News

MPX Films has acquired LGBTQ rom-com “Things Like This” for an early 2025 release, TheWrap can exclusively reveal. The project from filmmaker and star Mark Talisman marks the freshman distribution company’s debut film. It is also Talisman’s directorial debut.

The indie project will launch in partnership with Big Picture Collective Studios (Bpc).

“Today’s feature film distribution world is dominated by macro industry trends, often sidelining the unique opportunities of independent content. By leveraging our expertise, we aim to empower and elevate visionary talents like Max Talisman to bypass these barriers and engage directly with their audiences across all screens and windows,” Mpx founders James Andrew Felts and Ryan Bury said in a statement.

“Things Like This” stars an ensemble cast including Joey Pollari (“American Crime”), Jackie Cruz (“Orange is the New Black”), Charlie Tahan (“Ozark”), Cara Buono (“Stranger Things”), Eric Roberts (“The Dark Knight”), Nicholas Hamilton (“It”), James Leon...

‘The Repair Shop’ Outfit Ricochet Signs Damon Pattison

The Repair Shop outfit Ricochet has signed up British indie vet Damon Pattison as its Creative Director. Reporting to MD Joanna Ball, Pattison will be responsible for developing, pitching and securing new commissions across all genres for the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed outfit. Pattison, who replaces Katy Thorogood, most recently ran Banijay-backed Beyond’s UK production arm but it was shuttered last year. He previously worked for BBC Studios and Keo Films, and set up Lucky Day Productions in 2007, which was sold to Zodiak Media Group. Ricochet makes smash BBC series The Repair Shop along with the likes of Channel 4’s Food Unwrapped and Discovery’s Woodland Workshop. “Damon’s experience, energy and creativity, is precisely what we need in a Creative Director,” said Ball.

Netflix Australia Exec Exits To Sbs

Netflix Australia creative exec Nakul Legha has exited to Sbs.

Sales to commence at EFM in Berlin next February.

Motion Picture Exchange (Mpx) has acquired worldwide sales rights to the completed queer rom-com Things Like This from Malibu, Bro Productions directed by and starring LGBTQ+ activist Max Talisman from Super Dark Times and Orange Is The New Black.

Mpx will commence sales around EFM in Berlin next February on the feature directorial and writing debut by Talisman, who stars alongside a cast which includes Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight).

Things Like This follows two men with the same name who begin to fall in love in New York City, unaware...

Exclusive: WWE star Natalie Eva Marie is set to star alongside Randy Couture, Neal McDonough, former WWE tag team champion Oleg Prudius, Bai Lin and former UFC Lightweight champion Rashad Evans in Phoenix, an action-thriller from Tadross Media Group, Bulldog Brothers Entertainment and director Daniel Zirilli that has entered production in Miami.

Phoenix centers on Fiona “Phoenix” Grant (Marie), a U.S. Army veteran Sergeant who is teaching hand-to-hand combat skills in Afghanistan when she receives word that her father, Everett Grant (Couture), a prominent security specialist, has been killed in Florida. The police report says it was suicide, but Fiona doesn’t believe it. Encouraged to take a leave of absence by her commanding officer (McDonough), she heads back to the U.S. and soon learns that the prime suspect is Maxim Vasiliiev (Prudius), a ruthless local drug kingpin with an army of mercenaries and enough legal, political and business...

Crystal Reed and Tahirah Sharif have signed on to star in Dead Giveaway, an indie comedy-thriller that is being directed by Ian Kimble.

The pic, which was written by Kimble, follows Lia (Reed) and Jill (Sharif). Jill is a hard-partying Philadelphian. This has resulted in some epic nights and legendary stories. What she never expected is waking up next to a stranger who has been brutally stabbed to death in her own bed. On this particular Sunday, that is exactly what she wakes up to. She and Lia spend their day trying to solve the mystery of the cadaver in Jill’s bed and still make it to brunch in time for mimosas.

Suzann Toni and Andrew Vogel of Dynasty Pictures will produce the indie, which will film in Philadelphia, Pa.

Reed is repped by ICM Partners and Silver Lining Entertainment.

Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center has launched Black Carpet Speaker Series, a free series providing Black filmmakers a platform to discuss their careers, influences, latest works, and filmmaking insights. Bherc has tapped powerhouse directors Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Old Guard) and Kasi Lemmons (Harriet) to host the first live virtual speaker series where they’ll be discussing the urgency to tell stories of black women and disrupting the status quo. Following the Black Carpet Speaker Series, which kicks off July 31, is Bherc’s annual Reel Black Men Film Festival that runs from August 1 – August 8. The fest spotlights shorts created by African-American male filmmakers. Reel Black Men provides an opportunity to screen these shorts and showcase the directors’ skills, talent and vision through film screenings while giving the audience a chance to view and discuss the artistry, passion, and sacrifice involved in the independent filmmaker process.

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Orange Is the New Black...

Carl Reiner’s wit is well-documented through his work behind and in front of the camera, but in his final years he took to Twitter frequently to muse on art, life and to skewer Donald Trump.

Reiner, who died June 29 at the age of 98, joined the platform in July 2012 and reached a new generation of fans through his witticisms, amassing 6,520 messages and over 367,000 followers. Adorably, he revealed that he first started his account to keep up with his grandson:

What a boon twitter is to me. I get to follow and enjoy the thoughtful, incisivie comments my grandson Jake Reiner makes daily.

— carl reiner (@carlreiner) March 27, 2013

But he was self-deprecating enough to realize that he was quickly getting hooked on the social media platform:

Is it because I'm Jewish I feel guilty if I dont come up with a daily tweet? Do Gentiles have similar guilt about their twitter neglect.