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Briarcliff Entertainment announced on Wednesday that its dark veteran dramedy My Dead Friend Zoe, starring Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales and Ed Harris, will now open in theaters nationwide on February 28, 2025.

Exec produced by Travis Kelce, the film, which won the Audience Award in its SXSW world premiere, had previously been scheduled to open on November 1.

Marking the directorial debut of Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, a former U.S. Army infantry paratrooper and Iraq War Bronze Star veteran, My Dead Friend Zoe follows the journey of Merit (Martin-Green), a U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran who is at odds with her family thanks to the presence of Zoe (Morales), her dead best friend from the Army. Despite the persistence of her Va group counselor (Morgan Freeman), the tough love of her mother (Gloria Reuben) and the levity of an unexpected love interest, Merit’s cozy-dysfunctional friendship with Zoe keeps the duo insulated from the world.

Briarcliff Entertainment has acquired domestic distribution rights to Legion M’s “My Dead Friend Zoe.” The dark comedy-drama, which won the SXSW Film Festival’s Audience Award this year, stars Sonequa Martin-Green (“The Walking Dead”), Natalie Morales (“No Hard Feelings”), Oscar nominee Ed Harris (“Apollo 13”) and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”). The supporting cast also includes Gloria Reuben (“ER“) and Utkarsh Ambudkar (“Ghosts”).

The film is the directorial debut of Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, a former U.S. Army infantry paratrooper and Iraq War Bronze Star veteran. In the film, Hausmann-Stokes examines the post-war experience and pays tribute to veterans. The story was co-written by Hausmann-Stokes with A.J. Bermudez. The film also marks the executive producer debut of NFL star Travis Kelce.

In “My Dead Friend Zoe,” Merit (Martin-Green) is a U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran who finds herself at odds with her family because of the presence of Zoe...

SXSW organizers on Monday announced the Audience Award winners for the festival’s recently wrapped 31st edition.

The list includes Tracie Laymon’s dramedy Bob Trevino Likes It, which prevailed in Narrative Feature Competition, and the action thriller Monkey Man marking Dev Patel’s directorial debut, which dominated the Headliner section. Other notable winners included A24’s Sing Sing starring Colman Domingo, which won out in Festival Favorite, and Kyle Hausmann-Stokes’ dark veteran dramedy My Dead Friend Zoe, starring Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales and Ed Harris, which won in Narrative Spotlight.

“We are beyond grateful to all our filmmakers, audiences, and volunteers for creating one of the most exciting SXSW Film & TV Festivals ever,” said Claudette Godfrey, VP Film & TV. “We knew our audiences would flip for our program filled with explosive studio films, surprising indie dramas and comedies, riveting TV, powerful documentaries, gripping gems from around the world, and groundbreaking Xr,...

When “My Dead Friend Zoe” filmmaker Kyle Hausmann-Stokes set out to adapt his own experiences as an Army vet onto the big screen, he made two very big changes: gender-flipping the main characters and two women of color in the roles.

Starring Sonequa Martin-Green and Natalie Morales, “My Dead Friend Zoe” is a dark dramedy that follows Merit (Martin-Green), a U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran who is at odds with her family thanks to the presence of Zoe (Morales), her dead best friend from the Army.

Director Hausmann-Stokes co-wrote the film with Aj Bermudez inspired by Hausmann-Stokes’s time serving five years in the Army as a paratrooper, during which he received the Bronze Star in Iraq, and the death of his good friend and platoon mate. “My Dead Friend Zoe” marks Hausmann-Stokes’s feature film debut after attending USC film school.

“My Dead Friend Zoe”/Michael Moriatis

“One of the first few ideas,...

In August 2001, Kyle Hausmann-Stokes had just graduated from high school and wanted to escape the confines of his native Wisconsin. So he enlisted in the Army. Then 9/11 happened, and the teen would eventually head to Iraq, where he became a paratrooper. As his three-year enlistment was about to end, he was hit with a stop-loss order, an involuntary extension of active duty.

“I’m crushed. I have these big plans to go to film school,” Hausmann-Stokes remembers. “I get a call one night that the colonel wants to see me in his office. I was known throughout the battalion as the film guy. I was always secretly making films of our airborne jumps and our jungle warfare training. The colonel said, ‘I think you might be destined for something different than going to war with us right now. I’ve made arrangements for you and only you to be exempt from this stop-loss.

Exclusive: Writer-director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes has continued rounding out an impressive cast for his debut feature, the dark veteran dramedy My Dead Friend Zoe, bringing Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption), Gloria Reuben (Mr. Robot) and Utkarsh Ambudkar (Brittany Runs a Marathon) aboard for roles.

The film delving into the lives of military veterans, to highlight both their triumphs and challenges upon returning home, will have the trio starring alongside the previously announced Ed Harris, Sonequa Martin-Green and Natalie Morales.

Written by Hausmann-Stokes and A.J. Bermudez, My Dead Friend Zoe is based on Merit x Zoe, a short that Hausmann-Stokes co-wrote and directed last year, which draws on his personal experience during and after the military, as a Bronze Star combat veteran. The film tells the story of a female veteran (Martin-Green) engaged in a mysterious but comfortable friendship with her wise-cracking (and dead) best friend from the Army (Morales). When the...

Exclusive: Ed Harris (Westworld), Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek: Discovery) and Natalie Morales (No Hard Feelings) have closed deals to lead My Dead Friend Zoe, a dark dramedy about two generations of veterans, family and friendship, which Kyle Hausmann-Stokes will direct in his feature debut.

The film written by Hausmann-Stokes and A.J. Bermudez tells the story of a female veteran (Martin-Green) engaged in a mysterious but comfortable friendship with her wise-cracking (and dead) best friend from the Army (Morales). When the vet is summoned to the remote lake house of her estranged Vietnam vet grandfather (Harris), she is tasked with providing the one thing he refuses…help.

Pic is based on Merit x Zoe, a short that Hausmann-Stokes co-wrote and directed last year, and both films draw inspiration from his real-life experiences during and after the military. A graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Hausmann-Stokes served five years in...

From writer/director Max Joseph, here’s a first look at the trailer for We Are Your Friends starring Zac Efron, Emily Ratajkowski and Wes Bentley.

The film marks Max Joseph’s (MTV’s “Catfish: The TV Show”) feature film directorial debut.

We Are Your Friends is about what it takes to find your voice. Set in the world of electronic music and Hollywood nightlife, an aspiring 23-year-old DJ named Cole (Efron) spends his days scheming with his childhood friends and his nights working on the one track that will set the world on fire. All of this changes when he meets a charismatic but damaged older DJ named James (Bentley), who takes him under his wing. Things get complicated, however, when Cole starts falling for James’ much younger girlfriend, Sophie (Ratajkowski). With Cole’s forbidden relationship intensifying and his friendships unraveling, he must choose between love, loyalty, and the future he is destined for.

Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that it has obtained the domestic distribution rights for Max Joseph’s (MTV’s “Catfish: The TV Show”) feature film directorial debut, We Are Your Friends.

The film, from Working Title Films and Studiocanal, stars Zac Efron (“Neighbors”), Emily Ratajkowski (“Gone Girl”) and Wes Bentley (“Interstellar,” “The Hunger Games”).

We Are Your Friends is about what it takes to find your voice. Set in the world of electronic music and Hollywood nightlife, an aspiring 23-year-old DJ named Cole (Efron) spends his days scheming with his childhood friends and his nights working on the one track that will set the world on fire. All of this changes when he meets a charismatic but damaged older DJ named James (Bentley), who takes him under his wing. Things get complicated, however, when Cole starts falling for James’ much younger girlfriend, Sophie (Ratajkowski). With Cole’s forbidden relationship intensifying and his friendships unraveling,...

Warner Bros. has acquired Zac Efron's DJ drama We Are Your Friends. The studio announced on Wednesday that it has picked up the North American rights to Max Joseph's (Catfish: The TV Show) feature film debut, which stars Efron as a Cole, 23-year-old DJ trying to make it in the world of electronic music and Hollywood nightlife. The film also stars Wes Bentley (Interstellar, The Hunger Games) as James, an older DJ who takes Cole under his wing and helps him jumpstart his career, as well as Gone Girl star Emily Ratajkowski as his girlfriend, whom Cole falls for.

Ever since appearing as Gameskeeper Seneca Crane in The Hunger Games, Wes Bentley has been on a roll, taking on parts in small-scale projects like romance Hidden Moon, SXSW entry Things People Do and biopic Cesar Chavez, but expect the actor to step up his screen time in the coming months. Already this year, Bentley has shot roles in such buzzy films as Interstellar, Knight of Cups and Final Girl. Additionally, the actor has a supporting role on FX’s American Horror Story: Freak Show. Now, it’s been announced that Bentley’s next project will be We Are Your Friends, an Edm-centric drama which centers on an up-and-coming DJ.

In the film, which will mark Catfish investigator Max Joseph’s directorial debut, Zac Efron plays a troubled, aspiring DJ named Cole, who eventually finds his place in the world of electronic dance music (Edm). Bentley will portray James, described by Deadline as “a wealthy,...

• Sigourney Weaver has signed on for A Monster Calls, the feature adaptation of Patrick Ness’ children’s fantasy novel. Weaver joins Felicity Jones and Liam Neeson. In the Juan Antonio Bayona-directed film, a boy retreats to a fantastical world through a tree monster, attempting to escape from bullies and his mother’s terminal illness. Weaver will play the boy’s grandmother, while Jones will play the mother and Neeson the monster. River Road’s Bill Pohlad and Mitch Horwits, Participant’s Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King, and Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-chairman Patrick Wachsberger will executive produce the film,...

Exclusive: Wes Bentley is joining Zac Efron in drama We Are Your Friends, the story of a troubled aspiring DJ named Cole who finds his place in the world of electronic dance music. Bentley, who’s been racking up credits since appearing in Summit’s hit The Hunger Games, will play James, a wealthy, binge-drinking DJ who takes Cole under his wing and mentors him to success in the world of Edm. In July “Blurred Lines” model-actress Emily Ratajkowski landed the role of Sophie, James’ much-younger girlfriend who Cole falls for.

Catfish‘s Max Joseph is making his directing debut and scripted with Meaghan Oppenheimer from a story by Richard Silverman. Filming starts today in the San Fernando Valley. Working Title Films’ Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are producing and Silverman is exec producer. Studio Canal is financing and repping domestic rights.

Bentley is set to appear on FX’s...

Jon Abrahams, who co-starred in “Scary Movie” and “Meet the Parents,” will join Zac Efron and Emily Ratajkowski in Working Title's Edm-fueled coming-of-age drama “We Are Your Friends,” TheWrap has learned. “Catfish” co-host Max Joseph is directing from a script he co-wrote with Meaghan Oppenheimer, based on a story by Richard Silverman. Set in the complimentary worlds of electronic music and Hollywood nightlife, the story follows a 23-year-old aspiring DJ named Cole (Efron), who dreams of producing a song that will launch him to stardom. Cole is eventually taken under the wing of James, an older DJ, but complications ensue when.