𝔽𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔽𝕚𝕝𝕞𝕤

Earlier today Music Box Films announced the US theatrical release of LOST ILLUSIONS, Xavier Giannoli’s sumptuous adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s seminal 19th century Paris-set epic novel of ambition, lust, betrayal, and the birth of modern media.  LOST ILLUSIONS will open on Friday, June 10 in New York (Film Forum and Film at Lincoln Center) and Los Angeles (Laemmle's Royal, Pasadena’s Playhouse and Encino’s Town Center), followed by a national expansion. Giannoli’s deft, au courant adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s sprawling novel of social-climbing and artistic compromise reminds us that the thorny entanglements of art, commerce, and media are centuries-old. This decadent, satirical romp that “plays with all the brio and jeopardy of a modern-day gangster movie” (Variety) is replete with both the opulence and grittiness of 19th-century Paris. Fake news and “pay for play” are familiarly pervasive, though sexier and funnier than today’s version -- and not a little soul-pricking, sin

After relaunching its film division in October, Castle Rock Entertainment announced their first project out of the gate will be a sequel to the 1984 cult classic This Is Spinal Tap. Academy Award nominated Rob Reiner (When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, The Princess Bride) made his directorial debut and will return as filmmaker Marty DiBergi to helm the sequel, which will reunite David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), and Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), the nucleus of England’s loudest and most punctual heavy metal band. This Is Spinal Tap will screen at the Cannes Film Festival as a part of the Cinema de la Plage sidebar on Wednesday, May 18th.  The film was released to critical acclaim in 1984 and went on to become a cult classic. In 2002, it was deemed "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress, and was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry. “When it was announced that Spinal Tap wou

Mads Mikkelsen will headline the action spy thriller THE BLACK KAISER, directed by Jonas Akerlund (LORDS OF CHAOS, “Clark”), it was announced today.  The film is written by Jayson Rothwell & Mads Mikkelsen and based on the popular Dark Horse graphic novel Polar by Victor Santos and is produced by Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer. XYZ Films will executive produce and sell worldwide rights at the upcoming Marché du Film in Cannes.  Discussions with additional cast are currently underway, with further announcements to come.    The Black Kaiser (Mads Mikkelsen), the world’s most lethal hitman, uncovers a deadly conspiracy protecting a powerful syndicate of killers, and becomes their number one target.    The film is a Constantin Film/JB Pictures production in association with Dark Horse Entertainment, with Martin Moszkowicz, Mike Richardson, Keith Goldberg and Mads Mikkelsen also executive producing.  “We are very excited to be working with the brilliant Mads Mikkelsen and the visionary J

Fresh out of college and without a clear life path going forward, 22-year-old Andrew is stuck back at home with his family in New Jersey. But if there’s one thing that belongs on his nonexistent résumé, it’s how to get a party started, which lands him the perfect job of motivational dancing at the bar and bat mitzvahs for his younger brother’s classmates. When Andrew befriends a local mom, Domino, and her daughter, Lola, he finally discovers a future he wants—even if it might not be his own. Cooper Raiff writes, directs, and stars alongside Dakota Johnson, Brad Garrett, Leslie Mann, and newcomers Vanessa Burghardt and Evan Assante in this tale of unconventional love that brims with emotional honesty. “Cha Cha Real Smooth” will be released in select theaters and premiere globally on Apple TV+ on June 17, 2022

30WEST has hired Maren Olson as EVP, Film. Maren will join the studio this month where she will work alongside fellow EVP Trevor Groth to manage the fast-growing company’s slate of projects, which include the forthcoming The Trashers starring David Harbour (Stranger Things) and to be directed by Cooper Raiff (Cha Cha Real Smooth), and the genre-bending thriller Day Drinker, to be directed by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man, 500 Days of Summer).  30WEST will be in Cannes this month premiering Imperative Entertainment’s Triangle of Sadness in competition, as well as The Silent Twins, which will premiere in Un Certain Regard. Also making noise in the Cannes market will be the forthcoming reboot of The Crow, which the company helped to package with Rupert Sanders directing and Bill Skarsgård and FKA Twigs attached to star. 30WEST is currently in post on an untitled “Wildcat” documentary, which will be released by Amazon Studios this fall. Olson joins 30WEST from Creative Artists Agency (

JULIA, from Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West (RBG), will premiere for television on CNN on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30 at 8:00pm and 10:00pm Eastern (5:00pm and 7:00pm Pacific), with limited commercial interruption.  The documentary celebrates the life and career of chef, cookbook author, and television and cultural pioneer, Julia Child.  “Julia Child was an irresistible subject,” say filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen, “and not just because of her charismatic, joie-de-vivre personality, and crying-out-for-imitation voice.  As a cookbook author and television chef, Julia had a profound impact on the way Americans think about food, about television, and about the possibilities for women.” Sizzling with mouth-watering food cinematography, diced with never-before-seen archival film and photos, and interviews with those who knew her, the documentary captures the surprising, and quietly subversive, life of Julia Child.  Born to a well-to-do, conservative Cal

A group of old friends reunites for a nostalgic evening of fun and games after a decade apart. After one too many, they decide to play a drinking game, but it’s quickly revealed that this game comes with supernatural stakes. Mischief leads to mayhem, and the group realizes that if they can’t come together to win the game by sunrise, they will be forced to play for eternity - in hell. Starring: Jim Mahoney, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Jon Bass, Sarunas J. Jackson, Shelley Hennig,  John Ales, Amy Davidson Directed by: Alberto Belli Written by: Jim Mahoney ON DEMAND AND ON DIGITAL: June 16, 2022 

  Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller, and the supernatural, announced that OFFSEASON will be available exclusively to stream on the platform starting on Friday, June 10, 2022. As a Shudder exclusive, the platform will be the only subscription service that will carry the film in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Written and directed by Mickey Keating (Psychopaths), OFFSEASON stars Jocelin Donahue (Doctor Sleep), Joe Swanberg (The Rental, “Easy”), Richard Brake (3 From Hell, Mandy), Melora Walters (The Pale Door, “Pen15”) and Jeremy Gardner (After Midnight, The Mind’s Eye). Upon receiving a mysterious letter that her mother’s gravesite has been vandalized, in OFFSEASON, Marie (Donahue) quickly returns to the isolated offshore island where her late mother is buried. When she arrives, she discovers that the island is closing for the offseason with the bridges raised until Spring, leaving her stranded. One strange i

  RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, and Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural have acquired the North American rights to the horror film, ALLEGORIA, ahead of its world premiere at Panic Fest.  Written by Spider One, who also makes his directorial debut with ALLEGORIA, the film stars Krsy Fox (Frank), Adam Busch (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Bryce Johnson (“Pretty Little Liars”) and Scout Compton (Halloween). “Collaborating with emerging filmmakers/artists like Spider One is a top priority for us," said Mark Ward, Chief Acquisitions Officer of RLJE Films.  “We couldn’t be more proud to debut his first film. He is a great talent with a unique vision." The film will be released on VOD, Digital and streaming on Shudder on August 2, 2022. 

  RLJE Films has acquired North American rights to the western film, MURDER AT YELLOWSTONE CITY.  Written by Eric Belgau (Robert The Bruce), the film was directed by Richard Gray (Robert The Bruce).  Starring Gabriel Byrne (Hereditary, The Usual Suspects), Thomas Jane (The Expanse, The Predator), Isaiah Mustafa (It Chapter Two, Shadowhunters), Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Mr. Holland’s Opus), Nat Wolff (The Fault In Our Stars, The Stand), Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect, Good Girls Revolt), Aimee Garcia (Lucifer, Dexter), Emma Kenney (The Conners, Shameless) and Zach McGowan (Shameless, Black Sails).  RLJE Films will release MURDER AT YELLOWSTONE CITY in theaters and on demand on June 24. Filmed on location on a site that was known as Yellowstone City in the 1860s, MURDER AT YELLOWSTONE CITY is the first production to be shot on the new western backlot in Montana. “I’ve dreamed about the wild west since I was a kid, so to make this film with such a talented cast at our own western backlot in Monta

Actor Matthew Lillard, best known for his roles in the hit films Scream and Scooby Doo, and writer-director Bill Whirity have launched Midnite Movie Club , an NFT based project that allows holders to participate in the first ever ‘Decentralized Movie Studio’. Feeling audiences want to have more control over the movies that are made and what they want to see, Lillard and Whirity are handballing the power back to the audience by letting them decide what films the company produces.  Midnite Movie Club’s main focus is specifically in the genre space, i.e. Horror, Sci-Fi, Action/Adventure, and Fantasy. The first project from the newly established company is a high-concept vampire movie titled “Let them Die” – which will go into production summer 2022. Midnite Movie Club is set up as a DAO or Decentralized Autonomous Organization, which is a fancy way of saying a community that make decisions together. Thanks to blockchain technology, the voting will be fair and transparent. How it works is

What is Crimes of The Future about? In 1966 I saw a Danish movie called Sultwhich means hunger in Danish, and it was based on a famous Danish novel by Knut Hamsun, which was directed by Henning Carlsen. In that movie a poet, a sort of a broken, unrecognized poet who wanders the streets and has adventures and tries to create himself as a legitimate poet, a literary force. At one point he’s on a bridge and he’s scribbling something in a pad that he carries with him, and you have a close up of it and it says “crimes of the future,” and that really struck me. I thought I want to read that poem. Of course, he never writes it, but later I thought, well now that I’m starting to become a filmmaker I think I would like to see the movie Crimes of the Future, and so in 1970 I made an underground film, very low budget to say the least, called Crimes of the got written title really provoked me, and I think that 1970 low-budget, sort of underground film didn’t ever really satisfy all of the things t

Directed by : Naveen A. Chathapuram Starring : Ali Larter, Ron Perlman, Ralph Ineson In this stylized neo-western thriller, a group of modern-day outlaws and their terrifying leader are pursued by a local sheriff (Ron Perlman), after committing a horrific crime in a desolate southwest town. When a professor (Ali Larter) and her husband cross paths with the criminals, everyone is drawn into a spiral of violence and retribution where morality becomes ambiguous, and survival is the only option. IN THEATERS AND ON DIGITAL / VOD MAY 13

  From visionary director Robert Eggers comes THE NORTHMAN , an action-filled epic that follows a young Viking prince on his quest to avenge his father’s murder. With an all-star cast that includes Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Björk, and Willem Dafoe. Director/Writer : Robert Eggers Cast : Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Gustav Lindh, Ethan Hawke, Björk, and Willem Dafoe THE NORTHMAN is in theaters April 22nd.

Angelika Film Center (an affiliate of Reading International, Inc.), with operating theaters across the nation in New York City, Texas, Washington, D.C, California and Virginia, and Sony Pictures Classics announced today a special "Bring A Friend Back To The Movies" initiative timed to the April 22, 2022 release of the upcoming Sony Pictures Classics dramatic comedy, The Duke starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren.  In addition, Angelika Film Center announced that the Angelika Membership program will be launching on Friday, April 29, 2022. The "Bring A Friend Back To The Movies" initiative will provide one complimentary ticket to anyone who purchases a ticket directly from the Angelika website , app, or in theater to see the upcoming film, The Duke, during the first week of its release. The goal is to bring audiences back and remind them that nothing beats seeing a film on a big screen with a friend. Sony Pictures Classics will release the film in theaters in New Yo

Award This! In its 4th Year Honors Indie Filmmakers In-Person on May 21st. The Award This! nominees were selected from over 2,000 indie films reviewed by Film Threat in 2021 (this year they extended their deadline into the first quarter of 2022 due to the pandemic). Award This!  returns for its fourth year and will take place at the Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, California on Saturday, May 21st and a limited number of tickets will be available for sale to the public soon at AwardThis.com and on the Frida Cinema website. The nominating board of Award This! is comprised of the staff of Film Threat’s editors and critics which number 30+ worldwide along with an advisory board of media figures and independent film luminaries. The Award This! 2022 Nominees include... Award This! Film About Movies or Filmmaking Clapboard Jungle Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters Clerk. Film Fest Sam and Mattie Make a Zombie Movie  Award This! Music Documentary Holding These Moments The Jesus Musi

When a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius, they dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighboring planets to help them take a stand. Cast : Michiel Huisman (The Flight Attendant, The Haunting of Hill House, Game of Thrones), Cary Elwes (Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, Mission: Impossible 7, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Alfonso Herrera (Ozark, Sense8), and Corey Stoll (Billions, The Many Saints of Newark, West Side Story) join the cast of Zack Snyder’s sci-fi adventure film. Director : Zack Snyder  Writers : Zack Snyder, Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad Story By : Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad Producers : Deborah Snyder, Wesley Coller and Zack Snyder for The Stone Quarry; Eric Newman for Grand Electric Executive Producers : Bergen Swanson, Sarah Bowen for Grand Electric, Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad Rebel Moon is the first feature to fall under the first look partnership be

When the world is gripped by a plague unleashed by the evil lord Chaos, and humans are turned into rabid creatures, mankind can only be saved by three young women, descendants of a Goddess, with the power to stop Chaos' evil. Starring Rebecca Finch ("The Flash"), Marc Outbreak (I Am Hooligan), Peter Cosgrove (Scarecrow's Revenge) and Rita Di Tuccio as Alina Directed by Rebecca Matthews (Pet Graveyard, The Gardener), and written by Tom Joliffe, experience the REIGN OF CHAOS on April 12. Coming to Digital from Left Films.

In the near future, life-like androids with artificial intelligence have been created to help people with menial household tasks. The prototype, One, created by Roger Marshall and tested by his family, proves to be popular but flawed. Roger has been working on a new model, Two, whose improved features show promise of its super-human abilities. As tensions rise between Roger and wife Shelley, the androids malfunction and the lives of the whole family are soon in danger of Two's sinister plans. Starring Danielle Scott, Stephanie Lodge, Andrew Rolfe, Jamie Robertson, Tom Taplin, and Zoe Purdy as Two. Directed by Jack Peter Mundy, and written by Sam Gurney, your life is in the hands of a PROTOTYPE on April 5. Coming to Digital from Left Films.

THE WHITE FORTRESS stars Pavle Čemerkić as Faruk, an orphan who meets a timid teen girl, played by Sumeja Dardagan, from an affluent family; the two form a relationship as she explores his life of foraging and petty crime as a means of escaping her toxic home life. The cast also includes Jasmin Geljo, Kerim Čutuna, Alban Ukaj and Irena Mulamuhić. OPENING IN SELECT THEATERS & ON DIGITAL PLATFORMS ON APRIL 22