News

Ashley Avis has been tapped to write and direct ‘American Wolf’ for Apple Original Films.

The film is based on a novel by Nate Blakeslee. It chronicles the captivating true story of O-Six, a highly intelligent alpha female wolf, whose rise and tragic fall catapult the persecution of her species into the global spotlight. O-Six’s journey intertwines with that of a reclusive naturalist, a devoted activist and an intrepid biologist, who together risk everything to protect the fragile recovery of wolves of Yellowstone. The film is still in development and has not been greenlit, sources say.

Appian Way will produce the film with Blakeslee serving as consulting producer. Appian Way is overseen by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson.

The film was formerly set up via Appian Way at Warners. After seeing Avis’ documentary, “Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West,” which examined the U.S. government’s treatment of wild horse populations,...

Sunshine Man galloped for 35 minutes before the gunshot.

The iconic palomino stallion died on the same open lands he had roamed for years, but they looked unfamiliar to him in his last desperate moments. The dust from the helicopter kicking up behind him, the roar of the blades ceaselessly bearing down — it was enough to make him flee as fast as he could despite the leg he had snapped in half while trying to regain his freedom. His pursuers eventually tired of the chase, and a wrangler felled him with a rifle shot.

As Mick Jagger repeatedly declares in a famous 1971 Rolling Stones song, “Wild horses couldn’t drag me away.” And for filmmaker Ashley Avis, she could not be dragged away from chronicling the plight of wild horses in her award-winning documentary Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West.

It’s an issue for which awareness is rapidly growing — because of her documentary, the newly created nonprofit Wild Beauty Foundation, and a nationwide effort to get Congress to pass legislation to save wild horses and burros.

The film graphically illustrates how the beautiful animals are callously rounded up by contractors hired by the Bureau of Land Management to cull them from grazing on federal lands in a host of Western states including Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and Wyoming.

Avis and her team, including producing partner and husband Edward Winters, her brother Richard Avis, their small camera team and sometimes even her parents...

Winterstone Pictures has secured the rights to “The Dark Between Stars” and “Love Her Wild,” by the bestselling author Atticus, who is also known as the world’s most “mysterious poet.”

Ashley Avis, director of Disney’s “Black Beauty” and the upcoming film “City of Angels” for Warner Bros., is set to write, direct and produce under her own banner. The feature film will draw inspiration from the true story of the enigmatic author, who chose to remain anonymous after the death of a close friend. There’s plenty of speculation about Atticus’s identity, and his work has garnered a massive, as well as intensely loyal, social media following.

“The Dark Between Stars” will explore the journey of a young man who flees California following the loss of his mentor and friend. He finds himself drawn to Paris, where he begins to write poetry under the pseudonym of “Atticus.

Eliza Skinner had no idea that her Disney+ series Earth to Ned would be permanently taken off the platform until a text on the show’s writer group chat in mid-May shared an article about Disney removing more than 70 films and series from its streaming services that month. Among the disappearing titles was the comedic talk show — which launched in 2020 with Skinner as head writer — centering on an alien welcoming celebrities to his spaceship.

Due to its classification as a streaming variety series, Skinner says the writers and performers weren’t receiving residuals, although the show’s team had heard rumors blaming Disney’s tax bill. But while her loss isn’t a financial one, Earth to Ned can no longer serve as a calling card to help land future gigs for Skinner, who also doesn’t own a physical copy of the show.

“It’s part of this overall...

Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West is a new documentary film from the critically acclaimed Ashley Avis (Disney+’s Black Beauty) and continues her exploration of the American West and the lives and experiences of horses throughout it. With gorgeous cinematography accompanied by surprisingly gripping and suspenseful investigative journalism, Wild Beauty explores the political and economic institutions with special interests that have led to the gradual decline in the population of wild horses. The synopsis reads as follows:

Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West is an immersive journey into the world of wild horses, Wild Beauty Mustang Spirit of the West illuminates both the profound beauty and desperate plight currently faced by the wild horses in the Western United States. Fast disappearing and on a path toward eradication, wild horses in America are caught in a divisive battle over land and special interests. Rounded up by helicopters, losing their natural habitat,...

Exclusive: Filmmaker Ashley Avis (Black Beauty) has been tapped to write and direct the romance City of Angels, based on Wim Wenders’ 1987 classic City of Angels, for Warner Bros, Atlas Entertainment and Perez Pictures.

This reimagining of Wenders’ romantic fantasy, which won him the Cannes Film Festival’s prize for Best Director, will follow the journey of a guardian angel who falls in love with a mortal man, a lonely jazz musician in Manhattan she is tasked to guide. It’s the second remake titled City of Angels to emerge from Warner Bros on the heels of Brad Silberling’s 1998 film, starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan, which grossed over $198M worldwide.

Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven produced that pic and will also produce the new take alongside Rebecca Steel Roven Oakley, as well as Paul Perez (Warner Bros/HBO Max’s Father...

Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American distribution rights to “Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West,” a documentary that shines a harsh spotlight on the U.S. government’s treatment of wild horses. The non-fiction film was written, directed, and edited by Ashley Avis, who is best known for making 2020’s “Black Beauty” for Disney+.

Gravitas Ventures will release the documentary in select theaters and on demand on May 12, 2023. The film looks at the reasons why wild horses in the Western part of the U.S. are fast disappearing and could be eradicated. At its core, the film argues, is a divisive battle over land and special interests, one in which horses are collateral damage. They are rounded up by helicopters, and facing encroachment on their natural habitat. Often, officials separate them from their families, a wrenching experience for the animals.

Avis and her crew went on a multi-year expedition to...

Ashley Avis was looking to put a modern spin on “Black Beauty,” Anna Sewell’s classic novel about one horse’s struggles and hardships. So when it came time to adapt the book for a new generation of moviegoers, Avis opted to have her equine protagonist be a wild mustang from the Onaqui Mountains of Utah. The film debuted on Disney+ in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, but the journey didn’t end with the release of “Black Beauty.”

While researching issues facing wild horses for that film, Avis discovered the controversial way that government officials are treating the 80,000 wild horses who currently live across 245 million acres of public land. But Avis didn’t stop there. She decided to make a documentary titled “Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West,” exploring the effort by the Bureau of Land Management to remove these horses and hold them in captivity to...

Since its release in 1877, Black Beauty has been published more than 50 millions times and seen at least a dozen screen and stage adaptations—most notably for this millennial, a 1994 film version featuring David Thewlis, Sean Bean, and Alan Cumming as the voice of Beauty. With a built-in audience like that it’s obvious why Disney wanted to get in on the horse story action with their own 2020 version. The result is less an adaptation of Anna Sewell’s original work and more a hodgepodge of horse-girl narrative tropes with some Black Beauty names and loose plot points slapped on for the brand recognition, which is not to say that there isn’t an audience for this—just that it isn’t for fans of the novel looking for a faithful adaptation of the classic.

In its original form, Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions, the Autobiography of a Horse follows...

Like so many beloved children’s classics, the story of “Black Beauty” has always been run through with blunt messaging, tough traumas, and the kind of painful imagery no kid ever really shakes off. Over time, some of those more realistic impulses may be dulled down for wider consumption — the sort of thing Disney has built its animated classics around, woe to the tyke who watches “The Little Mermaid” and then seeks out its source material — but the darker elements that author Anna Sewell oriented her 1877 novel around have mostly endured through countless adaptations. And while the latest, a family-friendly drama from Disney+ and filmmaker Ashley Avis, offers

Plus, there’s Kate Winslet voicing the horse of the title, a powerful bit of casting that can’t be denied.

Sewell’s novel has been adapted many times over the years, and even Avis’ film’s apparent big twist (Beauty is a girl!

The sixth time around the paddock is decidedly not the charm for the latest live-action feature incarnation of Black Beauty, based on the enduring Anna Sewell-penned equine adventure.

Swapping out the title character’s gender from male stallion to female mustang, while changing the setting from Victorian England to the modern-day American West, writer-director Ashley Avis has also enlisted Kate Winslet to provide the “horse’s-eye-view” narration in keeping with Sewell’s 1877 novel (officially called Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions, the Autobiography of a Horse). But while Winslet’s presence is always welcome, the voiceover that blankets the film proves tediously redundant, failing ...

The sixth time around the paddock is decidedly not the charm for the latest live-action feature incarnation of Black Beauty, based on the enduring Anna Sewell-penned equine adventure.

Swapping out the title character’s gender from male stallion to female mustang, while changing the setting from Victorian England to the modern-day American West, writer-director Ashley Avis has also enlisted Kate Winslet to provide the “horse’s-eye-view” narration in keeping with Sewell’s 1877 novel (officially called Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions, the Autobiography of a Horse). But while Winslet’s presence is always welcome, the voiceover that blankets the film proves tediously redundant, failing ...

'Black Beauty' trailer is out now and it looks promising.

Disney+ has released the official trailer for the upcoming drama film featuring Mackenzie Foy and Kate Winslet in the lead.

The new film is a reimagining of Anna Sewell's 1877 novel of the same name and follows the story of a young girl, Jo Green (Mackenzie Foy) who forms an unbreakable bond with a wild, untamable horse named Beauty (voiced by Kate Winslet).

Here’s the official synopsis for 'Black Beauty': "This modern-day reimagining of Anna Sewell’s timeless classic, follows Black Beauty (Kate Winslet), a wild horse born free in the American West. Rounded up and taken away from her family, Beauty is brought to Birtwick Stables where she meets a spirited teenage girl, Jo Green (Mackenzie Foy). Beauty and Jo forge an unbreakable bond that carries Beauty through the different chapters, challenges, and adventures of her life.

Disney+ has shared the trailer for its upcoming reboot of Black Beauty. The new take on the story premieres Friday, November 27th, exclusively on the streaming service. The movie features the voice of Academy Award-winning actor Kate Winslet as Black Beauty and stars Mackenzie Foy as Jo Green, Fern Deacon as Georgina Winthorp, Claire Forlani as Mrs. WinthorpIain, Iain Glen as John Manly, Calam Lynch as George Winthorp, Max Raphael as James, Hakeem Kae-Kazim as Terry, Matt Rippy as Henry Gordon, and Avianah Abrahams as Anna. The 2020 version of the story is based on the 1877 novel of the same name by Anna Sewell.

Black Beauty is a modern day reimagining of Anna Sewell's timeless classic for Disney+, and it follows Black Beauty (Kate Winslet), a wild horse born free in the American West. Rounded up and taken away from her family, Beauty is brought to Birtwick Stables where she meets a spirited teenage girl,...

Disney+ has released the official trailer for Black Beauty. This is the most recent in a long string of movie adaptations of Anna Sewell's 19th-century book which tells the story of a young girl who forms an unbreakable bond with a horse named Beauty. Ashley Avis directs this adaptation of Sewell's story from her own script. The cast assembled for Black Beauty is stellar, with Mackenzie Foy leading the way as protagonist Jo Green, Iain Glen playing Jo's uncle, Claire Forlani tackling the role of Mrs. Winthrop, and Kate Winslet lending her voice to Jo's …...

"How could a horse save a person?" Disney has unveiled an official trailer for a new Black Beauty movie on Disney+, which is more of a "re-adaptation" of the original novel than a remake of the 1994 Black Beauty movie. Yes, the original Black Beauty is based on a classic book from the 1800s written by Anna Sewell. The film's generic plot follows a wild horse and a teenage girl who forge an unbreakable bond which keeps them connected for a lifetime. When the horse is sold, Jo is determined to reunite with Beauty no matter what. This one stars Mackenzie Foy as Jo, featuring Kate Winslet as the voice of Beauty, and a cast including Claire Forlani, Iain Glen, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Fern Deacon, Patrick Lyster, and Calam Lynch. Looks extra cliche and cheesy, we've seen this many times before, but horse lovers adore this story anyway. Here's the official trailer...

How can a horse save a life? That’s the drama that Disney+ will explore in its update on the classic “Black Beauty” story, which casts Mackenzie Foy alongside Kate Winslet as the voice of the horse Black Beauty.

Ashley Avis wrote and directed the new take on Anna Sewell’s timeless story that has been adapted for the screen on numerous occasions. This new one finds Black Beauty as a wild horse born free in the American West, only to be rounded up and taken away. She soon forms a tight-knit bond with a spirited teenage girl named Jo, and we see how Jo will do anything to keep them together.

“You’ve gotten closer to that filly in days than I have in weeks. They say a horse picks you,” Jo’s uncle played by Iain Glen says in the trailer. “If I fought for every horse I ever loved,...

Disney+ has announced that a contemporary adaptation of Anna Sewell's classic 19th century novel, Black Beauty will premiere on the streaming service later this year.

Black Beauty features Oscar winner Kate Winslet (The Reader) as the voice of Black Beauty and stars Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar) as Jo Green; Iain Glen (Game of Thrones) as John Manly; and Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black) as Mrs. Winthorp.

Black Beauty is a wild mustang born free in the American west. When she is captured and taken away from family, her story intertwines with that of 17-year old Jo Green, similarly grieving over the loss of her parents. The two slowly develop a bond that is built on love, respect and mutual healing.

Black Beauty is directed by Ashley Avis (Adolescence) who also wrote the screenplay. Jb Pictures' Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer (Polar) from Constantin Film are producers and Martin Moszkowicz, Edward...

Disney+ has announced that it is bringing a new adaptation of Black Beauty to the streaming service later this year. The movie serves as a contemporary adaptation of Anna Sewell's classic 19th-century novel of the same name. To go along with the announcement Disney has also revealed a pair of images featuring Mackenzie Foy, who stars in the leading role, alongside the black-haired stallion, voiced by Kate Winslet.

The images aren't too revealing in themselves, but they do give us a look at the new Black Beauty and Jo Green. We see the two interacting with one another, seemingly at the start of their journey. The full cast includes Oscar-winner Kate Winslet (The Reader) as the voice of Black Beauty, Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar) as Jo Green, Iain Glen (Game of Thrones) as John Manly and Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black) as Mrs. Winthorp.

Produced by Constantin Film and Jb Pictures,...

Disney+ has acquired “Black Beauty,” a contemporary adaptation of Anna Sewell’s classic 19th-century novel, from Constantin Film, and the movie will premiere on the streaming service later this year, the company announced on Wednesday.

The film stars Oscar winner Kate Winslet (“The Reader”) as the voice of “Black Beauty” and stars Mackenzie Foy (“Interstellar”) as Jo Green; Iain Glen (“Game of Thrones”) as John Manly; and Claire Forlani (“Meet Joe Black”) as Mrs. Winthorp.

“Black Beauty” centers on a wild mustang born free in the American West. When she is captured and taken away from family, her story intertwines with that of 17-year old Jo Green, similarly grieving over the loss of her parents. The two slowly develop a bond that is built on love, respect and mutual healing.

Also Read: Disney+ in August: Here's Everything New Coming

“Black Beauty” is directed by Ashley Avis (“Adolescence”) who also wrote the screenplay adaptation.

Mister Smith International has released an exclusive first look at its “Black Beauty” reboot, starring Mackenzie Foy (pictured) and Kate Winslet. Ashley Avis is directing the Constantin Films’ pic from her own script.

“Black Beauty” is based on Anna Sewell’s best-selling novel about the deep and enduring bond between a 17-year-old girl and the wild horse who helps her overcome the trauma of her loss following her parents’ death. Foy, whose credits include “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” “Interstellar” and the last two “Twilight” movies, will play Jo while Winslet will voice Beauty.

“Black Beauty” is being produced by Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer, who teamed on the “Resident Evil” franchise. Martin Moszkowicz is executive producing.

International sales are being handled by Mister Smith Entertainment at Afm.

Edgar Ramirez, best known for “Carlos” and “The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” will star in the drama “The War Has Ended,” from writer and director Hagar Ben-Asher’s award-winning original script about a man in search of his children. Mister Smith Entertainment will launch international sales at next month’s American Film Market.

The film is being produced by Dale Armin Johnson, Collen Camp, Jill Littman and Marek Rozenbaum, the chairman of the Israeli Academy of Cinema and Television.

Set in Poland in 1945, at the end World War II, Joseph (Ramirez) travels through battle-scarred towns with his horse, Oscar, and his enchanting puppet show to give local children a momentary escape from reality. Joseph performs the story of “Frank and Tiny,” two elephants on the hunt for Frank’s lost trunk, but his real mission is the perilous hunt for his two missing sons.

Along the way he finds an unlikely ally in Lily,...

Exclusive: Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black) and Iain Glen (Game Of Thrones) have joined Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar) and Oscar-winner Kate Winslet in Constantin and Jb Pictures’ movie Black Beauty.

Ashley Avis (Adolescence) has written the screenplay and will direct the contemporary adaptation of English author Anna Sewell’s classic 19th century novel. Cameras roll this week in and around Cape Town, South Africa.

Mister Smith Entertainment is handling international sales on the modern-day reimagining of the story in which Black Beauty (voiced by Winslet) is a wild horse born free in the American west. As she is rounded up and taken away from her family, her story intertwines with that of a teenager, ‘Jo Green’ (Foy), similarly grieving over the loss of her parents. The two develop a bond crafted in love, trust and healing.

Pic is a Constantin Film production, produced by Jeremy Bolt (Resident Evil franchise) from Jb Pictures,...

Imagine Entertainment’s Kids and Family division has partnered with Breyer, a maker of collectible model horses and other toys, to develop a live-action horse-themed TV series.

The series will be executive produced by Imagine Entertainment chiefs Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, as well as Stephanie Sperber, president of Imagine Kids and Family. Ashley Avis, writer and director of the “Black Beauty” adaptation in development at Constantin Film, joins the project as showrunner and writer.

“As both a longtime equestrian and collector of Breyer horses, getting to be apart of creating this series is a very special opportunity,’ Avis said in a statement. “Breyer helped to inspire so much of my imagination and I hope to do the same for our future audiences through collaborative storytelling with these two truly eminent partners.”

Breyer got its start in 1950 as a molding company in Chicago that made model horses to top a mantlepiece clock sold by F.

In today’s film news roundup, “In 27 Days” and “The Keys to the Kingdom” are in the works as films, Pamela Adlon has been cast in Pete Davidson’s movie, an “On the Waterfront” actor received SAG-AFTRA membership and Dances With Films sets its lineup.

Projects Launched

Dan Angel is developing Alison Gervais’ teen paranormal story “In 27 Days” as a movie under his family content banner, Fezziwig Studios, Variety has learned exclusively.

The story centers on a teen girl’s opportunity to change fate’s outcome by striking a deal with death after she attends the funeral of a classmate who committed suicide. The book has been praised for its positive focus on the importance of understanding, supporting and having compassion for the mental health and emotional wellbeing of adolescents and young adults.

Angel has shepherded R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” and “The Haunting Hour” franchises, as well as...

For its 22nd year, Dances With Films returns to Los Angeles this June with an eclectic lineup of films both feature-length and short-form that span a wide range of genres.

Dances With Films 2019 will take place June 13th–23rd at the Tcl Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Horror fans attending the festival will want to keep an eye out for several genre-centric titles, including Come, Said the Night (pictured above).

You can check out the Dances With Films 2019 lineup below, and to learn more, visit the film festival's official website.

"Opening Night Film

------------------------------------------------------

Apple Seed

West Coast Premiere I USA, 2019, HD, 121 min.

Writer/Dir: Michael Worth

Prods: Jody Marriott Bar-Lev, Dustin Rikert, Avi Bar-Lev, Michael Worth

Cast: Rance Howard, Michael Worth, Esther Anderson, Clint Howard, Adrienne Barbeau, Robby Benson

Prince McCoy has found himself almost to the middle of age, and definitely to the end of his rope. Losing his home,...

Mackenzie Foy and Kate Winslet have officially signed on to star in the movie remake of Black Beauty, the classic 1877 novel by Anna Sewell that is being directed by Ashley Avis.

The story is about a teenage girl who develops a strong bond with a wild horse named Beauty who helps her heal from the trauma of losing her parents. Foy will play the girl, and Winslet will voice the horse, Beauty.

The film will take a modern look at the original story. Black Beauty is in pre-production, and we will let you know when we can expect it, as well as other casting news as soon as we have it.

Is Black Beauty one of your classic favorites? Are you excited about this remake?...

Mackenzie Foy and Kate Winslet have signed up to star in Ashley Avis’s reboot of the classic story of ‘Black Beauty’.

Foy will take the leading role as a 17-year-old girl whose bond with Black Beauty helps her overcome the death of her parents.

Winslet will have an easier job of it as she will provide the voice of the horse, Black Beauty.

Based on the best-selling children’s classic by Anna Sewell, Avis will direct the film from a script she has adapted herself. The film will be a fictional autobiography of the titular wild horse. In a significant change from Sewell’s book, in which Black Beauty is a carriage horse, in the new adaptation, she is a wild mustang captured on the Wyoming Plains.

Also in news – Man of Steel’s David Goyer to tackle ‘Hellraiser’ reboot

Black Beauty has been adapted for the big and...

Mackenzie Foy and Kate Winslet have come aboard Constantin Film’s contemporary take on “Black Beauty.”

Ashley Avis is directing from her own script.

“Black Beauty” is based on Anna Sewell’s best-selling novel about the deep and enduring bond between a 17-year-old girl and the wild horse who helps her overcome the trauma of her loss following her parents’ death. Foy, whose credits include “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” “Interstellar” and the last two “Twilight” movies, will play Jo while Winslet will voice Beauty.

“Black Beauty” is being produced by Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer, who teamed on the “Resident Evil” franchise. Martin Moszkowicz is executive producing.

Constantin Film also announced on Tuesday that it is launching a re-imagined version of the horror film “Wrong Turn.” Mister Smith Entertainment will commence sales on both projects, currently in pre-production, to buyers at the Cannes Film Festival next week.

Mike P. Nelson...

Mackenzie Foy and Kate Winslet have been set to star in Black Beauty, the feature film update of the classic Anna Sewell novel that is being written and directed by Ashley Avis. Bolt Pictures and Constantin Film are teaming to produce the pic, which will mirror the events of the original 1877 book while bringing them into a modern light.

The film is one of two pics now in pre-production that Constantin said Tuesday it is bringing to the Cannes market beginning next week, both to be sold by Mister Smith Entertainment. The other is Wrong Turn, its remake of the West Virginia cannibal cult hit first released by Fox in 2003 spawning another five films.

Black Beauty centers on the deep and enduring bond between a 17-year-old girl (Foy) and the beloved wild horse who helps her overcome the trauma of her loss following the death of her parents. Winslet will voice Beauty.

Mister Smith to handle sales on both in Cannes.

Kate Winslet will voice Black Beauty and Mackenzie Foy has also joined the cast on the reimagined family classic, one of two titles from Constantin Film that head to the Cannes market as part of the Mister Smith sales slate.

The contemporary take on Anna Sewell’s novel accompanies Constantin’s horror-thriller Wrong Turn on the trip to the Croisette.

Black Beauty recounts the story of the bond between a 17-year-old girl and her beloved wild horse who helps her overcome trauma following the death of her parents. Ashley Avis will direct and adapted the screenplay.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms actress Mackenzie Foy and Oscar-winner Kate Winslet (The Reader) have signed on to star in a new reboot of Black Beauty, based on the best-selling children's classic by Anna Sewell.

Adolescence director Ashley Avis will helm the new Black Beauty, adapting the script herself from Sewell's novel, which is told as a fictional autobiography of the titular wild horse. In a significant change from Sewell's book, in which Black Beauty is a carriage horse, in the new adaptation, she is a a wild mustang captured on the Wyoming Plains.

Foy will play a 17-year-old ...

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms actress Mackenzie Foy and Oscar-winner Kate Winslet (The Reader) have signed on to star in a new reboot of Black Beauty, based on the best-selling children's classic by Anna Sewell.

Adolescence director Ashley Avis will helm the new Black Beauty, adapting the script herself from Sewell's novel, which is told as a fictional autobiography of the titular wild horse. In a significant change from Sewell's book, in which Black Beauty is a carriage horse, in the new adaptation, she is a a wild mustang captured on the Wyoming Plains.

Foy will play a 17-year-old ...

Updated with release date info: North of Two has set a December 7 release date for Nona, Kate Bosworth and Michael Polish’s feature film that the distributor acquired in May. The film, which puts a face to Central America’s sex trafficking industry, was produced under the couple’s Make Pictures Productions. It will be released beginning in Los Angeles and New York.

Nona tells the story of a girl from Honduras who meets a charming boy, Hecho who promises to get her safely to America to reunite with her mother. Instead, Nona faces a perilous journey when he doesn’t deliver on that promise. Nona — short for No Name — will deliver a message to change the way the world is dealing with sex trafficking.

“All of our North of Two filmmakers define the spirit, determination and grit that living North of Two means,” said CEO Mark Cartier. “Both Kate...

In today’s film news roundup, India Eisley-Mickey River drama “Adolescence” gets distribution and romance “Castle of Water” and horror short “They Hear It” are in development.

Distribution Rights

North of Two has acquired worldwide distribution rights to the dark coming-of-age drama “Adolescence,” starring India Eisley and Mickey River with Ashley Avis directing, Variety has learned exclusively.

The film was produced by Winterstone Pictures and is set to make its festival debut this fall. River portrays a shy teenager who falls in love with a beautiful, enigmatic runaway, played by Eisley, and is lured away from his bland life and into her vibrant and unpredictable world. He slips down a progressively dark path, filled with raging parties, drugs, and eventually heroin addiction.

The cast also includes Romeo Miller, Tommy Flanagan, Elisabeth Rohm, Jere Burns, Ever Carradine, Michael Milford, and Zac Brown Band member John Driskell Hopkins.

The film...

Exclusive: Ashley Avis has been set to write and direct a modern reimagining of Black Beauty, the classic Anna Sewell novel. Bolt Pictures and Constantin Film are teaming to produce the pic, which will mirror the events of the original 1877 book while bringing them into a modern light.

The plot will center on Jo Green, a teenager who recently lost her parents, who is sent to live with her uncle at a horse and animal sanctuary on Long Island. She eventually bonds with the wild Black Beauty, who was similarly taken away from her family when her mustang herd was captured in the West.

Constantin’s Robert Kulzer will produce with Jeremy Bolt. Martin Moszkowicz and Jon Brown are executive producers.

Avis’ feature film credits include 2016’s Deserted starring Mischa Barton and this year’s Adolescence. The writer-director-editor is also a longform commercials helmer. She is repped by Ensemble Entertainment and Morris,...

Stars: Mischa Barton, Jackson Davis, Winter Ave Zoli, Trent Ford, Dana Rosendorff, Michael Milford, Kelly Brannigan, Tyler Sellers, Jake Busey, Sebastian Bach, Gerry Bednob, Lance Henriksen | Written and Directed by Ashley Avis

When twenty-four-year old Jae (Barton) is released from prison for killing her mother, she returns home to small-town Ridgecrest, California. It’s the last place she wants to be, with the judgement of the town, old friends, and old ghosts. She decides to join her brother Robin (Davis) and his girlfriend Rosemary (Zoli) on a road trip to “Burn the Moon”, a music festival in Death Valley. Linking up with a trio of idiosyncratic characters along the way, the group ends up getting impossibly lost amongst the three-million acres of salt flats, sand dunes, vistas and winding dirt roads. To survive they will have to overcome both the dangerous terrain and each other.

Billed a survival thriller in some quarters,...

Invincible Pictures has announced the February 28th Cable VOD and Digital HD release of Ashley Avis’ Deserted. Mischa Barton (The O.C., The Sixth Sense) stars as a recently released felon looking to start fresh with the brother she left behind. A trip to the desert sounds perfect, until she, her brother and their group find themselves hopelessly lost in one of the most beautiful but unforgiving places on the planet.

Barton is joined onscreen by Jackson Davis (Stitchers), Winter Ave Zoli (Sons of Anarchy) and Trent Ford (Gosford Park) in lead roles, with Jake Busey (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series), Sebastian Bach (Gilmore Girls), Gerry Bednob (The 40 Year Old Virgin), and Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Terminator) supporting.

When twenty-four-year old Jae (Barton) is released from prison, she returns home to small-town Ridgecrest, California. It’s the last place she wants to be, with the judgement of the town, old friends,...

Alina Manou, Sachin Dev Duggal attend nivio celebrates the announcement of joining Microsoft's Wpc 2011 Expo in Beverly Hills. Photo copyright Keadrick D. Washington / PR Photos. Chelsea Rae Bernier attends nivio celebrates the announcement of joining Microsoft's Wpc 2011 Expo in Beverly Hills. Photo copyright Keadrick D. Washington / PR Photos. Colette Falla attends nivio celebrates the announcement of joining Microsoft's Wpc 2011 Expo in Beverly Hills. Photo copyright Keadrick D. Washington / PR Photos. Alina Manou attends nivio celebrates the announcement of joining Microsoft's Wpc 2011 Expo in Beverly Hills. Photo copyright Keadrick D. Washington / PR Photos. Ashley Avis attends nivio celebrates the announcement of joining Microsoft's Wpc 2011 Expo in Beverly Hills.