RLJE Films, Shudder Team on ‘Kids vs. Aliens’ Ahead of Fantastic Fest Debut (EXCLUSIVE)

Brent Lang Executive Editor In one corner, a star-studded murder mystery from one of the most acclaimed directors in Hollywood. In the other, a family fable that features a CGI crocodile who sounds a lot like Shawn Mendes. As Hollywood heads into another quiet fall weekend at the box office, David O. Russell’s “Amsterdam” is squaring off against “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile,” and both new releases are facing strong competition from reigning champ “Smile.” Of the two new entrants, “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” seems to be in the stronger position. There haven’t been many movies geared toward kids — the last one was “DC League of Super-Pets” way back in July. The $50 million production will open in more than 4,300 locations, where it should make $15 million or more. Sony Pictures, the studio behind the film, is being more conservative and projecting an opening in the $11 million to $12 million range. That could be enough for a first-place finish, depending on how steeply “Smile,” which opened to $22.6 million, drops in its second weekend of release.

EXCLUSIVE: Joe Begos’ holiday horror film Christmas Bloody Christmas has wrapped up a deal with AMC Networks siblings RJLE Films and Shudder that will see the slasher pic released day-and-date in theaters and on the genre streaming site December 9.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Devotion,” a drama about a group of elite fighter pilots during the Korean War, will screen at the opening night of the Urbanworld Film Festival. The Sony Pictures and Black Label Media production was directed by J.D. Dillard and stars Jonathan Majors, who will serve as the festival’s official ambassador. HBO will return as a founding partner of the Urbanworld Film Festival, and Visa will serve as presenting partner. The festival will take place from Oct. 26 to Oct. 30. “This year’s slate is incredibly impressive,” said Karen McMullen, head of programming. “We have some of the top artists in the industry as well as exciting new voices premiering their films at Urbanworld. It has been a privilege working alongside this organization as we move into our 26th year as a festival. We can’t wait to see everyone in person in New York City to help us celebrate our dynamic films and filmmakers.”

Anna Marie de la Fuente In a clear vote of confidence for Colombian director Juan Sebastián Mesa, Bordeaux-based Dublin Films has boarded his third film “Lovers Go Home!” The company also co-produced Mesa’s lauded sophomore pic, “The Rust.” “Lovers Go Home!” centers on a Colombian single mom who leads a double life as a webcammer. One day she meets a U.S. veteran online who becomes obsessed with her. He flies to Colombia to meet her in person. Their meeting makes them reflect on who they truly are. In development, the project participated in this year’s Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, one of San Sebastian Film Festival’s key industry events, which ran over Sept. 19-21. 

Brent Lang Executive Editor Centricus has acquired a majority stake in SK Global Entertainment, the independent film and television production and finance company behind “Crazy Rich Asians.” The pact is in in the low to mid nine figures, according to a source with knowledge of the transaction. The deal will provide SK Global with capital to grow its company, potentially through mergers and acquisitions, a well as provide more financing to expand its slate of content. The company plans to double its output, producing four to five movies annually and at least five series. Earlier this year, SK Global acquired Critical Content, a production company focused on unscripted television series such as MTV’s “Catfish” and Netflix’s “Get Organized with The Home Edit.”

Brent Lang Executive Editor Al Pacino will star in the upcoming drama “Billy Knight” opposite Charlie Heaton of “Stranger Things” fame. Diana Silvers, best known for her work in “Ma” and “Space Force,” rounds out the cast of writer and director Alec Griffen Roth’s debut feature film. “Billy Knight” follows grad school students Alex (Heaton) and Emily (Silvers) who dream of becoming filmmakers. In addition to wanting to make it in the movie business, Alex is also grappling with the death of his father, a failed screenwriter. The only thing Alex’s father left him was a box of unfinished scripts and a handkerchief with the name “Billy Knight” embroidered on it. Those clues send Alex on a quest to find the mysterious and reclusive Billy Knight. 

“The Menu.”The film festival, held at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar in Austin, Texas, is one of the premiere genre film festivals in the country and has led to more acquisitions than South by Southwest, which takes place in Austin every spring. A joyful celebration of all things genre, this year was no different – with buzzy titles like Searchlight’s “The Menu” and MGM’s “Bones and All” playing alongside more esoteric fare like “Shin Ultraman.” There was even a high profile Marvel Studios premiere in their upcoming black-and-white Halloween special, “Werewolf by Night” (which really brought the house down).“We really gave our jury members a tough job this year.

When journalist and documentarian David Farrier grows restless, he must wish for the cosmos to deliver him a story in his niche: kooky, off-radar, and with a forbidding underbelly. And when David Farrier makes a wish, a monkey paw on the other side of the world twitches.

When journalist and documentarian David Farrier grows restless, he must wish for the cosmos to deliver him a story in his niche: kooky, off-radar, and with a forbidding underbelly. And when David Farrier makes a wish, a monkey paw on the other side of the world twitches.

Neon, has bought U.S. rights to “Sanctuary,” Zachary Wigon’s much-buzzed-about thriller starring Margaret Qualley as a dominatrix who becomes entangled with a wealthy client, played by Christopher Abbott. The movie world premiered at Toronto, where it earned strong reviews (it currently holds a 93% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes). The acquisition of “Sanctuary” underscores Neon’s ambition to scale up its Super label with higher-profile titles. The company beat out three other distribution banners that bid for the movie, according to a source close to the production.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Christina Anderson will receive the 2022 Horton Foote Prize for “the ripple, the wave that carried me home,” a play that examines racial justice, politics and family forgiveness. She will be honored at a private celebration at New York’s Lotos Club, where Anderson will be presented with $50,000 and a limited edition of Keith Carter’siconic photograph of Horton Foote, which is found in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Named after Foote, the writer of “Tender Mercies” and “The Trip to Bountiful,” the biennial prize recognizes excellence in American theater. It has been presented since 2010.

David Farrier has made his mark in the past several years with documentaries with off-beat subjects like 2016’s “Tickled” and his 2018 Netflix series “Dark Tourist.” Now, he’s back with his latest feature, “Mister Organ,” about perhaps his most weirdest subject yet. READ MORE: Fantastic Fest 2022 Lineup: New Films From Luca Guadagnino, Park Chan-wook, Martin McDonagh, & More Added To The Event The upcoming doc follows Farrier as he becomes interested in the titular Michael Organ, a wheel clamper in New Zealand.

David Farrier has made his mark in the past several years with documentaries with off-beat subjects like 2016’s “Tickled” and his 2018 Netflix series “Dark Tourist.” Now, he’s back with his latest feature, “Mister Organ,” about perhaps his most weirdest subject yet. READ MORE: Fantastic Fest 2022 Lineup: New Films From Luca Guadagnino, Park Chan-wook, Martin McDonagh, & More Added To The Event The upcoming doc follows Farrier as he becomes interested in the titular Michael Organ, a wheel clamper in New Zealand.

Ben Croll Emmy-winning writer Alice Prodanou and cross-media brand Star Stable Entertainment will bring their hit web show “Star Stable: Mistfall” to television. Working with animation studios Ferly and Atmosphere Media, Prodanou will oversee creative duties on the tween-skewing episodic series, set to enrich and expand the world of the YouTube short-form that premiered in 2020. “We’ve always intended on doing a full-length series,” Prodanou tells Variety. “The 10 x 5-minute YouTube series that we’ve already produced was proof-of-concept and an exciting part of our development process. [The web series] got over 15 million views and amazing engagement from fans who were vocal about wanting to see more.”

Brent Lang Executive Editor RLJE Films has acquired “Nocebo,” a thriller starring Eva Green and Mark Strong. The film will open in theaters on Nov. 4 and on-demand and digitally on Nov. 22. Shudder will release the film in 2023. Both RLJE and Shudder are business units of AMC Networks Shudder focuses on streaming movies in the horror, thriller and supernatural genres. “Nocebo” centers on a fashion designer (Green), who suffers from a mysterious illness that confounds her doctors and frustrates her husband (Strong). Help arrives in the form of a Filipino nanny (Chai Fonacier) who uses traditional folk healing to reveal a horrifying truth. 

Game Of Thrones star Kit Harington has shared his thoughts on new prequel House Of The Dragon, saying the team behind the show have done a “fantastic” job.House Of The Dragon follows the Targaryen dynasty 200 years before the events of Game Of Thrones, and has received positive early reviews.After the show’s premiere broke records at HBO, attracting almost 10million viewers, the Game Of Thrones prequel has also now smashed viewing records in the UK, becoming Sky’s biggest US drama launch and the most watched Sky Atlantic premiere ever.Speaking at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this weekend, Harington – who starred as Jon Snow in Game Of Thrones – was asked about his thoughts on House Of The Dragon by Entertainment Tonight Canada.“I’m really enjoying it,” he said. “My friend Miguel [Sapochnik] show-run it, so I’m really enjoying it.Harington added: “I think they’ve done a fantastic job. It’s a weird one to start a whole new show in the same kind of realm and to make it its own thing.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Allelujah,” Richard Eyre’s latest film, unfolds in a Yorkshire geriatric hospital, following a group of patients as they make peace with or rage against the indignities of old age. It’s a story that resonates with Eyre, a legendary stage and screen director. “I’m about to be 80,” he says. “So old age isn’t my consuming passion, but it’s a subject that has been forced on me and that has become difficult to ignore. I’m acutely aware of having outlived both my parents and many of my friends.” Perhaps unwittingly, “Allelujah,” which premieres this weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival, also serves as a showcase for a generation of English actors such as Judi Dench, David Bradley, and Derek Jacobi, who have all entered their ninth decades.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “The Good Nurse” director Tobias Lindholm wasn’t interested in making a why-dunnit. The Netflix drama, which premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival, tells the horrifying true story of Charles Cullen, the serial killer who used his position as a nurse to murder up to 40 patients. But the film isn’t a psychological study. “I’m not that fascinated with the reasons that Charlie did this,” says Lindholm. “I was more interested in why we didn’t stop him sooner, because we could have.” Indeed, “The Good Nurse” is as much an indictment of the way that Cullen was able to maneuver through labyrinthine hospital systems, with executives and administrators covering his tracks as a way of skirting liability. That failure to fully acknowledge Cullen’s culpability in mysterious patient deaths, enabled him to go from one job to another, sowing destruction in his wake. Lindholm, who is Danish, says he wasn’t that aware of the particulars of the U.S. healthcare industry, but having overseen the political drama “Borgen,” he was very familiar with the way bureaucracies can lose touch with the people they are supposed to help.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Nicolas Cage and Joel Kinnaman will star in “Sympathy for the Devil,” a new psychological thriller from director Yuval Adler. Production on the film is underway in Las Vegas. Capstone Global is handling worldwide sales on the film, and will introduce it to buyers during the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.   Written by Luke Paradise (“Lost on a Mountain in Maine”), “Sympathy for the Devil” follows “The Driver” (Kinnaman) as he finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse after being forced to drive a mysterious man known as “The Passenger” (Cage). That sets things up for a white-knuckle ride. 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Prominent arthouse sales company The Match Factory has closed multiple sales on Italian auteur Gianni Amelio’s Venice competition title “Lord of the Ants” ahead of its Venice premiere on Tuesday. The Match Factory has sealed deals on Amelio’s latest work – which is a biopic of Italian poet, playwright and director Aldo Braibanti, who was jailed in 1968 due to a Fascist-era anti-gay law – that will ensure the film’s theatrical release in: Australia/New Zealand (Palace Films); Japan (Zazie Films); Spain (Surtsey Films); Sweden (TriArt Film) and Greece (Ama Films). Further deals are in negotiation, the company said. Braibanti was convicted after a complaint from his partner’s father, who later forced his son to be treated with electroconvulsive therapy in an ill-conceived attempt to rid him of his homosexuality. The Fascist-era law that punished Braibanti, which made it a crime to lead innocent or unwary people “morally” astray, was repealed in 1981.