Triller Raises $200 Million Ahead of IPO Relaunch in Q4 (Exclusive)

Tomris Laffly A humdrum thriller that clumsily digs into themes of sexual and emotional trauma, Amy Redford’s sophomore feature “Roost” follows Anna (Grace Van Dien), an archetypal perceptive teenage girl on the cusp of maturity. Because she’s the observant kind who yearns for big ideas and possibilities outside of her small suburban world, it’s no surprise that it isn’t a square teenage boy from her school that romantically sweeps Anna off her feet, but a man of nearly 30 years of age she’s met online. He’s the creepily mysterious Eric (Kyle Gallner, chillingly effective), someone who ignites Anna’s all-consuming emotions, shares her love of Emily Dickinson and notices (at least on the surface) the complexities of this young girl who wants to cross over to adulthood fast. But when he shows up at Anna’s doorstep uninvited all too abruptly after traveling hundreds of miles, he rattles the disturbed Anna, who struggles with saying a firm no to Eric’s disarming demeanor.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Listen up: Podimo, the Denmark-based subscription service for podcasts and audiobooks, said it secured €58.6 million (about $58.4 million) in funding, as it seeks to grow its market footprint and content lineup. The funding was led by previous investors 83North, Highland Europe and Saban Ventures, with continued participation from Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker, Heartcore and Headline. The latest round brings Podimo’s total raised to date to about €162 million ($161.5 million), the company said. Podimo did not disclose valuation but said the new capital represented an “up round,” meaning its valuation increased. Founded in 2019, Podimo said it has doubled its headcount in the past two years and currently has about 225 employees. The company plans to step up hiring with the new funding.

All three “Law & Order” NYPD squads team up to take down sex traffickers who are also domestic terrorists in the franchise’s first-ever three-way crossover event, with NBC dropping the trailer for Sept. 22’s three-hour premiere during the Emmys.

From on-screen chemistry to on-stage romance! Co-stars Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni from and brought the heat to the 74th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. The actors were hilariously announced to the stage, saying, «Here are two cops no one wants to see defunded. Here are Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay.» «Well, Mariska, we did it,» Meloni said.

EXCLUSIVE: Alyssa Milano (Charmed), Virginia Madsen (Sideways), Gina Torres (9-1-1: Lone Star) and Milana Vayntrub (This Is Us) have signed on for roles in the feature-length anthology Give Me an A,  which links together 15 short films, in response to the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Prime Video has inked an overall creative deal with Italian writer-director Antonio Dikele Distefano, who is the originator of groundbreaking Netflix original series “Zero” that in 2021 marked Italy’s first show centered around the present-day lives of black Italian youth. Dikele, who was born in Italy to Angolan parents, is now making his feature film debut with an Amazon original film titled “Autumn Beat,” a coming-of-age drama about two brothers named Tito and Paco, who grew up in Milan and have the same dream: to break into the rap music world. “The duo seem destined for success—Paco is a born performer and Tito knows how to write like no other—but ambition, life, and love for the same woman will test their bond,” says the provided synopsis.

specific demands for each studio. They were shortly joined by nearly 600 male creatives and around the same number of directors.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Screen Media, a division of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, has acquired North American rights to “Poker Face,” a thriller starring Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth. Crowe also directed the film, which is scheduled to release in theaters on Nov. 16. It’ll land on digital platforms on Nov. 22. Set in the world of high-stakes betting, “Poker Face” stars Crowe as tech billionaire and gambler Jake Foley, who offers his best friends a chance to win more money than they’ve ever dreamed of. But to play, they’ll have to give up the one thing they spend their lives trying to keep…their secrets. As the game unfolds, the long-time pals will discover what is really at stake.

For all its discussion of weighty topics such as morality, espionage, and whistleblowing, Bryan Fogel’s Oscar-winning documentary “Icarus” was, at its heart, a buddy comedy. Existential and, at times, terrifying? Sure.

Naman Ramachandran U.K. broadcaster ITV has commissioned “Line of Duty” and “Bodyguard” creator Jed Mercurio’s HTM Television to produce crime thriller series “Payback” with BritBox International as co-production partner. The six-part series stars Morven Christie (“The Bay”), Peter Mullan (“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”), Prasanna Puwanarajah (“Ten Percent”) and Derek Riddell (“Industry”). Written by Debbie O’Malley (“Call the Midwife”), “Payback” follows Lexie Noble (Christie) as she becomes entangled in a police operation to topple a notorious crime lord, Cal Morris (Mullan). The drama will be filmed in Glasgow, Edinburgh and surrounding areas.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media Russell Crowe will play a former homicide detective tasked with re-examining a brutal murder case from his past in “Sleeping City.” The Nickel City Pictures film marks the directorial debut of Adam Cooper, who wrote the script with Bill Collage. The film is an adaptation of E.O. Chirovici’s acclaimed novel, “The Book of Mirrors.” Cooper and Collage previously penned the scripts for “Assassins Creed” and “Exodus: Gods and Kings.” Crowe played Roy Freeman, who is undergoing a cutting-edge Alzheimer’s treatment. He is forced to grapple with the impact of an investigation from his former life after a death row inmate that Freeman arrested 10 years prior starts to proclaim his innocence. Intrigued and fighting to regain his memory, Freeman enlists his former partner to help him revive the case and discover the truth. Together, they set off to unravel a tangled web of secrets, forcing Freeman to make some horrific discoveries.

The first trailer for the upcoming vampire slasher flick Slayers has been released!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief After more than a decade of losses, Chinese video streamer iQiyi Tuesday unveiled another improved quarter. But its problems are scarcely in the rear-mirror and it simultaneously announced that it will raise a further $500 million of capital. Revenues in the April to June 2022 period, the second quarter of iQiyi’s financial year, dropped by 13% to RMB 6.66 billion. Net losses for the quarter weighed in at RMB214 million. That was a massive reduction compared with the RMB1.40 deficit recorded in the equivalent quarter in 2021. But it also represented a return to loss after recording a maiden first quarter profit – RMB169 million – in the January to March period.

Rafael Nadal and Coco Gauff joined a charity match to raise money for the efforts in Ukraine on Wednesday night, raising £1 million ($1. 2 million) through the Tennis Plays for Peace exhibition at the US Open.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Munich-based sales agency The Playmaker has sold black comedy “Holy Shit!” to distributors in several major territories ahead of its U.K. premiere at Frightfest on Aug. 28. The Playmaker has closed deals for Japan (New Select), South Korea (Lumix Media), China (Beijing Blue Media Times), France (Family Films) and Baltics (Estin Film). Scriptwriter and director Lukas Rinker’s claustrophobic real-time genre movie made its market premiere in Cannes this year. “Holy Shit!” won the Audience Award at its world premiere at this year’s Hard:Line Film Festival and was shown at the Night Visions Film Festival in Helsinki. At Fantaspoa, it received an Honorable Mention for the “best blood (and shit) bath.”

The revolution continues.

Wilson Chapman editorPinocchio might not be a real boy just yet, but he definitely is a real puppet.Disney Plus has released the first trailer for “Pinocchio,” a live-action remake of the classic 1940 animated movie of the same name, which hits the service in September.Based on the classic 1883 children’s book “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Italian author Carlo Collodi, “Pinocchio” stars Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who provides his voice to the living puppet. Pinocchio is the creation of Geppetto (Tom Hanks), a childless woodcarver, who wishes on a star for Pinocchio to become a real boy. His wish is heard by a Blue Fairy (Cynthia Erivo), who visits his shop and brings the puppet to life. An overjoyed Geppetto raises him like his own son, but for Pinocchio to become a real boy instead of just a living puppet, he’ll need to go on a coming-of-age journey and learn how to be selfless, brave and true.

EXCLUSIVE: XYZ Films has acquired North American distribution rights to thriller Dash, a “one-take feature” about an adulterous rideshare driver navigating the streets of Hollywood.