Indican Acquires Danny Aiello Pic ‘One Moment’; Gravitas Nabs ‘Ride Till I Die’; Freestyle Takes ‘Beneath The Banyan Tree’; ‘Christmas In Leavenworth’ Sets Cast; More – Film Briefs
EXCLUSIVE: Indican Pictures has acquired One Moment, a family comedy starring the late Danny Aiello, with plans to release it in theaters in May and on VOD in July.
Indican Pictures
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One Moment tells the story of middle-aged siblings struggling to manage their lives and careers while also caring for their recently widowed aging father, Joe (Aiello). Joe, demanding and difficult, stubbornly believes he is still capable of running his own life which leads to sad, but sometimes hilarious situations. Although at odds on how to best care for Joe in his final years, the family is united in wanting to ensure his well-being and help him find peace of mind—without them losing their own.
Adria Tennor, Frankie Ingrassia, Natalie Seus, Sioux Madden and Sal Rendino round out the cast of the film written and directed by Deirdre O’Connor, who produced alongside Jodie Weiner. Shaun Hill and Gary Goldberger negotiated the One Moment deal on behalf of Indican Pictures, with O’Connor and Alex Nohe on behalf of the filmmakers.
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EXCLUSIVE: Gravitas Ventures, an Anthem Sports & Entertainment company, has acquired North American rights to Ride Till I Die, a bull riding documentary directed by Tony Rammos that it plans to release theatrically in select markets and on demand on April 8.
Gravitas Ventures
Rammos produced the film centered on Ricky Ringer, who could never win a bull riding championship, despite the fact that he’d made it is his life for 25 years. Injuries and a broken body have taken their toll over time, but now with his son Lil’ Ricky and fellow rider Ernie Courson by his side, Ricky continues to ride and despite warnings about his health from doctors and his family, he is determined to chase that elusive title or die trying.
Gravitas Ventures’ acquisition team negotiated the deal for Ride Till I Die with Circus Road on behalf of the filmmakers.
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EXCLUSIVE: Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North American rights to Cinequest and Dances with Films’ award-winning family drama Beneath the Banyan Tree, from writer-director Nani Li Yang. The digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios plans to release it across VOD platforms on March 15.
Freestyle Digital Media
Beneath the Banyan Tree follows Mrs. Woo (Ah-Leh Chang Gua), a demanding matriarch abandoned by her husband, who struggles to protect her family’s reputation by setting high but inconsistent expectations on her disreputable son and strong-willed daughter, Ai-Jia.
Kathy Wu, Demi Ke, Jiayu Wang, Xie Ying, Travis Goodman, Miles Tagtmeyer, James Taku Leung, Scott Felix and Cameron Duckett also star. Yang, Troy Chiu and Yue Wang produced in in association with Light & Shadow Pictures, Inc. Freestyle Digital Media negotiated the deal to acquire Beneath the Banyan Tree with Glen Reynolds of Circus Road Films. The film’s trailer can be found below.
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EXCLUSIVE: Brandon Quinn (Sweet Magnolias, The Fosters) and Valery M. Ortiz (Gabby Duran & The Unsittables) have signed on to star in the indie holiday film Christmas in Leavenworth from director Jake Helgren and The Ninth House (List of a Lifetime).
Personal Courtesy
The film follows Bridget Torres (Ortiz), a prominent national news weather forecaster who comes home to the magical, wintry town of Leavenworth, Washington, where Christmas traditions prevail each holiday season. This year, Bridget has been asked by her network to announce a special “snow-cast” at the annual Christmas Eve festival and has brought her boss Lisa along with her. Bridget’s plans to shine are foiled when a talk show host from her network arrives to join her for the broadcast. Drake Kincaid (Quinn), as it turns out, refused to hire Bridget as his co-host for their morning show a year earlier, making tensions high. The unlikely duo soon find themselves falling for each other. But when Bridget finally discovers why Drake didn’t hire her, their romance is put to the test.
Helgren penned the script, with Sarah Jane Morris, Nicole Bilderback, Audrey Landers, John Laughlin, Deom Richmond, Preston Sadlier and Fabiana Udenio rounding out the cast. Helgren and Autumn Federici are producing under their banner The Ninth House, alongside Kristifor Cvijetic, with Vanessa Shapiro exec producing.
Quinn is represented by Pakula/King & Associates, Atlas Artists and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Ortiz by A3 Artists Agency, KTA Group Talent Agency in Atlanta, Sharyn Talent Management, Sheila Crawford Management and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols; Helgren by Dunlap, Bennett and Ludwig; and The Ninth House by Bradley Garrett, Esq.
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EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has an exclusive trailer for Seize the Night, a thriller directed by Gene Blalock that Glass House Distribution recently acquired from Seraph Films for release on demand.
Glass House Distribution
The film currently available on platforms including Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Microsoft and Vudu follows the whirlwind romance between a drug dealer and a secretive singer, who fall under the shadow of an elusive and dangerous mind-control drug being distributed through the goth underworld of Los Angeles. Nina Bergman (Hell Hath No Fury, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4) stars. Pasha Gerard wrote the script and produced with Jhan Harp.
Check out the trailer below.
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