News

David S. Ward, the Oscar-winning scribe behind “The Sting” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” is set to helm “Dr. Campbell,” a biographical drama about plant-based nutrition pioneer Dr. T. Colin Campbell.

The project marks Ward’s return to the director’s chair after the 1996 film “Down Periscope.”

The film will trace Campbell’s journey from his upbringing on a dairy farm in the 1930s to his groundbreaking research linking diet to chronic diseases. It aims to explore the resistance Campbell faced from political, academic and corporate entities as his findings challenged established interests in the food industry. He also helped launch a movement with his bestselling book, “The China Study.”

The film’s logline reads: “From an unlikely starting point, and later battling his own illness, scientist Dr. Colin T. Campbell discovers that an animal-based diet dramatically increases the risk of disease, which threatens government, corporate and academic groups more interested...

Exclusive: Tara Reid, is set to star in writer, director White Cross’ psychological thriller Dr. Quarantine. Shooting has begun in Los Angeles.

Amidst a viral pandemic, a psychiatrist under a shelter-in-place order tries to get help for her husband and son stranded abroad and calm her patients via video chat appointments while her own neuroses boil over.

Set to play psychiatrist in amongst the coronavirus pandemic Reid said: ‘’It’s a mental health thriller, shedding light on the hard time we all went through separately, but also together during the pandemic and is a topic that needs attention because of the worldwide global mental health issue from the repercussions that people are now experiencing in the aftermath of being confined.” Reid is also on board to produce.

White Cross explained of her vision for the movie: ‘’What happened during the coronavirus pandemic is like nothing anyone has seen in their lifetime.

British filmmakers Sean Cronin and Peter Stylianou’s latest feature, “Drained,” has wrapped post-production and is being sold by Cronin’s Magnificent Films at the Cannes Film Market.

Cronin is also an actor who has appeared in “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” and “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” He has played villains in some 89 films, besides directing several titles.

“Drained,” a vampire film, co-directed and produced by Cronin and Stylianou from a screenplay by Stylianou, follows Thomas, a jobless post-graduate artist who falls for Rhea, a mysterious woman who is revealed to be a vampire. As their dark romance progresses, Thomas’s health declines, plunging him into a chaotic spiral.

The cast features Ruaridh Aldington (“Dirty Boy”) and Madalina Bellariu Ion (“Dampyr”) as the doomed lovers. Supporting roles are filled by Craig Conway (“Dog Soldiers”), Angela Dixon (“Never Let Go”), Andrew Lyle-Pinnock, Natasha Patel (“The Witcher: Blood Origin...

Film and media company Buffalo 8 has acquired worldwide distribution rights to “Dig Me No Grave” from Djonny Chen’s prolific U.K.-based outfit Silent D Pictures. The deal was revealed at the Berlin European Film Market (EFM).

“Dig Me No Grave” follows the harrowing journey of an ageing hunter who embarks on a final quest for an elusive elk. His seemingly routine expedition takes a nightmarish turn when he becomes ensnared beneath the immense weight of a bear. Days of desperate survival ensue until a mysterious stranger rescues him, leading to intense events in the unforgiving wilderness.

The cast includes Warren Lee Hicks (“Renegades”), James Bryhan (“Shadow and Bone”) and Mark Strange (“B.R.I.”). The film is directed by Ranjeet S. Marwa (“Spring Lakes”) and written by Gary A. Piazza.

Silent D Pictures produces alongside Marwa’s Rocket Sky High Motion Pictures, with Matthew Helderman (“Clerks III”) and...

British actor Michelle Collins headlines the cast of horror-thriller “The Haunting of Helen’s Bridge.”

The film, directed by Stephen Presley and written by Presley and Gemma Esau, recently completed principal photography. It explores the urban legend surrounding Helen’s Mountain and its infamous bridge, located at Asheville, North Carolina.

“The Haunting of Helen’s Bridge” follows the malevolent spirit of Helen, a grieving mother who, overwhelmed by the loss of her child, met a tragic end by tying a noose around her neck and hanging herself from the bridge. Actual paranormal footage captured at the bridge is woven into the narrative.

Collins said: “I’ve never been in a horror genre movie before, so I was thrilled when this opportunity came along. Despite initially being worried about having nightmares after the filming, I genuinely enjoyed the whole experience, and I’d love to make another horror now. I can...

Indonesian film star Arifin Putra (“The Raid 2”) and emerging actor Eloise Lovell Anderson (“Villain”) have wrapped principal photography on Sean Cronin’s vampire road movie “Bogieville.”

Written by Henry P. Gravelle (“The Over Easy Courthouse Cafe”), the film follows a couple on the run who come across a derelict trailer park, Bogieville. Convinced to stay by the sinister caretaker, they soon learn that he is a guardian to the residents of Bogieville, a pack of vampires.

The cast also includes Cronin himself as the lead vampire, Sarina Taylor (“Solitary”), Poppie Jae Hughes (“Our Kid”), Daniel P. Lewis (“Wuthering Heights”), Andrew Lee Pots (“The Crown”) and Katie Sheridan (“The Royal Nanny”).

The film is produced by Djonny Chen for Silent D Pictures, along with Cronin for Magnificent Films. Cronin has played villains in some 89 films, besides directing several titles.

Putra said: “I was really drawn to the unique portrayal of...

Arabella Burfitt-Dons’ dark coming-of-age music drama film “Finding My Voice” has completed principal photography and is currently in post.

Debutant Anais Garness is in the lead role of teenage aspiring singer-songwriter Melanie Kendall, raised in a North London council apartment by her mother Lisa, portrayed by “Bionic Woman” star Michelle Ryan. Indonesian actor Arifin Putra, known for his role in cult film “The Raid 2,” plays music producer Chris Russell. The cast also includes Junior Andre (“On the Other Foot”), BAFTA-nominated Kierston Wareing (“It’s a Free World…”), Tracy Shaw (“Coronation Street”), musician and actor Peter Andre, Vicki Michelle (“Allo! Allo!”) Nick Moran (the Harry Potter franchise) and Rachel Warren (“Rise of the Footsoldiers”). British presenter Dave Berry also stars in the film presenting on his Absolute Radio breakfast show.

The film, written by Donna Taylor who also produces and stars in the film, follows Melanie Kendall’s journey to...

Production has commenced on British multiverse horror-thriller film “Parallel.”

Written by Nathan Shane Miller (“Surviving Confession”), the film follows a detective’s journey through the pain of losing his son. As he navigates through a small British community veiled in enigma and fear, a hidden portal to a parallel realm offers a chance at reunion, blurring reality as secrets unfurl.

The film is directed by Matthew Tibbenham. The cast is headlined by James Cosmo and Arifin Putra (“The Raid 2”). It also includes Hannah Al Rashid (“The Night Comes for Us”), Iskandar Eaton (“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”), Philip Hulford (“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”), and Shivani Cassidy (“Quarantine Leap”).

The film is produced by Silent D Pictures, led by prolific producer Djonny Chen, and his producing partner Ewa Habdas. The company is known for “Dragged Up Dirty,” featuring Michelle Ryan (“Bionic Woman”), “The Haunting of Helen’s Bridge,...

Exclusive: One day after New Mexico dropped criminal charges against Rust actor and producer Alec Baldwin in the tragic on-set death of Dp Halyna Hutchins, Deadline has learned that the Oscar nominee and multi-Emmy winner is set to star in Mike Hatton’s feature directorial debut, Hollywood Heist.

Mike Hatton

The news comes the same day a resurrected Rust began shooting in Montana with Baldwin return to star and produce, and Joel Souza continuing at the helm.

The comedy crime caper, which also stars Nick Cannon, Mickey Rourke, Paul Sloan, Til Schweiger and Tara Reid, was shot in Las Vegas and Majorca, Spain, and finished principal photography in Los Angeles last week.

Nick Cannon

Hollywood Heist follows a Hollywood power agent (Cannon) trying to land an actor (Baldwin) by telling the story of his client, a movie producer (Hatton), along with a washed-up movie star pal (Sloan), as they race...

Exclusive: A comedy series adaptation of Laura Vorreyer’s popular book The Pet Sitter’s Tale is in the works for the small screen with Tara Reid set to star and produce.

Titled Walking In LA, the female-driven comedy hails from Vorreyer, Reid’s Hi Happy Films, Katie Rotolo and Alex Parker’s Paper Ball Pictures and Philippe Ashfield and David Lewis’ Instant Entertainment. The project is currently being shopped.

Vorreyer’s The Pet Sitter’s Tale is a collection of short stories about her love of pets from the time she was a young girl in growing up in Chicago to inadvertently becoming a professional pet sitter in L.A.

Per the logline: “Walking in LA follows the feel-good redemption story of magical-thinking protagonist Lucy who, fired from her dream job and dumped by her fiancé, moves on a whim to the City of Angels in search of something better.

Tara Reid is set to star in a new psychological thriller “Sheila,” Variety can reveal.

Written by newcomers Jackie and Jennifer Moricz (better known collectively as The Moricz twins), whose work has been featured in the Blacklist, “Sheila” is described as a “modern day ‘Psycho.'”

“Left to run her family’s Suntan Motel for the week, Charlie takes a unique interest in the only guest, a girl in town for a bikini contest – Sheila,” reads the logline. “Tapped as the girl to beat in the 1980s bikini boom, it’s no surprise that when the story jumps twenty years, she’s known worldwide on a one-name basis. Sheila. Just Sheila.”

Fast-forward 20 years and viewers see Sheila’s Corvette in the bottom of the motel pool – with a body inside it – leading to the question of what really happened between Charlie and Sheila at the Suntan Motel in the last...

Tara Reid is set to play an MI6 agent in upcoming espionage thriller “Cold Sun,” Variety can exclusively reveal.

Reid will play an inexperienced British spy called Marsha Ravencourt in the film, which has been billed as “Cagney and Lacey with a difference.”

Jason Figgis (“The Ecstasy of Isabel Mann”) will direct the feature, which is set to shoot this summer in the U.K. and Malta.

Reid, who has appeared in the Sharknado and American Pie franchises, is joined by Patrick Bergin (“Patriot Games”), Rita Tushingham (“Last Night in Soho”), Ian Ogilvy (“Death Becomes Her”) and Gabriella Wright (“The Transporter Refuelled”) in the film.

Wright will play an equally green Interpol agent called Cheyenne ‘Chey’ Marchand who joins forces with Reid’s character to take down an international gang of murderous criminals.

“Two inexperienced female operatives are thrust into a violent world, they will have to learn fast if they want to survive,...