Plus: MPI acquires If There’s A Hell Below; Saban buys Come And Find Me; Shout! Factory, Legacy Classics in production-distribution pact; and more

Breaking A Monster

Abramorama will release Luke Meyer’s music documentary Breaking A Monster theatrically across the US, kicking off with a June 24 launch in New York.

The film charts the birth of the heavy metal band Unlocking The Truth as 7th grade schoolchildren who sign with an industry veteran manager and land a major record deal.

  • Saban Films has acquired North American rights to Aaron Paul starrer Come And Find Me, which marks the feature debut of Zack Whedon. Annabelle Wallis also stars in the thriller about a mysterious girlfriend​. Automatik’s Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Motion Picture Capital’s Leon Clarance and Oddfellows Entertainment’s Chris Ferguson produced the film and the executive producers are Laure Vaysse and Jo Monk.
  • Broad Green Pictures has cast Megalyn Echikunwoke, Eden SherLyndon Smith, Gage Golightly, Nia Jervier, Alessandra Torresani, Marque Richardson, Naturi Naughton and Matt McGorry in its comedy Step Sisters. Charles Stone directs from a script by Chuck Hayward. Matt Alvarez, Lena Waithe and Benjamin Cory Jones produce and Broad Green’s Josh Reinhold serves as executive producer. Production is scheduled to start in Atlanta on June 1.
  • MPI Media Group today announced it has acquired all North American rights to Erasmus Films’ Slamdance political thriller If There’s A Hell Below. Nathan Williams directed the film and negotiated the deal. MPI will open the thriller theatrically via its Dark Sky Films label in late autumn followed by ancillary roll-out.
  • Gravitas has announced a deal struck in Cannes with Koan Incorporated to acquire all US rights to the crime thriller Dirty by feature debutant Daniel Ringey and will release on VoD on July 12. The film follows two corrupt police officers on the hunt for their stolen drugs and money.
  • Shout! Factory has signed a long-term, production and distribution deal with Legacy Classics for a slate of family films based on bestselling classic and contemporary children’s book series. The plan calls for four features over the first two years and the first wave of content will include three animated features from titles in The Boxcar Children book series.
  • Quentin Tarantino will deliver the keynote speech at the14th annual Design Showcase West (DSW) on June 4 at the UCLA School Of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT). Second year UCLA TFT costume design graduate Kumie Asai will receive the 2016 Swarovski Shooting Star Award.