Writer Kelli McNeil says she was already “deeply insecure about [her] work” when she handed over an early draft of Daruma — a drama about Patrick (Tobias Forrest), a veteran and quadriplegic who discovers he’s the father of a young girl born from a one-night stand years earlier — to her fiancé, director-cinematographer Alexander Yellen.
“She goes off to the other room, and I start reading the script, and by page two, I’m laughing,” says Yellen, who’s worked in various capacities on shows like Z Nation and Euphoria. “She goes, ‘This is a drama.’ I said, ‘No, it’s not. It’s a dark comedy and it’s great.’”
McNeil began writing the script back in 2017, long before it would premiere at 2023’s Dances With Films Fest in L.A. and screen last month as part of Slamdance’s Unstoppable program, where Peter Farrelly signed on as executive producer to help bolster its profile.
“She goes off to the other room, and I start reading the script, and by page two, I’m laughing,” says Yellen, who’s worked in various capacities on shows like Z Nation and Euphoria. “She goes, ‘This is a drama.’ I said, ‘No, it’s not. It’s a dark comedy and it’s great.’”
McNeil began writing the script back in 2017, long before it would premiere at 2023’s Dances With Films Fest in L.A. and screen last month as part of Slamdance’s Unstoppable program, where Peter Farrelly signed on as executive producer to help bolster its profile.
- 2/9/2024
- by Abbey White
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
‘Daruma’: Abigail Hawk, Tobias Forrest, John W. Lawson & Barry Bostwick Star In Disability-Drama Pic
Abigail Hawk (Blue Bloods), Tobias Forrest (Coffee Wars), John Lawson (Untitled Pet Sematery Prequel) and Barry Bostwick (Rocky Horror Picture Show) are among the cast in feature drama Daruma.
Currently filming in Los Angeles, Daruma follows in the footsteps of Coda and The Peanut Butter Falcon in that it features lead actors with disabilities, but the central plot is not centered around disability.
The film follows Patrick (Forrest) who discovers he has a daughter (newcomer Victoria Scott) and agrees to take her on a cross-country roadtrip with his neighbor Robert (Lawson) to live with her maternal grandparents on the opposite side of the country (Bostwick).
Director/Dp Alexander Yellen (Z-Nation) helms the picture from a script that Kelli McNeil-Yellen penned. Both Yellen’s serve as executive producers alongside Producer Jodi Binstock (Z-Nation) with Abigail Hawk and Jonathan Salemi as associate producers. The project is the recipient of the Panavision New Filmmakers Grant,...
Currently filming in Los Angeles, Daruma follows in the footsteps of Coda and The Peanut Butter Falcon in that it features lead actors with disabilities, but the central plot is not centered around disability.
The film follows Patrick (Forrest) who discovers he has a daughter (newcomer Victoria Scott) and agrees to take her on a cross-country roadtrip with his neighbor Robert (Lawson) to live with her maternal grandparents on the opposite side of the country (Bostwick).
Director/Dp Alexander Yellen (Z-Nation) helms the picture from a script that Kelli McNeil-Yellen penned. Both Yellen’s serve as executive producers alongside Producer Jodi Binstock (Z-Nation) with Abigail Hawk and Jonathan Salemi as associate producers. The project is the recipient of the Panavision New Filmmakers Grant,...
- 2/2/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Actor, disability-inclusion advocate and double hand amputee John W. Lawson has been cast as Stanny in Paramount Players’ untitled “Pet Sematary” prequel, written and directed by Lindsey Beer.
“I have myoelectric hands… or what people commonly call ‘cyborg,’” Lawson jokes. “But most of the time, it’s just my hooks.”
This news makes the “Pet Sematary” prequel one of the first major horror fiction films to cast a double amputee in a starring role. Production on the movie, produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian, began in August.
While many plot details remain under wraps, Paramount did share that in the script, Stanny was not originally without hands — after Lawson auditioned, the role was rewritten to suit him.
Lawson auditioned twice before hearing that new scenes had been written for the character. “And when I got the new sides,” he told Variety, “they had completely written the role for...
“I have myoelectric hands… or what people commonly call ‘cyborg,’” Lawson jokes. “But most of the time, it’s just my hooks.”
This news makes the “Pet Sematary” prequel one of the first major horror fiction films to cast a double amputee in a starring role. Production on the movie, produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian, began in August.
While many plot details remain under wraps, Paramount did share that in the script, Stanny was not originally without hands — after Lawson auditioned, the role was rewritten to suit him.
Lawson auditioned twice before hearing that new scenes had been written for the character. “And when I got the new sides,” he told Variety, “they had completely written the role for...
- 8/27/2021
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
David Crow Sep 23, 2016
The backdrop to American Horror Story season 6, our Us chums look at the lost colony of Roanoke, its myths and pop culture appearances...
In case you missed it, the American Horror Story season 6 theme has been revealed, and it is a bloody Roanoke Nightmare indeed. After promoting the new season without releasing a single frame of footage, the ever-cryptic Ryan Murphy has now unveiled his true crime satire-meets-American Gothic to a surprised public, leading many to wonder… what is Roanoke again?
Despite a misconception in some quarters that the name infamously tied to the words “Lost Colony” was made up for the series, and that this fictional ghost story was set in Virginia (Roanoke is in present day North Carolina), Roanoke is indeed a real place, and the ghost stories around it are every bit as strange—if not stranger—than anything American Horror Story has dreamed up.
The backdrop to American Horror Story season 6, our Us chums look at the lost colony of Roanoke, its myths and pop culture appearances...
In case you missed it, the American Horror Story season 6 theme has been revealed, and it is a bloody Roanoke Nightmare indeed. After promoting the new season without releasing a single frame of footage, the ever-cryptic Ryan Murphy has now unveiled his true crime satire-meets-American Gothic to a surprised public, leading many to wonder… what is Roanoke again?
Despite a misconception in some quarters that the name infamously tied to the words “Lost Colony” was made up for the series, and that this fictional ghost story was set in Virginia (Roanoke is in present day North Carolina), Roanoke is indeed a real place, and the ghost stories around it are every bit as strange—if not stranger—than anything American Horror Story has dreamed up.
- 9/21/2016
- Den of Geek
Stars: Michael Jai White, Steve Austin, Max Ryan, Jon Osbeck, Allen Yates, Ashleigh Barnett, Matthew Bentley, Bobby Burns, Joe Fidler, John W. Lawson | Written by Kevin Carraway, Lawrence Sara | Directed by Kevin Carraway
Dear god, can’t someone give Michael Jai White a break? The star of the underrated Spawn, the fantastic blaxploitation spoof Black Dynamite, and the man behind supervillain Bronze Tiger in season 2 of Arrow, has been toiling away in Dtv action movie purgatory for some time now. For every decent action movie he makes – like Never Back Down 2 and Undisputed 2; he also has to appear in ill-judged films like Falcon Rising and this, Deadly Target.
Originally titled Chain of Command (no doubt renamed to stop any confusion with the hundred or so other movies with that moniker), Deadly Target sees White star as Special Operative James Webster who returns home after a tour of duty, only to...
Dear god, can’t someone give Michael Jai White a break? The star of the underrated Spawn, the fantastic blaxploitation spoof Black Dynamite, and the man behind supervillain Bronze Tiger in season 2 of Arrow, has been toiling away in Dtv action movie purgatory for some time now. For every decent action movie he makes – like Never Back Down 2 and Undisputed 2; he also has to appear in ill-judged films like Falcon Rising and this, Deadly Target.
Originally titled Chain of Command (no doubt renamed to stop any confusion with the hundred or so other movies with that moniker), Deadly Target sees White star as Special Operative James Webster who returns home after a tour of duty, only to...
- 10/24/2015
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.