News

Exclusive: October is Jim “Kitty” Kaat’s time of year. Not only did the southpaw pitch in the World Series three times – winning a ring with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982 – but he became a great broadcaster, covering the MLB playoffs for ESPN, as well as serving as an announcer for the Yankees and later the Minnesota Twins.

This October, there’s more news about the 85-year-old Hall of Famer. A documentary about him, Kitty to Cooperstown, has been acquired by Gravitas Ventures, a deal covering U.S. and Canadian distribution rights.

Kitty to Cooperstown, directed by Nick Hagen, “delves deep into the career and personal journey of Jim Kaat, capturing his path to Cooperstown, the challenges he faced, and his enduring legacy in the sport of baseball,” according to a release. “Kaat, who has left an indelible mark on the game, is celebrated not only for his remarkable pitching...

Exclusive: Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights to Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment’s family film Dakota, starring Abbie Cornish, Lola Sultan (Netflix’s Yes Day), William Baldwin (Backdraft), Patrick Muldoon (The Comeback Trail) and Tim Rozon (Surreal Estate), for release in limited theaters beginning April 1, with a platformed theatrical rollout to follow.

In the action-adventure pic, recently widowed single mom Kate Sanders (Cornish) lives on her family’s farm in Georgia with her daughter Alex (Sultan). Life on the farm is a challenge and things only get more complicated when the combat dog Dakota, delivered by Sergeant Cj Malcolm (Rozon), arrives on their doorstep. Cj is fulling a promise made to Kate’s late husband, his friend and fellow Afghanistan veteran Marine Clay Sanders, to bring Dakota home to them, upon his death.

Kate spends her time between the farm and running the volunteer fire department,...

Nent Orders Icelandic Crime Drama

Nordic streamer Nordic Entertainment Group has ordered psychological crime drama Sisterhood. The six-episode series stars Lilja Nótt Þórarinsdóttir (The Midnight Sky), Jóhanna Friðrika Sæmundsdóttir (Happily Never After) and Eddan Award winners Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir (Trapped) and Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir (Woman at War). The drama will premiere on Nent Group’s Viaplay streaming service in 2022. The series will ask who was really responsible for a young girl’s disappearance in Iceland 25 years ago. Ambitious police detective Vera (Geirharðsdóttir), dissatisfied with the original investigation, investigates an unlikely trio of successful and respectable women. Tony Todd Thriller Gets Domestic Deal Exclusive: Sp Releasing has acquired domestic rights to Andy Stapp’s directorial debut Destination Marfa starring Candy Man actor Tony Todd and Stelio Savante. ​​The film follows four lifelong friends who decide to veer off the road and venture into a small West Texas town known as Marfa, where they...

Exclusive: William Baldwin (Backdraft) and Patrick Muldoon (Days Of Our Lives) have signed on to star in the family adventure film Dakota, alongside previously announced Abbie Cornish and Lola Sultan.

The film centers on Kate (Cornish), a widow who lost her husband in the war in Afghanistan and is struggling to maintain her small-town farm with her daughter (Sultan) while also running the local volunteer fire department. Muldoon will play the local sheriff keen to take advantage of the family, and Baldwin will play a former U.S. Marine.

Filming is due to begin later this month in Italy.

Dakota is being directed by Kirk Harris for Iervolino Entertainment. Andrea Iervolino, Monika Bacardi, Danielle Maloni and Marty Poole are producing. Johnny Harrington (I Still Know What You Did Last Summer) wrote the screenplay.

Baldwin is represented by Innovative Artists and Stride Management. Muldoon is repped by Mosaic.

Young U.S. model and actor Lola Sultan (“Bernie the Dolphin”) is attached to star alongside Australia’s Abbie Cornish in family action-adventure film “Dakota,” which is set to start shooting this month in Italy.

“Dakota” is being directed by Kirk Harris (“Bernie The Dolphin”) and produced by Italy’s Iervolino Entertainment, which is tapping into the Italian production tax rebate that currently allows a 40% deduction on eligible production costs.

Andrea Iervolino, Monika Bacardi, Danielle Maloni, Marty Poole, Kirk Harris and Ace Underhill are producing. Johnny Harrington (“I Still Know What You Did Last Summer”) wrote the screenplay.

“Dakota” is the name of a combat dog that belongs to Marine Clet Sanders who tragically dies in Afghanistan. Sargent Tj Malcom fulfils a promise to bring Dakota, who is Clet’s best friend, home to his family’s farm.

“Clet’s wife Kate, played by Abbie Cornish is struggling to maintain...

The Widow: "This spring, prepare yourself for one of the most vicious, chilling backwoods terrors when the new supernatural thriller The Widow, directed by Svyatoslav Podgaevsky, debuts on major VOD and digital platforms and on DVD & Blu-ray on March 30, 2021 from Shout! Studios and Scream Factory™. The DVD & Blu-ray will contain both the original Russian language audio track and an English-dubbed option. Pre-order for the physical releases are available now at ShoutFactory.com and other fine home entertainment retailers.

Movie Synopsis:

In a densely forested area north of St. Petersburg, people have been going missing for three decades. Very few corpses were ever found, and the few that were recovered were naked. On October 14, 2017, a team of volunteers went out into the woods in search of a missing teenager. Soon, all communication with them was lost. Locals believe they were taken by the same dark spirit that took the others...

Nearly three years after reconciling with her husband Brian Austin Green, Megan Fox has reportedly filed to dismiss their divorce case.

Fox, 32, originally filed for divorce in 2015 after five years of marriage to Green, citing irreconcilable differences. Then the two announced they were having a third child together — and reconciled the following year.

According to documents filed in Los Angeles on Thursday and obtained by The Blast, Fox requested a dismissal in their ongoing divorce case.

Fox and Green, 45, share three children: Noah Shannon, 6, Bodhi Ransom, 5, and Journey River, 2. (Green is also dad to son Kassius, 17, from a previous relationship.

Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green are teaming up for a new film.

The couple, who have been married for nearly 10 years, is costarring in their first feature film together Dakota, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Fox, 32, will portray Kate, a widow who loses her husband in the war in Afghanistan and struggle to maintain their family farm while being a single mother to her daughter.

Meanwhile, Green, 45, will play a soldier who reunites her husband’s best friend, a combat dog named Dakota, with her and her daughter.

Directed by Kirk Harris, this will be Fox and Green’s...

Real-life married couple and pop culture fixtures Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green have teamed to star in their first feature together.

Fox, who starred in the Michael Bay Transformers movies, and Green, one of the headliners of the original Beverly Hills, 90210, will star in Dakota, a family action-adventure thriller from Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s Ambi Media Group and Iervolino Entertainment S.p.A.

Kirk Harris will direct the film, which marks a reunion of the teams behind the family-adventure indie hit Bernie the Dolphin, and its sequel, now in postproduction. Harris helmed the two Bernie movies.

Like Bernie, Dakota will be produced by Ambi ...

Real-life married couple and pop culture fixtures Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green have teamed to star in their first feature together.

Fox, who starred in the Michael Bay Transformers movies, and Green, one of the headliners of the original Beverly Hills, 90210, will star in Dakota, a family action-adventure thriller from Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s Ambi Media Group and Iervolino Entertainment S.p.A.

Kirk Harris will direct the film, which marks a reunion of the teams behind the family-adventure indie hit Bernie the Dolphin, and its sequel, now in postproduction. Harris helmed the two Bernie movies.

Like Bernie, Dakota will be produced by Ambi ...

"When they find themselves in too deep, it's time to make some waves." Lionsgate has debuted a trailer for a movie titled Bernie The Dolphin, another one of these adorable family films about befriending and then saving various marine animals. This "sunny family adventure" is about a brother and sister who befriend a dolphin. But when Bernie goes missing, the kids go looking for him. While searching, they discover a real-estate development plan that threatens the baby sea turtles on their favorite beach. Can the brave duo stop the developers while racing to reunite Bernie with his loved ones? (Of course they can!) Bernie The Dolphin stars Lola Sultan, Logan Allen, Patrick Muldoon, Stelio Savante, Dahlia Legault, Lily Cardone, Sam Sorbo, with Kevin Sorbo. This looks super cheesy, but at least it's about saving/protecting animals. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Kirk Harris' Bernie The Dolphin, direct...

Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s Ambi Media Group is re-teaming with Kirk Harris and Marty Poole’s Fairway Films Alliance to finance and produce a sequel to “Bernie the Dolphin.”

Lola Sultan, Patrick Muldoon, Logan Allen, Kevin Sorbo, and Dahlia Legault (“The Walking Dead”) will reprise their roles in the family dolphin adventure. Ambi Distribution, the worldwide sales arm of the Ambi Media Group, will be introducing the project to international distributors at the American Film Market, which opened Oct. 31.

“Bernie the Dolphin 2” will shoot on location at Marineland Dolphin Adventure in St. Augustine, Fla., as well as in St. Petersburg-Clearwater starting in December.

Kirk Harris will direct “Bernie the Dolphin 2” from a screenplay written by Emerson and Poole, who are also producing along with Ambi principals Iervolino and Bacardi, as well as Tony Armer, the film commissioner for St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. Digital Caviar is the Florida based production partner.

In today’s film news roundup, Craig Sheffer and Fred Hechinger score movie roles and pop singer Nicole Michelle records two songs for “Bernie the Dolphin.”

Castings

Craig Sheffer has been cast as the lead in Gregory Lamberson’s feature film adaptation of “Widow’s Point,” the supernatural book co-written by Richard Chizmar and his son Billy.

Lamberson will direct the film from his own screenplay in Western New York this month, co-producing with Tamar Lamberson. Chizmar executive produces with Erin Elizabeth Heald.

“Widow’s Point” depicts the tale of an author who spends a weekend locked in a haunted lighthouse as a publicity stunt to promote his next book. Cut off from the outside world, he finds himself targeted by sinister forces. The film takes place in four different time periods.

Sheffer’s credits include Robert Redford’s “A River Runs Through It,” “Some Kind of Wonderful,” and the TV series “One Tree Hill.

Filmmaker Mike Smith’s B&E Productions has obtained the film and television rights to Big Law, a legal thriller novel from Ron Leibman. The book, which was released January of last year via Penguin Group LLC, centers on a Carney Blake, a young lawyer at one of NY’s most prestigious law firms, and his discovery that things aren’t what they seem in the business of big New York City law. Smith, an NY native, will write and direct the film which will shoot on location. Smith has directed on a number of legal dramas like Law and Order Svu, Criminal Intent, Suits, and How To Get Away With Murder. He’s repped by Gersh.

Composer Joshua R. Mosley will score the film Bernie the Dolphin, starring Lola Sultan (In Dubious Battle), Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) and Patrick Muldoon (Melrose Place). Kirk Harris is directing the film which follows a...

Indie Film Distribution/Production Company Rogue Arts has just signed a partnership agreement with Fairway Film Alliance to distribute films globally.   The partnership began at Afm where three of Rogue Arts new titles were launched successfully.   "We are creating these kind of relationships in order to be completely transparent with both our investors and our filmmakers.    It is a great time of growth in our company", stated company founder, Kirk Harris.   "Our goal is a new type of company where partnership with the filmmaker really means both the filmmaker and the distributor benefit from the proceeds and know step by step what is occurring with the films," stated Don Franken, also a Principal at Rogue Arts.  

Rogue Arts has produced 8 films and Rogue Arts and Fairway Films Alliance has handled the distribution of more than 50 titles.   Founded as a production company in 2004 by Actor/Filmmaker Kirk Harris, company executives now include Celebrity sports talent and marketing agent Don Franken, Retired Navy Special Forces Swcc Vernon Mortensen and Fairway Films Alliance's Marty Poole.  "With over 20 years working film in film sales, and also as a filmmaker, I felt it was time to create a company by, with, and for the filmmaker" stated Fairway Films Alliance founder, Marty Poole.  Another feature of the Rogue Arts and Fairway Film Alliance partnership is the unique blend of world sales, theatrical booking, digital content knowledge and PR and Marketing experience the principles have.  

Recent produced titles include: The Kid: Chamaco, directed by celebrated Mexican producer Miguel Necoechea starring Martin Sheen, Kirk Harris and Gustavo Sanchez Parra.   They also include the freshly completed Western Thriller The Sorrow,  directed by Rogue Arts' Vernon Mortensen and starring Harris, John Savage and Michael Madsen.  

Noted distribution titles include:  "Flickering Lights" from Academy Award Winning Anders Thomas Jensen and starring Ulrich Thomsen and Mads Mikkelsen.  Wim Wenders presents Michael Meredith's "Three Days of Rain" starring Peter Falk, Blythe Danner and Lyle Lovett and last but not least,  "Spooky House" from director William Sachs starring Ben Kingsley and Mercedes Ruehl.  

Rogue Arts titles have screened at the Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, Slamdance and Venice Film Festivals.  

Recent titles that premiered at Afm were the FX action film "Time Warrior", Terrorist subway thriller "Red Line" and "The Sorrow".   "Time Warrior" and "Red Line" were acquired through a new strategic alliance with the San Diego Film Festival to provide distribution for some of their premiere entries. 

Additionally, Rogue Arts has two TV series in development as well as several feature projects of varying budgets in the pipeline.  ...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"The Thin Red Line" (1998)

Directed by Terrence Malick

Released by Criterion Collection

No, you won't be getting the hours of deleted Adrien Brody or George Clooney footage from Malick's World War II epic, but this Criterion version is most certainly an upgrade from the previous bare-bones DVD edition with 14 minutes of outtakes, new interviews with Sean Penn and composer Hans Zimmer, among others from the cast and crew, an audio commentary with cinematographer John Toll, production designer Jack Fisk and producer Grant Hill and more.

"7 Days" (2010)

Directed by Daniel Grou

Released by Mpi Home Video

French Canadian horror author Patrick Senécal adapts his own novel to celluloid about a doctor (Claude Legault) who intercepts the man (Remy Girard) who raped and murdered his young daughter and turns the tables on him in a cabin in the woods. With a résumé including TV series like "Vampire High,...

The Maya Indie Film Series will launch its second annual eight-city tour in Dallas on July 23. The series, which debuted last summer, will bring six critically acclaimed, Latino-themed films to the top eight U.S. markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Washington D.C., San Jose, and San Diego. The series will spend seven days in each city starting in Dallas, TX on July 23. This will be followed by Washington D.C. on July 30, New York, NY on August 6, Chicago, Il on August 13, Miami, Fl on August 20, and Los Angeles, San Jose, and San Diego on August 27. The Series’ end in Los Angeles will tie in with local Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations. Each film will have a rotating screening schedule throughout the Series. Final film screening schedules to be programmed by theaters.More details are available at www.mayaindieseries.com The six films in the series include: The Kid: Chamaco,...

Celebrating its 10th anniversary as a festival that prides itself on showcasing bold performances and character-driven movies, the Method Fest will honor its 10 greatest films and breakout performances.

This year's festival, which also will honor the best films and performances from this year, is set for March 23-April 3 in Calabasas, Calif.

Founded by Kirk Harris and named after the Method technique of acting, in which actors strive to reproduce real-life emotional conditions under which their characters operate, Method Fest features U.S. and international feature and short films. It has launched more than 85 films into the marketplace.

Nominated films in its "10 Best" category include Susanne Bier's "Brothers", from 2005, and this year's "Black Irish", written and directed by Brad Gann. Performances range from Jeremy Sisto in 2000's "Trash" to Naomi Watts in the 2001 short film "Ellie Parker". Christopher Plummer in this year's "Man in the Chair" and Kiefer Sutherland and Robert Carlyle in 2002's "To End All Wars" also are nominees.

The Method Fest board will review and vote on the final list in the run-up to the festival.

Boxing drama Chamaco (The Kid) begins filming this week in Mexico City under director Miguel Necoechea.

The films stars Alex Perea as an aspiring Olympic boxer as well as Martin Sheen and Kirk Harris, who become his mentors. The film is co-produced by Ivania Films of Mexico City and Rogue Arts of Los Angeles. Don Franken, Necoechea and Harris are producing from a screenplay by Necoechea, Harris and Carl Bessai. Exec producers are Bruce Randolph Tizes and Philip Bligh, both of Radio London Films, which has acquired U.S. and Canada distribution rights.

Mark Lester's Los Angeles-based indie film banner American World Pictures has plucked helmer Mark David's sophomore film, Intoxicating, from this month's Method Fest Film Festival in Burbank. AWP will offer the film in Cannes. The film stars Kirk Harris as a charismatic young surgeon with an insatiable appetite for booze, drugs and one-night stands. The cast also includes John Savage and Eric Roberts.