News

Netflix on Monday unveiled seven new original preschool series in the works at the streaming company, including a CG animated comedy adventure to premiere this year that serves as an expansion of DreamWorks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon franchise.

The new series — five animated, one nonfiction, one live-action — aimed at Netflix’s global audience of kids ages 2-6 join previously announced originals on the launchpad including DreamWorks Archibald’s Next Big Thing, Go! Go! Cory Carson and Chico Bon Bon.

They will join current series in the space like Ask the StoryBots, Chip and Potato, Mighty Little Bheem, Motown Magic, Super Monsters, True and the Rainbow Kingdom, Word Party and YooHoo to the Rescue. The content is available on Netflix Kids, a portal that gives adults the ability to prevent access to certain content on their account via age restrictions and PINs.

“With high-quality, age-appropriate programming for kids at every age and stage,...

A24 Films and DirecTV have released the first trailer and poster for Revenge of the Green Dragons, which will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month. DirecTV subscribers will get to see the action-thriller first, with an exclusive 30-day window starting September 11, with a theatrical release in October to follow from A24 Films. Check out the first footage and one-sheet, then read on for more details about this true-story adaptation starring Justin Chon, Kevin Wu, Harry Shum Jr. and Ray Liotta, which was executive produced by Martin Scorsese.

A24 and DirecTV have teamed up on Revenge of the Green Dragons, directed by Andrew Lau & Andrew Loo, and executive produced by Martin Scorsese.

Revenge of the Green Dragons will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. DirecTV will immediately follow with an exclusive 30-day window beginning September 11, followed by an A24 theatrical release in October.

Ray Liotta, Justin Chon (Twilight), and Harry Shum, Jr. (Glee) star in the 1990s NYC-set action crime drama that’s executive produced by Martin Scorsese and set to debut next month at the Toronto Film Festival. Revenge of the Green Dragons is helmed by Andrew Lau & Andrew Loo and was inspired by Frederick Dannen’s New Yorker article chronicling Asian-American gang life in Queens, NY. It’s a reunion of sorts for Lau and Scorsese after the latter remade Lau’s Hong Kong crime pic Infernal Affairs into his own Oscar-winning 2006 film The Departed. Pic tracks immigrant siblings Sonny (Chon) and Steven (Kevin Wu) who join Chinatown’s Green Dragons in pursuit of their own American Dream, only to find themselves at odds when Sonny turns against his brother and the organization.

Shuya Chang, Geoff Pierson, Billy Magnussen, and Eugenia Yuan also star. Michael Dijiacomo and Loo co-wrote the script...

Martin Scorsese has signed on to executive produce director Andrew Lau new crime drama Revenge of the Green Dragons. Both filmmakers have a history together, of sorts, but this will be their first time directly working together. Andrew Lau directed the Chinese blockbuster Infernal Affairs, which was adapted into Martin Scorsese's English-language thriller The Departed.

Michael Di Jiacomo wrote the screenplay for Revenge of the Green Dragons, based on an article in The New Yorker that centers on the Chinese-American underworld in New York City. The story revolves around two Chinese immigrants who are working their way up the ladder in the Green Dragons gang. They are faced with a moral dilemma when one of their associates has an affair with a high-ranking leader in the gang.

Im Global's genre division Octane is financing the project, with Stuart Ford, Allen Bain, Ara Katz, and Jesse Scolaro producing. Martin Scorsese...

Following in the great tradition of George A. Romero’s …Of The Dead films, comes the latest iteration of Romero’s zombie vision courtesy of Reverb Games – App of the Dead. From the official press release:

George A. Romero, the undisputed master of horror cinema (“Night of the Living Dead”, “Dawn of the Dead”, “Creepshow”, “Monkey Shines”, “Diary of the Dead”), today announced with partner, Peter Grunwald, and Artfire Films’ Art Spigel and Ara Katz, that App of the Dead, developed with Ohio-based Additive Interactive, will make its fiendish debut on Apple® iPhone™ and iPod® Touch in the coming weeks.

In anticipation of Romero’s latest feature, “George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead”, premiering in theaters May 28, App of the Dead makes you the director, allowing you to turn your friends and family into the most twisted, ghoulish shufflers. Take pictures or import photos from existing galleries and...

Looking for a little more traditional zombie killing mayhem on your mobile phone? Well, you're not going to have to wait much longer as Reverb Games is getting set to bring you George A. Romero's App of the Dead!

From the Press Release

George A. Romero, the undisputed master of horror cinema (“Night of the Living Dead”, “Dawn of the Dead”, “Creepshow”, “Monkey Shines”, “Diary of the Dead”), today announced with partner, Peter Grunwald, and Artfire Films’ Art Spigel and Ara Katz, that App of the Dead, developed with Ohio-based Additive Interactive, will make its fiendish debut on Apple® iPhone™ and iPod® Touch in the coming weeks.

In anticipation of Romero’s latest feature, “George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead”, premiering in theaters May 28, App of the Dead makes you the director, allowing you to turn your friends and family into the most twisted, ghoulish shufflers. Take...

Check out 4 new clips from VitaGraph Films' "Paper Man" starring Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Lisa Kudrow, Kieran Culkin and Hunter Parish. Michelle and Kieran Mulroney-directed and written comedy drama opens April 23rd in limited areas. Guymon Casady, Richard Gladstein, Art Spigel and Ara Katz produce. The film is rated R for language and a scene of sexuality. "Paper Man" is an inspirational comedic drama about an unlikely friendship between Richard (Jeff Daniels), a failed middle-aged novelist who has never quite grown up and Abby (Emma Stone), a 17-year-old girl whose role in a family tragedy years earlier has stolen away her youth. Both are unsure, both are afraid to take firm steps forward, and both are looking for that special friend—that connection—to help guide them into the future. Since his childhood, Richard has mostly relied on the imaginary one that resides in his head—a...

Mpi Media Group has acquired North American rights to Michele and Kieran Mulroney's comedy-drama "Paper Man," starring Jeff Daniels, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone and Lisa Kudrow.

"Man" features Daniels as a blocked writer, who converses with an imaginary superhero, played by Reynolds, and who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a Long Island teenager, played by Stone.

The film was produced by FilmColony's Richard Gladstein, Film 360's Guymon Casady and Artfire Films' Art Spigel and Ara Katz, who fully financed the production. Executive producers include Dan Fireman of Fireman Capital Partners, and partner in Artfire, and Darin Friedman of Film 360.

It is a co-production of FilmColony; Film 360, the production division of Management 360; and Artfire Films.

A late spring theatrical release is planned.

The distribution deal was negotiated by Greg Newman, executive vp of Mpi Media Group and Dina Kuperstock of CAA.

Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired U.S. rights to "George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead" and will release it in the spring through its Ultra VOD program, debuting it on video-on-demand platforms nationwide a month before it opens theatrically.

Written and directed by Romero, the filmmaker's latest zombie film played this year at the Venice and Toronto film festivals.

The deal was negotiated by Magnolia senior vp Tom Quinn with Victoria Cook for Cinetic Media on behalf of Art Spigel and Ara Katz of Artfire Films and Peter Grunwald of Romero-Grunwald Prods.

The Wagner/Cuban Companies' Magnet Releasing, genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, announced today that it has acquired Us rights to George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead, the latest in the legendary and beloved series of zombie films which bowed at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals earlier this year. Romero, one of the most influential and respected horror auteurs of all time, has created a new, terrifying vision that combines viscerally gory undead action with biting social commentary and a return to the black humor and playfulness of his seminal film, Dawn of the Dead. Magnet will release the film as part of its Ultra VOD program this spring, debuting it on VOD platforms nationwide a month before its theatrical release. Like its predecessors, George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead takes place in a desperate, nightmarish world where the dead walk the earth, relentlessly attacking the living.

U.S. rights to George A. Romero’s zombie feature “George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead” have been picked up by Magnolia Pictures’ genre label Magnet Releasing. bowed at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals earlier this year. Magnolia’s Svp Tom Quinn negotiated the pact with Victoria Cook for Cinetic Media, on behalf of Art Spigel and Ara Katz of Artfire Films and Peter Grunwald of Romero-Grunwald Productions. Magnet will release the …...

One of the revelations in the earlier announcement of titles for this year's Toronto International Film Fest is that George A. Romero's ...Of The Dead has an official title.

Survival Of The Dead will make it's World Premiere at the Festival as a part of it's Midnight Madness Screenings (see the full announcement here), and thanks to the festival website (currently down for maintenance, but promising a relaunch tomorrow), we've got several new pics and additional details to share.

George A. Romero'S Survival Of The Dead

Production Company: Blank of the Dead Productions Inc.

Executive Producer: Peter Grunwald, Art Spigel, Dan Fireman, Ara Katz, Michael Doherty, DJ Carson, Bryan Gliserman

Producer: Paula Devonshire

Screenplay: George A. Romero

Production Designer: Arv Greywal

Cinematographer: Adam Swica

Editor: Michael Doherty

Sound: Stephen Barden, Jill Purdy

Music: Robert Carli

Principal Cast: Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Devon Bostick, Kathleen Munroe, Richard Fitzpatrick...

George A. Romero has finally filled in the blank at the beginning of the title of his latest zombie-filled tale of corpses and carnage. ... of the Dead is now being called Survival of the Dead, and it will be playing at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.

From the press release

Legendary filmmaker George A. Romero ended the chorus of fan speculation today by announcing the title of his latest film, George A. Romero’S Survival Of The Dead, which he had jokingly been calling ’Blank’ Of The Dead since production began late last year.

The film will premiere at the prestigious 2009 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the celebrated “Midnight Madness” series, spotlighting the ten best new horror movies from around the world.

“We’re overjoyed to welcome George back into the dark hallowed halls of Midnight Madness,” says International Programmer Colin Geddes. “And on a personal note,...

Michele and Kieran Mulroney's "Paper Man" has been selected to serve as the opening night film at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival, which kicks off June 18 at the Mann Village Theater in Westwood.

A genuine indie -- the film hasn't yet been picked up for distribution -- "Paper" stars Jeff Daniels has a middle-aged writer, dealing with both the demands of his wife (Lisa Kudrow) and an imaginary superhero (Ryan Reynolds), who strikes up a friendship with a teenager played by Emma Stone.

A husband-and-wife team, the Mulroneys wrote the feature, which marks their directorial debut. Their other writing projects include Warner Bros.' "Justice League."

The project was produced by Richard Gladstein through his FilmColony, Guymon Casady through his Film 360, and Art Spigel and Ara Katz through their Artfire Films, who also fully financed the production. Exec producers include Dan Fireman from Artfire and Fireman Capital Partners, and...

Hunter Parrish has joined the cast of "Paper Man." The dramedy is helmed and written by duo Michelle and Kieran Mulroney.The film follows thes the unlikely friendship between a failed author (played by Jeff Daniels) and a high school girl from Long Island which Emma Stone will play. She apparently teaches him all about growing up whilst his disapproving wife looks on as well as an imaginary friend who is a superhero. Parrish is in to play the girl's 18-year-old boyfriend and the cast will include Lisa Kudrow as well as Ryan Reynolds. Producing from FilmColony is Richard Gladstein, Art Spigel and Ara Katz from Artfire and from Film 360 Guymon Casady. Production started last week in N.Y.

Hunter Parrish, one of the stars of the Broadway musical "Spring Awakening," has joined the cast of Michelle and Kieran Mulroney's "Paper Man."

The coming-of-middle-age comedy chronicles the unlikely friendship between a failed author (Jeff Daniels) and a Long Island high school girl (Emma Stone) who teaches him about growing up, all under the disapproving eye of his long-suffering wife and imaginary superhero friend.

Parrish will play the girl's 18-year-old working-class boyfriend.

The cast also includes Ryan Reynolds and Lisa Kudrow.

Producing are FilmColony's Richard Gladstein; Guymon Casady of Film 360, the film production arm of Management 360; and Artfire's Art Spigel and Ara Katz. Production began last week in New York.

Parrish, repped by Endeavor and Management 360, is onstage as Melchior in "Spring Awakening," which last year won the Tony for best musical. Onscreen, he will appear opposite Zac Efron in "17 Again" and stars on Showtime's "Weeds."...

George A. Romero is hard at work on a new untitled zombie picture, according to Variety. Though long speculated to be working on a sequel to his recent Diary of the Dead, all signs indicate that this upcoming feature is more in line with his previous Dead efforts.

The film "involves inhabitants of an isolated island off the North American coast who find their relatives rising from the dead to eat their kin. The leaders of the island feud over whether or not to kill their reanimated relatives or preserve them in hopes of finding a cure."

Just like a zombie invasion that you don't see coming until it's too late, Romero's actually already deep into filming this new project. The film is fully cast, including Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe and others. Paula Devonshire is producing, while Peter Grunwald, D.J. Carson, Ara Katz and Art Spigel are executive producing alongside Romero.

Although George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead won't be released until next year, Artfire Films and Romero-Grunwald Prods. have greenlighted a sequel that Romero will direct from his screenplay.

The instant sequel, which will be offered at the American Film Market, will pick up where the first film ends. Fighting their way out of a mansion through a horde of ravenous zombies, the survivors of Diary escape to a remote island only to be plunged into another battle with the dead.

Principal photography is set to begin in the spring.

Romero-Grunwald's Peter Grunwald will produce with Artfire Films' Artur Spigel and Ara Katz. Dan Fireman of Artfire and Sam Englebardt will serve as executive producers. Voltage Pictures and Cinetic Media will oversee foreign and domestic sales, respectively, for the Artfire/RGP alliance.

Diary premiered at September's Toronto International Film Festival, where Cinetic sold North American and Mexican rights to the Weinstein Co.

TORONTO -- Not ready to let sleeping zombies lie, George A. Romero, who was thought to have concluded his Living Dead trilogy with the critically-acclaimed fourth installment, 2005's Land of the Dead, is back for more.

The reconceptualized George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead is a stripped-down take on those earlier movies, which both harkens back to the no-frills 1968 original and repositions those flesh-eating corpses along today's information superhighway.

But while the Romero movies were always as much social commentaries as they were gore fests, in this case all the overt hi-tech references to uploading video and blogging are at the expense of any palpable dread or real scares.

Give him props for trying to do something different, but this Living Dead exercise delivers far less monstrosity and a great deal of pomposity, not to mention dull characters who aren't nearly as lively as those dead guys.

While the film was acquired at the Toronto International Film Festival by the Weinstein Co., its theatrical potential remains questionable.

Even though Romero has his loyal fan base, this would seem to be a better bet for DVD, given the recent proliferation of zombie movies which have had mixed boxoffice results.

Taking the form of a documentary being made by a group of Pennsylvania college students driving a beat-up Winnebago past all those temporary corpses, Diary is just that, with no-nonsense Debra Michelle Morgan) providing a running commentary as part of the on-line blog component.

In between all those redundant observations, Debra, director Jason (Joshua Close) and their shrinking crew do manage to blow up their fair share of zombie brains, but most of the time they sit around doing a lot of navel-gazing.

There are still the occasional sparks, like when the group encounters a mute Amish farmer.

And Romero manages to get a sly jab in at all those movies with new, improved fast-moving zombies when one of the characters notes that if one of the undead actually tried to walk any faster they'd break their ankles.

But at the end of the day, Romero's most recent final installment goes nowhere, fast or slow.

No doubt, the dead will live again.

GEORGE A ROMERO'S DIARY OF THE DEAD

Artfire Films/Romero-Grunwald Prods.

Credits:

Director-writer: George A. Romero

Producers: Peter Grunwald, Art Spigel, Sam Englebardt, Ara Katz

Executive producers: Dan Fireman, John Harrison, Steve Barnett

Director of photography: Adam Swica

Production designer: Rupert Lazarus

Music: Norman Orenstein

Costume designer: Alex Kavanagh

Editor: Michael Doherty

Cast:

Debra: Michelle Morgan

Jason: Joshua Close

Tony: Shawn Roberts

Tracy: Amy Lalonde

Eliot: Joe Dinico

Maxwell: Scott Wentworth

Running time -- 95 minutes

No MPAA rating...

More Toronto fest news

Toronto fest reviews

TORONTO -- The dead have risen. In a sale that once seemed as slow as a zombie, Weinstein Co. stepped up and bought North American and Mexican rights to "George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead" for $2 million-$2.5 million.

The latest sequel to Romero's 1968 horror classic "Night of the Living Dead" closed Tuesday night after several offers were considered, including some for video-only distribution. The Weinstein Co. deal includes a theatrical commitment.

While R-rated horror movies didn't perform well at the boxoffice earlier this summer, the Weinstein Co.'s "Halloween", released by MGM, bucked the trend with a record-breaking Labor Day opening. "Dead" premiered late Saturday in the Midnight Madness section at Toronto and spooked out crowds.

The Artfire Films/Romero-Grunwald Prods. film was written and directed by Romero, produced by Peter Grunwald, Art Spigel, Sam Englebardt and Ara Katz, and executive produced by Dan Fireman, John Harrison and Steve Barnett.

Cinetic Media repped the filmmakers in the sale.