Chris “Ludacris” Bridges never planned on being an actor when he started his rap career during the late ’90s. He attributes his successful transition from music to acting to late writer-director John Singleton, who gave him his breakout role as Tej Parker in the “The Fast and the Furious” (2001) sequel “2 Fast 2 Furious” (2003).
During a discussion about his new role as Eddie Garrick in Disney+’s new Christmas movie “Dashing Through the Snow,” Bridges discussed his more than 20-year career as an actor, and how acting initially was never “part of the plan.”
While his debut role was playing an unsatisfied customer in record producer and filmmaker DJ Pooh’s comedy “The Wash” (2001), it wasn’t until Singleton cast him as a former street racer and mechanic that his acting career went full speed ahead.
“No, it was not part of the plan. I always give credit to John Singleton,...
During a discussion about his new role as Eddie Garrick in Disney+’s new Christmas movie “Dashing Through the Snow,” Bridges discussed his more than 20-year career as an actor, and how acting initially was never “part of the plan.”
While his debut role was playing an unsatisfied customer in record producer and filmmaker DJ Pooh’s comedy “The Wash” (2001), it wasn’t until Singleton cast him as a former street racer and mechanic that his acting career went full speed ahead.
“No, it was not part of the plan. I always give credit to John Singleton,...
- 11/20/2023
- by Raquel 'Rocky' Harris
- The Wrap
Within the DNA for Defiant Studios, the production banner behind Terry Crews’ 2020 hit “John Henry” and last month’s “Phobias,” are two companies: You’ve definitely heard of the scrappy, microbudget mentality that has made Blumhouse Productions a juggernaut. But you may have forgotten about Insurge, a one-time division of Paramount born with the mission to incubate young, first-time filmmakers. Defiant Studios producer Eric B. Fleischman is a veteran of both companies, and he and partner Maurice Fadida have quietly found success by embracing a model that is built around small-budget genre films from emerging talent and slate financing that mitigates risk and allows for taking more chances on talent. That approach is already paying off since Defiant was the only studio with two movies that premiered at last month’s SXSW: Elle Callahan’s “Witch Hunt” and Mickey Keating’s “Offseason,” which sold to Rlje Films and Shudder just this week.
- 4/16/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
As Hollywood crawls toward some version of normalcy amid the coronavirus pandemic, we at Variety have been curious about how the day-to-day work of film and television production would resume. After an invitation from two indie film producers — Maurice Fadida and Eric B. Fleischman — to visit the set of “The Knocking,” I was able to observe the meticulous new protocols in action.
It’s a slog, the business of keeping people protected in a highly tactile and collaborative environment, especially for independent filmmakers. The producers estimated that safety measures cost as much as 10% of their production budget, and resulted in additional shooting days. Talent and artisans are also increasingly isolated, they told me, as the busy life of the film set has been replaced by video conferences and solitary meals in cars. Craft services is no longer a delicious group hang, but a single-serve food and drinks. The makeup trailer...
It’s a slog, the business of keeping people protected in a highly tactile and collaborative environment, especially for independent filmmakers. The producers estimated that safety measures cost as much as 10% of their production budget, and resulted in additional shooting days. Talent and artisans are also increasingly isolated, they told me, as the busy life of the film set has been replaced by video conferences and solitary meals in cars. Craft services is no longer a delicious group hang, but a single-serve food and drinks. The makeup trailer...
- 9/10/2020
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
New banner to launch with three titles including Elle Callahan’s ‘Witch Hunt’ and Will Forbes’ ‘John Henry’.
German sales and distribution company Telepool, jointly owned by Us actor-producer Will Smith and Swiss director Marc Forster’s strategic investment company Elysian Fields, is launching a genre label Fearious overseen by sales arm Global Screen in time for the virtual Cannes market next week.
Three Us genre titles head the inaugural slate. Elle Callahan’s mystery thriller Witch Hunt, in which a high-school student and her family help witches escape across the Us border to Mexico, debuted at SXSW and stars Elizabeth Mitchell,...
German sales and distribution company Telepool, jointly owned by Us actor-producer Will Smith and Swiss director Marc Forster’s strategic investment company Elysian Fields, is launching a genre label Fearious overseen by sales arm Global Screen in time for the virtual Cannes market next week.
Three Us genre titles head the inaugural slate. Elle Callahan’s mystery thriller Witch Hunt, in which a high-school student and her family help witches escape across the Us border to Mexico, debuted at SXSW and stars Elizabeth Mitchell,...
- 6/18/2020
- by 158¦Martin Blaney¦40¦
- ScreenDaily
New banner to launch with three titles including Elle Callahan’s ‘Witch Hunt’ and Will Forbes’ ‘John Henry’.
German sales-distribution company Telepool, jointly owned by Hollywood actor-producer Will Smith and Swiss investor Elysian Fields, is to launch new genre film label Fearious overseen by sales arm Global Screen.
The new banner will be unveiled at Cannes’ Marché du Film Online next week with three titles. It marks some of the first fruits of a collaboration sealed in autumn 2018 between Telepool and Eric B. Fleischman’s Defiant Studios to invest as a co-producer in a slate of Us genre films, co-produced...
German sales-distribution company Telepool, jointly owned by Hollywood actor-producer Will Smith and Swiss investor Elysian Fields, is to launch new genre film label Fearious overseen by sales arm Global Screen.
The new banner will be unveiled at Cannes’ Marché du Film Online next week with three titles. It marks some of the first fruits of a collaboration sealed in autumn 2018 between Telepool and Eric B. Fleischman’s Defiant Studios to invest as a co-producer in a slate of Us genre films, co-produced...
- 6/18/2020
- by 158¦Martin Blaney¦40¦
- ScreenDaily
Photo Credit: Hiram Garcia
Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are set to star in Netflix’s upcoming series Ball And Chain.
Loosely based on the 90s comic book Ball and Chain, the film follows a troubled married couple that receive superpowers that only work when they are together. Writer and Academy Award Nominee Emily V. Gordon will adapt the story from Scott Lobdell’s 90s comic book by the same name
Johnson and Blunt will co-star in Disney’s Jungle Cruise which will be released next summer.
Walt Disney Studios
Blunt has reprised her role in A Quiet Place Part II which will premiere later this year and is currently in post production on Wild Mountain Thyme.
Johnson most recently starred in Sony’s Jumanji: The Next Level which grossed over $796 million worldwide, the continuation of the 2017 blockbuster Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. He is in production on Netflix’s...
Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are set to star in Netflix’s upcoming series Ball And Chain.
Loosely based on the 90s comic book Ball and Chain, the film follows a troubled married couple that receive superpowers that only work when they are together. Writer and Academy Award Nominee Emily V. Gordon will adapt the story from Scott Lobdell’s 90s comic book by the same name
Johnson and Blunt will co-star in Disney’s Jungle Cruise which will be released next summer.
Walt Disney Studios
Blunt has reprised her role in A Quiet Place Part II which will premiere later this year and is currently in post production on Wild Mountain Thyme.
Johnson most recently starred in Sony’s Jumanji: The Next Level which grossed over $796 million worldwide, the continuation of the 2017 blockbuster Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. He is in production on Netflix’s...
- 5/18/2020
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Producers behind the Terry Crews micro-budget drama “John Henry” are taking a victory lap this week, as their film has found an exhilarating second life and wide viewership on Netflix.
In a period that saw dominance from the second season of the Christina Applegate series “Dead to Me,” and stiff feature competition from the Michelle Obama documentary “Becoming” and the continued reign of Chris Hemsworth’s “Extraction,” the Crews film stood tallest — rating as the number one movie on Netflix this Wednesday, according to the platform’s own top ten list.
“John Henry” comes from debut writer-director Will Forbes, and producers Maurice Fadida, Eric B. Fleischman and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones. UTA Independent Film Group sold the project to L.A.-based Saban Films last year, which bowed in a quiet limited theatrical run in January.
Early this week, Fadida and Fleischman noticed only in browsing the Netflix app that their film had become available.
In a period that saw dominance from the second season of the Christina Applegate series “Dead to Me,” and stiff feature competition from the Michelle Obama documentary “Becoming” and the continued reign of Chris Hemsworth’s “Extraction,” the Crews film stood tallest — rating as the number one movie on Netflix this Wednesday, according to the platform’s own top ten list.
“John Henry” comes from debut writer-director Will Forbes, and producers Maurice Fadida, Eric B. Fleischman and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones. UTA Independent Film Group sold the project to L.A.-based Saban Films last year, which bowed in a quiet limited theatrical run in January.
Early this week, Fadida and Fleischman noticed only in browsing the Netflix app that their film had become available.
- 5/15/2020
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
It isn’t often that we get to see Terry Crews in a leading role, but John Henry has the beloved actor front and center for a dramatic revenge tale. After a fairly limited theatrical release in January, the pic’s now on Netflix and has managed to find spots on both the Top 10 Movies and Top 10 Overall lists, seemingly indicating that it’s quite popular amongst viewers. But it seems not everyone’s a fan.
For those unfamiliar, John Henry tells the story of an ex-gang member from La who turned his back on a life of crime to settle into a quieter, suburban life. But after two young immigrants find themselves mixed up with his old gang leader, he decides to return to the life he left behind “to end the cycle of violence on his own terms.”
Written by Will Forbes and Doug Skinner and helmed by the former,...
For those unfamiliar, John Henry tells the story of an ex-gang member from La who turned his back on a life of crime to settle into a quieter, suburban life. But after two young immigrants find themselves mixed up with his old gang leader, he decides to return to the life he left behind “to end the cycle of violence on his own terms.”
Written by Will Forbes and Doug Skinner and helmed by the former,...
- 5/14/2020
- by Matt Joseph
- We Got This Covered
Movie fans focused on VOD value this week — an easy choice, with no new major releases. (That will change in a few days with the Warner Bros. original family title “Scoob!” at $19.99.) Sony’s “Bloodshot” opened the last weekend theaters operated, became a $19.99 premium VOD offering a few weeks later, and last Tuesday it dropped to $5.99. It now stands in the top three for all of our reported charts, including #1 at Amazon Prime, and #2 at FandangoNow which ranks by amount paid, not transactions.
“I Still Believe” dropped its prices to $5.99 this week, and their chart placements improved. This flags a potential issue: How many people will get used to holding off for a few weeks, in exchange for seeing the price drop by 60 percent or more? Many of these viewers were content to wait three months after initial theatrical play, so delaying rental for a month might not be a tough choice.
“I Still Believe” dropped its prices to $5.99 this week, and their chart placements improved. This flags a potential issue: How many people will get used to holding off for a few weeks, in exchange for seeing the price drop by 60 percent or more? Many of these viewers were content to wait three months after initial theatrical play, so delaying rental for a month might not be a tough choice.
- 5/12/2020
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Netflix continues to dominate the streaming competition, with the platform recently putting out a range of intriguing trailers for upcoming projects while also seeing some surprising choices pull in huge amounts of subscribers. Furthermore, the streamer put out thirteen new titles this weekend, including an underrated Jamie Foxx thriller that’s already doing well with audiences, as well as a host of returning and new television shows. But what are the best new movies and series to enjoy on Netflix at the moment?
First up is Sleepless, the previously mentioned Jamie Foxx thriller from 2017, where his character infiltrates a gang to rescue his son. We also get some strong turns from Scoot McNairy and David Harbour in a film that doesn’t have the kindest critical reputation, but has still managed to climb to #2 in the Netflix movie charts this weekend. Also new, or at least returning, on Netflix is the Jennifer Lawrence-starring,...
First up is Sleepless, the previously mentioned Jamie Foxx thriller from 2017, where his character infiltrates a gang to rescue his son. We also get some strong turns from Scoot McNairy and David Harbour in a film that doesn’t have the kindest critical reputation, but has still managed to climb to #2 in the Netflix movie charts this weekend. Also new, or at least returning, on Netflix is the Jennifer Lawrence-starring,...
- 5/10/2020
- by Jessica James
- We Got This Covered
Terry Crews’ John Henry is a man of few words. “John Henry,” the folklore-cribbing, violent thriller (opening theatrically and available on demand) about a former gang member who must face his demons when two young immigrants require his help, feels like it wants to say a lot. But what exactly?
Utilizing horror-movie gestures and ladling spaghetti Western sauce on top, first-time director Will Forbes has made a movie stuffed with images of monstrous black men. That was likely not his intention. But it does show what can go awry with when promiscuous genre-borrowing trumps culturally aware storytelling (Doug Skinner co-wrote). Think of it as a Jordan Peele counter-effect.
Still, it’s hard not to love a massive man who’s comfortable with a small, fluffy dog. John Henry’s pup meets its untimely end on a Compton street early in the B movie. One might pity the fool who was...
Utilizing horror-movie gestures and ladling spaghetti Western sauce on top, first-time director Will Forbes has made a movie stuffed with images of monstrous black men. That was likely not his intention. But it does show what can go awry with when promiscuous genre-borrowing trumps culturally aware storytelling (Doug Skinner co-wrote). Think of it as a Jordan Peele counter-effect.
Still, it’s hard not to love a massive man who’s comfortable with a small, fluffy dog. John Henry’s pup meets its untimely end on a Compton street early in the B movie. One might pity the fool who was...
- 1/23/2020
- by Lisa Kennedy
- Variety Film + TV
"Trust me... I'm not a killer. I'm John Henry." Saban Films has revealed an official trailer for an indie action drama titled John Henry, set to drop into theaters + on VOD coming up in January. Terry Crews stars as the titular John Henry, some kind of big brute who lives in South Los Angeles taking care of his father. His is a quiet man with a violent past who suddenly has his life changed when an immigrant girl on the run from gang violence nearby stumbles into his life. This also stars Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Jamila Velazquez, Tyler Alvarez, Ken Foree, Joseph Julian Soria, and Dohn Norwood. Haven't heard much about this before today, and it hasn't shown up at any festivals. Looks like it might be cool to watch Crews kicking ass. Here's the first official trailer for Will Forbes' John Henry, direct from Saban Films' YouTube: Ex-gang member,...
- 12/20/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
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