In today’s film news roundup, Rachel Brosnahan will try science-fiction, documentaries about Herb Alpert and Sasha Joseph Neulinger find homes, and Cameron Boyce’s “Runt” gets a premiere.
CASTING
Rachel Brosnahan will star with Anthony Ramos in Amblin Partners’ upcoming comedic sci-fi film “Distant.”
Will Speck and Josh Gordon will direct from Spenser Cohen’s script about an asteroid miner who crash-lands on an alien planet and must contend with the challenges of his new surroundings while making his way across the harsh terrain to the only other survivor – a woman who is trapped in her escape pod.
Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Fred Berger and Anna Halberg will produce. Speck and Gordon will also serve as executive producers, along with Jonathan Rothbart and Matt Hirsch.
Brosnahan has won an Emmy, two Golden Globes and two SAG Awards for her performance as “Miriam ‘Midge’ Maisel” in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.
ACQUISITIONS
Popular on Variety
Abramorama has acquired the documentary “Herb Alpert Is…” and plans a theatrical release beginning May 5 with a premiere at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.
Alpert has sold over 72 million records and co-founded A&M Records, home to Janet Jackson, The Police, Cat Stevens and Peter Frampton. John Scheinfeld directed the movie, which explores Alpert’s personal and creative journey with interviews with Questlove, Sting and Bill Moyers.
Alpert won nine Grammys between 1966 and 2014 and received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama in 2012.
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FilmRise has acquired video distribution rights to the documentary “Rewind,” which received a special jury mention award at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.
The film will be released in select theaters in New York in March. The autobiographical film is Sasha Joseph Neulinger’s directorial debut and explores the sexual abuse he faced from within his family during his boyhood.
“Rewind” was produced by Step 1 Films and Grizzly Creek Films in association with Cedar Creek Productions.
LMU HIRING
Loyola Marymount Univerisity has hired industry veteran Karen Schwartzman as director of development at its school of film and television.
“We’re thrilled to have Karen on board. Her work will support our expansion at the new Howard B. Fitzpatrick Pavilion on our main campus, extend our ties to the digital community at the Playa Vista Campus, and support our diverse and talented storytellers with new pathways to successful careers,” said Peggy Rajski, Dean of LMU School of Film and Television.
Schwartzman has previously worked as senior VP of partnerships for the Telluride Film Festival, managing director of strategic marketing and special issues at Variety, and program director for the Independent Feature Project.
FILM FESTIVALS
“Runt,” starring the late Cameron Boyce, will make its world premiere Saturday at the Mammoth Film Festival.
The feature film marks the last project Boyce worked before his death in July due to complications from epilepsy. The Cameron Boyce Foundation has joined forces with the film through their Wielding Peace social media campaign to end gun violence, created by Boyce before his passing.
Directed by William Coakley, “Runt” is a cautionary tale about what can happen when teens are not given the guidance to manage their feelings and anxieties. The film also stars Nicole Elizabeth Berger, Aramis Knight, Brianna Hildebrand, Cyrus Arnold, Tichina Arnold, and Jason Patric, and is produced by Carl Rumbaugh and Gregory Thomas.
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ArcLight Cinemas and Slamdance will open the Emergence Film Festival with “18th and Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story” on March 26 at ArcLight Cinemas’ Hollywood location.
The partnership is an extension of the two organizations’ Slamdance Cinema Club screening series. The lineup is comprised of mostly of local filmmakers, with a Los Angeles connection for 90% of the features,
Additional features include Lyle Kash’s “Death and Bowling,” which follows two transgender men who meet at the funeral of the captain of a lesbian bowling league in Los Angeles, as well as “Residue,” directed by Merawi Gerima in which a young filmmaker returns home after many years away to write a script about his childhood, only to find his neighborhood rendered unrecognizable by gentrification and his childhood friends scattered to the wind.
Short film “Piggy,” a horror story about teenage bullying written and directed by Carlota Pereda, will also play the festival. Pereda was awarded the AGBO Fellowship at Slamdance, presented by Slamdance alumni Joe and Anthony Russo.
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