Dylan Sprouse Teams With Heavy Metal & DIGA Studios On Comic Book Series

Dylan Sprouse has teamed with sci-fi and fantasy magazine Heavy Metal and Allyance Media Group’s DIGA Studios to bring his self-written comic book series to the page. The project is the first collaboration under DIGA Studios and Heavy Metal’s recently announced partnership, which aims to bring Heavy Metal content to film, television, podcasts and more.

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody alum Sprouse wrote and developed the as-yet-untitled comic book series over the past four years. It is described as “a deeply personal tale, drawn from his profound Viking enthusiasm and Norse Pagan affinity” and will fall under the Heavy Metal umbrella. Sprouse will executive produce the project.

Per producers, the project will initially be published as a comic book series, but DIGA’s goal is to eventually take it off the page and onto the screen and beyond.

Sprouse first shared the project with DIGA Studios, who brought it to the attention of Heavy Metal.

“I have always been a huge gaming and comic book fan, and this project has provided me with such a creative outlet that has developed into a true passion,” says Sprouse, who has a background in video game design, poetry, and studio design. “The story is close to my heart, inspired by my past experiences and the bedtime sagas my Scandinavian American grandmother used to read me.”

As an actor, Sprouse starred as Zack Martin on Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and its spinoff, The Suite Life on Deck.

Sprouse is repped by UTA and Authentic Talent and Literary Management. The partnership deal was negotiated by Tommy Coriale for DIGA Studios, Matthew Medney for Heavy Metal, Jonathan Ehrlich from Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, and David Markman from DLA Piper.

Source: Deadline

DIGA Studios, Chris Ramsay team to develop magic-focused content

Tony DiSanto‘s DIGA Studios, a division of Allyance Media Group (AMG), has partnered with magician and YouTuber Chris Ramsay to develop unscripted content for TV and digital distribution.

Ramsay (pictured) will leverage his social media following of more than 3.5 million subscribers to create magic-based content that infuses tricks and illusions with a “modern flair.”

For one concept, Magic: Impossible, Ramsay challenges various magician friends to survive the “craziest and most outlandish” situations they can think of, using magic as their only means of escape.

Drawn from challenge cards, teams will be tasked with participating in one of the following: a survival challenge, an Amazing Race-style challenge, a ticking clock challenge, or a prank challenge. Journalist and author Ian Frisch will executive produce.

“As a lifelong fan of magic, I have been following Chris Ramsay’s incredible career for some time, and am beyond excited to get the opportunity to develop this project with him,” said DiSanto, CEO of AMG and president of DIGA Studios, in a statement.

“He is a true pioneer in the new generation of magicians who spread magic through social media and YouTube, expanding its reach and inspiring millions to take up the art.  And most of all, Chris has a unique creative vision and sensibility—his videos are infused with a great sense of humor, fun, and an ‘anything can happen’ feel, which are all key attributes we want to bring to this show.”

Source: Realscreen

TruTV Orders ‘Hot Ones: The Game Show’ Based On Web Talk Series In Deal With Complex Networks

TruTV has given a 20-episode series order to Hot Ones: The Game Show, based on Complex Networks’ hugely popular web talk series, with Sean Evans as host. Additionally, the network has licensed episodes of the original digital series, created and produced by Complex Networks’ First We Feast. The series, featuring A-list celebrities became a phenomenon with more than a billion views over its 10 seasons. Hot Ones: The Game Show, produced by DIGA Studios, goes into production later this fall with a premiere date planned for early next year.

Hot Ones: The Game Show will air on truTV as part of a Hot Ones hour each week, with one episode of the game show followed by one episode of the original First We Feast digital talk show, also hosted by Evans.

In each half-hour episode of Hot Ones: The Game Show, two teams of two face three rounds, banking as much cash as they can to compete for the grand prize. Contestants will be quizzed on pop-culture trivia while chowing down on wings slathered in increasingly spicy sauces as their mental and visual skills are tested and they become completely disoriented.

The team with the most cash at the end of all three rounds moves on to the finale, The Ring of Fire. Five flaming rings stand between the teammates and the cash, and they must work together to solve a password game, with each successful clue extinguishing another ring of flames as they get closer and closer to the money—and the antidote for their burning mouths. If the teammates fight through the pain and guess five correct passwords in 90 seconds, they’ll win $25,000 in cash and claim their places as Hot Ones legends!

“Fans around the world have tried creating their own versions of the Hot Ones challenge for years, but there’s nothing better than the real thing,” said Brett Weitz, general manager TBS, TNT, and truTV. “We’re going to up the stakes, and take this show to a whole new level of heat.”

“Our Hot Ones interview show is all about deconstructing celebrities and making them seem like normal people,” said Sean Evans, Host of Hot Ones and Hot Ones: The Game Show. “With Hot Ones: The Game Show, we’re excited to flip the script and give everyday people the chance to achieve hot sauce glory.”

“With Hot Ones, we were able to redefine the celebrity interview with the addition of violently hot chicken wings,” said Chris Schonberger, General Manager of First We Feast. “Now, we’re excited to team up with the pros at truTV and DIGA to create a great game show format, supercharged with the spice and offbeat sensibility of the original series.”

Hot Ones: The Game Show is produced by DIGA Studios. Scott St. John is the showrunner and executive producer, with DIGA’s Tony DiSanto, Tommy Coriale, Nick Rigg and Sean Evans executive producing as well. Michael Bloom also serves as executive producer for Bongo Pictures while Chris Schonberger and Justin Killion serve as executive producers for Complex Networks.

Source: Deadline

Rachel Brosnahan, Travis Fimmel, Christina Ricci Among 9 Cast In Quibi Horror Anthology Series '50 States Of Fright'

Courtesy; Shutterstock

Quibi has given a green light to 50 States of Fright, a horror anthology series, from Gunpowder & Sky’s ALTER horror brand, DIGA Studios and executive producer Sam Raimi (Spider Man, Army of Darkness). Cast includes Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Travis Fimmel (Vikings, Warcraft: The Beginning),Christina Ricci (Monster, Z: The Beginning of Everything), Jacob Batalon(Spiderman: Homecoming, Spiderman: Far From Home), Ming-Na Wen (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, The Mandalorian), Taissa Farmiga (The Nun, American Horror Story), Asa Butterfield (Sex Education, Hugo), John Marshall Jones (The Last Revolutionary, Rectify) and Ron Livingston (Loudermilk, A Million Little Things), who each will star in an episode of the upcoming series.

The first season will explore stories based on urban legends from Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon and Washington taking viewers deeper into the horrors that lurk just beneath the surface of our country.

Raimi and Debbie Liebling (Pen 15, Plus One) executive produce through POD 3 along with Van Toffler, Tony DiSanto, Cody Zwieg, Barry Barclay, Tommy Coriale and Chris Mangano.

Following are details of each episode with cast.

Brosnahan, Fimmel and Jones will star in “The Golden Arm” based on a famous urban legend out of Michigan, co-written by Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi (Army of Darkness, Drag Me to Hell) and directed by Sam Raimi.

Ricci and Batalon will play lead roles in “Red Rum,” which follows the storyline of Colorado’s scariest story.

Wen will star in “America’s Largest Ball of Twine,” based on Kansas myth.

Farmiga and Livingston will co-star in “Almost There,” Iowa’s frightening folklore, which will be written and directed by Iowa natives Scott Beck & Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place, Haunt).

Butterfield is cast as the male lead in “Grey Cloud Island” a chilling tale from Minnesota.

“The driving force for us as a studio is to foster the careers of emerging talent by marrying them with proven innovators,” said Van Toffler, CEO, Gunpowder & Sky. “With 50 States of Fright we sought out a diverse group of breakthrough performers and fearless horror visionaries and partnered them with Sam Raimi to oversee the creative process. This winning formula ensures we’ll get a s-load of scares.”

Additional writers/directors include: Yoko Okumura (Facets, Fed Up) to direct; Sarah Conradt-Kroehler (Out of Her Mind) to write; Mae Catt (Transformers: Cyberverse)to write; Isa Mazzei (CAM) & Daniel Goldhaber (CAM) to write and direct; Cate Devaney (Sinister, Deliver Us From Evil) to write and direct; Greg Hale (Avengers, Iron Man) to write; Ryan Spindell (Two Sentence Horror Series) to write and direct; Adam Schindler (Intruders, Delivery: The Beast With Within) and Brian Netto (Delivery: The Beast Within) to write and direct; Alejandro Brugués (Juan of the Dead, Nightmare Cinema) and Eduardo Sánchez (The Blair Witch Project, Queen of the South) to write and direct.

Source: Deadline

Screamfest Horror Film Festival Menu To Begin With ‘Eat, Brains, Love’ As Opening Film

EXCLUSIVE: The 2019 Screamfest Horror Film Festival has taken a bite out of Eat, Brains, Love, setting the Rodman Flender-directed zombie romantic comedy as its opening-night film. The annual genre fest will run October 8-17 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood.

Eat, Brains, Love, which world premiered last month at the UK’s Frighfest, is about Jake (Jake Cannavale) and his dream girl Amanda (Angelique Rivera). The good news is she finally knows his name — but the bad news is both contracted a mysterious sexually transmitted zombie virus and devoured the brains of half their senior class.  A teen psychic (Sarah Yarkin) sent by the government’s top-secret Necrotic Control Division is sent to track them down. Patrick Fabian also stars.

Mike Herro and David Strauss wrote the script based on the novel by Jeff Hart. The pic is produced by Tommy Coriale, Tony DiSanto, Brian Hoff, Van Toffler and Cody Weig.

Here’ the first wave of the lineup:

Eat, Brains, Love
Directed by Rodman Flender. Written by Mike Herro, David Strauss. Produced by
Tommy Coriale, Tony DiSanto, Brian Hoff, Van Toffler, Cody Weig. (USA) – North American
Premiere. Based on the living dead road trip novel by Jeff Hart, a gory, funny, surprisingly engaging zom-rom-com from Rodman Flender. The good news: Jake’s dream girl, Amanda, finally knows his name. The bad?It’s because they both contracted a sexually transmitted mysterious zombie virus and devoured the brains of half their senior class. Now both are on the run from Cass, a teen psychic sent by the government’s top-secret Necrotic Control Division to track them down as they search for a cure while weighing up the existential question of who really deserves to be eaten alive. With Jake Cannavale, Angelique Rivera, Sarah Yarkin, Patrick Fabian.

The Deeper You Dig
Directed by Toby Poser and John Adams. Written by Toby Poser and John Adams. Produced by Toby Poser. (USA) – West Coast Premiere. When a murderer tries to hide his guilt, he learns that love can’t be buried. With Toby Poser, Zelda Adams, John Adams, Shawn Wilson.

Immortal
Directed by Jon Dabach, Danny Isaacs, Tom Colley, Rob Marglies. Written by Jon Dabach. Produced by Jon Dabach, Rob Margolies. (USA) – Los Angeles Premiere. A chilling horror/thriller anthology film, Immortal boasts career-best performances from Tony Todd, Dylan Baker, Robin Bartlett, Samm Levine, and Agnes Bruckner. Thrown into the face of death only to emerge unharmed, the characters of Immortal are left staring at their lives in the face with uncertainty and fear like they’ve never imagined. With Tony Todd, Dylan Baker, Samm Levine, Robin Bartlett, Agnes Bruckner, Vanessa Lengies, Brett Edwards, and Lindsay Mushett.

Kindred Spirits
Directed by Lucky McKee. Written By Chris Sivertson. Produced by Ash Christian, Michael Moran. (USA) – West Coast Premiere. Chloe, a single mother in a relationship with Alex, has her life turned upside down when her younger sister, Sadie, comes home after a long, unexplained absence. Though Sadie seems to want to settle in with her sister and 17-year-old niece (becoming quite a handful herself), she’s actually a deeply disturbed young woman who has a sinister agenda regarding anyone who gets between her and her big sister. With Caitlin Stasey, Sasha Frolova, Macon Blair and Thora Birch.

She Never Died
Directed by Audrey Cummings. Written by Jason Krawczyk. Produced by Jennifer Mesich. (USA) U.S. Premiere. Lacey, a socially detached loner is cursed with immortality and her never-ending tedium of existence. In her attempts to keep her compulsions in check, she seeks out the darkest souls humanity has to offer. Lacey must now face her own inner demons while simultaneously finding her next meal. With Oluniké Adeliyi, Peter MacNeill, Kiana Madeira Michelle Nolden and Noah Danby.

Swing Low
Directed and written by Teddy Grennan. Produced by Marsha Oglesby, Heath Franklin, Teddy Grennan, Bennett Krishock. (USA) – Los Angeles Premiere. When a nature photographer explains to the Police how she fought her way out of the Watchatoomy Valley, they dismiss her crazed and violent story as a meth-induced nightmare. But when they discover that she’s telling the truth, it’s too late. With Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Bruce Dern, Robert Longstreet, Ross Partridge, Michael Weaver.

Trick
Directed by Patrick Lussier. Written by Todd Farmer, Patrick Lussier. Produced by Ita Kennedy, Ellen S. Wander. (USA) – North American Premiere. On Halloween night in 2015, Patrick “Trick” Weaver massacred his classmates at a costume party. After being arrested, he managed to escape police custody, but not before being shot five times by Detective Mike Denver (Omar Epps). Everyone believes Trick must be dead, but when a masked killer reappears the following Halloween, and every Halloween after that, they realize the nightmare is not over. With Trick wreaking havoc and killing innocent people in increasingly terrifying ways, Denver will stop at nothing to finish what he started and bring the carnage to an end. With Omar Epps, Ellen Adair, Kristina Reyes, Jamie Kennedy, Tom Atkins.

The Wretched
Directed and written by Brett Pierce, Drew T. Pierce. Produced by Ed Polgardy, Chang Tseng. (USA) – Los Angeles Premiere. A defiant teenage boy, struggling with his parent’s imminent divorce, faces off with a thousand year-old witch, who is living beneath the skin of and posing as the woman next door. With John-Paul Howard, Piper Curda, Jamison Jones, Azie Tesfai, Zarah Mahler, Kevin Bigley.

Source: Deadline