Freestyle Digital Media Acquires Suicide Prevention Doc ‘Wake Up’; 1091 Pictures Takes Immigration Drama ‘Marisol’ – Film Briefs

EXCLUSIVE: Indie distributor Brainstorm Media is keeping it in the family with the selection of its new CEO.

EXCLUSIVE: Besides sweeping the U.S. — and the world — this summer’s blockbuster phenom Barbie introduced fans to the creator of the hugely popular doll, Ruth Handler, who was played in the movie by Rhea Perlman. A potential TV series looks to go deeper into Handler’s story.

EXCLUSIVE: The documentary Full Circle, on athletes in search of reinvention following traumatic injuries to the spine, has firmed up North American release plans with Abramorama. Directed by Josh Berman of the production company Level 1, the film will hit NYC’s Village East by Angelika on October 20, expanding to L.A.’s Laemmle theaters and across the U.S. and Canada beginning on the 27th.

Camila Coelho began creating beauty tutorials on YouTube, the term “influencer” didn’t carry the same weight and significance it does today. Furthermore, pursuing it as a full-fledged career was deemed unthinkable. However, within just a few years, the landscape of social media underwent a transformative shift, turning content monetization into a tangible reality.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Sony’s racing drama “Gran Turismo” is driving to a soft $10 million to $12 million in its first weekend of release. The film lands in 3,800 North American theaters on Friday and will compete with last weekend’s champion “Blue Beetle” for second place on domestic charts behind “Barbie.” Greta Gerwig’s box office behemoth is expected to return to the No. 1 spot in its sixth weekend of release, with projections of $12 million to $14 million between Friday and Sunday.

Rooster Teeth and Warner Bros.Discovery Access announced the finalists for their Rooster Teeth Digital Creators Program, now in its second year. Out of more than 400 applicants, eight aspiring and emerging digital talent content creators were selected to widen diverse, equitable, and inclusive representation. The Rooster Teeth Digital Creators Program was established to provide underrepresented digital talent a platform to break through to new audiences, while also providing them with the tools and opportunities to succeed as content creators. The paid mentorship and training from Rooster Teeth and Warner Bros. Discovery will occur over three months, including a one-month residency in Austin. Chosen creators may also be eligible for a 1-year Rooster Teeth talent contract. “We’re immensely proud to introduce the standout creators selected for year two of the Rooster Teeth Digital Creators Program,” said Jejuan Guillory, Rooster Teeth’s Head of Programming & Development. “This remarkable cohort epitomizes our commitment to fostering diverse voices. We’re excited to support their growth as content creators and to provide new opportunities for experience through partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery Access.”

Icarus Films has taken North American rights to Youth (Spring), the newest feature from Venice prizer winner Wang Bing, which earlier this year became one of the first documentaries admitted to Cannes’ main competition in decades. A release date has not yet been disclosed.

Kyle Jacobs’ February death. “One of the most beautiful lessons my husband taught me was in a moment of a crisis if you don’t know what to do, ‘do nothing, just be still,'” the “American Idol” alum told People in a statement.

Sony Picture Classics and Trafalgar Releasing have firmed up worldwide release plans for Carlos, their feature documentary on 10-time Grammy-winning musical icon, Carlos Santana.

Doja Cat has said that seeing large numbers of people unfollow her on social media has allowed her to feel “free”.The LA rapper and singer reportedly lost around 500,000 followers on Instagram over the last few weeks, after she branded her fans “creepy” for labelling themselves with the fandom name ‘Kittenz’.In a series of since-deleted tweets, the star wrote: “My fans don’t get to name themselves shit. If you call yourself a ‘kitten’ or fucking ‘kittenz’ that means you need to get off your phone and get a job and help your parents with the house.”Several fan accounts were reportedly deactivated after, before she started to lose followers in their hundreds of thousands.Now, Doja Cat has responded to the unfollowing spree, which has currently left her at 25.1million Instagram followers.“Seeing all these people unfollow makes me feel like I’ve defeated a large beast that’s been holding me down for so long,” she wrote on her Instagram story, “and it feels like I can reconnect with people who really matter and love me for who i am and not for who i was.”She added: “I feel free.”After the singer posted her initial tweets, one fan pointed out the apparent hypocrisy, reminding the musician that she was the one who came up with the term ‘kittenz’.

Dennis Harvey Film Critic Though raised in Brooklyn, actor turned producer/director Danny A. Abeckaser was born in Israel. Unfortunately, that birthright isn’t enough to lend authenticity to “The Engineer,” which feels very much like an American B-movie stab at turning Israeli anti-terrorist operations of 30 years ago into formulaic action fodder — without much action, even.

Guns N’ Roses‘ upcoming single ‘Perhaps’ has been leaked by digital jukeboxes in bars across the United States.‘Perhaps’ was reportedly set for release last week (August 11), but was delayed due to reasons unknown at the time of publishing. Prior to its delay, a link briefly appeared on the Universal Music website, allowing eager fans to pre-save the track on Spotify and Apple Music.The band had not confirmed the release of the track.Even though ‘Perhaps’ did not release on August 11, fans were still able to hear it through an accidental leak at bars in America the following day (August 12).

Chuck D has narrated a new audio docu-drama series about the rise of hip-hop, which is available to listen to now.The American rapper and Public Enemy frontman recounts the story of hip-hop’s birth in the Bronx, New York during the late 1960s and early ’70s on new series Can You Dig It? A Hip-Hop Origin Story.Across five 30-minute episodes, the hip-hop pioneer retraces the genre’s rise through a blend of “immersive reenactments, oral history and expert discussion”, according to the show’s summary notes.“How did hip-hop happen? To understand that, we have to go back to before the birth’ of the culture,” the description reads.It continues: “It wasn’t a given that the Bronx of the late 1960s and early 1970s would be the birthplace of an American art form. Urban renewal had left the borough neglected and in crisis.

Baltimore Orioles play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown is back in the announcer’s booth for tonight’s game against Seattle. He’s returning after being banished since late July for allegedly disparaging remarks about the team.

Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards, has released four short films directed by Global Media Makers (GMM) Fellows selected to participate in its spring 2023 LA Residency. GMM, presented by Film Independent and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is an innovative mentoring initiative and cultural exchange program that builds bridges and fosters relationships between international filmmakers from diverse regions of the world and American filmmakers and industry professionals. The films were captured on iPhone 14 Pro with color grading provided by Picture Shop, and this is the seventh iteration of the workshop.

EXCLUSIVE: Indie distributor Variance Films has snapped up North American rights to the period drama Amerikatsi, written and directed by and starring Michael A. Goorjian, slating it for an exclusive theatrical release in New York and L.A. on Friday, September 8, with a national rollout to follow.

After three years at the helm, Hallmark Media President & CEO Wonya Lucas will exit her current role at the end of year, the company announced Tuesday. Lucas will continue to serve on the Hallmark Media Board of Directors.

Sophia Scorziello editor Midnight Pulp has acquired the North American rights to Reiki Tsuno’s debut feature “Mad Cats,” ahead of the film’s Canadian premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival on Aug. 4. Written and directed by Tsuno, “Mad Cats” tells the story of a young man named Taka (Sho Mineo), who embarks on a quest to search for his missing brother Mune (So Yamanaka).

Barbie and Oppenheimer, with some sharing 9/11 memes in response.On Twitter/X, Warner Bros. previously responded to a mockup image of Cillian Murphy’s Oppenheimer carrying Margot Robbie’s Barbie on his shoulders while surrounded by the flames of an atomic explosion.In response to the image, Warner Bros.

Yesterday, one ratings agency affirmed Disney’s credit rating — today another has downgraded the long-term credit rating of the entire United States, sinking media stocks and broader markets.