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Exclusive: Matt Cornett (Summer of 69), Ramon Reed (Incoming), and Chris Klein (Fear Street: Prom Queen) are about to wrap on the North Carolina shoot for Bad Counselors, a new indie from director Chris Dowling (Where Hope Grows).

The project is described as a fish-out-of-water comedy that follows two hard-partying fraternity brothers who pose as middle school camp counselors to work off community service and salvage their senior year. Written by Dexter Masland, Ryan Gunnarson, and Taylor Grabowsky, the film also stars Missi Pyle (Captain Fantastic), Brec Bassinger (Final Destination: Bloodlines), McKaley Miller (Dexter: Resurrection), Nathan Gamble (The Dark Knight), Ja’Marion Kennedy and Markiel Cockrell.

Loam Entertainment is fully financing the pic and producing alongside Zero Gravity and Narrow Gate Entertainment. Producers include Loam Entertainment CEO Robert Crotty, director of development Kristopher Galuska, and Chris Fenton, alongside Houston Bradley for Zero Gravity, Chris Roark for Narrow Gate, and Dowling. Thomas Evans...

Don’t be surprised if the finale of “Acidman” doesn’t summon the cathartic feelings suggested by its premise, wherein an eccentric recluse and his estranged daughter try to heal their familial fracture. Director Alex Lehmann shrewdly chooses not to construct his strife-filled scenarios this way. Rather, those emotions tend to hit later, unfolding long after the credits roll. The film’s poignancy lies in the way these characters authentically grow from their jagged-edged conflicts, enlightening each other on their issues while bridging their cavernous divide. Though not without its flaws, this resonant, resourceful indie drama leaves a gentle imprint on audiences’ souls.

Thirtysomething Maggie (Dianna Agron) is clearly carrying a lot of baggage, both emotional and physical, when she arrives at her father Lloyd’s (Thomas Haden Church) decrepit trailer deep in the Pacific Northwest. She’s traveled thousands of miles to reunite with him, though she’s unsure...

Watch the trailer for Acidman, Alex Lehmann‘s most recent directorial effort. Co-written by Lehmann and Chris Dowling, the film was produced in part by Liz Cardenas, who won the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Award for producing the Duplass Brothers’ 7 Days. This year, she was nominated for the Independent Spirit Producers Award. The film stars Dianna Agron as Maggie, a woman who decides to track down her long-estranged father Lloyd (Thomas Hayden Church), a recluse who’s been given the nickname “Acidman” by locals. Part of their reunion entails attempting to make contact with UFOs, a search that reveals difficult truths about Lloyd’s […]

The post Trailer Watch: Alex Lehmann’s Acidman first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Watch the trailer for Acidman, Alex Lehmann‘s most recent directorial effort. Co-written by Lehmann and Chris Dowling, the film was produced in part by Liz Cardenas, who won the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Award for producing the Duplass Brothers’ 7 Days. This year, she was nominated for the Independent Spirit Producers Award. The film stars Dianna Agron as Maggie, a woman who decides to track down her long-estranged father Lloyd (Thomas Hayden Church), a recluse who’s been given the nickname “Acidman” by locals. Part of their reunion entails attempting to make contact with UFOs, a search that reveals difficult truths about Lloyd’s […]

The post Trailer Watch: Alex Lehmann’s Acidman first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Exclusive: Neal McDonough (Yellowstone), Sean Astin (Stranger Things) and Rose Reid (Finding You) will join Kristoffer Polaha, John Billingsley, Jason Marsden, Nolan North, Emily Rose and more in the sci-fi thriller The Shift, which has entered production in Birmingham, Al.

The film written and directed by Brock Heasley marks the first original theatrical effort from Angel Studios, the studio behind the crowdfunded streaming series The Chosen. Plot details are under wraps. But Liz Tabish, Paras Patel and Jordan Walker Ross will also feature in the cast of the pic from Ken Carpenter’s Nook Lane Entertainment.

McDonough is repped by Luber Roklin Entertainment and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Astin by Luber Roklin, Stewart Talent and Brecheen Feldman Breimer; and Reid by Innovative Artists and attorney Jared Bloch.

Thomas Haden Church and Dianna Agron in Acidman

Exclusive: Brainstorm Media has acquired U.S. rights to the sci-fi drama Acidman, starring Dianna Agron...

Acidman Tribeca Festival Spotlight Narrative Section Reviewed for Shockya.com by Abe Friedtanzer Director: Alex Lehmann Writer: Alex Lehmann, Chris Dowling Cast: Thomas Haden Church, Dianna Agron, Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris Screened at: Sva Theater, NYC, 4/10/22 Opens: June 10th, 2022 The inclination to believe in extraterrestrial life makes a good degree of sense even if there isn’t […]

The post Tribeca 2022: Acidman Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Thomas Haden Church is one of cinema’s most underrated actors. His gruff, baritone voice and rugged mien shot him to stardom in “Tombstone” and catapulted him to critical acclaim in “Sideways.” In between turns in the Tobey Maguire-led “Spider-Man” franchise, he has settled in as a dependable character actor. And yet, these workmanlike performances only make one long for the day when the veteran character actor can land meatier lead roles. Well, look no further than Alex Lehmann’s subdued, contemplative follow-up to “Paddleton,” a two-hander making its world premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival — “Acidman.”

In the film, Dianna Agron stars as Maggie, the beleaguered daughter of Church’s character. Maggie lost touch with her father years ago following a mysterious falling out. What is more peculiar is why, after all this time, she’s decided to track him down by traveling over 2,000 miles toward...

Exclusive: Anne Heche (13 Minutes), Dermot Mulroney (Umma) and McKaley Miller (Ma) will topline Full Ride, an upcoming horror-thriller from directors Jerren Lauder (The Inhabitant) and Beth Hanna (The Reappearance), which has wrapped production in Georgia. Quiver Distribution holds worldwide rights and is planning an early 2023 release.

The film centers on the straight-edge Eden (Miller), who after being waitlisted at Yale, attends a coveted ‘Heaven and Hell’ party, in the hopes of receiving a letter of recommendation from the wealthy parents of her well-connected classmate. But things aren’t what they seem and the party quickly turns into a fight for her life.

Joshua Russell, Kevin Greene, Seth Ingram, Michael Dunaway, Mark Goldberg and Gerald T. Olson are producing Full Ride. Quiver Co-Presidents Berry Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman exec producing alongside Larry Greenberg.

“Full Ride is a chilling critique of the politics surrounding college admissions while simultaneously providing plenty of suspense,...

Many a chef will tell you that fish and cheese don’t go together, but “Blue Miracle” says otherwise. Based on the true, headline-making story of an amateur Mexican team who won the world’s richest fishing tournament in 2014, Julio Quintana’s likable family film misses nary a cornball trick in Hollywood’s underdog-drama playbook, and just about pulls it off.

Viewers can see precisely where Quintana and co-writer Chris Dowling have embellished the saga of Cabo orphanage proprietor Omar Venegas, who led a handful of his teenage wards to that unlikely victory: “Blue Miracle” is awash with eleventh-hour peril and contrivance, reducing characters to stock figures to make plain sailing of its crowd-pleasing narrative. Audiences are unlikely to mind as they discover the film on Netflix: It’s a processed fish stick rather than a blue marlin steak, but it fills you up just the same.

That “Blue Miracle...

Netflix has acquired “Blue Miracle,” the Dennis Quaid film formerly known as “On the Line.”

Based on a true story, “Blue Miracle” centers on Casa Hogar, a Mexican orphanage that was struggling to survive after Hurricane Odile hit in 2014. On the brink of bankruptcy, the residents enter the world’s biggest fishing tournament in hopes of winning the prize money to save their home.

Along with Quaid, the cast includes Raymond Cruz, Anthony Gonzalez, Jimmy Gonzales, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Fernanda Urrejola and Bruce McGill.

The streaming service has not set a release date yet.

Julio Quintana, whose credits include the 2016 Martin Sheen drama “The Vessel,” directed the film. He also co-wrote the script with Chris Dowling.

Producers were Javier Chapa for Mucho Mas Media, Darren Moorman for Reserve Entertainment, Chris George for Redwood Ranch Productions, Ben Howard for Third Coast Content and Trey Reynolds for Provident Films. Provident Films co-financed the film with Endeavor Content.

Exclusive: Cameras are rolling for On the Line, a feature drama based on the true story of Mexican orphanage Casa Hogar, which struggled to survive after Hurricane Odile hit in 2014.

Joining Julio Quintana’s (The Vessel) feature are Fernanda Urrejola (Narcos: Mexico), Isaac Arellanes (AppleTV+’s Ghostwriter), Nathan Arenas (Disney’s Bunk’d), Miguel Garcia and Steve Gutierrez (Netflix’s Gentefied).

Previously announced were Anthony Gonzalez, Jimmy Gonzales, Raymond Cruz and Dennis Quaid.

Also joining as co-financier along with Endeavor Content and faith-oriented producer-distributor Third Coast Content is Provident Films, the faith and family specialist which last year helped release the breakout hit I Can Only Imagine.

Set in Baja, Mexico, the film follows an orphanage teetering on the edge of foreclosure. Caretaker Omar Venegas has devoted his life to raising the young boys with integrity, but a massive storm blows through, threatening to close their home for good. The boys...

Run The Race, Full Count, The Other Side Of Heaven 2: Fire Of Faith on Grace Films label.

Los Angeles-based Premiere Entertainment Group (Peg) has boarded international rights to a trio of faith-based films led by Run The Race and will shop the titles here under its Grace Films label.

Tanner Stine and Evan Hofer star in Run The Race, a drama set against the backdrop of high school sports where two brothers from a small Southern town must reconcile their opposing worldviews when one of them gets an opportunity to play American Football at the University of Florida.

Roadside...

“Run the Race,” a faith-based film which has former NFL quarterback and outspoken Christian Tim Tebow attached as executive producer, scored an impressive box office debut on an otherwise quiet Oscar weekend.

Released by Roadside Attractions on 853 screens, “Run the Race” grossed $2.27 million for a per-screen average of $2,664 and the No. 10 spot on the box office charts.

For comparison, the last faith-based film that opened with a similar screen count was Pure Flix’s “Indivisible,” which opened to $1.5 million from 830 screens last October with a PSA of $1,811.

Also Read: 'How to Train Your Dragon 3' Roars to Year's Best Opening With $55 Million

Directed and co-written by Chris Dowling, “Run the Race” follows two orphaned teen brothers trying to find a better life after their mother’s death and father’s abandonment. When one of the brothers sees his hopes for a football scholarship dashed after a terrible injury, the other...

Specialty audiences must be concentrating on Oscar-watching prep. New releases did not have any breakouts, while holdovers had mixed results. The best per-theater average specialty debut goes to Oscilloscope’s Wrestle, which had an exclusive New York bow for $7,100. Incidentally, the company’s second weekend holdover, Catvideofest 2019, ranked up there in a slow Awards weekend, grossing $12,250 in two theaters for a $6,125 PTA.

The widest specialty debut this weekend is Roadside Attractions’ faith-family drama Run The Race, which had the weekend’s highest gross at over $2.27M. The title by Chris Dowling averaged $2,664. Bollywood comedy Total Dhamaal from Fip played 202 North American theaters, taking in $835,000 for a $4,135 PTA. And The Iron Orchard by newcomer Ty Roberts skirted the New York/L.A. template, opting to open closer to its roots in eight north Texas locations, grossing $49,250 for a $6,156 average.

Oscilloscope touted its 100% Rt rating and other critical kudos for its weekend...

Universal’s “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” is far and away the box office champ for Academy Awards weekend with an estimated debut of $58 million from 4,259 North American locations.

Three holdovers and an expansion will make up the other top four spots, with the sophomore frame of sci-fier “Alita: Battle Angel” on its way to second and the third frame of “Lego Movie 2” headed for No. 3.

Meanwhile, Universal Artists Releasing’s expansion of WWE comedy “Fighting With My Family” will vie with “Isn’t It Romantic’s” second weekend for No. 5, with each estimated to earn around $7 million.

“How to Train Your Dragon 3” sees the return of Jay Baruchel as Hiccup and America Ferrera as Astrid. Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, Kit Harington, F. Murray Abraham and Kristen Wiig also voice characters in the three-quel. Dean DeBlois returned to write and direct the pic, which has...

Executive produced by famously Christian retired football player Tim Tebow, “Run the Race” operates differently than most faith-based productions, in the apparent hopes of reaching a younger, wider audience that may or may not be inherently interested in religious entertainment.

Directed by Chris Dowling, this is unequivocally a message-pushing drama, but one with a subtler touch and more artistic merit than many of its thematically linked predecessors.

Its kinetic opening sequence is a sharply edited series of shots following high-school quarterback Zach Truett, as he scores nearly half a dozen touchdowns on game night to get noticed by a Florida Gators scout. All of it is set to rap music and executed with unexpected cinematic flair; in fact, the movie’s first act plays as though this were a secular sports movie.

Also Read: Tim Tebow Faith-Based Film 'Run The Race' Acquired by Roadside Attractions

Living in the economically depressed town of Bessemer,...

With the Academy Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards set for this weekend, higher profile Specialty newcomers are mostly taking a step back. Roadside Attractions however is going for a nearly wide roll out of family-faith-drama Run The Race, a genre it has had success with in the past. Bollywood is also stepping out in North America in a couple hundred locations with comedy Total Dhamaal, in conjunction with a release in over 50 countries. Oscilloscope is opening San Francisco Film Festival debut doc Wrestle by Suzannah Herbert and co-director Lauren Belfer with an exclusive New York run this weekend before heading to L.A. And newcomer Santa Rita Film Co. is opening upstart drama The Iron Orchard in north Texas locations this weekend before opening New York, L.A. and other select cities March 1.

Run The Race

Director-writer: Chris Dowling

Writers: Jake McEntire, Jason Baumgardner

Cast: Tanner Stine, Kristoffer Polaha,...

Kristoffer Polaha has been a staple on the small screen since 2001, starring in such series as “Life Unexpected,” “Backstrom” and “Condor.” More recently he joined the Hallmark family with holiday movies (“Rocky Mountain Christmas”) and mysteries (“Pearl in Paradise”) and going forward will add even more of films to his plate. This month he can be seen in the Tim Tebow-produced “Run the Race” and next year he will boast being a part of Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman 1984.”

What drew you to “Run the Race”?

The call came two years ago. This movie was made back in the fall of 2016 and the director is a guy named Chris Dowling who directed “Where Hope Grows” [which I starred in in 2014]. He called me up and said, “Hey, we have a last minute thing, can you come and pinch hit for us?” And I said, “Of course I can.” My son just loves Tim Tebow...

In today’s film news roundup, a documentary about the 1963 Navy football team takes shape, “Never Heard” gets a release, Tim Tebow is backing “Run the Race,” “Death on the Nile” gets a 2020 release and Martin Scorsese is honored.

Documentary Set

Michael Meredith, son of the late Dallas Cowboy quarterback Don Meredith, has signed on to direct “The President’s Team,” a documentary about the 1963 U.S. Naval Academy football team, Variety has learned exclusively.

The film, based on the 2009 book of the same title by Michael Connelly, follows the story of commitment and camaraderie among a team of young athletes attempting to revive a nation wrought with grief — 10 days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy, a Navy veteran, was scheduled to initiate the 1963 Army-Navy game with a coin toss. In the days following his assassination, with the status of the major event up in the air,...

Roadside Attractions announced that they have acquired the U.S. rights to faith-based drama Run the Race from executive producers Tim Tebow and Robby Tebow.

Run the Race follows two young brothers reeling from their mother’s death and his father’s abandonment. Zach (Tanner Stine), an All-State athlete, finds glory on the football field, working to earn a college scholarship in the hopes of earning he and his brother, David (Evan Hofer), a ticket out of town. But when a devastating injury sidelines Zach, David laces up his track cleats to salvage their future.

The movie will be released nationwide on February 22, 2019 through a distribution deal with Roadside Attractions. The movie also features Mykelti Williamson, Frances Fisher, Kristoffer Polaha, Mario Van Peebles and Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George.

From Reserve Entertainment and 10th Leper Productions, the film is produced by Darren Moorman, Jake McEntire and Ken Carpenter; directed by...

Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.

– Sony Pictures Classics have announced they have acquired the rest of Pedro Almodóvar’s full library of films, including “Pepi, Luci, Bom”; “Labyrinth of Passion”; “Dark Habits”; “What Have I Done to Deserve This?”; “High Heels” and “Kika.” Spc will release his latest, “Julieta,” in theaters on December 21.

Based on short stories by Nobel laureate Alice Munro, “Julieta” is “about a mother’s struggle to survive uncertainty. It is also about fate, guilt complexes and that unfathomable mystery that leads us to abandon the people we love, erasing them from our lives as if they had never meant anything, as if they had never existed. The cast includes Adriana Ugarte, Emma Suárez and Rossy de Palma. It...

From Roadside Attractions and the creative minds behind the Grammy-award winning band for King & Country comes Priceless. It is the powerful story of a young man unknowingly on a journey of self-discovery.&#160Today, we have the first trailer for this true-life story. We also have the poster, which teases a tale of human trafficking that is as haunting as it is poignant.

After losing his family and finding himself dead broke, James Stevens (Joel Smallbone) takes a shady job hauling cargo across the country. No questions asked. But when he finds out the cargo is a who and not a what, this unlikely hero risks it all to save two frightened women. He soon discovers the life he was meant to live. And it's not what he expected at all.

Priceless stars stars musician Joel Smallbone. He is joined by David Koechner (The Office, Anchorman), Jim Parrack (True Blood), and Bianca Santos (Ouiji,...

Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to Alex Lehmann’s documentary feature, “Asperger’s Are Us,” the Duplass brothers announced today. The film follows the renowned Boston comedy group Asperger’s Are Us. Executive produced by Duplass Brothers Productions and produced by Sean Bradley and Chris Dowling, “Asperger’s Are Us” marks Lehmann’s directorial debut. “Asperger’s Are Us” is making its world premiere at SXSW Film Festival today; this acquisition marks the first major documentary deal of the 2016 festival. Also Read: SXSW Co-Founder Louis Meyers Dies in Austin at 60 “I spend most of my nights searching Netflix for new and interesting documentaries,...

One of the most intriguing aspects of Where Hope Grows is also among the least important: Danica McKellar (that's Winnie Cooper to us mere mortals) and William Zabka ("Sweep the leg, Johnny!") play a married couple. The faith-based drama surrounding their tertiary relationship tells of a washed-up ballplayer whose unexpected friendship with a young adult living with Down syndrome yields many insights of the life-affirming variety. Writer-director Chris Dowling handles that worrisome premise with a more even hand than this genre's ill-advised predecessors, though Produce (David DeSanctis), the inspirational teen in question, is often reduced to a narrative device rather than a three-dimensional character. Calvin Campbell (Kristoffer Polaha) is a single fat...

Stars: Johnny Pacar, Shaun Sipos, Bryan Dechart, Alexa Vega, Italia Ricci, Liz E. Morgan, John Pyper-Ferguson, Kim Pacheco | Written by Casey La Scala, Chris Dowling | Directed by Casey La Scala

If there’s one thing I’ll never understand it’s the American obsession with the rapture. Over the past couple of years we’ve seen a ton of TV shows and movies centered around the biblical event and most – like The Remaining – are, frankly, terrible. From the gloriously over the top Nicolas Cage film Left Behind, to the completely unfunny (and a waste of the talents involved) Rapture-Palooza, it seems the mix of religious themes and current Hollywood film making do not gel. Then again maybe it’s because, despite a belief in a higher power, I’m not the target market for films of this nature – after all, most rapture-themed films play on inherent fears found in religion.

Roadside Attractions and Godspeed Pictures have set a May 15 theatrical release for the 2014 Heartland Film Festival Audience Choice Award winner.

Calvin Campbell plays a baseball player who quit the pro leagues due to panic attacks and gets a chance at redemption when he befriends a young man with Down Syndrome.

McKaley Miller, David DeSanctis, Billy Zabka, Brooke Burns, McKaley Miller, Alan Powell and Danica McKellar also star.

Chris Dowling directed Where Hope Grows and Steve Bagheri produced alongside Simran Singh, Jose Pablo Cantillo and Milan Chakraborty.

Alexa PenaVega finds her wedding interrupted by a biblical rapture in the trailer for The Remaining.

Machete Kills actress PenaVega, Don Jon's Italia Ricci and Texas Chainsaw 3D actor Shaun Sipos are among a group of survivors who are left to find out why a large portion of the population all died suddenly.

They also have to contend with frightening creatures as they get to the bottom of whether a rapture has occurred or whether something altogether more sinister is afoot.

The Remaining has been directed by Casey La Scala, who also wrote the screenplay with Chris Dowling.

La Scala has previously produced the Bryan Dechart-directed thriller El Remanente.

This new film will open in cinemas later in the year.

Filmmaker Chris Dowling, an alumnus of the radio-tv-film program at The University of Texas at Austin, wrote and directed family drama Produce, which debuted at the Dallas International Film Festival last week. Although this film deals with some heavy-hearted issues, overall Produce is an engaging and entertaining story that should please viewers.

The opening sequence of a morning routine of breakfast, shower and a bike commute to work at first appears typical, until the camera angle widens and we see the character simply known as Produce (David DeSanctis), who has Down's Syndrome. It's this foundation that sets an important plot point for the film -- Produce is not defined by his condition despite the challenges and prejudices that he faces daily. He wants nothing more than to be employee of the month at the Value Market where he works as a produce clerk. Sadly his manager and co-workers don't respect him or appreciate his strengths.

When the perfect song meets a poignant scene in a TV episode, careers are made. Shows like "Grey's Anatomy," "One Tree Hill," and "The O.C." have lifted musical artists from obscurity into iTunes heavy rotation. It happens all the time. Singer/songwriter Jason Manns managed to do something far more remarkable, becoming a "Supernatural" fan favorite via word-of-mouth (and YouTube) long before his music was ever played on the show.

In 2007, Manns' longtime friend, "Supernatural" star Jensen Ackles, flew to England to do the first "Supernatural" fan convention. Manns sensed an opportunity. "I told Jensen, 'Ask them if they want music,' and they ended up flying me out to play a concert on Saturday night," he tells Zap2it.

It wasn't Manns' first convention. His friend Christian Kane, of "Angel" and "Leverage" fame, introduced him to the scene. (We know - Manns has friends in high places. We'd like an invite to their BBQs,...