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Production on Werner Herzog’s Bucking Fastardis underway at Pigeon House Film Studios in Dublin’s docklands.

Starring real-life sisters Rooney Mara and Kate Mara, the film is based on the true story of inseparable twin sisters Joan and Jean who become obsessed with their next-door neighbour. This marks the first time the sisters have collaborated on a project together.

Bucking Fastardis produced by Ariel Leon Isacovitch, Agnes Chu, Andrea Bucko, Emanuele Moretti of Cobalt Sky Motion Picture Group, and Clara Wu Tsai. Herzog also wrote the screenplay.

Rooney Mara, a two-time Oscar nominee, was recently seen inAlonso Ruizpaacios’La...

The Astronaut stars Kate Mara and Gabriel Luna talk about their time creating the duo's new crazy sci-fi movie.

Mara plays Captain Sam Walker, an astronaut who starts to believe she unintentionally brought an extraterrestrial entity back to Earth.

On the red carpet at SXSW, The Direct spoke with several talent and filmmakers responsible for bringing The Astronaut to life, including Kate Mara, Gabriel Luna (Mark Walker), Jess Varley (director and writer), Brad Fuller (producer), Cameron Fuller (producer), and Eric B. Fleischman (producer).

Read full article on The Direct.

Jess Varley’s solo feature debut, The Astronaut, opens with a propulsive sequence. In an overhead shot of the ocean, a handful of rescue boats race toward a container ship bobbing steadily with the current. Adrenalized music, composed by Jacques Brautbar (Bob Trevino Likes It, Skywalkers: A Love Story), starts to play, establishing a tense atmosphere and high stakes.

When the modest vehicles reach their target, the emergency teams onboard work quickly to retrieve Captain Sam Walker (Kate Mara) from the vessel. She’s a NASA agent who has just returned from her first space mission, and they are trying to save her life after a mysterious force sabotaged her landing. This moment — with its vertiginous perspective, killer sound design and sweeping music — is not only finely composed; it also showcases the best elements of an otherwise uneven film.

The Astronaut (which premiered recently at SXSW) observes Sam in the...

Jess Varley's feature debut, The Astronaut, is captivating science fiction that delivers efficient extraterrestrial chills—until it's not. We love an ambitious genre-bender and fearless storytelling, of course. Kate Mara is a fantastic leading talent and has stalked the horror genre going back to 2005's Urban Legends: Bloody Mary. There's so much about The Astronaut that works despite its ominous yet familiar tale about otherworldly terrors, but the third act is a massive unraveling. The whiplash, the digital effects, the tonal abandon—it's a mess.

The 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival kicked off Friday, March 7 in Austin with world and North American premieres of movies in 11 sections, TV shows in three sections and several short film and virtual reality programs.

This year’s festival launched with opening-night film Another Simple Favor reteaming Paul Feig, Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, with other notable world premiere titles including Chad Hartigan’s The Threesome, Kate Mara‘s two entries The Astronaut and The Dutchman (the latter also starring André Holland), the Ben Affleck-Jon Bernthal sequel The Accountant 2, the Nicole Kidman-starring Holland and Death of a Unicorn starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega.

Check out Deadline’s reviews recaps below as films premiere at the fest, which runs through March 15, and click on the titles for the full reviews.

The Accountant 2 ‘The Accountant 2’

Section: Headliner

Director: Gavin O’Connor

Cast: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda,...

Putting a man on the moon caused America and Russia to lose perspective on scientific achievements. While there are many ways that science can fix real-world problems, imagining a world beyond the stars makes even important discoveries feel minuscule in the grand scheme of things. The Astronaut, the feature debut from Jess Varley, reminds us of the dangers of reaching for a world beyond our grasp. Featuring some brilliant visuals and a good performance from Kate Mara, The Astronaut struggles because it leans into nostalgia, forcing the film into conversation with some of the greatest films ever made. Despite that, The Astronaut still makes for an engaging story.

The Astronaut — The Plot

Upon reentry into the atmosphere, astronaut Sam Walker (Mara) needs time to recover in solitude. Despite wanting to return to her family (Gabriel Luna and Scarlett Holmes), Sam’s adoptive father, General William Harris (Laurence Fishburne), convinces her...

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here delivering your weekly bulletin. Read on. And if you’re not signed up, then do so here.

Seeking The Next Big Adaptation

Leafing through the shelves: Experts say around half of what we see on TV is the result of an adapted novel or news article, and the next big adaptation project could have been brewing in the great halls of the London Olympia this week. We were down at the London Book Fair checking things out, keeping ears to the ground of an ever buzzy market that is, nonetheless, experiencing its fair share of hardship. In our primer from Monday, Jesse and I wrote about cautious optimism in the books-to-screen market, with one agent positing that in times of economic volatility big IP wins out. But there was a question as to how many big deals would actually get done, especially considering a...

The premise for writer/director Jess Varley‘s feature debut instantly intrigues; the mostly single-location sci-fi thriller stars Kate Mara as The Astronaut who may have brought something back with her upon re-entering Earth’s orbit. It’s a concept that Varley mines for psychological tension, playing on the ambiguity of whether the threat is internal or external to drive up the paranoia and fear. Varley’s eventual answer to this looming question audaciously delivers something new, though it struggles to stick its landing.

The Astronaut opens with the rescue of Captain Sam Walker (Mara) at sea, found unconscious in her pod with her helmet’s faceplate shattered and a baseball-sized hole in the side of the spacecraft. Combined with unsettling bruising on her hand, routine re-entry quarantine comes with extra surveillance and concern from her military handlers. Luckily, her father, General William Harris (Laurence Fishburne), works high up in...

The Astronaut was written and directed by Jess Varley and stars Kate Mara, Gabriel Luna, and Lawrence Fishburne. So naturally, after playing Two Truths and a Lie about the film, they spill Alllll the tea about working with Lawrence (Not Larry). They talk about biggest challenges, and what it's like to both be superheroes (spoiler alert: Kate's answer will melt your heart).

At a time when California is looking up its tax credits to $750M annually, there’s some serious competition from across the pond, and that’s Ireland.

The Taoiseach of Ireland/Prime Minister of Ireland Michael Martin was here in Austin, TX on Monday along with Cinetic CEO John Sloss, The Astronaut filmmaker Jess Varley, and Irish producer Tristan Orpen Lynch to share the great experience of not only shooting in the country of leas and cliffs, but also the extremely competitive tax credit.

Sloss recently produced the Richard Linklater Berlin premiere, Blue Moon, over in Ireland, in addition to Varley with her SXSW world premiere The Astroanaut, and Lynch with his drama series Mix Tape.

Currently the Irish tax incentive for the screen industries, Section 481, provides a tax credit of up to 32% on eligible Irish expenditures based on 80% of a pic’s budget. That will soon rise to 40% for productions under 20 million Euros.

As a former star of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., actor Gabriel Luna is known in part for his role as the Robbie Reyes incarnation of Ghost Rider. Though the series ended in 2017, Luna is keeping the door open for a potential return, given how the expansion of the McU's multiverse makes it more possible than ever before.

At the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, Luna and The Astronuat co-star Kate Mara spoke with Grae Drake of Cbr to promote the premiere of their new film. Their past superhero roles were discussed, given how Mara also played Sue Storm in 2015's Fantastic Four movie. Luna noted how he "enjoyed" the time he spent playing Ghost Rider, but when it came to possibly revisiting the role, he always fell back on a "stock answer" about just appreciating the work he did in the past. With that said, he's making it clear he's open to revisiting Robbie Reyes.

This year, Marvel Studios will introduce an all-new incarnation of the titular team in the upcoming film The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The movie's release comes 10 years after the release of the previous reboot, 2015's Fantastic Four, which featured Kate Mara as Sue Storm.

Mara's latest role is alongside Gabriel Luna and Laurence Fishburne in the new film The Astronaut. Speaking with Grae Drake of Cbr at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival to promote the film, Mara touched on her time spent playing Sue Storm. While the 2015 movie famously came up short with its critical reception and box office performance, there are no regrets held by Mara, who's grateful for the experience. After later marrying and having kids with Ben Grimm actor Jamie Bell, Mara also looks forward to her kids seeing the both of them playing superheroes together in the film one day.

"I don't have...

We're only three months into 2025, but somehow it doesn't feel too early to pick the worst sci-fi flick of the year. "The Astronaut," which premiered at the SXSW festival on Friday, was a disappointing, baffling slog. Kate Mara, Laurence Fishburne, and Gabriel Luna are all great actors, but they can't save a script that refuses to go anywhere interesting or say anything meaningful. 

The movie is about an astronaut named Sam Walker (Kate Mara), who has returned all bruised up from her first ever trip to space. NASA thinks something broke into her space shuttle as it descended back to Earth, so they keep her in an isolated house in Virginia while they figure it out. What follows is a dragged-out haunted house movie, where spooky stuff keeps gradually escalating around Walker. If you hate jump scares, tough luck: that's all the second act of this film has to offer.

An astronaut returns from her maiden voyage into space only to discover that something seems to have followed her back, and its intentions are unclear in writer/director Jess Varley’s The Astronaut. Captain Sam Walker (Kate Mara) has dreamed of being an astronaut for her entire life. When her first mission to space concludes, she lands in the ocean and is gathered up and brought to shore, only to discover that something isn’t quite right. A black rash on her hand has her a bit curious, and some other physical abnormalities make her military handlers a little concerned, so they quarantine her at a lovely house in the woods for a couple of weeks until she can get the all clear to return to her young...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

In 2018, Steven Spielberg took to SXSW with “Ready Player One,” a movie entirely built around offering homage and worship to the kind of ’80s movies Spielberg helped popularize. Needless to say, the movie wasn’t very good. Now, director Jess Varley is trying to make that a trend with the SXSW premiere of “The Astronaut,” a movie that references “Jurassic Park,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and even “E.T.” while telling a psychological thriller about an astronaut going back home. Unfortunately, just like Spielberg couldn’t save “Ready Player One” even with Gundam-sized references, Varley’s homages and nods can’t help save “The Astronaut” from a sudden tonal shift that takes away what makes the first half of the film interesting and brings it into redundant — and honestly, quite baffling — territory.

Kate Mara stars as Sam Walker, an astronaut returning home from her very first mission in space.

Kate Mara is hitting the red carpet at 2025 SXSW film festival.

The 42-year-old actress and co-star Gabriel Luna posed for photos together at the premiere of their new movie The Astronaut on Friday (March 7) held at Zach Theatre in Austin, Texas.

Writer/director Jess Varley was also in attendance along with producing father-son team Bradley and Cameron Fuller.

In The Astronaut, when astronaut Sam Walker (Mara) returns from her first space mission, she’s found miraculously alive in a punctured capsule floating deep off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Expecting to be reunited with her husband (Luna), she finds herself placed under intense NASA surveillance in a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing under the control of General William Harris (Laurence Fishburne). However, when disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, she fears that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.

It was recently announced that...

Think Close Encounters of the Third Kind meets Arrival meets E.T. The Extra Terrestrial meets The Martian meets Gravity and you pretty much have the cinematic inspirations for the latest outer-space entry known simply as The Astronaut, although you have to hand it to debuting writer-director Jess Varley for adding a twist none of the above remotely thought of. Whether audiences will buy it is a larger question for this film, which is premiering at SXSW in the Narrative Spotlight section.

Kate Mara, who was a systems operator in The Martian, this time gets the Matt Damon role of an astronaut, Sam Walker, who is returning to Earth after a very long time in isolation in outer space. Her reentry into society isn’t a smooth one and she is informed she almost died before splashdown due to some sort of mysterious force that physically touched her. Nevertheless, she...

Highland Film Group has unveiled the first image from Muzzle: City Of Wolves starring Aaron Eckhart, and announced key territory deals and additional casting as it continues sales at EFM this week.

Rights to the thriller about a retired police dog handler who gets pulled back into action to protect his family have closed with Vertigo Releasing for the UK, Australia, and New Zealand; Capelight Pictures for Germany; YouPlanet Pictures for Spain; and Italian International Film (Iif) for Italy.

Deals have also closed in Benelux (Three Lines Pictures), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo), Greece (Spentzos Film), Scandinavia (Mis. Label), Eastern Europe (Daro Film Distribution...

Kate Mara (upcoming The Astronaut) has joined the cast of Imperfect Women, Apple’s limited series based on the 2021 novel by Araminta Hall, Deadline has learned. While her role is under wraps, she’ll star opposite the previously announced Elisabeth Moss and Kerry Washington, who also exec produce.

An unconventional psychological thriller examining a crime that shatters the lives of a decades-long friendship of three women, Imperfect Women is described as a mystery complicated by perspective that explores guilt and retribution, love and betrayal, and the compromises we make that alter our lives irrevocably. As the investigation unravels, so does the truth about how even the closest relationships can change over time.

The novel will be adapted for television by Annie Weisman, creator of Apple TV+’s acclaimed Rose Byrne series Physical, who writes and exec produces. Other EPs include Moss and Lindsey McManus for Love & Squalor Pictures, which initially optioned the book,...

The 32nd edition of SXSW running March 7-14 in Austin, Texas, will open with the Apple TV+ series The Studio starring Seth Rogen and brings world premieres of new films from Nicole Kidman, Rosamund Pike, Ben Affleck, and Paul Rudd.

Rogen stars as the frazzled head of fictitious Continental Studios in The Studio, which debuts on the platform on March 26.Rogen co-directed with Evan Goldberg, and co-wrote with Goldberg and others. The cast includes Catherine O’Hara, Ike Barinholtz, and Katheryn Hahn, with cameos from A-listers.

Anticipated feature highlights include Headliners selections Holland from Amazon Studios, a thriller starring Kidman and...

In the time-honored tradition of Private Benjamin, Legally Blonde and Disney Channel original Cadet Kelly, Emma Roberts stars in the new comedy about a ditzy socialite who gets in over her head when she joins an organization with incredible odds to overcome. Amazon MGM has just released the new trailer for Space Cadet, which has Roberts’ character Rex lying to become accepted into NASA, only to find that she got more than she bargained for. The film also stars Tom Hopper, Poppy Liu and Gabrielle Union, Kuhoo Verma, Desi Lydic, Sebastián Yatra, Yasha Jackson, Andrew Call, Troy Iwata, Josephine Huang, Dave Foley, Sam Robards and Joshua Harto.

The official synopsis reads,

“Tiffany “Rex” Simpson (Emma Roberts) has always dreamed of going to space, but life isn’t going quite as planned. Determined to turn things around, she aims high and with the embellishing touch of her supportive best friend Nadine...

Although Phoebe Tonkin was in the 2012 shark thriller Bait and the high profile 2022 flop Babylon, most viewers probably know her from her work in television: she has been on multiple episodes H2O: Just Add Water, Home and Away, The Secret Circle, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Westworld, Safe Harbour, and more. I just finished watching a Netflix series she was in, Boy Swallows Universe, which I thought was pretty great. Now Tonkin has the lead role in a thriller called Night Shift, which just received a VOD and limited theatrical release today, courtesy of Quiver Distribution. To help you figure out whether or not Night Shift is a movie you’d like to see, we have a clip and the film’s trailer embedded above.

Written and directed by Paul China and Benjamin China, a.k.a. The China Brothers, Night Shift has the following synopsis: While working her first...

Check out the very first image from The Astronaut, which features actress Kate Mara. Laurence Fishburne portrays General William Harris in the sci-fi thriller, in charge of the NASA facility where Sam is housed. Mara's character, Lt. Sam Walker, is fearful that something from outer space has returned to Earth with her.

Did something inexplicably follow Kate Mara back to Earth from the cold unknowns of outer space? Well, something ominous seems to be lurking, at the very least, in the first image released from the upcoming sci-fi thriller, The Astronaut. Mara’s character, Lt. Sam Walker, seems to be hiding from someone or something in the picture as she stares pensively toward the camera. Check out the first-look photo from The Astronaut below:

Mara certainly isn’t a stranger to the dangers of outer space, as she starred in both The Martian and the Fantastic Four (2015). But in The Astronaut,...

Highland Film Group has locked key territory deals for sci-fi thriller “The Astronaut” from “A Quiet Place” producer Brad Fuller Pic stars Kate Mara (“A Teacher”), Laurence Fishburne (“John Wick” films) and Gabriel Luna (“Terminator: Dark Fate”). The film wrapped shooting late last year in Ireland.

“The Astronaut” has sold to Signature Entertainment for the U.K., Capelight Pictures for Germany, Blue Swan Entertainment for Italy, Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais for Portugal, DeAPlaneta for Spain, Spentzos Film for Greece, Cinemania Group for former Yugoslavia, Shoval Film Production for Israel, Falcon Films for the Middle East, Filmfinity for South Africa and Roadshow Films for Australia and New Zealand.

Jess Varley’s directorial debut, “The Astronaut” is produced by Fuller Media, the company behind Paramount’s “A Quiet Place” and “A Quiet Place Part II,” and Cameron Fuller, alongside Wonder Company’s Eric B. Fleischman (J.D. Dillard’s “Sleight”) and Chris Abernathy (“Barbarian”).

Highland Film Group,...

From producer Brad Fuller (A Quiet Place) comes the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut, and a first look image unveiled today of star Kate Mara indicates that the genre film is going to be intense.

The Astronaut also stars Laurence Fishburne and Gabriel Luna.

In the film, “When astronaut Sam Walker (Mara) returns from her first space mission, she’s found miraculously alive in a punctured capsule floating deep off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Expecting to be reunited with her husband (Luna), she finds herself placed under intense NASA surveillance in a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing under the control of General William Harris (Fishburne). However, when disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, she fears that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.”

The sci-fi thriller was written and directed by Jess Varley (Phobias), making her solo writing and directorial debut.

Producers include Fuller Media...

Almost exactly one year ago, it was announced that Emma Roberts (Abandoned) and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix) had signed on to star in the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut, which would mark the solo feature writing and directing debut of Jess Varley, who previously contributed a segment to the anthology film Phobias. The Astronaut has since made it way through production, but not with Roberts in the lead. Roberts had to drop out of the project and was replaced by Kate Mara (Class of ’09). Now a first look image that shows Mara as the title character has made its way online, and you can check it out at the bottom of this article.

The screenplay Varley wrote has the following synopsis: When astronaut Sam Walker (Mara) returns from her first space mission, she’s found miraculously alive in a punctured capsule floating deep off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. General...

In a first look at the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut, star Kate Mara looks concerned as a recently Earth-bound NASA astronaut being held under surveillance.

Jess Varley wrote and directed the feature, which is currently in post-production and also stars Laurence Fishburne and Gabriel Luna.

It follows astronaut Sam Walker (Mara), who returns from her first space mission and is found miraculously alive in a punctured capsule floating deep off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The synopsis for the film reads: “Expecting to be reunited with her husband (Luna), she finds herself placed under intense NASA surveillance in a high-security house for rehabilitation and medical testing under the control of General William Harris (Fishburne). However, when disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, she fears that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.”

Fuller Media’s Brad Fuller (A Quiet Place) and Cameron Fuller, alongside Wonder Company’s...

“You will see the El Niño of all Berlins with a downpour of projects… Unless you have a great project it will get lost.”

One month on from the AFM a positive yet realistic mood prevails with sellers reporting solid market deal flow as they and their partners return to packaging and production in the wake of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Most sales executives who spoke to Screen were heartened by buyer attendance. Asian buyers in general returned – although South Korea is challenging – and there was strong attendance too from Eastern Europe, Benelux and Scandinavia.

After a months-long production halt the...

Kate Mara and Gabriel Luna are coming aboard The Astronaut. The pair will be joining Laurence Fishburne in the sci-fi thriller. Deadline reports that the feature will be the writing and directorial debut of Jess Varley. Mara will play the titular astronaut, Sam Walker, who miraculously survives a space disaster and is found alive in a capsule floating in the Atlantic. Instead of reuniting with her husband (Terminator: Dark Fate and The Last of Us' Luna), she's put into a high-security facility for observation and testing by General William Harris (Fishburne).

Exclusive: Primetime Emmy nominee Kate Mara has joined Laurence Fishburne in the sci-fi thriller, The Astronaut. Terminator: Dark Fate actor Gabriel Luna has also joined the cast.

Jess Varley (Phobias) makes her solo writing and directorial debut.

Cameras are set to roll this October in Ireland under an interim SAG-AFTRA agreement.

The Astronaut is produced by Fuller Media’s Brad Fuller and Cameron Fuller, alongside Wonder Company’s Eric B. Fleischman (J.D. Dillard’s Sleight) and Chris Abernathy (Barbarian).

Highland Film Group is repping foreign rights to the pic here at TIFF. CAA Media Finance and the UTA Independent Film Group are co-repping domestic rights.

Gabriel Luna

In the pic, astronaut Sam Walker (Mara) returns from her first space mission. She’s found miraculously alive in a punctured capsule floating deep off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

Signature Entertainment has acquired U.K. and Ireland rights to sci-fi thriller “The Astronaut,” starring Emma Roberts (“We’re the Millers”) and Laurence Fishburne (“The Matrix”), from Highland Film Group.

Written and directed by Jess Varley (“Phobias”) in her solo directorial and writing debut, the film follows astronaut Sam Walker (Roberts) who, upon returning from her first space mission, is found miraculously alive in a punctured capsule floating deep off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. General William Harris (Fishburne) arranges for her to be placed under intense NASA surveillance in a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing. However, when disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, Walker fears that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.

“The Astronaut is produced by Brad Fuller, Eric B. Fleischman (“Sleight”) and Cameron Fuller (“The Girl in the Woods”).

The deal was negotiated between Signature’s director of acquisitions and TV...

Emeraude Toubia is set to star in the high-concept horror film “Rosario,” the debut feature of director Felipe Vargas, who will shoot the pic in his native country of Colombia.

Toubia, whose credits include the Freeform fantasy series “Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments” and Gloria Calderón Kellett’s new Amazon Studios series “With Love,” stars as Rosario, a successful Wall Street broker forced to confront an unthinkable and otherworldly evil.

When her estranged grandmother suddenly dies, Rosario has to spend the night with the body while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Trapped in the apartment by a heavy snowstorm and surrounded by unfriendly neighbors, Rosario is attacked by menacing supernatural forces that have possessed her grandmother’s corpse.

The target of a deadly family curse that spans generations, Rosario must battle everything she knows about her past to save herself and her soul in a desperate attempt to break the evil.

From producer Brad Fuller (A Quiet Place) comes the science fiction thriller The Astronaut, and Deadline reports today that Emma Roberts and Laurence Fishburne have signed on.

Jess Varley (Phobias) wrote the script and will be directing The Astronaut.

Deadline details, “Roberts will play astronaut Sam Walker who is found miraculously alive in a punctured capsule floating deep off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. General William Harris (Fishburne) arranges for her to be placed under intense NASA surveillance in a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing. When disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, Walker fears something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.”

“I was inspired by Jess’ vision and handle on the material and I’m thrilled to be working with her,” Platinum Dunes co-owner Brad Fuller said in a statement.

“This story is very close to my heart and I’m profoundly grateful it...

The European Film Market kicks off Feb. 16 with a wide assortment of films from sellers around the world. Below is a healthy selection of what’s on offer for buyers.

The Adults

Director: Alex Winter

Key cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Josh Gad, Anthony Carrigan

Synopsis: A sister and brother, Megan and Nathan are barely hanging on and their lives are completely upended when they discover a dead body, long buried in their parent’s basement, sending them down a rabbit hole of crime and murder.

Producers: Alex Winter, Scott Kroopf, Russell Hollander

Sales: Rocket Science (international); CAA Media Finance (domestic)

The Astronaut

Director: Jess Varley

Key cast: Emma Roberts, Laurence Fishburne

Producers: Brad Fuller, Eric B. Fleischman, Cameron Fuller

Synopsis: When astronaut Sam Walker (Roberts) returns from her first space mission, she’s found miraculously alive in a punctured capsule floating deep off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. General...

Emma Roberts (Abandoned) and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix) have signed on to star in the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut, which is scheduled to begin filming in Ireland later this year. This film will mark the solo feature writing and directing debut of Jess Varley, who previously contributed a segment to the anthology film Phobias.

Roberts will star in The Astronaut as the title character. The screenplay Varley has written has the following synopsis: When astronaut Sam Walker (Roberts) returns from her first space mission, she’s found miraculously alive in a punctured capsule floating deep off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. General William Harris (Fishburne) arranges for her to be placed under intense NASA surveillance in a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing. However, when disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, she fears that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.

The film is being produced by Eric B. Fleischman,...

Exclusive: Emma Roberts (Madame Web) and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix franchise) have been set to star in sci-fi thriller The Astronaut, which is being produced by A Quiet Place and The Purge producer Brad Fuller.

Production is due to start later this year in Ireland on the film in which Roberts will play astronaut Sam Walker who is found miraculously alive in a punctured capsule floating deep off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. General William Harris (Fishburne) arranges for her to be placed under intense NASA surveillance in a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing. When disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, Walker fears something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.

Jess Varley (Phobias) will make her solo writing and directorial debut. Also producing are Eric B. Fleischman (Sleight) and Cameron Fuller (The Girl in the Woods).

Highland Film Group is representing international rights, launching...

Stars: Emma Fitzpatrick, Jennifer Lafleur, Angela Gulner, Sibongile Mlambo, Corina Kinnear, Kati Sharp, Natalie D’Amico, Jess Varley, Mecca Morgan White, Richard McDowell, Kwanza Gooden, Tony Sgro | Written by Gia Elliot, Emma Fitzpatrick | Directed by Gia Elliot

Right from the title director Gia Elliot and co-writer Emma Fitzpatrick make it clear that Take Back the Night isn’t just another monster movie. By using the slogan of many marches and movements protesting violence against women as their title they signal their intention to make this about more than simple scares.

The challenge with that is not letting the message overwhelm the actual plot and the film’s entertainment value. Or worse become heavy-handed and preachy. The Hunting, which I recently reviewed, is an example, its message about veterans and Ptsd taking over what was supposed to be a werewolf film. Can the makers of Take Back the Night succeed where many have failed before?...

"I'm not making this up!" Dark Sky Films has revealed a new trailer for Take Back The Night, an intense vigilante horror-thriller made by filmmaker Gia Elliot. This premiered at a bunch of genre film festivals last year, including the Telluride Horror Fest, and is arriving on VOD in March this year. Finding herself the victim of a violent monster attack, Jane launches a vigilante campaign to hunt the beast that tried to kill her. Her troubling history of drug use & mental illness causes her family, community, and authorities to question the authenticity of her account. Suddenly alone in her fight, Jane starts to doubt if this Monster exists at all. Emma Fitzpatrick stars as Jane, with Angela Gulner, Jennifer Lafleur, Sibongile Mlambo, Corina Kinnear, Kati Sharp, Natalie D'Amico, and Jess Varley. This looks stylish & terrifying, but also looks like an extremely obvious metaphor about sexual assault "monsters" ...

Stars: Gideon Adlon, Abigail Cowen, Elizabeth Mitchell, Christian Camargo, Cameron Crovetti, Ashley Bell, Lulu Antariksa, Riley Scott, Treva Etienne, Jess Varley, Nicholas Crovetti, Bella Shepard | Written and Directed by Elle Callahan

Set in a modern America, Witch Hunt tells the story of two young witches in a world where witchcraft is illegal and punishable by death. These two young witches are helped by a woman who is trying to aid them over the southern border to asylum in Mexico. They are soon met with many obstacles including the daughter of the family who must decide which side she is on.

Despite a new The Craft movie and a new Witches movie coming out in the last year, witchcraft in film hasn’t exactly had a resurgence. It’s a sub genre of horror that, despite some popularity, has never completely took off and been over popularised with films. Because of this,...

The Brad Furman-directed crime thriller City of Lies has had quite a journey, but the Saban Films release finally hits theaters today before dropping on digital and on demand April 9.

Based on the book, LAbyrinth, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Randall Sullivan and adapted by Christian Contreras, City of Lies follows the investigation into the infamous murder of iconic rap artist Christopher Wallace aka the hip hop legend Notorious B.I.G.

Oscar and Emmy winner Forest Whitaker stars as Jack Jackson, a journalist who teams up with LAPD detective Russell Poole (Johnny Depp), who spent nearly 20 years trying to solve the murder. The two of them try to find the truth. They explore why the case remains cold — and why a secret division of the LAPD is seemingly set on keeping it that way.

It’s not a lie that City of Lies went through a lot to make its way to the theaters.

Leonardo Nam, Martina Garcia, Hana Mae Lee, Lauren Miller Rogen with Macy Gray and Ross Partridge Directed By Camilla Belle, Maritte Lee Go, Chris von Hoffmann, Joe Sill, Jess Varley Screenplay By Camilla Belle, Chris von Hoffmann, Joe Sill, Jess Varley, Maritte Lee Go & Broderick Engelhard Five dangerous patients, suffering from extreme phobias at …

The post Official Trailer and Poster** Phobias In Select Theaters, On Demand and Digital March 19th appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

Fears come to life at a government testing site in the trailer for the new horror anthology Phobias, coming to select theaters, On Demand, and Digital on March 19th from Vertical Entertainment.

Directed by Camilla Belle, Maritte Lee Go, Chris von Hoffmann, Joe Sill, and Jess Varley, and written by Belle, Hoffmann, Sill, Varley, and Maritte Lee Go & Broderick Engelhard, Phobias stars Leonardo Nam, Martina Garcia, Hana Mae Lee, and Lauren Miller Rogen, with Macy Gray and Ross Partridge.

Synopsis: "Five dangerous patients, suffering from extreme phobias at a government testing facility, are put to the ultimate test under the supervision of a crazed doctor and his quest to weaponize fear."



The post Fears Are Fully Realized in Official Trailer for Phobias appeared first on Daily Dead.

"Hello Jonathan - this is our future." Vertical Ent. has released an official trailer for the anthology horror film Phobias, a freaky new horror thriller "from the executive producers of Ready or Not." This originally premiered at last year's Mammoth Film Festival, arriving on VOD later this month. Five dangerous patients, suffering from extreme phobias locked in at a government testing facility, are put to the ultimate test by a crazed doctor and his quest to weaponize fear. The film's main segments are: "Vehophobia" (fear of driving), "Hoplophobia" (fear of weapons), "Robophobia" (fear of robots or A.I.), "Atelophobia" (fear of not doing something right), "Ephebiphobia" (fear of youth), and "Outpost 37" (fear of a crazy doctor experimenting on people). Directed by Camilla Belle, Maritte Lee Go, Joe Sill, Jess Varley, Chris von Hoffmann; and starring Alexis Knapp, Charlotte McKinney, Lauren Miller Rogen, and Leonardo Nam. This looks freaky. Here's...

“Phobias,” a group-directed genre title about our worst fears, has sold North American distribution rights to Vertical Entertainment.

The anthology film features the directorial debuts of three women — Jess Varley, Maritte Go, and actor Camilla Belle. They’re joined by Chris von Hoffman (“Monster Party”) and Joe Sill (“Stray”).

The film follows five dangerous patients at a government testing facility, all suffering from extreme phobias. A crazed doctor attempts to weaponize these anxieties. Vertical is hoping for a theatrical release and a digital platform rollout in March.

“Phobias” stars Leonardo Nam (“Westworld”), Hana Mae Lee (“Pitch Perfect”), Alexis Knapp (“The Knocking”), Lauren Miller Rogen, Martina Garcia (“Narcos”) and Grammy winner Macy Gray. The directors collaborated on the script with Broderick Engelhard.

Eric B. Fleischman of Defiant Studios and Maurice Fadida of Kodiak Pictures produced the film along with director Varley. The project is executive produced by Radio Silence, the filmmaking...