News

Exclusive: Brad Moore, Denise Van Outen, Ricky Tomlinson, Alan Ford among cast.

Molifilms comedy-drama Gloves Off is underway in the UK, with a cast including Brad Moore, Ricky Tomlinson and Denise Van Outen.

Writer-director Steve Nesbit’s (North v South) feature follows a former boxer who must train a charge for a bare-knuckle encounter in a bid to raise money to save his local gym.

Brad Moore (Montana) stars (and co-writes) alongside Alan Ford (Snatch), Denise Van Outen (The Only Way Is Essex) and Matt Barber (Downton Abbey), while there are also roles for Ricky Tomlinson (The Royle Family), Paul Barber (The Full Monty) and stand-up Tom Crane.

Producers are Gareth Maxwell Roberts (The Mortician), Lucy Selwood (Golden Years) and Lawrence King (North v South).

The film is the third film in a slate of Eis-backed features including Golden Years and horror Thea.

Shoot will take place in and around Leeds until October 16.

Exclusive: Nirpal Bhogal thriller first film on slate.

UK distributor-producer Metrodome has joined forces with Montana and Best Laid Plans producers MoliFilms to launch a new production fund.

The companies will fundraise under a series of Eis and non Eis schemes with Metrodome Group selling international rights and distributing the majority of the films in the UK.

Metrodome International’s Caroline Couret-Delègue will oversee international sales. The Infidel producer Uzma Hasan of Little House Productions will supervise key productions on the slate on behalf of Metrodome whilst Gareth Maxwell Roberts will supervise on behalf of MoliFilms.

Thea, a supernatural thriller directed by Nirpal Bhogal (Misfits, Sket) is the first film on the slate and is slated to shoot in Q1 2015.

The film will be produced by Hasan (who is expected to bring further projects to the venture) and co-produced by MoliFilms’ Gareth Maxwell Roberts and Metrodome Group’s Jezz Vernon. MoliFilms’ [link...

Exclusive: Metrodome International to officially launch at Cannes, with former Av staff

UK distributor Metrodome is to launch a new sales arm, which will incorporate the library and some staff from UK sales outfit Av Pictures, which will cease to actively acquire after an 11-year run in the industry.

Metrodome International will officially launch at Cannes next month, with former Av staff

Caroline Couret-Delègue is joining as head of sales and acquisitions and Jane Carolan will join as distribution manager.

Both will report in to Metrodome Distribution managing director Jezz Vernon who will take up the position of MD at the new agency in addition to his current role.

Av MD Chris Hainsworth and director of acquisitions and production Lee Brazier will manage the partnership on behalf of Av and its producer clients, and will focus on the nascent development slate of Cinescope Entertainment, Av’s sister production company.

Av chairman Angad Paul will retain a stake...

Exclusive: Salt inks multi-territory deal with eOne for action-thriller starring Lars Mikkelsen and Michelle Fairley.

UK producer Moli Films’ action-thriller Montana has sold to 14 territories for The Salt Company, including a multi-territory deal with distributor Entertainment One.

eOne has picked up rights in the UK, France, Germany, Austria, Iceland, Scandinavia, Switzerland and South Africa.

The deals were negotiated by James Norrie of Salt and Joel Kennedy and Jo Sweby of eOne, which will distribute directly in the UK and sub-distribute in the other territories.

Lars Mikkelsen (The Killing), Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones), Adam Deacon (Anuvahood), Ashley Walters (Bullet Boy) and newcomer Mckell David star in director Mo Ali’s crime-thriller about a steely eastern European hitman who arrives in London to avenge the death of his family but is held up after stumbling on a 14 year-old runaway.

The film has also sold to Australia and New Zealand (Eagle Entertainment), Greece (Odeon), Malaysia (Roarlion), the Middle East (Front...

The Mortician a thriller from British director Gareth Maxwell Roberts, starring Method Man (as the titular mortician), Edward Furlong, Dash Mihok, Wendell Pierce, and others has been on DVD since February, but I only just learned that it's also now on VOD, which makes it more accessible. It's not streaming on Netflix (yet), but if you're curious to see it, and haven't yet gotten your hands on a DVD copy, you can rent it via iTunes for $3.99, or Amazon VOD for the same price. You can also purchase digital copies from both online outlets, for $15. The film made its worldwide debut at the Berlin Film Festival last year, in the Panorama sidebar, and...

In Method Man's newest thriller he plays the eponymous Mortician who finds a young boy in his morgue. The boy is afraid to leave his dead mother and is hiding from the abusive father who put her there. We've got an exclusive clip from this thriller, directed by Gareth Maxwell Roberts (Kill Kill Faster Faster) along with the trailer. The Mortician hits DVD this Valentine's Day.

Directed by: Gareth Maxwell Roberts

Written by: Gareth Maxwell Roberts

Starring: Method Man, Dash Mihok, E.J. Bonilla, Judy Marte, Edward Furlong

You would think from looking at the cover of The Mortician that the film somehow involves the story of a crazed and violent mortician wandering the streets of London circa 1890. And that maybe, just maybe he was dead and didn't know it. He is wearing and consulting a pocket watch after all and the film's tag line, "A Dead Man Living in a Dying City," doesn't do much to convince me otherwise. Fast forward to the end of the movie when I finally realized that The Mortician is merely a film about a lonely mortician who likes to wear outdated clothes. Whoops!

A mortician's life is changed when a woman's body arrives to his table and stirs up memories of his past. While trying to pull himself together, he...

Darkly violent dramas are my forte, so I’m naturally excited that writer/director Gareth Maxwell Roberts’ three-dimensional mystery “The Mortician” is finally headed to DVD and Blu-ray this February. Method Man is a damn fine actor — see “The Wire” if you doubt me — and I’m anxious to see him tackle a character that’s a little different than those he’s played in the past. The embedded trailer should help clear up any reservations you may have. In theory, anyway. Here’s a handy slice of info regarding the film’s plot: A mortician’s (Method Man) life is suddenly changed when a dead woman’s body comes into his morgue jolting old memories from his past. As days go by he discovers a young boy hiding out in his morgue. When confronted the mortician learns that the boy is there to see his dead mother one last...

The Mortician, written and directed by Gareth Maxwell Roberts is a beautifully crafted example of emotionally powerful cinema. The film stars Method Man as a reclusive mortician. Who’s life becomes turned upside down after a chain of events starting with receiving a new porter in the form of an ex-convict named Noah played by E.J. Bonilla. Soon after the body of a young woman with a tattoo of Venus arrives at the morgue and a young boy played by Cruz Santiago starts to repeatedly try to gain access to the building. Meanwhile a local gang leader played by Dash Mihok begins hassling the mortician each day asking if he has seen the young boy around setting the pieces into place to send the soft spoken mortician on a life changing journey that will ultimately force him to face a inner demon that has haunted him since childhood, forcing him...

[Update] Lionsgate Home Entertainment is handling distribution and will release the film on DVD February 14. Grindhouse Entertainment has acquired The Mortician 3D for a U.S. release. Method Man and Edward Furlong star in the film directed by Gareth Maxwell Roberts. No release date has been set. Trailer and synopsis below! The Mortician processes corpses with a steely regard. He is alienated and cold. He feels threatened by his new employee, Noah, who brings the notorious gangster, Carver, to the mortuary door. The Mortician.s attention is pricked by the tattoo of Botticelli.s 'Birth of Venus' on the body of a murdered young woman, Jenny. A fleeting recognition triggers a sequence of haunting dreams from his childhood. He discovers a scared child, Kane, fleeing...

The Mortician is on its way in 3D, and if you're a fan of psychologically thrilling horror, you're in for a treat. Former Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man stars in the lead role (looking like a cross between Carlton from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and 49ers receiver Braylon Edwards). Grindstone Entertainment has picked up the rights to the film, and a new trailer awaits you.

The Mortician, written and directed by Gareth Maxwell Roberts, also stars Edward Furlong, Dash Mihok, Wendell Pierce, Ej Bonilla, Angelic Zambrana, Judy Marte, Dana Fuchs and Cruz Santiago. The 3D film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and has been screened at the German Fantasy Fest as well as the Stiges Film Festival last weekend. It will be featured at the New Orleans Film Festival this coming weekend.

Synopsis:

Alienated and cold, The Mortician (Method Man) processes corpses with steely disregard. He is lonely and isolated.

Every mystery has a truth waiting to be revealed. Time for a diversion from the usual for something a bit unique. The official trailer for the digital 3D feature film The Mortician has debuted online via YouTube. Starring Method Man as "The Mortician", this indie drama is about a lonely man who gets caught up in some dirty deals with local gangsters. The cast also features Dash Mihok, Edward Furlong, Wendell Pierce, Ej Bonilla, Angelic Zambrana, Judy Marte, Dana Fuchs and Cruz Santiago. This looks like it might be cool to see, despite the odd editing in this trailer; I'd love to catch this at a film fest if I could. Take a look below. Watch the first official trailer for Gareth Maxwell Roberts' The Mortician 3D, via YouTube: Alienated and cold, The Mortician (Method Man) processes the corpses with steely disregard. He is lonely and isolated. He's introduced...

It may be a holiday here in the States, but it's business as usual for the rest of the world, as evidenced by the news breaking today regarding the 2011 Sitges Film Festival, held 6-16 October on the Catalan coast of Spain. We have for you info on the fest's opening film as well as a programme preview.

From the Press Release: Sitges 2011 delves into the concept of artificial intelligence, examining how it’s been discussed in film and what its future prospects are in regard to fiction and reality.

With the tenth anniversary of A.I. (Steven Spielberg, 2000) as a point of contact, the Festival will consider the questions that inspired Kubrick and Spielberg for this project: the emotional intelligence of machines and communication between synthetic intelligences.

China, The Festival’s advertising agency, has developed this year’s posters based on the geminoids created by Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro in Japan. According to Rafa Antón,...

Several new video clips and more have slipped online for Gareth Maxwell Roberts' The Mortician 3D, and we've got all the goods for you right here without any of that messy postmortem clean-up!

The flick stars Method Man, Dash Mihok, Judy Marte, and Angelic Zambrana. Look for more soon. In the interim dig on the goodies below.

Synopsis

"The Mortician processes corpses with a steely regard. He is alienated and cold. He feels threatened by his new employee, Noah, who brings the notorious gangster, Carver, to the mortuary door. The Mortician’s attention is pricked by the tattoo of Botticelli’s 'Birth of Venus' on the body of a murdered young woman, Jenny. A fleeting recognition triggers a sequence of haunting dreams from his childhood. He discovers a scared child, Kane, fleeing the morgue. Carver interrogates him about the whereabouts of the boy. The Mortician witnesses Noah drag Kane...

The Mortician (3D) just made its worldwide debut at the Berlin Film Festival, in the Panorama sidebar, last Saturday. The film was actually shot in 3D and is described as an “urban noir tale;” “technologically innovative and creatively groundbreaking” for an indie feature.

For well over a year there has been nary a word from the production, but thanks to Shadow and Act we now have 3 extended clips and 2 video interviews with the director, producer, other key crew members, and even Method Man.

Synopsis:

He Mortician, one man’s struggle through the violence and corruption of a dying city where the poor are corralled into lawless ghettos. Alienated and cold, The Mortician processes the corpses with steely disregard. His new employee, Noah, a volatile youth working as part of his parole, brings the notorious gangster, Carver, to the mortuary door.

The Mortician’s attention is pricked by the tattoo of...

I have worked furiously to get you guys images from Gareth Maxwell Roberts' The Mortician 3D, but apparently every single person involved has no idea what they're doing. They're so discombobulated that five clips have leaked onto the web featuring interviews and first ever footage. Method Man, Edward Furlong, Dash Mihok, Judy Marte, and Angelic Zambrana all star. The story, which is shot in post-Katrina New Orleans from a script by Roberts, follows the tale of a man emotionally numbed and closed off to the decay and corruption of the city surrounding him. One day he discovers a striking tattoo on the body of a murdered young woman, triggering a sequence of haunting dreams from his childhood and forcing him to confront his emotions.

Rating: 0.5 out of 5 stars

You can debate about what constitutes “national cinema” for years and still be no closer to an answer everyone will agree on. Is it a case of where the film is funded? Or is it the nationality of the film’s director, or cast for that matter? Is it about where the film is set or where the story originates from? I’m not certain of the answer. However, what I am certain of is that The Mortician, starring Us hip-hop artist Method Man, is about as “British” as it is good. As in “not very”.

Directed by the English Gareth Maxwell Roberts, The Mortician is one long and insufferably earnest cliché about life in “the ghetto” set somewhere in a fictionalised part of the USA. The financial crisis is frequently mentioned so as to give the piece some kind of relevance, but it’s superfluous to the story and,...

I’ve been on the alert for anything related to this film – especially a trailer, clips, stills, etc – since we first profiled it in October 2009. Little has been unveiled since then – other than a few stills which we posted about a year later, last September.

It just made its worldwide debut at the Berlin Film Festival, in the Panorama sidebar, last Saturday.

The film I’m referring to is The Mortician from British director Gareth Maxwell Roberts, which stars Method Man (as the titular mortician), Edward Furlong and Dash Mihok. Wendell Pierce of The Wire fame also co-stars.

The film, which was actually shot and will be released in 3D, is described as “urban noir tale;” “technologically innovative and creatively groundbreaking.”

Fast-forward to today, and, thanks to the filmmaker and his production team, we have an exclusive first-look at the film – specifically, 3 extended clips from it, 2 video interviews with the director,...

I’ve been on the alert for anything related to this film – especially a trailer, clips, stills, etc – since we first profiled it in October 2009. Little has been unveiled since then – other than a few stills which we posted about a year later, last September.

It just made its worldwide debut at the Berlin Film Festival, in the Panorama sidebar, last Saturday.

The film I’m referring to is The Mortician from British director Gareth Maxwell Roberts, which stars Method Man (as the titular mortician), Edward Furlong and Dash Mihok. Wendell Pierce of The Wire fame also co-stars.

The film, which was actually shot and will be released in 3D, is described as “urban noir tale;” “technologically innovative and creatively groundbreaking.”

Fast-forward to today, and, thanks to the filmmaker and his production team, we have an exclusive first-look at the film – specifically, 3 extended clips from it, 2 video interviews with the director,...

I completely missed this, originally announced about 3 weeks ago. I’ve had my eyes and ears on the alert for anything related to this film – especially a trailer, clips, stills, etc – since we first profiled it in October 2009! It’s been awhile, but time does fly.

There’s been little unveiled over that time – other than a few stills which we posted about a year later, last September (I embedded them in this post as well, below).

Fast-forward to today, and I just read that the film will make its worldwide debut at the Berlin Film Festival, in the Panorama sidebar, on February 12th, this Saturday! The festival itself runs from February 10th through the 20th.

The film I’m referring to is The Mortician from British director Gareth Maxwell Roberts, which stars Method Man (as the titular mortician), Edward Furlong and Dash Mihok. Wendell Pierce of The Wire fame also co-stars.

Hey peeps, here's your first look at Full Circle Films and Gareth Maxwell Roberts' The Mortician 3D starring Method Man, Angelic Zambrana and Edward Furlong. I have to say Method Man has really made a smooth transition into acting and so far he's had some really fun roles and this one looks like it'll be cool too. Check out the artwork below after the synopsis and click on it to see the full gallery! We'll have more on this film soon.

Synopsis:

"The Mortician processes corpses with a steely regard. He is alienated and cold. He feels threatened by his new employee, Noah, who brings the notorious gangster, Carver, to the mortuary door. The Mortician’s attention is pricked by the tattoo of Botticelli’s 'Birth of Venus' on the body of a murdered young woman, Jenny. A fleeting recognition triggers a sequence of haunting dreams from his childhood.

The first official stills and sales art for Gareth Maxwell Roberts' The Mortician 3D, starring Method Man, Angelic Zambrana, and Edward Furlong, surfaced online today and we have a look at the goods for you!

Synopsis

"The Mortician processes corpses with a steely regard. He is alienated and cold. He feels threatened by his new employee, Noah, who brings the notorious gangster, Carver, to the mortuary door. The Mortician’s attention is pricked by the tattoo of Botticelli’s 'Birth of Venus' on the body of a murdered young woman, Jenny. A fleeting recognition triggers a sequence of haunting dreams from his childhood. He discovers a scared child, Kane, fleeing the morgue. Carver interrogates him about the whereabouts of the boy. The Mortician witnesses Noah drag Kane into the shadows of a derelict tenement. Forcing him to act, Kane sparks the Mortician’s emotional awakening. Emerging from his icy state,...

Here’s our first look at some images and a poster for a film we profiled back in October 2009, titled The Mortician 3D, starring Method Man, directed by Gareth Maxwell Roberts.

It’s described as an independent Digital 3D “gritty gangster film,” currently in production courtesy of Full Circle Films, who say the project will be “technologically innovative and creatively groundbreaking.”

What that means exactly, I guess we’ll have to wait to find out!

Synopsis: … a redemption tale where kindness triumphs over cruelty and falls within the genres of urban noir, contemporary fairytale and psychological thriller. The film is set in the nightmare ghetto of a decaying metropolis and is based around about one man’s struggle through the violence and corruption of a dying city. The mortician processes corpses with a steely regard and as a borderline autistic, he is alienated. Through his emotionless and unsympathetic actions he...

Method Man? Really? That's right, good reader. Method is front and center in The Mortician 3D , a project in development since the beginning of 2008 and picked up steam in the latter half of 2009. Well, what you need to know now is that Gareth Maxwell Roberts penned the script and directed the film and he's now in post-production. We've got several photos to share along with a synopsis. Edward Furlong and Angelic Zambrana co-star. The Mortician processes corpses with a steely regard. He is alienated and cold. He feels threatened by his new employee, Noah, who brings the notorious gangster, Carver, to the mortuary door. The Mortician.s attention is pricked by the tattoo of Botticelli.s 'Birth of Venus' on the body of a murdered young woman, Jenny. A fleeting recognition...

Back in October, we chatted with Drac Studios Todd Tucker and Harvey Lowry at Spike TV's Scream Awards where they were just about wrapping production on Monster Mutt , a family fantasy film that Tucker directed. They were also just beginning production on The Mortician with Gareth Maxwell Roberts helming. Now, Drac Studios is opening up Drac Studios Louisiana and going into pre-production on their next feature Dead in the Water , which will be directed by Rob Walker from a script by Si Dunn. Harvey Lowry is producing. "With all of the indie and studio films being shot in Louisiana, it was an easy decision to open a facility in the state," Lowry said. "Now we can offer other producers the Louisiana tax incentives for our special effects and makeup effects as...

Special effects and makeup house Drac Studios is segueing into motion picture producing, opening up Drac Studios Louisiana and going into preproduction on its first live-action feature, "Dead in the Water."

Si Dunn wrote the script, which will be directed by Rob Walker and produced by Drac president Harvey Lowry.

"With all of the indie and studio films being shot in Louisiana, it was an easy decision to open a facility in the state," Lowry said. "Now we can offer other producers the Louisiana tax incentives for our special effects and makeup effects as well as take advantage of them ourselves for our own productions."

The company is leasing space in Baton Rouge's Raleigh Studios Celtic Media Center.

The creative team behind Drac -- Lowry, Todd Tucker and Ron Halvas, with creative direction by Greg Cannom -- has won Oscars for "Bram Stoker's Dracula," "Mrs. Doubtfire" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button...

This is not the usual project we write about, but I just thought it sounded cool enough to mention. THR has announced the cast for The Mortician 3D, produced by Belladonna Productions, from the on-going Afm. Hip-hop star Method Man (last seen in The Wackness) will headline along with Angelic Zambrana (last seen in Precious). Tom Hardy (Bronson) and Edward Furlong (American History X) are also in talks to join as well. The "gritty, urban drama" was written and is being directed by Gareth Maxwell Roberts (Kill Kill Faster Faster). Shooting starts this month in Louisiana. It may sounds bland, but read on for story details. The Mortician 3D is a redemption tale where kindness triumphs over cruelty and falls within the genres of urban noir, contemporary fairytale and psychological thriller. The film is set in the nightmare ghetto of a decaying metropolis and is based around about one man's...

Shooting starts November 16th in Louisiana for Belladonna and Stealth Media's The Mortician, which will be helmed by Gareth Maxwell Roberts from his own screenplay. The redemption tale in which kindness triumphs over cruelty falls within the urban noir, contemporary fairy tale and psychological thriller genres. Method Man (The Wackness, How High, Garden State) and Angelic Zambrana (Fighting) both star with Tom Hardy (Bronson, RocknRolla, Mad Max 4) and Edward Furlong (Night of the Demons) in talks. From Belladonna (Rene Bastian, Linda Moran and Adam Folk), the producers who brought you hit indie films such as Transamerica, Funny Games, The Caller and The Good Guy, in association with Molinare, Film and Music Entertainment Ltd and Full Circle Films (Rhys Thomas, Gareth Maxwell Roberts) producers of the award-winning Kill Kill Faster Faster, comes The Mortician 3D a gritty, urban drama in the style of David Finchers Seven.

Santa Monica -- Hip-hop star Method Man ("The Wackness") and Angelic Zambrana ("Precious") have joined the cast for "The Mortician 3D."

Billed as a gritty, urban drama, the backers also said they are in talks with Tom Hardy ("Bronson") and Edward Furlong ("American History X") to join the cast.

"Mortician" is produced by New York label Belladonna Prods.' Rene Bastian, Linda Moran and Adam Folk, the team behind "Transamerica," and U.K.-based Full Circle Films.

The picture is set to shoot this month in Louisiana.

The film also counts Molinare and the U.K.'s Film and Music Entertainment as backing partners and is being repped at Afm by startup sales and finance house Stealth Media Group.

The $6 million project is written and will be helmed by Gareth Maxwell Roberts and produced by Rhys Thomas.

Smg was formed in November 2008 by Sean O'Kelly, founder of...