Notizie

Running Sept. 18 – 21, this year’s fully in-person Cartoon Forum co-production pitch session will build on pre-pandemic attendance numbers, welcoming 290 buyers, among them nearly two dozen first-time participants, while introducing new players into the mix.

Alongside the commissioners, producers, and broadcasters that have made up Cartoon Forum’s traditional base, this year’s bustling edition will host a growing delegation of publishers hungry for fecund I.P. and niche streamers filling in the gaps left by Amazon and Netflix, who will not make the trip to Toulouse in France.

“We’re opening up to a new generation,” says Cartoon Media director Annick Maes. “We’ll have [more than] 20 companies that have never attended Cartoon before, which should make for a very interesting event. How will they pitch? What will they produce? What will they bring [to the mix]?”

Among those new to the mix is Ubisoft Film and Television, a subsidiary of the video game powerhouse...

The trailer for Smoking Causes Coughing offers a glimpse at the bizarre Power Rangers-inspired film. Smoking Causes Coughing is the new film from Quentin Dupieux, the director behind Rubber, Wrong Cops, and Mandibles. The French film stars Gilles Lellouche, Anaïs Demoustier, Vincent Lacoste, Jean-Pascal Zadi, Oulaya Amamra, and Adèle Exarchopoulos, and follows the Tobacco Force, a team of vigilantes fighting to save the world.

Magnolia Pictures shared the trailer for Smoking Causes Coughing on YouTube, giving audiences a glimpse at a unique riff on the Power Rangers-style team versus monster formula.

The trailer sees the Tobacco Force taking down a monster before being subjected to a week-long retreat meant to rebuild the team's spirit. As their retreat begins, one absurd occurrence after another permeates the trailer, offering viewers a look at the ridiculous humor and off-the-wall gags the movie has in store.

Related: Power Rangers’ Other Evil Green...

Leatherface is finally coming back this year and horror fans have reason to be excited. As reported by https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3656136/texas-chainsaw-massacre-fede-alvarez-confirms-new-movie-sequel-old-man-leatherface-exclusive/|Bloody Disgusting, producer Fede Alvarez has confirmed that the upcoming Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot is actually a direct sequel to the original 1974 horror classic directed by Tobe Hooper. As Alravez tells it, this time around we are going to see what old man Leatherface looks like.

Horror fans will know Fede Alvarez from his work on movies such as Don't Breathe and 2013's Evil Dead. The filmmaker recently spoke with the outlet and, while he couldn't dive too deep into specifics, explained that they have indeed made a direct sequel. This means they are likely ignoring the events of previous sequels in the franchise, much like what was done with 2018's Halloween. And that worked out pretty well. Here's what Alvarez had to say about it.

"It is a direct sequel,...

As part of Leatherface being part of Call of Duty’s “The Haunting of Verdansk” Halloween event, fans were treated to the teaser poster for the upcoming Texas Chainsaw Massacre film and we have it for you to check out right now!

As Call of Duty gamers prepare to celebrate Halloween in the upcoming “The Haunting of Verdansk” seasonal event featuring Leatherface from the 1974 horror classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, they also unlocked a thrilling glimpse at the future of this notorious icon. Eagle-eyed viewers were treated to a special easter egg in the game’s new trailer and directed to the website TexasChainsaw.com where they were surprised with the debut of an exclusive tease of the iconic crazed killer Leatherface featured on the new poster for Legendary Entertainment’s upcoming Texas Chainsaw Massacre film, coming to audiences next year. Fans can also enter their email to receive the...

The first poster for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot has been revealed. The poster was revealed as part of a tie in with the upcoming Call of Duty The Haunting of Verdansk" seasonal event, which features Leatherface. Legendary Pictures is currently in the process of bringing back the iconic franchise, with a new installment kicking off filming over the summer. Things got off to a bumpy start with an unexpected director change right off the bat. But things seem to be on track now as Legendary Pictures has launched an official website for the movie, which also brings with it a new poster, heralding the return of Leatherface.

Legendary's website, when visited, slowly reveals the new poster. A colorful yet bleak version of Leatherface's iconic skin mask appears against a black background. There is also some text at the bottom that helps set up the connection between the reboot and...

When Quentin Dupieux’s “Mandibles,” a buddy comedy about two bumbling dolts and a giant CGI bug, premieres out of competition at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 5, the screening could mark a mainstream breakout moment for the idiosyncratic director, and reaffirm French genre filmmaking as a market draw.

Beginning with 2010’s “Rubber,” Dupieux’s absurdist, genre-tinged features have launched out of sidebars in Venice and Cannes, and have played the main slates in Sundance and Toronto; his last film, “Deerskin,” opened the Directors’ Fortnight last year. But his off-kilter style, marked by pitch-black humor and surreal shifts, has thus far limited his commercial footprint, keeping him a cult act both at home and on the international stage.

In France, the filmmaker has burnished and expanded his reputation by touring smaller, regional genre festivals with each new work, returning often to niche events in Sitges, Neuchâtel and Strasbourg. Those events,...

The Cnc will also be supporting films by Léa Mysius, Kaouther Ben Hania, Sébastien Marnier, Olivier Babinet, Renaud Barret, Davy Chou and Javier Rebollo, as well as four feature debuts. Eight projects were selected at the 2nd 2020 session of the Cnc’s second advance on receipts committee. Standing out among them is Incroyable Mais Vrai which will be the 9th feature film by Quentin Dupieux after, among other titles, Rubber (Cannes’ Critics’ Week 2010), Wrong (Sundance 2012), Wrong Cops (Piazza Grande in Locarno 2013), Reality (Orizzonti in Venice in 2014), Deerskin (Directors’ Fortnight 2019) and Mandibles. Incroyable Mais Vrai is set to star Alain Chabat, Léa Drucker, Benoît Magimel and Anaïs Demoustier. The script centres on Alain and Marie as they move to the banlieue house of their dreams. But the real estate agent did warn them: whatever is in the basement may very well change their lives… Handled by...

Quentin Dupieux: 'Some of my movies are crazy as you said but I think here the film is normal but it is the character who is strange' Photo: Unifrance He has been styled as a director who makes crazy films - yet Parisian-born Deerskin director Quentin Dupieux claims never to have “filmed insanity head-on”. In such offerings as Steak, Rubber, and Reality he says the characters were normal even if the surrounding universe was mad. There was also the equally crazy and rumbustious French-American comedy Wrong Cops, which premiered at Sundance seven years ago.

Quentin Dupieux: 'When I am directing a movie I need to talk to everyone and to understand everyone’s feelings' Photo: Richard Mowe For Deerskin (Le Daim) -variously described by the critics as “hilarious and unhinged” and “enjoyably demented” - his aim was to confront a character who goes off the deep end with no...

Mandibules

Quentin Dupieux shows no signs of slowing, with his eighth feature Mandibules a new premiere in three consecutive years. Produced by Hugo Selignac and Vincent Mazel, Dupieux lines up another interesting concoction in casting with his latest, starring Gregoire Ludig and David Marsais (the comedy duo known as Palmashow) alongside celebrated actors Adèle Exarchopoulos, Anaïs Demoustier and India Hair. Belgian rapper Romeo Elvis plus Coralie Russier and Bruno Lochet round out the cast. Dupieux became an immediate cult figure following his 2010 sophomore film Rubber, which played in Critics’ Week at Cannes. 2012’s Wrong competed in the World Dramatic program at Sundance 2012, while 2013’s Wrong Cops premiered in Locarno.…...

Grégoire Ludig, David Marsais, Adèle Exarchopoulos and India Hair are among the cast of this Chi-Fou-Mi production, co-produced by Memento and Artémis, which will be sold by WTFilms and Wild Bunch. Since 16 September, the highly original Quentin Dupieux has been in the South of France shooting Mandibules, his eighth feature, following Steak (2006), Rubber (Cannes Critics’ Week in 2010), Wrong (in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance in 2012), Wrong Cops (Piazza Grande at Locarno in 2013), Reality (Orizzonti at Venice in 2014), Keep an Eye Out (Best Screenplay Award at Sitges in 2018) and Deerskin (which opened the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight this year).To topline the cast, the filmmaker has called upon the services of Grégoire Ludig and David Marsais, a comedy duo also known as Palmashow, who turned heads on the big screen in movies such as Babysitting, and with the former having also played one of...

Across his career, Quentin Dupieux has managed to keep to his own, singular, weirdo path without every quite breaking out of the cult circuit. Nonetheless, his work is championed in the right corners, and this year he’s headed to Cannes to open the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar with “Deerskin.” And don’t worry, he’s lost none of his oddball charm.

Read More: 3 Clips From Pedro Almodovar’s “Pain and Glory” Starring Antonio Banderas & Penelope Cruz

The latest from the director behind “Rubber,” “Wrong,” “Wrong Cops,” and “Reality” stars Jean Dujardin and Adele Haenel in a story about….well, it’s hard to say really.

Continue reading ‘Deerskin’: Get Weird With The Trailer For Quentin Dupieux’s Cannes Entry at The Playlist.

Quentin Dupieux’s “Deerskin,” an offbeat French comedy with Jean Dujardin (“The Artist”) and Adèle Haenel (“Bpm”), is set to open the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight.

“Deerskin,” which marks Dupieux’s seventh feature, stars Dujardin as a man who becomes obsessed with owning a pricey designer deerskin jacket, leading him to blow his life savings and even turn to crime. Mathieu and Thomas Verhaeghe at Paris-based Atelier de Production produced the movie. WTFilms represents “Deerskin” in international markets.

Dupieux previously attended Directors’ Fortnight in 2013 with the short film “Wrong Cops,” which was the first chapter of the feature film of the same name presented earlier that year at Sundance.

Dupieux, who began his career working with Michel Gondry on music videos and advertising clips, made his feature debut with “Nonfilm” in 2001. His third film, “Rubber,” played at Cannes’ Critics’ Week in 2010.

He also directed “In Reality,” which played at the Venice Film Festival,...

The film stars Jean Dujardin as a man who becomes dangerously obsessed with owning a designer deerskin jacket.

French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux’s black comedy Deerskin (Le Daim), starring Jean Dujardin as a man who becomes dangerously obsessed with owning a designer deerskin jacket, has been confirmed to open the 51st edition of Cannes Directors’ Fortnight (May 15-25).

Dujardin, best known internationally for his Oscar-winning performance in The Artist, is joined in the cast by Adèle Haenel.

It is a seventh feature for Dupieux who began his career making music videos and advertising, working with the likes of Michel Gondry,...

Le daim

For his seventh feature, French director Quentin Dupieux continues his particular brand of black comedy with Le daim, starring Oscar winner Jean Dujardin, celebrated French actress Adèle Haenel, and Youssef Hadji. Produced by Thomas Verhaeghe and Mathieu Verhaeghe for Atelier de Production (who produced his 2018 feature Keep an Eye Out), the project was also coproduced by Arte France Cinema. Dupieux’s early cult item Rubber (2010) played in Critics’ Week, while his English language Wrong (2012) competed in Sundance’s World Dramatic line-up and 2013’s Wrong Cops (which featured Marilyn Manson) played at Sundance as a work-in-progress before screening later that year in Locarno.…...

“Fleabag,” Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s critically acclaimed comedy show, will get a French makeover as the first series from Studiocanal Original, the in-house production unit of Canal Plus Group’s film and TV production-distribution arm.

Studiocanal Original is producing the series with Banijay Studios France, which acquired the local remake rights to “Fleabag” and brought the project over to Studiocanal.

It marks the first scripted show from the new Studiocanal shingle, which is presided over by Arielle Saracco, who remains in charge of Canal Plus’s “creation originale” label. The project is spearheaded by Dominique Jubin, Studiocanal’s former creative VP, who has been a driving force behind Canal Plus’ hit drama series.

Set to start shooting in Paris in January, the half-hour series is being adapted by Jeanne Herry, the up-and-coming French actress-turned-director of the movie “Elle l’adore” and of episodes of “Call My Agent!”, which was nominated for an International Emmy Award.

The Cannes Film Festival is always a major turning point for the year in cinema. While Sundance kicks off the calendar with an overview of new American movies, Cannes casts a much wider net, digging through an international set of possibilities that includes its usual stable of reliable auteurs in addition to some rising stars. Unlike most high-profile festivals, the Cannes selection is fairly small, with most attention being paid to the roughly 20 features that crack the Official Competition. Artistic director Thierry Fremaux and his mysterious programming team tend to wait until the last second before securing titles, which means it’s a bit of a crapshoot to pontificate about which movies will actually score a spot at the festival.

Until April 12, the full program is anybody’s guess, but a few possibilities can be eliminated from the outset. Richard Linklater’s Amazon-produced Cate Blanchett vehicle “Where’d You...

Great films often come out of nowhere. Such as the case with Lowlife, a thrilling crime caper directed by Ryan Prows. After its world premiere at Fantasia 2017, the director and his team have a very bright future ahead of them indeed. I spoke with him about making an indie film, what it feels like to be called the "next Tarantino," his cast, and more. Check out the trailer after the interview. ScreenAnarchy: You have a cast of veritable unknowns, which is a huge part of what makes Lowlife work. Mark Burnham, in particular, is terrifying. Tell us about why you cast who you did. Ryan Prows: I’d seen Mark in Wrong Cops, and loved his performance and presence in that film. I think...

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

Excited for the Halloween season yet? Syfy's 31 Days of Halloween kicks off this Friday and will feature The Crooked Man, starring Michael Jai White (The Dark Knight, Spawn). Also in today's Horror Highlights: trailers for both Night of the Living Dead: Genesis and StalkHer, festival screening details for films from Blanc/Biehn Productions, and details on a distribution agreement between XLrator Media and Blue Fox Entertainment.

The Crooked Man Airing on Syfy's 31 Days of Horror: "The Crooked Man, starring Michael Jai White (Spawn), Amber Benson (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) and Dina Meyer (Starship Troopers) kicks off Syfy's 31 Days of Halloween [on Saturday, October 1st at 9:00 p.m. Et.]

Synopsis: While at a slumber party, twelve year old ‘Olivia’ is blamed for the horrific and mysterious death of her friend after singing a song, created by a reclusive mastermind, ‘Milo’ (Michael Jai White), which summons a demonic figure known as "The Crooked Man". Returning to her hometown six years later,...

A great many shows and movies are coming to Hulu next month, some more notable than others. To skip the chaff and go straight to the wheat, allow us to collate and curate a selection of the most notable titles available to stream in July:

“48 Hours” and “Another 48 Hours”

“The Aviator”

“Berberian Sound Studio”

“Broadway Danny Rose”

“The Brothers Bloom”

“Devil’s Pass”

“Dirty Wars”

“Dirty Work”

“‘Don’t Look Now”

“Escape From Alcatraz”

“Finding Neverland”

“Fish Tank”

“Flashdance”

“Gimme the Loot”

“Glory”

Read More: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’: Reed Morano To Direct Elisabeth Moss In The Hulu Series

“Hackers”

“Hunger”

“The Hunt for Red October”

“In the Loop”

“Jimmy P”

“Liberal Arts”

“Like Someone in Love”

“The Loneliest Planet”

“Lonesome Jim”

“Manderlay”

“Me and You and Everyone We Know”

“Mommie Dearest”

“Phoenix”

“Rosemary’s Baby”

Read More: ‘Transparent’ Ratings Lag Behind Rivals on Netflix & Hulu

“Sightseers”

“Simon Killer...

“Let Me Make You a Martyr” follows Larry Glass (Mark Boone Junior), an abusive father, drug dealer, and pimp who hires hit man Pope (Marilyn Manson) to kill his rebellious adopted son Drew (Niko Nicotera) and his lover and adopted sister June Glass (Sam Quartin). The film also stars Michael Potts (“Conspiracy Theory”), Slaine (“The Town”), William Lee Scott (“Pearl Harbor’), Michael Shamus Wiles (“Fight Club”), and more. Watch the exclusive new trailer above.

Read More: 19th Fantasia International Film Festival Announces 2015 Winners

Marilyn Manson is best known as the frontman of the Marilyn Manson band, whose music garnered much controversy from politicians and the public for their nihilistic lyrics, graphic imagery, and provocative statements. Manson got tied up in the aftermath of the deadly Columbine shooting when he was blamed by politicians and the media for inciting the violence with his music. Manson has appeared in many films including David Lynch’s “Lost Highway,” Michael Moore’s “Bowling For Columbine,” in which he discussed the media’s interest in scapegoating rather than focusing on broader societal issues, and a recurring role on FX’s “Sons of Anarchy.”

Mark Boone Junior is best known for his role on “Sons of Anarchy,” along with his performances in Christopher Nolan’s “Memento” and “Batman Begins,” Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line,” and David Fincher’s “Seven.” He will soon appear in Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation,” about Nat Turner, the leader of a slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia in 1831.

“Let Me Make You a Martyr” will premiere at Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal next month. Manson will be in attendance.

Read More: Marilyn Manson Confirmed As Star Of Quentin Dupieux’s Cannes Short Film ‘Wrong Cops’

Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.

Related storiesFirst Reviews: 'The Birth of a Nation' Electrifies SundanceWatch: Footage From "Sick," Unreleased Marilyn Manson Video, Directed By Eli Roth & Featuring Lana Del ReyMarilyn Manson Heads To 'Californication'; Kristin Schaal Voices 'Cloudy 2'; Cobie Smulders Finds 'Safe Haven' & Christopher Meloni Joins 'They Came Together'...

Meet some of the best directors working today, who haven't gone down the blockbuster movie route...

Ever find it a bit lame when the same big name directors get kicked around for every high profile project? Christopher Nolan, Jj Abrams, maybe the Russo Brothers? With so much focus on blockbuster films these days, getting a major franchise job seems like the main acknowledgement of success for a filmmaker. And yes, both the financial and creative rewards can be great. But there are plenty of other directors out there, doing their own thing, from art house auteurs to Dtv action specialists.

Here are 25 examples.

Lee Hardcastle

Even if you don’t know his name, you’ve probably seen Lee Hardcastle’s ultraviolent claymations shared on social media. He first started getting noticed for his two-minute remake of The Thing, starring the famous stop motion penguin Pingu. Far from just a cheap one-joke mash-up,...

It's not every day that you'd expect to find the likes of Alain Chabat, Jon Heder and Eric Wareheim in the same movie. Then again, films from French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux don't come down the pike every day. Hold on to your hats —your Friday is about to get pretty weird. From the man who brought you "Rubber" and "Wrong Cops" comes a picture about the business of making movies. When young cameraman Jason decides to make a horror movie, he finds a benefactor in a wealthy producer who agrees to help him out on one condition: he must find the most perfect scream in 48 hours. And so begins Jason's journey, which turns into the stuff of nightmares in which reality and surreality blend and overlap. "Reality" opens in limited release and on VOD on May 8th. Watch below.

Welcome to another horror/sci-fi round-up! This time around we have word of two big cast confirmations for Independence Day 2, details on Scream Factory's Deep in the Darkness Blu-ray / DVD release, and information on the new Blanc/Biehn Productions film, Treachery.

Independence Day 2: Last night it was revealed that the first official cast member had signed on to star in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day 2, the sequel to his 1996 film that featured massive alien-induced destruction and larger-than-life characters. It's now been confirmed that one of those characters will be coming back, as Emmerich tweeted last night that Jeff Goldblum will appear in the sequel, likely reprising his role as the brainy and dryly humorous David Levinson, who teamed up with fighter pilot Captain Steven Hiller to take down the mothership in the original film. Smith will not be coming back to reprise his role as Steven.

Eric Lavallee: Name me three of your favorite “2014 discoveries”… Diego Ongaro: French singer Bertrand Belin, the town of Terlingua, Texas on the edge of Big Bend National Park, “Wrong Cops” by Quentin Dupieux.

Lavallee: Was the idea of the feature born from the short, or was the short an exploration of an eventual feature length film and what kind of work was involved in coming back to the character and story?

Ongaro: The idea of a feature film around the character of Bob sprouted as soon as I finished the short in 2010. The short already had a feature pace to it, despite being 28 minutes long. It already had the ambition to be a bigger film, I just didn’t know it yet. I was pleased with the very specific tone of the film and its unique setting and it was important to keep that style of storytelling, one that...

There's the world of movies, then there's the world of movies as seen through the eyes of Quentin Dupieux. His films have concerned killer tires ("Rubber"), missing dogs ("Wrong"), and bad cops ("Wrong Cops"), and as you might've guessed, they're far from grounded. Odd, unique, and distinctly his own, you either let Dupieux take you by the hand, or get left far behind. And that goes for his latest "Reality," which is coming off the 2014 festival circuit and into cinemas in France, and the first international trailer has arrived. Featuring an unlikely cast that includes notable French thesp Alain Chabat, American comedy weirdo Eric Wareheim, and Napolean Dynamite himself Jon Heder, the story follows a cameraman who is given the chance to direct his first horror movie, thanks to the kindness of a wealthy producer. The catch? He has 48 hours to find the perfect scream. Welcome to the world of Quentin Dupieux.

We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting the recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes a new poster from Psychophonia, casting and production details from Tales of Halloween, a trailer for The Sugar Skull Girls, and more:

Psychophonia First Details and Poster: “Lony Ruhmann, Blanc/Biehn Productions and Give & Take Productions have announced the new thriller Psychophonia. With a story from Lony Ruhmann and screenplay by Nicholl Fellowship winner Barbara Stepansky, the new film will be helmed by Brianne Davis, who earlier this year directed The Night Visitor 2: Heather’s Story.

Psychophonia stars Vedette Lim (Chicago Fire, True Blood) in the lead role of Lilly Tarver. Rounding out the cast; Andrew W. Walker (The Torturer, 2 Bedroom One Bath), Kellee Stewart (Hot Tub Time Machine 1 & 2, The Soul Man) Adam Rose (Up In The Air, The Bounty Hunter), Daniel Quinn (Fetish Factory, Wrong Cops...

Lony Ruhmann, Blanc/Biehn Productions and Give & Take Productions have announced the new thriller Psychophonia. With a story from Lony Ruhmann and screenplay by Nicholl Fellowship winner Barbara Stepansky, the new film will be helmed by Brianne Davis, who earlier this year directed The Night Visitor 2: Heather’s Story.

After her husband Jeremy is brutally murdered, artist Lilly Tarver struggles with his secret sex life and coming to terms with who he really was. While diving into his dark and potentially dangerous world, a mysterious caller might hold the answers to his death.

Psychophonia stars Vedette Lim (Chicago Fire, True Blood) in the lead role of Lilly Tarver. Rounding out the cast are Andrew W. Walker (The Torturer, 2 Bedroom One Bath), Kellee Stewart (Hot Tub Time Machine 1 & 2, The Soul Man) Adam Rose (Up In The Air, The Bounty Hunter), Daniel Quinn (Fetish Factory, Wrong Cops), Mark Gantt (Hidden In The Woods,...

The Festival du Nouveau Cinema has arrived and because of it’s strong line-up, there is no way it is possible to see everything worth watching. Faced with an impossible task I proposed myself to focus on just one section of this year’s festival, Temps Ø, which is celebrating it’s 10th year in 2014. This section features the more obscure and rebel films of the Fnc, programed for an audience who enjoy witty cinematic experiences. My most anticipated films from the Temps Ø section this year is a mix of genres and styles that explore different themes and influences.

Der Samurai (Last Samurai)

Directed by Till Kleinert

Der Samurai directed by Till Kleinert, who will be present at the festival, is an under 80 minutes long feature set in a wooded region of the German-Polish border. It is a neo-giallo cat and mouse tale of Samurai (Pit Bukowski), a cross-dressing...

alent Management, Production, Distribution and Marketing Company Traverse Media, announced today the North American release date for Blanc/Biehn Production’s latest Movie Treachery on Video on Demand (VOD).

Treachery stars Michael Biehn along with a fantastic ensemble cast that includes Jennifer Blanc Biehn (The Divide, Everly, Wrong Cops), Sarah Butler (I Spit on Your Grave remake), Caitlin Keats (Kill Bill Vol. 2, Broken English), Chris Meyer (Among Friends) and Matthew Ziff (Truck Stop, Altered Perception).

Continue reading →

Horrornews.net...

Venice — As the festival wraps up for another year and prizes are announced, time for my final Venice 2014 report. On a personal note, I'd like to say I've had a blast writing for HitFix for the first time, and huge thanks to everyone who said that they enjoyed the coverage; it always means a lot. "A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Contemplating Existence" Grade: A+ Reaction: Given its Golden Lion-winning status, you'd be forgiven, sight unseen, for assuming that "A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Contemplating Existence" was one of those films that sends festival critics into paroxysms of delight while largely eluding a broader audience. You know, the sort of films where a pigeon actually does sit on a branch contemplating existence for a lively three-hour stint and then a jury says how refreshing it was to be freed from the shackles of conventional characterization, narrative or incident and gives it a prize.

At the end of last year we got word that Traverse Media had acquired the rights to writer-director Travis Romero's Treachery, but then things got quiet. Today the silence ends as the film now has a North American VOD release date.

From the Press Release:

Talent management, production, distribution, and marketing company Traverse Media is pleased to announce a September 1st North American release date for Blanc/Biehn Productions' Treachery on Video on Demand (VOD).

Treachery stars Michael Biehn along with a fantastic ensemble cast that includes Jennifer Blanc-Biehn (The Divide, Everly, Wrong Cops), Sarah Butler (I Spit on Your Grave remake), Caitlin Keats (Kill Bill Vol. 2, Broken English), Chris Meyer (Among Friends), and Matthew Ziff (Truck Stop, Altered Perception).

Bringing to life real family drama, Treachery dives into the deep roots that bind a family and the darker secrets that family can create. Travis Romero (TV’s “White Collar,...

When a fractured family reunites, old wounds can be healed… or ripped open again, especially when a storm rolls in and keeps the argumentative group housebound for the night. Familial tensions boil over and old secrets surface in Treachery, an upcoming film from Blanc-Biehn Productions that stars Michael Biehn, features plenty of family drama, and has just received a release date.

Treachery will hit VOD platforms on September 1st. We have the press release with full details on the film, as well as the official teaser trailer for Treachery:

Los Angeles- “Talent Management, Production, Distribution and Marketing Company Traverse Media, announced today the North American release date for Blanc/Biehn Production’s latest Movie Treachery on Video on Demand (VOD).

Treachery stars Michael Biehn along with a fantastic ensemble cast that includes Jennifer Blanc Biehn (The Divide, Everly, Wrong Cops), Sarah Butler (I Spit on Your Grave remake), Caitlin Keats (Kill Bill Vol.

It's been quite a few months since we've had an update on Patricio Valladares' remake of his own film Hidden in the Woods, but our patience has paid off because today we have a new teaser trailer to share.

Hidden in the Woods is a remake of Patricio Valladares' 2012 Chilean horror film En las afueras de la ciudad with Valladares back at the helm. The story follows two sisters raised by their abusive father in a remote locale who must answer to their drug baron uncle when their father is imprisoned.

Michael Biehn stars alongside William Forsythe. Jennifer Blanc-Biehn produces with Loris Curci and Hackybox Pictures. The film's co-stars include Mma fighter Krzysztof Soszynski, Chris Browning ("Sons of Anarchy," The Book of Eli), Ricco Ross (Aliens), Jeannine Kaspar (“House of Lies,” “Nip/Tuck”), Andy Mackenzie (Sushi Girl, "True Blood"), Electra Avellan (Grindhouse, Machete Kills), Mark Burnham (Wrong, Wrong Cops), Jennifer Blanc (The Victim,...

We return with the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes a new trailer for Repentance and Rockabilly Zombie Weekend, details on the Sundance Next Fest Lineup, Eat Men Like Air, Mindless, and much more:

First Rockabilly Zombie Weekend Trailer: “When Becky and Grant arrive at their rockabilly-themed wedding, despite warnings of a West Nile Virus outbreak, things go horribly wrong as the mosquito-spread virus spawns zombies, who begin feeding on the wedding guests as well as the other locals. The two newlyweds have to escape along with their family and friends if they ever want to live to see their honeymoon!

Rockabilly Zombie Weekend is a new feature length horror thriller with a rocking twist on the modern zombie film. It’s currently being released on DVD on July 1st, 2014 through Green Apple Entertainment. The film (as well as other merchandise) can...

Kurt Sutter's Sons of Anarchy has had some interesting guest stars over the years (Joel McHale, Ashley Tisdale, David Hasselhoff, Stephen King), so the latest addition shouldn't be all that surprising. Marilyn Manson has been cast in the upcoming seventh season in the recurring role of “Ron Tully, a white supremacist prison shot-caller who Jax uses to expand his power base." Aside from his musical career, Manson has appeared in a number of films and TV shows, with Wrong Cops and Eastbound & Down being among his most recent acting gigs. Hit the jump for what he had to say about Sons of Anarchy, plus information on the premiere dates of AMC's fourth season of Hell on Wheels. Here's Manson's comment on joining Sons of Anarchy: "Sons has been such a big part of my life, as well as my father's. So I was determined to make him proud...

FX’s hit biker drama, Sons of Anarchy, has one more season left to air and it looks like they plan on going out with a bang – as if that’s a surprise to any of the show’s loyal viewers. Shock rocker Marilyn Manson has just been cast in a recurring role that is sure to give fans something to talk about as they patiently wait to see what else Kurt Sutter has up his heavily tattooed sleeve.

“Sons has been such a big part of my life, as well as my father’s, so I was determined to make him proud by being involved in what will probably be remembered as the most amazing piece of television cinema,” said Manson. “After all, the very heart of Soa is about that relationship. So now all I need is a motorcycle.”

Manson, who hasn’t done much acting but recently...

In 2010, the Toronto After Dark Film Festival awarded their special award for Most Original Film to Quentin Dupieux’s Rubber. Following a telepathic tire named Robert that discovers his destructive powers, the 82-minute film rolled aimlessly from one set-up to the next, as the audience came to realize they were the butt of a cinematic joke. A meta film of observers observing, and becoming bored themselves with the film’s action, the project revealed a director with his own sense of humor. Two years later, Dupieux released Wrong Cops, inching towards a more mainstream comedy, but still limited in appeal by its eccentricity.

Read more...

Two forces to be reckoned with have teamed up to bring us our first look at "It's Hell Getting Old," a horror short from director Patrick Rea that will be part of Blanc/Biehn Productions' new elevator-set anthology Hellevator Man.

Kansas City-based Rea's short stars Kip Niven (Jayhawkers, New Year’s Evil), Joicie Appell (Nailbiter), Victor Raider-Wexler (Minority Report), and Nancy Marcy. It was executive produced by Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Michael Biehn, and Lony Ruhmann.

The script, written by Rea, deals with four elderly people trapped in an elevator on their way to their 50th Class Reunion, and one of them may have forgotten to take some important medication. The film was shot in Kansas City, Missouri, and the director of photography was Hanuman Brown-Eagle.

In addition to a few behind-the-scenes photos from "It's Hell Getting Old," we also have the kick-off announcement for Bbp's Mindless, a mind-bending thriller that marks...

Alrighty, kids! We're very proud to announce that our very own Staci Layne Wilson's latest film, Fetish Factory, is officially in production! Read on for casting along with all the details you need!

From the Press Release

Blanc/Biehn Productions, along with Lony Ruhmann as executive producer, will be going into production on Fetish Factory, written and directed by Staci Layne Wilson.

Imagine a wickedly saucy by invitation-only stage show and posh private peeps in which your every fantasy can come true, fulfilled by the likes of luscious ladies imitating the sex goddesses of yore: Bettie Page, Jayne Mansfield, and Suzie Wong. Along with classic burlesque strip-teases and curio acts – a ventriloquist, a magician, and a whip-dancer – you are in for the night of your life at the Fetish Factory. That is, until your life is at stake when the apocalypse strikes! Once mild-mannered men become bloodthirsty zombies, and...

Blanc/Biehn Productions has announced another new project, Fembot, which will see a release date in the fall of 2015; and we have the early details for you right here, including a very familiar name listed among the film's credits.

Fembot will star Michael Biehn (The Terminator, Aliens, The Victim, The Divide) and Jennifer Blanc-Biehn (Everly, Wrong Cops, The Victim, "Dark Angel") and introduces Martin Richard Kristek to Hollywood. Additional cast members will be announced next month.

The film will be directed by editor Vance Crofoot (Treachery, The Victim) and written by our own Staci Layne Wilson.

Fembot marks Biehn's first robot movie since The Terminator and Blanc-Biehn's first super-human story since "Dark Angel."

During a recent trip to Vienna, the couple met Kristek (see all three pictured below), who made a lasting impression on them with his charisma as a European actor and DJ as well as his message and...

Realite

Director: Quentin Dupieux

Writer: Quentin Dupieux

Producer: Realitism Films’ Gregory Bernard

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available

Cast: Alain Chabat, Jon Heder, Elodie Bouchez, Jonathan Lambert

Swiftly churning out his bizarre and wildly entertaining films, we will supposedly get to see a bit of Dupieux in 2014. His latest, the hilarious Wrong Cops got very limited theatrical play in late December, 2013 (Los Angeles denizens had the lucky opportunity to see it courtesy of Cinefamily), but should see some expansion elsewhere. Otherwise, it was announced that Dupieux has filmed a secret project with Marilyn Manson which was inspired by their collaboration on Cops. But while details on that remain scant, we are happy to see another project due in 2014 starring Alain Chabat and Elodie Bouchez (who many arthouse devotees should recognize for a role in Andre Techine’s 1994 film Wild Reeds). Eric Wareheim is also in the cast, so we’re sure this will be strangely entertaining.

With production set to kick off in a few days, an update has arrived for The Night Visitor 2: Heather's Story, the sequel to The Night Visitor, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn’s directorial debut, which has been hitting the film fest circuit with a vengeance.

From the Press Release:

Internationally acclaimed psychic and paranormal investigator Chip Coffey ("Psychic Kids," "Paranormal State") has joined the cast of sci-fi thriller The Night Visitor 2: Heather’s Story, featuring Caitlin Carmichael ("True Blood," "Bag of Bones"), Mark Gantt (The Night Visitor, The Bannen Way), and Jennifer Blanc-Biehn (Wrong Cops, Everly, The Victim).

The film is directed by Brianne Davis (pictured; The Night Visitor, "True Blood," Prom Night) and produced by Blanc/Biehn Productions and Lony Ruhmann in association with Give & Take Productions.

The Night Visitor 2: Heather’s Story is a sci-fi thriller that runs parallel to the original The Night Visitor, telling the story...

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are least desirable neighbors, James Franco explains the selfie, Marilyn Manson to play cross between Kenny Powers and Karl Lagerfeld

Marilyn Manson is set to appear in Wrong Cops from Quentin Dupieux, but he’s also in the director’s next project, which has already shot in secret, where he’s playing a character described as “a combination of Kenny Powers and Karl Lagerfeld.” That should be something.

Is a Super Bowl Mvp winner being outed, or has the media just lost its mind?

It’s looking like The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will win the five day holiday box office with $50 million, followed by Frozen at $43 million, followed by Anchorman 2 and The Wolf of Wall Street.

Speaking of movies, just how badly did Ender’s Game bomb?

We had mentioned that a gay couple will marry on the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s float in the Rose Parade,...

Wrong Cops is a film you feel in your organs. Like the Oizo beats that make up the soundtrack, it pulses with the life force of humanity's birthplace. Those primal urges that shape the evolution of mankind: the struggle to survive, the need to create, looking at breasts.Dupieux's latest oddity has had an interesting journey to the screen. It started out as a series of vignettes, the first of which received a quiet debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012. Chapter one features Mark Burnham as Duke, a dirty, weed dealing cop, and Marilyn Manson as David Delores Frank, who is Not a street hooker, because prostitution is wrong. The two have a disagreement over what constitutes good music. Hilarity ensues. It is 14...

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

Has director Quentin Dupieux found his movie muse in Marilyn Manson? Manson co-stars in Dupieux’s latest opus “Wrong Cops” and the director has cast the shock rocker as a fashion photographer in an upcoming comedy that has already been shot in secret. Manson revealed the news, among other things, in a recent interview with La Weekly to promote “Wrong Cops,” which opens in Los Angeles on Friday and is currently playing in New York. Also Read: ‘Rubber’: The Film That Could Make Quentin Dupieux the Next Michel Gondry Manson plays an emo teenager named David Delores Frank in “Wrong Cops,...

From writer/director Quentin Dupieux (Rubber, Wrong), Wrong Cops chronicles a group of cops behaving badly, who are looking to dispose of a body that one of them accidentally shot. This bizarrely hilarious ensemble comedy features an eclectic cast that includes Mark Burnham, Steve Little, Eric Wareheim, Arden Myrin, Eric Judor, Ray Wise, Grace Zabriskie and Marilyn Manson. During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, filmmaker Quentin Dupieux talked about how he had the idea for Wrong Cops while watching Mark Burnham play his role in Wrong, why he thought there was enough there to develop a full movie around his character, how Marilyn Manson personally reached out to him, as a fan of his films, why he created this particular character for him, that he prefers to do fast-paced shoots with minimal lighting so that he doesn’t have to stop for set-ups, how he approaches working with actors,...

Wrong Cops is in theaters and available on VOD now. This past Friday, one of the stars of this insane comedy ensemble, Eric Wareheim, was charged with throwing the premiere party at Taco Bell. While we don't have any solid confirmation on how this small get-together went down, we do have a new featurette that offers a look at how Eric went about organizing such an event, and some of the crazy demands that went into pulling it off. Check out some of the highlights, then be sure to check out Wrong Cops over your holiday break.

Wrong Cops was released December 20th, 2013 and stars Mark Burnham, Eric Judor, Steve Little, Marilyn Manson, Grace Zabriskie, Arden Myrin, Eric Wareheim, Isabella Palmieri. The film is directed by Quentin Dupieux.

When he was 13, Marilyn Manson — then just Christian schoolkid Brian Warner of Canton, Ohio — would hide out in the basement while his grandfather masturbated to bestiality porn. Then he'd go upstairs and cheer himself up reading Mad magazine. The self-dubbed God of Fuck is famous for his dark side, but he's always had a sense of humor. In 2010, he dressed up as Eastbound and Down's Kenny Powers for a photo shoot with Interview. This year, he's doubly determined to introduce audiences to Marilyn Manson, funny guy and film geek, by following up his cameo as a roller-skating waiter in Eastbound and Down with a bigger role as emo teenager David Delores Frank in Quentin Dupieux's outlandish comedy Wrong Cops, which opened in New York a...

Writer/director Quentin Dupieux, the man behind Rubber, has given us his most absurdist film yet with Wrong Cops. It is not so much a movie as it is a collection of sketches about crooked cops who are involved in a number of illegal activities. There is a main through line, however, and it involves an innocent bystander who gets accidentally shot by one of the cops. When they try to figure out the best way to get rid of the body, they find that the wounded man proves to be rather useful, even while he’s bleeding to death.

Despite having a low budget and very little time to make Wrong Cops, Dupieux was still able to bring together a strong cast that includes Marilyn Manson (himself a big fan of Rubber), Grace Zabriskie, Ray Wise and Jennifer Blanc. It also reunites him with Mark Burnham (who plays the...

From its wasted cameos (Marilyn Manson as a moody high school outcast; Eric Roberts as a sleazy Hollywood insider) to its witless queer subplots, writer-director Quentin Dupieux's Wrong Cops is a tedious exercise in self-consciously hip lowbrow comedy.

Focused on the shenanigans of a group of crude, corrupt, inept cops, it's a wack riff on Reno 911. When weed-dealing policeman Duke (Mark Burnham), who sells his product camouflaged in the bodies of dead rats, almost kills a man, he recruits desk cop Sunshine (Steve Little) to dispose of the not-quite-dead body.

In debt to Duke for weed he's bought on credit, Sunshine can't say no — until he discovers a bag of money buried in his backyard, which allows him to pay off his debt. Unfortunately for Sunshi...