Movies
Amber Heard to Topline John Carpenter’s ‘The Ward’
The legendary John Carpenter (Halloween, The Fog, In the Mouth of Madness, The Thing), will direct The Ward, written by Michael and Shawn Rasmussen. Amber Heard (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) has signed on to star. The Ward is an intense psychological thriller set in a mental institution where a young woman, Kristen (played by Heard) is haunted by a mysterious and deadly ghost. As danger creeps closer, she comes to realize that this ghost might be darker than she could have imagined. Production is scheduled for a May start.
““The Ward” is the kind of script that I’ve been looking for: a complex, visceral story, full of suspense and scares,” said Carpenter. “I am especially pleased to be working with Amber because I know she will create a powerful central performance.”
“The Ward” is being produced by Doug Mankoff, Mike Marcus and Andy Spaulding of Echo Lake Entertainment, which recently wrapped production on “The Joneses”, co-starring Heard. Financing and producing alongside Echo Lake will be Peter Block and his recently launched company A Bigger Boat.
“Working with John Carpenter on “The Ward” is a dream come true; fans everywhere, me included, have been waiting for just this kind of thriller from him. It’s great to be able to tackle it with the Echo Lake gang whose work I’ve also admired for years,” said Block.
Heard is repped by Endeavor, Hyler Management and attorney Karl Austen. Her credits include “Pineapple Express,” “Never Back Down,” and “All The Boys Love Mandy Lane” as well as the series “Californication”. Carpenter is repped by William Morris and Echo Lake Management. Writers Michael and Shawn Rasmussen are repped by Larchmont Literary Agency.
Echo Lake has added more commercial fare such as “The Ward” and “The Joneses” to its long track record of award winning arthouse films including titles like “Tsotsi”, “Water”, and “Away From Her”. “We are excited to bring our focus on quality to bigger, more mainstream films” says Doug Mankoff, President of Echo Lake. “We saw firsthand what a great job Amber did on “The Joneses” and we knew that she and John Carpenter would make a perfect combination for “The Ward”.”
FilmNation, the sales company started by Glen Basner, will begin international sales on the film at the Berlin Film Market next week.
Movies
‘Medium Rare’ – Curry Barker’s Dad Jeff Barker Directing His Own Horror Short Starring Dane Cook
Curry Barker’s career is exploding with possibility in the wake of Obsession‘s box office success, but Curry Barker isn’t the only one in the Barker family making horror movies.
The Hollywood Reporter informs us this afternoon that Curry Barker’s father Jeff Barker is going to be writing and directing a horror short starring comedian Dane Cook!
The short is titled Medium Rare, and Lesley Ann Warren will also star.
THR details, “The film follows a man trapped inside a bar, where reality begins to unravel in increasingly disturbing ways. Production is expected to begin in Los Angeles later this summer.”
“Medium Rare is a short story I wrote eight years ago. I’m honored by the team of people helping me bring this project to life,” Jeff Barker said in a statement shared by the outlet.
Jeff Barker is a screenwriter in his own right, credited as the script consultant for Obsession. He even wrote the Hansel & Gretel monologue memorably delivered by Inde Navarrette.