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Last year, the 1997 “nature run amok” thriller Anaconda got a Chinese remake that pit a group of circus performers against a giant snake. The year before that, the Syfy creature feature Sharktopus got a Chinese remake. And this year, it’s the shark thriller The Shallows‘ turn to get the Chinese remake treatment… and this one gives the concept a sci-fi twist. You can watch the trailer in the embed above.

Released in 2016, the original The Shallows was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a screenplay written by Anthony Jaswinski and starred Blake Lively as a young woman who is dealing with the recent death of her mother. While surfing on an isolated beach, she gets stranded 20 yards off shore on a buoy. What lies between her and the shore is a huge great white shark. Other actors appear in the movie – Ava Dean, Óscar Jaenada, Brett Cullen, Sedona Legge, Pablo Calva,...

Verve has hired longtime agent Valarie Phillips. The agency also recently hired Non-Fiction Agent Jacy Schleier.

Phillips, who brings more than two decades of agency experience to Verve, was most recently Co-Head of the Motion Picture Literary department at A3 Artists Agency, and prior to that, spent two decades at Paradigm Talent Agency where she started as an assistant, and worked her way up to Department Head.

Following Phillips to Verve are several of the busiest and highly sought after writers in town, including Guy Busick, Greg Erb and Jason Oremland, and Tory Kamen. Also following Phillips to Verve, Charles Leavitt, Anthony Jaswinski, Shiwani Srivastava and directors Andy Tennant, Tom Dey, Sasie Sealy, Todd Robinson and Patrick Lussier.

Throughout her career, Phillips has consistently demonstrated her commitment to excellence and a keen eye for discovering and nurturing talent, previously working with Nzingha Stewart, Eric Tuchman, Ehren Kruger and Kenny Ortega.

It's hard to top Steven Spielberg and his granddaddy of all shark attack movies, Jaws. Released in 1975, Jaws set the standard for shark attack movies the same way The Exorcist did for demonic possession. Several films have come in Jaws' wake (including its mediocre sequels), and most don't come close to living up to its greatness.

Most go the silly B-movie route which works for check-your-brain-at-the-door entertainment, but 2016's The Shallows aimed to be more than that. Released in the summer of 2016, The Shallows became a surprise hit with critics and moviegoers, and it honestly represents one of the best person vs. shark films since Spielberg originally made us afraid to take a dip in the ocean.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by Anthony Jaswinski, The Shallows stars Blake Lively as medical student Nancy Adams. Shortly after the death of her mother due to cancer, Nancy travels to a...

Exclusive: Asia Argento (xXx), French rapper-actor JoeyStarr (Polisse) and Italian star Riccardo Scamarcio (John Wick: Chapter 2) are set to lead cast in French-language thriller Interstate (La Saveur De La Mort).

The movie is a supernatural thriller in which a hitman (JoeyStarr), facing an existential crisis, decides to exit the game and leave town with the woman he loves, but his plans are disrupted by a mysterious young man and his ruthless former boss.

Jean Luc Herbulot – whose Senegalese action film Saloum is playing in TIFF’s Midnight Madness strand — is directing.

XYZ is handling world sales minus France and Belgium and will begin discussing with buyers during the Toronto market.

Pic was written by Anthony Jaswinski (The Shallows) and is produced by Jean-Jacques Neira for Fontana (Belgium), Christophe Mazodier for Polaris Films (France) and Hicham Benkirane at Hbk F.C.

Filming is slated to begin this winter for a late 2022 release.

Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds, star of Deadpool and The Hitman's Bodyguard, is currently in the midst of dealing with his young daughter's Baby Shark phase, something millions of parents worldwide are sure to relate to and empathise with. According to his Instagram page, the one year old is 'obsessed' with the internet phenomenon, and it would appear he is at his wit's end.

"My one year old daughter is obsessed with Baby Shark. All day. Every day. There's only one way to fix this."

After Ryan shared a poster of his wife's movie The Shallows, Blake Lively responded in the comments with, "She's gonna love Savages." This is in reference to the 2012 movie Blake Lively starred in directed by Oliver Stone, which contains quite a bit of sex, drugs, violence and rock and roll. It could be considered even scarier than The Shallows.

For those of you who have been...

Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, will release Mary on November 26, 2019 on DVD and Blu-ray. Mary stars Academy Award winner Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour, The Dark Knight), Emily Mortimer (Mary Poppins Returns, Lars and the Real Girl), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (Murder on the Orient Express, The Magnificent Seven), Stefanie Scott (Beautiful Boy, Insidious: Chapter 3), Chloe Perrin (“Single Parents,” The Diabolical), Douglas Urbanski (RoboCop, The Social Network), with Jennifer Esposito (“The Boys,” “NCIS”) and Owen Teague (It, It Chapter 2). The film was directed by Michael Goi (“American Horror Story,” “Scream Queens”) and was written by Anthony Jaswinski (The Shallows, “Kristy”). Rlje Films will release Mary on DVD for an Srp of $29.96 and Blu-ray for an Srp of $29.97.

Now you can win the Win the DVD of Mary. We Are Movie Geeks has two copies to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment below telling us...

Directed by Michael Goi (“American Horror Story,” “Scream Queens”) and written by Anthony Jaswinski (The Shallows, “Kristy”), Rlje Films will release Mary on DVD and Blu-ray on November 26, 2019, we’ve learned today. The supernatural horror film stars Academy Award winner Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) and Emily Mortimer (Mary Poppins Returns). In Mary, David (Oldman) is a struggling blue-collar captain looking to […]...

“In this situation, when the president of a studio is calling you, you’re pretty confident that you’re not going to oversell yourself”

In the spirit of all things horror this October, David Boxerbaum of Verve joins us this week to break down the Horror/Thriller box-office hit The Shallows from writer Anthony Jaswinski. The script gained mass appeal when it hit the market, landing Jaswinski on the Black List, Blood List, and Hit List that year.

The post Anatomy of a Sale: ‘The Shallows’ w/David Boxerbaum of Verve (Part 2) (Exclusive) appeared first on The Tracking Board.

When Emily Mortimer says, “Evil needs a body to exist. The body was that boat,” it’s just the first of numerous unsayable lines in “Mary.” This tale of nautical terror is one leaky vessel, despite veteran cinematographer Michael Goi’s professionally competent direction and a cast (also including Gary Oldman) well-equipped to handle more challenging, as well as more intelligent, material. Rlje Films is releasing it on 25 U.S. screens simultaneous with on-demand and digital HD this Friday. It should do Ok as a formulaically forgettable home-entertainment option.

That first dialogue pearl occurs as a federal investigator (Jennifer Esposito) is interviewing Sarah Greer (Mortimer), who was found floating on debris off the Florida coast. Her two daughters are also safe, having been rescued from a lifeboat. But the sailing ship they were on, the Mary, has vanished — as well as other persons on board. Despite her apparent state of trauma,...

You won’t find a horror movie with more barnacles on it this year than Michael Goi’s “Mary,” but that would be true even if this nautical nightmare was seaworthy. The supernatural thriller “Mary” takes place almost entirely on a haunted boat, and those arthropods make a cameo appearance that’s only slightly more memorable than anything Oscar-winner Gary Oldman is doing above the waterline.

Oldman stars as David, a fisherman who’s been working on other people’s boats his whole life and dreams of owning his own boat. His wife Sarah (Emily Mortimer) sends him a picture of a boat she found at auction, but when he gets there he only has eyes for a derelict fixer-upper named “Mary,” the same name as their youngest daughter.

It’s fate, David argues. It’s a money pit, Sarah counters, but she quickly defers to her husband’s poorer judgment.

Stars: Gary Oldman, Emily Mortimer, Stefanie Scott, Chloe Perrin, Jennifer Esposito, Owen Teague, Manuel Garcia-Ruffalo | Written by Anthony Jaswinski | Directed by Michael Goi

Directed by Michael Goi, this aquatic chiller is a scary boat movie about a spooky yacht named Mary. As such, it has a decent cast and an intriguing set-up. However, Mary the movie starts taking on water even before Mary the scary boat does, and the whole thing eventually sinks under the weight of its accumulated clichés.

The story is told mostly in flashback, as distressed mother Sarah (Emily Mortimer) recounts her tale of woe to sceptical police detective Lydia (Jennifer Esposito), after being found floating in the ocean. It had all started so well: Sarah’s husband David (Gary Oldman) had bought an old boat (albeit one with a somewhat chequered history) and they had set sail for the Bahamas, accompanied by their two daughters, Lyndsey...

Rlje Films has released a new trailer for Michael Goi thriller ‘Mary’ starring Gary Oldman and Emily Mortimer.

Directed by Goi from a screenplay by Anthony Jaswinski the film stars Jennifer Esposito and Stefanie Scott alongside Oldman and Mortimer.

Also in trailers – A haunted house attraction takes a turn for the sinister in trailer for ‘Haunt’

The film has a Us theatrical, Digital/On-Demand release of October 11th

Mary Synopsis David (Academy Award Winner Gary Oldman) is a struggling blue-collar captain looking to make a better life for his family. Strangely drawn to an abandoned ship that is up for auction, David impulsively buys the boat, believing it will be his family’s ticket to happiness and prosperity. But soon after they embark on their maiden journey, strange and frightening events begin to terrorize David and his family, causing them to turn on one another and doubt their own sanity.

Rlje Films has revealed a new trailer for the upcoming thriller Mary. The movie stars Oscar-winner Gary Oldman, who is one of those actors that has had such an amazingly varied career that has seen him play virtually every type of character in every type of movie imaginable. This time around, we get to see Oldman lending his talents to a supernatural horror flick, which takes place almost entirely on a boat.

The trailer kicks off with Gary Oldman as a man who is trying to start a new chapter of his life. A chapter that involved buying an old boat and sailing around the world happily ever after with his family. Things devolve rather quickly when they're out on the water as the family's youngest daughter conjures up an imaginary friend and begins acting very strange. As it turns out, this boat has something of a troubled history and...

In 2016’s The Shallows, Anthony Jaswinski penned a screenplay set in a picturesque cove along the coast of Mexico–with a ravenous shark thrown into the mix! In Mary, recently acquired by Rlje Films, Jaswinski will take terror to the high seas in a psychological/supernatural horror movie set on a ship. Today, we’re getting our first look at […]

The post Trailer: Gary Oldman Faces High Seas Terror in Mary appeared first on Dread Central.

Rlje Films has acquired the supernatural thriller Mary, starring Gary Oldman and Emily Mortimer, and they’ve set an October 11 theatrical and digital HD/VOD date. Michael Goi, known for directing 2011’s Megan is Missing, a handful of “American Horror Story” episodes and the penultimate episode of “Swamp Thing,” directed the film. The script was written by Anthony Jaswinski, writer of The Shallows. […]...

In 2016’s The Shallows, Anthony Jaswinski penned a screenplay set in a picturesque cove along the coast of Mexico–with a ravenous shark thrown into the mix! In Mary, just acquired by Rlje Films, Jaswinski will take terror to the high seas in a psychological/supernatural horror movie set on a ship. We don’t have a trailer […] The post The Shallows Writer Takes Horror to the High Seas with Mary Starring Gary Oldman appeared first on Dread Central.

Rlje Films have acquired Michael Goi's thriller Mary for theatrical and digital distribution this October. Mary will have its world premiere at FrightFest in August.      Michael Goi is returning to feature film making with this new thriller. Honing his craft directing for television the bulk of his work has been as a cinematographer for shows like American Horror Story, Swamp Thing and Salem. He also worked on The Town That Dreaded Sundown which was very, very pretty as well.     Mary was written by Anthony Jaswinski (The Shallows and Kristy).     Rlje Films has acquired the terrifying thriller Mary from Tooley Entertainment and Entertainment One (eOne). Written by Anthony Jaswinski (The Shallows) and directed by Michael Goi (American Horror Story), the...

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

Exclusive: RLJE Films has acquired rights to Mary, a thriller starring Oscar winner Gary Oldman and Emily Mortimer produced by Tooley Entertainment and Entertainment One. The pic, written by The Shallows scribe Anthony Jaswinski and directed by veteran American Horror Story cinematographer Michael Goi, will now hit theaters and digital day-and-day October 11.

Oldman plays David, a struggling blue-collar captain looking to make a better life for his family. Strangely drawn to an abandoned ship named Mary that is up for auction, he impulsively buys the boat, believing it will be his family’s ticket to happiness and prosperity. After they embark on their maiden journey, however, strange and frightening events begin to terrorize David and his family, causing them to turn on one another.The ship soon drifts off course, and it becomes clear they are being lured to an even greater evil waiting for them at sea.

Owen Teague,...

Marcia Gay Harden and Emily Skeggs became inseparable on the set of “Love You to Death,” a Lifetime movie about a protective mother (Harden) who manipulates her daughter (Skeggs) to the brink of violence. The two leads became so close that when Skeggs fell sick during a long day of shooting, Harden was ready with wine, a cheese spread, and a drawn bath at Skegg’s hotel room.

The bond Harden and Skeggs developed over 18 days of filming was similar to the love between a mother and a daughter, but not quite like the duo they portrayed.

“It was truly beautiful,” Skeggs told TheWrap’s Thom Geier of Harden’s gesture at a Q&A on Monday following a screening of the tv film that premiered earlier this year. “I felt like I had an incredible mentor and support system on set.”

Also Read: 14 Music Biopics in the Works After 'Rocketman,...

Brad Anderson, the filmmaker responsible for Session 9, The Machinist, Beirut and more, has a new thriller in the works. The director will helm Existence, inspired by the true story of a shipwrecked crew stranded on a remote island, forced to confront a group of people who have lived in a primal state for over 60,000 years. Anthony Jaswinski, who […]

The post ‘Session 9’ Director Brad Anderson Will Helm Survivalist Thriller ‘Existence’ from the Writer of ‘The Shallows’ appeared first on /Film.

The director behind Session 9 and The Machinist, Brad Anderson, is set to helm a new survival thriller called Existence. The script for the film comes from Anthony Jaswinski, who wrote the hit shark thriller The Shallows.

This actually sounds like it’s going to be a pretty awesome movie! It’s inspired by the harrowing true story of the “1981 ill-fated shipwreck of a research vessel that became marooned after a typhoon on a remote island — the North Sentinel Island –in the Indian Ocean.” Here’s some additional information:

Upon exploring the terrain, the surviving crew encounters multiple terrors not only from the forces of nature but also from a sect of people who have existed in a primal state for about 60,000 years. Widely considered to be the last remaining Pre-Neolithic society on Earth, the North Sentinelese tribesmen have successfully saved themselves from extinction by exercising their right to resist all...

Exclusive: Existence, a survival story based on a screenplay by Anthony Jaswinski who penned the hit thriller The Shallows, will be directed by Brad Anderson (The Machinist) and produced by Tucker Tooley Entertainment. The harrowing story was inspired by the 1981 ill-fated shipwreck of a research vessel that became marooned after a typhoon on a remote island — the North Sentinel Island –in the Indian Ocean.

Upon exploring the terrain, the surviving crew encounters multiple terrors not only from the forces of nature but also from a sect of people who have existed in a primal state for about 60,000 years. Widely considered to be the last remaining Pre-Neolithic society on Earth, the North Sentinelese tribesmen have successfully saved themselves from extinction by exercising their right to resist all integration with the outside world – avoiding the catastrophic violence and disease that such contact has historically brought to other indigenous people.

Tooley will produce...

Lionsgate has acquired the rights to a spec script from TheShallows writer Anthony Jaswinski. The French Quarter Will Not Be Spared is a vampire flick that takes place in New Orleans. But don’t expect a period piece like portions of Interview with a Vampire; TheFrench Quarter Will Not Be Spared takes place in 2005 during and […] The post Vampires vs Hurricane Katrina? The Shallows Writer’s Next Flick Sounds Insane appeared first on Dread Central.

Screenwriter Anthony Jaswinski has been on a roll lately following his hit film, The Shallows, which featured Blake Lively vs shark and made a killing at the box office. And now we have word that Lionsgate is in final negotiations to acquire his vampire spec script The French Quarter Will Not Be Spared. As you might imagine at this point in time, the details regarding the plot of the screenplay are being kept under tight wraps. But that said, we do know that the film is a new take on the vampire genre set in New Orleans, get this, during hurricane Katrina. Interesting.

More interesting still is that the powers that be behind the scenes of this new vampire-during-hurricane flick is that the goal of the production is to make a "visceral and socially relevant horror film" in the vein of John Krasinski's A Quiet Place and/or writer-director Jordan Peele's Get Out.

Exclusive: Lionsgate is in final negotiations to acquire The French Quarter Will Not Be Spared, a vampire genre spec script written by Anthony Jaswinski. The film will be a co-production between Kenya Barris’ Khalabo Ink Society and The Picture Company.

Jaswinski is best known for scripting the sleeper shark hit The Shallows. Details for the script are being kept mum, but it is said to be a new take on the vampire genre set in New Orleans during hurricane Katrina. The goal is to make a visceral and socially relevant horror film in the vein of A Quite Place or Get Out.

Kenya Barris will produce along with The Picture Company partners Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman. Josh Feldman will oversee for Khalabo Ink Society. The producer deals are still being made.

Barris, who wrote the hit Girls Trip, is getting more involved in the film side to go along...

Lifetime has unveiled the premiere dates for their robust slate of winter movies. From music icons to deadly cheerleaders to the daughter of a notorious mob boss, the network isn’t holding back when it comes to the drama — some based on true stories, some not — for 2019.

Highlights of their slate include Love You to Death (January 26) starring Marcia Gay Harden, which is based on the true story of a mother and daughter who are nothing like they seem, their tumultuous relationship ending in a brutal murder. Also based on a true story is Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story (January 19) starring Christina Ricci. The movie is inspired by Nellie Bly’s undercover stay at the impenetrable Women’s Lunatic Asylum. For something a little lighter, there’s Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You (February 16) which follows the personal and professional journey of the titular Grease icon. Lifetime...

Exclusive: Lifetime continues to cast its telefilm about a shocking case of child abuse that leads to matricide. Emily Skeggs is set to star as broken-bad daughter Esme opposite Marcia Gay Harden in Love You to Death, based on the true story of a controlling mom and her seemingly sick child that ends in a murder no one could have predicted.

Meanwhile, Tate Donovan will play Travis, Esme’s estranged father who tries to reconnect with his daughter, despite her mother’s objections.

Your logline: Camile (Harden) and her child are well known in their community: Esme as the sickly, childlike, wheelchair-bound daughter and Camile as the perfect caretaker and mother. They seem a perfect pair until Camile is found stabbed to death in her home, and Esme has vanished, believed to be kidnapped by the killer. But when Esme is found, a terrible secret emerges: She was not kidnapped...

Exclusive: It’s one of those stories you read and somehow remember, and now it’s going to be a Lifetime movie. Marcia Gay Harden is set to star as the mother in Love You to Death, based on the weird-but-true story of a controlling woman and her seemingly sick daughter that ends in a murder no one could have predicted.

Here’s the logline: Camile (Harden) and her child are well known in their community: Esme as the sickly, childlike, wheelchair-bound daughter and Camile as the perfect caretaker and mother. They seem a perfect pair until Camile is found stabbed to death in her home, and Esme has vanished, believed to be kidnapped by the killer. But when Esme is found, a terrible secret emerges: She was not kidnapped but ran away with her boyfriend after working with him to kill her mother. More than that, Esme is perfectly healthy,...

“NCIS” and “Blue Bloods” star Jennifer Esposito has joined the cast of supernatural thriller “Mary” opposite Gary Oldman and Emily Mortimer, according to an insider.

“Mary” centers on a struggling family that buys an old ship at auction with high hopes of starting a charter business, only to discover her horrifying secrets once in isolated open waters.

Michael Goi (“American Horror Story”) is directing the feature from a screenplay by Anthony Jaswinski (“The Shallows”).

The film is scheduled to open in theaters in 2019.

Esposito, who is repped by GSA Entertainment, shot her scenes in April,...

Jennifer Esposito is to star alongside Gary Oldman in supernatural thriller 'Mary.'

The "NCIS" and "Blue Bloods" actress will play a character named Lydia in the independent feature, according to sources close to the production.

The cast includes Oscar-winner Oldman and Emily Mortimer, with Michael Goi ("American Horror Story") directing from a screenplay by Anthony Jaswinski ('The Shallows'). It is set for release in 2019.

The story centers on a a struggling family that buys an old ship at auction with high hopes of starting a charter business, only to discover her horrifying secrets once in isolated open waters.

Esposito, who shot her scenes for the movie earlier this year, has raised issues of discrimination in recent weeks, claiming she has been overlooked for roles because she is Italian-American.

In a Facebook post, the actress said: "Have a question for my actor friends — ever get totally blocked by casting directors?

“In the last month, I was told I was not white enough for five different jobs... Not getting a job is one thing, but not even being allowed in a room to have an opportunity is another."

Esposito is also set to co-star with David Arquette in 'Apalachin,' a story about the famed meeting of the heads of the mafia in 1957 in New York state. Currently filming, a release is planned for 2019.

Exclusive: Stefanie Scott (Insidious: Chapter 3), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (Murder on the Orient Express) and Chloe Perrin have joined the cast of the supernatural thriller Mary opposite Emily Mortimer and Gary Oldman, which is in production in Alabama with Michael Goi (American Horror Story) at the helm. The supernatural thriller, written by The Shallows‘ Anthony Jaswinski, comes from Tucker Tooley Entertainment and eOne. The story follows a couple facing financial struggles…...

Exclusive: Emily Mortimer will star opposite Gary Oldman in Mary, the supernatural thriller from Tucker Tooley Entertainment and eOne. It will be directed by Michael Goi (American Horror Story) and is in production now in Alabama, shooting from a script by Anthony Jaswinski (The Shallows). Mortimer will portray Oldman’s wife in the story about a couple facing financial struggles who buy an old ship at auction with the hope of starting a charter business, only to discover…...

From Anthony Jaswinski, writer of last year’s The Shallows, comes Mary. THR reports today that Gary Oldman is attached to star in Mary, a supernatural thriller from Tucker Tooley Entertainment and Entertainment One. Michael Goi, known for directing 2011’s Megan is Missing and a handful of “American Horror Story” episodes, will direct. “Mary centers on a struggling family […]...

Gary Oldman, whose performance as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour is already generating Oscar heat, will star in Mary, a supernatural thriller from Tucker Tooley Entertainment and Entertainment One.

Michael Goi, perhaps best known for his work as cinematographer and director for American Horror Story and Salem, will direct the feature.

Mary centers on a struggling family that buys an old ship at auction with the high hopes of starting a charter business, only to discover the ship’s horrifying secrets on the isolated open waters. Anthony Jaswinski, who penned the hit woman-versus-shark thriller The Shallows, wrote the script.

Tucker Tooley...

This summer, it's Mandy Moore's turn to fight a shark. In 47 Meters Down (out June 16), the onetime "Candy" singer stars alongside Vampire Diaries actress Claire Holt as two sisters whose vacation takes a turn for the worst when their diving cage breaks away from a boat and sinks to the bottom of the ocean. To get to safety, the sisters will have to swim through waters infested by bloodthirsty great white sharks. Guess how far that swim is? Anyway, here's something strange: I own a copy of this movie on DVD, except it's titled In the Deep.

That's because 47 Meters Down was initially set to be released straight-to-dvd last August, just a little over a month after the summer's other shark attack movie, The Shallows, hit theaters on June 24. (Another weird fact: In the Deep, which 47 Meters Down was briefly rebranded, was the original name of The Shallows from Anthony Jaswinski's script.) In the end, it's not...

Stars: Sarah Hyland, Justin Chon, Clara Mamet, Anthony Carrigan, Steven Krueger, Sophie Dalah, Marc Barnes, Stevin Knight | Written by Anthony Jaswinski | Directed by Jeffrey G. Hunt

So we have a bunch of teens, most of whom are stoners, some are goths, some are jocks; messing with ouija boards and thinking that satanic tourism is “cool”, who stumble into real satanic goings-on. Plus there’s a blink-or-you’ll-miss-it cameo from modern-day scream queen Devanny Pinn (Truth or Dare, House of Manson). That in a nutshell is Satanic.

As for an actual plot, the film sees four friends on their way to Coachella stop off in Los Angeles to tour true-crime Satanic Panic-era sites, only to find themselves interrupting an apparent human sacrifice. They save the young victim, but she turns out to be much more than dangerous then the cult from which she escaped, unleashing an evil spirit who will hunt...

Courtney Love has signed on to the cast of Lifetime’s psychological thriller A Midsummer's Nightmare, a modern-day take on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The hourlong scripted pilot started production October 31 in Vancouver. Written by Anthony Jaswinski, the first season of the anthology series introduces four young lovers who steal off into the woods in pursuit of their romantic desires. Their plans are quickly thwarted when terrifying forces target the…...

Lifetime is rounding out the cast for its psychological thriller pilot A Midsummer's Nightmare, a modern-day take on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Australian newcomer Ellie Gall, Jake Robinson (American Odyssey), Eric Balfour (Haven), Chelsea Gilligan (Starcrossed), and Paul Walter Hauser (Kingdom) have been cast in series regular roles opposite Dominic Monaghan. Written by Anthony Jaswinski, A Midsummer's Nightmare introduces four young lovers who steal off…...

Lifetime is finalizing casting on A Midsummer’s Nightmare, its modern-day take on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Among the actors joining the previously cast Dominic Monaghan (Lost) are Haven‘s Eric Balfour and Carrie Diaries‘ Jake Robinson.

Chelsea Gilligan (Star-Crossed), Paul Walter Hauser (Kingdom) and Australian newcomer Ellie Gall have also boarded the pilot.

RelatedBeaches Remake on Lifetime: Nia Long Nabs Barbara Hershey Role Opposite Idina Menzel’s Bette Midler

A Midsummer’s Nightmare — which is being billed as a psychological thriller — centers on four young lovers who are staying at the woodsy Dreamland Retreat (run...

“It will have blood. They say, blood will have blood.” Things are about to get even bloodier than Shakespeare’s bloodiest revenge stories, and Dominic Monaghan is on board. The Lost and Lord of the Rings alum has signed on for a role in Lifetime’s horror anthology take on the Bard’s plays. There’s certainly plenty in Shakespeare that lends itself to horror — Macbeth and Titus Andronicus come to mind — but Lifetime is turning to a comedy play for its first season: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The anthology series itself is titled A Midsummer’s Nightmare. Monaghan is playing the show’s version of Puck. The Brit best known for playing a mischievous hobbit seems like a solid fit for Robin Goodfellow. In this interpretation, Puck is “Mike Puck,” according to Deadline, “the laid-back and well-spoken proprietor of the Dreamland Retreat, a rustic group of rental cabins in the woods.

The Lord of the Rings and Lost alum Dominic Monaghan has signed on for a key role in Lifetime’s psychological thriller pilot A Midsummer’s Nightmare, a modern-day take on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Gary Fleder (Kingdom, Zoo) is set to direct and executive produce the hourlong scripted pilot, from A+E Studios and The Firm. Written by Anthony Jaswinski, A Midsummer's Nightmare introduces four young lovers who steal off into the woods in pursuit of their…...

Four individuals and one writing team have been selected as winners of the 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition. The Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee announced the winners via Livestream today. The fellows will each receive a $35,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed at the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards Presentation & Live Read on Thursday, November 3, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. For the fourth consecutive year, an ensemble of actors will be reading selected scenes from the winning scripts.

The 2016 winners are (listed alphabetically by author):

Michele Atkins, “Talking About the Sky” (Seattle, Wa)

Spencer Harvey and Lloyd Harvey, “Photo Booth” (Balgowlah, Australia)

Geeta Malik, “Dinner with Friends” (Los Angeles, CA)

Elizabeth Oyebode, “Tween the Ropes” (Sunnyvale, CA)

Justin Piasecki, “Death of an Ortolan” (Los Angeles, CA)

A total of 6,915 scripts were submitted for this year’s competition. Eleven individual screenwriters and one...

Reviewed by Seth Metoyer,

MoreHorror.com

I went into The Shallows with pretty low expectations. From the trailer and key art released, it was obvious what was in store. Blake Lively in a bikini being hunted in shallow waters by a lunatic shark, and that’s what we got.

To my surprise, it actually worked. It exceeded my expectations, which I mentioned, were pretty low to begin with.

The Shallows is a survival horror thriller film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, written by Anthony Jaswinski and starring Blake Lively. In the movie, a surfer (Blake Lively), on a hiatus from medical school, becomes stranded two hundred yards from shore. She must use her smarts and conjure up the determination to survive a great white shark attack.

For some unknown reason, this shark had a major beef with humans. Perhaps he was territorial of the whale carcass he was munching on, but...

Pure popcorn thrills. Whips up visceral suspense and maintains it till you’re breathless as it cements the arrival of “woman versus nature” as a subgenre. I’m “biast” (pro): desperate for movies about women

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

Young American woman makes a pilgrimage (for reasons a bit melodramatic and almost entirely superfluous, but never mind) to a beach in Mexico that is pristine, secret, and deserted. Or nearly so. Nancy (Blake Lively: The Age of Adaline, Green Lantern) is a bit wary of the couple of guys (Jose Trujillo Salas and Angelo Lozano Corzo) sitting on their surfboards offshore, waiting for the next wave to ride in; she keeps her distance even after they invite her to join them, because all women know to be vigilant around male strangers. Later, as the men prepare to head back to civilization,...

According to Satanic, Hell isn’t a place you visit. As screenwriter Anthony Jaswinski pens, Hell is described as a “beautiful confusion.” Yet after watching this devil-worshipping shitshow, I’ve come up with my own definition of Hell. It’s a horror movie where all the action happens off-camera, continuity means squat, and the budget costs less than four General Admission tickets to Coachella. That’s any horror fan’s true Hell, which I found myself living out for an hour-and-twenty-something minutes while director Jeffrey G. Hunt attempted to recreate a slice of La’s “Satanic Panic.”

Spoiler Alert: He doesn’t.

Sarah Hyland stars as a Coachella-bound spring breaker (Chloe) who stops off in Los Angeles for a quick 2-day tour into the dark world of occult practices. This isn’t Chloe’s idea, though. Her cousin Elise (Clara Mamet) demands the other-worldly pitstop, so Chloe agrees despite her...

Filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra earned my eternal vote of confidence after The Shallows, because he did the unthinkable – he got me to care about a shark thriller constructed almost entirely with computer graphics. The tropical paradise is mostly fake. The shark is totally fake. Blake Lively…kidding – she’s real, and she Kills It – but you catch my drift. Here I am, an advocate of practical effects in almost all my horror reviews, yet I’m left shocked senseless by a digital shark that’s worth every audible gasp.

The Shallows is a bit of white-knuckled underwater terror, brought to life by director Jaume Collet-Serra and writer Anthony Jaswinski. Blake Lively may not look like a fighter, but there’s an undeniable star-power she brings to her rock-perched lone survivor – and tremendous strength to boot. You’ll never be bored – between gorgeous scenic shots and Lively’s ferocious fight for survival – and more importantly,...

Halfway through both the summer movie season and the year of 2016 as a whole, sequels have been hit or miss. Follow-ups such as Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, X-Men: Apocalypse, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Now You See Me 2 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows couldn't capture the box office magic of its predecessors. Of course, the biggest movie of the year right now is a sequel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but last week, a follow-up 13 years in the making, Finding Dory, opened huge with $135 million, breaking Shrek the Third's record for biggest animated opening weekend ($121.6 million). As expected, this forgetful fish staved off three newcomers this weekend, 20th Century Fox's Independence Day: Resurgence, Sony's The Shallows and Stx Entertainment's Free State of Jones, repeating atop the box office with $73.2 million.

Finding Dory's opening weekend haul not only breaks Shrek the Third's...

“Hey there everyone! My name is Anthony Jaswinski and I’m the writer of the brand new horror movie The Shallows! As if making you scared of sharks wasn’t enough, I’m now going to write Another movie about horror on the high seas! Yay Summer!” Okay, so Jaswinski didn’t actually say any of that but I’m […]...

Identity crisis. Airplane hijinks. Killer sharks. Is there a common thread here? “All my movies have a concept,” director Jaume Collet-Serra recently explained to IndieWire when asked about how his latest film, “The Shallows,” fits into his oeuvre of thrillers like “Non-Stop” and “Unknown.”

This time around, however, the Catalan filmmaker had much bigger fish to fry than “it takes place all in one night” or “everything happens on a plane,” as the Blake Lively-starring nail-biter features a single beach-set location, a compressed timeline and a giant, very angry shark.

Set entirely on a secluded beach in Mexico, “The Shallows” stars Blake Lively as the resourceful Nancy, who has sought out the isolated surf spot because it’s the place that her recently deceased mother loved when she was younger. What starts as a personal pilgrimage swiftly becomes a bloody fight for survival when a rogue shark attacks Nancy,...

Exclusive: The pre-holiday spec script market continues to hop. Tooley Productions just closed on Mary, a spec script by The Shallows scribe Anthony Jaswinski. It’s a supernatural thriller in which a struggling family buys an old ship at auction with high hopes of starting a charter business, only to discover her horrifying secrets on the isolated open waters. Tooley Productions won in a competitive bidding situation with multiple suitors in the mix. Tooley Productions…...