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Titus Welliver and Juani Feliz have been cast in guest star roles in an upcoming episode of “The Equalizer,” which could set up a potential spinoff based on their characters.

It was first reported in November that CBS was eyeing a spinoff of the Queen Latifah-led reboot of the 1980s action crime drama of the same name. Now, Welliver and Feliz will appear in episode 16 of the show’s ongoing fifth season with series regular options should the spinoff move forward.

Welliver will play Hudson Reed, described as “a former top CIA operative with a dark secret who is connected to Robin McCall (Queen Latifah) by an old mentor.” Feliz will play Samanta Reed, who is said to be “trained by her father to be a weapons expert, skilled martial artist and true chameleon all while hiding a mysterious past.”

Welliver is coming off of a decade-long stint playing the character Det.

Popcorn Frights Film Festival announced its juried and audience awards that were selected from a packed lineup of 131 films — a program encompassing 48 features and 83 shorts hailing from 20 different countries, spanning nine distinct categories, that reached 12,700 fans.

From the press release: “This year, the jury panel, comprised of national media figures and local filmmakers, selected J.T. Mollner’s terrifying cat-and-mouse thriller Strange Darling for the Jury Prize for Best Feature Film. In accepting the award, J.T. Mollner stated, ‘Wow. This is such an honor. Sincere thanks to Popcorn Frights, the jury, and all the horror fans we made this film for who came out to support. Getting this news was such a pleasant surprise.’

“The Scariest Feature Film Prize was awarded to Cody Ashford’s chilling tale Drive Back, an inventive twist on the slasher genre that had its world premiere at the festival. To further highlight emerging talent, Popcorn...

Sun-soaked scares returned to the big screen in South Florida and made a cinematic splash virtually throughout the past couple of weeks during the epic tenth edition of the Popcorn Frights Film Festival, and we're thrilled and chilled to share this year's juried and audience award winners, including J.T. Mollner’s Strange Darling (Jury Prize for Best Feature Film), Ross Partridge's Birthrite (Audience Award for Feature Film), Cody Ashford’s Drive Back (Scariest Feature Film Prize), and Steven Hugh Nelson's Old Wounds (New Nightmare Prize for Best Debut Film).

Below, we have the official press release with full details on all of the winners, reactions, and highlights of this year's Popcorn Frights Film Festival, and to learn more about Popcorn Frights, be sure to visit their website:

https://www.popcornfrights.com/

Press Release: August 22, 2024 // — After a fantastic 11 night run filled with in-person and virtual programming experiences, the milestone...

The Popcorn Frights Film Festival is back this year, both in-person and virtually, from August 8-18. They’ve unleashed the first wave of programming, indicating that the fest is going big for its tenth anniversary celebration with new premieres, virtual screenings, and exciting retro showings including the “Lost First Cut” of Brian Yuzna‘s Return of the Living Dead 3.

To add to the pure mayhem of its anniversary celebration, Popcorn Frights 2024’s in-theater experience will be offered free and open to the public, as a gift back to the community for ten years of their dedicated support and moviegoing love. Popcorn Frights’ free festival is made possible by the generous support of Nightmare Weekend Miami.

Highlights include the 35th anniversary presentation of Brian Yuzna’s spectacularly insane masterpiece Society, one of the ickiest, sweatiest, gloopiest, horniest, and most original body horror shockers of all time. The master of horror will...

"It's a big day. Now go. Stop wasting time." S&r has revealed an official trailer for an indie coming-of-age drama titled What We Find on the Road, marking the feature directorial debut of producer / filmmaker Chaysen Beacham. A summertime tale of self-discovery and the ties that bind us, the award-winning indie film opens in theaters this September. On his 18th birthday, Tj receives a key sent from his estranged ex-con father, unlocking an old '68 convertible and a challenge to drive across America – in hopes of repairing his family. Supported by a band of loveable oddballs and held together by humor and grit, Tj discovers that sometimes the longest road is the fastest way to home. Written by Bill Haney and directed by Chaysen Beacham, What We Find on the Road stars Finn Haney, William Chris Sumpter, Katherine Laheen, Paul Guilfoyle, and Ross Partridge. The film has screened at...

An uncanny understanding of character dynamics and superior cast chemistry have made Stranger Things the defining science fiction drama of the last decade. Although fans love the special effects and evil enemies omnipresent in the series, showrunners the Duffer brothers have always grounded the story in character development. Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) and Will’s (Noah Schnapp) potential romance, Eleven’s (Millie Bobby Brown) backstory as a lab rat, and Hopper’s quest for fatherhood have all amalgamated into an irresistible mix of plotting that feels novelistic and addicting for viewers.

As the seasons have gone on, new characters have been introduced and pushed older favorites into the background. Steve Harrington started as a frenemy-style side character until Joe Keery’s banter with Gaten Matarazzo (who plays Dustin Henderson) forced him into the spotlight, even when other characters had to be sacrificed in his honor. Robin (Maya Hawke) was a...

Stranger Things season 5 will wrap up the series, bringing closure for main and minor characters alike. Holly, the youngest Wheeler sibling, should have a chance to shine and contribute to defeating Vecna in season 5. Minor characters like Lonnie Byers and Mr. Clarke should return to give closure to their storylines and help save Hawkins.

Stranger Things season 5 will bring the beloved Netflix series to a close, revealing what happens to the Hawkins gang — and hopefully offering closure for some minor characters as well. After Stranger Things season 4's bombshell ending, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her friends will be tasked with saving Hawkins from the Upside Down. Vecna's (Jamie Campbell Bower) still around, so they'll have their work cut out for them. They're also missing a core member of the group, as Max (Sadie Sink) remains unconscious.

Needless to say, the Hawkins crew will have a lot on their plate...

Paula Newsome as Maxine Roby in ‘CSI: Vegas’ season 2 episode 20

CBS’s CSI: Vegas season two episode 20, “Shell Game,” finds the team conducting an investigation in a peanut factory. Directed by Omar Madha from a script by Marisa Tam, episode 20 will air on Thursday, May 11, 2023 at 10pm Et/Pt.

The second season stars Paula Newsome as Maxine Roby, Marg Helgenberger as Catherine Willows, Matt Lauria as Joshua Folsom, and Mandeep Dhillon as Allie Rajan. Ariana Guerra plays Detective Serena Chavez, Lex Medlin is Beau Finado, and Jay Lee is Chris Park.

“Shell Game” Plot: The CSI team investigates a case where an ambitious investigative reporter is found dead at a peanut factory. Also, everyone in the crime lab buzzes over who Max will promote to day shift supervisor.

Lawrence Mandley as Larry Torres, Jared Wernick as Kevin, Mandeep Dhillon as Allie Rajan, Marg Helgenberger as Catherine Willows and Ariana Guerra...

Exclusive: Beau Bridges (Dreamin’ Wild), Jessica Parker Kennedy (The Flash), Bruce Davison (1923) and Miguel Gabriel (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) will topline Camera, an indie drama from award-winning filmmaker Jay Silverman (Saving Paradise), which has wrapped production.

Pic tells the story of Oscar (Gabriel), a nine-year-old boy who is unable to speak, watching as he struggles to adapt to the small fishing town where he has just moved with his widowed, hard-working mother Evelyn (Kennedy). Brought together by a broken film format camera, an unlikely friendship is formed between Oscar and a kind repair shop owner, Eric (Bridges).

With the local fishing industry in decline, the townspeople where Oscar and Evelyn now live become fiercely divided as to whether or not to stake their futures on building a luxury hotel – which will surely bring in new jobs — or fight to keep things the way they have been there for generations.

Twice a month Joe Lipsett will dissect a new Amityville Horror film to explore how the “franchise” has evolved in increasingly ludicrous directions. This is “The Amityville IP.”

Last editorial, I pondered if the best films in the Amityville Horror franchise are the paired entries. As we cross off the seventh entry, that suspicion holds true. Amityville: A New Generation has decent ambition for a franchise creeping towards double digits; it simply needed a few tweaks in its execution. At the end of the day, the film feels aggressively early 90s direct-to-video horror, slightly better than something like a mid-range Candyman or Hellraiser.

The 1993 film is set in an apartment complex whose residents are an artist collective. The film uses the same formula as The Amityville Curse for its characters (a combination of lovers and friends), as well as It’s About Time and 3-D (a new haunted object). In this case,...

Stranger Things season 5’s focus on Will Byers’ arc means that a hated character from season 1 must return. Following Vecna’s takeover of Hawkins in Stranger Things season 4's ending, the series is heading toward its final confrontation with the Upside Down in season 5. In addition to Eleven continuing to lead the series, the show’s creators have confirmed that Will Byers will be a major focus in Stranger Things season 5, thus amending the failures of sidelining his character in seasons 3 and 4.

Teasing that a character will be a big focus isn’t always a good sign, as it could indicate that Will Byers’ story will end with his death in Stranger Things season 5. However, given Stranger Things’ reluctance to kill off main characters, Will receiving a major spotlight is more indicative of a critical confrontation with Vecna in order to go full circle from his abduction in season 1. Still,...

In Theaters and On Demand Friday! Directed and Written by: Stephan Rick (The Dark Side of the Moon) Based On The Original Screenplay by: Stephan Rick And Silja Clemens Co-writer: Ross Partridge (Room 104) Starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Luke Kleintank, Eloise …

The post The Good Neighbor | Psychological Thriller | Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Luke Kleintank, Eloise Smyth, and Bruce Davison appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

Screen Media has just landed North American rights to the psychological thriller The Good Neighbor, starring Golden Globe Award winner Jonathan Rhys Meyers (“The Tudors,” “Dracula”) and Luke Kleintank (Midway, “The Man in the High Castle”), Bloody Disgusting learned. Directed by Stephan Rick (The Dark Side of the Moon, The Super) from a script he co-wrote with Ross Partridge (“Room […]

The post Screen Media Moves In Next to ‘The Good Neighbor’ [Image] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Exclusive: Screen Media has acquired North American rights to the psychological thriller The Good Neighbor, from director Stephan Rick (The Dark Side of the Moon), with plans for a day-and-date theatrical release in June.

The film written by Rick and Ross Partridge (Room 104) is a remake of the 2011 German thriller Unter Nachbarn, which marked Rick’s feature directorial debut. It watches as a nightmarish evening unfolds when neighbors David (Luke Kleintank) and Robert (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) hit a woman on her bike and flee. When her sister arrives searching for the truth, Robert does unspeakable things to protect their secret.

Bruce Davison (X-Men) also stars in the thriller, which was produced by Dean Altit, Yulia Zayceva, Forma Pro Films and Altit Media Group. Kimberly Hines, Rami Jaber, Kia Jam, Jeff Kranzdorf, Ross Partridge, Max Pavlov, Igor Pronin, Svetlana Punte, Qais Qandil, Stephan Rick, Patrick Rizzotti and Jim Steele served as its executive producers.

Stars: Lindsay Burdge, Jennifer Lafleur, Aleksa Palladino, Beth Grant, Ross Partridge | Written and Directed by Sarah Adina Smith

Originally premièring at the Fantasia International Film festival in 2014 and going on to win the Breakthrough Audience Award at AFI Fest, as well as Best Feature Film at the Denver International Film Festival, The Midnight Swim is now being digitally re-released alongside a special edition Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome/Yellow Veil Pictures. As a fan of found footage movies, I was excited to see this little known film.

We immediately meet three sisters who are returning to their childhood home after their mother has disappeared (presumed dead) after deep-sea diving into a mysterious lake near the home. Spirit Lake is apparently so deep that no one has ever managed to find the bottom. As the three sisters decide what to do with the house, the lake and its surroundings are the location...

A new trailer has arrived for the Sundance film “The Evening Hour” (via The Film Stage), and this new teaser gives us a first real look at the upcoming drama. “The Evening Hour” cast includes Philip Ettinger (known for HBO‘s “I Know This Much is True” and Paul Schrader‘s “First Reformed“), Stacy Martin, Cosmo Jarvis, Kerry Bishé, Lili Taylor, Michael Trotter, Marc Menchaca, Ross Partridge, Frank Hoyt Taylor, and Tess Harper.

Braden King (“Here“) directs from a script penned by Elizabeth Palmore.

Read More: ‘The Evening Hour’: A Compassionate Drug Dealer Tries to Survive in Appalachia [Sundance Review]

The Playlist’s Sundance review written by Joe Blessing called the film “A quietly powerful portrait of a young man forced to make impossible decisions to try to live decently in a landscape torn apart by forces far larger than himself, “The Evening Hour” is both an empathetic and sobering drama.

Talk about shooting under the gun. When long-time collaborators and friends Joshua Leonard and Jess Weixler teamed up to make their latest film together, “Fully Realized Humans,” there was one major concern to build their scrappy seven-day shoot around: Weixler was eight months pregnant at the time. Fortunately, the duo wrapped in time and Weixler welcomed her first child just a few weeks later.

Weixler’s pregnancy, of course, plays a major role in the duo’s latest feature, which follows the pair as a pair of well-meaning parents-to-be who suddenly realize they might not be totally ready to welcome a bouncing bundle of joy into their lives, at least not as they currently stand.

Intent on shaking off any of their own neuroses, the pair decide to spend the next month before their baby girl’s birth turning into “fully realized humans.” That involves everything from the mundane (can...

Gravitas Ventures has picked up North American distribution rights to Fully Realized Humans, an indie comedy from director Joshua Leonard. The film, which screened at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, will get a day-and-date release on July 30.

Leonard co-wrote and co-stars alongside Jess Weixler in what is described as an honest and hilarious portrait of a married couple on the precipice of parenthood. The pic follows Jackie (Weixler) and Elliot (Leonard) who, with less than a month until the birth of their first child, embark on a madcap odyssey of self-discovery in an attempt to rid themselves of the inherited dysfunction of their own upbringings.

Ross Partridge, Janicza Bravo, Jennifer Lafleur, Beth Grant, Tom Bower, and Michael Chieffo co-star. Leonard also produced the pic with Chelsea Bo and Sean Drummond. Gravitas Ventures Vice President of Acquisitions Tony Piantedosi negotiated the deal with Ben Schwartz and Josh Braun of Submarine.

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Gravitas has...

Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Luke Kleintank will star in “The Good Neighbor,” a remake of German thriller “Unter Nachbarn.”

The movie will center on new neighbors David and Robert, who find themselves bonded by a hit-and-run accident. According to the official logline: “When the dead girl’s sister shows up to investigate, David, overcome with guilt, wonders if he can find redemption while Robert is determined to bury the past and keep his new friend for himself, no matter the cost.”

The film will be directed by Stephan Rick (“The Dark Side of the Moon”), from a script by Rick and Ross Partridge (“Room 104”). Rick also directed the original movie.

Dean Altit (“Misfits”) and Yulia Zayceva (“WarHunt”) are producing. Kia Jam and Igor Pronin are executive producing with casting by Ricki Maslar. CAA Media Finance is handling domestic sales, while Highland Film Group will oversee international sales.

Rhys Meyers...

The Brad Furman-directed crime thriller City of Lies has had quite a journey, but the Saban Films release finally hits theaters today before dropping on digital and on demand April 9.

Based on the book, LAbyrinth, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Randall Sullivan and adapted by Christian Contreras, City of Lies follows the investigation into the infamous murder of iconic rap artist Christopher Wallace aka the hip hop legend Notorious B.I.G.

Oscar and Emmy winner Forest Whitaker stars as Jack Jackson, a journalist who teams up with LAPD detective Russell Poole (Johnny Depp), who spent nearly 20 years trying to solve the murder. The two of them try to find the truth. They explore why the case remains cold — and why a secret division of the LAPD is seemingly set on keeping it that way.

It’s not a lie that City of Lies went through a lot to make its way to the theaters.

Leonardo Nam, Martina Garcia, Hana Mae Lee, Lauren Miller Rogen with Macy Gray and Ross Partridge Directed By Camilla Belle, Maritte Lee Go, Chris von Hoffmann, Joe Sill, Jess Varley Screenplay By Camilla Belle, Chris von Hoffmann, Joe Sill, Jess Varley, Maritte Lee Go & Broderick Engelhard Five dangerous patients, suffering from extreme phobias at …

The post Official Trailer and Poster** Phobias In Select Theaters, On Demand and Digital March 19th appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

Fears come to life at a government testing site in the trailer for the new horror anthology Phobias, coming to select theaters, On Demand, and Digital on March 19th from Vertical Entertainment.

Directed by Camilla Belle, Maritte Lee Go, Chris von Hoffmann, Joe Sill, and Jess Varley, and written by Belle, Hoffmann, Sill, Varley, and Maritte Lee Go & Broderick Engelhard, Phobias stars Leonardo Nam, Martina Garcia, Hana Mae Lee, and Lauren Miller Rogen, with Macy Gray and Ross Partridge.

Synopsis: "Five dangerous patients, suffering from extreme phobias at a government testing facility, are put to the ultimate test under the supervision of a crazed doctor and his quest to weaponize fear."



The post Fears Are Fully Realized in Official Trailer for Phobias appeared first on Daily Dead.

Omg! Phobias looks so terrifying! Just check out this trailer:

Five dangerous patients, suffering from extreme phobias at a government testing facility, are put to the ultimate test under the supervision of a crazed doctor and his quest to weaponize fear.

Phobias stars Leonardo Nam, Martina Garcia, Hana Mae Lee, Lauren Miller Rogen with Macy Gray and Ross Partridge

The post Check Out the Trailer and Poster For Phobias starring Leonardo Nam and Martina Garcia – In Select Theaters, On Demand and Digital March 19th appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.

— — Ravage (2019) Film Review, a movie directed by Teddy Grennan, and starring Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Robert Longstreet, Bruce Dern, Michael Weaver, Ross Partridge, Chris Pinkalla, Eric Nelsen, Drake Shannon, Joshua Brady, and Bennett Krishock. It’s not uncommon for survivalist revenge thrillers to peddle depictions of sadistic violence [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Ravage (2019): A Bare-Bones Revenge Thriller That Succumbs to Its Own Emptiness...

Fabien Westerhoff of Film Constellation handles international sales.

Strand Releasing has acquired all North American rights from Cinetic Media to Braden King’s Sundance 2020 selection The Evening Hour and is eyeing a spring release.

Fabien Westerhoff of Film Constellation handles international sales on the crime drama starring Philip Ettinger as a man in the Appalachians who cares for the elderly and infirm and sells excess painkillers to local addicts to bring in a little extra cash.

His life is upended when an old friend returns with dangerous plans, and his estranged mother comes back into his life. The Evening Hour...

Want to relive a Coen Brothers classic with a fresh spin and some new cast members? The Pandemic Players, a troupe of stage and screen actors volunteering their time and talents to help fellow Americans impacted by Covid-19, will host a table read of the 1987 comedy “Raising Arizona” this Wednesday, November 25. The video will launch at 11 a.m. Pt, 2 p.m. Et. All proceeds will benefit Covenant House, founded in 1972 to shelter and care for young people facing homelessness. Below, check out an exclusive trailer for the read.

Troupe members participating in the table read include Zachary Levi (star of “Shazam!”), who will take on the role of Nicolas Cage’s H.I. McDunnough, and Alison Pill (“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”), who will play Holly Hunter’s Ed. Joining the pair will be Dean Norris, Clancy Brown, Macon Blair, Ross Partridge, Sarah Clarke, Jeff Dowd, Leila Almas Rose, Jaime Zevallos,...

Network: HBO.

Episodes: 48 (half-hour).

Seasons: Four.

TV show dates: July 28, 2017 — October 9, 2020.

Series status: Ended.

Performers include: Hugo Armstrong, Davie-Blue, Melonie Diaz, Jay Duplass, Veronica Falcon, Adam Foster, Ellen Geer, Keir Gilchrist, Philip Baker Hall, Sarah Hay, Poorna Jagannathan, Orlando Jones, Ethan Kent, Gavin Kent, Amy Landecker, Konstantin Lavysh, Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris, Keta Meggett, Natalie Morgan, Ross Partridge, Karan Soni, Dendrie Taylor, Tony Todd, Will Tranfo, James Van Der Beek, Mae Whitman, and Nat Wolff.

TV show description:

An anthology series from Mark Duplass and his brother Jay, who also acts in the program, the Room 104 TV show centers on the continuing action, in a single room in an American motel.

“Room 104” comes to an end this week after a four-year run unlike any other in TV history. Its anthology framework wasn’t new, its roster of writers and directors included plenty of experienced TV vets, and many of these episodes had foundations in genres that have been on screens for decades.

Over 48 episodes, what this show did have was Room 104 itself, a drab four-wall set — and a blank canvas for anyone lucky enough to get the chance to play inside. Whether the storytellers that came through used that vague premise as an experiment, a challenge, or a chance to tell a story that could only exist within those confines, each new chapter was worth watching to see which path it took.

In fact, even though we’ve explained why we picked the 10 episodes below as some of the show’s best, it’s almost worth going in without...

Grindhouse type fare is a lost art. Whether it’s a horror effort or a thriller, being grim, gritty, and even gross is something that small scale filmmakers used to pursue to a far greater extent. Obviously, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino tried to recapture the glory with the literal titled Grindhouse, but there hasn’t been a real resurgence. To be sure, it’s hard to do this well, as multiple attempts to remake something like I Spit On Your Grave has proven. Ravage, however, manages to do more right than it does wrong. Unyieldingly intense, it somehow also reminds one of something like Kevin Smith’s Tusk (you’ll understand if/when you see it), which is a rare achievement. This won’t be for most, but if you go in for this kind of genre fare, it’s an interesting new offering. The film is a thriller,...

That’s all, folks: The Brothers Duplass, Mark and Jay, are shuttering the motel. For the last few years, the siblings’ lo-fi, idiosyncratic HBO anthology series “Room 104,” set within the four walls of a multivalent room at an anonymous roadhouse, has served as a stage for filmmakers like Sarah Adina Smith, Josephine Decker, Ross Partridge, Lila Neugbauer, and Macon Blair; each story, naturally, is unique from the others, embracing such a range of aesthetics, approaches, and genres that taken as a whole, the show could and maybe should be identified as a kooky lab experiment conducted for an audience.

Continue reading ‘Room 104’ Ends Its Intriguing Storytelling Experiment With A Genre-Bending Final Season [Review] at The Playlist.

It’s almost time for one last check-in to “Room 104.” Mark and Jay Duplass’ ethereal HBO anthology series will premiere its fourth and final season on July 24 and IndieWire is exclusively premiering the season’s first trailer.

The half-hour episodes, which hail from the “Togetherness” creators and centers on various travelers who pass through a room in a typical American chain motel, have been compared to “The Twilight Zone” for their deft blend of surreality, horror, and surprises. The series’ new trailer promises to explore a dizzying range of genres and characters for the series’ send-off and even teases a glimpse at the season’s original songs, one of which will be performed by Duplass.

Per HBO, Season 4 will also include the series’ first-ever animated episode, and the premiere entry will mark the first time that Mark Duplass stars, writes, directs, and performs original music for the series. Stories...

Almost one month after the June 24th premiere of the new season of The Twilight Zone on CBS All Access, another mind-bending anthology series, Room 104, will return for its fourth and final season on HBO:

Press Release: Room 104 returns for its fourth and final season Friday, July 24 at 11:00 p.m. Et/Pt, exclusively on HBO. Created by Mark and Jay Duplass (HBO’s “Animals.” and “Togetherness”), the late-night, half-hour anthology series returns with 12 new episodes, each telling a unique and unexpected tale of the characters who pass through a single room of a typical American chain motel. While the setting stays the same, every episode of the series features a different story, with the tone, plot, characters, and even the time period, changing with each installment.

The series will also be available on HBO Now, HBO Go, HBO On Demand and partners’ streaming platforms.

Exploring a variety of genres,...

The HBO anthology series “Room 104” will conclude after its upcoming fourth season.

The premium cabler revealed the new season would be the last in announcing the season premiere date Monday. The 12-episode fourth and final season of “Room 104” will bow on HBO on July 24 at 11 p.m. Et/Pt.

Created by Mark and Jay Duplass, the half-hour series tells the stories of an assortment of characters who pass through a single room of a typical American chain hotel. Season 4 will feature the series’ first ever animated episode, with the premiere episode marking the first time in the series that Mark Duplass stars, writes, directs and performs original music.

The season four cast includes (in order of appearance): Mark Duplass, Hari Nef, Logan Miller, Jillian Bell, Jon Bass, Dave Bautista, Melissa Fumero, Vivian Bang, Finn Roberts, Adam Shapiro, Breeda Wool, Kevin Nealon, Erinn Hayes, Ron Funches, Sadie Stanley,...

Mark and Jay Duplass’ horror anthology “Room 104” will end after its upcoming fourth season on HBO.

The show returns on July 24.

The premiere episode will be the first time in the series that Mark Duplass stars, writes, directs and performs original music. Stories and characters featured in season four include: an estranged performer giving a one-night-only performance; a woman battling her dark past with addiction; a dollhouse; transporting back in time; and more.

Room 104, the HBO anthology series created by Mark and Jay Duplass, is ending after its upcoming fourth season.

The late-night show, which features half-hour episodes of a variety of spooky happenings in a motel room, returns on July 24 at 11pm. The show was filmed last year, meaning that it was not hit by the Covid-19 production shutdown.

The series, which tells the stories of a cast of characters who pass through a single room of a typical American chain motel, features a variety of standalone episodes, from dark comedy to sci-fi as well as its first ever animated episode.

The premiere episode will be the first time in the series that Mark Duplass stars, writes, directs and performs original music.

Other stories include an estranged performer giving a one-night-only performance; a woman battling her dark past with addiction; a dollhouse and transporting back in time.

The season four cast includes Hari Nef,...

, Braden King’s “The Evening Hour” shines on a rural Appalachian town like a golden ray of fading sunlight; as dark as the story gets, this hyper-empathetic film never fails to see its characters as decent people trying to make the best of a bad situation. This is the kind of movie that opens with someone reading a Bible verse over a shot of mountain grass swaying in the wind as the first woozy strains of Boxhead Ensemble’s score prepare to take your breath away.

Which isn’t to say that “The Evening Hour” elides the awfulness of the epidemic; that same opening shot pans across the landscape in time to see an ominous explosion in the distance. Every frame is saturated with a sense of quiet desperation. The rival drug pushers inevitably pull their guns on each other, and even the kindest intentions have a way of souring into sadness.

Nearly a decade after premiering his feature directorial debut, the Ben Foster-starring “Here,” at the Sundance Film Festival, Braden King returns with another new look at the unexpected bonds that rule in a quiet pocket of the world. King’s latest, “The Evening Hour,” stars up-and-comers Philip Ettinger and Cosmo Jarvis (“Lady Macbeth”) in an elegiac look at present-day Appalachia.

Cast as old pals who are forced to grapple with very adult concerns that have repercussions for their entire community, Ettinger and Jarvis lead a rich supporting cast to back them up. The film also stars Stacy Martin, Michael Trotter, Kerry Bishé, Lili Taylor, Marc Menchaca, Ross Partridge, Frank Hoyt Taylor, and Tess Harper. First-time screenwriter Elizabeth Palmore adapted Carter Sickels’ 2012 debut novel of the same name.

Per the film’s official Sundance synopsis: “Cole, a popular, young health aide at a nursing home living in rural Appalachia, makes...

Exclusive: The 2019 Screamfest Horror Film Festival has taken a bite out of Eat, Brains, Love, setting the Rodman Flender-directed zombie romantic comedy as its opening-night film. The annual genre fest will run October 8-17 at the Tcl Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood.

Eat, Brains, Love, which world premiered last month at the UK’s Frighfest, is about Jake (Jake Cannavale) and his dream girl Amanda (Angelique Rivera). The good news is she finally knows his name — but the bad news is both contracted a mysterious sexually transmitted zombie virus and devoured the brains of half their senior class. A teen psychic (Sarah Yarkin) sent by the government’s top-secret Necrotic Control Division is sent to track them down. Patrick Fabian also stars.

Mike Herro and David Strauss wrote the script based on the novel by Jeff Hart. The pic is produced by Tommy Coriale, Tony Disanto, Brian Hoff, Van Toffler and Cody Weig.

Aaron Paul is an Idaho boy at heart. The three-time Emmy winning star of “Breaking Bad” and producer and actor on Nickelodeon’s bawdy, subversive animated series “Bojack Horseman” currently makes his home in Los Angeles, but Paul was born in Emmett, a sleepy city about 30 miles outside of Boise, and escapes to the spud state to unwind and visit with family every chance he gets.

“I’ve lived in California for most of my life,” Paul told a packed crowd gathered at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum, Idaho on March 15. “I love California. But Hollywood can be crazy. Coming back to Idaho is like a sanctuary for me.”

Paul’s Coffee Talk was one several standout events at the eighth annual Sun Valley Film Festival, which ran March 13-17 in the snowy playground for skiers and snowboarding aficionados. Paul, whom Variety honored at the fest with the Svff 2019 Pioneer Award,...

"That little girl, is at the center of it... because she's special." Screen Media Films has debuted the first official trailer for a new indie action film titled Stray, the feature debut of filmmaker Joe Sill, featuring a screenplay co-written by filmmaker J.D. Dillard. The thriller is about an orphaned teenager who forms an unlikely friendship with a detective. Together they investigate her mother's murder, and uncover the supernatural force she possesses that proves to be a threat to her family. Starring Karen Fukuhara as Nori, along with Japanese Pop Star Miyavi, Christine Woods, Ross Partridge, Takayo Fischer, and Kiran Deol. I like the look of this, and this trailer has some cool reveals in it. Worth a look. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Joe Sill's Stray, direct from YouTube: An orphaned teenager teams up with the detective investigating her mother’s murder. They soon discover a...

You can take the filmmaker out of indie film, but you can’t take indie filmmaking out of Mark Duplass. The co-creator of “Room 104” has a niche at HBO: He makes the genre-shifting, episodic anthology series cheap and fast. So fast, in fact, the next season is already done.

“Here’s the scoop on Season 3 — we already shot it,” Duplass said in an interview, weeks before the Season 2 finale aired. “We have shot it, we have edited it, and we have delivered it. We did two seasons back-to-back because it was going to be so much cheaper.”

Duplass said that’s why the crew shot 24 episodes in a row; now the first 12 have aired, it’s up to HBO as to when the next set drops. Duplass is already hard at work writing Season 4.

It may not replace outgoing HBO juggernaut “Game of Thrones,” but Duplass is filling the...

Screen Media plans day-and-date North American release for the first half of 2019.

Screen Media International kicks off worldwide sales excluding China here on supernatural neo-noir Stray starring Karen Fukuhara from the Suicide Squad franchise.

The story centres on an orphaned teen who teams up with a detective to investigate her mother’s murder and confront the ghosts of her family’s past.

Screen Media plans a day-and-date North American release for the first half of 2019. Joe Sill’s makes his directorial debut and the cast includes Christine Woods, Ross Partridge, and Japanese singer-songwriter Miyavi.

J.D. Dillard and Alex Theurer co-wrote the screenplay,...

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s international distribution company Telepool is investing in a genre slate from indie producer Eric B. Fleischman, along with Maurice Fadida’s Kodiak Pictures, Variety has learned exclusively.

Fleischman was a Sundance Film Festival breakout star in 2016, when at age 26, he made a strong showing with “Sleight” and “Carnage Park.” His company, Defiant Studios, will receive a cash infusion for several horror-thrillers, beginning with the film “Phobias,” which is currently in production.

The Smiths acquired Telepool in late June, with Marc Forster and his shop Elysian Fields. This marks the first significant investment and U.S. expansion for Telepool, a standalone theatrical and multi-platform distribution entity with a big presence in Europe. Kodiak is a producer on David Ayer’s upcoming “The Tax Collector,” starring Shia Labeouf, as well as Gerard Butler’s “Keepers.”

Defiant’s slate is currently unknown, though “Phobias” is an ambitious...

Hard to believe, but December is nearly upon us, and that means we have a brand new batch of Digital and VOD releases to look forward to over the next few weeks. And for those of you looking to indulge in some non-holiday cinematic delights next month, there seems to be quite a variety of films hitting VOD and other digital platforms to keep you cozy inside your home, away from the brutality of winter and its harsh elements.

December’s releases kick off on the 1st with Somebody’s Darling, and December 5th is one of the busiest days of the month with six different titles making their digital bow: The Gatehouse, The Doll Master, Apocalypse Road, Flashburn, K-shop, and The White King. Then, just a few days later, IFC Midnight is releasing the psychological thriller Kaleidoscope, and on December 12th, both The Cutlass and Flatliners (2017) come home.

IFC Midnight...

Network: HBO. Episodes: Ongoing (half-hour). Seasons: Ongoing. TV show dates: July 28, 2017 — present. Series status: Has not been cancelled. Performers include: Hugo Armstrong, Davie-Blue, Melonie Diaz, Jay Duplass, Veronica Falcon, Adam Foster, Ellen Geer, Keir Gilchrist, Philip Baker Hall, Sarah Hay, Poorna Jagannathan, Orlando Jones, Ethan Kent, Gavin Kent, Amy Landecker, Konstantin Lavysh, Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris, Keta Meggett, Natalie Morgan, Ross Partridge, Karan Soni, Dendrie Taylor, Tony Todd, Will Tranfo, James Van Der Beek, Mae Whitman and Nat Wolff. TV show description: An anthology series from Mark Duplass and his brother Jay, who also acts in the program, the Room 104 TV show centers on the continuing action, in a single room in an American motel.

[Editor’s Note: The below interview and analysis includes spoilers for “Room 104,” Episode 1, “Ralphie.”]

“Room 104” welcomed guests with an absolutely wild first episode, setting a high bar for the season to come (but one they do meet).

In “Ralphie,” a single father (Ross Partridge) leaves his adolescent son, Ralph (Ethan Kent), with a babysitter, Meg (Melonie Diaz), while he goes out on a date. The job seems simple enough: Feed the kid, get him in bed at a reasonable hour, and expect the dad to return relatively early. Granted, Meg wasn’t explicitly instructed not to strangle Ralph to death, but she also wasn’t warned of an evil, identical twin brother named Ralphie who terrorizes them both.

…if that’s what happened. Thanks to a few well-placed clues as to Meg’s mental state, including a lack of references, as well as the creepy vibes of the room itself, it’s plausible she might have imagined the whole thing. Ralph could have...

[Editor’s Note: This article is presented in partnership with HBO in support of Room 104, which premieres onJuly 28 at 11:30 p.m. Et.]

“Room 104” isn’t like anything else you’ll see on television this year. The new half-hour, genre-bending HBO series features a number of unique facets, but they all relate back, in one way or another, to the creative minds of Mark and Jay Duplass.

The writers, producers, directors, and actors known for breakout independent films like “The Puffy Chair” and “Cyrus” as well as award-winning television like “Togetherness” and “Transparent” have come together to create the latest exciting original series on the Home Box Office network.

Set in a single room in your typical American motel chain, each week tells a different story and all 12 episodes of Season 1 were produced by the Duplass Brothers. The tone, characters, and era can all change week-to-week, and viewers should be ready for drama, comedy, horror, and at the start of each new entry. What unites each story is the common search for...

Jay and Mark Duplass are creators who don’t like to be put in a box, even if they’re making six hours of television set within the same four walls.

“Room 104,” the new HBO anthology series from the Duplass brothers, tells individual, episodic stories in each of its 12 half-hour installments, and all 12 are set within the same cheap, dingy hotel room. The first episode, which premiered at the Atx TV Festival Saturday evening, is a lot closer to Mark Duplass’ work in indie films “Creep” and “The One I Love” than the brothers’ former HBO comedy.

During a panel discussion following the episode, Duplass said he felt inspired by the constraints of the premise.

“I have something like 218 ideas in a Word document on my computer,” Duplass said.

Noting how it felt like he was back making low-budget indie films, Duplass said he wrote seven of the 12 episodes...

Author: Stefan Pape

The paramount obstacle for filmmakers to overcome when introducing the viewer to a whole new world with a new set of rules to comprehend, is to have them invest, emotionally, and engage with the hypothetical narrative at hand, to comfortably inhabit this foreign environment and abide by it. In Alex Helfrecht and Jorg Tittel’s The White King that much is a given, as they build this dystopian near-future with a minimum contrivance, and have us compelled.

Based on Gyorgy Dragoman’s novel, we meet the Fitz family, as Hannah (Agyness Deyn) and husband Peter (Ross Partridge) play freely with their young son Djata (Lorenzo Allchurch). But any such liberation is short-lived, as Peter is taken away by the law enforcement, accused of being a traitor to the brutal, unforgiving dictatorship they live within. Imprisoned and with a slim chance of release, Djata and his mother are...

Exclusive: Christine Woods, Karen Fukuhara, Miyavi and Ross Partridge have joined the cast of Stray, a supernatural noir movie penned by Sleight scribes Jd Dillard and Alex Theurer and to be directed by commercials helmer Joe Sill in his feature debut. Dillard and Theurer will produce under their Engineer banner alongside Eric B. Fleischman and Sean Tabibian’s Diablo Entertainment, which is also financing. The team’s last film Sleight premiered at Sundance this year and…...