Connect with us

Indie

News Bites Cannes Edition: ‘Child’s Eye’ Gains Distro, Ridley Scott Nabs Multi Rights, Lionsgate Sets a ‘Trap For Cinderella’

Published

on

Ready for more random Cannes news? Me neither. I can barely keep up with all of this insanity! Good news: plenty of horror to go around…

Screen Daily reports that Hong Kong’s Universe Films Distribution has sealed a North American deal on the Pang Brothers’ (The Eye) 3D horror The Child’s Eye which has been acquired by Grindstone Entertainment. The film premiered at the Venice film festival last year before having a successful run at the South-East Asian box office. Other Pang Brothers titles on Universe’s slate include Fairy Tale Killer, directed by Danny Pang and starring Lau Ching Wan, and a second 3D production, Sleepwalker, directed by Oxide Pang and starring Lee Sinjie. Both films are in post-production.

A bief update to last week’s announcement, Lionsgate UK nabbed Iain Softley’s psychological thriller Trap For Cinderella, in a deal with Ealing Metro. Alexandra Roach, Bill Bailey and Tuppence Middleton all star in the film from the director of The Skeleton Key. “A beach house at a French resort is gutted by fire. Trapped inside are two women – one rich and the other poor. Only one of them survives, burnt beyond recognition and in a state of total amnesia. Who is she, the heiress or her penniless friend? A killer, or an intended victim?

The Hollywood Reporter has a lengthy article on Scott Free U.K. and their abitious slate. Included were a slew of new genre projects starting with writer/director Rowan Joffe‘s (28 Weeks Later) big screen adaptation of S.J. Watson’s debut novel “Before I Go To Sleep”, “a psychological thriller about a woman who wakes up next to a man without any memory of how she got there and who the man next to her is. He’s her husband.

In addition, a young adult novel, “Blood Red Road,” has particularly caught the eye of Ridley Scott. Set in a post-apocalyptic world and due to be published in June by author Moira Young, it is being adapted for Scott Free U.K. by Jack Thorne. (The Scouting Book for Boys). “It tells the story of a girl who sets out to rescue her twin brother after he is snatched by mysterious black-robed riders who ride in on their steeds out of nowhere.” It is due to be published later this year and is the first in a trilogy, with potential franchise written all over it.

Another potential franchise for Scott Free in the U.K. is author Glen Duncan‘s planned trilogy of novels, the first of which is “The Last Werewolf”. “It details the dark, sexual tale of a 100 year werewolf who is thinking of giving himself up to the were-hunters at the next full moon but, on a train to Paris, is intoxicated with desire by the smell of a female werewolf.” Marshall is finalizing a deal with a writer and hopes to reveal all in the next few days.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

Advertisement
Click to comment

Indie

“Bite Size Short: Her House of Horrors” Announce Short Grant Program!

Published

on

Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.

The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.

The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:

“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.

“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.

“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.

“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”

Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.

WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.

To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.

Continue Reading