Gene Simmons Launches Production Company With Arclight Films Chairman Gary Hamilton, Renny Harlin Shark Thriller Set as First Project

Sean Perry, a veteran WME non-scripted packaging agent and partner, is leaving the agency to set up his own production company.

Nearly a year after his Disney ouster, Peter Rice has reemerged.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Aniplex, a Sony business unit best known as a major producer and distributor of anime films and series including the hit “Demon Slayer,” is to acquire Japanese IP development and talent management firm Origamix Partners. The firm will be expanded into live-action production. The deal was announced Wednesday and will become effective from June 1. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed other than Aniplex obtaining “a full share” of the company. Sony said that Origamix, which has previously been behind the “Kingdom” film franchise and the “Alice in Borderland” series, now in its second season at Netflix,” will be renamed Myragion Studio.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The inaugural edition of the Pattaya Film Festival will be held June 15-19 in the Thai seaside town that is usually better known for other forms of entertainment. The event is hosted by Pattaya City and Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Thai Film Archive, the latter of which doubles up as festival programmer. The event will feature over 20 film titles from around the world, including contemporary and classic films as well as a program for children. All films will be screened free of charge at SF Cinema Marina, Mahatai Pattaya Convention Center, and at the outdoor screen on the beach of North Pattaya.

Back in 2012, Liam Scholey and Andres Budnik, assistants at WME and Creative Partners Group respectively, met by chance at Laurel Hardware, a vibey bar-restaurant in West Hollywood. Scholey, who grew up in Panama, overheard the Chilean Budnik speaking Spanish, and the two got to talking.

EXCLUSIVE: MrBallen, otherwise known as John Allen, the former Navy SEAL turned breakout podcaster behind Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories, has launched his own management company.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Kaouther Ben Hania, the Oscar-nominated director of “The Man Who Sold His Skin” whose latest film “Four Daughters” is competing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, will next direct “Mimesis,” an epic love story set in Tunisia. While the plot is under wraps, the story is set in two different periods, the 1990s and the 1940s, paying tribute to cinema and Arab-Muslim cultural heritage. It’s being produced by Nadim Cheikhrouha at Tanit Films, who produced Ben Hania’s “Four Daughters” and her previous film “The Man Who Sold His Skin” which world premiered at Venice where it won best actor for Yahya Mahayni and was nominated for best international film at the Oscars in 2021.

Katie Price has announced an exciting new career venture alongside her sister Sophie Price where she vows to tell "the truth". The former glamour model, 44, announced she will be fronting her first podcast alongside her sister Sophie, 33.

EXCLUSIVE: Mandalay Pictures (Air) Yale Entertainment, and Post Film have partnered to produce a new thriller titled Barron’s Cove, starring Garrett Hedlund (Mudbound), Stephen Lang (Avatar), Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect, X), and Hamish Linklater (The Big Short).

Addie Morfoot Contributor Stacey Offman, Jigsaw Production’s exec VP of development and production, is exiting the company to work as an independent producer, Variety has confirmed. Longtime Jigsaw producer Erin Edeiken to serve as head of production for Alex Gibney’s shingle going forward. Offman, who is exiting on May 19, joined Jigsaw Productions in 2012. In her 11-year tenure at the documentary production company, Offman was part of the team that launched Jigsaw’s television branch as well as the creation of a vertical of non-fiction series and documentaries for an array of studios and broadcast partners. Offman’s recent projects include Jigsaw’s “Dirty Money,” a six-part investigative series which exposed corruption and financial malfeasance in some of the most influential companies and industries. The series began streaming on Netflix in January 2018. In addition, Offman developed “Salt, Fat, Acid Heat,” a 2018 four-part Netflix culinary travel series based on Samin Nosrat’s book by the same name, which won a James Beard Media Award. Offman also spearheaded notable political projects including Showtime’s Emmy winning “Kingdom of Silence” (2019) and Apple TV’s Emmy nominated series “The Line” (2021).

Gene Simmons’ former estate has shed its old skin and has reemerged as a whole new property that has skyrocketed its price to new heights.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Well Go USA Entertainment has taken North American distribution rights to “Mercy Road,” a new psychological thriller from Arclight Films. The film stars Australian actor Luke Bracey, who was most recently seen in Baz Lurhman’s “Elvis” and the re-make of “Point Break.” “Mercy Road” follows a flawed everyman who commits an impulsive and vicious crime. In this ultimate journey to redemption, he discovers how far he is willing to go to save his child.   It was written and directed by John Curran, the director of such acclaimed dramas as “Chappaquiddick” and “The Painted Veil.”  Chris Pelletier and Jesse Heffring penned the script. Susie Porter (“Cargo”) and Huw Higginson (“The Nightingale”) co-star with Toby Jones (“Poor Cow”). Well Go USA will release “Mercy Road” in late 2023. 

EXCLUSIVE: Banijay has taken another leap into the premium docs space with the launch of DSP Films, an offshoot of long-running UK unscripted indie DSP. The super-indie has poached Netflix’s Missing: Dead or Alive EP Graeme McAulay to run DSP Films and he will leave his current role at UK doc indie Blast Films next month.

EXCLUSIVE: Tye Sheridan is launching his new production company, Dogwood Pictures with its debut film, Black Flies, is set to play in competition at the 76th Annual Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, the pic reunites Sheridan with Sean Penn after over a decade since Malick’s The Tree of Life. Sheridan first became involved with the film in 2018 and continued on throughout the film’s execution and release.

Kiss rocker Gene Simmons and Gary Hamilton, Chairman of sales and production company Arclight Films, have launched a new production company called Simmons/Hamilton Productions.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International David Mamet’s JFK assassination thriller is taking shape, with Courtney Love, Viggo Mortensen, Shia LaBeouf, Al Pacino and John Travolta joining the cast. The newly titled “Assassination” (the pic was previously called “2 Days/1963”) will be presented to buyers at the film market in Cannes this week, with Arclight Films handling international sales. Here’s the official synopsis for the project: “1963. During a crucial justice hearing against organized crime, the head of the Chicago mob orders the assassination of President John F. Kennedy Jr., creating a deadly conspiracy while altering the fate of a nation.”

The monarchy continues! King Charles III posed alongside his direct heirs, Prince William and Prince George, in an all-new portrait from the royal coronation.

Sophia Scorziello editor Children’s book author Mo Willems, who is known for his stories like “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” and “Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!” has partnered with Stampede Ventures and RedBird Capital Partners to launch Hidden Pigeon Company. The entertainment company will bring Willem’s storytelling to children and families through television programming, gaming, location-based experiences and other platforms. “The Hidden Pigeon Company takes its name from how kids and former kids delight in finding The Pigeon hidden in every one of my books,” said Willems. “It is my hope to create a similar bit of surprise and delight in the fabric of everything we make or do. I am thrilled to have found wonderful collaborative partners to make that hope a reality.”

Mo Willems is stepping further into the multimedia entertainment world. The globally best-selling and award-winning children’s book author will team with Stampede Ventures and RedBird Capital to form Hidden Pigeon Company.