Latest news with #Buried
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
John Travolta To Star In Orca Survival Thriller ‘Black Tides' For Director Renny Harlin, Spain's Nostromo & The Solution — Cannes Market
EXCLUSIVE: Screen icon John Travolta (Pulp Fiction) is to star in Black Tides, the orca survival thriller we told you about last week from director Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger, Die Hard 2). Travolta takes on the lead role of Bill Pierce, an estranged father whose attempt to reconnect with his daughter and grandson turns into a harrowing battle for survival when their boat is attacked by rogue orcas off the southern coast of Spain. More from Deadline 'Dossier 137' Review: Léa Drucker Superb In Dominik Moll's Sober Police Drama - Cannes Film Festival 'Waltzing With Brando', Starring Billy Zane As Brando, Gets North America Deal - Cannes Market EST N8 Acquires Philippine Eco-Horror 'The Caretakers' By Shugo Praico - Cannes Market Pic is written by Chris Sparling (Buried) and Ángel Agudo (Prime Video's Apocalypse Z), and produced by Adrián Guerra and Nuria Valls's Nostromo Pictures (Buried). The film, which is due to shoot at the end of the summer, will be 'shot old-school, with in-camera effects and real water work'. The Solution Entertainment Group is handling worldwide sales excluding Spain at the Cannes market. 'John Travolta brings the perfect combination of grit, depth, vulnerability and charisma to the character of Bill Pierce, the estranged father, that achingly captures the tragedies of family dynamics,' said Harlin. 'I can't wait to show fans of big screen cinema how his movie star presence and physicality will add gravity to the epic action sequences and deeply emotional personal drama. As a director, I consider myself fortunate to join a list of acclaimed filmmakers who've had the privilege of getting to know John as an artist and a person.' Harlin, also known for Deep Blue Sea, most recently directed box office hit The Strangers: Chapter 1 and has Nostromo-produced shark survival thriller Deep Water and The Strangers: Chapter 2 upcoming. 'You build a film like this around very few people. John's one of them. He brings the history, the craft, and the instinct that lets a character land in a way that lasts,' added producer Adrián Guerra. Adrián Guerra and Núria Valls' Spanish film and TV outfit Nostromo had their breakthrough success with Buried, starring Ryan Reynolds. Recent releases include Netflix hit trilogy Through My Window and Bird Box Barcelona, Prime's video's Apocalypse Z, and The Penguin Lessons. Currently, Nostromo is filming the international co-production Day Drinker, starring Madelyn Cline, Johnny Depp, and Penélope Cruz, while projects in post-production include The Night Manager season 2 and The Map That Leads to You, directed by Lasse Hallström. Best of Deadline Where To Watch All The 'Mission: Impossible' Movies: Streamers With Multiple Films In The Franchise Everything We Know About 'My Life With The Walter Boys' Season 2 So Far 'Bridgerton' Season 4: Everything We Know So Far
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
WGA Issues ‘Do Not Work' Order Against Randall Emmett, Martin Scorsese-Produced Film ‘Wall of White'
The Writers Guild of America West has released an advisory to members ordering them to not work on 'Wall of White,' a true-story disaster film project from producers Randall Emmett and Martin Scorsese, due to Emmett's inclusion on the union's strike/unfair list. 'Emmett has a long history of refusing to honor obligations to writers and the Guild has filed numerous arbitration claims against companies owned by Emmett over the last decade,' the guild said in the advisory. 'Wall of White' is set to be adapted from a 2010 book of the same name by Jennifer Woodlief and the 2021 Netflix documentary 'Buried,' both of which recount a deadly avalanche at Lake Tahoe in 1982 that killed seven people. A rescue team was able to rescue an eighth person who was buried in the snow for five days. Emmett was first added to the strike list in 2020 after he and his longtime business partner, George Furla, failed to pay writers for work on 'Pump,' an abandoned TV project that was set to star Arnold Schwarzenegger. Their studio, Emmett/Furla Oasis films, had shut down after years of breach of contract lawsuits from financiers and production partners and millions of dollars in debt. The WGA won a judgment against Emmett/Furla Oasis for $541,464, a sum that the guild says now exceeds $700,000 with interest. In 2022, Emmett established a new production company, Convergence Entertainment Group, which is producing 'Wall of White.' TheWrap has reached out to reps for Emmett and Scorsese for comment. In a statement sent to The Los Angeles Times, which first reported the WGA advisory, Emmett said he would resolve any issues with the WGA. 'We are fully financing this movie, and we have every intention to settle this dispute in the coming weeks,' Emmett said. 'Our representatives will be reaching out to the Writers Guild so we can put this matter from six years ago behind us.' Emmett has had a working relationship with Scorsese dating back to the famed director's 2016 passion project 'Silence,' based on Shusaku Endo's novel about the persecution of Christians in 17th century Japan. Emmett and EFO Films came aboard the project as producers and financiers, allowing Scorsese to move forward on the film after more than two decades of setbacks. Emmett later served as a producer on Scorsese's 2019 film 'The Irishman,' which was released on Netflix and had a $150 million budget with CGI used to de-age the film's stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. The post WGA Issues 'Do Not Work' Order Against Randall Emmett, Martin Scorsese-Produced Film 'Wall of White' appeared first on TheWrap.
Los Angeles Times
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
WGA bans writers from joining Martin Scorsese, Randall Emmett film project
Low-budget action movie producer Randall Emmett recently unveiled a high-profile collaboration with Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese to bring the story of a deadly 1982 avalanche near Lake Tahoe to the big screen. The project, 'Wall of White,' is being produced and financed by Emmett's production firm, Convergence Entertainment Group, according to Hollywood trade site Deadline. But the Writers Guild of America West issued an advisory Wednesday forbidding its members from working on the film. The guild cited Emmett's failure to pay writers for work on past projects. Since 2020, Emmett has been on the guild's 'strike list.' 'Emmett has a long history of refusing to honor obligations to writers and the Guild has filed numerous arbitration claims against companies owned by Emmett over the last decade,' the WGA said in the email, adding that guild rules 'prohibit members from working for or selling literary material to companies or individuals who are on the Strike/Unfair List.' Scorsese and his representatives were not immediately available for comment. 'We are fully financing this movie, and we have every intention to settle this dispute in the coming weeks,' Emmett told The Times on Wednesday. 'Our representatives will be reaching out to the Writers Guild so we can put this matter from six years ago behind us.' Emmett was the subject of a 2022 Los Angeles Times investigation and subsequent Hulu documentary that surfaced allegations of abuse against women and assistants as well as mistreatment of assistants and business partners, which he has denied. The 'Wall of White' project draws on a 2010 book as well as a 2021 documentary, 'Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche.' After a heavy spring storm in the Northern California village in 1982, tons of snow roared down the mountain, trapping eight people at a ski resort. Seven died, and rescuers pulled one woman from the wreckage. Screenwriter Petter Skavlan, a WGA member, is attached to the film, according to IMDb. Book author Jennifer Woodlief also is listed as a screenwriter. She is not a member of the WGA, according to the guild. Emmett has been working on the project for about a year, and introduced the Netflix documentary to Scorsese, according to a March article in the Tahoe Guide, which touted how the local tragedy was being adapted into a feature film by Convergence and Scorsese. The article cited a news release from Realization Films, a Northern California firm that includes the 'Buried' documentary producers, Jared Drake and Steven Siig, as well as executive producer Mark Gogolewski. All have signed onto the Emmett project, according to their website. The press reports said the movie was expected to go into production later this year. No director has been attached. Emmett formed Convergence Entertainment Group in early 2022 with Miami financier Joel Cohen, according to Nevada business records. By that time, Emmett's longtime shingle Emmett/Furla Oasis had collapsed under the weight of millions of dollars of debt to former financiers and co-producers. The Writers Guild of America West won a $541,464 judgment against the now-defunct Emmett/Furla Oasis company in 2021 after it filed a claim on behalf of writers who alleged they were shortchanged for their work in 2019 on a television series that was supposed to feature former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. But the actor backed out and the show was never made. With interest, the debt now tops $700,000, the guild says. Last summer, the union added another firm that was created to buy source material for Emmett projects, 50 Feet Movies LLC, to its strike list. 'We want to make sure that every WGA member knows about this project, and knows that they cannot work for Convergence Entertainment Group ... in connection with this project or any other project,' Leila Azari, a senior WGA attorney, said in an interview. 'They cannot work for Randall Emmett.' Despite the demise of his former production company, a trail of lawsuits and bad publicity, Emmett continues to to line up producing partners and big-name stars to make his small-budget films. His association with Scorsese dates back more than a decade. In 2013, Emmett became an unlikely savior for Scorsese, who had tried for 15 years to secure financing for a project about Portuguese Jesuit priests in the 17th century investigating Catholic persecution. None of the major studios would touch 'Silence,' but after a call from Scorsese's agent, Ari Emanuel of WME, Emmett jumped at the chance. Emmett and his then-partner George Furla reportedly raised half of the $46.5-million budget for the film featuring Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield. In exchange for backing 'Silence,' Emmett earned a producing credit — and eventually, an Oscar nomination — on Scorsese's next film, the 2019 mob epic 'The Irishman' for Netflix.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Movie review: 'Locked' cleverly torments Bill Skarsgard
LOS ANGELES, March 19 (UPI) -- Movies set in a single location generate an inherent level of interest simply to see how a film can fill 90 minutes of time. Locked, in theaters Friday, compares favorably to films like Panic Room, Phone Booth and Buried. Based on the Argentine movie 4 x 4, Locked stars Bill Skarsgard as Eddie, a divorced father struggling to make ends meet. He needs $475 to repair his van so he can fulfill after school visitation with his daughter, Sarah (Ashley Cartwright). Eddie quickly exhausts pickpocketing, begging friends and lottery scratch tickets. He resorts to breaking into an SUV and is somehow locked inside. William (Anthony Hopkins) calls Eddie through the car's electronic system once he learns someone else is in his vehicle and opts to hold Eddie captive. The car, a fictional brand called Dolus, is a bit fancier than real-world cars to make this premise work. For example, not even Tesla Cybertrucks have bulletproof windows. The features make for a fun movie trap. The Dolus blocks Eddie's cell phone signal and has soundproof and tinted windows, cutting him off from anybody outside. William uses the custom features of the car to torment Eddie further, including tasers in the seats. By combining the temperature, sound system and injuries Eddie suffered while trying to escape, William is able to push and pull his captive in all directions. Eddie is not entirely passive, attempting to gain the advantage when William isn't surveilling him. As cathartic as the idea of punishing a car thief is, Locked necessarily has to address the extremity of William's methods and the resources devoted to them. That explanation proves a tad simplistic. The film also oversimplifies some of Eddie and William's debates about crime and wealth. There is a valid argument to be had about desperation driving people to commit criminal acts to survive, but that's not really where Locked goes. Eddie just recites familiar talking points about the system being rigged to let the 1% keep their wealth while the other 99% struggle paycheck to paycheck. He's not wrong, but it's not believable that someone that desperate has articulated the same arguments as political advocates. On a pure narrative level, however, Locked keeps the thriller moving. Hopkins does appear in the movie, too, so it's not an entirely voiceover performance. Overall, Locked is worth seeing to see Skarsgard and Hopkins -- two titans of horror from different generations -- face off. It's not Pennywise vs. Hannibal Lecter, but neither is it a boring 90 minute thriller. Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
