Bella Thorne to Make Feature Directorial Debut with “Color Your Hurt”

Bella Thorne has a new directive

The 26-year-old half-Cuban American actress/singer will make her feature directorial debut with Color Your Hurt, the true story of a young gay man growing up in the Bible Belt.

Bella ThorneThorne has started the casting process on the project, which is based on her original screenplay and a short film she has made called Unsettled, which is in post-production.

Filming is being lined up for the Midwest and Italy in spring of this year.

The Midnight Sun and Babysitter actress made Unsettled in June 2023 (around the same time her short film Paint Her Red debuted at the Taormina Film Festival) with producers Jen Gatien and Eddie Alcazar. It was edited by Ron Dulin with additional editing from Alfonso Gonçalves.

Gatien will produce Color Your Hurt along with David Lipper and Robert A. Daly Jr. of Latigo Films, Dani Druz and Mark Emms, with Adam Sigal and actor CG Lewis serving as executive producers.

Previously, Thorne worked with Sigal, Druz and Lipper and Daly on The Tower, currently in post-production, Gatien on Midnight Sun, and Alcazar on Divinity, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last year.

Color Your Hurt is not just a screenplay; it’s one of the most inspiring projects I’ve ever penned. As I step into my new role as a movie director, it symbolizes the beginning of a truly impactful and exhilarating chapter in my career. I could not be more honored to tell a true story that has moments I deeply connect with,” said Thorne.

“Bella is remarkably talented, and Bob Daly and I want to support her vision in what is a very important story that needs to be told,” added Lipper.

Thorne, who has also released music, in 2019 directed adult short film Her & Him.

Bella Thorne’s “Divinity” to Have International Premiere at Italy’s Taormina Film Festival 

Bella Thorne’s latest film is preparing to have its first international showing…

The 25-year-old half-Cuban American actress/singer’s feature Divinity, hailing from Bolivian American director Eddie Alcazar, is set to premiere internationally at the Taormina Film Festival on June 29th in Italy.

Bella Thorne, DivinityWriter and director Alcazar and stars Thorne, Karrueche Tran and Moises Arias will appear at the Teatro Antico for the celebration.

The feature, produced by Steven Soderbergh, was reportedly acquired at Sundance by Utopia and Sumerian for seven figures.

It will also screen in Germany at the Munich Film Festival and in Canada at Fantasia Film Festival this summer.

Divinity is set in an otherworldly human existence where scientist Sterling Pierce (Scott Bakula) is on a quest for immortality, slowly creating the building blocks of a groundbreaking serum named “Divinity.” Jaxxon Pierce (Stephen Dorff), his son, now controls and manufactures his father’s once-benevolent dream.

Society on this barren planet has been entirely perverted by the supremacy of the drug, whose true origins are shrouded in mystery. Two mysterious brothers (Jason Genao and Arias) arrive with a plan to abduct the mogul, and with the help of a seductive woman named Nikita (Tran), they will be set on a path hurtling toward true immortality.

Divinity is a creative tour-de-force. We are fortunate to be screening the film’s European premiere after its success at Sundance. I look forward to welcoming Eddie Alcazar and the film’s cast to the premiere in Taormina. It will surely be one of the highlights of the Festival this year,” said Barrett Wissman, the Festival’s Executive and Artistic Director.

Prior to his success with Divinity, Alcazar directed The Vandal, executive produced by Darren Aronofsky, which made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. Additionally, he directed the feature-length sci-fi thriller Perfect (2018), executive produced by Soderbergh through his company Brainfeeder Films and produced 2016’s Kuso.

Eddie Alcazar Partnering with Paul Wedgwood to Launch LA and London-Based Production Company Entropy Pictures

Eddie Alcazar is expanding his empire…

The Bolivian American writer-director is teaming up with British gaming mogul Paul Wedgwood to launch the Los Angeles and London-based production company Entropy Pictures.

Eddie Alcazar,Alcazar’s most recent project is the Sundance Film Festival thriller Divinity, starring Stephen Dorff, Bella Thorne and Scott Bakula.

Wedgwood, who most recently executive-produced thriller The Kill Room starring Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman, was a co-founder of successful video game developer Splash Damage.

The duo’s new film, TV and transmedia firm Entropy will look to “seed and develop IP which is character-driven, high-concept and has commercial appeal”. The company will look to make three to five films a year with financial backing from Wedgwood’s investment firm Supernova Capital.

Veteran games and studio executive Nick Bridger will serve as Head of Development and Production, while line producer James Allen — who has worked on all of Alcazar’s productions — is also aboard.

The first film on the slate is a hybrid live action-animated thriller called Absolute, which Alcazar wrote and will direct as his next feature, producing alongside Wedgwood.

The film follows a pair of college friends who are working on a device that will change humanity’s relationship with the universe. The device can transport a person into a neighboring dimension using one’s mind to complete a roadmap. When one of the friends experiences a devastating relationship breakup, he makes a choice to enter the portal they have created in search of a better version of his girlfriend.

According to the partners, financing is in place and the film is due to shoot this summer.

Alacazar wrote, directed and produced Divinity with a guiding hand from Steven Soderbergh, who served as executive producer. The black and white Sundance NEXT project is set in an otherworldly human existence where a serum named “Divinity” is all powerful.

“Creating a foundation for this type of film is very motivating as there are so many opportunities to explore different worlds and each can lend itself to many formats such as film, digital and animation to truly immerse the audience in a specific style of emotion,” said Alcazar. “Ultimately this is a story about young adults striving to be recognized and significant in an imperfect world. They follow grandiose ideas in order to give their lives meaning and end up realizing peace of mind and love are found in simplicity, not absolute perfection.”

Wedgwood added: “I want to work with the most talented storytellers in the business – and Eddie is of course in that upper echelon of multitalented next generation writer/directors who really challenge audiences. In Absolute, he has created a gripping and evocative story that is a distinctly original cinematic experience. This is the type of bold film that will define Entropy.”

Wedgwood commented about Entropy: “As a company, we see ourselves as hyper-creative, nimble and collaborative. Eddie, Nick and myself are creators at heart and have complex projects we’ll develop and nurture very carefully. With the film landscape continuing to shift and evolve, our approach to championing distinctive material and bringing our creative visions to life is what drives us. I’m thrilled to start this exciting new endeavor with Eddie and Nick and work creatively and collaboratively to build a specialized brand.”

Added Alcazar: “With Entropy, we have an exciting new model for making films –  one that empowers creators and their vision. Paul and I share a unique creative vision and underlying business philosophies that will fuel us as we grow the company and our output.”

Bella Thorne to Star in Steven Soderbergh & Eddie Alcazar’s Indie Film “Divinity”

It’s to Divinity and beyond for Bella Thorne

The 24-year-old half-Cuban American actress/singer has been cast in the indie film Divinity.Bella ThorneThorne is among the final cast members to be announced for the film, alongside Scott Bakula.

The project is the latest collaboration between Steven Soderbergh and Eddie Alcazar. Cypress Hills’ DJ Muggs will serve as musical composer.

Chris Santos, Danielia Maximillian, Lydia Bielen, and Emily Willis round out the cast.

Previously announced actors leading the project include Stephen Dorff, Jason Genao, Moises Arias, Karrueche Tran, and Mike O’Hearn.

Divinity follows otherworldly brothers (Genao & Arias) that are hellbent on stopping a mogul (Dorff) who is close to unraveling the secrets behind immortality.

The film includes elements of Alcazar’s “Metascope” technique which combines stop motion animation and live-action sequences. The technique was featured in his short film The Vandal, a collaboration with Darren Aronofsky, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021.

Divinity is targeting completion ahead of the film festival circuit.

Alcazar previously worked with his mentor Soderbergh on his feature debut Perfect, released in 2018, a sci-fi thriller starring Abbie Cornish, Rainey Qualley, Courtney Eaton, and Tao Okamoto.

Eddie Alcazar’s “Perfect” to Have Its World Premiere at This Year’s SXSW Festival

Eddie Alcazar is preparing for a perfect night…

The world premiere of the Latino director’s sci-fi thriller Perfect, executive produced bySteven Soderbergh, is set for the South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW).

Perfect

In Perfect, a boy in a cold and stark modern house in a vaguely science fiction world is seduced by advertisements of perfection to install implantable characteristics directly into his body. The implants heal his dark, twisted visions, but come with a corporeal cost. He persists on applying them, hoping to reach perfection, but ultimately discovers that purity of mind is not exactly as he’s imagined.

The film is produced by Alcazar and Javier Lovato for Brainfeeder Films, with Garrett Wareing, Courtney Eaton, Tao Okamoto with Maurice Compte and Abbie Cornish.

Alcazar previously directed Tapia for HBO, and FUCKKKYOUUUa Sundance selected short scored by Flying Lotus, which also did the music for Perfect.  

Tapia’s Tragic Story Headed to the Big Screen

He’s was as one of the most successful Chicano boxers… And now a new biopic will shine a spotlight on Johnny Tapia’s life and death.

Entitled Johnny, the indie filmbased on true events of Tapia’s early years—will shed new light on his tragic story. The five-time world champion boxer started fighting in the ring at age nine, becoming a star in the late 1990s after winning titles in the WBO Super flyweight and WBO Bantamweight divisions.

Johnny Tapia

Tapia’s life had a streak of tragedy even as he fought to stand his ground against what life threw at him. His father was murdered while he was still in the womb and his mother was brutally kidnapped, raped and murdered when he was eight.

Tapia’s childhood traumas led to a life of drug addiction. When he was 40, Tapia suffered an overdose from cocaine abuse, and his brother-in-law and nephew were killed in a car accident on the way to see him at the hospital.

Red Riding Hood actor Shiloh Fernandez has signed on to play Tapia, who was found dead in his Albuquerque home on May 27, 2012 at the age of 45.

Eddie Alcazar is directing the indie, and co-writing the script with Bettina Gilois.

Filming onJohnny, which was already in development for months before his recent passing, is expected to start in 2013.