Lena Headey, Marc Menchaca, AnnaSophia Robb & Jay Pharoah Board Proof Of Concept Shorts; Lamar Richardson Joins ‘The Fabulous Four’ As Co-Producer; Freestyle Takes ‘Burning Land’ – Film Briefs
Lena Headey and Marc Menchaca, ‘Long Pork’ stars Getty
EXCLUSIVE: Married actors Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) and Mark Menchaca (Ozark) have been set to star in Long Pork, a revenge thriller short helmed by up-and-comer Iris Dukatt, who also wrote the screenplay.
Produced by Madhouse Films, the rising female led-production company founded by Katherine Romans and Charlie Sarah Traisman, as well as Elizabeth Valenti, the film takes place in a future post-Roe America where all reproductive rights have been banned. Headey plays Lily Williams, master chef at the renowned Foal’s Steakhouse, who lost her only daughter to forced birth under the federal ban. When Lily learns that Philip Anderson (Menchaca), the judge responsible for denying her daughter’s abortion request, is coming to dine at Foal’s, she enlists her team of cooks to exact bloody revenge, setting the stage for revolution.
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Also starring in the pic, intended as a proof of concept for a feature, include Catherine Curtin, Lorna Courtney, Zoe Cipres, and T.L. Thompson. Headey is repped by CAA and TMT Entertainment Group; Menchaca by Independent Artist Group and TMT Entertainment Group.
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(L-R) AnnaSophia Robb, James Scully, and Jay Pharoah
EXCLUSIVE: AnnaSophia Robb (Rebel Ridge), Jay Pharoah (The Blackening) and James Scully (Problemista) have been set to topline ESC, a short inspired by real events from Mercedes Bryce Morgan (Fixation), which tackles the subject of cyberbullying.
Morgan and Katrina Kudlick’s script follows a woman (Robb) fighting for redemption and survival against the notorious hate group she accidentally created, with only minutes left to prevent a mass shooting. The proof of concept for a feature to come next year, it’s produced by Kudlick of Fever Dream Studios, and Jacob Robinson and Dylan Gross of Pollywog Films (Sparring Partner), as well as frequent collaborators Siena Oberman and Greg Lauritano (Fairyland).
Robb is represented by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, and Schreck Rose Dapello; Pharoah by CAA, manager Shaina Farrow, Levity Entertainment, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Scully by Artists & Representatives and Circle of Confusion; and Morgan by UTA, Sugar23 and Donaldson & Callif.
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Burning Land Freestyle Digital Media
EXCLUSIVE: Freestyle Digital Media has acquired global VOD rights to the Israeli coming-of-age feature Burning Land, slating it for release on December 26, 2023.
Exploring the root causes of the century-long Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the film follows Yair (Asaf Hertz), a neglected teenager from Haifa who escapes to the outskirts of the contested Samaria region, where he finds companionship among a gang of settler teenage runaways, known as The Baladim. The Baladim welcome Yair and enroll him in a Yeshiva led by Rabbi Grunberg (Nathan Ravitz), a secret supporter of their radical ideology. In this utopia, Yair finds all he ever wanted, but a ground friction with the Palestinians and local law enforcement imperils his newfound home.
Liran Shitrit directed and produced alongside co-writer Stav Shalev. Riki Blich, Yael Levental, Barak Friedman, Lior Mashiach, Itzik Seidoff, and Eitan Saad also star. The deal was negotiated between Freestyle, Shalev and Conan Entertainment. View the trailer for Burning Land below.
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Lamar Richardson Santiago Felipe/Getty Images
EXCLUSIVE: Broadway veteran Lamar Richardson has come aboard Bleecker Street comedy The Fabulous Four as co-producer, joining a producing team that includes Richard Barton Lewis’ Southpaw Entertainment and Lauren Hantz of Hantz Motion Pictures. The project marks Richardson’s first foray into film producing through his Ivy Lion Productions banner and comes on the heels of his recent Tony Award win as co-producer of New York, New York.
Written and directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, The Fabulous Four follows three life-long friends (Susan Sarandon, Megan Mullally, and Sheryl Lee Ralph) who travel to Key West, Florida to be bridesmaids in a surprise wedding of their college girlfriend Marilyn (Bette Midler). Once there, sisterhoods are rekindled, the past rises up again in all its glory, and there are enough sparks, drinks and romance to change all their lives in ways they never expected. Timothy V. Murphy, and Bruce Greenwood co-star.
Currently on Broadway with Merrily We Roll Along starring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez, which he co-produced, Richardson made his Broadway debut as co-producer of last fall’s Death of a Salesman revival starring Wendell Pierce, Sharon D. Clarke, and André De Shields. Up next for him on the Great White Way is a revival of The Wiz starring Deborah Cox and Wayne Brady, which debuts this spring.