Shudder Acquires Chilling Paranormal Thriller They Live in the Grey
Print: AMC Networks
NEW YORK – November 1, 2021 – Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, has acquired worldwide rights to supernatural feature They Live in The Grey. The Shudder Original Film, which is written and directed by Burlee and Abel Vang (Bedeviled), is set to release in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand in early 2022. Vertical Entertainment will be handling international sales for remaining territories at the upcoming American Film Market.
“The Vang Brothers have crafted a stylish, scary chiller, easily one of the year’s most frightening films, led by a gripping central performance from Michelle Krusiec as Claire. We’re thrilled to invite Shudder members to see through Claire’s eyes and peer into that fascinating and haunting space between life and death,” said Craig Engler, general manager of Shudder.
“Most horror films with Asian leads are foreign films. We’re proud and excited to tell an Asian-American horror story – something you don’t often see,” said the Vang Brothers. “We can’t imagine a better partner than Shudder to help us bring this Asian-American narrative to the horror genre.”
In They Live in The Grey, Michelle Krusiec (Hollywood), plays Claire who, while investigating a child abuse case, discovers that the family is being tormented by a supernatural entity. In order to save the family, she must confront her own fears and use her emerging clairvoyance to stop the malevolent force.
They Live in The Grey is a Standoff Pictures Production in association with Whiskey Stream Films. The film is produced by Stephen Stanley and The Vang Brothers and features performances by Ken Kirby (Good Trouble), Ellen Wroe (For All Mankind), and Madelyn Grace (Don’t Breath 2).
The acquisition deal was negotiated by Emily Gotto, VP, Global Acquisitions & Co-Productions on behalf of Shudder and CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.
Mena Suvari Thriller ‘Viscous’ Sells To North America, XYZ Handling Sales — Cannes
Author: Andreas Wiseman
Print: Deadline
EXCLUSIVE: Vertical Entertainment has picked up North American rights to mystery-thriller Viscous, starring Mena Suvari (American Beauty). XYZ is selling the completed movie at the Cannes virtual market.
Debut writer-director Braden R. Duemmler’s film follows a socially awkward teenager who is blindsided when her mother introduces her to her new fiancée. At first, his charm, intelligence, and beauty seem too good to be true, and after a series of strange occurrences the teenage daughter realizes that this new member of their family is not exactly who he seems.
Also starring are Trey Tucker (The Space Between Us) and newcomer Ema Horvath who is set to star in the upcoming Amazon Lord Of The Rings series. Vertical plans to release the film in U.S. theaters and on VOD in December this year.
The North American deal was negotiated by Peter Jarowey and Josh Spector from Vertical Entertainment with Paradigm on behalf of the filmmakers.
Director Braden Duemmler said: “When we are young, our curiosity propels us. Viscous exploits that drive to reconnect us with the anxiety, uncertainty, and fears of adolescence – we indulge the curiosity, until it’s too late. This is my first feature film and I’m incredibly excited to work with Vertical and XYZ on its release.”
Producers are Abel Vang, Stephen Stanley (p.g.a.), and Kristina Esposito. Executive producer is Linus Hume and co-producer is Panda Lord.
Ken Kirby And Michelle Krusiec To Star In Supernatural Thriller ‘The Uncanny’
Author: Dino-Ray Ramos
Print: Deadline
EXCLUSIVE: Ken Kirby (Good Trouble) and Michelle Krusiec (The Invitation) are set to star in the supernatural thriller The Uncanny from Abel Vang and Burlee Vang.
The feature, which is a follow up to the Vang Brothers’ 2016 feature Bedeviled, will be produced by Carr Lee and Stephen Stanley and also feature Ellen Wroe (Final Destination 5). It is slated to shoot in Los Angeles and Orange County.
The story follows social worker Claire Yang, who has been haunted for years by visions that she is only just beginning to understand as a connection to the spirit world. When she is assigned a new domestic abuse case, she discovers that the problem is being caused by a supernatural entity and must use her clairvoyance to help save the family.
“The spiritual medium, often a female, is a horror archetype that has appeared in almost every film where a family is faced with a supernatural haunting and she usually enters the story in the third act to save that hopeless family,” said the Vang brothers in a joint statement. “It is never about her story – she is simply reduced to a plot device. In our film, we’re re-inventing this character as if we’re telling an origin story. We explore her backstory, and all the barriers she must struggle through in order for her to find her place in the world.”
With The Uncanny, the Vang Brothers were committed to casting actors from underrepresented groups in principal roles. Specifically, they wanted to have Asian actors cast in the lead role of Claire and her husband Peter. It’s taken over three years to bring the film to fruition, and the Vang Brothers were surprised to find substantial resistance to a film with Asian leads even in the current Hollywood climate.
The Vang Brothers pointed out that there were many studios interested in the film but asked them to cast white leads. “Too often, Asian actors are cast in only supporting roles, thus they are hardly ever given the role of the main hero or heroine,” they said. “The film is never about their story or their struggle. Why is it that a film must explore Asian culture and themes in order to even consider an Asian actor in the lead role? The Uncanny, like films such as Searching or Always Be My Maybe, never explores anything specifically Asian. It simply is just a film whose main protagonists happen to be Asian. This is really how we can end racial and ethnic stereotypes on the screen.”
Beyond its leads and directors, The Uncanny also features multiple cast and crew members who are of Asian descent as well as an overall inclusive crew and cast with people of color, women, and LGBTQ collaborators.
In addition to the Freeform series Good Trouble, Kirby can currently be seen on ABC’s new series Grand Hotel from Executive Producer Eva Longoria Bastón. He can be seen next in the James Sweeney feature Straight Up alongside Katie Findlay, Betsy Brandt and Randall Park. He is repped by Gersh and McKeon/Myones Entertainment
Krusiec has appeared in many films, TV series and stage plays. In addition to the aforementioned The Invitation, she starred in the critically acclaimed Saving Face opposite Joan Chen. Her TV credits include Hawaii Five-0, Nice Girls Crew, Getting On, Shooter and others. She also wrote her hit solo show Made in Taiwan, which played at the 2001 HBO Aspen Comedy Festival. Krusiec recently starred in Wild Goose Dreams at The Public Theatre, King of Hell’s Palace (Goodman Theatre New Stages), Chinglish international Broadway Tour. Krusiec also created and directed the digital short series Scenes From A Real Marriage. She is currently shooting The Gift directed by Anna Chi. Krusiec is repped by Global Artists Agency and THRULINE.
The Black List Teams With Coalition Of Asian Pacifics In Entertainment For Inaugural CAPE List
It all begins with an idea.
Author: Anthony D’Alessandro
Print: Deadline
EXCLUSIVE: The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) and Franklin Leonard’s The Black List are teaming up for the CAPE List, a curated list of the 12 most promising unmade film scripts centering on Asian Pacific characters and experiences.
The partnership, which is a fitting announcement for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, continues the fight for authentic representation and storytelling in film. The pairing between the two organization is an ideal match as CAPE has helped to launch writing careers with its New Writers Fellowship and the Black List has become a beacon for Hollywood executives’ favorite unproduced screenplays.
The 12 scripts on The CAPE List represent a diverse array of stories – one for each month of the year in celebration of #AsianAllYear – that scratch the surface of the plethora of Asian Pacific Islander stories. CAPE looks to move the needle when it comes to studios making more films in which diversity is baked in and cannot be removed without adversely affecting the story.
“The Black List has been a tremendous partner of our CAPE New Writers Fellowship for the past few years,” said CAPE Executive Director Michelle K. Sugihara. “We are thrilled to elevate our partnership with this special collaboration to join our two communities.”
“It’s been a joy to amplify the visibility of CAPE’s New Writers Fellowship over the last few years,” adds Black List founder and CEO Franklin Leonard. “It was only natural that we expand our relationship by working with them to promote even more writers doing exceptional work, similar to what we did earlier this year with GLAAD and the GLAAD list.”
CAPE curated the inaugural list from a pool of the highly-rated scripts provided by The Black List and scripts sourced from the CAPE community. They were evaluated by overall quality and whether or not the film’s protagonist identifies as a person from Asian and/or Pacific Islander heritage. In addition, the script must include authentic, accurate and inclusive Asian and Pacific Islander representation that if removed, it would significantly alter or affect the story.
The scripts must also pass the CAPE Test’s requirements: First, the lead or at least two characters are of Asian or Pacific Islander descent; second, at least one Asian Pacific Islander character has a narrative arc distinct from helping or revolving around the main character.
The loglines of the scripts chosen for the very first CAPE List can be read below.
COWBOYS VERSUS INDIANS by Christopher T. VanDijk & Ambarish Manepalli – On the verge of losing the girl he’s always loved, Raj must fly home to win her back. Using his friends and a football tradition to challenge her fiancé, he thinks he has a plan. But when it all backfires he must learn that the best way to save his friendship may be the very thing he fears most.
GUNS AND SARIS by Tianna Majumdar-Langham and Chris Bessounian – They’ve been oppressed and brutalized at the bottom of India’s caste system for 3000 years, but now the “untouchable” women of India have found an unlikely source of hope – and she’s armed.
HALF ANGELS by Déjà Cresencia Bernhardt – A troubled veteran, working as a social worker, removes his ten-year old patient from her abusive home. When she escapes with a streetwise transgender girl, he must violate the ethical codes of his profession in order to search for and save them. Set in the paradise lost of what Hawai’i has become.
NA WAHINE by Kimberly-Rose Wolter – Na Wahine is a female action-adventure feature set in Hawai’i circa 1793. After Numia’s home and parents are wiped out by a tyrannical chief, the teenager is sent on a journey to find a Iwi, forbidden woman and the only warrior strong enough to save Numia’s village. Leading a ragtag team of female warriors Iwi and Numia set out to stop the power-hungry chief before he conquers the island.
NO SKATEBOARDING by Jonathan Bird – A teenage hapa skateboarder moves in with his eccentric Vietnamese mother in 1992 San Diego, where he’s emboldened and jeopardized by her fantastical worldview as he tries to go pro filming a “sponsor me” video with friends.
I’M NOT PHIL by Eugene Ramos – Filipino-American Ray Garcia pretends to be Asian Golden Boy Phil Aquino to win the affections of Rachael, a white co-ed who thinks all Asians look alike.
THE DELIVERY MAN by Isaac Ho – Set in today’s New York City, Chinese restaurant-owner Liu Dai Yang’s eldest son is murdered while delivering a take-out order. Heartbroken, desperate and frantic, Liu searches for justice from an indifferent system that he’s only partially legally a part of. With the help of a sympathetic NYPD Detective McCuskey, Liu takes matters into his own hands — determined to seek justice or revenge, whichever comes first. Inspired by true events.
THE HARVEST by Doua Moua – A son who returns home to help his ailing and traditional Hmong father, only to set off a chain of events that affects the lives of his entire family.
THE MONKEY KING by Galen Tong – In this period action adventure set in early 20th Century China, a young hustler and entrepreneur must disguise himself as a famous character from the Peking opera, become a warrior, then secretly lead a rebellion against the foreign powers occupying and oppressing his country.
THE RINGMEN by Ryan Lee – Two Chinese-American founders of a Beijing-based college consulting company that uses unethical means to cheat their clients into American universities are forced to fight to save their company when the New York Times threatens to publish an expose.
THE SUN GHOST by Arun Croll – During World War II, a family imprisoned in a Japanese-American internment camp must stop an overprotective ghost from escalating the violence between the Japanese internees and their jailers.
THE TIGER’S CHILD by the Vang Brothers – During the largest paramilitary operation in the history of the CIA, a 12-year-old Hmong orphan enlists in Officer William Summers’ secret child army and becomes his deadliest sniper. Based on true events.
Newcomer Trey Tucker Joins Scott Eastwood, Orlando Bloom in ‘Outpost’ (Exclusive)
It all begins with an idea.
Author: Borys Kit
Print: The Hollywood Reporter
The up-and-comer also nabbed a lead role opposite Mena Suvari in indie thriller 'Viscous.'
Up-and-coming actor Trey Tucker has nabbed back-to-back roles, one a lead, another a key supporting part.
Tucker, who appeared in The Space Between Us, is starring opposite Mena Suvari in Viscous, a dramatic thriller indie from writer-director Braden R. Duemmler.
The story tells of the co-dependent and imperfect love between a mother (Suvari) and her daughter, which is tested when the "perfect" man, played by Tucker, enters their lives.
Abel Vang, Kristina Esposito and Stephen Stanley are producing.
Tucker is also shooting The Outpost, a military action movie from Millennium that tells the true story of a team of U.S. soldiers that faced an army of hundreds of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Tucker will play a member of the team.
The movie also stars Scott Eastwood, Orlando Bloom and Cory Hardrict and is directed by Rod Lurie (The Contender). Marc Frydman and Paul Tamasy are producing.
Tucker made his feature debut with The Space Between Us, the sci-fi drama that starred Asa Butterfield and Gary Oldman. He also co-starred in indie The Matchmaker’s Playbook.
He is repped by APA and Douglas Management Group.
Voltage Scares Berlin With Vang Brothers’ Bogeyman Title ‘Bedeviled’
Author: Anthony D’Alessandro
Print: Deadline
Voltage Pictures is handling foreign sales on Bedeviled, a horror film by Nicholl Fellowship winners Abel and Burlee Vang, and is currently showing footage to Berlin buyers. Deadline broke the news about the project back in November when we visited the downtown L.A. Washington Blvd set.
Bedeviled has been described as a cross between Spike Jonze’s Her and Stephen King’s It. In the movie, a group of friends download a Siri-like App which, at first, seems like a harmless way to get directions or a restaurant recommendation. But the sinister nature of the App soon reveals itself. The App not only knows each person’s deepest, darkest fears, but is able to manifest these fears into the real world to literally scare the kids to death. Saxon Sharbino of the Poltergeist reboot stars with Brandon Soo Hoo, Mitchell Edwards, Jordan Essoe, Carson Boatman, Victory Van Tuyl, and Alexis G. Zall.
Producer Kirk Roos, who has been behind such independent features as The Brass Teapot, Penelope Spheeris’ Balls to the Wall, and Upright Citizen Brigade co-founder Matt Walsh’s directorial canon High Road and A Better You, is handling North American sales through his firm Conduit Now. Roos’ film Painkillers which he co-conceived and wrote with Jason Groce, is currently available on DVD and VOD. Conduit Now partners Stephen Stanley and Brad Brizendine (also EPs) brokered the Bedeviled deal. Cheng Yang and Leng Yang are also producing with Scott P. Barlow as EP.
“After seeing limited footage we jumped on the opportunity to introduce the Vang Bros’ work to the international film community. Bedeviled is in the vein of The Ring and Keep Watching which we just sold to Screen Gems,” said Voltage president and COO Jonathan Deckter in a statement.
Roos added, “There is a great opportunity right now to bring back the bogeyman, with a modern zeitgeist twist. This film features a Killer App, and there’s so much fun to be had with that.”
Nicholl Fellowship Winners The Vang Brothers Reinvent Bogeyman With ‘Bedeviled’
Author: Anthony D’Alessandro
Print: Deadline
Abel and Burlee Vang, who won the Nicholl Fellowship in 2011 for their Hmong/CIA secret wars screenplay The Tiger’s Child, are in production on their first feature directorial collaboration Bedeviled, a horror film which is described as a cross between Spike Jonze’s Her and Stephen King’s It.
Saxon Sharbino of Fox/MGM’s recent Poltergeist reboot and NBC series Touch plays a teenager who downloads a mysterious app that begins to haunt her.
Brandon Soo Hoo of El Rey’s From Dusk Till Dawn plays Dan, the class-clown friend of the teenage group who doesn’t believe in the supernatural. Victory Van Tuyl plays his girlfriend Hayley, who dreams of being an actress.
Alexis G. Zall (Ouija 2) plays one of the first girls to download the killer app.
Style wise, the film pays homage to such Japanese filmmakers as Masaki Kobayashi (Kwaidan) and Takashi Miike (Gozu). Last year the Vangs made a short sci-fi action short Sentient (see video below), which enabled them to get funding for Bedeviled.
“Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, these guys are gone and for a different generation,” Abel Vang told Deadline late Thursday night after we visited the set, which on that day was taking place at a California Craftsman home in a Washington Blvd. neighborhood close to downtown. Abel Vang is a 2011 graduate of USC Film School.
“The supernatural villains of today aren’t charismatic enough. They’re just killing machines. We created a character like Hannibal Lector and The Joker, but in a supernatural film. We’re reinventing the bogeyman with this app,” added Burlee Vang about the plot.
MTV Teen Wolf episode director and special effects/make-up artist Rob Hall (Paranormal Activity 4, Area 51, Superbad) is co-executive producing Bedeviled. Also executive producing are Fuabkuab Yang along with Conduit Now executives Stephen Stanley and Brad Brizendine in conjunction with Badlands Features producer Kirk Roos. He’s been behind such indie films as Magnolia Pictures’ The Brass Teapot, Millennium’s High Road and most recently FilmBuff’s A Better You. Bryn Roos of Badlands is also co-producing. Leng and Cheng Yang are also producers. Sharbino is repped by The Gersh Agency. Soo Hoo is a client of Paradigm and DreamScope Entertainment. Zall is repped by Innovative Artists and Principato-Young Entertainment. Van Tuyl is repped by UTA and managed by Industry Entertainment.
Oscars Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting 2011
Seven writers have been selected as winners for the 26th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Each writer (or writing team) will receive a $30,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed at a gala dinner in Beverly Hills on November 3.
The 2011 Nicholl Fellows are (listed alphabetically by author):
Chris Bessounian & Tianna Langham, Los Angeles, Calif., "Guns and Saris"
Dion Cook, Altus, Okla., "Cutter"
John MacInnes, Los Angeles, Calif., "Outside the Wire"
Matthew Murphy, Culver City, Calif., "Unicorn"
Abel Vang & Burlee Vang, Fresno, Calif., "The Tiger's Child"
The winners were selected from a record 6,730 scripts submitted for this year's competition. The competition is open to any individual who has not sold or optioned a screenplay or teleplay for more than $5,000, or received a fellowship or prize that includes a "first look" clause, an option, or any other quid pro quo involving the writer's work.
The Nicholl Committee, chaired by producer Gale Anne Hurd, is composed of writers Naomi Foner, Daniel Petrie, Jr., Tom Rickman and Dana Stevens; actor Eva Marie Saint; cinematographers John Bailey and Steven B. Poster; costume designer Vicki Sanchez; executive Bill Mechanic; producers Peter Samuelson and Robert W. Shapiro; marketing executive Buffy Shutt, and agent Ronald R. Mardigian.
Fellowships are awarded with the understanding that the recipients will each complete a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year. The Academy acquires no rights to the works of Nicholl fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.
Including this year's winners, 123 fellowships have been awarded since the program's inception in 1985. A number of previous winners have achieved considerable success. Jason Micallef, a 2008 fellow, wrote "Butter," which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Ehren Kruger, a 1996 fellow, wrote "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" which opened this summer. "The Details," written and directed by 1998 fellow Jacob Aaron Estes, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Andrew W. Marlowe, a 1992 fellow, created and executive produces ABC's "Castle," for which Terri Miller, also a 1992 fellow, has been a writer-producer. Mike Rich, a 1998 fellow, wrote "Secretariat," which opened last October. Susannah Grant, a 1992 fellow, earned an Oscar® nomination in 2000 for her "Erin Brockovich" screenplay. Grant is the writer, director and executive producer on CBS's "A Gifted Man."
Several other Nicholl fellows have had success in the film industry; to read more about them, visit http://www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/fellows/notable.html