Latest news with #DeadlyNight
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cineverse Launches Dedicated Motion Pictures Group to Take Advantage of High-Growth Feature Film Business Opportunity
Yolanda Macias Named Chief Motion Pictures Officer as Key Executive Leadership Extends Employment Agreements to Guide Next Growth Phase of Company LOS ANGELES, May 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cineverse (Nasdaq: CNVS), a next-generation entertainment studio, today announced that it has created Cineverse Motion Pictures Group to optimize new business opportunities for the Company's feature film business initiatives. To lead this group, effective immediately, Yolanda Macias has been named Chief Motion Pictures Officer, a new position that reflects the enormous importance and growth potential in this area. Based in Los Angeles, she reports to the Office of the CEO, which includes Chairman and CEO Chris McGurk and President and Chief Strategy Officer Erick Opeka. Additionally, it was announced today that McGurk, Opeka, Chief People Officer Mark Torres and Chief Legal Officer Gary Loffredo have renewed and extended their executive agreements. In addition to renewing his contract with the Company, Torres will continue to report to McGurk, while also adding oversight of Cineverse Services India to his role. Mark Lindsey, who was named CFO in 2023, continues to serve in that capacity. Lindsey and Loffredo will report to the office of the CEO. Remarked McGurk: "Coming off the unprecedented success of Terrifier 3, the top performing unrated theatrical release of all time, Cineverse is embarking upon our most ambitious theatrical release slate ever, including The Toxic Avenger, Silent Night, Deadly Night, Return to Silent Hill, Wolf Creek: Legacy, The Things You Kill and more high potential releases to be announced soon. Extremely well respected in the industry, Yolanda has been a major part of our success, and is the perfect leader for this new operating division. I also continue to believe our entire C-suite is one of the most talented and forward-looking in the business. Together with the rest of the innovative and creative Cineverse team in the U.S. and India, our people remain our strongest asset and represent a true competitive advantage for the Company as we drive the business to the next level." Cineverse Motion Picture Group super-serves passionate audiences by distributing content across all windows and platforms, from theatrical to digital to physical. Following the breakout box office success of Terrifier 3 – now the top-grossing unrated film of all time – Macias and her team at the indie studio are doubling down on their investment in theatrical motion picture releases. These include the franchise expansions of The Toxic Avenger (August 29), Silent Night, Deadly Night (December 12), Wolf Creek: Legacy (2026), Return to Silent Hill (TBA) as well as Lesbian Space Princess (2025), Escape from the 21st Century (2025), The Things You Kill (2025), and more announcements coming this year. About Cineverse Cineverse (Nasdaq: CNVS) is a next-generation entertainment studio that empowers creators and entertains fans with a wide breadth of content through the power of technology. It has developed a new blueprint for delivering entertainment experiences to passionate audiences and results for its partners with unprecedented efficiency, and distributes more than 71,000 premium films, series, and podcasts. Cineverse connects fans with bold, authentic, independent stories. Properties include the highest-grossing non-rated film in U.S. history; dozens of streaming fandom channels; a premier podcast network; top horror destination Bloody Disgusting; and more. Powering visionary storytelling with cutting-edge innovation, Cineverse's proprietary streaming tools and AI technology drive revenue and reach to redefine the next era of entertainment. For more information, visit CONTACTS For Media, The Lippin Group for Cineversecineverse@ For Investors, Julie Milsteadinvestorrelations@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Cineverse Corp. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Winnipeg Free Press
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Original producers return for reboot of Christmas slasher being filmed in Winnipeg
Something sinister is going on beneath the quaint gabled roofs of Armstrong's Point. In Winnipeg, a city currently bustling with movie-making activity, it's hardly unusual to see trucks filled with equipment parked on West Gate, especially since the stately older homes of the neighbourhood are frequently used as film locations. But the movie being made is worth a startled raise of the eyebrows. Silent Night, Deadly Night is the second locally made reboot of a controversial slasher of the same name that drew protests in front of movie theatres when Tri-Star premièred it during the holiday season of 1984. PRNewsfoto/Cineverse Rohan Campbell takes over the role of a murderous Saint Nick in the latest version of Silent Night, Deadly Night, shooting in Winnipeg. On this particular day in April, the location is a rambling century-old structure with cedar shakes painted a cheery light blue. It will be the new home for the film's designated maniac, Billy Chapman (Rohan Campbell), a quietly deranged young man who gets murderous whenever he dons a Santa suit. The name is the same as the original, but the character will arrive with a supernatural twist, it is rumoured, although none of the talent at the location is volunteering any spoilers. The original film was reinvented only 13 years ago in 2012 as Silent Night, starring Malcolm McDowell, Jaime King and Donal Logue. That slasher, which jettisoned much of the original's plot, was produced by the Genre Company, in conjunction with local production company Buffalo Gal Pictures, under its in-house imprint, Insidious Pictures. This new iteration is doubly noteworthy because this time the original film's producers, Scott Schneid and Dennis Whitehead, are resuming their producer duties four decades later after the property and the assets of its three sequels were essentially taken away from them, though Schneid and Whitehead were the ones who midwifed the original into existence alongside screenwriter Michael Hickey. The pair vividly recall the controversy surrounding a maniac in a Santa suit. 'It was different times, you know? It was a conservative time in America,' says Whitehead. 'People started picketing the theatres when the movie came out,' recalls Schneid. 'They even formed a coalition called Mothers Against Movie Madness and they were picketing theatres with their little five-year-olds, holding signs that said 'Santa ain't no hit man' and 'Deck the hall with holly, not bodies.' 'It was the '80s, when R-rated slashers for teenagers were the rage. Halloween was the first one to come out and the first Friday the 13th and Tri-Star was looking for its teen horror franchise.' It turned out the company bit off more candy cane than it could chew. The protests — which ranged from placard-carrying parents to mainstream film critic Gene Siskel publicly shaming the filmmakers — prompted the removal of the movie from theatres before it even made headway into wide release, although it was well on its way to hit status, earning US$4 million on a US$1-million budget. Whitehead estimates it was bound for a US$25-million gross. 'Tri-Star was a newly formed studio at that time. They were the new kid on the block and they were funded by Coca-Cola, CBS and HBO, so they had big corporate interests behind them,' Schneid says. The company behind the new SNDN property has no such queasiness: Cineverse is responsible for the ultra-gruesome Terrifier franchise, which follows the adventures of a silent but deadly psycho clown named Art. The company is represented by younger executive producers who oversaw the making of Terrifier 3 : Brandon Hill and Brad Miska, whose production experience includes work on the wintry thriller Cult of Chucky (2017) in Winnipeg. Though Silent Night is set in the winter, Miska is relieved it's not being shot in the cold. 'It was -20 C and I was like: I'm never coming back ever again, so when we heard we were gonna shoot this in the spring, I said, 'Oh, thank God. Thank God,'' Miska says. Miska and Hall both saw the original during an annual Christmas showcase at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles programmed by Quentin Tarantino, an unabashed fan. It was a past New Beverly screening that captured the attention of Schneid, who overcame some personal bitterness to see it. '(Tarantino) has his own 30mm print of Silent Night and shows it every Christmas, so I wanted to see it with a friend of mine, and we saw people were lined up around the block to see it,' Schneid says. SUPPLIED The 1984 movie sparked protests at theatres. That led Schneid on a course to discover who owned the rights to the film, a quest that ultimately led to this new version, which he feels will go towards remedying the mistake of the 2012 film. 'It had no relationship with the original,' Schneid says. 'Yeah, sorry, it was crapola. 'Can I say it one more time?' Schneid says, leaning into the microphone. 'Crapola!' • • • From a local perspective, the film will feature plenty of homegrown talent, including special effects artist Doug Morrow, production designer Oscar Fenogolio, costume designer Laura DeLuca, stunt co-ordinator Kristen Sawatzky, casting director Jim Weber and line producer Tanya Brunel. Local cast includes David Lawrence Brown ( Fargo ), Sharon Bajer ( Nobody ) and horror veteran Marina Stephenson Kerr ( Cult of Chucky ). Two of the movers and shakers behind the film are veteran Winnipeg producer Jeremy Torrie and Erik Bernard, Torrie's partner in the newly minted company Bear Paw Studio. Bernard is a recent transplant, having just moved here from Texas. Once a showrunner on the TV series Hoarders, he sees Winnipeg as a city of opportunity in the film business. 'I think that in the U.S. it has gotten a little bit harder to produce things …, and Jeremy has been doing this a long time, and I think that, like anything else, it comes down to teams,' he says. Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up 'I saw some opportunity with him and he saw some opportunity with me to kind of kind of forge a team on a foundational level so we can go out and compete in in this indie space.' As for Torrie, he is excited to join Bernard in the Cineverse universe, especially given the company's past success with Terrifier 3. 'They released it in 2,500 theatres and made $90 million U.S. That would be huge for us,' Torrie says. Cineverse plans to open Silent Night, Deadly Night in theatres by Dec. 12. Randall King Reporter In a way, Randall King was born into the entertainment beat. Read full biography
Winnipeg Free Press
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba film industry eyes Trump tariff threat
Those in Manitoba's film industry are waiting to see what will come of U.S. President Donald Trump's recent declaration on foreign film productions. On Sunday, Trump announced he had ordered a 100 per cent tariff on all movies produced outside the United States, claiming the tax would save America's 'dying' movie industry and that films made elsewhere presented a national security threat. While it's unclear how or when the proposed tariff would be applied, ACTRA Manitoba president Alan Wong is concerned about the potential impact on jobs and content. 'There's so many productions shooting around the world and for good reason — what is Emily in Paris going to be if she's not in Paris? Emily in Paris, Idaho?' said Wong. 'It's so nearsighted and narrow-minded and it could really affect our industry a lot.' In a statement released Monday, ACTRA's national board urged Prime Minister Mark Carney to protect the livelihoods of Canadian performers. According to the Canadian Media Producers Association, the value of foreign productions totalled $4.73 billion last year and generated 90,000 jobs across the country. ACTRA Manitoba represents nearly 900 performers working in cinema, television and radio. Local actors have benefited from the Manitoba movie boom over the last decade, spurred on by the province's 65 per cent tax credit for filmmakers on labour costs. Recurring projects from U.S. companies Hallmark and Lifetime have been particularly fruitful, Wong said. 'It would be such a shame to see that go because we've worked for years to develop these relationships,' he said. In 2024, Manitoba hosted 86 film and television productions — 36 per cent of which were national or international — representing nearly $435 million in production budgets, according to Manitoba Film and Music projections. Jeremy Torrie of Manitoba-based White Bear Films wasn't feeling particularly worried about the president's latest trade war threat. 'It is ultimately a wait and see, but business is not stopping,' he said. He is a producer on Silent Night, Deadly Night, a reboot of the 1984 American slasher flick currently being shot in Manitoba with production partners from south of the border. The president's rhetoric wasn't going to get in the way of finishing the movie, Torrie said. 'There's so many productions shooting around the world and for good reason — what is Emily in Paris going to be if she's not in Paris? Emily in Paris, Idaho?'–Alan Wong 'Producers and projects that come to Manitoba, they do it because it makes the right financial sense to do so and we've got great crews and we've got great locations. They're going to continue to do that because the demand for entertainment is not going away.' Other American projects shot locally recently include Nobody 2, starring Bob Odenkirk, and The Long Walk, an adaptation of Stephen King's novella of the same name. Every Second Friday The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. Manitoba Film and Music is monitoring the proposed tariff situation closely. 'We have a resilient local production industry, but we understand this issue creates uncertainty,' chief executive officer and film commissioner Lynne Skromeda said in a statement. Premier Wab Kinew also expressed concern. 'This is a concern because our film and television industry is great for Manitoba's economy and it's great for (local) pride,' he told reporters Monday during a scrum in his office. 'We can drive around Winnipeg or Selkirk or other communities in Manitoba and see shows that are going to be on Netflix, that are going to be on Amazon, shot right here in our great province.' — with files from Carol Sanders Eva WasneyReporter Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva. Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Controversial '80s holiday horror gets (another) Winnipeg reboot
For the second time in 15 years, a controversial 1984 horror film is getting a made-in-Manitoba reboot. Casting is currently underway for Silent Night, Deadly Night, currently in pre-production from Cineverse, the company that produced the hard-core horror franchise Terrifier, with StudioCanal handling global sales outside North America under their new genre label Sixth Dimension. In Winnipeg, it will be produced under the auspices of new production company Bear Paw Studio, a partnership between local producer/filmmaker Jeremy Torrie and Erik Bernard. The original film of the same title created a wave of mass consternation in the '80s with its advertising campaign, which depicted a demented axe-wielding Santa climbing down a chimney. At the time, the image of Santa Claus tended to be more sacrosanct in film. The reaction to the film was perhaps best exemplified by Gene Siskel. On an episode of Siskel & Ebert at the Movies, the Chicago critic pointedly named the film's distributors, writer and director to shame them. Of course, the effort to tarnish the film made it more successful than it might have otherwise been. Upon its release, it out-grossed the more revered horror film from the same year, Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street. (Silent Night, Deadly Night has a major fan in no less than Quentin Tarantino, who called it "the only [holiday horror film] that truly bears a discussion.… I'm a big fan.") The film was rebooted in 2012 with a shortened title — Silent Night. It was filmed mainly in Winnipeg and Selkirk and produced by Los Angeles-based Richard Saperstein's the Genre Company, in conjunction with local production company Buffalo Gal Pictures, under its in-house genre imprint Insidious Pictures. That film altered the plot, focusing on a traumatized small town cop (Jaime King) and an unhinged police chief (Malcolm McDowell) attempting to track a psycho in a Santa suit during a seasonal festival in which half the town is wearing Santa costumes. (Winnipeg actor-stuntman Rick Skene played the killer in an unnerving Santa mask.) The new reboot will be directed by genre up-and-comer Mike P. Nelson (V/H/S/85 and the 2021 reboot Wrong Turn) and will follow the original more closely — no surprise, since it is being produced by Scott Schneid and Dennis Whitehead, executive producers of the original film, said Torrie, who also highlights producer Jamie R. Thompson. "He was the one who put it all together," Torrie said. "We had the director and the U.S. producers in town a couple weeks ago scouting, so we're forging ahead on that." Scouting locations included Selkirk, Carman, Stonewall and Steinbach, Torrie said. The plan for the film is that it will be turned around for a release in late 2025, just in time for the holiday season. Torrie said he hopes Cineverse follows the release pattern for last year's Terrifier 3. "They released it in 2,500 theatres and made $90 million US," Torrie said. "That would be huge for us." Busy spring It may prove to be a busy spring for film production in Winnipeg. A previously announced film, purporting to tell the inside story of the assassination of U.S. president John F. Kennedy, is likely heading to Winnipeg in May, with an impressive cast that includes John Travolta (Pulp Fiction), Mandy Patinkin (The Princess Bride) and Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend's Wedding). November 1963: The Killing of a President will be directed by Roland Joffe, who was twice nominated for Oscars, for his work on The Killing Fields (1985) and The Mission (1987). November 1963 's screenwriter is Nicholas Celozzi, the nephew of notorious Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana. The story is based on the eyewitness account of Giancana's brother Joseph (Pepe) Giancana, who was with Sam during the two days preceding the 1963 assassination. Later in 2025, Winnipeg may expect to see yet another blood-stained Santa with the planned sequel to Violent Night (2022), which starred David Harbour (Stranger Things) as the real St. Nick, obliged to return to his bloodthirsty ways when defending a wealthy family from a gang of murderous thieves.
