Noticias

Los Angeles-based Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) heads to AFm in Las Vegas next month with worldwide sales rights to the Cosplay horror comedy ZombieCON Vol. 1.

A production of Big Squid Productions, the film is directed by Kyle Valle, who co-wrote the screenplay with Erin Áine and Manny Luke. The trio also serve as producers.

ZombieCON Vol. 1 centres on a group of Cosplayers who have an ill-fated encounter with an oddball mystic who unleashes a zombie apocalypse, forcing the group to rise to the challenge of the heroes they revere.

The film stars Erin Áine, Manny Luke, Punkie Johnson, Christian Casillas,...

Mpx has acquired worldwide sales rights ahead of American Film Market to the crime thriller Just Breathe starring Kyle Gallner from Smile and Shawn Ashmore from The Boys and the X-Men franchise.

Paul Pompa III wrote and directed the Rockwood Champ production produced by Jim Agnew, Cam Cannon, and Rick Dugdale.

Just Breathe follows Nick Bianco (Gallner), who plans to rebuild his life and win back the love of his life after a year spent in prison for assault.

Upon release Nick learns that the target of his affections has another admirer, Chester (Ashmore), his no-nonsense parole officer. Nick soon...

“Bolan’s Shoes,” a British film featuring the music of glam-rock singer Marc Bolan and his band T. Rex, will be released by Freestyle Digital Media in January 2025 and an exclusive new trailer for the film showcases the power of glam.

Set in Liverpool, “Bolan’s Shoes” took specific inspiration from T. Rex’s 1976 concert in Manchester. Per the official synopsis, it “captures the heady exhilaration of glam rock mania through the experiences of a group of over-excited kids from a local children’s home before a devastating road accident changes their lives forever. Years later, and still clinging to the adoration of her childhood idol, survivor Penny takes best friend and fellow Marc Bolan fan to visit Bolan’s shrine in London, but a chance encounter there catapults her back to the horror she had tried so hard to forget.”

Bolan’s son, Rolan Bolan, has given his permission and support for the film,...

MPX Films has acquired LGBTQ rom-com “Things Like This” for an early 2025 release, TheWrap can exclusively reveal. The project from filmmaker and star Mark Talisman marks the freshman distribution company’s debut film. It is also Talisman’s directorial debut.

The indie project will launch in partnership with Big Picture Collective Studios (Bpc).

“Today’s feature film distribution world is dominated by macro industry trends, often sidelining the unique opportunities of independent content. By leveraging our expertise, we aim to empower and elevate visionary talents like Max Talisman to bypass these barriers and engage directly with their audiences across all screens and windows,” Mpx founders James Andrew Felts and Ryan Bury said in a statement.

“Things Like This” stars an ensemble cast including Joey Pollari (“American Crime”), Jackie Cruz (“Orange is the New Black”), Charlie Tahan (“Ozark”), Cara Buono (“Stranger Things”), Eric Roberts (“The Dark Knight”), Nicholas Hamilton (“It”), James Leon...

Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) has boarded worldwide sales on the romantic comedy Books & Drinks from the producer of Berlinale Competition entry Pepe and starring Jackson Rathbone from the Twilight Saga.

Rathbone plays David, the owner of a struggling bookstore in New York City who learns he has inherited a house in the Dominican Republic from the father he never knew.

David plans to sell the residence but his life is turned upside-down when he visits the Caribbean and meets his realtor, Maria, played by Nashla Bogaert. Clara Lago also stars.

Geoffrey Cowper directed the Veranera Films production from a screenplay by Josep Ciutat.

Sales to commence at EFM in Berlin next February.

Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) has acquired worldwide sales rights to the completed queer rom-com Things Like This from Malibu, Bro Productions directed by and starring LGBTQ+ activist Max Talisman from Super Dark Times and Orange Is The New Black.

Mpx will commence sales around EFM in Berlin next February on the feature directorial and writing debut by Talisman, who stars alongside a cast which includes Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight).

Things Like This follows two men with the same name who begin to fall in love in New York City, unaware...

Cast member Alexandra Boyd directs.

Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) is launching worldwide sales at AFM on Alexandra Boyd’s new behind-the-scenes documentary Ship Of Dreams: Titanic Movie Diaries featuring actors from James Cameron’s global smash Titanic.

The production from New Thirty Pictures, Cf/40 Entertainment, and Great View Productions film reveals anecdotes and tales of auditions, experiences and life on set with Cameron and Titanic leads Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

In addition to Boyd herself, who appeared in the 1997 blockbuster, the film features Titanic cast members, Amy Gaipa, Liam Tuohy, Mark Capri, Rebecca Klinger, and Linda Kerns as they...

A brand new Easter horror movie titled Easter Bloody Easter is on the way, and Screen Daily shares a (fittingly bloody) first look at the upcoming creature feature this afternoon.

“Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) has acquired worldwide sales rights to Easter Bloody Easter from producer WallyBird Productions,” Screen Daily reports.

Mpx will start selling the film at next month’s American Film Market.

Diane Foster directed Easter Bloody Easter, written by Allison Lobel.

Screen Daily details, “Foster also stars as a woman who must protect her small town from the Jackalope (based on the mythical rabbit-antelope creature of North American folklore) and his army of devilish bunnies as they embark on a murder spree over the Easter weekend.”

Allison Lobel, Kelly Grant and Zuri Starks also star.

Mpx senior vice president Ryan Bury said: “Diane has constructed an exhilarating and extravagant – in the very best way – film that won’t be soon forgotten.

Holiday-themed horror outing to be introduced at American Film Market.

Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) has acquired worldwide sales rights to Easter Bloody Easter from producer WallyBird Productions.

Los Angeles-based Mpx will start selling the completed horror feature at next month’s American Film Market.

WallyBird head Diane Foster directed the film, written by Allison Lobel. Foster also stars as a woman who must protect her small town from the Jackalope (based on the mythical antelope-horned jackrabbit of North American folklore) and his army of devilish bunnies as they embark on a murder spree over the Easter weekend. Featuring in the cast alongside Foster are Lobel,...

The Hollywood strikes and the new location have been hot topics for buyers and sellers in the build-up to this year’s AFM.

Prior to news landing this weekend that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and AMPTP have reached a tentative agreement to end the 146-day writer’s strike, US sellers were busy future-proofing the AFM should both Hollywood strikes still be in full force by the time the market kicked off on October 31.

The resolution of the WGA strike will bring a collective sigh of relief across the industry. However, should the SAG-AFTRA work stoppage continue into or beyond the market,...

Exclusive: Byron Allen’s Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North American VOD rights to Our Words Collide, a poetry-themed documentary executive produced by Rosario Dawson that will be released in early 2024.

Directed and produced by Jordan W. Barrow and Matt Edwards, the film highlights the poets of Get Lit, a non-profit organization in Los Angeles, which uses the art form to educate and empower young people. Juxtaposing vérité scenes and intimate footage, self-shot by the poets, with stylized poetry performances and animation, it more specifically spotlights five spoken word poets as they navigate their final year at high school, exploring many challenges that face young people today — including identity, expression, transitioning into adulthood and overcoming mental health issues — through the unique prism of their poetry.

Originally premiering at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, where it won the Adl Stand Up Award, Our Words Collide‘s other EPs are Diane Luby Lane and Samuel Curtis.

Also heading to French Riviera are First World War film Ace And The Scout, family film Christmas Time.

Los Angeles-based Mpx has boarded sales on glam rock drama Bolan’s Shoes starring Timothy Spall, as well as First World War film Ace And The Scout, and family film Christmas Time.

Bolan’s Shoes centres on a fan of the late T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan fan who has been living a lie since a childhood tragedy after a concert. When she reconnects with her estranged, socially maladjusted brother she reckons with her true identity through the help of music.

Ian Puleston-Davies wrote...

Exclusive: 1091 Pictures has acquired the U.S. rights to the new romantic drama Under My Skin. The film marks the feature debut of Australian writer-director David O’Donnell and is produced by Raynen O’Keefe and Alex Russell. 1091 Pictures is planning a June 6 on-demand release.

The story follows Denny, a free spirit and artist who falls for Ryan, a strait-laced lawyer. When Denny questions gender, their love is tested.

The lead character, Denny, is played by four different actors who identify as non-binary, or trans non-binary: Liv Hewson, Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Kylo Freeman and Lex Ryan. Producer Alex Russell and Alexis Denisof also star.

“Under My Skin follows four wonderfully gender diverse humans, all rolled into one – they inhabit the same role,” said O’Keefe, who also identifies as trans non-binary. “Where it is still an uphill battle and obstacle to argue for the sake of actors to be able to play characters who,...

Feature-length doc follows five spoken word teen poets.

Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) has acquired worldwide sales rights to the documentary Our Words Collide featuring Rosario Dawson as executive producer for EFM.

Jordan W. Barrow and Matt Edwards co-directed the film about five spoken word teen poets as they navigate their final year at high school and deal with issues ranging from identity to mental health issues.

Our Words Collide highlights the poets of the Get Lit programme, a non-profit organisation in Los Angeles which uses the art form to educate and empower young people.

The film premiered at Santa Barbara...

Feature-length doc follows five spoken word teen poets.

Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) has acquired worldwide sales rights to the documentary Our Words Collide featuring Rosario Dawson as executive producer for EFM.

Jordan W. Barrow and Matt Edwards co-directed the film about five spoken word teen poets as they navigate their final year at high school and deal with issues ranging from identity to mental health issues.

Our Worlds Collide highlights the poets of the Get Lit programme, a non-profit organisation in Los Angeles which uses the art form to educate and empower young people.

The film premiered at Santa Barbara...

Feature-length doc follows five spoken word teen poets.

Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) has acquired worldwide sales rights to the documentary Our Words Collide featuring Rosario Dawson as executive producer for EFM.

Jordan W. Barrow and Matt Edwards co-directed the film about five spoken word teen poets as they navigate their final year at high school and deal with issues ranging from identity to mental health issues.

Our Worlds Collide highlights the poets of the Get Lit programme, a non-profit organisation in Los Angeles which uses the art form to educate and empower young people.

The film premiered at Santa Barbara...

Abacus Boards Dan Reed’s Andrew Tate Doc

Abacus Media Rights has acquired worldwide sales rights (excluding the UK) to Dan Reed’s feature doc on detained social media influencer Andrew Tate. (In)Famous: Andrew Tate, which examines the rapid rise of former kickboxer and porn entrepreneur Tate, was announced by UK network Channel 4 last week. At the end of last year Tate was arrested by Romanian police on suspicion of rape, organized crime and human trafficking. He and his brother Tristan remain in jail after being detained ahead of trial. Reed, best known for Channel 4 doc Leaving Neverland, has secured full access to Tate and was in Romania during the period Tate was arrested. The film will look at how he became successful so quickly.

Liev Schreiber Narrated ‘Failure Of Russia’s Blitzkreig’ Gets Distribution

Exclusive: Germany’s Autentic Distribution will sell the Live Schreiber-narrated Against All...

Quite popular within the documentary circuit are projects centered around spotlighting animals. Coverage can go beyond the ambiguous wilderness and be set in more familiar territory, including a local neighborhood or city. Both in film and television, there has been a growing focus on the appeal of household companions. Cats are primary examples of animals that are interesting to analyze. Equally fascinating as the study of animals is the psychological examination of companionship. This, combined with presenting positive masculinity and spreading hope in an unpredictable world, is the focal point of Mye Hoang’s endearing documentary “Cat Daddies.”

Before “Cat Daddies,” filmmaker Mye Hoang had worked on various projects. Years prior, she directed a drama feature titled “Viette,” which tells the story of a young Asian American woman’s struggles of breaking free of oppression and heartbreak. Mye has also co-produced numerous films, such as “Man from Reno...

Exclusive: Luke Tennie (Shrinking) has boarded Oscar nom RaMell Ross’ feature The Nickel Boys, based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer-winning novel of the same name.

The film from MGM’s Orion Pictures is based on the true story of a Florida reform school that damaged the lives of thousands of children over more than a century. Its protagonist is Elwood Curtis, a Black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee who is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, then finding himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors.

Tennie will play Griff, a student boxer at Nickel Academy. He joins an ensemble including Aunjanue Ellis, Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater and Fred Hechinger. Ross and Louverture Films’ Joslyn Barnes adapted the screenplay. Plan B Entertainment, Anonymous Content and Barnes are producing, with Whitehead serving as exec producer.

Tennie will next be seen starring opposite Jason Segel...

Exclusive: Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North American rights to a pair of coming-of-age dramas: writer-director Alana Waksman’s debut feature We Burn Like This, and writer-director Anna Matz’s first feature, Love You Anyway. The digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group plans to release both titles across internet and satellite platforms on June 28.

Inspired by true events, the former film from Armian Pictures shows the inherited effects of historical trauma and the strength of survival and healing. When 22-year-old Rae (Madeleine Coghlan), a descendant of Holocaust survivors, is targeted by Neo-Nazis in Billings, Montana, her ancestors’ trauma becomes real. As antisemitism continues to rise in the community, we follow Rae on her journey to forgive herself, her mother and the broken world. We Burn Like This also stars Reservation Dogs‘ Devery Jacobs, as well as Kendra Mylnechuk, Angelo Rizzo, Casidee Riley and Megan Folsom.

Hugh McCrae Jr. plays anxious employee who uncovers shocking workplace mystery.

Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) has licensed North American rights on the thriller Human Resources to Deskpop Entertainment in a deal struck during the Cannes market.

Hugh McCrae Jr. stars in the feature from Nbd Productions as an anxious young employee who uncovers a shocking mystery at a smalltown hardware store. The discovery leads to a battle with terrifying forces lurking behind the walls.

Braden Swope makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay he co-wrote with Evan Swope, with additional story by Chris Kelly. The cast includes Sarah José,...

Eight men and the feline friends that changed their lives.

Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) has acquired worldwide sales rights to the documentary feature Cat Daddies and will introduce to buyers at the Cannes market next week.

Produced and directed by Mye Hoang, the film has played a number of US festivals and presents a portrait of eight male cat-lovers whose lives have been changed forever by the love and companionship of their pet cats

Hoang, Dave Boyle and Nobu Nagatsuma served as producers on the documentary from Gray Hat Productions which has screened to audiences at Seattle, Hawaii, Big Sky,...

Exclusive: Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North American rights to to the Batman-themed feature documentary Batman and Me, from director Michael Wayne. The digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios plans to release it across VOD platforms on March 8.

The film examines the life of Batman collector Darren “Dags” Maxwell, who became addicted to collecting Dark Knight merchandise in Australia in the late 1980s, as a way to be a part of nascent geek culture. Decades later, Maxwell’s stuck with a room full of collectables—a membership card to a fandom he no longer recognizes—yet powerful forces beyond his control mean he’s unable to let go. The film written by Wayne, Andrew Martyn and Rebecca Richardson is a sobering look at the highs and lows of obsessive collecting in an increasingly pop culture-centric world, and the price of admission to fandom.

Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) has closed a deal for North American distribution rights to 1091 Pictures on horror film “Student Body,” starring Montse Hernandez, Cheyenne Haynes, Harley Quinn Smith, Austin Zajur, Anthony Keyvan and Christian Camargo.

Mpx reps worldwide rights to the feature.

“Student Body,” written and directed by Lee Ann Kurr, the film follows a group of students at a prestigious high school where a teacher oversteps his bounds and the teens are forced to take matters into their own hands, with deadly consequences.

“Student Body” is produced by Rachel Liu, Sandra Leviton, and Lee Ann Kurr.

1091 Pictures plans a Feb. 8 release on digital and on-demand platforms.

“We were really impressed with Lee Ann’s directorial debut with this highly entertaining and elevated slasher flick that dives beyond the genre norms and offers a female-led perspective both onscreen and behind the camera,” said 1091’s head of content Eric Min.

Back in July, when film sales company Mpx cut a distribution pact with 1091 Pictures for “Electric Jesus,” a comedy about a never-famous ‘80s teen Christian hair metal band co-starring Brian Baumgartner (NBC’s “The Office”), it negotiated Nft (non-fungible token) and digital collectible rights as part of the deal. Given that NFTs — unique data files that use blockchain technology to provide verifiable proof of ownership — are probably the most talked- about and least understood trend in the worlds of investing, art and technology, it’s reasonable to wonder exactly this means.

So Variety talked to Mpx CEO Andrew James Felt, who co-founded the company with senior VP of sales and acquisitions Ryan Bury in late 2019, about how NFTs can be a viable revenue stream for filmmakers and what part they will play in his sales strategy at AFM, where Mpx is representing 45 films ranging from the comedy “Faith Based...

Roster includes coming-of-age drama We Burn Like This, holiday romance We Too Together.

Los Angeles-based Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) heads into next week’s AFM 2021 Online and will aiming to entice buyers with a sales slate led by completed sales titles The Possessed and Take The Night.

Supernatural horror thriller The Possessed is directed by Chris Sun and tars John Jarratt of the Wolf Creek franchise as a man with the gift of exorcism who has made a career out of banishing demaons from clients’ lives.

As the number of possessions increases he fights to keep his loved ones safe...

Motion Picture Exchange AFM Title

Exclusive: Motion Picture Exchange has acquired global sales rights to heist film Take the Night and will launch sales at the upcoming virtual American Film Market. Written and directed by Seth McTigue, starring are Sam Li, Roy Huang (The Offer), Grace Serrano (Thou Shalt Not Kill) and Brennan Keel Cook (Encounter). Pic is produced by Julien P. Bourgon, Franco Sama and Mark Heidelberger. In the film, a bitter heir organizes a kidnapping of his younger brother on his birthday unaware that the criminals he hired to do the job are more cunning than he imagined. “We are proud to be partnering with Seth on his feature directorial debut,” said Ryan Bury, SVP of Acquisitions and Sales for Mpx. “He has created a finely tuned, high octane film with an in-depth story and lots of twists and turns. He’s a talented young filmmaker that is one to watch.

Exclusive: Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) has sold North American distribution and Nft (non-fungible token) rights of Brian Baumgartner (The Office) music-comedy Electric Jesus to 1091 Pictures.

The 80’s throwback movie charts the story of a never-famous teen Christian hair metal band which spends the summer of 1986 playing rock music meant to ‘make Jesus famous’.

Written and directed by Chris White, the film features Baumgartner alongside Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), Shawn Parsons, Rhoda Griffis and Claire Bronson. Pic is produced by Chris White and Emily Reach for Hair Band Glory, LLC.

1091 Pictures and Mpx have specifically negotiated rights around the films’ Nft and digital merchandising rights, marking one of the first market deals for these rights in the independent space.

James Andrew Felts, CEO of Mpx commented: “The practical application of non-fungible media rights will have a material impact on deal structures similarly to the SVOD rights craze of the mid-2000’s.

Virtual Cannes market slate includes Wired Shut, Hudson, Student Body, All In My Power.

Los Angeles-based sales agency Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) has hired veteran sales agent Marcy Rubin as VP of international sales on the eve of the virtual Cannes market.

Rubin will oversee Mpx’s slate of documentary and completed films including Alexander Sharp’s newly acquired horror thriller Wired Shut; road trip dramady Hudson directed by Sean D. Cunningham; female-led thriller Student Body; and documentary All In My Power, a first-hand account of healthcare workers’ response to Covid during the initial weeks of the pandemic in Manhattan.

Motion Picture Exchange has acquired worldwide sales rights on the coming-of-age horror film “Student Body,” and will be launching it out of the Cannes Virtual Market next week.

Written and directed by Lee Ann Kurr in her feature debut, the film features Montse Hernandez, Cheyenne Haynes (“Camping”), Harley Quinn Smith, Austin Zajur (“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”), Anthony Keyvan, and Christian Camargo. “Student Body” is produced by the breakout, all female creative team of Rachel Liu, Sandra Leviton and Kurr.

The story centers around high school student Jane Shipley (Hernandez), who seeks to mend her splintering relationship with childhood best friend Merritt (Haynes), and fit in with Merritt’s rebellious clique. When Jane’s math teacher (Camargo) oversteps his bounds, an apathetic high school administration forces Jane and Merritt to take matters into their own hands, driving their relationship into further turmoil and inciting deadly consequences.

“For me,...

1091 Pictures has picked up North American distribution rights to Tar, and indie thriller that it plans on releasing with exclusive theatrical run targeting drive-in theaters starting in early October followed by a digital rollout October 20. Timothy Bottoms, Aaron Wolf, Tiffany Shepis, Max Perlich and Graham Greene star. Wolf directed the film, set in the murky depths of Los Angeles’ world-famous La Brea Tar Pits wherein lies an ancient secret – a creature that, awakened by subway construction, emerges to terrorize its unsuspecting victims in a desperate fight for survival. Howling Wolf Productions partners Aaron Wolf and Tim Nuttall wrote the screenplay and produced. The deal was negotiated by 1091 Pictures’ Emma Manfredi and Sam Curphey for the filmmaker.

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Filmmaker Jim Klock (Green Book) has a new feature. Slayed, an indie horror described as a cross between Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Silent Night, Deadly Night, marks the second installment of a three-picture...

Exclusive: Gravitas Ventures has picked up the North American distribution rights to Faith Based, the Luke Barnett-scripted indie comedy that stars Jason Alexander, Tanner Thomason, Margaret Cho, David Koechner, Lance Reddick, as well as Barnett. Vincent Masciale directed the film which will be available in select theaters and on digital, cable, and satellite VOD platforms on October 9.

The plot focuses on two slacker friends who come to the realization that every low budget Christian movie starring 90’s TV actors makes millions of dollars. They soon set out on a mission to make “A Prayer in Space”, the story of the first prayer ever to be prayed… in space.

Christoph Sanders, Carly Craig, Richard Riehle, Marlon Young, Danielle Nicolet, YouTube star Lisa Schwartz, Chris Marquette, and Danny Woodburn round out the cast.

Barnett, Masciale, Thomason, and Tim Kerigan produced the pic, which premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Leaping over walls, taking a punch, landing a kick, feeling the heat of an explosion, and sometimes holding dangerously sharp objects, these are the routine dangers stuntwomen face at the office. On September 22, 2020, Shout! Studios will unleash the highly anticipated documentary feature Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story on digital platforms everywhere for watch-at-home.

Directed by April Wright (Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace) and narrated by Michelle Rodriguez, Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story is the inspiring untold story about the unsung professionals, their struggles on screen to perform at the highest level, and their fight off-screen to be treated fairly and equally. The movie takes us behind-the-scenes and introduces us to the female stunt performers who drive the action and thrills of Hollywood's biggest blockbuster movies from the silent age of cinema to present day.

Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story, based on the best-selling book by Mollie Gregory,...

The onscreen exploits of stuntwomen, and their off-screen battles for fair and equal treatment, is explored in Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story, a new documentary from director April Wright for Shout! Studios that debuts September 22 on digital platforms.

Narrated by Fast & Furious franchise star Michelle Rodriquez and based on Mollie Gregory’s 2015 best-seller, the film chronicles the lives of women who perform the stunts in some of Hollywood’s biggest action sequences — from the early days of silent movies to today’s blockbusters. The producers are Stephanie Austin, Michael Gruskoff and Marion Rosenberg.

“These unheralded heroines are the generations of stuntwomen who risked their lives in front of the camera, while behind it they fought for equal rights with male stunt performers, battled sexism and harassment, sustained life-threatening injuries and returned to the fray after each battle,” the producing team said in a joint statement.

Ben Mankiewicz, film historian...

Ryan Bury to lead sales efforts in Berlin.

Jason Alexander comedy Faith Based produced by the people behind The Death Of Stalin is among five additions to the Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) sales roster on the eve of Efm.

Mpx senior vice-president of sales and acquisitions Ryan Bury will be in Berlin leading sales efforts.

Vincent Macsiale directed the story about two slacker friends (Luke Barnett and Tanner Thomason) who set out to produce a faith-based film. Alexander plays a seedy executive in the film, which premiered at Santa Barbara International Film Festival last month and is produced by Lone Suspect...

In today’s film news roundup, Woody Harrelson will star in a satire, Kaitlyn Dever will be honored, and the docs “Saul & Ruby’s Holocaust Survivor Band” and “Before the Plate” find distribution.

Castings

Woody Harrelson, Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean have signed to star in Ruben Östlund’s upcoming satire “Triangle Of Sadness.”

The movie, set against the world of fashion and the uber-rich, will start production in Sweden, on Feb. 19, marking the start of a 70 day shoot which will move to Greece and a yacht on the Adriatic. Östlund, who won the Cannes Palme d’Or with his 2017 comedy “The Square,” also wrote the film.

Producers are Erik Hemmendorff at Plattform Produktion and Philippe Bober at Coproduction Office. The film is Östlund’s first in the English language. The cast also includes Croatia’s Zlatko Buric, Germany’s Iris Berben and Sunnyi Melles, Sweden’s Henrik Dorsin, The Philippines’ Dolly De Leon,...

Roster includes Karen Allen drama Colewell, A Thousand Miles Behind.

James Andrew Felts’ Los Angeles-based Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) has added the food documentary Before The Plate to its Toronto sales slate alongside thriller Aftermath.

The film follows renowned chef John Horne as he reveals the source farm of every key ingredient from one of his entrée dishes at his Toronto restaurant Canoe.

Sagi Kahane-Rapport directed Before The Plate and Dylan Sher produced. Mpx will host a food tasting and trailer premiere event for a select group of distributors at Canoe during Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff).

Aftermath stars Ashley Greene...

Roster includes screen addiction documentary Screened Out, thriller Woodland.

James Andrew Felts has unveiled his inaugural sales slate since leaving Concourse Media to set up Los Angeles-based Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx), and arrives in Cannes with a features roster led by Big Gold Brick starring Andy Garcia and Oscar Isaac.

Emory Cohen, Megan Fox and Lucy Hale round out the key cast on the in-production drama about an aspiring writer hired to pen the the biography of an enigmatic father of two. Brian Petsos makes his feature directorial debut.

Petsos and Greg Lauritano are producing under Petsos’ A Saboteur label,...

Ryan Bury joins as senior vice-president, acquisitions and sales.

Heading into Cannes, Concourse Media co-founder James Andrew Felts has left the company to launch Los Angeles-based films sales company Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx).

Felts plans to announce initial titles imminently and will represent both Us and international sales rights on acquisitions, and support each title with a customised creative marketing and distribution strategy. The plan is for Mpx to deliver at every major market one cast-driven theatrical title, one new documentary, and a curated selection of completed independent films with strong marketing hooks.

“The business of feature film distribution is evolving rapidly,...

Distributor to partner with Munro Films on early 2019 theatrical release.

The UK’s Parkland Entertainment, the distribution arm of Parkland Pictures that launched last month, has struck a deal at Tiff with Los Angeles-based Concourse Film Trade for its first acquisition, taking rights to whisky documentary Scotch – A Golden Dream.

Parkland Entertainment will partner on an early 2019 theatrical release with Munro Films, with whom Parkland co-owner Tom Stewart worked while at Arrow Films, where he served as acquisitions director until his departure last June.

Andrew Peat directed Scotch – A Golden Dream, which tells of legendary distiller Jim McEwan, who began...

Distributor to partner with Munro Films on early 2019 theatrical release.

The UK’s Parkland Entertainment, the distribution arm of Parkland Pictures that launched last month, has struck a deal at Tiff with Los Angeles-based Concourse Film Trade for its first acquisition, taking rights to whisky documentary Scotch – A Golden Dream.

Parkland Entertainment will partner on an early 2019 theatrical release with Munro Films, with whom Parkland co-owner Tom Stewart worked while at Arrow Films, where he served as acquisitions director until his departure last June.

Andrew Peat directed Scotch – A Golden Dream, which tells of legendary distiller Jim McEwan, who began...

Scotch: A Golden Dream will screen to buyers at Afm.

Los Angeles-based Concourse Film Trade has hired Ryan Bury as director of global film sales and has introduced Tiff buyers to the whisky documentary Scotch: A Golden Dream.

Bury has been responsible for delivering theatrical marketing campaigns for Concourse and third-party clients through his ongoing role as a partner at Concourse’s in-house marketing firm, I&Co.

He is in Toronto where Concourse has been talking up Scotch: A Golden Dream, which outlines the scotch whisky industry and follows Jim McEwan, who started working at a whisky distillery at the...