News

Netflix has shared the official trailer and poster for the coming-of-age biblical epic Mary, which is coming to the streaming service on December 6, 2024.

In the movie, Mary is shunned following a miraculous conception and forced into hiding. When King Herod ignites a murderous pursuit for her newborn baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph go on the run – bound by faith and driven by courage – to save his life at all costs.

The film was directed by D.J. Caruso from a script by Timothy Michael Hayes. Filming took place in Morocco in early 2024.

The cast includes Noa Cohen, Ido Tako, Stephanie Nur, Susan Brown, Ori Pfeffer, Eamon Farren, Hilla Vidor, Mili Avital, Gudmundur Thorvaldsson, Dudley O’Shaughnessy, Keren Tzur, Mehmet Kurtulus, Mila Harris, and Anthony Hopkins.

Through Mary’s eyes, this coming-of-age biblical epic tells the story of one of history’s most profound figures and the remarkable journey that led to the birth of Jesus.

The inaugural Las Vegas edition of AFM next week will host 30 panels and presentations including ‘The Innovators’ fireside chats, and sessions looking at the success of Terrifier 3, maximising budgets through locations, and social impact.

The 45th edition running November 5-10 at Palms Casino Resort has scheduled AFM Sessions including one on developing stories with global appeal moderated by Screen editor-in-chief Matt Mueller and featuring panellists Matt Brodlie from Upgrade Productions, Katie Irwin from WME Independent, and Peter Van Steemburg from XYZ Films.

Panels will cover producing and financing films for social impact, elevating the horror genre, casting for low-budget films,...

Director David Zellner has credits going back to 1997, when he made his feature directorial debut with the comedy Plastic Utopia, working from a screenplay he wrote with his brother, visual effects artist Nathan Zellner. As of the 2018 Western Damsel, the Zellner Brothers became a directing duo, and in 2020 it was announced that they were going to be making an alien invasion comedy called Alpha Gang, with Andrea Riseborough, Jon Hamm, Nicholas Hoult, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Mackenzie Davis, Sofia Boutella, and Steven Yeun attached to star in the film. But Alpha Gang missed its 2021 production start date and the Zellner Brothers made Sasquatch Sunset instead. Now, Deadline reports that the Zellners are circling back to Alpha Gang, and the impressive cast they originally had lined up has been replaced by a different impressive bunch of actors: Cate Blanchett (Disclaimer), Channing Tatum (Deadpool & Wolverine), Dave Bautista (Knock at the Cabin), Zoë Kravitz (The...

Dave Bautista, Steven Yeun, Zoë Kravitz, Léa Seydoux, Riley Keough and Channing Tatum have joined the cast of ‘Alpha Gang’.

They join the previously announced casting of Cate Blanchett.

The film will centre on aliens sent on a mission to conquer Earth. Armed, dangerous and disguised in human form as an armed and dangerous 1950’s leather-clad biker gang they show no mercy — that is, of course, until they catch the human disease of emotion. Their plan for world domination is in danger of derailing once they start to feel joy, fear, empathy and love.

Also in news – Michael Cera & Emilia Jones join Edgar Wright’s adaptation of ‘The Running Man’

David and Nathan Zellner will direct and produce the feature which has been written by David.

The Zellner brothers previously directed ‘Sasquatch Sunset,’ the comedy starring Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough. They’re producing the project for ZBi, with Blanchett...

Channing Tatum, Dave Bautista, Steven Yeun, Zoë Kravitz, Léa Seydoux and Riley Keough will join Cate Blanchett for David and Nathan Zellner’s alien invasion comedy Alpha Gang,set to start shooting in spring 2025.

The sibling director duo’s follow-up to Sasquatch Sunset follows a group of alien invaders sent to conquer Earth.

Mk2 Films is handling international sales and CAA Media Finance represents North American rights.

Blanchett will play the indomitable leader of the crew disguised in human form as a 1950s leather-clad biker gang who are ruthless in their mission until they succumb to the most toxic and contagious human condition of all,...

Dave Bautista, Steven Yeun, Zoë Kravitz, Léa Seydoux, Riley Keough and Channing Tatum will join Cate Blanchett for David and Nathan Zellner’s alien invasion comedy Alpha Gang,set to start shooting in spring 2025.

The sibling director duo’s follow-up to Sasquatch Sunset follows a group of alien invaders sent to conquer Earth.

Mk2 Films is handling international sales and CAA Media Finance represents North American rights.

Blanchett will play the indomitable leader of the crew disguised in human form as a 1950s leather-clad biker gang who are ruthless in their mission until they succumb to the most toxic and contagious human condition of all,...

Dave Bautista, Steven Yeun, Zoë Kravitz, Léa Seydoux, Riley Keough and Channing Tatum have joined the cast of “Alpha Gang,” an alien invasion comedy by “Sasquatch Sunset” filmmakers David and Nathan Zellner.

“Alpha Gang,” which also stars Cate Blanchett, centers on a group of alien invaders sent to conquer Earth. “Disguised in human form as an armed and dangerous 1950’s leather-clad biker gang, they show no mercy… until they catch the most toxic, contagious human disease of all: emotion,” reads the synopsis.

MK2 Films is handling international sales for the project, while CAA Media Finance is repping North American distribution rights. The film is scheduled to shoot in Spring 2025.

Bautista is represented by CAA, Meisner Entertainment Group, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman. Tatum is represented by CAA, Relevant, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox. Keough is represented by CAA, Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman,...

The Zellner brothers’ anticipated alien invasion comedy Alpha Gang, starring and produced by Cate Blanchett, just got buzzier with the unveiling of her co-stars.

Dave Bautista, Steven Yeun, Zoë Kravitz, Léa Seydoux, Riley Keough, and Channing Tatum have been confirmed for the cast as the movie’s international sales agent mk2 films gears up to ramp up pre-sales at the AFM.

Alpha Gang centers on a group of alien invaders sent to conquer Earth. Disguised in human form as a 1950s leather-clad biker gang, dubbed the Alpha Gang. They are ruthless in their mission, until they succumb to the most toxic and contagious human condition of all: emotions. The movie follows the Zellner brothers’ Sundance hit Sasquatch Sunset.

“These stellar new recruits are a powerhouse of comedic talent, adding even more excitement to this eagerly awaited film. This cast, just like the story and its filmmakers, is out of this world.

The Alpha Gang just got a whole lot bigger.

A pack of A-listers, including Dave Bautista, Channing Tatum, Steven Yeun, Zoë Kravitz, Léa Seydoux, and Riley Keough are joining two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett in Alpha Gang, the new alien invasion comedy from the Zellner Brothers.

The film, set “in a heightened reality” follows a group of alien invaders who disguise themselves as a 1950s leather-clad biker gang on their mission to conquer Earth. But their ruthless plans are derailed when they encounter humanity’s most contagious condition: Emotions. Blanchett is set to star as the alien leader, Alpha One.

The project is one of the buzziest new titles being shopped to international buyers at next week’s American Film Market in Las Vegas. France’s mk2 Films is handling international sales on the title, with CAA Media Finance managing North American distribution rights. Mk2, who produced Oscar-winner Anatomy of a Fall,...

Netflix has released the first images of Mary, a biblical drama that will center on Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus Christ. Directed by C.J. Caruso and written by Timothy Michael Hayes, the upcoming Netflix movie explores Mary's life from a personal and spiritual perspective. It offers a nuanced look at Mary's journey, presenting a coming-of-age narrative set during the Nativity and the family's flight to Egypt from King Herod's persecution.

Now, Netflix has released the first images of their 2024 movie, Mary. the cast will feature Noa Cohen as Mary, Anthony Hopkins as King Herod, and Ido Tako as Joseph. The film also includes contributions from producers Mary Aloe and Hannah Leader, with Joshua Harris from PeachTree Media Partners bringing regional connections to the project. New images show a first look at Cohen's Mary and Hopkins' King Herod. Check out the images below:

What This Means for...

Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson’s buzzy satirical film “Rumours” is one step closer to theaters.

Cate Blanchett, Alicia Vikander, and Charles Dance star in the ensemble political film that centers on seven leaders of the world’s wealthiest democracies at the annual G7 summit, where they attempt to draft a provisional statement regarding a global crisis.

The official synopsis reads: “These so-called leaders become spectacles of incompetence, contending with increasingly surreal obstacles in the misty woods as night falls and they realize they are suddenly alone.”

Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson co-write and direct. The trio reunite after helming “The Forbidden Room” in 2015, with “Rumours” being billed as a combination of “comedy, apocalyptic horror, and swooning soap opera” per the logline.

Roy Dupuis, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Takehiro Hira, Denis Ménochet, Rolando Ravello, and Zlatko Buric also star.

“Rumours” premiered at Cannes and will go on to screen at TIFF and NYFF.

Exclusive: Hereditary and Midsommar director Ari Aster, an exec producer on upcoming Cannes ensemble comedy Rumours, has called the film “stoopid and hilarious and wonderful” as the production reveals an official first look.

Oscar winners Cate Blanchett and Alicia Vikander star with Roy Dupuis, Charles Dance, Denis Ménochet, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rolando Ravello, Takehiro Hira and Zlatko Burić star in the movie that follows seven leaders of the world’s wealthiest liberal democracies at the annual G7 summit after they become lost in the woods and face increasing peril while attempting to draft a provisional statement regarding a global crisis.

Some sites have been reporting the provisional statement is about the climate crisis, which we hear is inaccurate.

The intriguing official first image (above) shows Roy Dupuis as the Prime Minister of Canada and Alicia Vikander as the President of the European Commission. The other roles are being kept under wraps.

Cate Blanchett is taking on the U.N. by way of Hillary Clinton meets Margaret Thatcher garb in a first look at upcoming comedy “Rumours.”

The film is written and directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson, with Bleecker Street distributing. While no release date has been announced yet, the feature is expected to be released in 2024, and debuted first look footage as part of Bleecker Street’s 10-year anniversary reel.

Oscar winner Blanchett co-stars alongside fellow Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander, Roy Dupuis, Charles Dance, Denis Ménochet, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rolando Ravello, Takehiro Hira, and Zlatko Burić. “Rumours” follows the seven leaders of the world’s wealthiest liberal democracies at the annual G7 summit after they become lost in the woods and face increasing peril while attempting to draft a provisional statement regarding a global crisis.

Ari Aster executive produces through his and Lars Knudsen’s Square Peg production company,...

Exclusive: Filming has recently wrapped in Morocco on under-the-radar biblical thriller Mary, starring Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins as King Herod and emerging Israeli actress Noa Cohen as Mary.

In coming-of-age story Mary, the title character is shunned following the otherworldly conception of her child and forced into hiding. King Herod’s relentless drive to maintain power at any cost ignites the murderous pursuit of the newborn child that he believes is a threat to his reign on the throne. The film sees the young Mary and Joseph on the run and having to hide their baby, Jesus, at all costs.

The director is DJ Caruso (xXx: Return of Xander Cage), and the pic is produced by Mary Aloe, founder of Aloe Entertainment (Bruised), and Hannah Leader (Freud’s Last Session). Producing alongside were financiers Gillian Hormel (Bruised) of Ludascripts and Joshua Harris of PeachTree Media Partners (Not Without Hope).

Timothy Michael Hayes...

Exclusive: Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) has been set to star opposite Cate Blanchett in Rumours, a comedy from writer-directors Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson (The Green Fog), which Bleecker Street has snapped up for release in U.S. theaters this year.

The film follows the seven leaders of the world’s wealthiest liberal democracies at the annual G7 summit after they become lost in the woods and face increasing peril while attempting to draft a provisional statement regarding a global crisis.

Also featuring in a top role in the pic, which recently wrapped production in Hungary, is Genie Award winner Roy Dupuis (Shake Hands with the Devil). Additional cast includes Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Denis Ménochet (Inglourious Basterds), Nikki Amuka-Bird (Knock at the Cabin), Rolando Ravello (Perfect Strangers), Takehiro Hira (Gran Turismo), and Zlatko Burić (Triangle of Sadness).

Hailing from Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen’s Square Peg,...

Protagonist handles international sales.

Bleecker Street has acquired the ensemble comedy Rumours featuring Cate Blanchett, Alicia Vikander, and Roy Dupuis.

Canadian auteur Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson co-wrote and co-directed, recently wrapping production in Hungary.

Charles Dance, Denis Ménochet, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rolando Ravello, Takehiro Hira, and Zlatko Burić round out the cast on the story of the seven leaders of the world’s wealthiest liberal democracies at the annual G7 summit who become lost in the woods while attempting to draft a provisional statement regarding a global crisis.

Bleecker Street is planning a 2024 theatrical release after Kent Sanderson...

Exclusive: Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly and Oscar nominee David Strathairn are in final negotiations to join Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) and Boyd Holbrook (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) in Last Meals.

Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy) and Joshua Boone (A Jazzman’s Blues) are also joining the drama which begins filming in Atlanta on November 28 with a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement.

Tony-winner Kenny Leon (Fences) is newly aboard to direct.

Jackson will play Walter, a disgraced former White House chef who finds himself 30 years later cooking last meals for death row inmates, forming an unlikely bond with Reed, a prisoner on a hunger strike whose innocence Walter begins to believe in. With the help of Hannah (Reilly), the trio take on a politically motivated prison head (Strathairn), while bringing dignity and hope to their fellow inmates (Rossi among others). Boone will play young Walter.

Exclusive: Gillian Hormel, the American heiress to the Hormel Foods brand, has launched Partners in Kind, with author Shelly Tygielski, the founder of Pandemic of Love. Mary Aloe has been named Head of Feature Films. The intention is to use a $50 million equity fund to develop and invest in film and television projects over the next three years aimed at inspiring tangible acts of kindness and compassion.

Partners in Kind will produce, and finance projects focused on a variety of topics including women’s rights, the amplification of underserved voices, climate change and diversity. The team is actively seeking packaged films to finance, produce, executive produce and specialize in equity, mezzanine, and gap financing. Dorothy Toran will serve as the new company’s president.

Aloe is an industry veteran and independent filmmaker who has produced/financed forty-four films, and running several different film funds.

Of Partners in Kind, Aloe says,...

Exclusive: Jessica Alba (Sin City), Russell Harvard (Fargo), and Daniel Durant (Coda) are attached to star in sports feature film Flash Before the Bang, inspired by the true story of an all-deaf high school track and field team in 1980’s Oregon.

The film heralds from deaf writer-director Jevon Whetter, on whose experience the story is based. Oscar winners Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are exec producers along with Fanshen Cox in association with Trujulo Productions. Jessica Alba is also an exec producer.

Production is due begin in September in Georgia on the project, in which more than half of the characters in the ensemble cast will deaf and portrayed by deaf actors. Brothers Jevon and Delbert (producer) Whetter are from a multigenerational deaf family, while actors Harvard and Durant are also deaf.

The Exchange is introducing the title to international buyers at the Cannes Film Market this week with UTA Independent Film Group representing U.

Exclusive: Oscar nominee Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Movie Film), two-times Cesar Award nominee Jean Reno (Leon), Ty Simpkins (Jurassic World) and Connie Nielsen (Gladiator) are attached to star in action movie Birdseye, which The Exchange will be launching for international sales ahead of the Cannes market.

Inspired by the book Sexpionage: The Exploitation of Sex by Soviet Intelligence, the story will follow an impoverished young Russian woman drawn into Vladimir Putin’s crusade to re-fight the Cold War. She thrives as a high-level ‘swallow’ spy in Washington until her childhood love, now a merciless ‘raven’ assassin, is sent by Mother Russia to kill her. CAA Media Finance is repping domestic rights.

Pic is being produced by Aloe Entertainment’s founder Mary Aloe (Bruised), Gillian Hormel (Bruised), and Michael Jefferson (Land Of Bad). Executive producers are Jonathan Halperyn, Danny Kresmery, Hannah Leader, Tiffany FitzHenry and Sharon Paul. Screenplay comes from Aloe...

The Munich-based fund has also made awards to Christophe Gans’ ‘Return To Silent Hill’ and Marvel series ‘Ironheart’.

Justin Kurzel’s UK-Germany sci-fi thriller Morning, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Laura Dern, Noah Jupe and Naomi Ackie, is set to shoot in Germany after receiving €2m from Fff Bayern’s funding programme for international theatrical features and series.

The project is based on a screenplay by Screen Star of Tomorrow Sam Steiner and is produced by Cumberbatch and his partners Leah Clarke and Adam Ackland through their UK company SunnyMarch with Maximilian Leo and Jonas Katzenstein of Cologne-based augenschein Filmproduktion and actress-producer...

Fresh from her critically acclaimed lead performance in Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody and having filmed major roles in Bong Joon-ho’s much-anticipated Mickey 7 and Zoe Kravitz’s directorial debut Pussy Island last year, Naomi Ackie has landed another starry feature.

The Hollywood Reporter has learned that the British actress — also a 2023 BAFTA rising star nominee and BAFTA TV award winner back in 2020 — has joined the A-list cast of Morning, the upcoming sci-fi feature from Justin Kurzel (Snowtown, Macbeth, Assassin’s Creed). Announced last year, the film will also star Oscar and BAFTA winner Laura Dern (Marriage Story, Little Women, Big Little Lies) and Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place I & II, Honey Boy), with Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Imitation Game) appearing in a supporting role. Cumberbatch and Dern also exec produce.

Morning is described as a story about “human connection,...

Exclusive: Quiver Distribution has acquired North American rights to Nick Richey’s sophomore feature 1-800-hot-nite, slating it for release November 4.

The coming-of-age drama written and directed by Richey centers on Tommy (Dallas Dupree Young), whose world is turned upside down from the moment police break down his door and arrest his father. Faced with a parentless future, Tommy escapes child protective services’ custody with his best friends Steve (Mylen Bradford) and O’Neill (Gerrison Machado) into the L.A. streets—packed with men trying to rob them, cops chasing them, a python, a fist fight, a first kiss and phone sex. Throughout it all, Tommy keeps calling an 800 number, as he feels the woman on the line (Ali Richey) is the only adult he can confide in. By the end of the night, the boys’ brotherhood breaks down as they cross the threshold into adulthood.

The adventure pic had...

Exclusive: We hear that Nick Cassavetes is set to co-write Couture with Sean Glover, a contemporary drama set in the world of high fashion which The Notebook filmmaker is in early negotiations to direct.

Couture follows an iconic fashion designer whose empire must take a back seat to her daughter’s mental illness. We understand that the feature will bring to light the toll schizophrenia takes on teenagers and loved ones.

Glover will produce and Mary Aloe will executive produce on behalf of Aloe Entertainment. Eric Kim, Ashok Reddy, Patrick Longworth and Carlos J. Ramsey are executive producing on behalf of 33 Degree Films. Aloe Entertainment’s 2021 slate of films includes Netflix’s Worth starring Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci, which dropped on the service today, and Bruised directed by and starring Halle Berry, the latter having made its world premiere at TIFF last year.

Glover said about Couture: “For...

Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to Last Night in Rozzie, a Boston-set drama starring Neil Brown Jr, Nicky Whelan, Jeremy Sisto and Kevin Chapman. Sean Gannet directed the pic, which will now get a day-and-date release beginning September 17.

Written by Ryan McDonough, the plot centers on New York lawyer Ronnie Russo (Brown) who becomes entangled in a complicated web of conflicting loyalties when summoned to his Boston hometown by a dying childhood friend (Sisto). Sent on a mission to fulfill his friend’s final wish – a reunion with his estranged son – Russo is forced to confront his past and a secret childhood trauma he’s kept hidden for more than 25 years.

Joseph Stephans, McDonough, Gannet, Kris Meyer, and Andrew Cahill are producers, and Tim O’Keeffe and Jennifer and Gregory Ezring executive produced. The deal was negotiated by Gravitas’ Sales & Acquisitions Manager David Sullivan and Circus Road Films’ Glen Reynolds.

Exclusive: Ahead of the Cannes virtual market, 13 Films has boarded sales on completed thriller-horror Karen, starring Taryn Manning (Orange Is The New Black), Cory Hardrict (American Sniper), Jasmine Burke (Saints & Sinners), Roger Dorman and Gregory Alan Williams.

Coke Daniels directs the feature about Karen Drexler (Manning), a racist white woman who makes it her personal mission to displace the new Black family that has just moved in next door to her. Community activist Malik (Hardrict) and his wife Imani (Burke) are the couple who have just moved to the Atlanta suburb, but they won’t be backing down without a fight.

Producers are Mary Aloe (Bruised) and Craig Chapman (Honest Thief) along with Gillian Hormel, Autumn Bailey-Ford, Manning and Hardrict. Executive producers are Vanzil and Victor Burke and Anik Decoste.

Also producing are Daniel’s Flixville USA and Aloe’s Aloe Entertainment in association with Hormel’s Ludascripts,...

Saban Films has acquired North American rights to director April Mullens’ conspiracy thriller “Wander” starring Aaron Eckhart and Tommy Lee Jones.

In the already finished film, Eckhart plays an unstable private detective hired to investigate a suspicious death in a small town named Wander who begins to find connections to the death of his daughter in an elaborate conspiracy. The cast also includes Katheryn Winnick (“Vikings”) and Heather Graham.

Tim Doiron wrote the script. Producers include Mullen, Doiron, Vmi Worldwide’s Andre Relis, Verdi Productions’ Chad A. Verdi, Don Kee Productions’ Jason Allison, Aloe Entertainment’s Mary Aloe, Falconer Picture’s Douglas Falconer and James van der Woerd.

Executive producers are Vmi Worldwide’s J.D. Beaufils, Verdi Productions’ Michelle Verdi and Chad A. Verdi Jr., Don Kee Productions’ Michael S. Smith and Franchesca Lantz, Tamer Abaza, Jeffrey Bohn, Angie Pack, Charles Saikaley, Siren Studios’ Craig Chapman, Roger Dorman, Circle 4 Entertainment’s Adam Falkoff,...

Exclusive: Saban Films has acquired North American rights to conspiracy thriller Wander starring Aaron Eckhart (Midway), Katheryn Winnick (Vikings), Heather Graham (Desperados) and Oscar-winner winner Tommy Lee Jones (No Country For Old Men).

The completed film follows Arthur Bretnik (Eckhart), a mentally unstable private investigator who, after being hired to probe a suspicious death in the town of Wander, becomes convinced the case is linked to the same ‘conspiracy cover up’ that caused the death of his daughter.

April Mullen (Below Her Mouth) directed the feature from a script by Tim Doiron (88). Mullen and Doiron also produced with Vmi Worldwide’s Andre Relis, Verdi Productions’ Chad A. Verdi, Don Kee Productions’ Jason Allison, Aloe Entertainment’s Mary Aloe, Falconer Picture’s Douglas Falconer and James Van Der Woerd.

Bill Bromiley negotiated the deal for Saban Films with Steve Break along with Vmi Worldwide’s J.D. Beaufils.

Executive producers are Vmi Worldwide’s J.

Cast is rounding out on counterfeiting comedy Queenpins ahead of a planned shoot in Los Angeles later this year, with Vince Vaughn and Paul Walter Hauser joining Leslie Jones and Kristen Bell in the pic.

Emmy-nominated husband and wife team Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly (Beneath The Harvest Sky) are writing and directing the movie, which is inspired by the true story of the largest coupon counterfeit in the history of the U.S.. When two suburban housewives stumble upon a way to make a little money with fake coupons, they soon find themselves in over their heads as their scheme grows to a $40M criminal venture.

Independent financier Align has joined AGC Studios, Aloe Entertainment, and Marquee Entertainment to provide financing and co-produce the project. AGC’s Head of Production Linda McDonough is producing via her Marquee Entertainment banner alongside Adrian Politowski and Martin Metz of Align, AGC, in...

Vince Vaughn and Paul Walter Hauser have been cast alongside Kristen Bell and Leslie Jones in the caper comedy “Queenpins.”

Independent financier Align has joined AGC Studios, Aloe Entertainment and Marquee Entertainment to provide financing and co-produce. Pre-production will begin in late summer in Los Angeles.

“Queenpins” is written and will be directed by husband-wife team Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly (“Beneath The Harvest Sky”) from their own script. It’s inspired by the true story of the largest counterfeit coupon caper in the history of the U.S.

Bell and Jones will play suburban housewives and best friends stumbling upon a way to counterfeit coupons and make a little money — but they’re soon in over their heads as their scheme becomes more dangerous, growing into a $40 million criminal adventure.

AGC’s Head of Production Linda McDonough is producing via her Marquee Entertainment banner alongside Adrian Politowski and Martin Metz...

Rocket Science to handle international sales.

Independent financier Align has joined AGC Studios, Aloe Entertainment, and Marquee Entertainment to provide financing and co-produce high-stakes comedy caper Queenpins as Vince Vaughn and Paul Walter Hauser join the cast.

Pre-production has been scheduled to start in Los Angeles in late summer on the project starring previously announced Kristen Bell and Leslie Jones. Rocket Science handles international sales.

Husband-and-wife team Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly will direct from their screenplay inspired by the true story of the largest counterfeit coupon caper in Us history.

Bell and Jones will play suburban housewives and best...

Screen Media handles international sales on John Suits’ film about a crew on a spaceship who battle an evil force.

Saban Films has snapped up North American rights from producer Danny Roth to the Bruce Willis sci-fi Breach.

Screen Media handles international sales on John Suits’ film about a crew on a spaceship who battle an evil force.

Roth produced through Almost Never Films with Corey Large and Edward Drake.

Executive producers include Danny H Chan of Almost Never, Mike Donovan, Ryan Charles Griffin, and Mary Aloe and Roger Dorman for Aloe Entertainment, Carlos Velazquez, Benjamin Krause, Stephen Eads, Johnny Messner...

Exclusive: Screen Media has boarded international sales rights to under-the-radar sci-fi thriller Anti Life, starring Bruce Willis, Cody Kearsley (Riverdale), Thomas Jane (The Predator) and Rachel Nichols (Titans). Film Mode Entertainment will continue to work with Screen Media as its sales agent and will co-rep sales at the American Film Market in Santa Monica next week.

Anti-Life, which wrapped shoot last week, follows a young stowaway (Kearsley) aboard an interstellar ark to New Earth. With the help of a seasoned crewmate (Willis), he must outwit a malevolent cosmic terror intent on using the spaceship as a weapon.

Pic was written by Edward Drake (True Detective) and Corey Large (November Man), and is produced by Large and Danny Roth (The Hurricane Heist). Suits’ previous films include upcoming 3022, starring Kate Walsh and Omar Epps, and Pandemic.

Daniel Calvo at Aldea VFX is overseeing special effects. Calvo’s credits include work on On The Milky Road,...

Exclusive: Tommy Lee Jones has joined Katheryn Winnick, Aaron Eckhart and Heather Graham in April Mullen’s conspiracy thriller Wander.

The Men In Black actor, who won an best supporting Oscar for his role in The Fugitive, will play eccentric conspiracy theorist Jimmy Cleats in the feature, which was written by Tim Doiron.

Wander follows Arthur Bretnik (Eckhart), a mentally unstable private investigator, who, after being hired to probe a suspicious death in the town of Wander, becomes convinced the case is linked to the same ‘conspiracy cover up’ that caused the death of his daughter. Graham is set to play Shelley Luscomb, an attorney and close friend of Arthur. Shelley has known Arthur long before his world unraveled and acts a voice of reason in his life. Jones’ Cleats is confidant to Eckhart’s Bretnik. Winnick plays Elsa Viceroy, a mysterious authority figure who catches Bretnik’s attention as the investigation deepens.

Exclusive: Breaking Bad’s Raymond Cruz and Roswell’s Brendan Fehr have joined Heather Graham, Aaron Eckhart and Katheryn Winnick in the April Mullen-directed conspiracy thriller Wander.

Written by Tim Doiron, Wander follows Arthur Bretnik (Eckhart), a mentally unstable private investigator, who, after being hired to probe a suspicious death in the town of Wander, becomes convinced the case is linked to the same ‘conspiracy cover up’ that caused the death of his daughter. Graham is set to play Shelley Luscomb, an attorney and close friend of Arthur. Shelley has known Arthur long before his world unraveled and acts a voice of reason in his life.

Cruz, who played drug lord Tuco Salamanca in the AMC series and recently starred in Warner Bros’ The Curse of La Llorna, plays Sheriff Luis Santiago, a character whose hardness and decisiveness has recently made way for philosophical musings. Meanwhile Fehr, who played Michael Guerin in the WB series,...

Exclusive: Heather Graham is joining Aaron Eckhart and Katheryn Winnick in the April Mullen-directed conspiracy thriller, Wander.

Written by Tim Doiron, Wander follows Arthur Bretnik (Eckhart), a mentally unstable private investigator, who, after being hired to probe a suspicious death in the town of Wander, becomes convinced the case is linked to the same ‘conspiracy cover up’ that caused the death of his daughter. Graham is set to play Shelley Luscomb, an attorney and close friend of Arthur. Shelley has known Arthur long before his world unraveled and acts a voice of reason in his life.

Graham’s film credits include Boogie Nights, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and others. Her TV credits include Get Shorty, Law & Order: True Crime, Angie Tribeca and Flaked. She is currently set to executive produce and star in the ABC drama pilot The Hypnotist’s Love Story along with Jane Seymour, Adan Canto and Juliet Rylance.

Production in New Mexico set for July.

Vikings star Katheryn Winnick has joined Aaron Eckhart on Vmi Worldwide’s conspiracy thriller Wander, which marks April Mullen’s follow-up to female gaze romance Below Her Mouth.

Production is set to kick off in New Mexico in July. Eckhart plays Arthur Bretnik, a mentally unstable private investigator convinced there is a link between a suspicious death case and the cover-up that caused the death of his daughter.

Winnick will portray Elsa Viceroy, a mysterious authority figure who catches Arthur’s attention as the investigation deepens. Mullen and her Wango Films partner Tim Doiron wrote the screenplay.

Exclusive: The Sara Colangelo-directed What Is Life Worth has commenced principal photography in New York with new additions to the ensemble cast. As Deadline has previously reported, Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci star in the true-life biographical drama. Newly boarding are Oscar nominee Amy Ryan, Talia Balsam and Tate Donovan.

The Black List script from Max Borenstein is based on Kenneth Feinberg’s memoir. Feinberg, a powerful DC insider lawyer, was put in charge of the 9/11 Fund. In almost three years of pro bono work on the case, he fought off the cynicism, bureaucracy and politics associated with administering government funds to victims’ families — and in doing so, discovered what life is worth.

Ryan, who was last seen in Beautiful Boy and has Late Night coming in June, is repped by Gersh. Divorce and Mad Men‘s Balsam, and Donovan are also repped by Gersh. Laura Benanti,...

Principal photography is scheduled to start in Alabama this summer.

Guy Pearce will star as a small-town marshal in the action thriller Disturbing The Peace, which Voltage Pictures is introducing to buyers in Cannes.

Principal photography is scheduled to start in Alabama this summer on the story of a law officer and former Texas Ranger haunted by a tragic shooting who must pick up a gun again when a biker gang invades his small town. Kelly Greyson co-stars.

York Shackleton directs from an original script by Chuck Hustmyre. Daniel Grodnik and Mary Aloe are producing for Grodnik/Aloe Productions along with Cindy Bond and Simon Swart.

Exclusive: Fortitude boards satirical comedy starring Michael Caine, Odeya Rush, Katie Holmes, Jason Biggs and Seth Green.

Heading into the Santa Monica market, Us sales, production and financing company Fortitude International has boarded satiricial comedy Coup D’Etat, starring Michael Caine, Odeya Rush, Katie Holmes, Jason Biggs and seth Green.

Coup D’Etat has wrapped principal photography in Savannah, Georgia, and is directed by Lisa Addario and Joe Syracuse.

The story centres on an overthrown British-Caribbean dictator who seeks refuge with a teenage girl and her single mother in suburban America and teaches the youngster to start a revolution in her high school.

Addario and Syracuse wrote the Black List screenplay and their writing credits include Parental Guidance and Netflix comedy Divanation, which they co-wrote.

Defiant Pictures’ Lucas Jarach and Nicolas Veinberg are producing alongside Fortitude’s Robert Ogden Barnum and Nadine de Barros.

Coastal Film Studios in Savannah provided partial financing. Principals Jake Shapiro, Daniel Grodnik and Mary Aloe also served as producers, in association with Wysj Media, Hindsight Media and Altus Media, which also financed.

UTA Independent Film Group and ICM Partners represent Us rights.

Fortitude will continue sales on sci-fi thriller Android starring Aaron Paul and Olga Kurylenko, which will start shooting at Infinite Studios Singapore early next year.

Exclusive: Brian O’Shea and his team will commence talks on the true-life drama starring Mickey Rourke.

Janel Parrish also stars in the story of Pardeep Singh Nagra, an aspiring Sikh boxer who fights back after he is banned from the sport for refusing to shave his beard.

However things are not that clear-cut. While he has the support of his head coach and mentor, the man receives a barrage of threats.

Alister Grierson directs from a screenplay by Michael Pugliese and Prem Singh.

R3M Productions presents Tiger, which is produced by Mary Aloe of Aloe Entertainment, Daniel Grodnik of Mass Hysteria Entertainment, and Rocco Pugliese of R3M Productions.

Principal photography has begun in Cincinnati on the drama from R3M Productions in association with Grodnik / Aloe Productions.

Rourke has joined the cast alongside Janel Parrish from Pretty Little Liars and newcomer Prem Singh in the title role.

Tiger is inspired by the true story of Pardeep Nagra, a Sikh who was barred from the sport of boxing because he refused to shave his beard and fought back in pursuit of his dream.

Beards are not allowed in boxing for fear they may scratch the eye of an opponent.

Alister Grierson directs from a screenplay by Michael Pugliese and Singh. Mary Aloe of Aloe Entertainment produces with Daniel Grodnik of Mass Hysteria Entertainment.

Executive producers are Rocco Pugliese, Daniel Hansen, Matte Hansen,  Daniel Grillo and Robert Kwartler.

R3M Productions co-finances the drama with Omnia Entertainment and Starruner Entertainment.

Director Alister Grierson acknowledges ABC1 has given his film Parer.s War a tough time-slot next Sunday night, programmed against the finale of Downton Abbey on Seven and the Logie Awards on Nine.

So he.s keen to bang the promotional drum for the dramatised saga of WWII cameraman Damien Parer, whose work almost cost him the woman he loved.

.It.s a very romantic movie, a nice change from my movies which usually show people getting blown up,. said Grierson, whose first feature was Kokoda, the story of Australian soldiers stranded in the Papua New Guinea jungle in 1942, which screens on SBS1 on Saturday night.

The director credits the ABC with giving him, producer Andrew Wiseman, screenwriter Alison Nisselle and DoP Mark Wareham a lot of creative freedom on the $4.5 million production, a generous budget for a telemovie. Matt Le Nevez plays Parer with Adelaide Clemens as the woman he loved,...

An Australian director is to helm a new project about the mother of Jesus, with a Texan pastor as executive producer and a marketing campaign targeting Christians.

Announced at Cannes Film Festival, Mary Mother of Christ will be directed by Sanctum and Kokoda’s Alister Grierson.

The film marks Grierson’s first non-Australian story, working from a script by Barbara Nicolosi and Benedict Fitzgerald who co-wrote the screenplay to Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.

The film will have a faith-based marketing campaign in the Us, according to Deadline, lead by Motive Entertainment who specialise in the faith market.

Motive were behind the marketing campaign of The Passion of the Christ which earned $125m in its opening five days and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe which grossed $1bn worldwide.

That marketing will also make use of Ep and pastor of the Lakewood Church in Houston Texas,...

Sanctum director Alister Grierson will helm Mary Mother Of Christ, which its backers are calling the Biblical prequel to the story of The Passion Of The Christ, perhaps because this film’s scribe, Benedict Fitzgerald, co-wrote the other movie with Mel Gibson. Fitzgerald wrote this one with Barbara Nicolosi. Israeli actress Odeya Rush will play Mary. Julia Ormond, and Peter O’Toole are also in the cast. Lionsgate will distribute the film in North America with Hyde Park handling international sales at Cannes. Texas pastor Joel Osteen signed on the be exec producer. Mary Aloe of Aloe Entertainment and Shawn Williamson of Bright Light Pictures are producing. Motive Entertainment, which helped sell faith-based pics The Passion Of The Christ and The Chronicles Of Narnia, will provide the same service here. Pic is Mary’s attempt to defy King Herod to save her child. Grierson is repped at CAA, Rush is repped at Wme,...

President Barack Obama's late mother is getting her own documentary. Aloe Entertainment is working on a new project that will center on the U.S. leader's biggest life influence.

Titled "Stanley Ann Dunham: A Most Generous Spirit," the documentary will follow Dunham as she raises her son in Indonesia and Hawaii while working on Third World microfinance.

Charles Burnett will direct, while Carolyn Schroeder and Greg Ptacek will produce. Aloe Entertainment's Mary Aloe is exec producing, Variety said.

Dunham was an anthropologist who specialized in economic anthropology and rural development. She met Obama's father, Barack Obama, Sr., while attending a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii. They married in 1961 and divorced in 1964. She married for the second time with Lolo Soetoro. They had a daughter, Maya in 1970.

Oh boy, the crazy right-wing is going to love this. According to THR, independent production companies Aloe Entertainment, Img and Schroeder-Ptacek are working on a biopic about Stanley Ann Dunham, Barack Obama's mother who raised him as a single parent. Apparently she was a lot more than just a hard-working single mom who, depending on who you asked, raised an inspiring political figure or a devious socialist. She was one of the first people to work in Third World microfinance, the notion of providing small loans to businesspeople in countries like India-- Muhammad Yunus, founder of the microfinance organization Grameen Bank, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Mary Aloe, who will executive produce the film, told THR "She gave a lot of the backbone to our current president and his compassion to the people. With these small-scale economies, she took a concept that was emerging just as women were...

Aloe Entertainment has announced that it has hired director Charles Burnett to make a feature-length documentary about Barack Obama's mother. Entitled "Stanley Ann Dunham: A Most Generous Spirit," the new movie will show how Dunham raised a young Obama in Indonesia and Hawaii as well as her pioneering work in the field of Third World microfinance, which assists small entrepreneurs, mostly women, in developing countries. "She gave a lot of the backbone to our current president and his compassion to the people," said producer Mary Aloe. "With these small-scale economies, she took a concept that was emerging just as women were getting their rights and got them to think outside the box. She is a fascinating woman, and she was ahead of her time." The project will begin shooting early next year in Indonesia, Hawaii and Washington. The production is in talks to secure Obama's involvement.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barack Obama's mother is going to be the subject of an upcoming documentary. Stanley Ann Dunham: A Most Generous Spirit will focus on both her raising Obama in Indonesia and Hawaii and her contributions to female entrepreneurs in Third World countries.

Mary Aloe of Aloe Entertainment, who is executive producing the project, spoke briefly about Dunham.

She gave a lot of the backbone to our current president and his compassion to the people. With these small-scale economies, she took a concept that was emerging just as women were getting their rights and got them to think outside the box. She is a fascinating woman, and she was ahead of her time.

The movie will be directed by noted African-American filmmaker Charles Burnett, a veteran known for his focus on everyday life in Black America. His 1977 feature Killer of Sheep depicted urban life in Los...

While President Barack Obama is busy fending off America's lunatic fringe at the moment over questions of health-care reform and the location of his birth certificate, documentary fans will be hoping he finds a few minutes to get involved in a planned film called Stanley Ann Dunham: A Most Generous Spirit. Why should the world's most powerful man sign up to it? Well, because it's about his mum.Yes, the late Stanley Ann Dunham was the Hawaiian woman who raised the President and, according to executive producer Mary Aloe, "gave a lot of the backbone to our current president and his compassion to the people". She raised Obama in Hawaii and Indonesia, and found time to do pioneering work in Third World microfinancing of small business entrepreneurs, usually women, who want to help their communities become self-sufficient.Charles Burnett, who recently directed Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation but is perhaps...