just became me,” Baker said during...
- 10/27/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Last year, “Funny Face” director Tim Sutton‘s western “The Last Son” saw Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) on the big screen yet again. While the film flopped, apparently Sutton and Baker like working together because they’re back with “Taurus,” ready to hit theaters next month.
Read More: Tribeca 2022 Festival Preview: 24 Films & Series To Watch
Fresh off its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival and a screening at Tribeca Film Festival in June, “Taurus” sees Baker and Sutton blur the lines between fiction and reality.
Continue reading ‘Taurus’ Trailer: Colson Baker & Director Tim Sutton’s Second Team-Up Hits Theaters On November 18 at The Playlist.
Read More: Tribeca 2022 Festival Preview: 24 Films & Series To Watch
Fresh off its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival and a screening at Tribeca Film Festival in June, “Taurus” sees Baker and Sutton blur the lines between fiction and reality.
Continue reading ‘Taurus’ Trailer: Colson Baker & Director Tim Sutton’s Second Team-Up Hits Theaters On November 18 at The Playlist.
- 10/27/2022
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
"I want it to sound far from everything… Like everything's upside down." Rlje Films has revealed the first official trailer for Taurus, the latest film from indie filmmaker Tim Sutton. His dry filmmaking style is a rather acquired taste, and definitely not for most people. This premiered at Berlinale and it also played at the Tribeca, Karlovy Vary, and Zurich Film Festivals this year. A beloved but very troubled musician searches for the inspiration to record one last song, pushing himself deep into the void. A work of fiction that explores fame, addiction, the artistic process, and the music industry, Taurus is a soulful and universal cautionary tale. Taurus stars real-life musician Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) as Cole, with Maddie Hasson, Demetrius "Lil Meech" Flenory, Megan Fox, Ruby Rose, Scoot McNairy, Lil Tjay, and Naomi Wild. This looks like a raw story about a musician's struggles and self-destructive attitude.
- 10/27/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Leading management and production house Anonymous Content has launched a sales and finance division, AC Independent. Nick Shumaker, who joined Anonymous Content from UTA last year, will lead the new division which will be overseen from the company’s New York office.
AC Independent will handle the financing, as well as the domestic and worldwide sales strategies for select titles across AC Studios, the premium independent film and TV production studio that sits inside Anonymous Content, as well as the group’s non-fiction projects. AC Independent will also spearhead financing and sales on titles from Anonymous Content’s management division, as well as work alongside the company’s expanding joint ventures.
The new division will also curate select third-party content from top independent producers and directors from around the world.
“Film sales is a collaborative effort, and our paradigm will reflect that across our divisions,” said Nick Shumaker, manager and...
AC Independent will handle the financing, as well as the domestic and worldwide sales strategies for select titles across AC Studios, the premium independent film and TV production studio that sits inside Anonymous Content, as well as the group’s non-fiction projects. AC Independent will also spearhead financing and sales on titles from Anonymous Content’s management division, as well as work alongside the company’s expanding joint ventures.
The new division will also curate select third-party content from top independent producers and directors from around the world.
“Film sales is a collaborative effort, and our paradigm will reflect that across our divisions,” said Nick Shumaker, manager and...
- 10/26/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Rlje Films has acquired U.S. rights to “The Friendship Game,” a new horror-thriller from Scooter Corkle, the director of “Hollow in the Land.” The film revolves around a group of teenagers who encounter a strange object that tests their bonds to each other with increasingly destructive consequences. Damien Ober, a writer on the Netflix series “The Oa,” penned the script.
Peyton List, best known for her work on “Cobra-Kai” and the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” franchise, leads an ensemble cast that also includes Brendan Meyer (“Color Out of Space”), Kelcey Mawema (“To All the Boys…” franchise), Kaitlyn Santa Juana (“The Flash”) and Dylan Schombing (“Warcraft”). Rlje Films will release the film in theaters, on demand and across assorted digital platforms on Nov. 11, 2022.
“‘The Friendship Game’ features an incredibly talented young cast lead by rising star Peyton List,” said Mark Ward, chief acquisitions officer at Rlje Films. “We cannot...
Peyton List, best known for her work on “Cobra-Kai” and the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” franchise, leads an ensemble cast that also includes Brendan Meyer (“Color Out of Space”), Kelcey Mawema (“To All the Boys…” franchise), Kaitlyn Santa Juana (“The Flash”) and Dylan Schombing (“Warcraft”). Rlje Films will release the film in theaters, on demand and across assorted digital platforms on Nov. 11, 2022.
“‘The Friendship Game’ features an incredibly talented young cast lead by rising star Peyton List,” said Mark Ward, chief acquisitions officer at Rlje Films. “We cannot...
- 10/6/2022
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Eddie Redmayne, Janelle Monáe, Jonathan Majors and Sadie Sink are among the stars being honored at the Scad Savannah Film Festival later this month.
The Savannah College of Art and Design celebrates 25 years with the 25th annual Scad Savannah Film Festival, taking place in person Oct. 22–29. Redmayne will receive the Virtuoso Award for “The Good Nurse,” Monáe will be presented with the Spotlight Award for “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Jonathan Majors with the Spotlight Award for “Devotion” and Sadie Sink with the Rising Star Award for “The Whale.”
Among the other honorees, Kerry Condon is set to receive the Distinguished Performance Award for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Jd Dillard with the Rising Star Director Award for “Devotion,” Nicholas Hoult with the Vanguard Award for “The Menu,” Jeremy Pope with the Distinguished Performance Award for “The Inspection.” Henry Selick is being honored with the Outstanding Achievement in Animation Award for “Wendell and Wild.
The Savannah College of Art and Design celebrates 25 years with the 25th annual Scad Savannah Film Festival, taking place in person Oct. 22–29. Redmayne will receive the Virtuoso Award for “The Good Nurse,” Monáe will be presented with the Spotlight Award for “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Jonathan Majors with the Spotlight Award for “Devotion” and Sadie Sink with the Rising Star Award for “The Whale.”
Among the other honorees, Kerry Condon is set to receive the Distinguished Performance Award for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Jd Dillard with the Rising Star Director Award for “Devotion,” Nicholas Hoult with the Vanguard Award for “The Menu,” Jeremy Pope with the Distinguished Performance Award for “The Inspection.” Henry Selick is being honored with the Outstanding Achievement in Animation Award for “Wendell and Wild.
- 10/3/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
The musician and actor Colson Baker — who is better known by his stage-name Machine Gun Kelly, or Mgk — will receive the Scad Savannah Film Festival’s Discovery Award on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 27, The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively report. Earlier in the day, he will be interviewed in front of a festival audience by yours truly for THR’s Awards Chatter podcast.
On the podcast, the 32-year-old will discuss his colorful life, varied career and the film he is bringing with him to the fest, Tim Sutton’s Taurus, on which he served as an executive producer and in which he stars opposite his real-life fiancée, Megan Fox, as a self-destructive rock star “whose limitless success seems matched only by his bottomless despair,” to quote THR’s review.
Taurus had its world premiere at February’s Berlin Film Festival, screened at April...
The musician and actor Colson Baker — who is better known by his stage-name Machine Gun Kelly, or Mgk — will receive the Scad Savannah Film Festival’s Discovery Award on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 27, The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively report. Earlier in the day, he will be interviewed in front of a festival audience by yours truly for THR’s Awards Chatter podcast.
On the podcast, the 32-year-old will discuss his colorful life, varied career and the film he is bringing with him to the fest, Tim Sutton’s Taurus, on which he served as an executive producer and in which he stars opposite his real-life fiancée, Megan Fox, as a self-destructive rock star “whose limitless success seems matched only by his bottomless despair,” to quote THR’s review.
Taurus had its world premiere at February’s Berlin Film Festival, screened at April...
- 9/30/2022
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Directed and co-written by Jason Eisener (Hobo with a Shotgun), the horror sci-fi film Kids vs. Aliens has been acquired by Rlje Films and Shudder ahead of its world premiere at Fantastic Fest:
Press Release: Los Angeles, September 19, 2022 — Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, and Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, have fully financed and partnered on the anticipated horror/sci-fi film, Kids Vs. Aliens, ahead of its world premiere at Fantastic Fest later this month. Rlje Films will release the film In Theaters, on Demand and Digital in early 2023 with a Shudder release to follow later in the year.
Directed by Jason Eisener, who co-wrote the film with John Davies (Hobo with a Shotgun), Kids Vs. Aliens stars Dominic Mariche, Phoebe Rex (“The Last Divide”), Calem MacDonald (“The Umbrella Academy”), Asher Grayson Percival (“Scaredy Cats”), and Ben Tector.
“Kids Vs. Aliens is...
Press Release: Los Angeles, September 19, 2022 — Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, and Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, have fully financed and partnered on the anticipated horror/sci-fi film, Kids Vs. Aliens, ahead of its world premiere at Fantastic Fest later this month. Rlje Films will release the film In Theaters, on Demand and Digital in early 2023 with a Shudder release to follow later in the year.
Directed by Jason Eisener, who co-wrote the film with John Davies (Hobo with a Shotgun), Kids Vs. Aliens stars Dominic Mariche, Phoebe Rex (“The Last Divide”), Calem MacDonald (“The Umbrella Academy”), Asher Grayson Percival (“Scaredy Cats”), and Ben Tector.
“Kids Vs. Aliens is...
- 9/19/2022
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Jeremy Strong as Irving Graff and Anne Hathaway as Esther Graff in ‘Armageddon Time’ (Photo Courtesy of Focus Features)
Writer/director James Gray’s Armageddon Time will open the 2022 San Diego International Film Festival on October 19th and writer/director Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light has been selected as the festival’s closing night film. The 21st annual SDiFF’s lineup will also include the San Diego premiere of Taurus as well as screenings of Close, Good Night Oppy, and The Banshees of Inisherin.
This year’s festival will honor Taurus star Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) with the Spotlight Award. Baker, who made his acting debut in the Showtime series Roadies, will be presented with the honor following a special Spotlight Screening of Taurus from writer/director Tim Sutton on October 23rd.
“This year, our slate has been curated from over 3000 film submissions from 82 countries with compelling Social...
Writer/director James Gray’s Armageddon Time will open the 2022 San Diego International Film Festival on October 19th and writer/director Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light has been selected as the festival’s closing night film. The 21st annual SDiFF’s lineup will also include the San Diego premiere of Taurus as well as screenings of Close, Good Night Oppy, and The Banshees of Inisherin.
This year’s festival will honor Taurus star Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) with the Spotlight Award. Baker, who made his acting debut in the Showtime series Roadies, will be presented with the honor following a special Spotlight Screening of Taurus from writer/director Tim Sutton on October 23rd.
“This year, our slate has been curated from over 3000 film submissions from 82 countries with compelling Social...
- 9/7/2022
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Russell Crowe will play a former homicide detective tasked with re-examining a brutal murder case from his past in “Sleeping Dogs.” The Nickel City Pictures film marks the directorial debut of Adam Cooper, who wrote the script with Bill Collage.
The film is an adaptation of E.O. Chirovici’s acclaimed novel, “The Book of Mirrors.” Cooper and Collage previously penned the scripts for “Assassins Creed” and “Exodus: Gods and Kings.”
Crowe played Roy Freeman, who is undergoing a cutting-edge Alzheimer’s treatment. He is forced to grapple with the impact of an investigation from his former life after a death row inmate that Freeman arrested 10 years prior starts to proclaim his innocence. Intrigued and fighting to regain his memory, Freeman enlists his former partner to help him revive the case and discover the truth. Together, they set off to unravel a tangled web of secrets, forcing Freeman to make some horrific discoveries.
The film is an adaptation of E.O. Chirovici’s acclaimed novel, “The Book of Mirrors.” Cooper and Collage previously penned the scripts for “Assassins Creed” and “Exodus: Gods and Kings.”
Crowe played Roy Freeman, who is undergoing a cutting-edge Alzheimer’s treatment. He is forced to grapple with the impact of an investigation from his former life after a death row inmate that Freeman arrested 10 years prior starts to proclaim his innocence. Intrigued and fighting to regain his memory, Freeman enlists his former partner to help him revive the case and discover the truth. Together, they set off to unravel a tangled web of secrets, forcing Freeman to make some horrific discoveries.
- 8/31/2022
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Hot horror author Philip Fracassi’s short story, Death, My Old Friend, has been optioned by director Christopher Riggert for his feature directing debut. Terms were not disclosed.
In Fracassi’s short story, a boy sparks an unlikely relationship with the personification of Death. As they grow older, and Death begins taking those closest to him, he is forced to question the sinister nature of their friendship.
Fracassi is the author of the award-winning story collection, Behold the Void, and his latest collection, Beneath a Pale Sky, was recently nominated for a Bram Stroker award. His upcoming novels include A Child Alone with Strangers (Skyhorse) and Gothic (Cemetery Dance).
He recently closed a two-book, six-figure deal with Tor Nightfire, an imprint of Macmillan, the first release of which will be the novel Boys in the Valley (Summer 2023).
As a screenwriter, Fracassi’s films have been distributed by Lifetime Movie Network and Disney Entertainment.
In Fracassi’s short story, a boy sparks an unlikely relationship with the personification of Death. As they grow older, and Death begins taking those closest to him, he is forced to question the sinister nature of their friendship.
Fracassi is the author of the award-winning story collection, Behold the Void, and his latest collection, Beneath a Pale Sky, was recently nominated for a Bram Stroker award. His upcoming novels include A Child Alone with Strangers (Skyhorse) and Gothic (Cemetery Dance).
He recently closed a two-book, six-figure deal with Tor Nightfire, an imprint of Macmillan, the first release of which will be the novel Boys in the Valley (Summer 2023).
As a screenwriter, Fracassi’s films have been distributed by Lifetime Movie Network and Disney Entertainment.
- 8/6/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s about time I wrote about Caspar Newbolt, a designer who for the past ten years has been stealthily creating some of the most adventurous, expressive, and unusual film posters out there. I first came across Newbolt’s work when his poster for Tim Sutton’s Memphis was one of my favorite posters of 2014. Sutton has been one of Newbolt’s most consistent clients in the eight years since then (his poster for Sutton’s The Last Son was also one of my runners-up of 2021). Newbolt tends to work in the indie sphere (in both film and music) and has made many posters for short films as well as theatrically released features. He has also recently worked with designer Charlotte Gosch on a redesign of Filmmaker Magazine. Newbolt’s brand new poster for The Act of Coming Out—a beautiful, heartbreaking eleven-minute hybrid documentary directed by Alexandra Stergiou and...
- 7/18/2022
- MUBI
Future Frames is a next generation showcase comprised of short works by students and recent graduates of European film schools, curated by the Karlovy Vary Fest in cooperation with European Film Promotion. The selected directors and their films will be introduced on-site to Karlovy Vary audiences. American indie director Tim Sutton (whose new film “Taurus” screens in the festival program) will mentor the group and teach a masterclass.
Angelika Abramovitch
“Catcave Hysteria”
Stockholm University of the Arts
Sweden
Before entering film school, Abramovitch directed music videos, commercials and art films in London. “Catcave Hysteria,” her graduation work, is an audacious drama set over the course of one night in a nightclub’s ladies’ toilet.
Alica Bednáriková
“Liquid Bread”
Academy of Performing Arts Bratislava
Slovak Republic
A poet and short story writer as well as a director, Bednáriková’s humorous but bittersweet, multi-layered and perfectly modulated story of a dysfunctional family...
Angelika Abramovitch
“Catcave Hysteria”
Stockholm University of the Arts
Sweden
Before entering film school, Abramovitch directed music videos, commercials and art films in London. “Catcave Hysteria,” her graduation work, is an audacious drama set over the course of one night in a nightclub’s ladies’ toilet.
Alica Bednáriková
“Liquid Bread”
Academy of Performing Arts Bratislava
Slovak Republic
A poet and short story writer as well as a director, Bednáriková’s humorous but bittersweet, multi-layered and perfectly modulated story of a dysfunctional family...
- 7/1/2022
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Option
Transatlantic production powerhouse Sister (“Chernobyl”) has optioned the rights to adapt BAFTA and Emmy winning screenwriter and longtime collaborator Abi Morgan’s (“The Split”) “This is Not a Pity Memoir.” Morgan will adapt her book for screen, and also direct and executive produce, with Sister co-founder and chief creative officer, Jane Featherstone (“Landscapers”). The memoir follows Morgan’s family life after a tragic change in her family circumstance.
Morgan said: “Working with Jane and Sister over the last few tumultuous years, they have been my running partners, given a unique birds eye view on the unfolding drama. As producers of some of the best film and television out there, there is no one else I would trust to help bring the deeply personal ‘This is Not a Pity Memoir’ to the screen.”
Featherstone added: “Abi has such an extraordinary gift for words, so while it should be absolutely no...
Transatlantic production powerhouse Sister (“Chernobyl”) has optioned the rights to adapt BAFTA and Emmy winning screenwriter and longtime collaborator Abi Morgan’s (“The Split”) “This is Not a Pity Memoir.” Morgan will adapt her book for screen, and also direct and executive produce, with Sister co-founder and chief creative officer, Jane Featherstone (“Landscapers”). The memoir follows Morgan’s family life after a tragic change in her family circumstance.
Morgan said: “Working with Jane and Sister over the last few tumultuous years, they have been my running partners, given a unique birds eye view on the unfolding drama. As producers of some of the best film and television out there, there is no one else I would trust to help bring the deeply personal ‘This is Not a Pity Memoir’ to the screen.”
Featherstone added: “Abi has such an extraordinary gift for words, so while it should be absolutely no...
- 6/27/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The slate of titles also includes ’War Pony’, ’Aftersun’ and Decision to Leave’.
Nordic and Baltic distributor NonStop Entertainment has confirmed a slew of acquisitions from Cannes.
The company has acquired Nordic rights from to David Cronenberg’s Competition selection Crimes of the Future, starring Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen and Kristen Stewart, from Rocket Science.
Nonstop has also bought Nordic and Baltic rights to Gina Gammell and Riley Keough’s Camera d’Or winner War Pony, from Protagonist Pictures. The Un Certain Regard title is about two young men growing up in the Pine Ridge Reservation.
NonStop acquired Nordic and...
Nordic and Baltic distributor NonStop Entertainment has confirmed a slew of acquisitions from Cannes.
The company has acquired Nordic rights from to David Cronenberg’s Competition selection Crimes of the Future, starring Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen and Kristen Stewart, from Rocket Science.
Nonstop has also bought Nordic and Baltic rights to Gina Gammell and Riley Keough’s Camera d’Or winner War Pony, from Protagonist Pictures. The Un Certain Regard title is about two young men growing up in the Pine Ridge Reservation.
NonStop acquired Nordic and...
- 6/15/2022
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Since its 2002 genesis, the Tribeca Film Festival has celebrated music to a degree uncommon in the film fest world, and the 2022 event gathering again includes a wide array of music-focused events, including not just documentaries and music-centric narrative features but music video premieres, artist conversations, and master classes.
The overlap between film and music is evident right from the start Wednesday night, when the festival will host the world premiere of Jennifer Lopez’s Netflix documentary, “Halftime.” The doc follows the singer’s evolution as an artist, from her performances onscreen and on stages around the world to her 2020 Super Bowl halftime show and beyond.
This year, the lineup will also incorporate songwriters and producers in conversation, including what will surely be a full house at the Beacon Theater for Taylor Swift as she shows and talks about her “All Too Well” short film. Also on deck for conversations are Pharrell Williams,...
The overlap between film and music is evident right from the start Wednesday night, when the festival will host the world premiere of Jennifer Lopez’s Netflix documentary, “Halftime.” The doc follows the singer’s evolution as an artist, from her performances onscreen and on stages around the world to her 2020 Super Bowl halftime show and beyond.
This year, the lineup will also incorporate songwriters and producers in conversation, including what will surely be a full house at the Beacon Theater for Taylor Swift as she shows and talks about her “All Too Well” short film. Also on deck for conversations are Pharrell Williams,...
- 6/8/2022
- by Thania Garcia
- Variety Film + TV
Tim Sutton’s fictional music biopic premiered at the Berlinale.
Los Angeles-based Highland Film Group has picked up international rights to Tim Sutton’s fictional music biopic Taurus.
It premiered at the Berlinale in February and is next playing Tribeca Film Festival.
Colson Baker, Maddie Hasson, Scoot McNairy, Megan Fox and Ruby Rose star in the film that features original music by Machine Gun Kelly.
Baker plays a rising music star struggling with fame, addiction, writing music and dealing with the industry. It is produced by Jib Polhemus and Rivulet Media’s Rob Paris and Mike Witherill Executive producers are Sutton,...
Los Angeles-based Highland Film Group has picked up international rights to Tim Sutton’s fictional music biopic Taurus.
It premiered at the Berlinale in February and is next playing Tribeca Film Festival.
Colson Baker, Maddie Hasson, Scoot McNairy, Megan Fox and Ruby Rose star in the film that features original music by Machine Gun Kelly.
Baker plays a rising music star struggling with fame, addiction, writing music and dealing with the industry. It is produced by Jib Polhemus and Rivulet Media’s Rob Paris and Mike Witherill Executive producers are Sutton,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Rlje Films has acquired the domestic rights to “Taurus,” ahead of its North American premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, the distributor announced on Monday.
The film, written and directed by Tim Sutton, stars Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) and will be released in theaters later this year.
“Taurus” also stars Maddie Hasson, Scoot McNairy, Megan Fox and Ruby Rose. Additionally, Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr., Naomi Wild and Lil Tjay co-star in the film.
The film tells the story of a rising but troubled musician (Baker) as he spends his days and nights searching endlessly for the inspiration to record his next song. His assistant (Hasson) wants to save him, his collaborators want him in the studio, while his dealer (Rose) and his ex (Fox) push him deeper into the void.
The film was produced by Jib Polhemus alongside Rob Paris and Mike Witherill under their...
The film, written and directed by Tim Sutton, stars Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) and will be released in theaters later this year.
“Taurus” also stars Maddie Hasson, Scoot McNairy, Megan Fox and Ruby Rose. Additionally, Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr., Naomi Wild and Lil Tjay co-star in the film.
The film tells the story of a rising but troubled musician (Baker) as he spends his days and nights searching endlessly for the inspiration to record his next song. His assistant (Hasson) wants to save him, his collaborators want him in the studio, while his dealer (Rose) and his ex (Fox) push him deeper into the void.
The film was produced by Jib Polhemus alongside Rob Paris and Mike Witherill under their...
- 5/16/2022
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Rlje Films has acquired North American rights to Taurus, the film starring Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly). The drama, which had its world premiere earlier this year at the Berlin Film Festival, is gearing up for its North American premiere next month at the Tribeca Festival. It will now get a theatrical release later this year.
The pic, written and directed by Tim Sutton, stars Baker as a rising but troubled musician who spends his days and nights searching for the inspiration to record his next song. His assistant (Maddie Hasson) wants to save him, his collaborators want him in the studio, while his dealer (Ruby Rose) and his ex (Megan Fox) push him deeper into the void.
Jib Polhemus produced alongside Rob Paris and Mike Witherill via their Rivulet Media banner. Sutton, Baker and Gul Karakiz are executive producers.
The pic, written and directed by Tim Sutton, stars Baker as a rising but troubled musician who spends his days and nights searching for the inspiration to record his next song. His assistant (Maddie Hasson) wants to save him, his collaborators want him in the studio, while his dealer (Ruby Rose) and his ex (Megan Fox) push him deeper into the void.
Jib Polhemus produced alongside Rob Paris and Mike Witherill via their Rivulet Media banner. Sutton, Baker and Gul Karakiz are executive producers.
- 5/16/2022
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
In honor of 4/20, Colson Baker aka Machine Gun Kelly debuted the Red Band trailer for his stoner comedy “Good Mourning,” which he wrote, directed, and stars in with Mod Sun.
The rom-com follows movie star London Clash (Baker) after the love of his life Apple (Becky G) breaks up with him via text. The timing couldn’t be worse as London has the most important meeting of his career on the same day. Compounded by chaotic roommates and wildly unpredictable twists and turns, London’s day keeps going downhill until, ultimately, he is forced to choose between pursuing his one true love and landing a life-changing, starring role in a major motion picture.
Whitney Cummings plays London’s agent, while Mod Sun and Pete Davidson star as his friends. Megan Fox also has a special guest appearance, with the ensemble cast rounded out by Dove Cameron, GaTa, Zach Villa, Jenna Boyd and Boo Johnson.
The rom-com follows movie star London Clash (Baker) after the love of his life Apple (Becky G) breaks up with him via text. The timing couldn’t be worse as London has the most important meeting of his career on the same day. Compounded by chaotic roommates and wildly unpredictable twists and turns, London’s day keeps going downhill until, ultimately, he is forced to choose between pursuing his one true love and landing a life-changing, starring role in a major motion picture.
Whitney Cummings plays London’s agent, while Mod Sun and Pete Davidson star as his friends. Megan Fox also has a special guest appearance, with the ensemble cast rounded out by Dove Cameron, GaTa, Zach Villa, Jenna Boyd and Boo Johnson.
- 4/20/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
That Colson Baker can act is no revelation. The rap-rocker, better known to his legions of fans as Machine Gun Kelly, has already held his own in a dozen or so roles for film and TV, demonstrating a scuzzy on-screen charisma within admittedly limited boundaries. His canny casting as Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee in the Netflix biopic “The Dirt” paid off, so it’s not surprising to see him return to the rockstar-as-rockstar well in the significantly artsier “Taurus.” This time, however, he makes a rather more personal investment — not just starring, but serving as executive producer, composer and script consultant — in a project modeled on, if not his own life, certainly his own celebrity aura and sound.
The good news is that he can still act, serving director Tim Sutton’s unpleasant but smokily atmospheric descent into Hollywood Hades with solemn commitment and a lurching air of physical...
The good news is that he can still act, serving director Tim Sutton’s unpleasant but smokily atmospheric descent into Hollywood Hades with solemn commitment and a lurching air of physical...
- 2/18/2022
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
“Most happy songs are actually sad as fuck, and people are just too stupid to get it,” a music producer opines in the midst of another late-night recording session, sleepily insisting that Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” sounds like it was written by someone with a gun to their head. The moment is a total non-sequitur, typical of a film that doesn’t follow a plot so much as it sifts through a psychic pall, and also typical of a filmmaker whose woozily impressionistic (yet wildly unsubtle) character sketches have long been fascinated by the forced smiles that stretch across modern American life.
In “Dark Night,” Tim Sutton used the 2012 massacre at a Colorado multiplex as the backdrop for a languid meditation on the relationship between real and imagined violence in a country whose gun problem has made them one and the same. In “Taurus” — — Sutton applies a similarly novocained approach to...
In “Dark Night,” Tim Sutton used the 2012 massacre at a Colorado multiplex as the backdrop for a languid meditation on the relationship between real and imagined violence in a country whose gun problem has made them one and the same. In “Taurus” — — Sutton applies a similarly novocained approach to...
- 2/16/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Rapper Machine Gun Kelly plays a self-destructive musician in Tim Sutton’s Taurus, premiering in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival. Going by his real name, Colson Baker, he puts in an authentic turn as his character Cole flits between the studio, his expensive apartment and an array of seedy bars and strip clubs. Adding to a sense of impending doom is a disturbing opening scene involving a child with a loaded gun. The significance of this is later revealed, but it could also be considered a symbol of Cole himself: an immature person who has great power, and an attraction to danger.
Set over a few days, this is an involving portrait of a lonely, angry man who’s seeking solace in drink and drugs, while neglecting many people in his life. Most of these are female. There’s Cole’s young daughter, Rose (Avery Tiiu Essex...
Set over a few days, this is an involving portrait of a lonely, angry man who’s seeking solace in drink and drugs, while neglecting many people in his life. Most of these are female. There’s Cole’s young daughter, Rose (Avery Tiiu Essex...
- 2/13/2022
- by Anna Smith
- Deadline Film + TV
“Taurus” is the semi-autobiographical tale of a rap-slash-rock star on the tail-end of a self-destructive kick. Set to premiere at the Berlin Film Festival Feb. 13, the film stars Colson Baker (better known to fans as real-life rap-slash-rock star Machine Gun Kelly) as Cole, a Kurt Cobain-esque musician struggling with fatherhood, the music industry, substance abuse and his ex-wife (played by Megan Fox).
Tim Sutton, who wrote and directed the film, conceived of the idea after directing “The Last Son,” in which Baker plays a 19th century bank robber. “I went over to [Sutton’s on-set] living quarters and we were smoking a joint,” Baker recalled. “And he was like, ‘If you ever do a documentary on yourself, or make a movie, you have to let me make it.’” Baker agreed and a few weeks later Sutton sent over a script.
That first draft, Sutton says, drew more heavily from stories of rappers who had died young,...
Tim Sutton, who wrote and directed the film, conceived of the idea after directing “The Last Son,” in which Baker plays a 19th century bank robber. “I went over to [Sutton’s on-set] living quarters and we were smoking a joint,” Baker recalled. “And he was like, ‘If you ever do a documentary on yourself, or make a movie, you have to let me make it.’” Baker agreed and a few weeks later Sutton sent over a script.
That first draft, Sutton says, drew more heavily from stories of rappers who had died young,...
- 2/10/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
If my shortlist for this piece is any indication, Hollywood adjusted to Covid just fine. I’ve put aside an average of 60-70 posters every year since I’ve been doing Posterized until barely hitting 40 in 2020. It wasn’t a dearth of quality work, but the fact that there were so many fewer releases to choose from. And since I base these columns on current-year US runs rather than when one-sheets start making their rounds, my pool of candidates was greatly reduced.
So either 2021 work was off-the-charts or the hybrid theatrical-streaming schedule found itself whole once again, because I was back to around 65. It helps too when you get new players on the scene, alt-posters too good to dismiss, and social-media controversy courtesy the collision of nudity and art that put more international designs into our American consciousness.
There are a couple below where the domestic marketing team decided to...
So either 2021 work was off-the-charts or the hybrid theatrical-streaming schedule found itself whole once again, because I was back to around 65. It helps too when you get new players on the scene, alt-posters too good to dismiss, and social-media controversy courtesy the collision of nudity and art that put more international designs into our American consciousness.
There are a couple below where the domestic marketing team decided to...
- 12/31/2021
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
For its upcoming 26th edition the Capri Hollywood Intl. Film Festival, dedicated to launching Oscar hopefuls and establishing a creative and business bridgehead between Hollywood and Italy’s film and showbiz communities, is countering the Omicron variant by expanding its venues beyond the “blue island” off the coast of Naples.
For sanitary safety reasons, the small picturesque town of Sorrento, overlooking the bay of Naples, will become the main hub where guests, most of whom this year will be flying from Europe for the Dec. 26-Jan. 2 shindig, will congregate.
Expected international attendees include directors Michael Radford and Terry Gilliam, who are fest regulars, coming from the U.K. Also from the Blighty, actor Sadie Frost making the trek to promote British director Kirsty Bell’s Covid-19 debut feature lockdown drama “A Bird Flew In,” having its international premiere. Bell will be receiving the fest’s European Breakout Director of the Year award.
For sanitary safety reasons, the small picturesque town of Sorrento, overlooking the bay of Naples, will become the main hub where guests, most of whom this year will be flying from Europe for the Dec. 26-Jan. 2 shindig, will congregate.
Expected international attendees include directors Michael Radford and Terry Gilliam, who are fest regulars, coming from the U.K. Also from the Blighty, actor Sadie Frost making the trek to promote British director Kirsty Bell’s Covid-19 debut feature lockdown drama “A Bird Flew In,” having its international premiere. Bell will be receiving the fest’s European Breakout Director of the Year award.
- 12/24/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
PoetBerlinale have announced the first 62 titles selected for the 72nd edition of their festival, set to take place physically from February 10 — 20.FORUMAfterwater (Dane Komljen)Poet (Darezhan Omirbayev)The Middle AgesEurope (Philip Scheffner)A Flower in the Mouth (Éric Baudelaire)Memoryland (Kim Quy Bui)My Two Voices (Lina Rodriguez)Nuclear Family (Erin Wilkerson, Travis Wilkerson)Super Natural (Jorge Jácome)The United States of America (James Benning)Forum EXPANDEDDragon Tooth (Rafael Castanheira Parrode)Home When You Return (Carl Elsaesser)Jail Bird in a Peacock Chair (James Gregory Atkinson)Sol in the Dark (Mawena Yehouessi)vs (Lydia Nsiah)PANORAMATalking About the Weather (Annika Pinske)The Apartment with Two Women (Kim Se-in)Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power (Nina Menkes)Swing Ride (Chiara Bellosi)Dreaming WallsKlondike (Maryna Er Gorbach)A Love Song (Max Walker-Silverman)Myanmar Diaries (The Myanmar Film Collective)Into My Name (Nicolò Bassetti)Nelly & Nadine (Magnus Gertten)We, Students! (Rafiki Fariala)Until Tomorrow (Ali Asgari...
- 12/15/2021
- MUBI
The 2022 Berlin International Film Festival has revealed its first titles, including seven films that have been invited to the Berlinale Special program. You can see the full list of confirmed films below.
Those seven include Peter Flinth’s Against The Ice, starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole, Heida Reed and Charles Dance, and Laurent Larivière’s About Joan, starring Isabelle Huppert, which both play as Berlinale Special Galas.
The Panorama program has unveiled 13 titles, with Generation confirming eight features, and further films set for Forum and Forum Expanded.
The Panorama strand includes Myanmar Diaries, a doc/feature hybrid from the Myanmar Film Collective that highlights violence suffered by Burmese citizens.
“The pandemic has created distances – not only between people but also the way we see the world. Amongst the 2022 selection are films shot during the pandemic, reflecting on how it feels to be disconnected from others. It is with this first...
Those seven include Peter Flinth’s Against The Ice, starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole, Heida Reed and Charles Dance, and Laurent Larivière’s About Joan, starring Isabelle Huppert, which both play as Berlinale Special Galas.
The Panorama program has unveiled 13 titles, with Generation confirming eight features, and further films set for Forum and Forum Expanded.
The Panorama strand includes Myanmar Diaries, a doc/feature hybrid from the Myanmar Film Collective that highlights violence suffered by Burmese citizens.
“The pandemic has created distances – not only between people but also the way we see the world. Amongst the 2022 selection are films shot during the pandemic, reflecting on how it feels to be disconnected from others. It is with this first...
- 12/15/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
A number of famous people, or at least people who are cool and likable in other things, have signed on to Taurus, a movie directed by Tim Sutton about a “rising but troubled musician” struggling to write one more song. Deadline says the movie is going to star Colson Baker, and if you don’t know who that is, that’s…...
- 12/15/2021
- by Sam Barsanti
- avclub.com
Exclusive: Rivulet Media’s Colson Baker music saga feature Taurus has added Maddie Hasson, Scoot McNairy, Ruby Rose, Demetrius ‘Lil Meech’ Flenory (Euphoria), recording artist Lil Tjay, Megan Fox (Transformers) and musician Naomi Wild.
Taurus, formerly known as Good News, tells the story of a rising but troubled musician (Baker) as he spends his days and nights searching endlessly for the inspiration to record one last song. His sister-like assistant (Maddie Hasson) wants to save him, his collaborators want him in the studio, while his dealer (Ruby Rose) and his ex (Megan Fox) push him deeper into the void. The movie explores the darkness of fame, addiction, the artistic process and the music industry. Tim Sutton directed off his original screenplay.
Baker is working on several new songs.
Taurus, formerly known as Good News, tells the story of a rising but troubled musician (Baker) as he spends his days and nights searching endlessly for the inspiration to record one last song. His sister-like assistant (Maddie Hasson) wants to save him, his collaborators want him in the studio, while his dealer (Ruby Rose) and his ex (Megan Fox) push him deeper into the void. The movie explores the darkness of fame, addiction, the artistic process and the music industry. Tim Sutton directed off his original screenplay.
Baker is working on several new songs.
- 12/15/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
A brooding Western in search of a jolt of energy, Tim Sutton’s “The Last Son” is a morose slog through the American West, as Sam Worthington’s Issac Lemay hunts down his kin in an effort to stave off an Ingenious prophecy that he will be killed by one of them. Apparently not understanding the difference between prophecy and prediction — a difference that a Native woman, ironically enough, has to spell out for him — he roams through towns, hunting down every child that he fathered, which, given his propensity for prostitutes, is a surprising amount.
Continue reading ‘The Last Son’ With Sam Worthington & Machine Gun Kelly Is An Unrelentingly Grim Western [Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Last Son’ With Sam Worthington & Machine Gun Kelly Is An Unrelentingly Grim Western [Review] at The Playlist.
- 12/10/2021
- by Christian Gallichio
- The Playlist
Switching gears from contemporary drama to what Variety once dubbed “oaters,” Tim Sutton’s “The Last Son” finds fresh life in a well-worn genre: Its striking visuals are accompanied by an oddly appropriate score led by droning, heavily distorted guitars; its occasional narration is winsome in a way that Westerns do best; and its evocation of an endlessly mythologized era feels authentic. But then Sutton goes and overplays his hand, the effects of which aren’t as disastrous as being caught cheating in a poker saloon, but they do leave you wondering what might have been.
“The Last Son” opens with lyrical narration and airy background music courtesy of Phil Mossman that brings to mind “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” though the comparisons mostly end there: Sutton’s movie isn’t elegiac so much as brutal. The voiceover returns to add mood and context from time to time,...
“The Last Son” opens with lyrical narration and airy background music courtesy of Phil Mossman that brings to mind “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” though the comparisons mostly end there: Sutton’s movie isn’t elegiac so much as brutal. The voiceover returns to add mood and context from time to time,...
- 12/9/2021
- by Michael Nordine
- Variety Film + TV
Anonymous Content has enlisted Nicholas Shumaker, a longtime producer and former talent agent at UTA, and Kimberly Carver, a veteran manager and TV producer, to join the company’s literary department. Both will work as managers and producers.
Anonymous Content CEO, Dawn Olmstead, said: “Kimberly and Nick have such an incredible passion and commitment to finding creators and artists that not only have authentic voices but that also are the meaningful voices of the future.”
Olmstead said both executives have “tremendous reputations in the entertainment industry, on a global scale,” and that “their fierce dedication to elevating their clients through authentic opportunities is both admirable and unshakeable.”
Shumaker spent the last six years at the UTA Independent Film Group working out of their New York office. During his tenure, Shumaker worked on packaging, financing, and the sales for a variety of international director-driven titles, including the Oscar-winning film “Call Me By Your Name,...
Anonymous Content CEO, Dawn Olmstead, said: “Kimberly and Nick have such an incredible passion and commitment to finding creators and artists that not only have authentic voices but that also are the meaningful voices of the future.”
Olmstead said both executives have “tremendous reputations in the entertainment industry, on a global scale,” and that “their fierce dedication to elevating their clients through authentic opportunities is both admirable and unshakeable.”
Shumaker spent the last six years at the UTA Independent Film Group working out of their New York office. During his tenure, Shumaker worked on packaging, financing, and the sales for a variety of international director-driven titles, including the Oscar-winning film “Call Me By Your Name,...
- 11/16/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
"You'd be surprised what people can do..." Redbox has unveiled an official trailer for the indie film The Last Son, a western thriller from filmmaker Tim Sutton who is known for his low key indie films previously - Memphis, Dark Knight, Donnybrook, Funny Face. In this one, an outlaw attempts to end his evil family line. Sam Worthington stars as Isaac LeMay, a murderous outlaw cursed by a terrible prophecy, hunting down his offspring to prevent his own death before targeting his son. Shot entirely on location in Montana, "The Last Son truly portrays the brutality that was the West in the 19th century." The cast includes Thomas Jane, Colson Baker (aka "Machine Gun Kelly"), Heather Graham, Kim DeLonghi, Scotty Bohnen, Danny Bohnen, and James Landry Hébert. It actually looks a bit better than expected, more cinematic than Sutton's last features. A violent western with a grizzled Worthington ready to take on everyone alone.
- 11/11/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
For fans of Tim Sutton’s previous films, there’s a lot of questions surrounding his latest feature, “The Last Son.” Mostly, what will the director who has given us some of the most disturbing, humanistic dramas of the past several years going to do with his first Western?
Listen: Tim Sutton Talks ‘Funny Face,’ The Divisive Legacy Of ‘Donnybrook,’ His Machine Gun Kelly Western & More [The Playlist Podcast]
Well, if the trailer for “The Last Son” is any indication, it appears Sutton is able to transition to the Wild West with ease, while still keeping some of his trademark style along the way.
Continue reading ‘The Last Son’ Trailer: Sam Worthington & Machine Gun Kelly Star In Tim Sutton’s New Western at The Playlist.
Listen: Tim Sutton Talks ‘Funny Face,’ The Divisive Legacy Of ‘Donnybrook,’ His Machine Gun Kelly Western & More [The Playlist Podcast]
Well, if the trailer for “The Last Son” is any indication, it appears Sutton is able to transition to the Wild West with ease, while still keeping some of his trademark style along the way.
Continue reading ‘The Last Son’ Trailer: Sam Worthington & Machine Gun Kelly Star In Tim Sutton’s New Western at The Playlist.
- 11/8/2021
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
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