Colman Domingo to Star in MGM & Jordan Peele’s “Candyman” Reboot

Colman Domingo has landed a sweet (but scary) role…

The 49-year-old Afro-Latino actor has been castin MGMand Jordan Peele’s forthcoming reboot of the classic horror film Candyman, which has begun principal photography in Chicago. 

Colman Domingo

Domingo will star opposite Nathan Stewart-Jarrett,Yahya Abdul-Mateen IIand Teyonah Parrisin the film.

The film will be directed by Nia DaCostaand will be a spiritual sequel to Benard Rose’s 1992 gothic horror movie, which was originally based on Clive Barker’s short story The Forbidden

The film will be shot entirely in Chicago and feature various locations throughout the city, including the neighborhood where the legend began: the now-gentrified North Side where the Cabrini-Green housing projects once stood.

The original movie followed the urban legend of the titular character and starred Tony Toddas Candyman, a former slave turned artist who fell in love and with a white woman and fathered a child during the late 1800s. Because of this forbidden relationship, his lover’s father hired a lynch mob to kill him. He was smeared with honey and bees attacked him. He was burned to death and his ashes were scattered upon what became the present-day the Cabrini-Green housing project. The story of his death became an urban legend and by saying his name five times in the mirror, he comes and murders you. The horror became popular among the masses and spawned two sequels.

Universal Pictureswill distribute Candymanglobally with the U.S. release date set for June 12, 2020.

Tony andLawrence Olivier-nominated actor and playwright, Domingo is known for his role as Victor Strand on Fear the Walking DeadHe also appears on HBO’s EuphoriaHe can next be seen in A24’s ZolaNoah Hawley’s Lucy in the Skyand The God Committeealongside Kelsey Grammarand Julia Stiles. He is currently filming Ma Rainey’s Black Bottomwith Viola Davisand Chadwick Boseman.

Sebastián Lelio’s “Gloria Bell,” the English Reimaging of His Hit “Gloria,” Opens Big in Limited Release

Sebastián Leliois making waves with his own English-language adaptation of his hit Spanish film…

The 45-year-old Chilean director’s Gloria Bell handily took the best specialty debut mantle over the weekend with one of the highest opening weekend per-theater averages for a limited release title this year.

Sebastián Lelio

The A24 feature starring Julianne MooreJohn Turturro and Michael Ceragrossed an estimated $154,775 in three-days, averaging $30,955. 

Gloria Bellis the re-imagined English-language and L.A.-set drama of a free-spirit, based on Lelio’s 2014 title, Gloria, set in Santiago, Chile, which took in over $2.1M via Roadside Attractions stateside.

Gloria Bell

Gloria Bell’s nearly $31K opening PTA outpaced Lelio’s 2014 original, Gloria, which took in over $56K in its opening weekend in January of that year, averaging $18,818. That film, however, was set in Chile, was in Spanish and starred a veteran Chilean actor, Paulina García, who is not well known to North American audiences. The film proved to have legs though with its $2.1M North American cume, which in part made it attractive for a re-make in English starring a well known actor here. 

Lelio adapted the story into English and then went on to direct his other projects, including Oscar-winning A Fantastic Woman ($2.02M cume) and Disobedience starringRachel Weiszand Rachel McAdams. That film, released by Bleecker Streetlast April, continues to be the filmmaker’s North American benchmark with a $237K opening weekend in five theaters ($47,479 PTA). It went on to cume over $3.49M on this continent.

Lelio and Moore reconnected after the director completed Disobedience. “She finished her other projects and we had a window in 2017,” said Lelio earlier in the week. “We put financing together very quickly and built a ‘family’ around Julianne including John Turturro and Michael Cera. I’ve always loved John Turturro’s work.” 

A24 reported “enthusiastic sellouts” for Gloria Bell in New York and L.A. throughout the weekend. The company will roll the title into top markets this week ahead of a nationwide expansion set for March 22.

NEW RELEASES
3 Faces (Kino Lorber) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $7,196
Babylon (Kino Lorber Repertory / Seventy-Seven) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $20,096
Badla (Reliance) NEW [94 Theaters] Weekend $614,328, Average $6,535
Ferrante Fever (Greenwich Entertainment) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $4,000
Gloria Bell (A24) NEW [5 Theaters] Weekend $154,775, Average $30,955
The Kid (Lionsgate Premiere) NEW [267 Theaters] Weekend $505,000, Average $1,891

Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” Awarded Two Prizes by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association

Alfonso Cuaron is the LA critics’ choice…

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has announced its annual awards with the 57-year-old Mexican filmmaker earning two trophies for his critically acclaimed drama Roma.

Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma

Cuaron’s “deeply personal” film tookhome honors for Best Picture, while he was named Best Cinematography for his work on the Spanish language film.

He was the runner up in the Best Director and Best Editing categories.

The group will honor its winners January 12 at a gala dinner at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, where Japanese director and animator Hayao Miyazaki will receive the Career Achievement award.

Last year, Sony Pictures ClassicsCall Me By Your Name was voted the LAFCA’s Best Picture, with A24’s The Florida Project runner-up for Best Picture. The former went on to earn an Oscar Best Picture nom.

Here’s the complete list of winners:

Best Picture:
Winner: ROMA
Runner-up: Burning

Best Director
Winner: Debra Granik, Leave No Trace
Runner-up: Alfonso Cuaron, ROMA

Best Actor
Winner: Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
Runner-up: Ben Foster, Leave No Trace

Best Documentary
Runner-up: Minding the Gap
Winner: Shirkers

Best Screenplay
Winner: Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Runner-up: Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara, The Favourite

The Douglas Edwards Experimental Film Award
Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson and Guy Maddin, The Green Fog

Best Animation
Winner: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Runner-up: Incredibles 2

Best Actress
Winner: Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Runner-up: Toni Collette, Hereditary

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Runner-up: Elizabeth Debicki, Widows

Editing
Winner: Joshua Altman and Bing Liu, Minding the Gap
Runner-up: Alfonso Cuarón and Adam Gough, Roma

Best Production Design
Winner: Hannah Beachler, Black Panther
Runner-up: Fiona Crombie, The Favourite

Supporting Actor
Winner: Steven Yeun, Burning
Runner-up: Hugh Grant, Paddington 2

Best Music/Score
Winner: Nicholas Britell, If Beale Street Could Talk
Runner-up: Justin Hurwitz, First Man

Best Cinematography
Winner: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma
Runner-up: James Laxton, If Beale Street Could Talk

Career Achievement Award
Hayao Miyazaki

Universal Pictures to Release Tyler Posey’s Supernatural Thriller “Truth or Dare” in April 2018

Tyler Posey is ready to play some Truth or Dare next spring…

Universal Pictures will release Blumhouse Productions’ supernatural thriller Truth or Dare, starring the 26-year-old half-Mexican American actor and Teen Wolf star, on April 27, 2018.

Tyler Posey

In the film, a harmless game of ‘Truth or Dare’ goes sideways when someone—or something—begins to punish those who tell a lie—or refuse the dare.

Truth or Dare, directed by Jeff Wadlow, also stars Lucy Hale, Violett Beane, Nolan Gerard Funk, Hayden Szeto and Sophia Taylor Ali.

Truth or Dare will go up against Lionsgate’s TraffikOrion’s Every Day and A24’s untitled horror film.

Lucas, who played Jennifer Lopez‘s son in the romantic comedy Maid in Manhattan, plays Lucas in the film.

Participant Media Releases Trailer for Isaac’s Thriller “A Most Violent Year”

Oscar Isaac’s most violent role could finally earn him an Academy Award nomination…

Participant Media has released the trailer for the 35-year-old Guatemalan and Cuban American actor’s latest film “A Most Violent Year.”

A Most Violent Year

Isaac and Jessica Chastain star in the film, which was written and directed by J.C. Chandor (All is Lost).

“A Most Violent Year” is set in New York City during the winter of 1981 — one of the most violent years in the city’s history. The film follows the lives of an immigrant family trying to expand their business and capitalize on opportunities amid violence, decay and corruption.

A24 has given an awards-season release date of December 31 for the thriller.

It will open in Los Angeles and New York on New Year’s Eve before expanding during January.

Dawson’s “The Captive” to His U.S. Theaters This Fall

Rosario Dawson will keep movie audiences captive this fall…

A24, in partnership with DirecTV, has acquired the rights to The Captive, which stars the 35-year-old Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban American actress.

Rosario Dawson

Directed by Atom Egoyan, the film stars Ryan Reynolds as the father of a young girl who disappears fromtheir pick-up truck in a diner parking lot. The psychological thriller examines how the kidnapping destroys the relationships among those involved.

In addition to Reynolds and Dawson, who portrays the character of Nicole, the film also stars Scott Speedman, Mireille Enos, Kevin Durand and Bruce Greenwood.

“A24 is an extremely exciting company right now with a very smart vision of the future,” says Harold van Lier, president of eOne Films International. “Despite other serious offers on the table, they demonstrated the level of passion and commitment that we were looking for. We look forward to celebrating Atom’s film in Cannes with A24 and our other distribution partners around the world.”

A24 will release the film in the U.S. this fall.