The rise and fall of theater subscription service MoviePass is captured in new HBO documentary “MoviePass, MovieCrash.”
Dubbed “the Netflix of the movie theater” in the trailer, MoviePass was founded by Stacy Spikes and Hamet Watt in 2011 before former CEOs Mitch Lowe and Ted Farnsworth allegedly utilized fraudulent business tactics; the duo were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a 2022 lawsuit. The lawsuit additionally named ex-MoviePass Vice President Khalid Itum as a defendant, with Itum being accused of submitting false invoices for the company.
MoviePass filed for bankruptcy in 2020 after launching a $9.99 per month subscription in 2017 allowing people to see a movie a day. Upon moving to the $9.99 one movie per day model, subscriptions went from 20,000 to 100,000 users within two days, ultimately capping at more than 3 million subscribers in 2018. Yet the company still lost more than $150 million in 2017 alone. MoviePass filed for bankruptcy in 2019.
The company later...
Dubbed “the Netflix of the movie theater” in the trailer, MoviePass was founded by Stacy Spikes and Hamet Watt in 2011 before former CEOs Mitch Lowe and Ted Farnsworth allegedly utilized fraudulent business tactics; the duo were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a 2022 lawsuit. The lawsuit additionally named ex-MoviePass Vice President Khalid Itum as a defendant, with Itum being accused of submitting false invoices for the company.
MoviePass filed for bankruptcy in 2020 after launching a $9.99 per month subscription in 2017 allowing people to see a movie a day. Upon moving to the $9.99 one movie per day model, subscriptions went from 20,000 to 100,000 users within two days, ultimately capping at more than 3 million subscribers in 2018. Yet the company still lost more than $150 million in 2017 alone. MoviePass filed for bankruptcy in 2019.
The company later...
- 5/16/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Exclusive: 2021 Academy Nicholl Fellow scribe Laura Kosann has been hired to adapt the female-driven comic book Mercy Sparx for MGM, The Picture Company and Assemble Media.
Created by Josh Blaylock, the title protag is a female demon sent from Hell to Earth on a mission, which she must complete while hiding among humans. On Earth, Mercy has an existential crisis and begins to see the gray area between good and evil. It forces her to choose her place within it and compromises her mission. The comic debuted ten years ago via Devil’s Due Publishing, and the IP has been seen by the studio as a franchise with an empowering female character at the center.
Jack Heller of Assemble is producing along with The Picture Company partners Alex Heineman and Andrew Rona. Comic creator Blaylock is serving as EP along with Assemble’s Scott Veltri. Heller and Assemble developed the script...
Created by Josh Blaylock, the title protag is a female demon sent from Hell to Earth on a mission, which she must complete while hiding among humans. On Earth, Mercy has an existential crisis and begins to see the gray area between good and evil. It forces her to choose her place within it and compromises her mission. The comic debuted ten years ago via Devil’s Due Publishing, and the IP has been seen by the studio as a franchise with an empowering female character at the center.
Jack Heller of Assemble is producing along with The Picture Company partners Alex Heineman and Andrew Rona. Comic creator Blaylock is serving as EP along with Assemble’s Scott Veltri. Heller and Assemble developed the script...
- 4/7/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Roadside Attractions and Vertical Entertainment have co-acquired North American rights to The Forgiven, a starry thriller written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, which premiered at the 2021 Toronto Film Festival. Roadside will release the film in theaters next spring, with Vertical handling its digital rollout.
The Forgiven is based on the novel of the same name by Lawrence Osborne. It centers on wealthy Londoners David (Ralph Fiennes) and Jo Henninger (Jessica Chastain), who are involved in a tragic accident with a local teenage boy, after speeding through the Moroccan desert to attend an old friend’s lavish weekend party. Arriving late at the grand villa with the debauched party raging, the couple attempts to cover up the incident with the collusion of the local police. But when the boy’s father arrives seeking justice, the stage is set for a tension-filled culture clash in which David...
The Forgiven is based on the novel of the same name by Lawrence Osborne. It centers on wealthy Londoners David (Ralph Fiennes) and Jo Henninger (Jessica Chastain), who are involved in a tragic accident with a local teenage boy, after speeding through the Moroccan desert to attend an old friend’s lavish weekend party. Arriving late at the grand villa with the debauched party raging, the couple attempts to cover up the incident with the collusion of the local police. But when the boy’s father arrives seeking justice, the stage is set for a tension-filled culture clash in which David...
- 11/11/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
IFC Films has released the official trailer for Gia Coppola’s stylized drama “Mainstream,” which opens in select theaters and on demand May 7.
Andrew Garfield and “Stranger Things” star Maya Hawke play two rising internet personalities, Link and Frankie, in the satire on social media stardom. While being a YouTube star has its perks, their lives quickly turn upside down as the dark side of their celebrity status threatens to consume them both.
Nat Wolff plays Frankie’s best friend Jake, who she recruits as a writer for her new project. Jason Schwartzman, Johnny Knoxville, Alexa Demie, Colleen Camp, Jacqui Getty, Nick Darmstaedter, Juanpa Zurita, Adam Barnhart and Marshall Bell also appear in the film.
The movie was co-written (with Tom Stuart) and directed by Coppola, the granddaughter of “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. Her breakout hit, 2013’s “Palo Alto,” followed a group of teenagers in...
Andrew Garfield and “Stranger Things” star Maya Hawke play two rising internet personalities, Link and Frankie, in the satire on social media stardom. While being a YouTube star has its perks, their lives quickly turn upside down as the dark side of their celebrity status threatens to consume them both.
Nat Wolff plays Frankie’s best friend Jake, who she recruits as a writer for her new project. Jason Schwartzman, Johnny Knoxville, Alexa Demie, Colleen Camp, Jacqui Getty, Nick Darmstaedter, Juanpa Zurita, Adam Barnhart and Marshall Bell also appear in the film.
The movie was co-written (with Tom Stuart) and directed by Coppola, the granddaughter of “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. Her breakout hit, 2013’s “Palo Alto,” followed a group of teenagers in...
- 4/6/2021
- by Antonio Ferme
- Variety Film + TV
Mark Wahlberg’s production company is setting its sights on a docuseries that will detail the rise and fall of MoviePass, the ill-fated subscription service for theater tickets that shut down in 2019.
Deadline reported on Thursday that Wahlberg’s Unrealistic Ideas, Assemble Media, and Insider (formerly Business Insider) were teaming up to develop the limited docuseries. Per Deadline, the untitled show is based on Insider reporter Jason Guerrasio’s coverage of the rise and fall of the company. Guerrasio’s reports chronicled MoviePass’ explosive growth in 2017 after offering unlimited theatrical movies for just $9.95 a month, through its public downfall.
“Employing a sexy price to turbo-charge subscriber growth, the investors who took over the company sought the rapid success experienced by high-flying startups like WeWork and Uber. But through over-the-top parties, inexplicable mismanagement, and questionable behind-the-scenes deals, the new leadership of MoviePass slowly alienated its customers and shuttered its service just...
Deadline reported on Thursday that Wahlberg’s Unrealistic Ideas, Assemble Media, and Insider (formerly Business Insider) were teaming up to develop the limited docuseries. Per Deadline, the untitled show is based on Insider reporter Jason Guerrasio’s coverage of the rise and fall of the company. Guerrasio’s reports chronicled MoviePass’ explosive growth in 2017 after offering unlimited theatrical movies for just $9.95 a month, through its public downfall.
“Employing a sexy price to turbo-charge subscriber growth, the investors who took over the company sought the rapid success experienced by high-flying startups like WeWork and Uber. But through over-the-top parties, inexplicable mismanagement, and questionable behind-the-scenes deals, the new leadership of MoviePass slowly alienated its customers and shuttered its service just...
- 2/19/2021
- by Tyler Hersko
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Mark Wahlberg’s Unrealistic Ideas, the company behind HBO’s Emmy-nominated McMillions, is taking another deep dive into the absurdities of greed with the story behind the rise and fall of MoviePass. Unrealistic Ideas has teamed with Assemble Media and Insider (formerly Business Insider) to develop a premium limited docuseries chronicling the demise of the famed movie-ticket subscription service.
The docuseries is based on Insider reporter Jason Guerrasio’s award-winning coverage of the rise and fall of the company. Guerrasio’s reports chronicled MoviePass’ explosive growth in 2017 after offering unlimited theatrical movies for just $9.95 a month, through its downfall.
“Employing a sexy price to turbo-charge subscriber growth, the investors who took over the company sought the rapid success experienced by high-flying startups like WeWork and Uber. But through over-the-top parties, inexplicable mismanagement, and questionable behind-the-scenes deals, the new leadership of MoviePass slowly alienated its customers and shuttered its service...
The docuseries is based on Insider reporter Jason Guerrasio’s award-winning coverage of the rise and fall of the company. Guerrasio’s reports chronicled MoviePass’ explosive growth in 2017 after offering unlimited theatrical movies for just $9.95 a month, through its downfall.
“Employing a sexy price to turbo-charge subscriber growth, the investors who took over the company sought the rapid success experienced by high-flying startups like WeWork and Uber. But through over-the-top parties, inexplicable mismanagement, and questionable behind-the-scenes deals, the new leadership of MoviePass slowly alienated its customers and shuttered its service...
- 2/18/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
IFC Films has acquired the North American rights to Gia Coppola’s romantic drama “Mainstream,” which stars Andrew Garfield and Maya Hawke.
The film had its worldwide premiere last year at the Venice Film Festival. It was also selected for the Telluride Film Festival in 2020. It will open May 7 in select theaters and on-demand.
“Mainstream” follows a young woman (Hawke) who starts producing YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger (Garfield) and finds herself rising to Internet stardom. However, the situation quickly turns upside down as the dark side of being a viral celebrity threatens to consume them both.
The film was written and directed by Coppola, the granddaughter of “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” director Francis Ford Coppola. Her breakout hit in 2013, “Palo Alto,” followed a group of teenagers in a wealthy California town that begin to abuse drugs and casual sex.
In addition to Garfield and Hawke, the film also stars Nat Wolff,...
The film had its worldwide premiere last year at the Venice Film Festival. It was also selected for the Telluride Film Festival in 2020. It will open May 7 in select theaters and on-demand.
“Mainstream” follows a young woman (Hawke) who starts producing YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger (Garfield) and finds herself rising to Internet stardom. However, the situation quickly turns upside down as the dark side of being a viral celebrity threatens to consume them both.
The film was written and directed by Coppola, the granddaughter of “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” director Francis Ford Coppola. Her breakout hit in 2013, “Palo Alto,” followed a group of teenagers in a wealthy California town that begin to abuse drugs and casual sex.
In addition to Garfield and Hawke, the film also stars Nat Wolff,...
- 2/12/2021
- by Antonio Ferme
- Variety Film + TV
IFC Films has acquired North American rights to Gia Coppola’s sophomore feature Mainstream which made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
IFC will open the movie on May 7 in select theaters and on demand.
In Mainstream, a young woman (Maya Hawke) thinks she’s found a path to internet stardom when she starts making YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger (Andrew Garfield) – until the dark side of viral celebrity threatens to ruin them both.
Nat Wolff, Johnny Knoxville, Jason Schwartzman and Alexa Demie also star. Pic was co-written by Coppola and Tom Stuart and marks Coppola’s follow-up to her breakout feature 2013 title Palo Alto. Mainstream is produced by Fred Berger of Automatik, Lauren Bratman, Gia Coppola of American Zoetrope, Andrew Garfield, Jack Heller and Scott Veltri of Assemble Media, Siena Oberman of Artemis, Francisco Rebelo De Andrade, Enrico Saravia, Alan Terpins of Tugawood, and Zac Weinstein of Dynasty.
IFC will open the movie on May 7 in select theaters and on demand.
In Mainstream, a young woman (Maya Hawke) thinks she’s found a path to internet stardom when she starts making YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger (Andrew Garfield) – until the dark side of viral celebrity threatens to ruin them both.
Nat Wolff, Johnny Knoxville, Jason Schwartzman and Alexa Demie also star. Pic was co-written by Coppola and Tom Stuart and marks Coppola’s follow-up to her breakout feature 2013 title Palo Alto. Mainstream is produced by Fred Berger of Automatik, Lauren Bratman, Gia Coppola of American Zoetrope, Andrew Garfield, Jack Heller and Scott Veltri of Assemble Media, Siena Oberman of Artemis, Francisco Rebelo De Andrade, Enrico Saravia, Alan Terpins of Tugawood, and Zac Weinstein of Dynasty.
- 2/12/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
IFC Films has picked up the North American rights to “Mainstream,” the second film from director Gia Coppola.
Andrew Garfield and Maya Hawke star in the film about the dark side of viral internet fame. “Mainstream” first premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020 and was a selection of last year’s Telluride. IFC will now release it in theaters and on demand on May 7, 2021.
In “Mainstream,” Hawke plays a young woman who thinks she’s found a path to internet stardom when she starts making YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger, played by Garfield. But the dark side of viral celebrity soon threatens to ruin them both. Nat Wolff, Johnny Knoxville, Jason Schwartzman and Alexa Demie also star.
Coppola directed the film and co-wrote the script with Tom Stuart. “Mainstream” is the director’s follow-up to her debut feature, “Palo Alto,” from 2013. That film starred Emma Roberts and James Franco...
Andrew Garfield and Maya Hawke star in the film about the dark side of viral internet fame. “Mainstream” first premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020 and was a selection of last year’s Telluride. IFC will now release it in theaters and on demand on May 7, 2021.
In “Mainstream,” Hawke plays a young woman who thinks she’s found a path to internet stardom when she starts making YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger, played by Garfield. But the dark side of viral celebrity soon threatens to ruin them both. Nat Wolff, Johnny Knoxville, Jason Schwartzman and Alexa Demie also star.
Coppola directed the film and co-wrote the script with Tom Stuart. “Mainstream” is the director’s follow-up to her debut feature, “Palo Alto,” from 2013. That film starred Emma Roberts and James Franco...
- 2/12/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Exclusive: MGM has acquired screen rights to the female-driven comic book property Mercy Sparx, and set Nick Shafir to write the script. The Picture Company and Assemble Media are producing.
The title character is a female demon sent from Hell to Earth on a mission, which she must complete while hiding among humans. On earth, Mercy has an existential crisis and begins to see the gray area between good and evil. It forces her to choose her place within it and compromises her mission. Shafir’s script is said to be akin to a female Constantine, the adaptation that starred Keanu Reeves several years ago.
Created by Josh Blaylock, the comic book has become a cult favorite among fans since its debut ten years ago through Devil’s Due Publishing, and the studio sees this as a franchise with an empowering female character at the center.
Jack Heller of Assemble will...
The title character is a female demon sent from Hell to Earth on a mission, which she must complete while hiding among humans. On earth, Mercy has an existential crisis and begins to see the gray area between good and evil. It forces her to choose her place within it and compromises her mission. Shafir’s script is said to be akin to a female Constantine, the adaptation that starred Keanu Reeves several years ago.
Created by Josh Blaylock, the comic book has become a cult favorite among fans since its debut ten years ago through Devil’s Due Publishing, and the studio sees this as a franchise with an empowering female character at the center.
Jack Heller of Assemble will...
- 10/21/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Focus Features has pre-bought worldwide rights excluding North America to Ralph Fiennes-Jessica Chastain starrer The Forgiven, which has finally wrapped shoot.
Joining the previously announced Fiennes, Chastain, Said Taghmaoui (La Haine) and Caleb Landry Jones (X-Men: First Class) in the drama are Matt Smith (The Crown), Christopher Abbott (The Sinner), Ismael Kanater (Queen Of The Desert), Marie-Josée Croze (Munich), Alex Jennings (The Crown) and Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road).
John Michael McDonagh (The Guard) directs and adapted Lawrence Osborne’s novel, which explores the reverberations of a random accident on the lives of an Anglo-American couple, their friends and the local Moroccans, who all converge on a luxurious desert villa during a decadent weekend-long party.
Below and above are two first look images from the anticipated project, which has been on quite a journey thanks to the pandemic.
In the first half of 2020 the picture shot...
Joining the previously announced Fiennes, Chastain, Said Taghmaoui (La Haine) and Caleb Landry Jones (X-Men: First Class) in the drama are Matt Smith (The Crown), Christopher Abbott (The Sinner), Ismael Kanater (Queen Of The Desert), Marie-Josée Croze (Munich), Alex Jennings (The Crown) and Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road).
John Michael McDonagh (The Guard) directs and adapted Lawrence Osborne’s novel, which explores the reverberations of a random accident on the lives of an Anglo-American couple, their friends and the local Moroccans, who all converge on a luxurious desert villa during a decadent weekend-long party.
Below and above are two first look images from the anticipated project, which has been on quite a journey thanks to the pandemic.
In the first half of 2020 the picture shot...
- 10/14/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Assemble Media has set Zelda Williams, the daughter of the comedy icon Robin Williams, to make her feature directorial debut with Ama (Ask Me Anything), a 2018 Blacklist script by John Wikstrom that weaves dark celebrity secrets and the dangers of the digital age together into a cat-and-mouse thriller.
The premise: An online interview session with a fast-rising entertainment publicist and a music superstar is widely publicized as a candid “ask me anything” opportunity but a mysterious hacker hijacks the forum and systematically dismantles the privacy of the participants by revealing lurid secrets hidden from their past.
Assemble Media principal Jack Heller will produce. “We are thrilled to be working with Zelda on her feature directing debut,” Heller said. “She is an incredible talent who will bring her passionate, thoughtful and highly visual style to the material.”
Zelda Williams is the 29-year-old daughter of the late Robin Williams and his second wife,...
The premise: An online interview session with a fast-rising entertainment publicist and a music superstar is widely publicized as a candid “ask me anything” opportunity but a mysterious hacker hijacks the forum and systematically dismantles the privacy of the participants by revealing lurid secrets hidden from their past.
Assemble Media principal Jack Heller will produce. “We are thrilled to be working with Zelda on her feature directing debut,” Heller said. “She is an incredible talent who will bring her passionate, thoughtful and highly visual style to the material.”
Zelda Williams is the 29-year-old daughter of the late Robin Williams and his second wife,...
- 4/29/2019
- by Geoff Boucher
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Assemble Media has acquired Potosi, a sci-fi short story written by Joe Pitkin and published by Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine. Djochoua Belovarski, who works on Legendary’s Lost In Space on Netflix, is adapting the deep-space thriller.
Pitkin’s 10,000-word story is set in a near-future where resources are scant and corporations and countries ruthlessly compete for them. The action follows Solomon, an astronaut and family man who reluctantly agrees to lead a secret mission to secure a platinum-rich asteroid before any rival countries discover its treasure. Solomon soon realizes that a rival faction has already reached the asteroid — and that his own team includes a dangerous traitor within its ranks.
“Potosi is the kind of short story that sets up an impressive, expansive world with relatable characters in very few pages,” said Brendan Deneen, Assemble’s President of IP & Literary Development. “And Djochoua’s take on the...
Pitkin’s 10,000-word story is set in a near-future where resources are scant and corporations and countries ruthlessly compete for them. The action follows Solomon, an astronaut and family man who reluctantly agrees to lead a secret mission to secure a platinum-rich asteroid before any rival countries discover its treasure. Solomon soon realizes that a rival faction has already reached the asteroid — and that his own team includes a dangerous traitor within its ranks.
“Potosi is the kind of short story that sets up an impressive, expansive world with relatable characters in very few pages,” said Brendan Deneen, Assemble’s President of IP & Literary Development. “And Djochoua’s take on the...
- 2/8/2019
- by Geoff Boucher
- Deadline Film + TV
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