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Women don’t have it easy in Hollywood. And they didn’t back in the ’80s when former New York Times Magazine editor Lynda Obst got her start as a producer. As famously chronicled in her 1996 book “Hello, He Lied — and Other Truths from the Hollywood Trenches,” she sold her first movie “Flashdance” (1983) to Dawn Steel at Paramount, only to have the newly minted production team of Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer take over along with all the credit for its breakout success. Still, it was a winner for the Associate Producer, and she was on her way.

Always a heavy smoker, Obst passed away at age 74 from Copd (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). She was devoted to her family, including her brother, agent Rick Rosen, and son Oly, a producer/manager, whom she has described as “my confidant and best friend.”

“She was a trailblazer for women in the industry...

This time of year, major fall festivals give way to regional fests around the country, which program a mix of Oscar contenders and international Oscar submissions. The better-resourced festivals bring in talent to regale the Academy members on hand, from the Hamptons and Woodstock to Savannah. Audience award winners gain momentum, such as “Conclave” (Focus Features), which won at both Middleburg and Mill Valley. And at this year’s BendFilm Festival in Oregon, ex-Sundance festival director John Cooper launched the inaugural BendFilm: Basecamp.

Filmmakers and their casts did not make the trek to the Orcas Island Film Festival (October 16-20), which has built up a passionate following over 10 years. Coaxing distributors to send them DCPs is Carl Spence, veteran of the Seattle, Palm Springs, Miami, and Sonoma fests, who runs Orcas Island with local culture impresario Donna Laslo. It was fun taking the puddle jumper from Seattle to Orcas Island...

Exclusive: Rebecca De Mornay, Noah Emmerich, Kunal Nayyar and Sarah Bolger have joined the feature take of Howard Roughan legal thriller novel The Up and Comer.

The Up and Comer delves into the seemingly perfect life of Philip Randall (Nate Mann), a brilliant attorney poised to become the youngest partner at his prestigious firm. Philip’s idyllic world begins to unravel when a former prep-school classmate (Andrew Burnap) threatens to reveal a devastating secret involving another woman (Shay Mitchell). Suddenly caught in a high stakes game of blackmail, murder and revenge, Philip is forced to risk everything only to face the greatest danger of all – winning.

Chris Long is directing the movie in Chicago. Pic is produced by Jeremy Alter, Roughan, Gary B. Goldman, and Long. New York Times bestselling author Roughan adapted his his novel, with casting led by Sheila Jaffe and Bryan Riley.

Risky Business and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle...

Exclusive: Lionsgate and its Grindstone Entertainment Group have acquired the indie drama Continue, extending their relationship with writer-director-actress Nadine Crocker with a deal for multiplatform domestic distribution of her latest film.

Set to screen at the Bentonville Film Festival this week as part of the fest’s mission to amplify female filmmakers and other diverse storytellers, the film will be released in theaters September 6, coinciding with suicide awareness month.

In Continue, a girl suffering from depression is forced to get her life together when she is taken involuntarily to a mental institution after trying to follow in her father’s footsteps but failing in her suicide attempt. There, she finds unlikely friends, unwavering love, and a life she never imagined possible, only to find out some decisions can’t be undone. You only get one life.

In addition to Crocker, Continue stars Shiloh Fernandez, Lio Tipton, Kat Foster, Annapurna Sriram and Emily Deschanel.

Cannes market attendees have been paying tribute to Mark Damon, the veteran sales agent credited with inventing the independent film financing model who died on the eve of Cannes aged 91.

Chicago-born Damon entered the world of independent sales and production in the 1970’s while living and working in Italy where he had pursued a successful career as a leading man in spaghetti westerns.

He returned to the United States in 1977 and founded Producer Sales Organization (Pso) and grew his business licencing international rights on commercial independent films. Damon also established Vision International, Mdp Worldwide, Media 8, and most recently Foresight Unlimited.

Veteran US independent producer Cassian Elwes and Chinese tech entrepreneur and NextG founder Edward Zeng are launching a $100m fund to invest in five to eight features over the next three years.

The pair are in Cannes to meet with potential partners on their Next Generation Media Fund and are talking to buyers on the first project on the slate, the crime biopic Gambino.

Elwes, whose credits include The Butler, Precious and Mudbound, is lead producer on the story of the Mafia boss who led the Gambino crime family in New York until his death in 1976.

Nick Vallelonga, the Oscar-winning...

U.S. and U.K.-based global sales outfit Palisades Park Pictures has revealed a star-studded slate for Hong Kong’s film rights market FilMart.

John Travolta, Katherine Heigl and Christopher Walken lead romantic comedy “That’s Amore!,” which is in pre-production. Written and directed by “Green Book” writer Nick Vallelonga, the film follows two emotionally damaged people who attempt to date one another, and when their families get involved, comedy ensues.

The producers are Vallelonga (Vallelonga Prods.), Cassian Elwes (Elevated Films), Brenda Emmett and Vince Emmett (American Troubadours), David Polemeni; Tamara Birkemoe and Mark Damon, for Palisades Park Pictures, serve as executive producers.

Director Phillip Noyce has completed action-thriller “Fast Charlie,” starring Pierce Brosnan, Morena Baccarin and James Caan, and adapted from Victor Gischler’s novel “Gun Monkeys” by Richard Wenk (“The Equalizer”).

Brosnan plays Charlie Swift, a hitman who has been working for his aging mob boss, Stan (Caan), for two decades.

Exclusive: Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to writer-director Heidi Weitzer’s comedy My Divorce Party, starring Rumer Willis, slating it for release on digital and cable VOD on April 30.

Pic watches as divorcee Xan (Desiree Staples) gathers her close friends to celebrate her impending split, only to reveal she intends to burn her divorce settlement money to start fresh. Chaos ensues as each friend has a wildly different opinion on what Xan should do.

Kimia Behpoornia, Michelle Meredith, Sarah Hollis, Desiree Staples, Dionne Gipson, Laith Ashley, and Cap Peterson also star. The film is produced by Adrienne Childress and Geenah Krisht. Gravitas Ventures’ VP of Acquisitions and International Sales, Danielle Gasher negotiated the deal with Film Mode Entertainment.

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Iqbal Theba

Exclusive: Iqbal Theba (Green Book) will star alongside Sylvia Hoeks, Holly Hunter, Mark Duplass and Nicholas Hamilton in the Anna Nicole Smith biopic Hurricanna.

Pic promises to chart...

(Updated with Cassian Elwes statement) Green Book producer Nick Vallelonga has gone off route when it comes to paying dozens of crew members on the upcoming That’s Amore! starring John Travolta, Katherine Heigl, Christopher Walken, Talia Shire and Drea de Mateo.

According to a complaint filed in federal court in New York on Dec. 8 by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, double Oscar winner Vallelonga’s That Amore Movie LLC has reneged on an arbitration deal struck between the parties on August 18 this year to pay union members for work performed in 2022 on the upcoming rom-com. The 77 IATSE members specifically affected performed the duties of “cinematographer, camera operator, camera assistant, editor, costume designer, wardrobe supervisor, hair and make-up stylists, production designer, art director, scenic artist, electrician, grip, construction, script supervisor, production coordinator, and accountant,” says the Matt Loeb-led union in the eight-page filing.

“Defendant failed to timely pay...

“You never know if they like you for who you are or what you are,” Anna Nicole Smith once said before she passed away from an accidental drug overdose in 2007. The endearing model, actress, and television personality often found herself a subject of misinterpretation and ridicule when she wanted to taste life, be loved, and make people smile. Thankfully, a new biopic, Hurricanna, is now filming and aims to show the sweeter side of the beloved blonde bombshell. A first look at Sylvia Hoeks as Smith is here, prompting fans to double-take before venturing into the Uncanny Valley.

Hoeks stars as Anna Nicole Smith in the upcoming biopic, with Holly Hunter, Mark Duplass, and Nicholas Hamilton. Francesca Gregorini directs from a script by Rachel Sarnoff and Matt Sarnoff, with the story focusing on Smith’s final days before her untimely death at 39. Smith was a model, Playboy magazine centerfold star,...

Exclusive: Here’s your first look at Anna Nicole Smith biopic Hurricanna, which is now filming.

Sylvia Hoeks (See) stars in the movie alongside Oscar winner Holly Hunter (The Piano), and newly joined cast Mark Duplass (The Morning Show) and Nicholas Hamilton (Captain Fantastic).

Filming is underway on the project, which will chart the final days of pop culture icon Smith, known for her career as a model, Playboy magazine centerfold, actress and TV personality, as well as her highly publicized second marriage to 89-year-old billionaire J. Howard Marshall, and her untimely death aged only 39. Hunter plays Smith’s therapist, who tries to guide her through turbulent times.

Francesca Gregorini (Killing Eve) is directing from a script by Rachel and Matt Sarnoff. Producers are Cassian Elwes, Rory Koslow, Francesca Gregorini, Alix Madigan, Paul Robarts and Tatiana Von Furstenberg.

Executive producers are Tracy Ricketts, Matthew Helderman, Thomas Mann, Luke Taylor, Jeff Sackman,...

Here’s the latest episode of The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro-budget indie films to bigger-budget studio films and everything in between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dom Lenoir, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk about how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their filmmaking experiences from directors, writers, producers and screenwriters, to actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmaker’s Podcast #364: Making ‘Desperation Road’ in 16 days starring Mel Gibson...

Earlier this year, we heard that Tim Blake Nelson and Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring) would be starring in The Leader, a true crime biopic about a story that shocked the world back in 1997, the mass suicide of the members of the Heaven’s Gate cult. Now Deadline reports that Michael C. Hall (Dexter) and Grace Caroline Currey (Shazam! Fury of the Gods) have joined the cast, which also includes Simon Rex (Red Rocket).

Farmiga will be playing cult leader Bonnie Nettles, a.k.a. Ti. Nelson’s character is the cult’s infamous frontman, Marshall Applewhite, a.k.a. Do. According to Deadline, “Hall will play a key devotee: a wealthy addict who attempts to win favor with Applewhite by financially supporting the cult with his trust fund. Currey will play an Oregon-based boutique owner who drops out of society in the late 1970s to join the cult – leaving her family and fiancé behind.

Production scheduled to begin in January. Cassian Elwes represents US rights.

Palisades Park Pictures has closed multiple sales on Oscar-winning Green Book producer and screenwriter Nick Vallelonga’s upcoming romantic comedy That’s Amore! starring John Travolta, Katherine Heigl, and Christopher Walken and continues talks at AFM this week.

Rights have gone to: Spain, Portugal and South America (Vertice Cine), Middle East (Selim Ramia & Co), Eastern Europe (MediaSquad), and Turkey (Videomite).

Palisades Park Pictures CEO Tamara Birkemoe and her team have also concluded sales in: Poland (Kino Świat), South Africa (Empire Entertainment), Israel (Forum Film), Iceland (Myndform), and Ukraine (Top Film Distribution...

Exclusive: Michael C. Hall (Dexter) and Grace Caroline Currey (Fall) have joined Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring), Tim Blake Nelson (Captain America: Brave New World) and Simon Rex (Red Rocket) in true-crime biopic feature The Leader, based on the 1997 mass suicide of the religious group known as Heaven’s Gate.

The project has secured an interim agreement with SAG-AFTRA.

Michael Gallagher (The Thinning) is directing from his original screenplay. The pic is produced by Cinemand Films (Funny Story) and Balcony 9 Productions (Bride Hard).

The Leader will chart the memorable true story of the 39 members of the UFO cult known as Heaven’s Gate who committed the largest mass suicide ever on American soil. The film tracks Nettles (Farmiga) and Applewhite (Nelson) as they develop the religion, build a devout following and face unforeseen conflict when the spaceship fails to arrive.

Hall will play a key devotee: a wealthy addict who...

Exclusive: The Black List has named the six projects and seven screenwriters invited to their 2023 Annual Lab. The program, now in its eleventh year, provides creative mentorship and career support to promising feature writers as they further develop their scripts during a weeklong workshop in Ojai, CA.

This year’s writers are Jake Burnstein and Brandon Verdi (Extra Pulp), Anne Hollister (The House Sitter), Chris Hwisu Kim (E.S.L.), Kathryn Prescott (Ema), Jainaba Seckan (But Some Of Use Are Brave), and Lisabelle Tay (Momo). The Black List selected these writers from over 1,300 feature script submissions on blcklst.com.

During the Lab, each writer workshops their screenplay through peer workshops and one-on-one sessions with working professional screenwriting mentors, including Andrew Ahn (Fire Island), Steve Desmond (Knock At The Cabin), Stephany Folsom (Toy Story 4), Kiwi Smith (Legally Blonde) , Jonathan Stokes (El Gringo), and Scott Myers of Go Into The Story.

The Black...

The American Film Market has unveiled the first group of exhibitors and speakers set for the Santa Monica event to run Oct. 31 to Nov. 5.

The Independent Film & Television Alliance said 245 companies so far will be in the new Le Méridien Delfina Santa Monica headquarters for AFM, including Amazon MGM Studios, Lionsgate, Millennium Media, A24, Voltage Pictures, AGC Studios, Black Bear Pictures, Protagonist Pictures, WME Independent and XYZ Films.

Besides U.S. players, there’s also international film production and promotion banners like Beta Cinema, Gaumont, HanWay Films, Pathé Films, Snd Groupe M6, Studiocanal, Toei Company, TrustNordisk and Unifrance.

Elsewhere, the AFM speaker sessions will include a “Film Funding Today” conference panel to include Jeaneane Davey (Netflix), Patrick Rizzotti (Blue Fox Financing), Ryan Broussard (Wrapbook) and Will French (Fallbrook).

AFM industry sessions will also include top players in the independent film business like Cassian Elwes of Elevated Film Sales, Lorelle Lynch at AGC Studios,...

Exclusive: Vision Films has acquired world rights to sci-fi romance feature Forever Young, starring Diana Quick (Brideshead Revisited), Bernard Hill (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), Amy Tyger (Foundation), Mark Jackson (The Orville), Stephanie Beacham (Dynasty), Anna Wolf (The Unfamiliar), and Julian Glover (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade).

Written and directed by Henk Pretorius, Forever Young follows an aging woman who is given a chance to become young again with a secret formula. She sees this as an opportunity to right her past, but her husband declines because he has no regrets and wouldn’t change a thing about the life they’ve shared. She must decide if she will take this journey without him and what the consequences would be if she did.

Above is a first trailer for the movie.

Llewelynn Greeff negotiated the deal on behalf of Dark Matter Studios with Lise Romanoff,...

In the Blind Spot, Ayşe Polat’s documentary-style conspiracy thriller set in modern-day Turkey has won the German Independence Award for best film at the 30th Oldenburg International Film Festival.

The drama, which premiered in the Encounters section of the Berlin Film Festival this year, follows a German film team shooting a documentary in a remote Kurdish village who begin to witness mysterious happenings and become entwined in a sinister conspiracy.

Oldenburg’s best actor honors went to Jon Jacobs for playing Cassian Elwes in the biographical drama Passenger C, Elwes’ directorial debut. Alexandrea Meyer won best actress for Truman Kewley’s horror thriller Beautiful Friend, in which she plays the object of obsession for a violent incel, played by Adam Jones.

Jon Jacobs in ‘Passenger C’ Alexandrea Meyer in ‘Beautiful Friend’

Oldenburg’s audacity award, given to a film that pushes the boundaries of modern cinema, went to Jérôme Vandewattyne’s The Belgian Wave,...

The plot line for Passenger C reads like an “only in Hollywood” inspirational tale. Big-time Hollywood agent and producer Cassian is on a red-eye flight back to Los Angeles when he agrees to take the seat next to Marco, an ex-Marine with Ptsd. When Marco begins to flip out, physically assaulting Cassian and threatening the other passengers, Cassian tries to calm him down. After landing, when Marco is handed over to the police, Cassian promises he “won’t forget him.”

He never did. Cassian is the producer and big-time Hollywood agent Cassian Elwes, and the incident on the red-eye, more than a decade ago, changed his life. It altered the course of Elwes’ career, pushed him to back a project nobody in Hollywood believed in — a little Oscar winner called Dallas Buyers Club — and to set up programs like the Horizon program to help female filmmakers and, most importantly, to...

For three decades, the Oldenburg Film Festival has been devoted to celebrating independent cinema outside the mainstream of both Hollywood and the international art-house market.

For its 30th edition, which runs through Sunday, festival founder and artistic director Torsten Neumann continues to highlight weird, extreme and cutting-edge indie movies from around the world.

Here are five can’t-miss movies from the 2023 crop.

The Wait The Wait

After the success of his debut film Before the Fall (2008), Spanish director Javier Gutiérrez followed Hollywood’s call and directed Rings (2017), the third entry in The Ring horror franchise. Despite grossing $83 million at the box office, the film was considered a flop, and Gutiérrez returned to Spain, spending six years developing his third feature, which will have its world premiere in Oldenburg. The raw drama, about a hardscrabble family whose life slowly descends into a nightmare, looks like a return to form for one...

Signature Entertainment has acquired U.K. and Ireland rights to action comedy “Bride Hard,” starring Rebel Wilson (The Pitch Perfect franchise).

In the film, badass secret agent Sam is tasked with one of her hardest missions to date – being maid of honor for her childhood best friend. Out of her comfort zone, and with fellow bridesmaids judging her every move, she struggles to maintain her cover. But when a team of mercenaries take the uber-wealthy guests hostage, it’s up to Sam to do what none of the other bridesmaids can – wage war on anyone who would ruin the most important day of her best friend’s life.

The film is directed by Simon West. The cast also includes Anna Camp (“Pitch Perfect”), Stephen Dorff (“Blade”), Justin Hartley (“This is Us”), Anna Chlumsky (“Veep”), Gigi Zumbado (“Pitch Perfect 2”) and Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Idol”).

It is produced by Joel David Moore...

Exclusive: The Rebel Wilson feature Bride Hard, directed by Simon West, has rounded out its cast that includes Anna Camp, Justin Hartley, Anna Chlumsky, Stephen Dorff, Gigi Zumbado and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

In addition, the pic also features Sam Huntington, Sherry Cola and Michael O’Neill.

Bride Hard stars Wilson as a badass secret agent who is a force to be reckoned with as a mercenary group takes hostage her best friend’s lavish wedding. The indie feature was cleared for a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement.

The pic was written by Shaina Steinberg from a story by Steinberg and CeCe Pleasants.

Bride Hard just wrapped production in Savannah, Ga.

Joel David Moore and Max Osswald are producing for Balcony 9 along with Cassian Elwes (Mudbound), Colleen Camp (Father Stu) and Jason Ross Jallet (Die in a Gunfight). WME Independent is handling worldwide sales; production financing is provided by East West Bank.

The Oldenburg Film Festival, Germany’s leading all-indie fest, unveiled highlights for its 30th-anniversary edition, including several world premieres featuring Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard and Mission : Impossible star Ving Rhames.

Uppercut, a boxing film featuring Mission: Impossible star Ving Rhames, will close the festival on September 17. Director Torsten Ruether remade his own, German-language, debut Leberhaken, which premiered in Oldenburg in 2021. The Million Dollar Baby-style story sees Rhames as a disillusioned former boxer who gets a shot at redemption when a young woman shows up at his gym, begging him to train her.

Spanish genre director F. Javier Gutierrez will bring his latest horror tale, The Wait, to Oldenburg this year. Gutiérrez’s 2008 debut Before the Fall, an end-of-the-world sci-fi thriller, was a cross-over hit, and his follow-up was the big-budget Rings (2017) for Paramount, the third entry in the Japanese-inspired horror saga. But the film, despite grossing $83 million worldwide, was...

Rosario Dawson and Sam Adegoke have joined the cast of “Dark Days & the Dawn,” the latest film from “This Is Not a War Story” director Talia Lugacy.

“Dark Days & the Dawn” unfolds over the course of one night and into daybreak, as Maria Del Sol (Dawson) and Samuel (Adegoke), a couple who have been together for four hundred and sixty years, hit their breaking point. Lugacy and Kamau Ware collaborated on the genre bending script for “Dark Days & the Dawn,” penning characters written specifically for Dawson and Adegoke to portray.

Lugacy produces under her Acoustic Pictures banner, alongside Noah Lang for Witchcraft Motion Picture Company, and Ware for Kamau Studios. Cassian Elwes and Tom Culliver executive produce for Elevated Films. The film will shoot in Savanah, Georgia later this year.

Dawson’s credits include “Death Proof,” “Top Five” and the upcoming Star Wars series, “Ahsoka,” for Disney . Adegoke is best...

The 2023 Cannes market runs May 16-24.

Screen is rounding up the key packages launched before and during the 2023 Cannes market (which runs May 16-24).

Refresh the page for latest updates.

May 16 ’The Salt Path’

The feature debut of acclaimed theatre director Marianne Elliott stars Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs portraying the real-life couple who trekked 630 miles of UK coastline after being kicked out of their home. Black Bear are distributing in the UK.

World sales: Rocket Science

’The Rule Of Jenny Pen’

Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow star in James Ashcroft’s thriller as a conceited judging and a psychopath...

Yesterday, The Wrap presented a virtual panel comprised of “legends” (as the panelists laughingly preferred to “veterans”) in the independent film industry to discuss the current financing, production and distribution landscape—and what it might mean for rising writers, directors and producers. Moderated by producer and former agent Cassian Elwes of Elevated Films, guests on the panel include iconic indie producer and co-founder of Killer Films Christine Vachon, Blacklist founder Franklin Leonard, 30West co-president and CEO Micah Green (a company which Green describes as an “investment business focused on the independent arena”) and Rena Ronson, Partner & Head of Independent Film, […]

The post Watch: Producers and Executives Discuss “The State of Independent Films” With The Wrap first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Yesterday, The Wrap presented a virtual panel comprised of “legends” (as the panelists laughingly preferred to “veterans”) in the independent film industry to discuss the current financing, production and distribution landscape—and what it might mean for rising writers, directors and producers. Moderated by producer and former agent Cassian Elwes of Elevated Films, guests on the panel include iconic indie producer and co-founder of Killer Films Christine Vachon, Blacklist founder Franklin Leonard, 30West co-president and CEO Micah Green (a company which Green describes as an “investment business focused on the independent arena”) and Rena Ronson, Partner & Head of Independent Film, […]

The post Watch: Producers and Executives Discuss “The State of Independent Films” With The Wrap first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Christopher Walken in talks to join cast.

John Travolta and Katherine Heigl will star in romantic comedy That’s Amore, written and directed by Green Book writer-producer Nick Vallelonga.

Christopher Walken is also in talks to join the cast of the film, which will begin production in August 2023, and for which Palisades Park Pictures (Ppp) will launch worldwide sales at Cannes next week; Cassian Elwes will co-represent US rights with Ppp.

Vallelonga will produce through his Vallelonga Productions, alongside Cassian Elwes under his Elevated Films banner, and Brenda Emmett and Vince Emmett of American Troubadours. Executive producers are David Polemeni...

John Travolta (Grease) and Katherine Heigl (Firefly Lane) have boarded the rom-com That’s Amore!, written and to be directed by two-time Academy Award winner Nick Vallelonga (Green Book), with Christopher Walken (Severance) also in talks to star.

The film heading into production in August follows Nick Venere (Travolta), who is a modern-day ‘Marty’ – he’s never been married and his best dating years are well behind him. He’s never heard the words ‘I love you” and figures he never will. Patty Amore (Heigl) has her share of problems, as well. Shy and introverted, she’s filled with various tics and nervous habits. A secret from her past, combined with her over-protective father, have caused her to withdraw from the dating game. But when Nick and Patty meet, literally bumping into one another, they share an immediate connection. When these two emotionally damaged people attempt to date one another,...

Amid an industry overwhelmed by an ongoing writers’ strike and a push to streaming, the notion of genuine independent cinema is as fragile as ever.

With the streamers cutting costs and focusing on content that large swathes of viewers might actually watch, the content for content’s sake spending booms that allowed indie cinema to temporarily flourish seems to have come to an end. Is all hope lost?

In a recent panel hosted exclusively by TheWrap, titled “The State of Independent Filmmaking,” Franklin Leonard argued that while investing in independent film if widely considered a financial risk or act of altruism, his work as founder of The Black List has proven that the opposite is true. The best screenplay is the best business plan.

“I think there is an assumption that when you work in the indie space, or you’re seeking out writers from outside the traditional system, that...

Move over, John McClane. There’s a new action star in town. As Hollywood reels from the ongoing WGA writers’ strike, a new project starring Pitch Perfect star Rebel Wilson is coming. Bride Hard is an action comedy coming from Expendables 2 director Simon West. According to Deadline, the plot follows “badass secret agent Sam (Rebel Wilson) who has been tasked with one of her hardest missions yet – being a Maid of Honor for her childhood best friend.”

Shaina Steinberg wrote the script from a story by Steinberg and CeCe Pleasants. Balcony 9 Productions is producing and financing, with Joel David Moore, Max Osswald, Cassian Elwes, and Colleen Camp producing. Bride Hard heads to this year’s Cannes market for a potential sale.

“Bride Hard combines action, adventure and comedy. These are genres I love to mix together. I’ve done it in the past with films like Expendables 2 or even...

Exclusive: Pitch Perfect and The Hustle star Rebel Wilson is set to star in action-comedy film Bride Hard from director Simon West (Expendables 2) for a Cannes market launch.

The film follows “badass secret agent Sam (Wilson) who has been tasked with one of her hardest missions yet – being a Maid of Honor for her childhood best friend”.

Screenplay was written by Shaina Steinberg from a story by Steinberg and CeCe Pleasants. WME Independent will handle worldwide sales.

Balcony 9 Productions will be producing and financing. Producers include Joel David Moore and Max Osswald (Some Other Woman), Cassian Elwes (Mudbound), and Colleen Camp (Knock Knock).

“Bride Hard combines action, adventure and comedy. These are genres I love to mix together. I’ve done it in the past with films like Expendables 2 or even going back to Con-Air and Tomb Raider,” said West. “I think audiences will love this. It operates on so many levels.

Shailene Woodley (Big Little Lies) and Jack Whitehall (Bad Education) play dual roles as a couple who are shocked to realize that their robot doubles have fallen in love in Robots. It’s really weird that Neon hasn’t done any advertising for Robots, given that it’s set for theatrical release on May 19, 2023. The trailer’s release less than a month out of the film’s premiere is probably the first time most people – other than diehard Woodley or Whitehall fans – will realize this sci-fi comedy exists.

Neon released this very basic synopsis: “Charles is a womanizer while Elaine is a gold digger. The duo learn humanity when forced to team up and pursue robot doubles of themselves.”

The comedy is based on a short story by Robert Sheckley and is co-written and co-directed by Anthony Hines (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) and Casper Christensen (Klown). Stephen Camel, Julian Favre, Cassian Elwes,...

Screenplay based on short story by Robert Sheckley.

Neon has acquired US and Caribbean rights to the sci-fi comedy Robots starring Shailene Woodley and Jack Whitehall.

Anthony Hines and Casper Christensen co-direct and co-wrote the screenplay about a womaniser and a gold digger who must team up and go after robot versions of themselves who have fallen for each other.

The screenplay is based on a short story by Robert Sheckley. Hines co-wrote Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and Christensen co-wrote the Danish comedy Klown.

Producers are Stephen Hamel at Company Films, which developed the project, and Cassian Elwes. It is understood...

Nicolas Cage’s favorite cult film role is one he did for free.

The Oscar winner revealed during a Reddit Ama with “Renfield” co-star Nicholas Hoult that, among his best underseen roles, his favorite remains a small cameo in 1989’s “Never on Tuesday.”

Cage was asked by a fan what his “favorite lesser-known performance out of your filmography” is, to which Cage responded, “There was a little cameo that I did that lasted all of about one minute in a movie called ‘Never on Tuesday.’ I don’t recommend the entire film. But, it was a performance I did.”

The indie movie was written and directed by Adam Rifkin and starred Andrew Lauer, Pete Berg, and Claudia Christian as a trio with car trouble. The film was direct-to-video and produced by Cassian Elwes.

The “Peggy Sue Got Married” star added, “I didn’t get paid but the agreement was with...

Sierra/Affinity handles international sales.

Hurricanna, the buzzy upcoming feature about the tragic final days of Anna Nicole Smith which Sierra/Affinity continues to pre-sell at the EFM, has found its new lead heading into an anticipated May production start.

Sylvia Hoeks will step into the role recently vacated by Betty Gilpin due to scheduling issues. The Dutch-born actor broke out in Blade Runner 2049 and has also starred in The Girl In The Spider’s Web and TV series See.

Screen understands UK star Jamie Bell, who stars in the upcoming musical biopic Fred & Ginger and is renowned for...

The Leader, the upcoming biopic about the Heaven’s Gate cult set to star Tim Blake Nelson and Vera Farmiga, has lured another big-name follower.

The Hollywood Reporter can reveal that Simon Rex has joined the real-life crime drama, unveiled earlier this week at the European Film Market in Berlin, where The Exchange is introducing the project to buyers.

Farmiga and Nelson are set to play Ti and Do, the founders of the UFO cult that in 1997 committed the largest mass suicide to ever take place on American soil. THR understands that Rex — who received critical acclaim for the Cannes-bowing Red Rocket and recently wrapped production on Zoe Kravitz’s directorial debut Pussy Island, one of several upcoming roles — will play a key devotee of the religion who faces devastating consequences when he falls in love with a fellow cult member.

“Simon Rex is the perfect actor to inhabit this humorous,...

Tim Blake Nelson will be reprising his The Incredible Hulk role of Samuel Sterns in the upcoming Marvel movie Captain America: New World Order, where we’ll find that Sterns is now a villain known as The Leader. And while he gears up to work on that movie, Nelson has also signed on to star in a film called The Leader – but this isn’t a Marvel project. This one is a true crime biopic about a story that shocked the world back in 1997, the mass suicide of the members of the Heaven’s Gate cult. Nelson will be joined in the cast of The Leader by Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring).

Farmiga will be playing cult leader Bonnie Nettles, a.k.a. Ti. Nelson’s character is the cult’s infamous frontman, Marshall Applewhite, a.k.a. Do.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Leader tells the true story of...

Tim Blake Nelson and Vera Farmiga are set to play the founders of the religious cult Heaven’s Gate — which participated in a mass suicide in 1997 — in true-crime biopic The Leader, The Hollywood Reporter has learned

Being introduced to buyers at the European Film Market by The Exchange and with Cinemand and Balcony 9 Productions producing, the film sees Farmiga play cult leader Bonnie Nettles, aka “Ti,” with Nelson as the group’s infamous frontman, Marshall Applewhite, aka “Do.”

The Leader tells the true story of the 39 members of Heaven’s Gate — an American UFO cult that believed its followers could transform into immortal extraterrestrials and would ascend to heaven — and how they would commit the largest mass suicide to ever take place on American soil. The film tracks Nettles and Applewhite as they develop the religion, build a devout following and face unforeseen conflict when the spaceship they believed...

Signature Entertainment today released a first-look image from Desperation Road, a southern noir thriller starring Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) and Mel Gibson (Braveheart).

The London-based company will be presenting footage from the pic for the first time to buyers at EFM.

The film has already locked deals in France (Daro), Germany (Palatin), Italy (BlueSwan), Latin America (California Filmes), Portugal (Pris Audiovisuais), Cis (Mgn/Paradise), Eastern Europe (Daro), Middle East (Phoenicia Pictures), Turkey (Phoenicia Pictures) and Taiwan (MovieCloud).

Related: Deadline’s Full EFM Coverage

The first look image shared today was shot during production and depicts Hedlund and Gibson as ex-con Russell Gaines and his father Mitchell.

Based on the novel of the same name by Michael Farris Smith, Desperation Road tells the story of ex-con Russell Gaines (Hedlund), who attempts to rebuild his life with help from his father Mitchell (Gibson). But when Maben arrives and throws Russell’s life into chaos,...

The Sundance Film Festival returns in-person beginning Thursday after being sidelined by Covid for two editions, and three years of struggle to climb out of an abyss. The indies have emerged from a time warp into a strange new place, one that’s still evolving.

Deals are expected to bubble slowly this edition with a few potential eruptions; don’t be surprised if a number of deals get announced after the festival. Overall, buyers are circumspect, with spending constraints and product in the pipeline already. And much of the Sundance mystique lies in the search for hidden gems layered around marquee titles.

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Julian Sands is being remembered by actors and filmmakers everywhere.

After the “A Room With a View” and “Ocean’s 13” star went missing while hiking in the Mount Baldy region in San Bernardino County, hopes for Sands’ return have flooded social media.

Cassian Elwes penned, “I’ve known since Friday that my friend Julian Sands has been missing on Mt. Baldy. I’m devastated. A very close family friend who was an adventurer in everything he did. I’ve said many prayers. Life is fleeting and precious.”

Jon Cryer added, “I am hoping against hope that this will turn out to be just another one of his adventures. I’m so sorry for his family and friends going through this.”

Matthew Modine wrote, “Julian Sands is a wonderful man, husband, father, and friend to so so many. A gentle, kind soul. Keep candles burning for his safe return from the mountain he loves.

Julian Sands, a British actor best known for his roles in films like the 1985 drama ‘A Room With a View’ and the 1989 horror entry ‘Warlock’, was reported missing at about 7.30 p.m. last Friday, January 13.

Sands had been hiking in the Baldy Bowl hiking area, approximately 50 miles northeast of Los Angeles, reports ‘Variety’.

According to a representative for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, ground crews responded and began searching the area soon after the 65-year-old Sands was reported missing. However, parties had to be pulled Saturday evening, after roughly 24 hours of searching, due to avalanche risks and trail conditions.

Sands is known to be an enthusiastic mountaineer. “I love climbing mountains, I’ve spent a lot of time in the Alps over the years, a lot of time in the Andes, Alaska and the American ranges,” Sands told ThriveGlobal in 2020.

Authorities have continued with intermittent searches by helicopter and drone.

Julian Sands, a British actor best known for his roles in films like the 1985 drama “A Room With a View” and the 1989 horror entry “Warlock,” was reported missing at about 7:30 p.m. last Friday, Jan. 13. Sands had been hiking in the Baldy Bowl hiking area, approximately 50 miles east of Los Angeles.

According to a representative for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, ground crews responded and began searching the area soon after the 65-year-old Sands was reported missing. However, parties had to be pulled Saturday evening, after roughly 24 hours of searching, due to avalanche risks and trail conditions.

Authorities have continued with intermittent searches by helicopter and drone. However, a search party hasn’t been deployed in over four days. While the Sheriff’s Department plans to launch a ground effort once weather conditions improves, authorities are currently cautioning prospective hikers to stay out of the area.

The Baldy...

Exclusive: New Yorker video producer Christopher Hwisu Kim is heading to the Sundance Film Festival this week as an all-expenses paid guest of The Black List and Cassian Elwes.

“It’s an immense honor to be the recipient of the Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting Fellowship, especially because E.S.L. is a deeply personal story centered on a family that looks and sounds like mine,” the Brooklyn-based filmmaker told Deadline. “It’s long been a dream of mine to add to the rich but underappreciated legacy of Asian American filmmakers—and now, thanks to Mr. Elwes and The Black List, that dream feels more possible than ever before,” Kim added.

Submitted late last year for consideration for the 10th consecutive fellowship program, Kim’s E.S.L. feature script tells the tale of a Korean-American woman in a hurry to relearn the language of the peninsula in an effort to...

Exclusive: Eva De Dominici (The Cleaning Lady) and Rufus Sewell (Old) are among the newest additions to Nadia Conners’ first narrative feature The Uninvited, for Foton.Pictures and Rosebud Pictures, which is currently shooting in Los Angeles.

The actors join an ensemble that also includes Elizabeth Reaser, Walton Goggins, Lois Smith and Pedro Pascal, as previously announced.

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In the film written and directed by Conners, a stranger interrupts a party, provoking a comedy of errors, deep reckonings, and a reordering of life. Kate Comer (King Knight), Michael Panes (The Man in the Woods), Annie Korzen (Taming...

Exclusive: Elizabeth Reaser (Impeachment: American Crime Story), Walton Goggins (The Righteous Gemstones), Lois Smith (The French Dispatch) and Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) will topline The Uninvited — the first narrative feature written and directed by Nadia Conners, which is currently in production in Los Angeles.

The film from Foton.Pictures and and Rosebud Pictures watches as a stranger interrupts a party, provoking a comedy of errors, deep reckonings and a reordering of life.

Rosie Fellner (The Trip To Italy), Carlos Cuscó (Changing the Game) and Ari Taboada (The Birthday Cake) are producing, with Cassian Elwes (Lawless) and Naomi Despres (Kill the Messenger) exec producing, and WME Independent selling global rights.

“To have such an incredibly talented cast, with strong chemistry, and dynamic producers, on my directorial debut is really a dream come true,” said Conners.

Remarked Fellner: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be embarking on this journey with Nadia, her witty and intelligent script,...

Exclusive: Kat Foster has joined the ensemble of Nadine Crocker’s Desperation Road opposite Garrett Hedlund, Mel Gibson, Ryan Hurst, Woody McClain and Pyper Braun.

Written by Michael Farris Smith, Desperation Road is set in Mississippi and follows a singular event that sets the entire town on a collision course fueled by vengeance, anger, and regret. Fitzgerald plays the role of “Maben”, a single mother with a 7 year old daughter who arrives back in the town where tragic events of the of her past collide with the people she loved and hated.

The project is being produced by Cassian Elwes, Walter Josten, Smith and Crocker.

This is second collaboration for Foster with Crocker, having previously worked on Crocker’s first feature Continue. Upcoming credits include Spoonful of Sugar, Fear the Night and Susie Searches. She was most recently seen in the limited series Gaslit as Barbara Walters.

Foster is repped by Entertainment 360,...

Overall attendee level reached 5,866 as market returns.

AFM leadership said on Thursday that the recent in-person edition of the market drew attendees from a record 87 countries while the overall attendee level reached 5,866.

“AFM 2022 was an important milestone in our 43-year history,” said Jean Prewitt, president/CEO of Independent Film & Television Alliance, which stages the AFM. “Our mission is to give the independent industry a strong platform for sales, education, and networking. After three years away, new energy filled Santa Monica throughout the week, with a steady drumbeat of business being done and participants from 87 countries enthusiastically engaged in sharing...