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Nerve 4/13/2015 Logline: A teenage girl gets caught up in an online game of dares called Nerve, but what starts out as fun and leads to fame turns deadly as the mysterious company behind it all plays on contestants' fears. Studio: Lionsgate Production Company(s): Allison Shearmur Productions Director(s): Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman Producer(s): Allison Shearmur, Anthony Katagas Cast: Dave Franco, Emma Roberts Writer(s): Jessica Sharzer Details: Based on the novel "Nerve," written by Jeanne Ryan and published by Dial September 13, 2012. SSN Insight: Follows Lionsgate’s Hunger Games strategy of adapting YA book series and casting stars on the verge of break-out. Franco’s previous credits include 22 Jump Street and Neighbors and Roberts was recently seen in American Horror Story. Suicide Squad 4/13/2015 Logline: Film based on the DC comic, the Suicide Squad, a team of incarcerated supervillains who are used assets in high-risk black ops missions by the U.S. government in exchange for commuted prison sentences. Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures Production Company(s): DC Entertainment, Atlas Entertainment Director(s): David Ayer Executive Producer(s): Colin Wilson, Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Geoff Johns Producer(s): Charles Roven, Richard Suckle Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Cara Delevingne, Jared Leto, Jai Courtney Writer(s): David Ayer Details: Based on the comic book series "Suicide Squad" created by John Ostrander and published by DC Comics from May 1987 to June 1992. An early incarnation of "Suicide Squad," created by Robert Kanigher, appeared in DC Comics' The Brave and the Bold #25 in 1959. SSN Insight: Jesse Eisenberg was rumored to be attached in the role of Lex Luthor. Lin Pictures previously attached to produce.
The Greasy Strangler 4/13/2015 Logline: In Los Angeles, a man and his son compete for the attention of a seductive woman just as an inhuman, murderous maniac appears to strangle the innocent. Production Company(s): Alamo Drafthouse Films, Rook Films, Timpson Films, SpectreVision Director(s): Jim Hosking Executive Producer(s): Ben Wheatley, Tim League Producer(s): Daniel Noah, Josh C. Waller, Elijah Wood, Andy Starke, Anthony Timpson Cast: Elijah Wood Writer(s): Jim Hosking, Toby Harvard SSN Insight: Marks the feature directorial debut of Jim Hosking who hails from England. Set in Los Angeles and is scheduled to start shooting in LA as well. Film is part of the creative collaboration within the Drafthouse-backed Fantastic Fest.
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Fun House 4/10/2015 Logline: A humorous look at a reporter's struggles while in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Studio: Paramount Pictures Production Company(s): Broadway Video, Inc., Little Stranger, Inc. Director(s): Glenn Ficarra, John Requa Producer(s): Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels, Ian Bryce Cast: Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Christopher Abbott, Nicholas Braun Writer(s): Robert Carlock Details: Based on the memoir "The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan" by Kim Barker; published by Doubleday in 2011. SSN Insight: In addition to Fun House, Tina Fey has films Sisters and Live from New York! awaiting release, Mail-Order Groom and an Untitled Walt Disney/Tina Fey/Witch Project in active development and Mommy & Me in development.
In Dubious Battle 4/12/2015 Logline: Based on the John Steinbeck novel, the story takes place in 1930s California, and focuses on an activist who organizes a group of fruit workers in a labor strike. Production Company(s): Rabbit Bandini Productions, That's Hollywood, AMBI Distribution Director(s): James Franco Producer(s): Andrea Iervolino, Monika Bacardi, Scott Reed, Vince Jolivette, Ron Singer Cast: Nat Wolff, James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vincent D'Onofrio, Robert Duvall Writer(s): Matt Rager, Tom Steinbeck Details: Based on the novel "In Dubious Battle" written by John Steinbeck and published by in New York by Covici-Friede in 1936. SSN Insight: Previously in development with Zupnik Enterprises Inc. Alec Baldwin and Brad Pitt were previously mentioned to star.
Oppenheimer Strategies 4/10/2015 Logline: Three years after small-time operator Norman Oppenheimer befriends a young politician during a low point in his life, the young man becomes an influential world leader and Norman’s life drastically. Director: Joseph Cedar Executive Producer(s): Matthew Malek, Amanda Marshall, Michal Graidy, Caroline Kaplan, Jim Kaufman Producer(s): Oren Moverman, Lawrence Inglee, Eyal Rimmon, Gideon Tadmor, Gaston Pavlovich Cast: Richard Gere, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Michael Sheen, Steve Buscemi, Josh Charles Writer(s): Joseph Cedar SSN Insight: Shooting took place in NY. Gere recently starred in Time Out Of Mind directed by Moverman as well as the sequel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. ICM Partners will be handling domestic rights, while The Solution Entertainment Group is representing international rights.
Shifting Gears 4/13/2015 Logline: A group of hard-working underdogs must drive in, and win, a big dirt car race to defeat their dastardly nemesis and save their beloved auto shop. Production Company(s): Tonic Films Director: Jason Winn Producer(s): R Keith Harris, Matt Zboyovski, Lauren Moews Vilchik Cast: M.C. Gainey, R Keith Harris Writer(s): R Keith Harris SSN Insight: Vilchik was nominated for the 2004 Independent Spirit Awards Producer’s Award for “Outstanding Achievement for a Body of Work” and credits include Cabin Fever.
The Boy 4/13/2015 Logline: To escape her troubled life in the United States, a young woman moves to England and takes a job as a nanny for the eight-year old son of a wealthy English couple, but the boy turns out to be a life-sized doll. Studio: STX Entertainment Production Company(s): Lakeshore Entertainment, Vertigo Entertainment Director(s): William Brent Bell Executive Producer(s): John Middleton Producer(s): Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Roy Lee, Matt Berenson, Jim Wedaa Cast: Lauren Cohan Writer(s): Stacey Menear SSN Insight: Bell previously directed another horror film, The Devil Inside. The production shot in Victoria, British Columbia, and the surrounding community. STX Entertainment recently made the deal to distribute the film and set the nationwide release for January 22, 2016.
Waiting for the Miracle to Come 4/8/2015 Logline: A young woman on a quest for gold finds much different and far greater riches than she’d ever expected. Production Companies: Horse Pictures, Wim Wenders Productions, Fabrica de Cine, Cave Pictures Director: Lian Lunson Executive Producer(s): Dale Brown, Mark Rodgers, Matthew Malek, Bono, Wim Wenders Producer(s): Lian Lunson, Molly M. Mayeux, Terence Berry, Gaston Pavlovich Cast: Sophie Lowe, Willie Nelson, Charlotte Rampling, Adam Beach, Sile Bermingham Writer(s): Lian Lunson SSN Insight: This project marks the first feature film for writer-director Lian Lunson. He previously directed other music-centric documentaries including the Leonard Cohen pic Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man. Production is set to start shooting in Willie Nelson’s hometown of Spicewood, Texas. Executive producer and U2 front man Bono will also pen an original song that Nelson will sing in the movie.