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They don’t call the scammer who fooled hundreds of entertainment gig workers out of their money, time, and dreams the “Hollywood Con Queen” for nothing. Filmmaker Chris Smith’s three-part docuseries starts streaming May 8 on Apple TV+ and aims to flesh out the staggering impact of an anonymous fraudster who preyed on hundreds of industry hopefuls from across the globe.

The criminal mastermind — whose identity you can Google but is the linchpin dramatic question in the forthcoming true crime project — posed as various major players from across development. Pretending to be everyone from Amy Pascal to Deborah Snyder to Kathleen Kennedy, the mysterious female voice dangled the promise of life-changing career opportunities in Southeast Asia before exploiting the unlucky creatives who actually tried to take them.

Based on the original reporting of “The Hollywood Reporter” journalist Scott Johnson and his book for Harper Collins (“Hollywood Con Queen: The Hunt...

Apple TV+ has announced its programming for the month of May, which includes the return of two comedies, the premieres of a drama and a sci-fi series, and a documentary. The service also offers feature films, as well as kids and family entertainment.

The Apple TV Plus May 2024 lineup includes Acapulco Season 3, The Big Cigar, Dark Matter, Hollywood Con Queen, and Trying Season 4.

Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, Vizio, Tcl, and others, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at the Apple site.

For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.

Apple TV Plus May 2024 Highlights

Available May 1

Acapulco...

The Nantucket Film Festival has set the lineup for its 2024 edition and will honor Emmy-nominated writer-producer Kerry Ehrin, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Roger Ross Williams and Girls5Eva showrunner Meredith Scardino.

The 29th edition of the festival will open with Josh Margolin’s June Squibb-starrer Thelma, close with Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s Christopher Reeve documentary Super/Man and Jeff Zimbalist’s documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story, about a daredevil couple who secretly filmed themselves climbing the world’s last super skyscraper. The festival will also continue its tradition of screening a Disney or Pixar film on its opening day, with a festival screening of Inside Out 2.

The festival also announced several honorees: Ehrin will receive the Excellence in Television Writing Award; Williams will receive the Career Achievement in Filmmaking Award and his latest feature Stamped From the Beginning, based on the book of the same name by Ibram X. Kendi,...

We move from February into March this week, which means the arrival of Scream VI is now just over one week away. But before we get there, we’ve got other fresh horrors to consume.

This week, Six brand new horror movies will be released, and included in the mix is the latest installment in a long-running franchise based on a classic Stephen King horror novel.

Here’s all the new horror arriving February 28 – March 5, 2023!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

First up, Gravitas Ventures unleashes Wolf Garden via On Demand outlets today (February 28), being described by Gravitas as a “elevated horror picture in the tradition of It Follows.”

Written and Directed by Wayne David, Wolf Garden tells the blood-curdling story of William (Wayne David), a young man who disappears upon experiencing haunting visions of the woman he loves and a mysterious creature in the nearby woods.

“Consecration” is something you hardly see anymore: a Catholic horror movie that isn’t about exorcism. Yet after decades of “Exorcist” knockoffs, moviegoers have been conditioned to anticipate the clichés of demonic possession. We expect them to be delivered, and in a certain way they always are. For moviemakers have been conditioned that way too.

Set in a remote seaside convent in the Scottish highlands, “Consecration” presents the audience with a sinister Mother Superior (Janet Suzman) who talks about God as if he were the devil. She leads a batch of young nuns who smile with too much cultish devotion (one wears an eyepatch because she dug her own eye out after she thought she saw Satan). We keep waiting for the other demonic shoe to drop — to see a nun possessed, or a group of them gathered in a secret ceremony to conjure the Beelzebub of their dreams. All...

Consecration Review — Consecration (2023) Film Review, a movie directed by Christopher Smith, written by Laurie Cook and Christopher Smith and starring Jena Malone, Danny Huston, Ian Pirie, Janet Suzman, Thoren Ferguson, Steffan Cennydd, Eilidh Fisher, Victoria Donovan, Angela White, David Boyle and Alexandra Lewis. Jena Malone plays a woman with a troubled past in [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Consecration (2023): Jena Malone Stars in an Ambitious and Twisty Yet Underwhelming Horror Film...

We’ve been tracking this week’s new releases all week long, with four horror movies debuting on Tuesday and two more debuting on Thursday. Believe it or not, we’re still not done.

Here are four more new horror movies released today, February 10, 2023!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

First up, director Erik Bloomquist (Ten Minutes to Midnight, Long Lost) is back with She Came from the Woods, an ’80s-set summer camp slasher movie that’s now playing in theaters.

We don’t yet have a home video release date, but we expect one soon.

She Came from the Woods follows “a group of counsellors who accidentally unleash an ancient evil spirit on the last night of a summer camp. As the situation turns bloody, the group is forced to confront what stories are worth telling and what secrets are worth keeping.”

She Came from the Woods...

Nothing is more threatening to religion than a woman possessed. A woman in full possession of her own power, freedom, and mind can think for herself, can question male authority, and even create life. Women are typically the recipients of witch burnings, exorcisms, and speaking in twisted tongues; their capacity to be a vessel is both their power and their weakness. Perhaps that’s why the prickly focus of “Consecration,” a muted possession thriller set in an isolated Scottish convent, feels like such a blank slate, albeit a self-possessed one. Jena Malone brings a biting charm to her portrayal of Grace, but the story’s straightforward revelations end up feeling far too muted for the holy surroundings.

Directed and co-written (with Laurie Cook) by British horror maven Christopher Smith (“Black Death”), “Consecration” makes an artful attempt at telling a feminist revamp of a possession thriller. The minimalist story leans into the ornate Scottish Highlands surroundings,...

In 2009, Christopher Smith used the horror genre to do something entirely unexpected with Triangle. Ever since, he has been struggling to live up to it. Consecration bears some similarities, in that the ideas which it’s really concerned with don’t become visible until late in the game, but it’s nowhere near as tightly scripted and there are too many twee touches – hammed-up accents, a heroine called Grace, a priest called Father Romero – which distract from its big themes and dissipate the tension.

Grace is an ophthalmologist whose orderly life is disrupted by the news that her brother, a priest, has committed suicide. As we will learn, the two have been through a lot together, and she doesn’t believe it, so she journeys north to visit the obscure religious sect where he was working when it happened, taking lodgings in the convent. There, familiar...

One of the first things you see in “Consecration,” directed by Christopher Smith, is a nun with a gun. That nun is Mother Superior, the unhinged leader of a group of radical sisters in Scotland. She’s taking aim at Grace, an ophthalmologist with a troubled history. You’ll find out why eventually. Sort of.

Read More: The 25 Most Anticipated Horror Films Of 2023

For now, “nun with a gun” summarizes this film’s bizarre cocktail of severity and silliness.

Continue reading ‘Consecration’ Review: Nuns And Demons And Scotsmen, Oh My at The Playlist.

Christopher Smith’s films have often been obsessed, in one way or another, with time. From the recursive looping of his breakout Triangle to the branching narratives of Detour, Smith has built an impressive, albeit underappreciated collection of twisty thrillers. If 2020’s The Banishing represented something of a return to horror, then his newest, Consecration, acts as a continuation of that film’s obsession with narrative and spiritual fragmentation.

Following Jena Malone’s skeptical Grace as she travels to a remote convent to investigate the death of her priest brother, Smith’s latest is preoccupied with how the sins of the church are grafted onto individuals. Yet, like The Banishing, Consecration bears an underbaked premise that’s more interesting in its singular moments than as a complete film. Heavy on style and light on narrative clarity, almost nothing coheres.

Moody, but never as scary one would hope, it is ostensibly...

“Let the Badness Out.”

A nun mutters this as Jena Malone (The Ruins, The Neon Demon) finds her after a chase through the dark in an exclusive clip from Consecration. What follows gets macabre and unsettles her, but did it happen at all?

One thing is clear; there’s something seriously amiss at this convent. And more ominously, what is the badness that needs letting out?

The clip teases the latest mind-bending horror from Triangle, Black Death, and The Banishing director Christopher Smith. The psychological, convent-set horror film releases in theaters on February 10, 2023.

In Consecration, “Grace (Malone) goes to the Mount Saviour Convent in Scotland to find out what was behind the suspicious death of her brother, a priest. She is initially helped by Father Romero (Huston), but she soon comes to distrust the account of the church as she uncovers murder, sacrilege, and a disturbing truth about her own...

Consecration Trailer 2 — IFC Films has released the second movie trailer Consecration (2023) movie trailer has been released. View here the first Consecration movie trailer. Crew Christopher Smith‘s Consecration stars Jena Malone, Danny Huston, Janet Suzman, and Ian Pirie. Laurie Cook and Christopher Smith wrote the screenplay for Consecration. “Produced by Laurie Cook, [...]

Continue reading: Consecration (2023) Movie Trailer 2: Jena Malone uncovers murder, sacrilege, and her past while visiting a Convent...

It’s a long, treacherous road for child stars. Many don’t make it to adulthood unscathed, and rarely with a respected career to show for it. Much like Kristen Stewart or Daniel Radcliffe, however, Jena Malone has comfortably moved into a mature body of work that runs the gamut from auteur-driven indies (to stay relevant) with a smattering of popular studio fare (to stay afloat).

Once a precocious kid who brought unexpected gravitas to box office hits like “Contact” (1997) and “Stepmom” (1998), Malone successfully transitioned into arty indie darling with her turn in “Donnie Darko” (2001). Since then, she’s excelled in everything from horror to sci-fi to period comedies, bringing her unique screen presence to “The Neon Demon” and “The Hunger Games” without missing a beat.

So, what’s her secret?

“Maybe I sold my soul to the independent film devil, and I’ve been moderately sacrificing my blood every new moon or something.

It’s Super Bowl weekend, as the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs with pop star Rihanna providing the half-time entertainment. Normally, studios wouldn’t release any prominent new movies on this weekend, since they know they would lose a lot of business to the Super Bowl, regularly the biggest televised event every year. Then again, Tuesday is Valentine’s Day, and there’s a chance that Saturday date night could be a good excuse for couples to see one of this weekend’s two romantic offerings. Read on for Gold Derby’s box office preview.

Coming into the weekend is Channing Tatum’s “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” who is no stranger to the Super Bowl weekend, having starred in “Dear John” opposite Amanda Seyfried way back in 2010, which launched on Super Bowl weekend to the tune of 30.5 million. Tatum has reteamed with Steven Soderbergh for “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,...

In terms of overlapping themes, Black Death and Triangle director/writer Christopher Smith picks up where he left off with 2021’s The Banishing for his latest, Consecration. A woman once again sees herself as an unwitting pawn of the Church and the horrors it births, keeping the psychological mysteries close to the vest. Only this time, its heroine is far more relentless in uncovering answers. The spiritual sibling feature falls into similar narrative pitfalls but is anchored by a compelling lead.

Grace (Jena Malone) favors science; she works at an optometrist’s office and identifies as an atheist. She’s the opposite of her estranged brother Michael (Steffan Cennydd), a priest that lives in a Scottish convent. Grace’s distrust of the Church and a startling emergence of terrifying visions prompt her to discover the truth when she receives word that her brother has committed suicide. She arrives in Scotland...

Plot: After the alleged suicide of her priest brother, Grace travels to the remote Scottish convent where he fell to his death. Distrusting the Church’s account, she uncovers murder, sacrilege, and a disturbing truth about herself.

Review: Hailing from Scotland, Consecration provides a look at grief and identity. Jena Malone stars as Grace, a woman who’s struggling through life, even more so now that her brother has supposedly killed himself. She journeys to Scotland in order to take care of his affairs. But there’s clearly more to his death than it appears and sends Grace on a journey of discovery. What she finds may be surprising to her, but if you’ve seen any sort of horror movie, will be old hat to you. Because unfortunately, while Consecration looks good, there’s not much more beneath the surface.

I really love Jena Malone and could watch her in just about anything.

With the Sundance Film Festival now wrapped up, offering our first glimpse at the 2023 cinematic offerings, eyes are now on Berlinale, which kicks off later this month. Looking at this month’s theatrical releases, it’s an eclectic mix of fest favorites (including the best film from last year’s Cannes and a pair of highlights from last year’s Slamdance), underseen gems, and a few auteur-driven studio offerings.

12. The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic (Teemu Nikki; Feb. 3)

A week before James Cameron’s 1997 box-office behemoth returns to theaters, we’ll see the release of an acclaimed festival favorite in which his Best Picture winner figures into the central narrative. Winner of the Orizzonti Extra Audience Award at the Venice International Film Festival, Teemu Nikki’s The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic follows Jaakko (Petri Poikolainen), a charming Finn who loves movies despite his blindness,...

Consecration Trailer — Christopher Smith‘s Consecration (2023) movie trailer has been released by IFC Films. The Consecration trailer stars Jena Malone, Danny Huston, Janet Suzman, and Ian Pirie. Crew Laurie Cook and Christopher Smith wrote the screenplay for Consecration. “Produced by Laurie Cook, Casey Herbert, Xavier Marchand, and Jason Newmark.” Plot Synopsis Consecration‘s plot synopsis: “After the [...]

Continue reading: Consecration (2023) Movie Trailer: Jena Malone Investigates Her Brother’s Death at a Scotland Convent...

A few months ago, IFC Midnight announced that they had acquired the distribution rights to Consecration, the latest movie from genre regular filmmaker Christopher Smith, whose credits include Creep, Severance, Triangle, Black Death, Detour, and The Banishing. Now IFC Midnight has revealed their release strategy for the film: Consecraction will be reaching theatres on February 10th, with a digital release to follow on March 3rd. At a later date, the movie will also be available to watch on the Shudder streaming service. Along with the release info comes the unveiling of the film’s trailer, which you can check out in the embed above.

Scripted by Smith and Laurie Cook, Consecration follows Grace as she goes to the Mount Saviour Convent in Scotland to find out what was behind the suspicious death of her brother, a priest. She is initially helped by Father Romero, but she soon comes to distrust...

Scary monasteries and creepy demon nuns were the highlight of 2018’s The Nun. Now comes the upcoming movie, Consecration.

In Consecration, after the suspicious death of her brother, a priest, Grace (Jena Malone) goes to the Mount Saviour Convent in Scotland to find out what really happened. Once there, she uncovers murder, sacrilege and a disturbing truth about her own past.

https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/consecration

Starring Jena Malone and Danny Huston, Consecration is exclusively In Theaters February 10th from IFC Films and Shudder.

Directed by Christopher Smith, watch the trailer now.

Jena Malone is on a mission to find a murderer in God’s house.

The “Neon Demon” star plays atheist Grace, who travels to Scotland after her brother kills himself in a nunnery for new horror film “Consecration.” However, Grace’s brother, who was a priest, is also the suspect in a murder investigation, and Grace starts to believe that he in fact was killed and did not take his own life. Once at the monastery, Grace uncovers murder, sacrilege and a disturbing truth about her own past.

Janet Suzman portrays a mother superior nun who seems to be protecting supernatural secrets in the horror film. Danny Huston is the lead investigator on the head-scratching case.

Thoren Ferguson and Will Keen also star in the film, directed by Christopher Smith. Smith also co-wrote “Consecration” along with producer Laurie Cook. The film is additionally produced by Jason Newmark, Xavier Marchand, Casey Herbert,...

Consecration is a 2023 horror movie directed by Christopher Smith starring Jena Malone and Danny Huston.

After the suspicious death of her brother, a priest, Grace goes to the Mount Saviour Convent in Scotland to find out what really happened. Once there, she uncovers murder, sacrilege, and a disturbing truth about her own past.

Release Date

Opening in theaters February 10 and on VOD March 3

Cast

Jena Malone

Danny Huston

Thoren Ferguson

Will Keen

Janet Suzman

Ian Pirie

Steffan Cennydd

Angela White

Kit Rakusen

Eilidh Fisher

See full credits >>...

Heading to theaters on February 10th from IFC Films and Shudder, here's a look at the trailer for Consecration, directed by Black Death and Severance's Christopher Smith!

In Consecration, after the suspicious death of her brother, a priest, Grace (Jena Malone) goes to the Mount Saviour Convent in Scotland to find out what really happened. Once there, she uncovers murder, sacrilege and a disturbing truth about her own past.

Director: Christopher Smith Screenwriters: Christopher Smith, Laurie Cook Starring: Jena Malone, Danny Huston, Dame Janet Suzman, Thoren Ferguson Producers: Laurie Cook, Jason Newmark, Xavier Marchand, Casey Herbert, Stuart Ford Cinematographers: Rob Hart, Shaun Mone Editor: Arthur Davis Language: English Running Time: 90 min. Country of Origin: Scotland

The post Watch the Trailer for Consecration, Starring Jena Malone and Danny Huston appeared first on Daily Dead.

Yes, yes, yes, nuns are supposed to be viewed as kind, gentle souls who have all devoted their lives to their higher power. But let’s be real—nuns can also be really fucking creepy. And that’s exactly the case in the new film, “Consecration.”

Read More: The 20 Best Horror Films Of 2022

As seen in the trailer for “Consecration,” the film follows the story of a young woman who ventures to Scotland to investigate the strange, sudden death of her brother, a priest.

Continue reading ‘Consecration’ Trailer: Jena Malone Is Surrounded By Creepy Nuns In Christopher Smith’s New Horror Film at The Playlist.

Triangle, Black Death, and The Banishing director Christopher Smith returns to horror with Consecration, coming soon from IFC Midnight and Shudder here in early 2023.

IFC Midnight will first release the film in theaters on February 10, 2023, Entertainment Weekly reports this morning. Consecration then comes to Digital on March 3, 2023.

Consecration stars Jena Malone (The Ruins), Danny Huston (30 Days of Night, “American Horror Story”), and Janet Suzman. Christopher Smith co-wrote the script with Laurie Cook.

In Consecration, “After the suspicious death of her brother, a priest, Grace (Jena Malone) goes to the Mount Saviour Convent in Scotland to find out what really happened. Once there, she uncovers murder, sacrilege, and a disturbing truth about her own past.”

Previously, Smith described the project as “a film about the nature of religion and how defining one thing as divine creates a false opposite that is heretical.”

He added: “This film is an opportunity to...

First landing on my radar with the back-to-back genre blasts Triangle and Black Death, director Christopher Smith is returning this year with Consecration. Led by Jena Malone, the psychological horror drama follows her character, Grace, to a Scotland convent upon the news of her brother, a priest, passing under mysterious circumstances. Once there she uncovers murder, sacrilege, and a disturbing truth about her own past. Ahead of a February 10 release from IFC Midnight, the first trailer has now arrived.

Also starring Danny Huston, Dame Janet Suzman, and Thoren Ferguson, the preview hints at a brooding mystery conveyed with chilly atmosphere, clues leading to the inevitably bloody conclusion. Malone is poised for quite a major year or two, starring alongside Kristen Stewart in Rose Glass’ Saint Maud follow-up Love Lies Bleeding, Kevin Costner’s western epic Horizon, and Zack Snyder’s sci-fi feature Rebel Moon.

See the trailer below.

Consecration opens in theaters on February 10th.

Not only one of DC's best films as of late, "The Suicide Squad" proved once again that James Gunn knows the real gold lies deep within the vast comic book canon. He is now tasked with overseeing the entirety of the DC Universe, and his film about a ragtag team of villains remains his proof of concept for a new, revamped DC cinematic universe. After the release of "The Suicide Squad," Gunn seized the opportunity to expand the story of Peacemaker, an obscure villain that quickly became a fan-favorite thanks to an inspired performance by John Cena. To Gunn, it was clear that the foundation laid by his team-up movie was enough to branch the character off into a spin-off series, aptly titled "Peacemaker."

A straight-up fantastic television series in its own right, "Peacemaker" may very well be Gunn's magnum opus in the superhero genre. It features his patented humor,...

Joel Kinnaman and Mark Strong-led action thriller “The Silent Hour” has scored worldwide deals for AGC International.

First announced in October, Kinnaman leads “The Silent Hour” as a Boston police detective who suffers an on-the-job accident that leaves him hearing impaired. Sixteen months later, he’s an interpreter for the department and, with his friend and partner (Strong), must battle a team of corrupt cops attempting to eliminate a deaf murder witness.

AGC International, the sales arm of Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios, has sold the pic into Square One Entertainment in Germany, Signature Entertainment in the U.K. and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand and Wild Bunch in France.

Other buyers include Vertice in Italy and Latin America; You Planet in Spain; WWE in Benelux; Sf Studios in Scandinavia; Prorom Media in Eastern Europe; Mgn in Baltics and Cis; Ascot Elite in Switzerland; Nos Lusomundo in Portugal; Moviebox...

Consecration, the latest movie from genre regular filmmaker Christopher Smith, whose credits include Creep, Severance, Triangle, Black Death, Detour, and The Banishing, has just secured distribution! Variety reports that IFC Midnight will be giving the supernatural thriller a theatrical release sometime in 2023, then the film will be moving over for the Shudder streaming service. Shudder has the exclusive rights to Consecration‘s first streaming window.

Scripted by Smith and Laurie Cook, Consecration follows Grace as she goes to the Mount Saviour Convent in Scotland to find out what was behind the suspicious death of her brother, a priest. She is initially helped by Father Romero, but she soon comes to distrust the account of the church as she uncovers murder, sacrilege and a disturbing truth about her own shadowy past that brings long-buried trauma to the surface.

Jena Malone (The Hunger Games) plays Grace, with Danny Huston (Wonder Woman) as Father Romero.

BAFTA nominated British actor Mark Strong will star alongside the previously announced Joel Kinnaman in Boston-set crime thriller “The Silent Hour,” to be directed by Brad Anderson (“Beirut”).

Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios will finance and produce with producer Eric Paquette’s Meridian Pictures, and the project is being sold at the ongoing American Film Market.

Strong can currently be seen in the critically acclaimed Venice-winning film “Tár,” and is known for “1917,” “Cruella,” the Kingsman franchise and “Zero Dark Thirty.”

The film, based on an original screenplay by Dan Hall, follows Kinnaman (“Suicide Squad”), who plays a Boston Police detective who suffers an on-the-job accident which leaves him hearing impaired. Sixteen months later, he is now an interpreter for the department and with his friend and partner (Strong) must battle a team of corrupt cops attempting to eliminate a deaf murder witness in the apartment building where she lives.

Paramount takes handful of territories.

AGC International has reported major pre-sales on Chris Pine’s directorial debut Poolman including a multi-territory deal with Paramount as it prepares to show first footage to distribution partners at the AFM this week.

The film starring Pine, Annette Bening, Danny DeVito, Jennifer Jason Leigh and DeWanda Wise has gone to Paramount International for Canada, Germany, Italy, Benelux, Switzerland, Turkey and Asia pay-tv, as well as Sun Distribution in Latin America and Spain, and Studiocanal in Australia and New Zealand.

Elsewhere deals have closed in Scandinavia and Iceland (Mis Label), Cis and the Baltic States...

AGC International screening supernatural thriller for AFM buyers.

IFC Midnight and Shudder are acquiring North American rights to AGC Studios’ supernatural thriller Consecration directed by Christopher Smith and starring Jena Malone and Danny Huston.

IFC Midnight will release the film theatrically in 2023 and Shudder will take the exclusive first streaming window. AGC is screening the film for international buyers at AFM.

Smith co-wrote the screenplay with Laurie Cook about Grace, who following the suspicious death of her priest brother goes to the Mount Saviour Convent in Scotland to find out what happened.

When Grace enlists the help of Father Romero she uncovers murder,...

Triangle, Black Death, and The Banishing director Christopher Smith returns to horror once more with upcoming supernatural thriller Consecration.

Per Variety, IFC Midnight and Shudder have acquired North American rights to the film. IFC Midnight will release the film in theaters in 2023 with Shudder subsequently taking the first streaming window exclusively.

Consecration stars Jena Malone (The Ruins), Danny Huston, and Janet Suzman. Smith co-wrote the script with The Banishing producer Laurie Cook.

In Consecration, “Grace (Malone) goes to the Mount Saviour Convent in Scotland to find out what was behind the suspicious death of her brother, a priest. She is initially helped by Father Romero (Huston), but she soon comes to distrust the account of the church as she uncovers murder, sacrilege and a disturbing truth about her own shadowy past that brings long-buried trauma to the surface.”

Arianna Bocco, president of IFC Films, said in a statement, “Christopher Smith...

IFC Midnight and Shudder are acquiring North American rights to “Consecration,” a supernatural thriller from AGC Studios. The film boasts a cast that includes Jena Malone of “The Hunger Games” franchise, Danny Huston from “Wonder Woman” and “Children of Men,” and Janet Suzman, a stage and screen doyenne who received an Oscar nomination for her work in “Nicolas and Alexandra.” Christopher Smith (“Detour”) directs from the script he wrote with Laurie Cook (“The Banishing”).

IFC Midnight will release the film in theaters in 2023 with Shudder subsequently taking the first streaming window exclusively. Both companies share a parent company in AMC Networks.

In the film Grace (Malone) goes to the Mount Saviour Convent in Scotland to find out what was behind the suspicious death of her brother, a priest. She is initially helped by Father Romero (Huston), but she soon comes to distrust the account of the church as she uncovers murder,...

This post contains spoilers for "Black Adam."

To borrow a phrase from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, "it's all connected." But this idea isn't exclusively owned by the House of Ideas. Many superhero movie franchises (or franchises in general) aim to create a larger world for their characters consisting of films, TV, comics, and beyond. This definitely applies to the Distinguished Competition's own movies. That's why Viola Davis' Amanda Waller appears in the latest DC Extended Universe film "Black Adam." Just like she does with Task Force X in the "Suicide Squad" movies, she deploys a team from the Justice Society of America consisting of Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone into action when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's ancient champion resurfaces in Kahndaq after thousands of years to protect its people from new threats in the most brutal ways possible. She also calls in a little favor from another super...

Mike Schank, the lovable sidekick to Mark Borchardt’s aspiring filmmaker in the 1999 cult classic documentary American Movie, has died. He was 56.

As reported by the Milwaukee Record–Schank and Borchardt were both good ol’ Wisconsin boys–Mike Schank “passed away early this morning [Thursday] in his mother’s arms.”

Although credited as Friend/Musician in American Movie, Mike Schank was an immediate audience favorite, stealing every scene in the movie with his nonchalant delivery, curious perspectives and hellish scream.

Earlier this year, Mike Schank tweeted on the anniversary of his sobriety:

August 3rd was my 27 years clean and sober birthday

— Mike Schank (@schank_mike) August 7, 2022

In American Movie, Mike Schank cathartically reflected on his past abuse. “When you play the lottery, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose… But it better than using drugs or alcohol – Because when you use drugs and alcohol, especially drugs, you always lose.”

Mark Borchardt tweeted,...

Mike Schank, guitarist, actor, friend and beloved subject of the 1999 documentary “American Movie,” died on Thursday morning, according to the Milwaukee Record. He was 56.

The exceedingly gifted screamer was a highlight from the cult classic directed by Chris Smith.

The film followed Wisconsin director Mark Borchardt as he attempted to film his fraught horror movie “Coven.” With a crew made up of friends and family members, just about every part of the production process fell apart, except for Schank, who was always there for his friend. Schank appeared as an extra, assistant, edit bay buddy and epic storyteller.

Schank was also a guitarist and even recorded music for the soundtrack to the documentary. Besides acting in “Coven,” he would also appear in the 2001 film “Storytelling,” the 2014 pic “Hamlet A.D.D.” and cameo as himself on an episode of “Family Guy.”

“American Movie” won the grand jury prize for documentary at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.

Mike Schank, a tremendously gifted guitarist who gained millions of admirers as the preternaturally unfazed friend of passionate low-budget filmmaker Mike Borchardt in Chris Smith's documentary "American Movie," has died at the age of 56.

Smith's film took art houses by storm in 1999, and its enthusiastic reception came freighted with more than a tinge of guilt. Schank and Borchardt were Milwaukee eccentrics trying to complete a handmade horror movie. I vividly remember watching the documentary at New York City's Film Forum and wincing at the uproarious laughter generated by Borchardt's pained direction of his elderly Uncle Bill (whose financial investment is the only reason he's anywhere close to completing the shoot). It was, undeniably, funny. But anyone who's ever tried to muscle through an underfunded shoot had to identify with Borchardt's frantic direction. He knew what he needed, and he fervently believed he could get it out of Bill.

As...

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The San Francisco Film Festival will kick off its upcoming Doc Stories showcase with a world premiere of director Marina Zenovich’s Jerry Brown: The Disrupter, about California Governor Jerry Brown’s political career.

Sffilm’s documentary film showcase has also booked director Chris Smith’s Sr., a doc about filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. as its closing night film.

The filmmaker’s son, Robert Downey Jr., co-produced the film.

The Doc Stories programmers also booked Laura Poitras’ All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, the Venice Golden Lion Winner and a film about artist Nan Goldin, as its Centerpiece screening.

And there’s Doc Stories slots for directors Jesse Short Bull and Laura Tomaselli’s Lakota Nation vs. United States, which is executive produced by Mark Ruffalo and Marisa Tomei; Sacha Jenkins’ Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues; Jeff Malmberg’s Mickey: The Story of a Mouse,...

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AFI Fest — the Los Angeles film festival set for Nov. 2-6 this year and headquartered at Tcl Chinese Theater — has announced its full lineup including screenings of Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All starring Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell, Sarah Polley’s star-packed Women Talking, and Chris Smith’s documentary Sr. about the life and career of Robert Downey Jr.’s indie film pioneer father.

In all, the program features 125 films of which 53 percent are directed by women, 32 percent by Bipoc filmmakers and 11 percent from Lgbtqia+ helmers. The roster is comprised of seven red carpet premieres, six special screenings, 12 Discovery, 12 World Cinema, 12 documentary, 30 short film competition, 43 AFI Conservatory and three guest artistic director selections this year from Ava DuVernay.

As previously announced, Apple Original Film’s Selena Gomez documentary Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me opens the festival, while Steven Spielberg’s deeply personal The Fabelmans,...

Event runs November 2-6.

Bardo, Alcarras, She Said, and Women Talking are among the line-up of 125 films set to unspool at AFI Fest from November 2-6.

Alejandro G. Inarritu’s Mexican Oscar submission Bardo joins the Red Carpet Premieres alongside Steven Spielberg’s previously announced closing selection The Fabelmans, the US premiere of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Oliver Hermanus’s Living, Alek Keshishian’s previously announced festival opener Selena Gomez: My Mind And Me, Maria Schrader’s She Said, and Florian Zeller’s The Son.

Special Screenings comprise Luca Guadagnino’s Bones And All, Elvis Mitchell’s documentary Is That Black Enough For You?...

The annual American Film Institute (AFI) festival has finally announced its full lineup.

AFI Fest runs Wednesday, November 2 through Sunday, November 6 and includes 125 titles to be screened in Los Angeles. Opening night kicks off with AppleTV+ documentary “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me” directed by Alek Keshishian. Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical drama “The Fabelmans” will close the festival.

The full lineup also includes special screenings for “Bones and All,” Sundance winner “Nanny,” Robert Downey Jr.’s documentary “Sr.,” “Le Pupille,” and “Women Talking.”

The official selections feature 53 percent of films directed by women and 32 percent of films helmed by Bipoc filmmakers. Eleven percent of directors identify as Lgbtqia+. The full festival includes seven Red Carpet Premieres, six Special Screenings, 12 Discovery, 12 World Cinema, 12 Documentary, 30 Short Film Competition, 43 AFI Conservatory, and three Guest Artistic Director Selections from Ava DuVernay. The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker will showcase three independent films amplifying the voices of...

Robert Downey Jr.’s post-Marvel days is seeing the actor scaling back on blockbuster films. His next big budget outing looks to be Christopher Nolan’s latest drama, Oppenheimer. The actor is slated for a mini-series called The Sympathizer, and a pending production of Sherlock Holmes 3. However, the latest project about to be released is a documentary about his father, Robert Downey Sr.

Sr. will be produced by Downey Jr., but is directed by Chris Smith, known for Fyre and Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond. The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Netflix has now picked up the documentary and is aiming to give it a big Academy Award push. The description of the film, per imdb, says, “Follow the tender but appropriately irreverent account of the life and career of Robert Downey, Sr., the fearless and visionary American director who set the standard for countercultural comedy in the 1960s and 1960s.

Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to “Sr.,” a documentary film about the life of the late filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. as directed by Chris Smith (“Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond”) and produced by his son Robert Downey Jr.

“Sr.” first made its world premiere at this year’s Telluride Film Festival. The film is described as a “lovingly irreverent portrait of the life and career of maverick filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. that quickly devolves into a meditation on art, mortality, and healing generational dysfunction.”

Team Downey’s Susan Downey, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Barclay Ford are all producing the film, as is Kevin Ford. The film is a co-production between Team Downey and Library Films.

Netflix plans to release the documentary film later this year. It will next play the New York Film Festival with screenings on Oct. 10 and Oct. 11.

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Cheryl Dolins has been tapped as the new senior vice president of comedy programming and development at Fox Entertainment, replacing Julia Franz, who had held the post for three years.

The executive shuffle has been in the works for some time and is not related to Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier’s surprise departure to Roku last week. Franz will remain at the company as a consultant on comedies “Animal Control” and “Welcome to Flatch” in a network and studio creative capacity, as well as stay on until the former wraps production next spring.

Based in Los Angeles and reporting to president Michael Thorn, Dolins will be responsible for overseeing the development and production of the company’s growing comedy slate, which includes the upcoming single-cam “Animal Control,” Fox’s first wholly-owned live-action comedy; “Welcome to Flatch,” from executive producers Jenny Bicks and Paul Feig and multi-cam comedy “Call Me Kat,...

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Sr., a documentary feature about the maverick independent filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. that was directed by Chris Smith (Fyre) and counts Robert Downey Jr. among its producers, has been acquired by Netflix and will receive a full-fledged Oscar push from the streamer this season, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Downey Jr., who attended the film’s world premiere earlier this month at the Telluride Film Festival (where THR reviewed it as “unique and affecting”), intends to hit the campaign trail on behalf of the project about his father (who died at 85 in July 2021), which will drop on the streamer before the end of the year.

The film, which explores Downey Sr.’s life and work (he is best known for the 1969 Madison Ave. satire Putney Swope), as well as themes ranging from mortality to healing generational dysfunction (the relationship between Sr. and Jr.

When September rolls around, it means one thing for many of the top filmmakers in the world – time to hit the road. Venice, Telluride and Toronto come in rapid succession, to the point of overlapping. But for documentary filmmakers eager to showcase their work, there’s another important stop to make in September: the Camden International Film Festival in mid-coast Maine.

“We are strategically aligned to be right after Toronto and a week after Telluride, and we’re documentary only,” emphasizes Ben Fowlie, festival founder and executive director of the Points North Institute, which stages Ciff. “In terms of being able to highlight some of the larger [awards] contenders, so to speak, we can do it in a way that puts them on the main stage… This is just the moment for us to recognize the incredible artistry behind the documentary films that we’re going to be talking about at...

AGC International, the international sales and distribution arm of Stuart Ford’s independent content studio AGC Studios, has secured a raft of pre-sales on Richard Linklater’s Hitman and Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut The Dating Game, both of which will enter production in October.

Hitman has thus far sold to Leonine Studios in Germany and Switzerland; Snd in France; Sun Distribution in Latin America and Spain; WW Entertainment Bv in Benelux; Bim Distribuzione in Italy; Vvs Film in Canada; Scanbox Entertainment in Scandinavia; Paradise/Mgn in the Baltic States; Kino Swiat in Poland; Selim Ramia in the Middle East; Nos Lusomundo in Portugal; Empire Entertainment in South Africa; United King Film in Israel; Aqua in Turkey; and Kcs in Ex-Yugoslavia.

The Dating Game has sold to Telepool in Germany; Signature Entertainment in the UK and Ireland; Sun Distribution in Latin America, Spain and Portugal; Vvs Films in Canada; Lucky...

Both projects to start production in October.

AGC Studios has closed a raft of pre-sales from TIFF on Richard Linklater’s Hitman and Anna Kendrick’s The Dating Game, both of which start production in October.

Company chairman and CEO Stuart Ford held in-person and virtual buyer presentations on September 8 with Linklater and Glen Powell in attendance for Hitman and director, star and producer Kendrick turning up for The Dating Game.

Hitman has gone to Leonine Studios for Germany and Switzerland; Snd for France, Sun Distribution for Latin America and Spain; WW Entertainment Bv for Benelux; Bim Distribuzione for Italy; and Vvs Film for Canada.