News

As Sanctuary, Zachary Wigon’s twisted tale of a dominatrix and her wealthy client, opens in NY and LA, David Lancaster of producer Rumble Films recalls a speedy 18-day shoot on a custom-made set in Brownsville, Brooklyn in late summer of 2021. It was Covid, so not the easiest time for indie financing.

It world premiered in Toronto, Neon picked it up. Rumble is pretty prolific with projects including Whiplash, Night Crawler, Eye In The Sky, Drive and Donnybrook. It lost one project to a lack of pandemic insurance and more recently saw another fall away since it wouldn’t have been finished shooting by the end of June – when actor and director contracts expires and they could potentially be on strike alongside writers. “It’s a tricky world,” he said.

He’s in Cannes with eOne horror thriller Visitation by Nicolas Pesce starring Olivie Cooke and Isla Johnston that finished...

Anonymous Content has enlisted Nicholas Shumaker, a longtime producer and former talent agent at UTA, and Kimberly Carver, a veteran manager and TV producer, to join the company’s literary department. Both will work as managers and producers.

Anonymous Content CEO, Dawn Olmstead, said: “Kimberly and Nick have such an incredible passion and commitment to finding creators and artists that not only have authentic voices but that also are the meaningful voices of the future.”

Olmstead said both executives have “tremendous reputations in the entertainment industry, on a global scale,” and that “their fierce dedication to elevating their clients through authentic opportunities is both admirable and unshakeable.”

Shumaker spent the last six years at the UTA Independent Film Group working out of their New York office. During his tenure, Shumaker worked on packaging, financing, and the sales for a variety of international director-driven titles, including the Oscar-winning film “Call Me By Your Name,...

"You'd be surprised what people can do..." Redbox has unveiled an official trailer for the indie film The Last Son, a western thriller from filmmaker Tim Sutton who is known for his low key indie films previously - Memphis, Dark Knight, Donnybrook, Funny Face. In this one, an outlaw attempts to end his evil family line. Sam Worthington stars as Isaac LeMay, a murderous outlaw cursed by a terrible prophecy, hunting down his offspring to prevent his own death before targeting his son. Shot entirely on location in Montana, "The Last Son truly portrays the brutality that was the West in the 19th century." The cast includes Thomas Jane, Colson Baker (aka "Machine Gun Kelly"), Heather Graham, Kim DeLonghi, Scotty Bohnen, Danny Bohnen, and James Landry Hébert. It actually looks a bit better than expected, more cinematic than Sutton's last features. A violent western with a grizzled Worthington ready to take on everyone alone.

It’s summer, everyone! And with its relatively sparse list of new releases for July 2021, Hulu seems to be subtlety imploring its subscribers to go outside.

Don’t get us wrong: Hulu’s library offerings get a big upgrade this month. July 1 sees the arrival of great films like Galaxy Quest, Fargo, and Caddyshack. Bill and Ted Face the Music premieres on July 2 and its followed by Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar on July 9. Not bad stuff! It’s just that, outside of the library titles, there isn’t much to go off of.

Hulu’s only major original release this month is the FX on Hulu production American Horror Stories on July 15. As its name implies, the show is a spinoff of American Horror Story and will feature self-contained horror episodes rather than a season-long arc. If you’ll allow this geriatric millennial to deploy one truly ancient meme: “Yo dawg,...

Most people know Frank Grillo from his role as Crossbones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Others might know him from his roles in films such as “Warrior,” “The Purge: Anarchy,” or 2018’s “Donnybrook.” But now, everyone is going to see Frank Grillo fully embrace his action star awesomeness in the new Joe Carnahan film, “Boss Level.” And this week, on The Playlist Podcast, Frank Grillo joins Charles, Brian, and Mike to talk about “Boss Level,” his recipe for a quality action film, what’s going on with that remake of “The Raid,” and much, much more.

Continue reading Frank Grillo Talks ‘Boss Level,’ The Action Film Algorithm, ‘The Raid’ Remake & More [The Playlist Podcast] at The Playlist.

The latest entry in the unsettling cinematic canon of men donning terrifying masks, Funny Face brings its own singular take, courtesy of director Tim Sutton. The story follows a young Muslim runaway who befriends a disturbed young man who wears a mask and moonlights as Funny Face, hellbent on seeking revenge on a real estate developer who displaced his grandfather and grandmother. The unlikely duo find comfort in one another as they set their sights on taking down the developer. The trailer for the film strikes a particular tone that mixes pulsing anxiety and underlying wit. Sutton achieved success with 2018’s Donnybrook, a drama about bare-knuckle fighters starring Jamie Bell and Margaret Qualley. Set to arrive at the end of March on VOD, the cast of Funny Face includes Cosmo Jarvis, Dela Meskienyar, Jonny Lee Miller, Victor Garber, Rhea Pearlman, and Dan Hedaya.

Rory O’Connor said in his review, “What...

It’s been a good few years for Margaret Qualley. Breaking out in “The Leftovers,” she’s since caught the eye of Spike Jonze (“Kenzo World“), Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood“), Netflix (“Io” opposite Anthony Mackie), FX (“Fosse/Verdon“), Tim Sutton (“Donnybrook“), Claire Denis and has amassed a nice little career for herself that has come close to peaking yet.

Continue reading ‘My Salinger Year’ New Trailer: Margaret Qualley Wants A Life Less Ordinary at The Playlist.

Last year, around this time, I kept beating the drum for the underrated, underseen drama, “Donnybrook.” The film is one of the best of 2019 and a feature that everyone should watch, if for no other reason than to see some of the best performances in the careers of Jamie Bell and Margaret Qualley. You’re definitely going to want to watch that film now because it appears that those two young actors are set to reunite in a new film, “Fred & Ginger.”

Read More: ‘Power Rangers’: Jonathan Entwistle To Direct A Feature Film & Oversee Various TV Series Based On ’90s Franchise

According to Deadline, Jamie Bell and Margaret Qualley have joined the cast of the forthcoming biopic, “Fred & Ginger,” in the roles of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, respectively.

Continue reading Jamie Bell & Margaret Qualley To Play Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers In New Biopic From Jonathan Entwistle at The Playlist.

If you know anything about the folks here at The Playlist, it’s that we love to highlight indie films that really excite us, especially those that tend to fly under the radar of the typical film watcher. And last year, one of those films (and one of my personal favorites) was “Donnybrook” by filmmaker Tim Sutton. It’s a film that struck a chord with me in a way that ensures I’ll check out anything the director works on from here on, including the project he’s currently filming, “The Last Son of Isaac LeMay.”

Read More: The 25 Best Films Of 2019 You Didn’t See

Now, thanks to the ubiquity of Instagram, we’re able to see some first looks at the production of the cold weather Western that Sutton is cooking up and the eclectic cast he has put together to help tell the story.

Continue reading...

If you’re not familiar with the work of young actress Margaret Qualley, then shame on you. Okay, maybe that’s a bit harsh, but the sentiment stands. In a relatively short time, she has appeared in a number of quality films and TV series, showcasing her range, such as “The Leftovers,” “The Nice Guys,” “Novitiate,” “Donnybrook,” and last year’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” And it appears she’s going to continue to do so with the forthcoming series, “Maid.”

Read More: Robert Pattinson & Margaret Qualley To Star In Claire Denis’ New Film For A24

According to Deadline, Qualley is set to star in the upcoming series, “Maid,” based on the best-selling memoir from author Stephanie Land.

Continue reading Margaret Qualley To Star In ‘Maid’ Series For Netflix Produced By Margot Robbie at The Playlist.

In today’s film news roundup, Frank Grillo and Luke Wilson join the cast of “Cosmic Sin,” the interrupted Miami Film Festival unveils its winners and the BAMcinemaFest and Provincetown festivals call off their events.

Castings

Frank Grillo, Luke Wilson and Adelaide Kane have joined Bruce Willis in the independent science-fiction action movie “Cosmic Sin.”

The Exchange and Saban Films announced the castings Monday as production wrapped. Corey Large and Edward Drake wrote and directed. Large also produced with Johnny Messner and Stephen Eads serving as executive producers.

“Cosmic Sin” follows a group of warriors and scientists who must fight to protect and save their race when a hostile alien species with the power to infect and take over human hosts sets its sights on a futuristic human society. The project was introduced to buyers at the 2020 European Film Market by The Exchange. Saban Films previously acquired the North American rights.

A girl in a headscarf meets a boy in a mask while trying to shoplift from the corner store where he works. She is frustrated from living at home with an uncle who doesn’t get her. He is frustrated because his grandparents have been evicted to make room for new swanky apartments. Romance and vengeance are soon both on the cards.

Funny Face is the latest work from Tim Sutton, a New York-based director whose previous films–Dark Night (a bold revisiting of the 2012 cinema shooting in Colorado) and Donnybrook (about a lucrative bare-knuckle boxing match)–also focused on violent loners, albeit of a different variety. Cosmo Jarvis stars as Saul, a lonely outsider who enjoys James Dean, smoking cigs and watching the Coney Island Cyclone from the rooftop of his apartment. His love interest is a younger Muslim woman named Zama (played by newcomer Dela Meskienyar); the Bonnie to his Clyde.

In a woozy, unpeopled Brooklyn that feels less like itself than a Benadryl dream of itself, a pair of misfit lovers drive around in a dusty stolen sedan. One wears a mask bearing a grotesquely grinning face, the other a niqab that reveals only her eyes. They seldom speak, and when they do the words come haltingly, questions dangle unanswered. Tim Sutton’s fifth film, which feels like a retreat back into moody abstraction after the moody clarity of “Donnybrook,” will not win him many new fans, and may even alienate some of the old ones, but for anyone attuned to its low-frequency bruised-romance wavelength – one that feels oddly indebted to early ’90s Us indie filmmaking – “Funny Face” does exert a strange and singular power.

Continue reading ‘Funny Face’: Tim Sutton Crafts A New York Fairy Tale For The Socially Marginalized [Berlin Review] at The Playlist.

In a rare moment of light, everyday pleasure in the otherwise perma-brooding “Funny Face,” two young Brooklyn lovers build sandwiches from international deli ingredients, accompanied by Serbian butter and sour watermelon pickle, and eat their creations with relish on a bench overlooking the shore. Whether intended or not as a reference to an almost century-old Rodgers & Hart lyric — “We’ll go to Coney/And eat baloney/On a roll” — it’s a tender evocation of a New York City that is currently passing before its inhabitants’ eyes, as diverse, independent populations and businesses are increasingly flattened in the name of hollow corporate gentrification.

That’s hardly an incidental theme of Tim Sutton’s stylish, plainly impassioned fifth feature, in which two young outsiders — a Muslim woman shaking off the oppressive minding of her elders, and an unhinged, mask-wearing victim of property redevelopment — meet, fall in love, and rage against the capitalist machine.

We have written before about how much we admire Tim Sutton. Not only did we love “Donnybrook,” but we’ve been eagerly anticipating his next feature film, “Funny Face,” which is set to have its world premiere as part of the Berlin Film Festival tomorrow. In honor of its premiere, we’re thrilled to offer readers an exclusive look at the first poster art for “Funny Face.”

Read More: ‘Funny Face’ Exclusive Clip: Filmmaker Tim Sutton Returns With A Tale Of Vengeance & Friendship

The poster art is just the right amount of enigmatic and disturbing, teasing the darkness and violence that the main character in “Funny Face” harvests, and also the calmer, more tender side of Sutton’s latest feature.

Continue reading ‘Funny Face’ Exclusive First Poster Art: Tim Sutton’s Tale Of Vengeance Heads To Berlin at The Playlist.

If you’re a regular reader of this site, you know that we’re huge fans of Tim Sutton. And last year, the filmmaker wowed us with his latest film, “Donnybrook.” Personally, the film made my own top 10, but we all agreed that “Donnybrook” should be included in our Best of 2019 festivities. And now, Sutton is back with his next feature, “Funny Face.”

Read More: The 25 Best Films Of 2019 You Didn’t See

And in honor of “Funny Face” arriving in Berlin for its world premiere later this week, we’re absolutely thrilled to offer our readers an exclusive clip to give you an idea of what Sutton has been working on since “Donnybrook.”

“Funny Face” tells the story of a young guy named Saul that finds himself with a growing desire for vengeance after a real estate developer decides to destroy his grandparents’ home, in favor of turning it into a parking lot.

Paris-based Moroccan filmmaker Laila Marrakchi is developing a pair of daring female-driven projects, “Casa Girls,” a series about four twentysomething single women living in Casablanca, and a drama based on a real-life sex scandal set against an agricultural backdrop in Spain.

Marrakchi, who has so far directed “Rock the Casbah” and “Marock,” both of which were box office hits in Morocco and traveled well, as well as episodes of the hit spy thriller series “The Bureau,” just wrapped the shoot of two episodes of Damien Chazelle’s anticipated Netflix series “The Eddy,” and is getting ready to helm a couple of episodes of “The Opera,” an ambitious show unfolding at the Paris Opera that will start filming next spring.

In between those two shoots, the much sought-after director is developing the scripts of both “Casa Girls” and her next feature film, which will be inspired by a New York Times...

If there’s a Frank Grillo fan club out there, I’d like to join it. Over the last several years, the actor has proven to be one of the best “tough guy” actors on the planet, with performances in films like “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (and briefly in ‘Civil War’), “Donnybrook,” “The Purge: Anarchy” (I’ll defend this film till the bitter end), and “The Grey.” Now, thanks to Netflix and one of his Marvel co-stars, Grillo is getting high profile gig he deserves in the film “Point Blank.”

Read More: ‘Into The Ashes’ Exclusive Trailer & Poster: Frank Grillo & James Badge Dale Star In This Hard-Boiled Crime Thriller

As seen in the trailer for “Point Blank,” Netflix is bringing back the old ‘80s and ‘90s action-revenge film in a big way.

Continue reading ‘Point Blank’ Trailer: Anthony Mackie & Frank Grillo Recall The Action Films Of Yore With Their Latest Collab at The Playlist.

Frank Grillo has slowly been building a strong filmography, with roles in films like “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “The Grey,” “Warrior,” and the underrated “The Purge: Anarchy.” And this is a damn shame because the man is easily one of the best parts of each of those films. Recently, Grillo starred in “Donnybrook” (which did the festival circuit before being released in select theaters this year) and was a standout in a film that is one of our Best of 2019…So Far.

Continue reading ‘Into The Ashes’ Exclusive Trailer & Poster: Frank Grillo & James Badge Dale Star In This Hard-Boiled Crime Thriller at The Playlist.

Highland Film Group represents international rights; production to commence June 24.

Tony Jaa, Frank Grillo, JuJu Chan, Rick Yune and Marie Avgeropoulos have joined Nicolas Cage and Alain Moussi on the martial arts thriller Jiu Jitsu.

Production is scheduled to begin on June 24 and Highland Film Group represents international rights on the story about an ancient order of elite fighters who battle a vicious alien every six years to protect earth.

When celebrated war hero Jake is defeated by the alien Brax, the future of humanity hangs in the balance, until a team lead by Wylie (Cage) rescues Jake, now suffering from amnesia,...

Frank Grillo, Keith David, Taryn Manning and Mark Boone Junior have joined the ensemble cast of “The Gateway.”

They join Shea Whigham, Olivia Munn, Bruce Dern and Zach Avery with Michele Civetta directing. Andrew Levitas is producing under his Metalwork Pictures banner alongside Stephen Israel.

The pic follows Parker, a downtrodden social worker in the grips of alcoholism, assigned to oversee care of the daughter of single mother, Dahlia, in this neo-noir thriller.

Grillo is fresh off the success of the acclaimed Netflix documentary series “Fight World,” an inside look at fight culture all over the globe that he produced and starred in as well as the brawl-thriller “Donnybrook” with Jamie Bell and Margaret Qualley that opened the Toronto Film Festival. He has a slew of projects set to bow in 2019, starting with the Netflix project “Point Blank” followed by the thriller “Boss Level” opposite Mel Gibson and Naomi Watts,...

“The Purge” star Frank Grillo has signed with CAA for representation, sources tell Variety.

Grillo’s long list of credits includes “The Purge: Anarchy,” “The Purge: Election Year,” “Captain America: Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Wheelman,” and “Warrior.” On the TV side, he was the star of the Audience drama series “Kingdom,” which also starred Nick Jonas and Jonathan Tucker.

Grillo was most recently seen in “Donnybrook,” which premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival and recently bowed in theaters. It also stars Jamie Bell.

He will follow that up with the thriller “Boss Level” opposite Mel Gibson and Naomi Watts, which Grillo produced with his production company War Party. He also has “Point Blank,” which also stars Anthony Mackie, premiering later this year on Netflix. Additionally, Grillo appears in Jason Blum’s “Once Upon a Time in Staten Island” with Watts and Bobby Cannavale, which debuts at...

Happy Monday, Jason from Mnpp here with this week's "Beauty vs Beast" -- we'll be wishing one of Tfe's favourite actors a happy 33 this week when Jamie Bell celebrates his birthday on Thursday. We love Jamie and are hoping for good things from his turn as Elton John's right-hand-man Bernie Taupin in Rocketman this spring... and yet we can't help but feel like it's another bridesmaid role. Why won't Hollywood let Jamie shine? He was the lead in the indie crime thriller Donnybrook which came out a few weeks back -- did any of you catch that?

Anyway for this week's poll we're probably dooming his chance to shine, again, by pitting him against one of our most beloved actresses -- his co-star in 2017's Film Stars Don't Die in Livepool, the queen Annette Bening. This movie got lost in the Oscar shuffle last year, which remains a...

Frank Grillo is joining Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson in “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard,” the sequel to “The Hitman’s Bodyguard.”

Salma Hayek will be returning as well. The original movie, released in the summer of 2017, grossed $75.5 million in the U.S. and more than $176 million globally.

Patrick Hughes will direct again from a script by Tom O’Connor. The Lionsgate sequel follows bodyguard Michael Bryce (Reynolds), who’s enlisted by Jackson and Hayek’s characters to join them on a mission along the Amalfi Coast. Production is expected to start in March.

Grillo is expected to play an Interpol agent who needs Reynolds, Jackson, and Hayek’s help to prevent a cyber attack in Europe.

Grillo has a slew of projects set to bow in 2019, starting with the thriller “Donnybrook,” which also stars Jamie Bell and Margaret Qualley. It hits theaters on Feb. 15. He will follow...

Often little movies come and go with great performances with established actors that get seriously overlooked. A textbook case of this is Tim Sutton’s “Donnybrook”, starring Jamie Bell, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last September and just hit theaters in New York and Los Angeles this weekend.

Adapted from Frank Bill‘s novel, it follows a young impoverished father (Bell) who is desperate to raise the funds to get his wife (Dara Tiller) into a drug rehab center.

Continue reading Jamie Bell On ‘Donnybrook,’ ‘Rocketman’ & Not Overcooking A Performance [Interview] at The Playlist.

“Alita: Battle Angel” is holding a slim lead ahead of “Lego Movie 2’s” second frame with an estimated four-day take of $29.1 million from 3,790 North American locations.

“Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,” meanwhile, is heading for about $25 million for a domestic tally of around $66 million. The two films lead the pack for a relatively sluggish President’s Day weekend, with the top 12 films totaling significantly below last year’s revenues, which were given a massive boost from the $242 million (four-day) premiere of “Black Panther.”

Robert Rodriguez’s cyberpunk action film starring Christoph Waltz and Rosa Salazar scored $7.53 million on Friday. James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis adapted the script from Yukito Kishiro’s manga series “Gunnm,” and the Fox sci-fier holds a 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. “Alita” marks a risk for the studio, with a costly $170 million production budget.

Warner Bros.’ “Lego Movie 2,” starring Chris Pratt and Elizabeth Banks, has taken...

On this episode of Adjust Your Tracking, Joe and I dig into what proved to be a bruising, doomed double feature in “Birds of Passage” and “Donnybrook,” two films receiving small releases that totally belie the towering filmmaking and thematic weight on display in both. The theatrical reach may be small, but these films feel big. That’s where we find so much to appreciate and recommend, despite both films being a hard sell for audiences.

Continue reading ‘Birds Of Passage’ & ‘Donnybrook’: Don’t Sleep On These Indie Masterworks [Ayt Podcast] at The Playlist.

A sizable group of Specialty films are heading into theaters over the Presidents Day weekend as distributors bring out new work beyond the glare of Awards Season. IFC Films is opening Tim Sutton’s Donnybrook with Jamie Bell, Frank Grillo and Margaret Qualley in theaters Friday, followed by on-demand platforms on February 22. Sony Pictures Classics is heading out with animated feature, Ruben Brandt, Collector. The company had become aware of the Hungarian feature after reading a review of the film out of last summer’s Locarno Film Festival. The Orchard picked up Colombia’s entry for Foreign Language Oscar consideration, Birds Of Passage by Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra, out of last year’s Cannes Film Festival where it opened Directors Fortnight. The title bowed Wednesday in New York and opens L.A. Friday. Also opening this weekend are Freestyle Digital Media’s The Maestro and Screen Media’s dog ‘rom-com,...

This Friday, moviegoers can catch a wide array of pics, from the action-sci-fi flick Alita: Battle Angel to the redemption drama Donnybrook, which features the talents of Jamie Bell and Margaret Qualley. 

Other titles include the rom-com parody Isn't It Romantic starring Rebel Wilson; Hotel by the River, a Korean film that brings viewers into the artistic wonder of foreign filmmaking; and Ruben Brandt, Collector, an animated abstract tale. 

Read on to see what The Hollywood Reporter's critics thought about this weekend's lineup of releases.

This Friday, moviegoers can catch a wide array of pics, from the action-sci-fi flick Alita: Battle Angel to the redemption drama Donnybrook, which features the talents of Jamie Bell and Margaret Qualley. 

Other titles include the rom-com parody Isn't It Romantic starring Rebel Wilson; Hotel by the River, a Korean film that brings viewers into the artistic wonder of foreign filmmaking; and Ruben Brandt, Collector, an animated abstract tale. 

Read on to see what The Hollywood Reporter's critics thought about this weekend's lineup of releases.

Tim Sutton’s “Donnybrook” is like getting wasted on expired beer at a bar with no liquor license, fighting three strangers in a parking lot, and passing out in a pool of vomit — which may or may not be your own — at the end of the night. On a Monday. It’s a brutal, depressing, filthy motion picture. But for whatever it’s worth, that’s the point.

“Donnybrook” stars Jamie Bell as Jarhead Earl, a war veteran with two kids, a drug-addicted wife, no money, and only one chance of improving his circumstances: The Donnybrook, an illegal, bare-knuckle brawl with a $100,000 grand prize.

But Sutton’s film, based on a novel by Frank Bill, isn’t a conventional fight movie. This is a movie about the tragedy of getting beaten up and not about doing the victorious beating. It falls to Jarhead Earl to make a perilous journey to the Donnybrook,...

“Donnybrook,” Tim Sutton’s poetic adaptation of Frank Bill’s novel, is a brutal movie with a soft touch. Orchestral music swells over the image of an empty fighting cage, and a few minutes later, the punches land hard. Sutton, whose mesmerizing docu-thriller “Dark Night” imagined the sleepy routines leading up to a mass shooting, excels at punctuating quiet lyricism with pain. This time, however, the observational textures have been stuffed into the mold of a pulpy survival story against the backdrop of an unforgiving rural landscape. The characters hail from familiar archetypes of impoverished loners, but their world exudes a haunting sense of loss.

The first time we see Jarhead Earl (a grim Jamie Bell), he’s coasting along a foggy river, dwarfed by murky green hills. That image epitomizes the atmosphere of desolation to come, as Earl gears up for a cage match with a $100,000 buy-in. His family...

Every year, we’re lucky enough to check out some festival films that surprise us and become some of our favorites. Last year, “Donnybrook” was one of those films. Directed by Tim Sutton and starring Jamie Bell and Margaret Qualley, “Donnybrook” was easily one of the best films to come out of the fall festivals and is luckily finally getting released this year. And to make matters even better, those three talented individuals are getting the band back together for a brand-new film, which is instantly going to be one of our most-anticipated.

Continue reading Sebastian Stan, Jamie Bell, & Margaret Qualley Team With ‘Donnybrook’ Filmmaker For ‘The Chain’ at The Playlist.

Exclusive: Voltage Pictures has boarded international sales on Tim Sutton’s upcoming thriller The Chain, which reunites the filmmaker with his Donnybrook stars Jamie Bell and Margaret Qualley. Both stars are in talks to join in addition to Colette‘s Denise Gough and Captain America: Civil War‘s Sebastian Stan.

Voltage president and COO Jonathan Deckter announced the news today.

The Chain, which Sutton adapted from Tobias Wolff’s award-winning short story of the same name, follows the story of a man’s daughter who is viciously attacked by a dog, setting off a chain of events that ends in unspeakable tragedy. This is the second feature-length adaption of Wolff’s literary work; his memoir This Boy’s Life was adapted into the hit feature film of the same name starring Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Barkin. Production on The Chain will start in April.

Producers are Rumble Films’ David Lancaster and Stephanie Wilcox. Deckter negotiated the deal with Jon Shiffman COO/CFO of Rumble Films on behalf of the producers. UTA will rep North American rights. Rumble Films also produced Sutton’s bare-knuckle pugilist pic Donnybrook which made its world premiere at last year’s Toronto Film Festival’s Platform Section, won the 2018 Fantastic Fest main competition and will be released by IFC Films in 2019.

“The incomparable Tobias Wolff is one of my favorite authors and we’re even bigger fans of Jamie Bell since working with him on the powerful feature Skin,” said Deckter. “We’re thrilled to partner with our friends at Rumble Films to bring Tim Sutton’s adaptation to audiences around the world. It ticks all the boxes for a strong, international commercial contender so we could not be happier to be representing The Chain,” Deckter continued.

The Chain is the latest film to be added to Voltage’s production and sales slate for Berlin. The company recently announced its new production Blackwing from writer David Loughery and its worldwide representation of the social media thriller Follow Me.

Bell who first rose to prominence in his debut role in Billy Elliot, most recently played Bryon Widner in Guy Nattiv’s skinhead redemption drama Skin, which won the Fipresci prize at Toronto and is set to open in the Panorama section at this year’s Berlin. He is repped by UTA and Artists Independent Management.

Two-time Olivier Award-winning actress Denise Gough’s film credits include Bleecker Street Media’s Colette opposite Keira Knightley and Dominic West and Lionsgate’s Juliet, Naked opposite Rose Byrne and Chris O’Dowd. Gough was nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play at the 2018 Tony Awards for her role in Angels in America. She recently wrapped Monday and can next be seen in 20th Century Fox’s The Kid Who Would Be King, which is currently in release. Gough is repped by UTA and Independent Talent Group.

Stan’s credits include Jonathan Demme’s Ricki and the Flash, Ridley Scott’s The Martian and I, Tonya. Most recently, Stan starred opposite Nicole Kidman in Karyn Kusama’s Destroyer. He is repped by ICM Partners and Brookside Artist Management.

Qualley is best known for her role as Jill Garvey on the HBO series The Leftovers. Her film credits include Shane Black’s The Nice Guys and Maggie Bett’s Novitiate. Qualley will next star in the FX limited series Fosse/Verdon opposite Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams, premiering in the spring. She is repped by UTA and Management 360.

The first trailer for Donnybrook, from Memphis and Dark Night director Tim Sutton, promises a film that will be an explosive and staggering condemnation of the American Dream. The drama conveys the story of two men, played by Frank Grillo and Jamie Bell, who prepare to compete in an all-out bare-knuckle fight for the coveted prize of $100,000. The cast is rounded out by Margaret Qualley and James Badge Dale. Following a world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and ahead of a release in February, the trailer has now arrived.

Tim Sutton spoke about the violence in the film with its inherent connection to America and its cinema in an interview at Tiff, saying “But you accept giant Armageddon-like movies for 20 years, and then you’re shocked when someone blows up a building. And the Ufc—the cage fighting on TV—is more popular than boxing, which I think is barbaric too.

Donnybrook Trailer Tim Sutton‘s Donnybrook (2018) movie trailer stars Jamie Bell, Frank Gillo, Margaret Qualley, James Badge Dale, and Pat Healy. Donnybrook‘s plot synopsis: “Three desperate souls must fight their way out of a dead-end world in this bracing, gut-punching glimpse into America’s dark underbelly. Earl (Jamie Bell) is a struggling ex-marine and father determined to make [...]

Continue reading: Donnybrook (2018) Movie Trailer: Jamie Bell fights in a Bare-knuckle Brawl to Win $100K...

"It's how you fight is all that counts at the Donnybrook..." IFC Films has debuted the first official trailer for an indie fight drama titled Donnybrook, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and Fantastic Fest last year. This is the latest feature made by indie filmmaker Tim Stutton, of the films Pavilion, Memphis, and Dark Knight. It's about "three desperate souls" who must fight their way out of a dead-end world in this "bracing, gut-punching glimpse into America’s dark underbelly. Two men prepare to compete in a legendary bare-knuckle fight where the winner gets a $100,000 prize. Starring Jamie Bell as Earl, along with Frank Gillo, Margaret Qualley, James Badge Dale, Chris Browning, Adam Bartley, and Pat Healy. If you're already a fan of Sutton's low key films, then you know what you're getting into, but it really looks like he's kicking things up a notch and going more...

There are a few genres that reliably get the term “Oscar bait” tossed at them come awards season: biopics of important figures, epic historical dramas, movies about disabilities or the Holocaust, etc. However, there’s a particular kind of movie that escapes this treatment despite a history of Oscar glory: fighting movies with a desperate edge. “Rocky,” “Warrior,” “Creed,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “The Fighter,” “Raging Bull,” “Cinderella Man,” and “Ali” have all garnered at least one Academy Award nomination, and it’s rare for one of these films to slip by unnoticed.

Continue reading ‘Donnybrook’ Trailer: Jamie Bell, Frank Grillo & Margaret Qualley Are On The Way To A Desperate, Brutal Fight Club at The Playlist.

Frank Grillo is set to star in the action-thriller “Hell on the Border” with Wes Miller directing.

Miller also penned the script with Curtis Nichouls, Henry Penzi, and Sasha Yelaun producing. Ron Perlman is also on board to co-star.

Plot details are unknown at this time. Production is currently underway in Birmingham, Ala.

Grillo has a slew of projects set to bow in 2019, starting with the thriller “Donnybrook,” which also stars Jamie Bell and Margaret Qualley and opened at the Toronto Film Festival. It premieres in theaters on Feb. 15.

He will follow that up with the thriller “Boss Level” opposite Mel Gibson and Naomi Watts, which Grillo produced with his production company War Party.

Grillo’s “Point Blank” premieres later this year on Netflix...

Exclusive: Frank Grillo, Reid Scott, Beau Knapp and Tyrese Gibson are set to join Naomie Harris in the Deon Taylor-directed cop thriller Black and Blue, which is set up under Sony’s Screen Gems label.

Written by Peter A. Dowling, the pic follows a rookie New Orleans cop (Harris) who rounds the corner just as corrupt narc officers are murdering a drug dealer, an event captured by her body cam. When they then fail to execute her and she escapes, the narcs pin the murder on her, and she is hunted both by the narcs who are desperate to destroy the incriminating footage and the drug dealers out for revenge.

Sean Sorensen of Royal Viking Entertainment is producing with Taylor’s Hidden Empire Film Group production shingle. Hidden Empire partner Roxanne Avent will serve as exec producer, while Eric Paquette is overseeing the project for Screen Gems.

Grillo, whose credits include Captain America,...

High-profile Paris-based Moroccan filmmaker Laila Marrakchi is partnering up with Backup Films (“Donnybrook”) and Alexandre Aja (“The Hills Have Eyes”) on “My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece,” her long-gestating English-language project based on Annabel Pitcher’s bestselling novel.

The book has been translated into more than 20 languages and has earned many prizes including the Royal Society of Authors’ Betty Trask nod and the Hull Children’s book of the year. Marrakchi is writing the script with British writer Amber Trentham (“Rhapsody in Blueberry”). The pair is working on the final draft and has incorporated new elements, such as Brexit, into the storyline. The British Film Institute has just come on board to support the project.

The film will revolve around a 10-year-old boy whose sister was killed in a terrorist attack in London when he was 5 years old and has been raised by his father who has become Islamophobic. When...

Later today, the Sundance Film Fest unveil their 2019 line-up. Taking a Thierry Fremaux Cannes approach, the fest will be annoucing their programming offerings in real time. For those who want to check out our prognosticates, you’ll find a simple checklist and of particular note, this upcoming fest should be especially sweet for a pair of 24 year-olds in Montana born Margaret Qualley and New Orleans born Kelvin Harrison Jr. Qualley who broke out in Park City with Novitiate and a supporting role in The Vanishing of Sidney Hall, could be there with five films in Rhys Ernst’s Adam, Benedict Andrews’ Against All Enemies, Rashid Johnson’s Native Son, Jonathan Helpert’s Io and the American premiere to Tim Sutton’s Donnybrook.…...

There are a slew of festival preemed goodies in Her Smell, Birds of Passage, Donnybrook, High Life, Gloria Bell, Fistful of Dirt and even Errol Morris’ American Dharma that could break in Sundance’s Spotlight section, but we’re most convinced about Rick Alverson receiving a homecoming at a fest that has supported his latest work and would be the Us premiere for the uphill psychological climb that is The Mountain. Featured in competition at the Venice Film Festival (here is our sit down with the filmmaker) and next to no international screenings since, Alverson has shown both 2012’s The Comedy and 2015’s Entertainment in Park City.…...

Supervising sound editor and rerecording mixer Craig Mann, who won an Oscar for his work on Damien Chazelle's Whiplash, has joined postproduction sound company Formosa Group.

Mann arrives from Technicolor, which recently announced that it will shut down its feature film sound operation, and he will be working in a newly constructed suite at Formosa's Santa Monica facility.

In addition to Whiplash, for which he also won a BAFTA Award, Mann's credits include IFC Films' Donnybrook, which screened last month at the Toronto International Film Festival; Marshall; All Eyes on Me; and Dope. On the television side, he was recently nominated for an Emmy ...

Supervising sound editor and rerecording mixer Craig Mann, who won an Oscar for his work on Damien Chazelle's Whiplash, has joined postproduction sound company Formosa Group.

Mann arrives from Technicolor, which recently announced that it will shut down its feature film sound operation, and he will be working in a newly constructed suite at Formosa's Santa Monica facility.

In addition to Whiplash, for which he also won a BAFTA Award, Mann's credits include IFC Films' Donnybrook, which screened last month at the Toronto International Film Festival; Marshall; All Eyes on Me; and Dope. On the television side, he was recently nominated for an Emmy ...

The Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference has set its full lineup for the 25th anniversary edition that runs October 25-November 1. The full slate includes 23 world, North American and U.S. premieres, and features awards-season slots for Steve McQueen’s Widows, Peter Farrelly’s Green Book, Mike Leigh’s Peterloo and Paul Dano’s Wildlife, joining the previously announced likes of Boy Erased, The Favourite and closing-night film The Front Runner. Ben is Back, the drama starring Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges, is bowing as Aff’s Centerpiece selection, with writer-director Peter Hedges in attendance. Meanwhile, the festival’s retrospective series this year will feature Tony Gilroy presenting his 1995 film Dolores Claiborne, Graham Yost presenting 1994’s Speed, and writer Mick Garris in attendance for a Halloween presentation of Hocus Pocus. Gilroy and Yost will be part of the annual Writers Conference schedule, which will take place the first four days of the festival.

James Badge Dale had one hell of a Tiff 2018 experience premiering Jeremy Saulnier’s Hold the Dark, Tim Sutton’s Donnybrook and toplining Henry Dunham‘s directorial debut in the Midnight Madness selected The Standoff at Sparrow Creek. Set in a warehouse with plenty of figure pointing, the thriller was quickly picked up at the fest by Rlje Films for North American rights. Here is our photo session with the filmmaker and his star.…...

IFC Films has acquired the North American rights to Jamie Bell’s drama “Donnybrook,” an individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap.

Frank Grillo, Margaret Qualley and James Badge Dale also star in the film directed by Tim Sutton, based on the novel by Frank Brill.

The drama premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in the Platform Competition. IFC plans a theatrical release for “Donnybrook” in 2019.

Also Read: Jamie Bell's 'Skin' Lands at A24, DirecTV for Domestic Rights

David Lancaster and Stephanie Wilcox from Rumble Films produced, while Joel Thibout, David Atlan-Jackson, Jean-Baptiste Babin, Andrew Schwartzberg and Jon Shiffman executive produced.

Bell stars as a former marine struggling with his financial situations, until he enters a bare-knuckle fighting contest where the grand prize is $100,000.

The deal was negotiated by IFC Films Evp of Acquisitions and Production Arianna Bocco and UTA Independent Film Group.

See Video: Jamie Bell on...

IFC Films has acquired North American distribution rights to the drama “Donnybrook” out of the Toronto Film Festival, Variety has learned.

The deal was in the seven-figure range, according to sources. Five companies were circling the project, which stars Jamie Bell as a former marine grappling with economic hardships. He enters a bare-knuckle fighting contest where the winner walks away with $100,000.

The rest of the cast includes Frank Grillo, Margaret Qualley and James Badge Dale.

IFC will release “Donnybrook” in theaters in 2019.

The film, directed by Tim Sutton (“Dark Knight”) and based on the novel by Frank Bill, premiered to strong reviews at Toronto’s Platform Competition. It was produced by David Lancaster and Stephanie Wilcox at Rumble Films with financing from Backup Media. Executive producers include Joel Thibout, David Atlan-Jackson, Jean-Baptiste Babin, Andrew Schwartzberg and Jon Shiffman.

“It is both an honor and a thrill to partner with IFC Films,...

Five bidders are circling the Toronto drama “Donnybrook,” Variety has learned.

Those in the mix include Lionsgate, Neon and IFC Films. A deal is expected to be reached in the coming days.

“Donnybrook” stars Jamie Bell as a former U.S. marine grappling with economic hardships. The drama, directed by Tim Sutton, has received strong reviews out of Toronto.

Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge called the movie “poetic” and “haunting,” adding that Bell “disappear[s] into the role, instead of beaming with hope and possibility, his face reveals a man who’s seen rock bottom.”

This year’s Toronto Film Festival has seen a smattering of deals so far. The September gathering traditional launches the fall awards season, with titles such as Bradley Cooper’s “A Star is Born” and Damien Chazelle’s “First Man” still coming up.

Bell has been a Mvp of this year’s Toronto. In addition to “Donnybrook,...