Thanksgiving is a horror slasher film directed by Eli Roth, from a screenplay by Jeff Rendell. The film is based on Roth’s mock trailer of the same name from the 2007’s Grindhouse, after many years of discussions and nearly going into production, the much-awaited Thanksgiving film is finally here and it is set during the Black Friday 2022 in Plymouth, Massachusetts as many people are crushed to death during the riot, despite the intervention of police and town sheriff Eric Newlon. Thanksgiving stars Patrick Dempsey, Addison Rae, Gina Gerson, Rick Hoffman, Nell Verlaque, Tim Dillon, Jenna Warren, and Milo Manheim. So, if you loved Thanksgiving here are some similar movies you could watch next.
You’re Next (Prime Video Add-On) Credit – Lionsgate
You’re Next is nothing if not a brilliant slasher horror for the genre fans. Directed by Adam Wingard, the 2013 film follows the story of the Davison family,...
You’re Next (Prime Video Add-On) Credit – Lionsgate
You’re Next is nothing if not a brilliant slasher horror for the genre fans. Directed by Adam Wingard, the 2013 film follows the story of the Davison family,...
- 3/19/2024
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Mickey Cottrell, a veteran publicist for independent films known as a champion of filmmakers and actors, died Monday at the Motion Picture Hospital in Woodland Hills, his sister Suzy Cottrell confirmed. He was 79.
Cottrell had returned to Los Angeles in 2019 after living with his sister in Arkansas while he recovered from a stroke he suffered in 2016.
His sister remembered him on Facebook, writing, “My adorable, fun, critical, foodie, particular, brilliant, loving brother passed on to the next life early on New Year’s Day. He was smiling when he died. Mickey Cottrell will be missed by many.”
A fixture at film festivals, he was remembered by friends on Facebook as a generous and sassy raconteur, a devoted mentor, the “life of the party” who threw star-studded Sundance parties in the 1990s and an expert on gay Hollywood history.
Cottrell also acted in numerous small roles over the years, including turns...
Cottrell had returned to Los Angeles in 2019 after living with his sister in Arkansas while he recovered from a stroke he suffered in 2016.
His sister remembered him on Facebook, writing, “My adorable, fun, critical, foodie, particular, brilliant, loving brother passed on to the next life early on New Year’s Day. He was smiling when he died. Mickey Cottrell will be missed by many.”
A fixture at film festivals, he was remembered by friends on Facebook as a generous and sassy raconteur, a devoted mentor, the “life of the party” who threw star-studded Sundance parties in the 1990s and an expert on gay Hollywood history.
Cottrell also acted in numerous small roles over the years, including turns...
- 1/2/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Having recently shifted away from their one-film-a-day approach, Mubi has now unveiled their October lineup, which is headlined by Ira Sachs’ stellar drama Passages following its theatrical run this summer. The slate also features handpicked selections by Sachs, with work by Maurice Pialat, Luchino Visconti, Jack Hazan, Shirley Clarke, and Tsai Ming-liang.
Also arriving in October is “Watch If You Dare: Horror Halloween,” a series featuring a trio of giallo classics, with The Fifth Cord, The Possessed, and Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion, alongside Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone and more. The service will also spotlight the work of underseen Japanese director Yasuzô Masumura, including his aching melodrama Red Angel, his biting workplace satire Giants and Toys, his thrilling noir Black Test Car, and more.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
October 1
The Infiltrators, directed by Alex Rivera, Cristina Ibarra | National Hispanic Heritage Month
The Vanished Elephant,...
Also arriving in October is “Watch If You Dare: Horror Halloween,” a series featuring a trio of giallo classics, with The Fifth Cord, The Possessed, and Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion, alongside Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone and more. The service will also spotlight the work of underseen Japanese director Yasuzô Masumura, including his aching melodrama Red Angel, his biting workplace satire Giants and Toys, his thrilling noir Black Test Car, and more.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
October 1
The Infiltrators, directed by Alex Rivera, Cristina Ibarra | National Hispanic Heritage Month
The Vanished Elephant,...
- 9/28/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Making a top ten list of your favourite movies can be difficult, but is it any easier when you narrow that list down to a single decade? IndieWire asked dozens of filmmakers to put together a list of their favourite 80s movies, and the results are as widely varied as the decade itself. Which 80s movies does Bill Hader hold dear to his heart? What are some of Nia DaCosta’s favourites? Can Edgar Wright actually contain himself to just ten movies? What horror movies of the 80s top Eli Roth’s list?
Bill Hader’s (Barry) Favourite 80s Movies:
Thin Blue Line Road Warrior Blood Simple Evil Dead 1&2 Raging Bull Naked Gun The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On The Hit Raising Arizona Crimes and Misdemeanors Blue Velvet Where is the Friends House Pee Wees Big Adventure Midnight Run Come and See Do the Right Thing My Neighbor Totoro Die Hard Paris,...
Bill Hader’s (Barry) Favourite 80s Movies:
Thin Blue Line Road Warrior Blood Simple Evil Dead 1&2 Raging Bull Naked Gun The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On The Hit Raising Arizona Crimes and Misdemeanors Blue Velvet Where is the Friends House Pee Wees Big Adventure Midnight Run Come and See Do the Right Thing My Neighbor Totoro Die Hard Paris,...
- 8/18/2023
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Horror Feature “My (Best Friend’S) Head Exploded” to Premiere in June: "Writer/Director Scott Bryan’s puppet-filled existential horror feature, “My (Best Friend’S) Head Exploded,” will have its two-weekend world premiere this June.
“My (Best Friend’s) Head Exploded” is a rebellious, existential, terrifyingly messy puppet feature made out of material things by actual people. It tells the story of Lydia, a coming-of-ageless vampire forced to deal with the loss of her best friend, Sam, after the pair conjures a moment of complete clarity which causes Sam’s head to explode.
In the aftermath, Lydia must contend with old ghosts, generational trauma, oppressive authority figures, and the confusing fear of infinity to set reality right and save her own sanity.
“I love making weird stuff that a studio would be afraid of and a computer couldn’t replicate,” Bryan said.
The film will show at the Salem Witch Board Museum in Salem,...
“My (Best Friend’s) Head Exploded” is a rebellious, existential, terrifyingly messy puppet feature made out of material things by actual people. It tells the story of Lydia, a coming-of-ageless vampire forced to deal with the loss of her best friend, Sam, after the pair conjures a moment of complete clarity which causes Sam’s head to explode.
In the aftermath, Lydia must contend with old ghosts, generational trauma, oppressive authority figures, and the confusing fear of infinity to set reality right and save her own sanity.
“I love making weird stuff that a studio would be afraid of and a computer couldn’t replicate,” Bryan said.
The film will show at the Salem Witch Board Museum in Salem,...
- 5/22/2023
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Yellow Veil Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to “The Becomers,” a genre-bending comedy written and directed by Zach Clark. The company will launch the film at the Marche Du Film in Cannes this week. “The Becomer” tells the story of a body-snatching alien who comes to Earth, reconnects with their partner, and tries to find their way in modern America.
“During the pandemic, I binged the original ‘Star Trek’ series for the first time and then I made this movie” Clark said about his latest film. “It felt like life as we knew it was ending, but then again, it also felt like that might not be the worst thing either. ‘The Becomers’ is a story of love, longing, and alienation. A kitsch-soaked, pathos-laden melodrama about our sad, sad planet. It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever made and I can’t think of anyone better than Yellow Veil...
“During the pandemic, I binged the original ‘Star Trek’ series for the first time and then I made this movie” Clark said about his latest film. “It felt like life as we knew it was ending, but then again, it also felt like that might not be the worst thing either. ‘The Becomers’ is a story of love, longing, and alienation. A kitsch-soaked, pathos-laden melodrama about our sad, sad planet. It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever made and I can’t think of anyone better than Yellow Veil...
- 5/18/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Black Christmas is an inherently feminist franchise. Released in 1974, Bob Clark’s original film follows a group of sorority sisters who are stalked and dispatched by a mysterious killer over the holiday break between semesters. During a busy Christmas party in the full sorority house, the girls receive a call from someone they refer to as the Moaner. They gather around the receiver and listen to a tirade of obscene gibberish that culminates in the deadpan threat, “I’m going to kill you.” True to his promise, the caller who will come to be known as Billy (Albert J. Dunk in an uncredited role) murders the sisters one by one while calling to harrass them from a phone line in their own attic. Clark’s film is a masterclass in atmospheric dread, perfectly blending the trimings of the holiday season with the terror of an unknown killer hiding in the shadows.
- 12/20/2022
- by Jenn Adams
- bloody-disgusting.com
“Up in the frat house shit went down, and I’m telling everyone in town…”
It’s Christmas Eve and the Halloweenies are hanging out at Hawthorne College, where they’ve just been asked to attend the annual talent show at the Delta Kappa Omicron fraternity. Something is amiss, though, and it appears there’s a strange black liquid oozing from the campus statues. Also, where did the sisters of Mu Kappa Epsilon go?
Find out by revisiting Sophia Takal‘s 2019 remake of Black Christmas. Starring Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Lily Donoghue, Brittany O’Grady, Caleb Eberhardt, and Cary Elwes, the Blumhouse slasher takes an ambitious detour away from Bob Clark’s iconic slasher whodunnit that set the bar for holiday horror back in 1974.
Join co-hosts Mac Gerber, Justin Gerber, and Mike Vanderbilt as they unwrap their thoughts on Takal’s vision alongside special guest Jenn Adams of The Losers’ Club/Psychoanalysis.
It’s Christmas Eve and the Halloweenies are hanging out at Hawthorne College, where they’ve just been asked to attend the annual talent show at the Delta Kappa Omicron fraternity. Something is amiss, though, and it appears there’s a strange black liquid oozing from the campus statues. Also, where did the sisters of Mu Kappa Epsilon go?
Find out by revisiting Sophia Takal‘s 2019 remake of Black Christmas. Starring Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Lily Donoghue, Brittany O’Grady, Caleb Eberhardt, and Cary Elwes, the Blumhouse slasher takes an ambitious detour away from Bob Clark’s iconic slasher whodunnit that set the bar for holiday horror back in 1974.
Join co-hosts Mac Gerber, Justin Gerber, and Mike Vanderbilt as they unwrap their thoughts on Takal’s vision alongside special guest Jenn Adams of The Losers’ Club/Psychoanalysis.
- 12/19/2022
- by Michael Roffman
- bloody-disgusting.com
After the 2000s seemingly kickstarted a new wave of independent horror, the 2010s (and beyond) were an exceptional time for new and emerging, as well as established, filmmakers to leave their own mark on the landscape of genre storytelling. One of the most notable aspects, or even trends, that I noticed while doing research for this entire series of retrospectives is how out of all of the decades, it feels like the 2010s was one of the best times for female filmmakers to get the opportunity to take the helm in comparison to other decades. The 1980s had a handful of women directors working in independent horror, but during both the ’90s and ’00s, it felt like the industry as a whole had taken a few steps backwards in providing female filmmakers the opportunity to tell the stories they wanted to tell.
Thankfully, though, the door swung back open in...
Thankfully, though, the door swung back open in...
- 4/30/2022
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
New Release Wall
It’s possible that “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) might have somehow been an even bigger box-office sensation had it not been released during a global pandemic, but all things considered, it still did pretty well for itself. Monetary success aside, this is a rousing and thrilling superhero tale that manages to feel self-contained as it compulsorily sets the stage for a whole bunch of upcoming MCU plot twists. The 4K and Blu-ray versions include a smattering of extras, including bloopers, panel discussions with the guest villains, and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Also available:
“C’mon C’mon” (Lionsgate): Mike Mills’ disarmingly lovely look at family ties offers Joaquin Phoenix one of the more subdued and humane characters he’s ever played.
“Death on the Nile” (20th Century Studios): Toast Kenneth Branagh’s second Agatha Christie adaptation with enough champagne to fill the… oh, you know.
It’s possible that “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) might have somehow been an even bigger box-office sensation had it not been released during a global pandemic, but all things considered, it still did pretty well for itself. Monetary success aside, this is a rousing and thrilling superhero tale that manages to feel self-contained as it compulsorily sets the stage for a whole bunch of upcoming MCU plot twists. The 4K and Blu-ray versions include a smattering of extras, including bloopers, panel discussions with the guest villains, and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Also available:
“C’mon C’mon” (Lionsgate): Mike Mills’ disarmingly lovely look at family ties offers Joaquin Phoenix one of the more subdued and humane characters he’s ever played.
“Death on the Nile” (20th Century Studios): Toast Kenneth Branagh’s second Agatha Christie adaptation with enough champagne to fill the… oh, you know.
- 4/5/2022
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
This review of “Master” was first published on Jan. 21, 2022, following its premiere at Sundance.
Writer-director Mariama Diallo’s debut feature “Master” doesn’t just blur the lines between the horror genre and institutionalized racism; it convincingly argues that there’s no meaningful difference.
If ghost stories are all about people forced to live with a traumatic past, then surely every inch of America is haunted. Racism isn’t a specter hiding in our attic; it’s a malevolent force that infects every surface in the country, and it seems to flourish the most in monuments to white power.
“Master” tells the story of two women at Ancaster College, a fictional institute of higher learning that’s as old as the United States itself. Regina Hall stars as Gail Bishop, the first woman of color to become the “master” of a residence hall, but her home is haunted by ghosts of...
Writer-director Mariama Diallo’s debut feature “Master” doesn’t just blur the lines between the horror genre and institutionalized racism; it convincingly argues that there’s no meaningful difference.
If ghost stories are all about people forced to live with a traumatic past, then surely every inch of America is haunted. Racism isn’t a specter hiding in our attic; it’s a malevolent force that infects every surface in the country, and it seems to flourish the most in monuments to white power.
“Master” tells the story of two women at Ancaster College, a fictional institute of higher learning that’s as old as the United States itself. Regina Hall stars as Gail Bishop, the first woman of color to become the “master” of a residence hall, but her home is haunted by ghosts of...
- 3/18/2022
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
Exclusive: The White Lotus standout Brittany O’Grady and Nat Wolff (The Fault In Our Stars) are set to star opposite Christoph Waltz in Prime Video’s dark comedy workplace thriller series The Consultant, from Servant creator Tony Basgallop, WandaVision executive producer Matt Shakman, MGM Television and Amazon Studios.
The Consultant explores the sinister relationship between boss and employee, asking how far we will go to get ahead, and to survive. It is inspired by Bentley Little’s 2015 novel, a satire centered on Mr. Patoff, a bow-tie-wearing consultant who comes to the rescue of CompWare after a prominent merger falls through and soon seemingly starts running the company.
Wolff will play Craig, a disillusioned but talented mobile app developer, working for a games studio in Los Angeles. O’Grady plays Elaine, an ambitious assistant to the CEO, who, in the wake of a tragedy, sees an opportunity to accelerate her career.
The Consultant explores the sinister relationship between boss and employee, asking how far we will go to get ahead, and to survive. It is inspired by Bentley Little’s 2015 novel, a satire centered on Mr. Patoff, a bow-tie-wearing consultant who comes to the rescue of CompWare after a prominent merger falls through and soon seemingly starts running the company.
Wolff will play Craig, a disillusioned but talented mobile app developer, working for a games studio in Los Angeles. O’Grady plays Elaine, an ambitious assistant to the CEO, who, in the wake of a tragedy, sees an opportunity to accelerate her career.
- 12/8/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Brittany O’Grady will headline ABC’s drama pilot “Epic,” hailing from “Once Upon a Time” creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis. The actor joins previously announced cast member Eleanor Fanyinka in the ABC Signature production.
“Epic” is described as a romantic anthology series that reinvents fairy tales for a new audience. O’Grady will play Luna, who is a fairytale princess made cynical by a broken heart. She doesn’t believe in love stories, which is unfortunate because she is about to find herself caught in the most epic one of all— her own.
Most recently, O’Grady was seen on Bad Robot’s Apple TV Plus series “Little Voice,” executive produced by Sara Bareilles and J.J. Abrams. She also co-led the Fox musical drama series “Star” alongside Claire Jude Demorest and Ryan Destiny Irons, and starred in the horror film “Black Christmas” directed by Sophia Takal. O’Grady’s...
“Epic” is described as a romantic anthology series that reinvents fairy tales for a new audience. O’Grady will play Luna, who is a fairytale princess made cynical by a broken heart. She doesn’t believe in love stories, which is unfortunate because she is about to find herself caught in the most epic one of all— her own.
Most recently, O’Grady was seen on Bad Robot’s Apple TV Plus series “Little Voice,” executive produced by Sara Bareilles and J.J. Abrams. She also co-led the Fox musical drama series “Star” alongside Claire Jude Demorest and Ryan Destiny Irons, and starred in the horror film “Black Christmas” directed by Sophia Takal. O’Grady’s...
- 4/14/2021
- by Mónica Marie Zorrilla
- Variety Film + TV
Horror has always been a genre that reflects its times. In the wake of #MeToo and an increased focus on the experiences and the prominence of women, both in the film industry and more generally, we have seen female writers and directors seek to fold those themes into genre cinema. Perhaps the most notable examples being the recent remakes of Black Christmas (directed by Sophia Takal) and The Craft (directed by Zoe Lister-Jones). With Lucky, writer/star Brea Grant and director Natasha Kermani (Imitation Girl) aren’t reinterpreting one specific text through that lens, rather they’re filtering a whole subgenre: the slasher.
May (Grant) is a writer just finishing her book tour. One night, she wakes to see a masked man outside her house. When she wakes her husband Ted (Dhruv Uday Singh) he seems nonplussed, confusing May by telling her ‘that’s the guy who shows up every...
May (Grant) is a writer just finishing her book tour. One night, she wakes to see a masked man outside her house. When she wakes her husband Ted (Dhruv Uday Singh) he seems nonplussed, confusing May by telling her ‘that’s the guy who shows up every...
- 3/12/2021
- by Sam Inglis
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Exclusive: Escalating a relationship at Jason Blum’s Blumhouse, Carla Hacken has signed her Paper Pictures banner to a two-year first look producing deal. Among the films that Hacken will produce at Blumhouse is Coming Around Again, a romantic drama that Sophia Takal will direct from a script by Lawrence Michael Levine. The film is casting up, and focuses on a middle aged divorcee who rekindles a relationship with an old flame while vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard. Coming Around Again will be Takal’s third film for Blumhouse, for whom she last directed Black Christmas.
Hacken’s Paper Pictures will develop film and TV projects, and she is also consulting to help Jason Blum’s company as is expands into streaming films. The deal will run for two years.
“Carla has exemplary taste and deep relationships,” said Blumhouse founder/CEO Blum. “Her calling card for adapting some of the...
Hacken’s Paper Pictures will develop film and TV projects, and she is also consulting to help Jason Blum’s company as is expands into streaming films. The deal will run for two years.
“Carla has exemplary taste and deep relationships,” said Blumhouse founder/CEO Blum. “Her calling card for adapting some of the...
- 3/8/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Veteran indie executive and filmmaker Jeff Lipsky is hooking up with Kino Lorber to launch The Jeff Lipsky Collection on growing streaming service Kino Now. The collection, which becomes available on March 5, will include five out of seven of Lipsky’s directing efforts dating from 2006-2019. Other filmmakers who are similarly represented with Kino Now Auteur Collections include Jean-Luc Godard, Lina Wertmüller, Derek Jarman, István Szabó and F.W. Murnau.
On the Lipsky roster are Flannel Pajamas (2006), a relationship story co-starring Julianne Nicholson and Justin Kirk; family drama Twelve Thirty (2011), starring Jonathan Groff; surreal comedy Molly’s Theory Of Relativity (2013) with Sophia Takal and Lawrence Michael Levine; character study Mad Women (2015), co-starring Reed Birney and Jamie Harrold; and Holocaust-themed family drama The Last (2019), starring Rebecca Schull. Lipsky hopes to add his first film, 1997’s The End, to the collection as soon as its restoration is complete.
Says Lipsky, “Being inducted...
On the Lipsky roster are Flannel Pajamas (2006), a relationship story co-starring Julianne Nicholson and Justin Kirk; family drama Twelve Thirty (2011), starring Jonathan Groff; surreal comedy Molly’s Theory Of Relativity (2013) with Sophia Takal and Lawrence Michael Levine; character study Mad Women (2015), co-starring Reed Birney and Jamie Harrold; and Holocaust-themed family drama The Last (2019), starring Rebecca Schull. Lipsky hopes to add his first film, 1997’s The End, to the collection as soon as its restoration is complete.
Says Lipsky, “Being inducted...
- 2/15/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Twisted love triangle psychodrama debuted at Sundance.
Vertigo Releasing has acquired UK and Ireland rights to psychodrama Black Bear, starring Aubrey Plaza, from Radiant Films International.
The distributor plans to release the film theatrically and on digital platforms on March 5, 2021.
Black Bear premiered at Sundance earlier this year and marks the latest from US writer-director Lawrence Michael Levine, whose credits include Wild Canaries and Gabi On The Roof In July.
The story centres on a twisted love triangle – played by Plaza, Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon – that is created when an expectant couple receive a guest with writer’s block at their remote lake house.
Vertigo Releasing has acquired UK and Ireland rights to psychodrama Black Bear, starring Aubrey Plaza, from Radiant Films International.
The distributor plans to release the film theatrically and on digital platforms on March 5, 2021.
Black Bear premiered at Sundance earlier this year and marks the latest from US writer-director Lawrence Michael Levine, whose credits include Wild Canaries and Gabi On The Roof In July.
The story centres on a twisted love triangle – played by Plaza, Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon – that is created when an expectant couple receive a guest with writer’s block at their remote lake house.
- 12/9/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Husband and Wives and Bears, Oh My!: Levine’s Dark Dream an Ambiguous, Playful Psychodrama
The crux of our innate creative necessities might require something beyond the bare, at least as far as the leitmotif suggests in the fourth feature from Lawrence Michael Levine, the perspective changing psychodrama Black Bear. Dedicated to the director’s wife, actor/writer/director Sophia Takal, there’s an authentic, festering aftertaste to the film’s lofty, inconclusive artistic packaging which examines brittle, tenuous relationships floundering beneath the weight of collaborative undertakings.
A throwback to both the celebrated theatricality of morbid stage dramas (the bread and butter of Tennessee Williams or Edward Albee) and the abrasive arthouse marital escapades of early Polanski, Levine straddles the venomous sabotage of banal human instincts with the existential fumes of creative flow born from razed ennui.…...
The crux of our innate creative necessities might require something beyond the bare, at least as far as the leitmotif suggests in the fourth feature from Lawrence Michael Levine, the perspective changing psychodrama Black Bear. Dedicated to the director’s wife, actor/writer/director Sophia Takal, there’s an authentic, festering aftertaste to the film’s lofty, inconclusive artistic packaging which examines brittle, tenuous relationships floundering beneath the weight of collaborative undertakings.
A throwback to both the celebrated theatricality of morbid stage dramas (the bread and butter of Tennessee Williams or Edward Albee) and the abrasive arthouse marital escapades of early Polanski, Levine straddles the venomous sabotage of banal human instincts with the existential fumes of creative flow born from razed ennui.…...
- 12/8/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
When filmmaker Lawrence Michael Levine gave the script for “Black Bear” to Aubrey Plaza, it included one hell of a direction in its final act: the leading lady “breaks down and gives the best performance that anyone has ever seen ever.” No pressure.
“I had this moment before we started shooting, where I just felt like, ‘This is going to be really hard and fucked up,'” Plaza said during a recent interview with IndieWire. “But there was something in me that felt like I needed to dive off the deep end. If the movie had been about anything else, I don’t know if I would have been able to put myself through that. It was too much for me to pass up. I just had to do it.”
While she’s best known for charmingly sardonic roles like April Ludgate in NBC’s beloved series “Parks and Recreation...
“I had this moment before we started shooting, where I just felt like, ‘This is going to be really hard and fucked up,'” Plaza said during a recent interview with IndieWire. “But there was something in me that felt like I needed to dive off the deep end. If the movie had been about anything else, I don’t know if I would have been able to put myself through that. It was too much for me to pass up. I just had to do it.”
While she’s best known for charmingly sardonic roles like April Ludgate in NBC’s beloved series “Parks and Recreation...
- 12/3/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Anthony Sparks, showrunner of Ava DuVernay’s OWN drama Queen Sugar, has struck a first-look deal with Blumhouse Television.
Sparks, who has written and produced series including The Blacklist and Undercovers, is working with The Loudest Voice producer to develop and produce scripted series.
It comes after he signed up to write and develop a scripted series based on the Detroit Youth Choir with the company. Sparks will serve as showrunner and exec producer on Choir, a scripted series based on the America’s Got Talent runners up and their artistic director Anthony White. The series is being produced by Blumhouse along with Code Black creator Michael Seitzman’s Maniac Productions and Campfire.
It is the latest first-look deal with The Good Lord Bird producer following deals with the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Sophia Takal, Aaron Mark, Leigh Whannell and Striker Entertainment.
Sparks has been...
Sparks, who has written and produced series including The Blacklist and Undercovers, is working with The Loudest Voice producer to develop and produce scripted series.
It comes after he signed up to write and develop a scripted series based on the Detroit Youth Choir with the company. Sparks will serve as showrunner and exec producer on Choir, a scripted series based on the America’s Got Talent runners up and their artistic director Anthony White. The series is being produced by Blumhouse along with Code Black creator Michael Seitzman’s Maniac Productions and Campfire.
It is the latest first-look deal with The Good Lord Bird producer following deals with the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Sophia Takal, Aaron Mark, Leigh Whannell and Striker Entertainment.
Sparks has been...
- 11/16/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Since bringing her signature deadpan sizzle to turns in “Ingrid Goes West,” “The Little Hours,” and “Safety Not Guaranteed,” Aubrey Plaza has succeeded in becoming a one-woman mini-genre unto herself. Because of her discerning choices of roles, her name indicates something about the tone, quality, and artistic ambitions of the films to which she lends her talents. From the intriguing new trailer for “Black Bear,” which premiered in the forward-looking Next section of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, it looks as if Plaza has done it yet again.
Describing the film as “an intriguing and unexpected comedic thriller,” the official synopsis goes on to explain: “At a remote lake house in the Adirondack Mountains, a couple entertains an out-of-town guest looking for inspiration in her filmmaking. The group quickly falls into a calculated game of desire, manipulation, and jealousy, unaware of how dangerously convoluted their lives will soon become...
Describing the film as “an intriguing and unexpected comedic thriller,” the official synopsis goes on to explain: “At a remote lake house in the Adirondack Mountains, a couple entertains an out-of-town guest looking for inspiration in her filmmaking. The group quickly falls into a calculated game of desire, manipulation, and jealousy, unaware of how dangerously convoluted their lives will soon become...
- 10/6/2020
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Super Frog, the production company set up by Atlanta director and executive producer Hiro Murai, has inked a first-look deal with FX Productions.
The deal covers all scripted and unscripted programming for FX, as well as potentially other divisions of Walt Disney Television. It is a renewal, of sorts, of the first-look deal that Murai signed with FX in 2018.
Murai founded Super Frog last year with his producing partner Nate Matteson to develop feature films, television and alternative content and support and promote new filmmakers.
The pair are currently producing Netflix feature Where I End with director Sophia Takal, Man Alive at 20th Century Fox, and Murai-directed Station 11 for HBO Max with showrunner Patrick Somerville.
The company also has projects in development with the likes of Lakeith Stanfield, Fka Twigs, Blindspotting’s Carlos Lopez Estrada, and Grammy-winner Calmatic.
Murai exec produces FX’s Atlanta and directed seven episodes of the show’s second season,...
The deal covers all scripted and unscripted programming for FX, as well as potentially other divisions of Walt Disney Television. It is a renewal, of sorts, of the first-look deal that Murai signed with FX in 2018.
Murai founded Super Frog last year with his producing partner Nate Matteson to develop feature films, television and alternative content and support and promote new filmmakers.
The pair are currently producing Netflix feature Where I End with director Sophia Takal, Man Alive at 20th Century Fox, and Murai-directed Station 11 for HBO Max with showrunner Patrick Somerville.
The company also has projects in development with the likes of Lakeith Stanfield, Fka Twigs, Blindspotting’s Carlos Lopez Estrada, and Grammy-winner Calmatic.
Murai exec produces FX’s Atlanta and directed seven episodes of the show’s second season,...
- 7/16/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: The Loudest Voice showrunner Alex Metcalf is staying in business with Blumhouse, signing an exclusive overall deal for television and film with the studio behind the Showtime limited series. Under the pact, Metcalf will write, develop and produce film and TV projects for Jason Blum’s independent studio.
Metcalf developed The Loudest Voice, based on Gabriel Sherman’s book The Loudest Voice in the Room, for television and served as executive producer and showrunner. The limited series earned Russell Crowe a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Fox News Channel founder Roger Ailes, along with a SAG nomination. It is currently in Emmy contention.
Focusing primarily on the past decade, The Loudest Voice touches on defining events in Ailes’ life and the sexual harassment accusations and settlements that brought his Fox News reign to an end.
“It’s a Shakespearean tale of a larger-than-life figure whose inner needs, secret...
Metcalf developed The Loudest Voice, based on Gabriel Sherman’s book The Loudest Voice in the Room, for television and served as executive producer and showrunner. The limited series earned Russell Crowe a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Fox News Channel founder Roger Ailes, along with a SAG nomination. It is currently in Emmy contention.
Focusing primarily on the past decade, The Loudest Voice touches on defining events in Ailes’ life and the sexual harassment accusations and settlements that brought his Fox News reign to an end.
“It’s a Shakespearean tale of a larger-than-life figure whose inner needs, secret...
- 7/7/2020
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Sophia Takal, who most recently directed the Blumhouse slasher Black Christmas, is getting back behind the camera for a Netflix sci-fi thriller.
She will direct Where I End, which is set in a world where your memories and life can be saved, uploaded to a computer and restarted in the case of your untimely demise. The project follows a husband that returns from the dead, suspecting his loving wife may have been involved in his death. He must uncover the truth before it’s too late.
Imran Zaidi penned the movie, which will be produced by Roy Lee and Miri ...
She will direct Where I End, which is set in a world where your memories and life can be saved, uploaded to a computer and restarted in the case of your untimely demise. The project follows a husband that returns from the dead, suspecting his loving wife may have been involved in his death. He must uncover the truth before it’s too late.
Imran Zaidi penned the movie, which will be produced by Roy Lee and Miri ...
- 5/13/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sophia Takal, who most recently directed the Blumhouse slasher Black Christmas, is getting back behind the camera for a Netflix sci-fi thriller.
She will direct Where I End, which is set in a world where your memories and life can be saved, uploaded to a computer and restarted in the case of your untimely demise. The project follows a husband that returns from the dead, suspecting his loving wife may have been involved in his death. He must uncover the truth before it’s too late.
Imran Zaidi penned the movie, which will be produced by Roy Lee and Miri ...
She will direct Where I End, which is set in a world where your memories and life can be saved, uploaded to a computer and restarted in the case of your untimely demise. The project follows a husband that returns from the dead, suspecting his loving wife may have been involved in his death. He must uncover the truth before it’s too late.
Imran Zaidi penned the movie, which will be produced by Roy Lee and Miri ...
- 5/13/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
before it kills her, Lara Jean Gallagher’s “Clementine” begins with an intimate little scene that shadows the rest of the movie. We meet Karen (Otmara Marrero) in some iPhone footage that her unseen ex-girlfriend shot in bed one morning — a loving, needy close-up. “Wake up, I need inspiration,” a sober English voice intones from off-screen. “You’re beautiful. You’re so young.” And then: “You’re going to break my heart.”
Karen replies that she’s “never broken one single heart,” but her response isn’t reassuring. On the contrary, it lingers in the air like an omen. And the more that she loses sight of herself during Gallagher’s loaded but unfulfilled debut feature, the more those words seem to explain her problem. Karen naturally defaulted to a recipient role in her relationship with a much older artist — she was the object of affection, more seen than seeing.
Karen replies that she’s “never broken one single heart,” but her response isn’t reassuring. On the contrary, it lingers in the air like an omen. And the more that she loses sight of herself during Gallagher’s loaded but unfulfilled debut feature, the more those words seem to explain her problem. Karen naturally defaulted to a recipient role in her relationship with a much older artist — she was the object of affection, more seen than seeing.
- 5/8/2020
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
In his latest podcast host and screenwriter Stuart Wright talks with Seventh Row Executive Editor Orla Smith about 5 Themes In Feminist Horror.
Female Monsters: Carrie / Thelma Final Girl(S): The Slumber Party Massacre / Black Christmas Motherhood: The Babadook / Prevenge Housewives Revolting: Bitch / Swallow Gaslighting: Unsane / The Invisible Man
Beyond Empowerment: Feminist Horror And The Struggle For Female Agency is out now as an ebook from Seventh Row.
Female Monsters: Carrie / Thelma Final Girl(S): The Slumber Party Massacre / Black Christmas Motherhood: The Babadook / Prevenge Housewives Revolting: Bitch / Swallow Gaslighting: Unsane / The Invisible Man
Beyond Empowerment: Feminist Horror And The Struggle For Female Agency is out now as an ebook from Seventh Row.
- 5/8/2020
- by Stuart Wright
- Nerdly
Momentum Pictures has picked up the U.S. distribution rights the Aubrey Plaza-Christopher Abbott-Sarah Gadon starring film, Black Bear, the suspenseful meta-drama written and directed by Lawrence Michael Levine. The pic, which premiered earlier this year at Sundance, follows an expecting couple confronted with an out of town guest. Suffering from writer’s block, the guest seeks solace in the woods but instead finds herself at the center of a twisted love triangle.
The release date will be announced at a later date.
During his visit to Deadline’s Sundance studio back in January, Levin talked about the impetus of the film. “I wanted to do something more unusual and spontaneous,” Levin told Deadline, sharing that he was inspired by his artist sister’s spontaneous approach when it pertains to her creative process.
Black Bear was produced by Tandem Pictures’ Julie Christeas and Jonathan Blitstein, Richard J Bosner...
The release date will be announced at a later date.
During his visit to Deadline’s Sundance studio back in January, Levin talked about the impetus of the film. “I wanted to do something more unusual and spontaneous,” Levin told Deadline, sharing that he was inspired by his artist sister’s spontaneous approach when it pertains to her creative process.
Black Bear was produced by Tandem Pictures’ Julie Christeas and Jonathan Blitstein, Richard J Bosner...
- 5/5/2020
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Momentum Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to the drama “Black Bear,” starring Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon.
Written and directed by Lawrence Michael Levine, “Black Bear” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Momentum Pictures will announce release plans at a later date.
Set at a remote house in the Adirondack Mountains, Abbott and Gadon portray an expecting couple confronted with Plaza’s out-of-town guest, who is suffering from writer’s block. She seeks solace in the woods, but instead finds herself at the center of a twisted love triangle.
CAA Media Finance negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers. “Black Bear” is produced by Tandem Pictures’ Julie Christeas and Jonathan Blitstein, Blue Creek Pictures’ Richard J. Bosner, Levine, Sophia Takal, Oakhurst’s Marina Grasic and Jai Khanna, and Plaza.
“‘Black Bear’ is such a singular piece of filmmaking. From the first frame we were...
Written and directed by Lawrence Michael Levine, “Black Bear” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Momentum Pictures will announce release plans at a later date.
Set at a remote house in the Adirondack Mountains, Abbott and Gadon portray an expecting couple confronted with Plaza’s out-of-town guest, who is suffering from writer’s block. She seeks solace in the woods, but instead finds herself at the center of a twisted love triangle.
CAA Media Finance negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers. “Black Bear” is produced by Tandem Pictures’ Julie Christeas and Jonathan Blitstein, Blue Creek Pictures’ Richard J. Bosner, Levine, Sophia Takal, Oakhurst’s Marina Grasic and Jai Khanna, and Plaza.
“‘Black Bear’ is such a singular piece of filmmaking. From the first frame we were...
- 5/5/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Tandem Pictures, Blue Creek Pictures, Oakhurst produced.
Sundance selection Black Bear will open in the Us via Momentum Pictures following a deal on the psychodrama starring Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon.
The story centres on a twisted love triangle that ensues when an expectant couple receive a guest with writer’s block at their woodland home.
Momentum Pictures struck the deal with CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers and will announce release at a later date.
Black Bear is the latest from director Lawrence Michael Levine, whose credits include Wild Canaries and Gabi On The Roof In July.
Sundance selection Black Bear will open in the Us via Momentum Pictures following a deal on the psychodrama starring Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon.
The story centres on a twisted love triangle that ensues when an expectant couple receive a guest with writer’s block at their woodland home.
Momentum Pictures struck the deal with CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers and will announce release at a later date.
Black Bear is the latest from director Lawrence Michael Levine, whose credits include Wild Canaries and Gabi On The Roof In July.
- 5/5/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Domestic rights for the buzzy Sundance title “Black Bear” starring Aubrey Plaza has been acquired by Momentum Pictures, the company announced on Tuesday.
Written and directed by Lawrence Michael Levine, the film premiered at Sundance 2020 to critical acclaim in the Next section. Along with Plaza, Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon star in the suspenseful meta-drama about an expecting couple confronted with an out-of-town guest. Suffering from writer’s block, the guest seeks solace in the woods but instead finds herself at the center of a twisted love triangle.
“‘Black Bear’ is such a singular piece of filmmaking. From the first frame we were enthralled by Lawrence’s inventive storytelling,” Dylan Wilcox, Svp of acquisitions for Momentum Pictures, said in a statement to TheWrap. “The trio of lead actors all give incredible performances, and we’re excited to share it with audiences across the country.”
Also Read: 'Black Bear' Writer,...
Written and directed by Lawrence Michael Levine, the film premiered at Sundance 2020 to critical acclaim in the Next section. Along with Plaza, Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon star in the suspenseful meta-drama about an expecting couple confronted with an out-of-town guest. Suffering from writer’s block, the guest seeks solace in the woods but instead finds herself at the center of a twisted love triangle.
“‘Black Bear’ is such a singular piece of filmmaking. From the first frame we were enthralled by Lawrence’s inventive storytelling,” Dylan Wilcox, Svp of acquisitions for Momentum Pictures, said in a statement to TheWrap. “The trio of lead actors all give incredible performances, and we’re excited to share it with audiences across the country.”
Also Read: 'Black Bear' Writer,...
- 5/5/2020
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Momentum Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to the suspense thriller Black Bear, starring Aubrey Plaza.
The feature, which premiered at Sundance, follows an expectant couple confronted with an out-of-town guest. Suffering from writer's block, the guest seeks solace in the woods but instead finds herself at the center of a twisted love triangle.
Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon also star in the movie from writer-director Lawrence Michael Levine.
Tandem Pictures’ Julie Christeas and Jonathan Blitstein produced Black Bear, along with Richard J. Bosner of Blue Creek Pictures. Levine and Plaza also produced, along with Sophia Takal and Oakhurst’s ...
The feature, which premiered at Sundance, follows an expectant couple confronted with an out-of-town guest. Suffering from writer's block, the guest seeks solace in the woods but instead finds herself at the center of a twisted love triangle.
Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon also star in the movie from writer-director Lawrence Michael Levine.
Tandem Pictures’ Julie Christeas and Jonathan Blitstein produced Black Bear, along with Richard J. Bosner of Blue Creek Pictures. Levine and Plaza also produced, along with Sophia Takal and Oakhurst’s ...
Momentum Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to the suspense thriller Black Bear, starring Aubrey Plaza.
The feature, which premiered at Sundance, follows an expectant couple confronted with an out-of-town guest. Suffering from writer's block, the guest seeks solace in the woods but instead finds herself at the center of a twisted love triangle.
Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon also star in the movie from writer-director Lawrence Michael Levine.
Tandem Pictures’ Julie Christeas and Jonathan Blitstein produced Black Bear, along with Richard J. Bosner of Blue Creek Pictures. Levine and Plaza also produced, along with Sophia Takal and Oakhurst’s ...
The feature, which premiered at Sundance, follows an expectant couple confronted with an out-of-town guest. Suffering from writer's block, the guest seeks solace in the woods but instead finds herself at the center of a twisted love triangle.
Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon also star in the movie from writer-director Lawrence Michael Levine.
Tandem Pictures’ Julie Christeas and Jonathan Blitstein produced Black Bear, along with Richard J. Bosner of Blue Creek Pictures. Levine and Plaza also produced, along with Sophia Takal and Oakhurst’s ...
Stars: Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Lily Donoghue, Brittany O’Grady, Caleb Eberhardt, Cary Elwes, Simon Mead, Madeleine Adams, Nathalie Morris, Ben Black, Zoë Robins, Ryan McIntyre | Written by Sophia Takal, April Wolfe | Directed by Sophia Takal
Black Christmas. A familiar title if not a familiar film. Already remade once in 2006, it seems Blumhouse decided 2019 was ripe for reinvention of the film – tasking female filmmakers Sophia Takal and April Wolfe with rebooting the series. And it’s not a big a failure as other reviews have made out. Though it’s not without its problems…
This time round the action takes place at Hawthorne College, which is quieting down for the holidays. One by one, sorority girls on campus are being killed by an unknown stalker. That is until the young sorority pledges discover that the killer is part of an underground college conspiracy; and killer is about to discover that this...
Black Christmas. A familiar title if not a familiar film. Already remade once in 2006, it seems Blumhouse decided 2019 was ripe for reinvention of the film – tasking female filmmakers Sophia Takal and April Wolfe with rebooting the series. And it’s not a big a failure as other reviews have made out. Though it’s not without its problems…
This time round the action takes place at Hawthorne College, which is quieting down for the holidays. One by one, sorority girls on campus are being killed by an unknown stalker. That is until the young sorority pledges discover that the killer is part of an underground college conspiracy; and killer is about to discover that this...
- 4/20/2020
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
This year’s Sundance market was filled with questions, but buyers didn’t waste any time. (Browse the full list of acquisitions here.) By the end of the first weekend, it already featured the biggest sale in the festival’s history as well as the biggest documentary sale. Countless other buzzy projects landed homes at companies ranging from Searchlight (“The Night House”) to Sony Pictures Classics and Magnolia.
Nevertheless, with a lineup this vast, even the most aggressive distributors can only move so fast — and many of this year’s gems remain homeless. Here are the ones we think deserve to sell Asap.
“Black Bear”
Lawrence Michael Levine’s razor-sharp comedy “Black Bear” is a big step forward for the indie stalwart: a clever, twisted black comedy that skewers both contemporary culture and the film industry in two distinctly different (but related) parts. Fans of Levine’s wife Sophia Takal...
Nevertheless, with a lineup this vast, even the most aggressive distributors can only move so fast — and many of this year’s gems remain homeless. Here are the ones we think deserve to sell Asap.
“Black Bear”
Lawrence Michael Levine’s razor-sharp comedy “Black Bear” is a big step forward for the indie stalwart: a clever, twisted black comedy that skewers both contemporary culture and the film industry in two distinctly different (but related) parts. Fans of Levine’s wife Sophia Takal...
- 2/2/2020
- by Eric Kohn, Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich, Chris O'Falt and Dana Harris-Bridson
- Indiewire
This year’s Sundance Film Festival broke a number of records, from diversity in its programming to sales, but none of these statistics address the fundamental question behind all the noise: Were the movies any good? As it turns out, the festival more than delivered: Culled from 15,000 submissions, the 2020 edition offered up a range of timely, boundary-pushing documentary storytelling, promising new voices, and satisfying new heights from established filmmakers. Here are the best of the best.
“Boys State”
Co-directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s revealing documentary has the potential to be this year’s “American Factory,” in the sense that the filmmakers gained incredible access to capture an intimate story in real time — one that provides the perfect metaphor for this moment in our socio-political history. Boys State is a yearly event put on by the American Legion, where 17-year-olds are split into two political parties and put through...
“Boys State”
Co-directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s revealing documentary has the potential to be this year’s “American Factory,” in the sense that the filmmakers gained incredible access to capture an intimate story in real time — one that provides the perfect metaphor for this moment in our socio-political history. Boys State is a yearly event put on by the American Legion, where 17-year-olds are split into two political parties and put through...
- 2/1/2020
- by Eric Kohn, Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich, Chris O'Falt and Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Actor-writer Lawrence Michael Levine’s first two directorial features, “Gabi on the Roof in July” and “Wild Canaries,” were idiosyncratic indie hipster comedies of a familiar stripe. His third, “Black Bear,” is a much trickier proposition, a kind of narrative puzzle box in which one might be hard-pressed to find a solution, or even determine there is one. Rebooting midway to completely reframe its prior storytelling in very meta film-within-a-film-about-making-a-film terms, this adventurous seriocomedy has enough surprising elements and off-kilter humor to keep one intrigued, even if the payoff is debatable. Cast names will give it viability as a streaming item, but commercial prospects are not stellar.
The comedy of awkwardness, as ill-matched strangers stubbornly fail to click as friends, dominates the early going here to dryly amusing effect. Allison (Aubrey Plaza) is an actress turned writer-director of “small, unpopular films” whose latest creative drought lands her on the doorstep...
The comedy of awkwardness, as ill-matched strangers stubbornly fail to click as friends, dominates the early going here to dryly amusing effect. Allison (Aubrey Plaza) is an actress turned writer-director of “small, unpopular films” whose latest creative drought lands her on the doorstep...
- 1/27/2020
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
There is indeed an actual, living, occasionally roaring black bear that appears in Lawrence Michael Levine’s razor-sharp “Black Bear,” but that’s one of the few hard-and-fast elements of That the film — the first of Levine’s to premiere at Sundance — is programmed in the festival’s forward-thinking Next section should suggest to audiences that the film is more than the psychosexual drama hinted at in its official description. Well, it is, but it’s also so much more.
The basics: set in the kind of glamorous mountain mansion that never seems like anyone’s actual home, we’re first introduced to flinty filmmaker Allison (Aubrey Plaza), who is visiting the makeshift artist retreat on the recommendation of a pal. It’s run by — and owned by and lived in — flirty Gabe (Christopher Abbott) and his pregnant partner Blair (Sarah Gadon), who are amusingly ill suited for any kind of professional endeavor.
The basics: set in the kind of glamorous mountain mansion that never seems like anyone’s actual home, we’re first introduced to flinty filmmaker Allison (Aubrey Plaza), who is visiting the makeshift artist retreat on the recommendation of a pal. It’s run by — and owned by and lived in — flirty Gabe (Christopher Abbott) and his pregnant partner Blair (Sarah Gadon), who are amusingly ill suited for any kind of professional endeavor.
- 1/25/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Ever since #MeToo opened the world’s eyes to the horrors of toxic masculinity, horror filmmakers — particularly female ones — have been finding increasingly creative ways to imbue their work with fears unique to women. This past year alone, both Jennifer Kent’s “The Nightingale” and Sophia Takal’s “Black Christmas” used rape-revenge tropes as plot points, though to vastly different degrees of success.
In her stylish if not entirely bone-chilling new movie “The Turning,” director Floria Sigismondi shrewdly updates Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw” to haunt her young protagonist with unwanted male attention and obsession. Updating the story that inspired Jack Clayton’s 1961 classic “The Innocents,” which followed the text more closely,
The film’s opening hews closely enough to the original novella, as the fresh-faced Kate (Mackenzie Davis) accepts an unusual position as governess for absurdly wealthy orphan Flora (Brooklynn Prince), who lives in an extravagant manor home.
In her stylish if not entirely bone-chilling new movie “The Turning,” director Floria Sigismondi shrewdly updates Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw” to haunt her young protagonist with unwanted male attention and obsession. Updating the story that inspired Jack Clayton’s 1961 classic “The Innocents,” which followed the text more closely,
The film’s opening hews closely enough to the original novella, as the fresh-faced Kate (Mackenzie Davis) accepts an unusual position as governess for absurdly wealthy orphan Flora (Brooklynn Prince), who lives in an extravagant manor home.
- 1/23/2020
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
The remake of Black Christmas is getting a home video debut on March 17th whether you wanted it to or not, with details now released on what we can expect from its Blu-ray.
The plot follows college girl Riley, who has not yet fully recovered from being sexually assaulted by a frat boy three years previously and going unbelieved after reporting the crime. While dealing with everyday campus misogyny both spiteful and clueless, she and her friends are first cyber-stalked and then attacked in their sorority house by a masked killer.
The disc’s extras feature standard inclusions of a commentary by director Sophia Takal and star Imogen Poots, deleted and extended scenes that doubtless re-incorporate the swearing and violence that were cut out to allow the film a PG-13 rating, and an alternate ending, the differences of which have not been specified. Featurettes are The (Re)Making of a Cult Classic,...
The plot follows college girl Riley, who has not yet fully recovered from being sexually assaulted by a frat boy three years previously and going unbelieved after reporting the crime. While dealing with everyday campus misogyny both spiteful and clueless, she and her friends are first cyber-stalked and then attacked in their sorority house by a masked killer.
The disc’s extras feature standard inclusions of a commentary by director Sophia Takal and star Imogen Poots, deleted and extended scenes that doubtless re-incorporate the swearing and violence that were cut out to allow the film a PG-13 rating, and an alternate ending, the differences of which have not been specified. Featurettes are The (Re)Making of a Cult Classic,...
- 1/17/2020
- by Andrew Marshall
- We Got This Covered
Sony Pictures has renewed its first-look deal with Will Gluck’s Olive Bridge Entertainment, the company announced on Wednesday.
Gluck, along with Jodi Hildebrand, Gluck’s feature producing partner, announced the hire of Gabby Zemer as a new executive at the company. Zemer spent the past three years at Blumhouse Productions, where she worked alongside Couper Samuelson on the upcoming “Black Christmas” remake, helmed by Sophia Takal. Prior to Blumhouse, Zemer worked under Deborah Jelin Newmyer at Outlaw Productions, shortly after graduating from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Gluck’s long history at the studio includes the smash hit Emma Stone comedy “Easy A” ($75 million worldwide), “Friends with Benefits” ($150 million worldwide), the musical “Annie” ($134 million worldwide), and the worldwide animated blockbuster “Peter Rabbit” ($351 million worldwide). It became Sony Pictures’ highest-grossing film ever in the U.K., excluding the James Bond franchise films.
Also Read: 'Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway...
Gluck, along with Jodi Hildebrand, Gluck’s feature producing partner, announced the hire of Gabby Zemer as a new executive at the company. Zemer spent the past three years at Blumhouse Productions, where she worked alongside Couper Samuelson on the upcoming “Black Christmas” remake, helmed by Sophia Takal. Prior to Blumhouse, Zemer worked under Deborah Jelin Newmyer at Outlaw Productions, shortly after graduating from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Gluck’s long history at the studio includes the smash hit Emma Stone comedy “Easy A” ($75 million worldwide), “Friends with Benefits” ($150 million worldwide), the musical “Annie” ($134 million worldwide), and the worldwide animated blockbuster “Peter Rabbit” ($351 million worldwide). It became Sony Pictures’ highest-grossing film ever in the U.K., excluding the James Bond franchise films.
Also Read: 'Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway...
- 1/15/2020
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
[Editor's Note: With this past year being another great one across multiple mediums in the horror genre, Emily von Seele continues Daily Dead's "Favorites of 2019" features by reflecting on her favorite movies and experiences from 2019.]
Black Christmas: Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is to give the patriarchy a swift kick in the balls.
I got my wish! Sophia Takal and April Wolfe’s adaptation reimagines the film in a way that is contemporary, fun, and empowering. It doesn’t seek to rehash the plot for Bob Clark’s seminal classic, but instead uses the premise as a jumping-off point to tell their own story. And I loved it. Every second. Though it has its flaws, its energy is amazing. I immediately bonded with the characters and was cheering them on every step of the way (sometimes out loud). In a time where simply being a woman means you’re constantly under attack from all sides, it feels good to have a movie that sees you and will hold your hand while you kick down whatever door is in front of you.
Midsommar...
Black Christmas: Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is to give the patriarchy a swift kick in the balls.
I got my wish! Sophia Takal and April Wolfe’s adaptation reimagines the film in a way that is contemporary, fun, and empowering. It doesn’t seek to rehash the plot for Bob Clark’s seminal classic, but instead uses the premise as a jumping-off point to tell their own story. And I loved it. Every second. Though it has its flaws, its energy is amazing. I immediately bonded with the characters and was cheering them on every step of the way (sometimes out loud). In a time where simply being a woman means you’re constantly under attack from all sides, it feels good to have a movie that sees you and will hold your hand while you kick down whatever door is in front of you.
Midsommar...
- 1/6/2020
- by Emily von Seele
- DailyDead
From the Black Christmas franchise to A Christmas Story to Home Alone, we unwrap the horror of the holidays on a new episode of Daily Dead's podcast!
’Tis the season for a horror-themed holiday celebration on this episode of Corpse Club! From Home Alone to Christmas Evil, listen as co-hosts Tamika Jones, Bryan Christopher, Derek Anderson, and Jonathan James discuss their recent and go-to viewings of holiday movies (both horror and otherwise).
With a new holiday horror movie now decking the halls of cinemas, the quartet of co-hosts also have an in-depth discussion on the entire Black Christmas franchise, including the innovative scares of Bob Clark's 1974 film, the gory kills in Glen Morgan's 2006 remake, and the timely themes of Sophia Takal's 2019 reimagining. So, whether you've been naughty or nice (or somewhere in between), sit back, relax, and unwrap horror, humor, and seasonal scares on a new episode of Daily Dead's podcast!
’Tis the season for a horror-themed holiday celebration on this episode of Corpse Club! From Home Alone to Christmas Evil, listen as co-hosts Tamika Jones, Bryan Christopher, Derek Anderson, and Jonathan James discuss their recent and go-to viewings of holiday movies (both horror and otherwise).
With a new holiday horror movie now decking the halls of cinemas, the quartet of co-hosts also have an in-depth discussion on the entire Black Christmas franchise, including the innovative scares of Bob Clark's 1974 film, the gory kills in Glen Morgan's 2006 remake, and the timely themes of Sophia Takal's 2019 reimagining. So, whether you've been naughty or nice (or somewhere in between), sit back, relax, and unwrap horror, humor, and seasonal scares on a new episode of Daily Dead's podcast!
- 12/20/2019
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Stars: Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Lily Donoghue, Brittany O’Grady, Caleb Eberhardt, Cary Elwes, Simon Mead, Madeleine Adams, Nathalie Morris, Ben Black, Zoë Robins, Ryan McIntyre | Written by Sophia Takal, April Wolfe | Directed by Sophia Takal
Black Christmas. A familiar title if not a familiar film. Already remade once in 2006, it seems Blumhouse decided 2019 was ripe for reinvention of the film – tasking female filmmakers Sophia Takal and April Wolfe with rebooting the series. And it’s not a big a failure as other reviews have made out. Though it’s not without its problems…
This time round the action takes place at Hawthorne College, which is quieting down for the holidays. One by one, sorority girls on campus are being killed by an unknown stalker. That is until the young sorority pledges discover that the killer is part of an underground college conspiracy; and killer is about to discover that this...
Black Christmas. A familiar title if not a familiar film. Already remade once in 2006, it seems Blumhouse decided 2019 was ripe for reinvention of the film – tasking female filmmakers Sophia Takal and April Wolfe with rebooting the series. And it’s not a big a failure as other reviews have made out. Though it’s not without its problems…
This time round the action takes place at Hawthorne College, which is quieting down for the holidays. One by one, sorority girls on campus are being killed by an unknown stalker. That is until the young sorority pledges discover that the killer is part of an underground college conspiracy; and killer is about to discover that this...
- 12/19/2019
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Rotely obsessed with heroic Final Girls and the murderers brandishing phallic-shaped penetrative weapons who stalk them, slasher films have long been the subject of gender-study discourse and academia, each observation proving that a knife can be perceived as more than a knife, a stabbing more than a stabbing. What is it about the anonymous, shadowy male presence that feels so threatening? Sophia Takal’s Black Christmas seeks to investigate and literalize that question, presenting the modern male as someone who can be equally powerful and deceitful. What’s so scary about the fictional Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees when the world we […]...
- 12/18/2019
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Rotely obsessed with heroic Final Girls and the murderers brandishing phallic-shaped penetrative weapons who stalk them, slasher films have long been the subject of gender-study discourse and academia, each observation proving that a knife can be perceived as more than a knife, a stabbing more than a stabbing. What is it about the anonymous, shadowy male presence that feels so threatening? Sophia Takal’s Black Christmas seeks to investigate and literalize that question, presenting the modern male as someone who can be equally powerful and deceitful. What’s so scary about the fictional Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees when the world we […]...
- 12/18/2019
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Sophia Takal’s reimagining of Black Christmas cuts past the male gaze, creating a send-up of the genre in the era of Time’s Up. A somewhat revolutionary film in concept by continuing to subvert expectations, this 2019 version flips various slasher film tropes and reframes sexist expectations of the “sexy co-ed slasher flick” for an era in which norms have radically changed. Unlike Get Out and other recent genre flicks that mix social commentary, unfortunately it never quite pulls everything off. Being woke, funny, and scary all at once is indeed a difficult feat to achieve, but at least Takal’s new take is more admirable than the standard slasher film as it has a different kind of sex and violence on the brain.
Black Christmas places its agenda first and foremost and is the rare film where its characters actually talk like smart Ivy League students rather than paper-thin tropes.
Black Christmas places its agenda first and foremost and is the rare film where its characters actually talk like smart Ivy League students rather than paper-thin tropes.
- 12/16/2019
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
‘Black Christmas’ (Photo credit: Universal).
With Disney/Fox’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker invading cinemas this Thursday no distributor was brave – or foolish – enough to launch potentially lucrative titles last weekend.
So, no one could blame cinemagoers for ignoring the new releases which had flopped or under-performed in the Us or the UK, while Universal/Blumhouse’s horror movie Black Christmas was D.O.A here and globally.
Paramount’s family comedy Playing with Fire fared best among the newcomers, but that’s not saying a lot as the top 20 titles generated $10.4 million, down 16 per cent on the previous frame according to Numero.
The Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen II continued its reign, raking in nearly $3.7 million in its third weekend, propelling the total to $22.8 million. The sequel co-directed by the original’s Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee has amassed $1.03 billion worldwide, ranking as the seventh biggest animated release of all time.
With Disney/Fox’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker invading cinemas this Thursday no distributor was brave – or foolish – enough to launch potentially lucrative titles last weekend.
So, no one could blame cinemagoers for ignoring the new releases which had flopped or under-performed in the Us or the UK, while Universal/Blumhouse’s horror movie Black Christmas was D.O.A here and globally.
Paramount’s family comedy Playing with Fire fared best among the newcomers, but that’s not saying a lot as the top 20 titles generated $10.4 million, down 16 per cent on the previous frame according to Numero.
The Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen II continued its reign, raking in nearly $3.7 million in its third weekend, propelling the total to $22.8 million. The sequel co-directed by the original’s Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee has amassed $1.03 billion worldwide, ranking as the seventh biggest animated release of all time.
- 12/15/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
There’s a distinct daughters-of-Carol-Clover vibe in the new remake of Black Christmas that hits you almost immediately — a kind of knowingness with a serrated edge that’s different from the meta-winks of something like Scream, or the in-joke camaraderie that happens when horror franchise entries start getting into the double digits. It’s not just that its creators are familiar with the 1974 original, a proto-slasher flick involving a sorority house, a masked killer, the holiday season and a body count. (This vintage exploitation gem is also the answer to...
- 12/14/2019
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
“Frozen 2’s” reign at the box office is finally over: Sony’s “Jumanji: The Next Level” is on its way to a winning $50 million debut.
The sequel film starring Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, and Kevin Hart is opening at 4,227 North American locations and took in $19.4 million on Friday. That number set a few December records, including the biggest December opening day for a Sony film and the highest December opening day for a comedy of all time.
Directed by Jake Kasdan from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg, “Jumanji: The Next Level” sees the characters from Sony’s 2017 blockbuster return to rescue one of their own from the infamous game. Nick Jonas returns to star along with franchise newcomers Awkwafina, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Danny Glover and Danny DeVito.
Fellow new releases “Black Christmas” and “Richard Jewell” are both...
The sequel film starring Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, and Kevin Hart is opening at 4,227 North American locations and took in $19.4 million on Friday. That number set a few December records, including the biggest December opening day for a Sony film and the highest December opening day for a comedy of all time.
Directed by Jake Kasdan from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg, “Jumanji: The Next Level” sees the characters from Sony’s 2017 blockbuster return to rescue one of their own from the infamous game. Nick Jonas returns to star along with franchise newcomers Awkwafina, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Danny Glover and Danny DeVito.
Fellow new releases “Black Christmas” and “Richard Jewell” are both...
- 12/14/2019
- by Erin Nyren
- Variety Film + TV
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