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Stars: James Duval, Shawn C. Phillips, Lauren Francesca, Lisa Wilcox, Tom Sizemore, Kelly Lynn Reiter, Robert Lasardo, Lorelei Linklater, Sadie Katz, Eva Hamilton | Written by Shawn C. Phillips | Directed by Lauren Francesca, Shawn C. Phillips

Woods Witch begins with the standard found footage title card telling us that what we are about to see is real and compiled from footage “found in the Allensville Woods along with online footage and police bodycam footage”. It also, in the style of classic exploitation films, promises that it contains “some of the most bizarre, disgusting and disturbing images ever put on screen.”

That footage begins with video of Garrett Gaspar who briefly attempts a bizarre French accent before a ghostly something or other attacks him. Cut to video from Jonah whose name is misspelled Johna in the channel’s name, and Jocelyn two aspiring influencers.

They desperately need to attract viewers and after...

Exclusive: Actor Robert Lasardo is making his feature directorial debut with the crime thriller American Trash, starring in the pic currently in production in Los Angeles, alongside Costas Mandylor and Lorelei Linklater.

Set amidst a social crisis in the decaying world of Los Angeles, American Trash watches as the city freefalls into environmental ruin, chaos and a complete drug epidemic. Milles Carpis (Lasardo) leans on the support of some new age hippie friends as they guide him away from violence when the woman he loves (Linklater) is murdered, subsequently turning to Detective Anderson (Mandylor) for help in his search for her killer.

Diana Ramos-Santiago Carter, Josh Webber and Jerry G. Angelo are producing the film scripted by Lasardo.Lasardo is represented by Dtla Entertainment Group; Mandylor by Global Creatives Agency and Anthem Entertainment; and Linklater by Linda McAlister Talent and The Green Room.

Eddie Hassell has passed away.

The actor, best known for roles on Surface and Devious Maids, died Sunday, November 1 at the age of 30.

According to NBC News, Hassell was shot dead.

Police in Grand Prairie, Texas, explained that they responded to a shooting at 1:50 a.m. on Sunday, where they found Hassell, of Waco, “suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.”

The actor's manager said he was shot in the stomach.

Officers gave first aid to Hassell, but he passed away after being transported to a hospital.

Hassell was shot outside his girlfriend's apartment, and, according to reports, she did not see the assailant.

The investigation is ongoing, and no other details were made available.

Hassell was born on July 16, 1990 in Corsicana, Texas.

On the small screen, he starred on Surface alongside Lake Bell and Leighton Meester.

Hassell also made appearances on television shows such as Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,...

Actor Eddie Hassell, best known for his roles in the 2010 Oscar-nominated film “The Kids Are All Right” and the NBC TV show “Surface,” has died after being shot in Texas, Hassell’s manager tells Variety. He was 30.

According to his representative, Hassell was shot Sunday morning in what appears to be a carjacking, although the incident is still being investigated. It is unclear where in Texas the crime took place.

Hassell was born on July 16, 1990 in Corsicana, Texas. He held several small roles throughout the 2000s and 2010s, most notably as Clay in the 2010 film “The Kids Are All Right,” also starring Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo. “The Kids Are All Right” earned a best picture nod at the 2011 Oscars. He also played Phil Nance on NBC’s sci-fi series “Surface,” acting alongside Leighton Meester and Lake Bell.

Hassell made appearances on television shows such as Aaron Sorkin’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,...

Before helming the upcoming new adaptation of Stephen King's Firestarter, Keith Thomas directed The Vigil, which has been acquired by IFC Midnight and is slated for a February 26th, 2021 release.

You can read the press release with full details below, and in case you missed it, read Lindsay Traves' previous interview with Thomas.

From the Press Release: New York, NY - IFC Midnight announced today that it is acquiring U.S. rights to writer-director Keith Thomas’ feature debut, The Vigil, a supernatural horror film with a Hasidic Jewish twist. The Vigil stars Dave Davis (Bomb City), Malky Goldman (Unorthodox), Menashe Lustig (Menashe), Fred Melamed (A Serious Man), and Lynn Cohen (Munich). Producing is Raphael Margules and J.D. Lifshitz of BoulderLight Pictures alongside Adam Margules (Menashe). Additional notable credits within the filmmaking team include editor Brett W. Bachman, composer Michael Yezerski (The Devil’S Candy), and cinematographer Zach Kuperstein.

IFC Films and BoulderLight,...

Tiff Midnight Madness breakout has already scored deals in key European territories.

Elle Driver has acquired international sales rights to Us director Keith Thomas’s buzzed-about supernatural horror The Vigil, revolving around the Jewish custom of shemira, or watching over the corpse of a recently deceased person ahead of their burial.

Under the seven-figure deal, the Paris-based company is selling the world aside from the Us, which is being handled by CAA Media Finance.

Elle Driver has already scored deals in the key European territories of Spain (Vertigo), France (Wild Bunch Distribution), Italy (Bim) and Germany (Wild Bunch Germany).

The...

In 1997, long-simmering tensions between jocks and punks in Amarillo, Texas, exploded in a violent parking-lot brawl. Some participants carried baseball bats, some twirled heavy steel chains. But one football player had a Cadillac as a weapon, and used it to kill Brian Deneke, a 19-year-old beloved on the punk scene. Two decades later, Amarillo native Jameson Brooks looks at the build-up to and shameful aftermath of this crime in Bomb City, an empathetic drama ready to put straight-laced audiences in the shoes of a maligned subculture. Assured and effective, it deserves a wider release than it is getting from...

Jameson Brooks' debut feature film Bomb City rolls out In U.S. cinema and on VOD and Digital HD on Friday, February 9th. Screen Anarchy has an exclusive clip to share with you below. We have also included the more explosive trailer    In the clip it looks like we have Brian (Dave Davis) and Jade (Maemae Renfrew) holed up in a club bathroom, tending to a wound on his head (see trailer?). Brian expresses concern for Jade's safety, suggesting that they arm themselves from now on. Tensions are apparently rising in this conservative Texas town. This may be a moment a calm before the storm.   A crime-drama, about the cultural aversion of a group of punk rockers in a conservative Texas town. Their ongoing...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

"My entire life people tried to rattle my cage, to force me to explode from the inside out." Gravitas Ventures has unveiled an official trailer for an indie drama titled Bomb City, based on a true story of a punk rock hate crime in Amarillo, Texas in 1997. The title Bomb City refers to the name of a rundown venue where a guy known as Brian Deneke hosts punk shows. After losing a football game, high school jocks from a group known as the "white-hatters" start a big street fight with the punks. Dave Davis stars as Brian, and the cast includes Glenn Morshower, Logan Huffman, Lorelei Linklater, Eddie Hassell, Henry Knotts, Maemae Renfrow, Dominic Ryan Gabriel, Luke Shelton, Cody Cates, with Marilyn Manson. This looks like a damn good film, with what seems to be a stellar performance from Dave Davis. Worth a watch. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Jameson (Jamie) Brooks' Bomb City,...

Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: What better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? This week […]

The post This Week In Trailers: Automatic Unearthed, David Bowie: The Last Five Years, That’s Not Me, Bomb City, Catcalls appeared first on /Film.

Exclusive: Director Jameson Brooks’ feature film debut Bomb City has landed at Gravitas Ventures. The distribution company announced today that it acquired the North American rights to the punk rock crime drama. "Watching Bomb City, you'll find yourself on a roller coaster of emotions, ultimately questioning the very morality of America's justice system," said Gravitas Ventures' Manager of Acquisitions, Zach Hamby. "Jameson Brooks' feature film debut is as powerful as…...

Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.

Lineup Announcements

– Cardiff Animation Nights will be returning to run a dedicated animation strand at Cardiff Independent Film Festival (C.I.F.F.) for a second year this May. This year’s animation strand at C.I.F.F. will comprise three programs of animated short films in competition for the Best Animation Award, as well as an Animated Family Shorts program curated by renowned Cardiff-based studio Cloth Cat Animation, networking events, and an Animation Quiz run by the team at Skwigly Animation Magazine.

The competition program features animated short films from across Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Australia, including Mikey Hill’s The Orchestra, Anete Melece’s Analysis Paralysis, Chris Shepherd’s Johnno’s Dead, Ross Hogg’s Life Cycles and Alois Di Leo’s Way of Giants.

Sad news to report today, especially for fans of sports movies and teen comedies. One 1990s luminary is no longer with us. Best known for playing Billy Bob in the football dramedy Varsity Blues, actor Ron Lester has passed away at the young age of 45. He succumbed to a long battle with liver and kidney ailments. Lester's manager had this to say on Facebook about the actor's untimely death.

"Tonight my friends we lost my good friend and actor Ron Lester - He passed at 8:57 pm Dallas TX Time. He was not in any pain and passed away peacefully. For the Media - I will release a press statement as soon as I have a chance to mourn my friend. Please keep his Fiancee Jennifer Worland in your prayers as she was with him. His friends and family was around him during this difficult time."

It was widely reported...

Ron Lester - famous for his role as Billy Bob in Varsity Blues - has died, his agent Dave Bradley confirmed to Entertainment Weekly. He was 45. Early Friday, Bradley reported that Lester was in critical condition at a Dallas hospital after suffering liver and kidney failure. Lester's first got his start in the 1997 Nickelodeon film Good Burger, before going on to star as the lovable football player in 1999's Varsity Blues. More recently he made an appearance on CSI: NY and had a part in the upcoming film Bomb City which is currently filming. The last time the actor addressed...

Ron Lester - famous for his role as Billy Bob in Varsity Blues - has died, his agent Dave Bradley confirmed to Entertainment Weekly. He was 45. Early Friday, Bradley reported that Lester was in critical condition at a Dallas hospital after suffering liver and kidney failure. Lester's first got his start in the 1997 Nickelodeon film Good Burger, before going on to star as the lovable football player in 1999'2 Varsity Blues. More recently he made an appearance on CSI: NY and had a part in the upcoming film Bomb City which is currently filming. The last time the actor, 45, addressed...