News

Director Dan Balcaban.s feature documentary Care About Us, which explores homelessness in 11 different countries, will have its world premiere at Sydney.s Powerhouse Museum on November 5.

Balcaban, an actor who has previously directed shorts such as Distance to Now, shot the film on location in Sydney, Hong Kong, Cape Town, Cairo, London, Prague, Berlin, Stockholm, Barcelona, La, New York and Vancouver.

Care About Us aims to explore new solutions to the poor living conditions of homeless people across the globe.

.It.s the same all around the world. You start to notice the homeless more and more. Usually, you.d pass them without a fleeting thought. They.d either look at you, pleading with their eyes, or keep their head turned. They don.t know if you.ll help them or berate them, but truthfully, barely anyone even thinks about them,. said Balcaban.

The idea for the film came...

Director Dan Balcaban.s feature documentary Care About Us, which explores homelessness in 11 different countries, will have its world premiere at Sydney.s Powerhouse Museum on November 5.

Balcaban, an actor who has previously directed shorts such as Distance to Now, shot the film on location in Sydney, Hong Kong, Cape Town, Cairo, London, Prague, Berlin, Stockholm, Barcelona, La, New York and Vancouver.

Care About Us aims to explore new solutions to the poor living conditions of homeless people across the globe.

.It.s the same all around the world. You start to notice the homeless more and more. Usually, you.d pass them without a fleeting thought. They.d either look at you, pleading with their eyes, or keep their head turned. They don.t know if you.ll help them or berate them, but truthfully, barely anyone even thinks about them,. said Balcaban.

The idea for the film came...

We have a packed Horror Highlights today! Heidi Moore’s Dolly Deadly creeps its way onto Blu-ray on August 23rd. Also: release details for Like a Bat Outta Hell, The Cursed, and A Haunting at the Park Hotel, as well as home media info for Flytrap, Dark Cove, and Dam Sharks!

Dolly Deadly Blu-ray Release Announced and Cover Artwork Revealed: Press Release: “Dolly Deadly is a feature film of the psychological horror/revenge genre written by Heidi Moore and Cassandra Sechler. It’s sure to be a little creepy, a bit silly, and a lot of fun (think Troma meets John Waters).

The story of Dolly Deadly revolves around the warped psychology of a tormented young boy who can only relate to his doll collection, and the only relief from the pain in his life comes with slaughtering those he has learned to hate the most. Everyone in his trailer park!

Like a Bat Outta Hell is a production from Forescene Films. This horror title was shot in Australia and recently completed (shooting); special effects are still being added. Recently, a trailer was released for the film and the clip shows a monstrous creature, hidden in darkness. Fans of indie horror can preview the film and its upcoming launch below. The film's story begins with several filmmakers. They are hoping to film a surfing documentary, but a winged beast has other plans for them. Out in the desert, a large bat disables the filmmakers' vehicle, while preparing to dine. Few will predict what happens next. Like a Bat Outta of Hell offers a few familiar names. Vernon Wells, Rachael Murphy, Marco Dapper and Dan Balcaban star in this feature. Film aficionados might recognize Wells name from his participation in Mad Max: The Road Warrior. Australian actor Wells played one of the crazed central villains,...

The 6th annual Sydney Underground Film Festival is taking over all three screens of the Factory Theatre for a blow-out four-day event on Sept. 6-9.

Making it’s World Premiere at the fest on the 8th is the highly anticipated President Wolfman, the latest “green movie” by director Mike Davis that he’s cobbled together from public domain footage and feature films and set to an outrageous new soundtrack. The film looks like it promises to be a rollicking good time.

Other highlights of the fest include Guy Maddin‘s latest trippy film noir, Keyhole, about a mobster revisiting his homestead’s old memories; Bob Ray‘s documentary about Austin, Texas’ homegrown Total Badass; Bobcat Goldthwait’s media takedown God Bless America; Michal Kosakowski’s underground murder fantasy documentary hit Zero Killed; Richard Griffin’s funky The Disco Exorcist; and more.

Some of the extra special events of the fest...

Lightning Entertainment has announced that they will handle the DVD and VOD release of the zombie comedy The Revenant. We have the official press release, which also mentions a limited theatrical release this August:

“Worldwide rights holder Lightning Entertainment has struck a deal with notable New York-based independent distribution company Paladin to handle the theatrical release of the award-winning horror comedy The Revenant, it was announced today by Lightning president Robert Beaumont, and Paladin’s president Mark Urman.

Paladin plans to release the film theatrically in August in an initial 10 markets. That same day, the film will be available as a premium V.O.D., as part of an event driven day-and-date Ultra VOD bow through Lightning’s distribution arm, Lightning Media.

The DVD will be released through Lionsgate under Lightning Media’s on-going partnership with the company.

The deal with Paladin was negotiated by Lightning Entertainment’s Joseph Dickstein,...

Worldwide rights holder Lightning Entertainment has struck a deal with notable New York-based independent distribution company Paladin to handle the theatrical release of the award-winning horror comedy The Revenant, it was announced today by Lightning president Robert Beaumont, and Paladin.s president Mark Urman.

Paladin plans to release the film theatrically in August in an initial 10 markets. That same day, the film will be available as a premium V.O.D., as part of an event driven day-and-date Ultra VOD bow through Lightning.s distribution arm, Lightning Media.

The DVD will be released through Lionsgate under Lightning Media.s on-going partnership with the company.

The deal with Paladin was negotiated by Lightning Entertainment.s Joseph Dickstein, Svp of acquisitions and Audrey Delaney, VP of acquisitions and business development, and Paladin.s Urman.

Starring David Anders (the CW.s .The Vampire Diaries.) and Chris Wylde (The Ten), The Revenant is written...

Dynamic international distribution company Lightning Entertainment has picked up international rights to two new feature films making their market premieres; the comedy Whole Lotta Sole starring Brendan Fraser (The Mummy franchise) and directed by Oscar winner Terry George (Hotel Rwanda) and Kikoriki: Team Invincible, the Russian 3D animated-adventure comedy film from the Riki Group and produced by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted), it was announced today by Robert Beaumont, President of Lightning Entertainment.

The dramatic comedy Whole Lotta Sole world premiered at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival and received rave reviews from critics, whilst Kikoriki comes to the market hot on the heels of its impressive $8.5 million box office run in its native Russia.

.Lightning continues to acquire top-notch material to present to international buyers with Whole Lotta Sole from the talented Terry George and the Russian animated adventure, Kikoriki: Team Invincible from powerhouse producer Timur Bekmambetov,. commented Beaumont. .Both films are highly accessible,...

Lighting Entertainment (.Lightning.), the Santa Monica-based sales, production and distribution company has acquired International sales rights in all media to the romantic drama Love And Honor (formerly known as Awol) starring Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games), it was announced today by Lightning President Robert Beaumont. Lightning will premiere the film for international buyers at the upcoming Cannes Film Market.

Aussie thesp Hemsworth is joined by some of the most talented actors emerging in film right now including Austin Stowell (Dolphin Tale), Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies), Aimee Teegarden (Scream 4), Chris Lowell (The Help) and Wyatt Russell (Cowboys And Aliens). The film is directed by Danny Mooney who makes his directorial debut. Love And Honor is written by Jim Burnstein and Garrett K. Schiff, and is a love story in the tradition of films like The Notebook and The Lucky One, about a soldier who secretly returns home from the war...

Lightning Entertainment has acquired international rights to five feature films and will present the slate of new titles, including the star-studded comedy Struck By Lightning written by and starring Glee.s Chris Colfer, to buyers at the upcoming Cannes Film Market, it was announced today by Robert Beaumont, President of Lightning Entertainment.

Struck By Lightning will make its market premiere at the Marché du Film following its Tribeca Film Festival world debut where it received an overwhelmingly positive response. Servitude will also make its market premiere with promotional footage being shown for family film Heaven.S Door and South African thriller One Last Look. Black South-easter is currently in production.

.We are thrilled to present this eclectic slate of new titles featuring films from across the globe to our buyers at Cannes and we are incredibly excited that both Struck By Lightning and Servitude will be making their market premieres next month,...

The headline pretty much says it all. Director Stephen Amis’ upcoming time-traveling actioner “The 25th Reich” — which is based on the novel “50,000 Years Until Tomorrow” — looks to be a hell of a lot of fun, especially for those of us who enjoy our science fiction mixed with a little history and a lot of CGI robots. The film is currently in post-production, which means we may have to wait a while before this one sees the proverbial light of day. However, to keep the fires of our collective interest burning, a trailer had been released. Needless to say, I’m pumped. Check out this very short plot synopsis: In 1943, five Us soldiers are recruited by the Oss for a time travel mission to save the world from the tyranny of Hitler’s 25th Reich. “The 25th Reich” stars Jim Knobeloch, Serge DeNardo, Angelo Salamanca, Dan Balcaban, and Jak Wyld. Looks...

"The biggest mistake that any actor or entertainer or anyone can make, is to be expectant," the hardworking Dan Balcaban tells Filmink. "To sit around and wait for some magical thing to happen without even trying can be an individual's downfall. The real question is: how much do you want something and how hard are you willing to work to get to it?"   No one can accuse Balcaban of twiddling his thumbs and waiting for things to happen. The affable young actor normally has a handful of projects on the go at once - whether they be directing or acting gigs, voiceover or presenting work, or mentoring other young upstarts.

The 25th Reich is being described as "a rollicking, WWII Sci-Fi adventure full of time-travel, duplicitous Nazi robots, faulty spaceships and giant, bloodthirsty mega-fauna..." Sounds like an awesome Indiana Jones style WWII adventure with scifi elements and classic creature-feature nods. Love it.

Official synopsis:

In 1943, five Us soldiers are recruited by the Oss for a time travel mission to save the world from the tyranny of Hitler's 25th Reich.

Now in post-production, the movie was produced in Australia and features a great crew with tons of experience. Costume designs were done by Ian Sparke (The Pacific), special makeup effects by Nik Dorning (Lord of the Rings, Australia, Troy and Knowing), editing by Bill Murphy (Romper Stomper), a Wagnerian, motif-driven score by Ricky Edwards (Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga.Hoole).

Directed by Stephen Amis, the film stars Jim Knobeloch (Heaven.s Gate), Serge DeNardo, Angelo Salamanca, Dan Balcaban and Jak Wyld.