Bloody Disgusting: ‘Bedeviled’ Filmmakers Contact Spirits in ‘The Uncanny’

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Ken Kirby (Good Trouble) and Michelle Krusiec are set to star in the supernatural thriller The Uncanny from Abel Vang and Burlee Vang, writes Deadline.

The feature, which is a follow up to the Vang Brothers’ 2016 feature Bedeviled (pictured), will be produced by Carr Lee and Stephen Stanley and also feature Ellen Wroe (Final Destination 5).ADVERTISING

The story follows social worker Claire Yang, who has been haunted for years by visions that she is only just beginning to understand as a connection to the spirit world. When she is assigned a new domestic abuse case, she discovers that the problem is being caused by a supernatural entity and must use her clairvoyance to help save the family.

“The spiritual medium, often a female, is a horror archetype that has appeared in almost every film where a family is faced with a supernatural haunting and she usually enters the story in the third act to save that hopeless family,” said the Vang brothers in a joint statement. “It is never about her story – she is simply reduced to a plot device. In our film, we’re re-inventing this character as if we’re telling an origin story. We explore her backstory, and all the barriers she must struggle through in order for her to find her place in the world.”

It is slated to shoot in Los Angeles and Orange County.

The Hollywood Reporter features VISCOUS, Trey Tucker

Newcomer Trey Tucker Joins Scott Eastwood, Orlando Bloom in ‘Outpost’ (Exclusive)

The up-and-comer also nabbed a lead role opposite Mena Suvari in indie thriller ‘Viscous.’  See full article here.

Up-and-coming actor Trey Tucker has nabbed back-to-back roles, one a lead, another a key supporting part.

Tucker, who appeared in The Space Between Us, is starring opposite Mena Suvari in Viscous, a dramatic thriller indie from writer-director Braden R. Duemmler.

The story tells of the co-dependent and imperfect love between a mother (Suvari) and her daughter, which is tested when the “perfect” man, played by Tucker, enters their lives.

Abel Vang, Kristina Esposito and Stephen Stanley are producing.

Tucker is also shooting The Outpost, a military action movie from Millennium that tells the true story of a team of U.S. soldiers that faced an army of hundreds of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Tucker will play a member of the team.

The movie also stars Scott Eastwood, Orlando Bloom and Cory Hardrict and is directed by Rod Lurie (The Contender). Marc Frydman and Paul Tamasy are producing.

Tucker made his feature debut with The Space Between Us, the sci-fi drama that starred Asa Butterfield and Gary Oldman. He also co-starred in indie The Matchmaker’s Playbook.

He is repped by APA and Douglas Management Group.

Deadline: “Conway Pride” wins Best Global Short: LGBTQ at Savannah Film Fest

See full article here.

The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) has announced the award winners for its 21st celebration of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival.

The honors were revealed during an awards brunch held at local restaurant The Olde Pink House. A key stop on the Oscar festival circuit, this year’s SCAD Savannah Film Festival screened a total of 164 films, including 33 narrative films, 16 documentary films and 115 shorts, more than any year before.

Twenty-seven awards were announced from the 105 films that competed in the categories of narrative features, documentary features, professional shorts, animated shorts, and student shorts selections.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETITION

  • Best Narrative Feature – Tomorrow
  • Best Documentary Feature – The Human Element
  • Best Narrative Short – Geoff
  • Best Directing – Will Kenning & Michael Rouse – Geoff
  • Best Editing – Hold The Night
  • Jury Award for Acting – Skyler Samuels – Spare Room
  • Jury Award for Screenwriting – One Cambodian Family Please For My Pleasure
  • Jury Award, Unheard Voices – Facing The Dragon

STUDENT & ANIMATION

  • Best Animated Short – Grands Canons
  • Animation Jury Award – The Likes and Dislikes of Marj Bagley
  • Best Student Short – Blue Christmas
  • Best Student Animation – Creature From The Lake
  • Silver Screen Society – Best Short Film by a SCAD Student – $30 To Antarctica
  • Student Jury Award – Cinematographer

GLOBAL SHORTS FORUM

  • Best Global Short Overall – Period. End of Sentence.
  • Best Global Short: Narrative – Believe Her
  • Best Global Short: Documentary – Period. End of Sentence.
  • Best Global Short: LGBTQ & You – Conway Pride
  • Best Global Short: Woman Walks Ahead – Period. End of Sentence.
  • Best Global Short: Don’t Dis My Ability – Take Me To The Waves
  • Best Global Short: A Sporting Chance – The Conqueror
  • Global Shorts: Jury Award – Boy Saint
  • Global Shorts Jury Award – Marie’s Crisis

SHORTS SPOTLIGHT

  • Shorts Spotlight: Best of Show – My Indiana Muse
  • Shorts Spotlight: Best Animated Delight – One Small Step
  • Shorts Spotlight: Best LOLz Short – Bertie
  • Shorts Spotlight: Best Bump in the Night Short – Other Side of the Box

Professional jury members were Laura Berwick (Berwick & Kovacik), Kevin Fallon (The Daily Beast), Amy Kaufman (LA Times), Bill Keith (Entertainment Weekly), Richard Lawson (Vanity Fair), Elise Pearlstein (Participant Media), David Westhead (actor/produce) and Alison Willmore (Buzzfeed).

Conway Pride premieres at Outflix!

From the Memphis Flyer:

Ouflix season officially begins tonight with a preview party at Crosstown Arts’ 430 N. Cleveland space. They’ll be previewing this year’s lineup and presenting three works for their new short film competition. One of the shorts, “Conway Pride”, is by filmmaker Stephen Stanley, who made his first films in Memphis before embarking on a career that has taken him to Hollywood and, currently, France. He made “Conway Pride” while teaching film at the University of Central Arkansas. It tells the history of a colorful LBGT couple who organized the first gay pride march in the rural college town, and the fight to save their house after they passed away. The free party begins at 6:30 PM tonight, but bring your dollars to buy passes for the main Outflix festival September 7-13.

 

Broadway World: The Revival Sells to Breaking Glass Pictures

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Breaking Glass Pictures today announced the acquisition of Outfest hit THE REVIVAL from first-time director Jennifer Gerber, writer Samuel Brett Williams, and producer Sophie Finkelstein.

Based on Williams’ 2010 hit play, THE REVIVAL is a treacherous love story between a closeted preacher and a handsome drifter who shows up at his church.

When Eli (Rysdahl) begins preaching at his father’s old church, he is desperate to open the minds of the fire-and-brimstone congregation. His plans are quickly derailed when he strikes up a relationship with fascinating drifter Daniel (Booth). Tensions soon come to a head, with simmering resentments and repressed emotions all leading to a revival that will shake this sleepy Arkansas town to its core.

After THE REVIVAL’s stage run in 2010, The Advocate declared “if there is a God, [The Revival] will be made into a movie!” Zachary Booth (KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, DAMAGES) and David Rysdahl (DEAD PIGS, BULL) give electric performances as their undeniable attraction endangers them both in the face of religion. The two were awarded a Special Mention by the jury at NewFest for their “outstanding performances” and The Hollywood Reporter called them “riveting”. Ira Sachs (LITTLE MEN, LOVE IS STRANGE) said “It came to me half way through that it was an Ingmar Bergman movie set in the Ozarks.” He also described the film as “true Southern Gothic”. Following the film’s sold out Outfest Premiere, The Hollywood Reporter wrote “Gerber deftly wrings suspense from source material that mixes, and sometimes swerves between, romance, satire and vigilante thriller.”

The film will have a Los Angeles theatrical release beginning January 19 at Laemmle Music Hall and a DVD/VOD release January 23rd on iTunes, Amazon Instant, Google Play, Vudu, Fandango, and through local cable and satellite providers. DVD Special Features will include director’s commentary, deleted scenes, and an alternate ending.

THE REVIVAL

Genre: Drama/LGBT

Running Time: 84 min.; Rating: NR; Language: English; Audio: Dolby 5.1

SRP: $24.99; UPC: 855184007280

Cast:

David Rysdahl

Zachary Booth

Raymond McAnally

Lucy Faust

Stephen Ellis

Director: Jennifer Gerber

Written by: Samuel Brett Williams

Producer: Sophie Finkelstein

Co-Producer: Stephen Stanley, Chris Laszlo

Avenge The Crows, now out on Blu-Ray, iTunes, In-Demand. Coming soon to Showtime

From PR Newswire


LOS ANGELESNov. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Danay Garcia (TV’s Fear the Walking DeadSniper: Ultimate Kill, TV’s Prison Break), Danny Trejo (Machete, TV’s Sons of Anarchy) and Golden Globe nominated actors Lou Diamond Phillips (La BambaYoung Guns) and Steven Bauer (TV’s Ray DonovanScarface) star in the gripping tale of blood for blood in the crime thriller AVENGE THE CROWS, launching on Blu-ray, DVD and digital Dec. 5.

Danay Garcia stars as Loca, a former gang member who now makes her money dealing drugs while protecting her cousin Cammy (Angelique Rivera) from the realities of life on the street. After Joker (Michael Flores) gets orders from prison-mate Casper (Phillips) about Loca and her drug-dealing partner Carlos (Emilio Rivera), he is released from prison and sets out to settle an old debt. Once attacked, Loca turns to rival gang leader Angel (Cesar Garcia) and local bar owner Tony (Trejo) to stop Joker and squash a potential war with a Mexican drug cartel. Former professional boxer Victor Ortiz has a cameo in the film as Loca’s slain husband Manny.

Synopsis
The pendulum of revenge is set in motion when an assassin named Joker is released from prison with orders from the Reyes Ricos prison gang to take down Loca, an ex-gang member who once ran the powerful Los Grajos crew before it was destroyed. Now Loca makes her living pushing drugs, and maintains a watchful eye on her young cousin, Cammy, the only family she has left. Although she is cunning and street smart, Loca doesn’t see Joker coming, and he attacks Cammy to lure her out of hiding. While launching her counterstrike, Loca gets tangled up with a rival crew, and then dragged to the brink of war with a Mexican drug cartel. As the pressure mounts she must make the hard choice between avenging the ones she’s lost and survival.

AVENGE THE CROWS was written and directed by Nathan Gabaeff and produced by Steven GabaeffNathan GabaeffStephen StanleyDanay GarciaMichael FloresTrent GarrettRobert BaekCindy Barger and Tereza Kacerova for Gabaeff Pictures. The film is being distributed by Gravitas Ventures. The film has a runtime of 96 minutes and is rated R for violence and sexual content.

Hollywood Reporter: “The Revival” – Outfest Review

Read the full review here.

‘The Revival’: Film Review | Outfest 2017

David Rysdahl (center) in ‘The Revival.’

Jennifer Gerber’s feature debut is about a Southern preacher who has an affair with a troubled young man passing through town.

With an attention-grabbing hook and two riveting central performances, Jennifer Gerber’s feature directorial debut The Revival holds you in its grip even when it stumbles. Adapted from a 2010 play by Samuel Brett Williams, this striking, if erratic, drama about a Southern Baptist preacher succumbing to a very forbidden desire is hardly a game-changing or groundbreaking entry in the nebulous, gradually expanding genre that is queer cinema. But it is a worthwhile one, showcasing a pair of deeply gifted leading men and a promising new talent behind the camera. The Revival is also notable for its unblinking look at the excruciating inner tug-of-war between one man’s homosexuality and his religious devotion; the movie isn’t subtle or always persuasive, but it goes there, boldly and with integrity.

Films like Antonia Bird’s Priest (about a gay priest in Liverpool) and Sandi Simcha DuBowski’s moving doc Trembling Before G-d (about gay Orthodox Jews) have tackled similar subject matter — though the The Revival‘s setting amid small-town, working-class evangelicals feels particularly timely given the reinvigorated cultural war pitting Trump’s rural conservative base against urban “elites.” It’s a milieu the director knows well, having been raised by devout Christians in Hot Springs, Ark., where the play is set and the movie was shot. Gerber’s familiarity likely accounts for the confident, unshowy sense of place that’s one of the film’s key strengths.

There are shades of French master Claude Chabrol both in the broad outlines of The Revival — in its close study of a man’s guilt and a community’s rottenness beneath a squeaky-clean surface — and in Gerber’s approach: the brisk narrative rhythm, the slyly humorous juxtapositions (gay love scenes punctuated by glimpses of Eli driving home while listening to fiery sermons on the radio), Lucas Carey’s mischievous, mercurial score.

The Revival‘s portrayal of the vitriol reserved for gay people in conservative Christian communities is nothing if not unsparing. But given our ostentatiously pious vice president and his disturbing record on LGBT issues, there’s something urgent, even cathartic, about the film’s bluntness. And Gerber manages to add nuance through certain directorial choices, like her use of recordings by the Sacred Harp Singers of Cork. The stirring flights of church-choir harmony lighten the movie’s mood, suggesting that while there’s potential for violence and hatred in religion, there’s beauty, too.

Production companies: Natural State Films, Raptor Films
Director: Jennifer Gerber
Screenwriter: Samuel Brett Williams (based on his play)
Cast: David Rysdahl, Zachary Booth, Lucy Faust, Raymond McAnally, Stephen Ellis
Producer: Sophie Finkelstein
Co-producer/sales: Stephen Stanley
Executive producers: Cathleen Ihasz, Nicole Ihasz
Cinematography: John Wakayama Carey
Production design: Eimi Imanishi
Music: Lucas Carey
84 minutes

Voltage sparks with supernatural thriller ‘Bedeviled’

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Voltage Pictures is at the EFM talking up Bedeviled, a new supernatural thriller from The Vang Brothers.

President of international sales John Fremes and his team will present footage to Berlin buyers of the story about a seemingly harmless Siri-like app that manipulates the deepest fears of users to literally scare them to death.

Saxon Sharbino of the Poltergeist remake stars alongside Brandon Soo Hoo, Mitchell Edwards, Jordan Essoe, Carson Boatman, Victory Van Tuyl, and Alexis G. Zall.

Kirk Roos, Cheng Yang and Leng Yang produce the film and Stephen Stanley, Brad Brizendine and Scott P. Barlow are the executive producers.

 

Continue reading “Voltage sparks with supernatural thriller ‘Bedeviled’”

New Project “BeDeviled” Announced on Deadline!

From Deadline.com. Click here for the full story.

From Deadline.com. Click here for the full story.