Movies
Well Go USA Just Acquired Benson and Moorhead’s ‘The Endless’
Fresh out of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, where it received rave reviews, the latest from Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Resolution, Spring) is headed our way in early 2018.
We’ve just learned today that The Endless, a chilling sci-fi/horror hybrid that our own Brad Miska labeled yet another “true indie gem“ from the filmmaking duo, has been acquired by Well Go USA Entertainment, who nabbed all North American rights to the film. It will receive a traditional platform theatrical release in early 2018, with a digital and home video release afterwards.
Moorhead and Benson star as brothers who return to the death cult from which they fled a decade ago, only to find that there might be some truth to the group’s otherworldly beliefs.
[Related] The Endless Directors Talk About Returning to Their Roots
The filmmaking duo issued the following statement:
The Endless is a film made hand-over-fist with an incredible crew, and ourselves wearing many hats, out of a conviction that audiences truly do want left-of-center, meaningful independent films. Well Go throwing their theatrical support behind us shows a shared belief that the box office is more than just superheroes. Audiences will be able to see The Endless at its best: sound cranked up in a dark theater, sharing the experience with movie lovers like ourselves.
Tate Ellington, James Jordan, Shane Brady and Kira Powell also star.
Movies
‘Backrooms’ Director Kane Parsons Is No Fan of Generative AI: “Defeats the Purpose Entirely for Me”
There has been a lot of talk recently about filmmakers embracing generative AI as part of the filmmaking process, from Darren Aronofsky to Martin Scorsese. But what about filmmakers that are against the use of Gen AI for creative pursuits? You can count 20-year-old Backrooms director Kane Parsons among that group, which should give you some hope for the future.
In a new chat with The Australian, the self-taught young filmmaker makes it crystal clear that he won’t be using generative AI in any of his upcoming filmmaking projects.
“I think I’m in the same boat as most well-adjusted people,” Parsons tells the outlet. “If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would. Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me.”
“What interests me more is interrogating it artistically,” Parsons notes. “We already live in a world where you walk outside and there are billboards and signs that are obvious AI slop. That’s become part of our visual reality. To me, generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot.”
He explains, “I’m interested in using that iconography in art – not using AI to make the art itself, but examining what it represents. I definitely want to explore it further in future projects.”
Kane Parsons also notes during the interview with The Australian, “… there’s so much at stake and so many genuinely harmful consequences already happening.”
Backrooms marks young prodigy Kane Parsons’ feature directorial debut, and it’s based on his own series of YouTube videos that were brought to life using Blender, the open-source 3D computer graphics software suite. So it’s no surprise that Parsons, who has hand-made his filmmaking career up to this point, isn’t buying into the hoopla around Generative AI.
His debut feature is the #1 movie in the world, so perhaps he’s onto something.
What’s next from Kane Parsons, you ask? Stay tuned…
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