The “Bridgerton” literary universe is expanding. Original series writer Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes, the executive producer of the romance series’ Netflix adaptation, are set to cowrite a new prequel novel set in the world of “Bridgerton.”
Currently untitled, the new book series is based on the universe of the TV series, and is an adaptation of the upcoming Netflix “Bridgerton” spinoff about a young Queen Charlotte. The book will tell the story of how Charlotte met and married King George, with a focus on how their love lead to a social shift that created the racially inclusive world seen in the television series.
“Queen Charlotte has been such a moving character to write and now having the opportunity to work with Julia to adapt this story into a book is such an exciting opportunity,” Rhimes said in a statement. “I can’t wait for fans of this universe to...
Currently untitled, the new book series is based on the universe of the TV series, and is an adaptation of the upcoming Netflix “Bridgerton” spinoff about a young Queen Charlotte. The book will tell the story of how Charlotte met and married King George, with a focus on how their love lead to a social shift that created the racially inclusive world seen in the television series.
“Queen Charlotte has been such a moving character to write and now having the opportunity to work with Julia to adapt this story into a book is such an exciting opportunity,” Rhimes said in a statement. “I can’t wait for fans of this universe to...
- 7/7/2022
- by Wilson Chapman
- Variety Film + TV
After a year filled with production delays and shutdowns, Hollywood has persevered, and HBO — still the premiere destination for prestigious new shows and returning favorites — has a full slate of confirmed 2021 TV releases in the offing. Though the pandemic is still causing mayhem when it comes to any kind of long-term scheduling, some series have managed to wrap, others are in the middle of shooting, and still more have a plan to finish in time for audiences to appreciate them this very year.
Below, IndieWire has compiled a list of upcoming programs either already scheduled or fully expected to premiere this year, so you can rest assured in what’s coming. In the list below, learn all about HBO’s 2021 dramas, comedies, limited series, and more, from plot descriptions and cast lists to production timelines and possible premiere dates.
To be clear, this is a 2021 preview for HBO, not HBO Max.
Below, IndieWire has compiled a list of upcoming programs either already scheduled or fully expected to premiere this year, so you can rest assured in what’s coming. In the list below, learn all about HBO’s 2021 dramas, comedies, limited series, and more, from plot descriptions and cast lists to production timelines and possible premiere dates.
To be clear, this is a 2021 preview for HBO, not HBO Max.
- 1/1/2021
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
The Duplass Brothers and HBO Documentary Films are producing “The Lady and the Dale,” a docuseries that will explore an audacious 1970s auto scam centered around a mysterious entrepreneur.
Per HBO’s synopsis, said mysterious entrepreneur is Elizabeth Carmichael, who rose to prominence when she released a fuel-efficient three-wheeled vehicle during the 1970s gas crisis. As she wins over major carmakers and investors, a web of mystery unfolds regarding the car’s technology and Carmichael’s surprising past. A portrait of an extraordinary entrepreneur’s rise and eventual fall, the series explores a one-of-a-kind story of fraud, family and identity.
“The Lady and the Dale” is expected to air in 2021. The Duplass Brothers will executive-produce alongside Mel Eslyn, Andre Gaines, Allen Bain, Nick Cammilleri, Alana Carithers, and Zackary Drucker.
In other nonfiction news, HBO also announced “Seen & Heard,” a two-part documentary that will explore the history of Black television as...
Per HBO’s synopsis, said mysterious entrepreneur is Elizabeth Carmichael, who rose to prominence when she released a fuel-efficient three-wheeled vehicle during the 1970s gas crisis. As she wins over major carmakers and investors, a web of mystery unfolds regarding the car’s technology and Carmichael’s surprising past. A portrait of an extraordinary entrepreneur’s rise and eventual fall, the series explores a one-of-a-kind story of fraud, family and identity.
“The Lady and the Dale” is expected to air in 2021. The Duplass Brothers will executive-produce alongside Mel Eslyn, Andre Gaines, Allen Bain, Nick Cammilleri, Alana Carithers, and Zackary Drucker.
In other nonfiction news, HBO also announced “Seen & Heard,” a two-part documentary that will explore the history of Black television as...
- 8/6/2020
- by Tyler Hersko
- Indiewire
HBO has gone into production on two new docuseries from Issa Rae and the Duplass brothers, respectively.
From Rae, “Seen & Heard” is a two-part documentary that explores “the history of Black television seen through the eyes of trailblazers who wrote, produced, created and starred in groundbreaking series of the past and present.”
From Mark and Jay Duplass, “The Lady and the Dale” is a docueseries that explores an “audacious 1970s auto scam centered around a mysterious entrepreneur.”
“Seen & Heard” is described as offering “cultural commentary about representation in black storytelling and feature interviews with actors, showrunners, writers, celebrities and other notable influencers as well as verité-driven segments and inventive use of archival material. The featured participants will reflect on their own experiences watching African Americans represented on television yesterday and today, while sharing insights into their current creative endeavors, personal experiences, and inspiration, providing a window into the larger evolution...
From Rae, “Seen & Heard” is a two-part documentary that explores “the history of Black television seen through the eyes of trailblazers who wrote, produced, created and starred in groundbreaking series of the past and present.”
From Mark and Jay Duplass, “The Lady and the Dale” is a docueseries that explores an “audacious 1970s auto scam centered around a mysterious entrepreneur.”
“Seen & Heard” is described as offering “cultural commentary about representation in black storytelling and feature interviews with actors, showrunners, writers, celebrities and other notable influencers as well as verité-driven segments and inventive use of archival material. The featured participants will reflect on their own experiences watching African Americans represented on television yesterday and today, while sharing insights into their current creative endeavors, personal experiences, and inspiration, providing a window into the larger evolution...
- 8/5/2020
- by Margeaux Sippell
- The Wrap
Room 104 and Togetherness creators Mark and Jay Duplass have set their latest HBO project – a documentary series about a 1970s auto scam centered around a mysterious entrepreneur.
The Lady and the Dale is one of a number of new documentaries unveiled by WarnerMedia’s premium cable network.
The film, which is directed by Nick Cammilleri (Slide) and Zackary Drucker (Transparent), tells the story of Elizabeth Carmichael, who rose to prominence when she released a fuel-efficient three-wheeled vehicle during the 1970s gas crisis.
However, the problem was that there were questions marks whether Carmichael and the car were real. Liz Carmichael was born Jerry Dean Michael, a criminal wanted for grand theft, fraud and involvement in the Colombian drug ring. The story involves investigative journalists and hit men with employees insisting that Carmichael, one of the first public figures to be outed as transgender, worked non-stop on the revolutionary car,...
The Lady and the Dale is one of a number of new documentaries unveiled by WarnerMedia’s premium cable network.
The film, which is directed by Nick Cammilleri (Slide) and Zackary Drucker (Transparent), tells the story of Elizabeth Carmichael, who rose to prominence when she released a fuel-efficient three-wheeled vehicle during the 1970s gas crisis.
However, the problem was that there were questions marks whether Carmichael and the car were real. Liz Carmichael was born Jerry Dean Michael, a criminal wanted for grand theft, fraud and involvement in the Colombian drug ring. The story involves investigative journalists and hit men with employees insisting that Carmichael, one of the first public figures to be outed as transgender, worked non-stop on the revolutionary car,...
- 8/5/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Amazon Studios and MacRo Television Studios have partnered with Ava DuVernay’s Array Filmworks to bring Nebula- and Hugo Award-winning author Octavia Butler’s classic 1987 science-fiction novel, “Dawn,” to the small screen.
In what remarkably is the first time that the Science Fiction Hall of Famer’s work has been adapted, Victoria Mahoney, who served as second unit director on “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” will pen the series and will also direct the pilot.
“Dawn” is the first book in Butler’s “Lilith’s Brood” trilogy (formerly “Xenogenesis”). It tells the story of an African-American woman who enlists the help of aliens to resurrect the human race, 250 years after a nuclear war. Its official synopsis reads:
Lilith Iyapo has just lost her husband and son when atomic fire consumes Earth — the last stage of the planet’s final war. Hundreds of years later Lilith awakes, deep in the...
In what remarkably is the first time that the Science Fiction Hall of Famer’s work has been adapted, Victoria Mahoney, who served as second unit director on “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” will pen the series and will also direct the pilot.
“Dawn” is the first book in Butler’s “Lilith’s Brood” trilogy (formerly “Xenogenesis”). It tells the story of an African-American woman who enlists the help of aliens to resurrect the human race, 250 years after a nuclear war. Its official synopsis reads:
Lilith Iyapo has just lost her husband and son when atomic fire consumes Earth — the last stage of the planet’s final war. Hundreds of years later Lilith awakes, deep in the...
- 2/26/2020
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Amazon is adding another sci-fi show to its books. The streaming service has given a script-to-series commitment to a TV adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s sci-fi novel “Dawn,” from Ava DuVernay and Victoria Mahoney.
The “When They See Us” director will partner with Amazon Studios and Macro Television via her Array Filmworks collective to executive produce the series alongside Mahoney (“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”), who is writing the adaptation and will also direct the pilot.
The classic 1987 Hugo Award-winning sci-fi novel follows Lilith Iyapo, an African-American woman who has been kept asleep in an alien space ship along with several other survivors for 250 years after the earth destroyed in a nuclear war. Now, the aliens are calling on her to resurrect the human race.
Also Read: Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn Are Back - and Doing a Weird Dance - in Amazon's 'Making the Cut...
The “When They See Us” director will partner with Amazon Studios and Macro Television via her Array Filmworks collective to executive produce the series alongside Mahoney (“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”), who is writing the adaptation and will also direct the pilot.
The classic 1987 Hugo Award-winning sci-fi novel follows Lilith Iyapo, an African-American woman who has been kept asleep in an alien space ship along with several other survivors for 250 years after the earth destroyed in a nuclear war. Now, the aliens are calling on her to resurrect the human race.
Also Read: Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn Are Back - and Doing a Weird Dance - in Amazon's 'Making the Cut...
- 2/26/2020
- by Margeaux Sippell
- The Wrap
Amazon Studios has hopped on board with Macro Television Studios to partner with Ava DuVernay’s Array Filmworks to develop a TV adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s 1987 sci-fi novel Dawn. Victoria Mahoney has been set as creator and will adapt and direct the pilot.
The project has been marinating for a while as Deadline exclusively reported that Macro, Array and Mahoney were developing the project in 2017. With Amazon on board, it seems that the project is gaining traction with development. The book, which was optioned by Macro, won a Hugo Award and tells the story of a black woman who works with aliens to resurrect the human race 250 years after a nuclear war.
The sci-fi genre is a good fit for Mahoney as she made history as the first woman (and woman of color for that matter) to direct a Star Wars film.
The project has been marinating for a while as Deadline exclusively reported that Macro, Array and Mahoney were developing the project in 2017. With Amazon on board, it seems that the project is gaining traction with development. The book, which was optioned by Macro, won a Hugo Award and tells the story of a black woman who works with aliens to resurrect the human race 250 years after a nuclear war.
The sci-fi genre is a good fit for Mahoney as she made history as the first woman (and woman of color for that matter) to direct a Star Wars film.
- 2/26/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Victoria Mahoney, who last year became the first woman to direct part of a “Star Wars” film, is developing a new sci-fi project at Amazon.
Mahoney is teaming up with Ava DuVernay, her Array banner and Macro Television Studios to adapt Octavia E. Butler’s 1987 science-fiction novel “Dawn” for the small screen. Macro had previously optioned the rights to the award-winning book about an African-American woman who works with aliens to resurrect the human race 250 years after a nuclear war.
Published in 1987, “Dawn” is the first in a three-part series of Butler’s novels, collectively titled Lilith’s Brood. The second and third parts, called “Adulthood Rites” and “Imago,” were published in 1988 and 1989. Overall, the trilogy explores themes of sexuality, gender, and race.
Mahoney, who is set to helm an episode of the upcoming HBO Jordan Peele series “Lovecraft Country,” is slated to direct the pilot as well as writing the series.
Mahoney is teaming up with Ava DuVernay, her Array banner and Macro Television Studios to adapt Octavia E. Butler’s 1987 science-fiction novel “Dawn” for the small screen. Macro had previously optioned the rights to the award-winning book about an African-American woman who works with aliens to resurrect the human race 250 years after a nuclear war.
Published in 1987, “Dawn” is the first in a three-part series of Butler’s novels, collectively titled Lilith’s Brood. The second and third parts, called “Adulthood Rites” and “Imago,” were published in 1988 and 1989. Overall, the trilogy explores themes of sexuality, gender, and race.
Mahoney, who is set to helm an episode of the upcoming HBO Jordan Peele series “Lovecraft Country,” is slated to direct the pilot as well as writing the series.
- 2/26/2020
- by Will Thorne
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Allen Bain's sci-fi label Bainframe has made its latest acquisition with Hugo Award-winning author Allen Steele's Coyote series of books. The company will develop the fictional imagining of a journey to a near Earth-like planet as a TV series which Bain will exec produce. Coyote is set in the not-too-distant future, in an America that has slipped steadily into fascism. The stories kick off when a group of revolutionaries hijack Earth's first interstellar…...
- 9/26/2016
- Deadline TV
Exclusive: In the second acquisition for the burgeoning sci-fi label, Allen Bain's Bainframe has acquired rights to Robert A. Heinlein's 1951 novella The Man Who Sold The Moon. The company will develop the timely project for television. Bain (Two Men In Town, Revenge Of The Green Dragons) founded Bainframe to tell stories that have "the power to inspire people to dream of a better tomorrow." This is the shingle's second rights buy, following Octavia E. Butler's…...
- 9/29/2015
- Deadline TV
Bainframe has acquired the rights to "Starship Troopers" author Robert A. Heinlein's 1951 novella "The Man Who Sold The Moon" with plans to adapt the property for television.
The story follows a businessman possessed by a dream to take humanity off-Earth. He begins a private space company to colonize the moon, but is driven to the brink while single-handedly ushering the human race to its next evolutionary step.
Allen Bain ("Revenge Of The Green Dragons") will produce the project, his company's second acquisition following their acquisition of Octavia E. Butler's "Dawn".
Source: Deadline...
The story follows a businessman possessed by a dream to take humanity off-Earth. He begins a private space company to colonize the moon, but is driven to the brink while single-handedly ushering the human race to its next evolutionary step.
Allen Bain ("Revenge Of The Green Dragons") will produce the project, his company's second acquisition following their acquisition of Octavia E. Butler's "Dawn".
Source: Deadline...
- 9/29/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
In Octavia Butler's 1987 novel Dawn, a human race in danger of extinction is given a final chance to survive by mating with an alien species to create a new hybrid race. The first book in Butler's Lilith's Brood series (formerly Xenogenesis), adaptation rights were recently acquired by producer Allen Bain ("Revenge of the Green Dragons"). "Dawn" is the first television series to be developed under his new Bainframe sci-fi banner. Gary Pearl, Thomas Carter and Teddy Smith are set to executive produce along with Bain. As the project is in development and putting together its production team, Bain made time to talk with S&A about his plans for the...
- 9/3/2015
- by Jai Tiggett
- ShadowAndAct
Exclusive: Under his new Bainframe banner, Allen Bain has made the company’s first acquisition for television. Bainframe has optioned rights to late-author Octavia E. Butler’s Dawn, the first book in what was known as the Xenogenisis volume, now the Lilith’s Brood collection. The sci-fi tale tells of humanity’s last survivors who are saved by an ancient alien race just before the destruction of the earth. They are given the choice of either mating with the aliens to…...
- 9/2/2015
- Deadline TV
Exclusive: UK seller signs Us comedy-horror ahead of Cannes.
UK sales outfit Sc Films has boarded international sales rights to completed Us horror-comedy Demon Hole.
Demon Hole charts the fallout after a fracking crew drills a hole on sacred Native American land unleashing an ancient demon, which then terrorizes six teens serving community service in a remote forest.
Writer-director is Josh Crook, producer is Lori Crook and exec producer is Allen Bain, producer of Rachid Bouchareb’s Just Like a Woman and 2014 Us action feature Revenge of the Green Dragons.
Cast includes Samantha Scaffidi, Austin Ramsey, Paris Campbell, Summer Bills and Adrian Denzel.
Us director Crook’s 2006 short, Salvage, premiered at Sundance while action-thriller La Soga premiered at Toronto. More recently, his feature Ponchao won the audience award at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival in 2013 and premiered on HBO.
Crook said: “The current crop of horror movies has gotten too severe and grim. While scary, they...
UK sales outfit Sc Films has boarded international sales rights to completed Us horror-comedy Demon Hole.
Demon Hole charts the fallout after a fracking crew drills a hole on sacred Native American land unleashing an ancient demon, which then terrorizes six teens serving community service in a remote forest.
Writer-director is Josh Crook, producer is Lori Crook and exec producer is Allen Bain, producer of Rachid Bouchareb’s Just Like a Woman and 2014 Us action feature Revenge of the Green Dragons.
Cast includes Samantha Scaffidi, Austin Ramsey, Paris Campbell, Summer Bills and Adrian Denzel.
Us director Crook’s 2006 short, Salvage, premiered at Sundance while action-thriller La Soga premiered at Toronto. More recently, his feature Ponchao won the audience award at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival in 2013 and premiered on HBO.
Crook said: “The current crop of horror movies has gotten too severe and grim. While scary, they...
- 4/13/2015
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Ray Liotta, Justin Chon (Twilight), and Harry Shum, Jr. (Glee) star in the 1990s NYC-set action crime drama that’s executive produced by Martin Scorsese and set to debut next month at the Toronto Film Festival. Revenge of the Green Dragons is helmed by Andrew Lau & Andrew Loo and was inspired by Frederick Dannen’s New Yorker article chronicling Asian-American gang life in Queens, NY. It’s a reunion of sorts for Lau and Scorsese after the latter remade Lau’s Hong Kong crime pic Infernal Affairs into his own Oscar-winning 2006 film The Departed. Pic tracks immigrant siblings Sonny (Chon) and Steven (Kevin Wu) who join Chinatown’s Green Dragons in pursuit of their own American Dream, only to find themselves at odds when Sonny turns against his brother and the organization.
Shuya Chang, Geoff Pierson, Billy Magnussen, and Eugenia Yuan also star. Michael Dijiacomo and Loo co-wrote the script...
Shuya Chang, Geoff Pierson, Billy Magnussen, and Eugenia Yuan also star. Michael Dijiacomo and Loo co-wrote the script...
- 8/13/2014
- by Jen Yamato
- Deadline
#60. Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You - Roberto Faenza I'd normally wouldn't associate a veteran Italian filmmaker such as Roberto Faenza (see pic above) with the festival - but this shot in NYC, coming-of-age indie drama based on the novel by the same name (Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You) features a mix of the next generation of actors (Toby Regbo and Deborah Ann Woll) along with some stellar actresses in the biz (Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden) and is backed by producers who've been to the fest with some recent indie items Allen Bain (The Missing Person) and Ron Stein (The Romantics). Premieres category a possibility. Gist: Based on the award-winning novel Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You by Peter Cameron, is a funny and tender film about James Sveck (Toby Regbo), a vulnerable teenager with a deep appreciation for the world and...
- 11/13/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
At the beginning of every month, Ioncinema.com's "Tracking Shot" features a handful of projects that are moments away from lensing and that we feel are worth signaling out. This June, we are keeping tabs on nine projects including the untitled, aka The Master from master filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson. A View from the Bridge Director: Robert Connolly - Screenwriter: Andrew Bovell Producer(s): Anthony Lapaglia, Marion Pilowsky, Natalie Stevenson Cast: Vera Farmiga, Mia Wasikowska, Sam Neill, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Lapaglia Filming in New York and Melbourne, Australia Comments: Aussie-born actor Anthony Lapaglia wears the producer hat, returns to a character that is familiar to him: the jealousy husband/father in a 1950's New York borough. The helmer behind the Tiff selected Balibo directs this Arthur Miller play which was the basis for Kazan's On the Waterfront. Farmiga will look great in the eras' garb. Ray Lawrence was originally attached to direct.
- 6/2/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
7-57 Releasing and partner Markedia Worldwide have picked up U.S. distribution and world sales rights to Josh Crook's action thriller "La Soga."
Written by Manny Perez, the film stars Perez and Denise Quinones in the Domican Republic-set tale about a cop seeking justice.
It was produced by Perez, Josh Crook and Jeff Crook. Exec producers are Patrick Pope, Jose Miguel Bonetti, Henry Mu, Celines Toribio, Jesse Scolaro, Allen Bain, Patrick R. Morris, Kate White Morris, Robert G. Morris and Michael Bassick.
A platform theatrical release in the top ten U.S. markets is set for August, along with its rollout in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
Antena Latina Films will be handling distribution in the Dominican Republic with Cynthia Wiesner of Wiesner Distribution handling Puerto Rico.
Steven Raphael of Required Viewing and Mj Peckos of Mitropoulos Films will consult on all marketing and distribution elements for the North American theatrical release.
Written by Manny Perez, the film stars Perez and Denise Quinones in the Domican Republic-set tale about a cop seeking justice.
It was produced by Perez, Josh Crook and Jeff Crook. Exec producers are Patrick Pope, Jose Miguel Bonetti, Henry Mu, Celines Toribio, Jesse Scolaro, Allen Bain, Patrick R. Morris, Kate White Morris, Robert G. Morris and Michael Bassick.
A platform theatrical release in the top ten U.S. markets is set for August, along with its rollout in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
Antena Latina Films will be handling distribution in the Dominican Republic with Cynthia Wiesner of Wiesner Distribution handling Puerto Rico.
Steven Raphael of Required Viewing and Mj Peckos of Mitropoulos Films will consult on all marketing and distribution elements for the North American theatrical release.
- 6/28/2010
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The team behind this year's Sundance film entry "Holy Rollers" are aiming to reunite for another feature - the crime thriller "Kings Highway" says The Hollywood Reporter.
Director Kevin Asch, writer Antonio Macia and actor-producer Danny A. Abeckaser will all serve in the same capacity in this mid-1980's set story of a disgraced former Mossad agent now living in New York City who becomes involved in a growing Israeli crime syndicate.
Abeckaser, Allen Bain and Jesse Scolaro will produce through 7th Floor and 2B Productions. Shooting will kick off on location in New York.
Director Kevin Asch, writer Antonio Macia and actor-producer Danny A. Abeckaser will all serve in the same capacity in this mid-1980's set story of a disgraced former Mossad agent now living in New York City who becomes involved in a growing Israeli crime syndicate.
Abeckaser, Allen Bain and Jesse Scolaro will produce through 7th Floor and 2B Productions. Shooting will kick off on location in New York.
- 5/21/2010
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
"Holy Rollers" director Kevin Asch, writer Antonio Macia and producer/actor Danny A. Abeckaser will assume the same duties in "Kings Highway." The crime thriller will shoot on location in New York and Allen Bain and Jesse Scolaro of 7th Floor produce alongside Abeckaser and his 2B Productions. Story tells of a disgraced former Mossad agent who moves to New York during the mid-1980s and falls in line with a burgeoning Israeli crime syndicate. "Holy Rollers" was nominated for the Sundance Jury Prize. Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Bartha and Q-Tip star in the First Independent Pictures release.
- 5/20/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
As "Holy Rollers," their 2010 Sundance Film Festival entry, rolls out in theaters Friday, the pic's filmmakers have reunited for a follow-up feature, "Kings Highway."
"Rollers" director Kevin Asch, writer Antonio Macia and actor-producer Danny A. Abeckaser are taking on those same duties for "Kings." The crime thriller will shoot on location in New York.
Allen Bain and Jesse Scolaro of New York-based the 7th Floor are producing with Abeckaser and his 2B Prods.
The project centers on a disgraced former Mossad agent who moves to New York during the mid-1980s and falls in line with a burgeoning Israeli crime syndicate.
"After reading dozens of formulaic thrillers, I read the first 20 pages of 'Kings Highway,' and I was hooked," Asch said.
Added Abeckaser, "I am excited to bring this new and never-before-seen New York story to the big screen."
Macia calls the trio's reunion "a dream collaboration," adding that...
"Rollers" director Kevin Asch, writer Antonio Macia and actor-producer Danny A. Abeckaser are taking on those same duties for "Kings." The crime thriller will shoot on location in New York.
Allen Bain and Jesse Scolaro of New York-based the 7th Floor are producing with Abeckaser and his 2B Prods.
The project centers on a disgraced former Mossad agent who moves to New York during the mid-1980s and falls in line with a burgeoning Israeli crime syndicate.
"After reading dozens of formulaic thrillers, I read the first 20 pages of 'Kings Highway,' and I was hooked," Asch said.
Added Abeckaser, "I am excited to bring this new and never-before-seen New York story to the big screen."
Macia calls the trio's reunion "a dream collaboration," adding that...
- 5/19/2010
- by By Zorianna Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cannes -- Strand Releasing has acquired all U.S. distribution rights for Noah Buschel's "The Missing Person," a mystery tale starring Michael Shannon as a private detective hired to trail a man who is presumed dead.
The film, which also stars Amy Ryan, had its world premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival and will be released theatrically later this year.
"Missing" was produced by 7th Floor partners Jesse Scolaro and Allen Bain, with Lois Drabkin of Apropos Films.
The deal was negotiated between Ryan Kampe of Visit Films, the New York-based production/sales company, on behalf of the
filmmakers, and Strand's Jon Gerrans.
The film has also sold to Australia (Palace), Turkey (Erman) and the Middle East (Front Row).
Visit is repping such other films in the Marche as the Directors' Fortnight titles "Carcasses" and "Here."...
The film, which also stars Amy Ryan, had its world premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival and will be released theatrically later this year.
"Missing" was produced by 7th Floor partners Jesse Scolaro and Allen Bain, with Lois Drabkin of Apropos Films.
The deal was negotiated between Ryan Kampe of Visit Films, the New York-based production/sales company, on behalf of the
filmmakers, and Strand's Jon Gerrans.
The film has also sold to Australia (Palace), Turkey (Erman) and the Middle East (Front Row).
Visit is repping such other films in the Marche as the Directors' Fortnight titles "Carcasses" and "Here."...
- 5/15/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Writer-producers Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson are following up their Jennifer Aniston Universal drama "Traveling" with some killer thrills.
Camp and Thompson are producing their screenplay "Choose" along with Allen Bain and Jesse Scolaro's shingle the 7th Floor. It will mark the feature directing debut of Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Robert Legato.
Katheryn Winnick stars as a journalism grad student who attempts to track down a vengeful killer (Nicholas Tucci) with the help of her detective father (Kevin Pollak) and a shrink (Bruce Dern). Talia Balsam, Cady Huffman and Richard Short are among the cast now filming in New York.
The executive producer is Michael Bassick of Markedia Worldwide, which is financing the project with the 7th Floor (Mary Stuart Masterson's "Cake Eaters").
The UTA/Mark Schumacher Management-repped Winnick is set to have her breakout lead role in New Line's upcoming "Amusement," then star opposite Paul Giamatti in "Cold Souls.
Camp and Thompson are producing their screenplay "Choose" along with Allen Bain and Jesse Scolaro's shingle the 7th Floor. It will mark the feature directing debut of Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Robert Legato.
Katheryn Winnick stars as a journalism grad student who attempts to track down a vengeful killer (Nicholas Tucci) with the help of her detective father (Kevin Pollak) and a shrink (Bruce Dern). Talia Balsam, Cady Huffman and Richard Short are among the cast now filming in New York.
The executive producer is Michael Bassick of Markedia Worldwide, which is financing the project with the 7th Floor (Mary Stuart Masterson's "Cake Eaters").
The UTA/Mark Schumacher Management-repped Winnick is set to have her breakout lead role in New Line's upcoming "Amusement," then star opposite Paul Giamatti in "Cold Souls.
- 11/17/2008
- by By Gregg Goldstein
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Berlinale Competition
PARIS -- Erick Zonca, the acclaimed director of "The Dreamlife of Angels" and "The Little Thief", spent seven years on this American project, "Julia", an homage to John Cassavetes' "Gloria" as well as a nod to the late director's "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie."
Although directed, written and photographed by French filmmakers, this is an American movie, shot in California and Mexico with American and British actors. The commercial prospects are therefore those of a U.S. indie film. The presence of Tilda Swinton, following her Oscar nomination, could further attract a significant number of viewers. The film opens in France on March 12.
The opening sequences focus on Julia's nightlife: repeated drinking, occasional sex with strangers, quarrels. What starts out as a portrait of an alcoholic suddenly takes a turn with the intrusion of another woman. At an AA meeting, Julia (Swinton) meets Elena (Kate Del Castillo), who seeks her help. She claims she has been separated from her son, who lives with his grandfather. She asks Julia to help kidnap the boy and offers to split the ransom from the grandfather, a millionaire.
"Julia" naturally turns into a thriller, full of suspense, which will bring Julia and the boy to the California desert and all the way to Mexico. Getting involved in a kidnapping and having to face Mexican criminals allow Julia to better understand herself. So in 140 minutes, which move faster than many 90-minute movies, Zonca manages to change genres, change styles and make his character evolve.
Visually, the film evokes the American cinema of the 1970s. The immersion in Julia's drunk life is deliberately filmed in a Cassavetes style: short shots, close focal distance, blurred colors, dialogues that seem improvised. The thriller is first a road movie that uses the immensity of the desert as a narrative resource. Then the sequences in Tijuana pivot around the most vehement cliches Americans have on this border town.
As Julia, Swinton belongs to that league of great cinematic alcoholics such as Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick in "Days of Wine and Roses" and Ray Milland in "The Lost Weekend". As an action character, she naturally evokes Gena Rowlands without ever trying to resemble her. She doesn't hesitate to show her imperfect body -- some cellulite, a little potbelly. The braveness to take on such an unsexy behavior is not common. Opposite her, in some of the film's most compelling sequences, Saul Rubinek shows again that he is the essence of the supporting actor.
JULIA
Les Productions Bagheera, Le Bureau, StudioCanal, the 7th Floor, Saga Film
Credits:
Director: Erick Zonca
Screenwriters: Aude Py, Erick Zonca
Artistic collaborator: Camille Natta
Producers: Francois Marquis, Bertrand Faivre
Co-producers: Allen Bain, Jesse Scolaro, Hubert Toint, Jean-Jacques Neira
Director of photography: Yorick Le Saux
Production designer: Francois-Renaud Labarthe
Costume designer: April Napier
Editor: Philippe Kotlarski
Cast:
Julia: Tilda Swinton
Mitch: Saul Rubinek
Elena: Kate del Castillo
Tom: Aidan Gould
Nick: Jude Cicolella
Diego: Bruno Bichir
Santos: Horacio Garcia Rojas
Miguel: Gaston Peterson
Running time -- 140 minutes
No MPAA rating...
PARIS -- Erick Zonca, the acclaimed director of "The Dreamlife of Angels" and "The Little Thief", spent seven years on this American project, "Julia", an homage to John Cassavetes' "Gloria" as well as a nod to the late director's "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie."
Although directed, written and photographed by French filmmakers, this is an American movie, shot in California and Mexico with American and British actors. The commercial prospects are therefore those of a U.S. indie film. The presence of Tilda Swinton, following her Oscar nomination, could further attract a significant number of viewers. The film opens in France on March 12.
The opening sequences focus on Julia's nightlife: repeated drinking, occasional sex with strangers, quarrels. What starts out as a portrait of an alcoholic suddenly takes a turn with the intrusion of another woman. At an AA meeting, Julia (Swinton) meets Elena (Kate Del Castillo), who seeks her help. She claims she has been separated from her son, who lives with his grandfather. She asks Julia to help kidnap the boy and offers to split the ransom from the grandfather, a millionaire.
"Julia" naturally turns into a thriller, full of suspense, which will bring Julia and the boy to the California desert and all the way to Mexico. Getting involved in a kidnapping and having to face Mexican criminals allow Julia to better understand herself. So in 140 minutes, which move faster than many 90-minute movies, Zonca manages to change genres, change styles and make his character evolve.
Visually, the film evokes the American cinema of the 1970s. The immersion in Julia's drunk life is deliberately filmed in a Cassavetes style: short shots, close focal distance, blurred colors, dialogues that seem improvised. The thriller is first a road movie that uses the immensity of the desert as a narrative resource. Then the sequences in Tijuana pivot around the most vehement cliches Americans have on this border town.
As Julia, Swinton belongs to that league of great cinematic alcoholics such as Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick in "Days of Wine and Roses" and Ray Milland in "The Lost Weekend". As an action character, she naturally evokes Gena Rowlands without ever trying to resemble her. She doesn't hesitate to show her imperfect body -- some cellulite, a little potbelly. The braveness to take on such an unsexy behavior is not common. Opposite her, in some of the film's most compelling sequences, Saul Rubinek shows again that he is the essence of the supporting actor.
JULIA
Les Productions Bagheera, Le Bureau, StudioCanal, the 7th Floor, Saga Film
Credits:
Director: Erick Zonca
Screenwriters: Aude Py, Erick Zonca
Artistic collaborator: Camille Natta
Producers: Francois Marquis, Bertrand Faivre
Co-producers: Allen Bain, Jesse Scolaro, Hubert Toint, Jean-Jacques Neira
Director of photography: Yorick Le Saux
Production designer: Francois-Renaud Labarthe
Costume designer: April Napier
Editor: Philippe Kotlarski
Cast:
Julia: Tilda Swinton
Mitch: Saul Rubinek
Elena: Kate del Castillo
Tom: Aidan Gould
Nick: Jude Cicolella
Diego: Bruno Bichir
Santos: Horacio Garcia Rojas
Miguel: Gaston Peterson
Running time -- 140 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/10/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Marrakech International Film Festival
MARRAKECH, Morocco -- In Whatever Lola Wants, director Nabil Ayouch gives audiences what they may want -- a heady mix of Western and Oriental in this liberal dose of feet-tapping music and Egyptian belly dancing. Interestingly choreographed by Morocco and Tony Stevens and set to the lilting music of Krishna Levy, the dance numbers of American actress Laura Ramsey, who plays Lola, are sure crowd-pleasers. But beyond the lavishly mounted dance floors, Whatever Lola Wants fails to engage.
In this modern-day fairy tale, Lola, a mail delivery worker in New York, is passionate about dancing and bored with her job. Her best friend, Yussef (Achmed Akkabi), lifts her spirits by telling her about the legendary Egyptian belly dancer, Ismahan (Carmen Lebbos), living a life of disgrace in Cairo after an extra-marital affair.
When Lola meets a dashing Egyptian millionaire, Zack (Assaad Bouab), she falls in love with him and has an affair so intense that she blows all her savings to follow him to Cairo. But Zack is terribly traditional, not one to marry someone dreaming of a career in dance. An angry and disappointed Lola turns to her first love. Determined to learn only from Ismahan -- who is reclusive and refuses to have anything to do with Lola, let alone teach her belly dancing -- the young American befriends the dancer's little girl and worms her way into the mother's heart. Lola becomes a sensation under Ismahan's guidance, taking Cairo by storm.
Whatever Lola Wants is a breezy Hollywood style movie that falls back on Ramsey's seductive figure and her sensuous belly dancing. Both Ramsey and Lebbos contribute significantly: the first as a bubbly dancer set to get whatever she wants and the second as a woman forced to hide from the world when she gives up dancing.
WHATEVER LOLA WANTS
The 7th Floor/Ali'n Prods./B.C. Films/Pathe Films/Transfilm
Credits:
Director: Nabil Ayouch
Writers: Nabil Ayouch, Nathalie Saugeon, Jane Hawksley
Producers: Allen Bain, Jake Eberts
Executive producer: Pierre Grunstein
Director of photography: Vincent Mathias
Production designer: Pierre-Francois Limbosch
Music: Krishna Levy
Costume designer: Tom Soluri, Julie Armand
Editor: Herve de Luze
Cast:
Lola: Laura Ramsey
Ismahan: Carmen Lebbos
Zack: Assaad Bouab
Yussef: Achmed Akkabi
Running time -- 110 minutes
No MPAA rating...
MARRAKECH, Morocco -- In Whatever Lola Wants, director Nabil Ayouch gives audiences what they may want -- a heady mix of Western and Oriental in this liberal dose of feet-tapping music and Egyptian belly dancing. Interestingly choreographed by Morocco and Tony Stevens and set to the lilting music of Krishna Levy, the dance numbers of American actress Laura Ramsey, who plays Lola, are sure crowd-pleasers. But beyond the lavishly mounted dance floors, Whatever Lola Wants fails to engage.
In this modern-day fairy tale, Lola, a mail delivery worker in New York, is passionate about dancing and bored with her job. Her best friend, Yussef (Achmed Akkabi), lifts her spirits by telling her about the legendary Egyptian belly dancer, Ismahan (Carmen Lebbos), living a life of disgrace in Cairo after an extra-marital affair.
When Lola meets a dashing Egyptian millionaire, Zack (Assaad Bouab), she falls in love with him and has an affair so intense that she blows all her savings to follow him to Cairo. But Zack is terribly traditional, not one to marry someone dreaming of a career in dance. An angry and disappointed Lola turns to her first love. Determined to learn only from Ismahan -- who is reclusive and refuses to have anything to do with Lola, let alone teach her belly dancing -- the young American befriends the dancer's little girl and worms her way into the mother's heart. Lola becomes a sensation under Ismahan's guidance, taking Cairo by storm.
Whatever Lola Wants is a breezy Hollywood style movie that falls back on Ramsey's seductive figure and her sensuous belly dancing. Both Ramsey and Lebbos contribute significantly: the first as a bubbly dancer set to get whatever she wants and the second as a woman forced to hide from the world when she gives up dancing.
WHATEVER LOLA WANTS
The 7th Floor/Ali'n Prods./B.C. Films/Pathe Films/Transfilm
Credits:
Director: Nabil Ayouch
Writers: Nabil Ayouch, Nathalie Saugeon, Jane Hawksley
Producers: Allen Bain, Jake Eberts
Executive producer: Pierre Grunstein
Director of photography: Vincent Mathias
Production designer: Pierre-Francois Limbosch
Music: Krishna Levy
Costume designer: Tom Soluri, Julie Armand
Editor: Herve de Luze
Cast:
Lola: Laura Ramsey
Ismahan: Carmen Lebbos
Zack: Assaad Bouab
Yussef: Achmed Akkabi
Running time -- 110 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/29/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lukas Haas, Giovanni Ribisi and Erika Christensen have signed on to topline indie The Gardener of Eden for Appian Way. Penned by Adam 'Tex' Davis, the dark comedy centers on a young man who accidentally saves a girl from a neighborhood assault and then decides his calling in life is to become a modern-day hero. Kevin Connolly will make his directorial debut. Appian Way in association with IEG Virtual Studios is producing the film with the 7th Floor. Appian Way's Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Simpson are producing along with 7th Floor's Allen Bain. Graham King and Benjamin Waisbren of IEG Virtual Studios and Jesse Scolaro and Darren Goldberg of the 7th Floor are executive producing.
- 12/15/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- By only his third feature, the misanthropy of director Bruno Dumont is already beginning to get wearisome. This latest effort, a tedious road movie in which a young couple drive around the desert, stopping occasionally to have animalistic sex, is presumably intended to be significant because of its shocker of an ending. That would be all well and good if the filmmaker has something significant to say, but "Twentynine Palms" is ultimately a hollow and pointless exercise. Currently being showcased at the Rendez-Vous With French Cinema 2004 series at New York's Walter Reade Theatre, the film opens commercially later in the spring.
Filmed in California's Joshua Tree Desert -- the widescreen compositions of Georges Lechaptois are quite beautiful -- the film chronicles the seemingly interminable road trip undertaken by David David Wissak), an American, and his Eastern European, French-speaking girlfriend, Katia (Katia Golubeva). Proving the adage about being wary of movies in which the characters' names are the same as the actors, David and Katia are virtual ciphers
indeed, they barely communicate even with each other as neither speaks the other's language.
But they do have sex, and quite a lot of it, rendered in highly graphic but ultimately laughable scenes because the onscreen orgasms are so violent and torrential in nature that one fears for the performers' safety. Needless to say, this aspect of the film, with the couplings often taking place outdoors in quite scenic locations, will no doubt figure prominently in the international marketing campaign.
The film's climax, a particularly brutal episode, won't be revealed here, but suffice it to say that memories of "Deliverance" are likely to be stirred. The director has said that he intended "Twentynine Palms" to be a horror film, but the label ill matches the sleep-inducing proceedings on display.
Twentynine Palms
Wellspring
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Bruno Dumont
Producers: Jean Brehat, Rachid Bouchareb
Executive producers: Muriel Merlin in association with the 7th Floor, Allen Bain, Jesse Scolaro, Darren Goldberg
Director of photography: Georges Lechaptois
Editor: Dominique Petrot
Cast:
Katia: Katia Golubeva
David: David Wissak
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 130 minutes...
Filmed in California's Joshua Tree Desert -- the widescreen compositions of Georges Lechaptois are quite beautiful -- the film chronicles the seemingly interminable road trip undertaken by David David Wissak), an American, and his Eastern European, French-speaking girlfriend, Katia (Katia Golubeva). Proving the adage about being wary of movies in which the characters' names are the same as the actors, David and Katia are virtual ciphers
indeed, they barely communicate even with each other as neither speaks the other's language.
But they do have sex, and quite a lot of it, rendered in highly graphic but ultimately laughable scenes because the onscreen orgasms are so violent and torrential in nature that one fears for the performers' safety. Needless to say, this aspect of the film, with the couplings often taking place outdoors in quite scenic locations, will no doubt figure prominently in the international marketing campaign.
The film's climax, a particularly brutal episode, won't be revealed here, but suffice it to say that memories of "Deliverance" are likely to be stirred. The director has said that he intended "Twentynine Palms" to be a horror film, but the label ill matches the sleep-inducing proceedings on display.
Twentynine Palms
Wellspring
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Bruno Dumont
Producers: Jean Brehat, Rachid Bouchareb
Executive producers: Muriel Merlin in association with the 7th Floor, Allen Bain, Jesse Scolaro, Darren Goldberg
Director of photography: Georges Lechaptois
Editor: Dominique Petrot
Cast:
Katia: Katia Golubeva
David: David Wissak
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 130 minutes...
NEW YORK -- By only his third feature, the misanthropy of director Bruno Dumont is already beginning to get wearisome. This latest effort, a tedious road movie in which a young couple drive around the desert, stopping occasionally to have animalistic sex, is presumably intended to be significant because of its shocker of an ending. That would be all well and good if the filmmaker has something significant to say, but "Twentynine Palms" is ultimately a hollow and pointless exercise. Currently being showcased at the Rendez-Vous With French Cinema 2004 series at New York's Walter Reade Theatre, the film opens commercially later in the spring.
Filmed in California's Joshua Tree Desert -- the widescreen compositions of Georges Lechaptois are quite beautiful -- the film chronicles the seemingly interminable road trip undertaken by David David Wissak), an American, and his Eastern European, French-speaking girlfriend, Katia (Katia Golubeva). Proving the adage about being wary of movies in which the characters' names are the same as the actors, David and Katia are virtual ciphers
indeed, they barely communicate even with each other as neither speaks the other's language.
But they do have sex, and quite a lot of it, rendered in highly graphic but ultimately laughable scenes because the onscreen orgasms are so violent and torrential in nature that one fears for the performers' safety. Needless to say, this aspect of the film, with the couplings often taking place outdoors in quite scenic locations, will no doubt figure prominently in the international marketing campaign.
The film's climax, a particularly brutal episode, won't be revealed here, but suffice it to say that memories of "Deliverance" are likely to be stirred. The director has said that he intended "Twentynine Palms" to be a horror film, but the label ill matches the sleep-inducing proceedings on display.
Twentynine Palms
Wellspring
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Bruno Dumont
Producers: Jean Brehat, Rachid Bouchareb
Executive producers: Muriel Merlin in association with the 7th Floor, Allen Bain, Jesse Scolaro, Darren Goldberg
Director of photography: Georges Lechaptois
Editor: Dominique Petrot
Cast:
Katia: Katia Golubeva
David: David Wissak
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 130 minutes...
Filmed in California's Joshua Tree Desert -- the widescreen compositions of Georges Lechaptois are quite beautiful -- the film chronicles the seemingly interminable road trip undertaken by David David Wissak), an American, and his Eastern European, French-speaking girlfriend, Katia (Katia Golubeva). Proving the adage about being wary of movies in which the characters' names are the same as the actors, David and Katia are virtual ciphers
indeed, they barely communicate even with each other as neither speaks the other's language.
But they do have sex, and quite a lot of it, rendered in highly graphic but ultimately laughable scenes because the onscreen orgasms are so violent and torrential in nature that one fears for the performers' safety. Needless to say, this aspect of the film, with the couplings often taking place outdoors in quite scenic locations, will no doubt figure prominently in the international marketing campaign.
The film's climax, a particularly brutal episode, won't be revealed here, but suffice it to say that memories of "Deliverance" are likely to be stirred. The director has said that he intended "Twentynine Palms" to be a horror film, but the label ill matches the sleep-inducing proceedings on display.
Twentynine Palms
Wellspring
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Bruno Dumont
Producers: Jean Brehat, Rachid Bouchareb
Executive producers: Muriel Merlin in association with the 7th Floor, Allen Bain, Jesse Scolaro, Darren Goldberg
Director of photography: Georges Lechaptois
Editor: Dominique Petrot
Cast:
Katia: Katia Golubeva
David: David Wissak
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 130 minutes...
- 3/22/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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