Posted on

Saban Films’ CFO Shanan Becker Expands Role to COO While SVP Jonathan Saba Extends Contract

The company has released almost 60 films since its launch in May 2014, with 30 films slated to be released in 2019 LOS ANGELES (March 27, 2019) – Saban Films announced today that Chief Financial Officer Shanan Becker will expand his responsibilities and add the title of Chief Operating Officer.  Becker has served as the Chief Financial Officer at Saban Films since 2014, when he co-founded the company alongside President Bill Bromiley.  Simultaneously, the company announced that Jonathan Saba has extended his contract as Senior Vice President for the indie studio. “My partnership with Shanan has extended across most of the last decade, and I’m pleased he is taking on more responsibility as Saban Films’ growth accelerates,” said President of Saban Films Bill Bromiley.  He continued, “Jonathan has been a key driver of the company’s success and has taken on multiple roles over the years.  I’m excited that he will be with us for the foreseeable future.”   The Los Angeles-based film acquisition and distribution company which focuses…

Read More →

Posted on

Saban Films Takes Mafia Drama “Mob Town” Starring David Arquette

LOS ANGELES (March 5, 2019) – Saban Films announced today that they have acquired U.S. distribution rights to Danny A. Abeckaser’s Mob Town starring David Arquette (Scream, Never Been Kissed), Jennifer Esposito (Crash, The Affair) Robert Davi (The Expendables 3, Die Hard), PJ Byrne (Green Book, Big Little Lies) and Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Entourage, The Sopranos) along with Abeckaser (The Irishman, First We Take Brooklyn).  Previously titled Apalachin, Mob Town was written by Jon Carlo and Joe Gilford, and is produced by Abeckaser’s 2B Films. The feature is slated for a Summer 2019 release. Based in 1957, Mob Town follows local trooper Ed Croswell (Arquette) as he foils mobsters Vito Genovese (Davi) and Joseph Barbara's (Abeckaser) mafia summit in the rural town of Apalachin, New York. Croswell’s actions exposed the mob to the American public and changed the face of law enforcement forever. Saban Films negotiated the deal along with Bleiberg Entertainment on behalf of filmmakers.  Out of Sundance, Saban Films most recently announced their partnership…

Read More →

Posted on

Saban Films Takes Richard Bates Jr.’s Horror Thriller “Tone-Deaf”

Robert Patrick and Amanda Crew Starrer to Make World Premiere at SXSW  LOS ANGELES (March 1, 2019) – Saban Films announced today that they have acquired North American rights to Richard Bates Jr.’s horror thriller Tone-Deaf.  The film stars Robert Patrick (“Scorpion,” Terminator 2: Judgement Day) and Amanda Crew (“Silicon Valley,” Table 19), and is produced by Circle of Confusion’s Lawrence Mattis, Brad Mendelsohn and Matt Smith, and Best Medicine Productions’ Brion Hambel and Paul Jensen.  Tone-Deaf will make its World Premiere at this year’s SXSW Film Festival. Tone-Deaf follows millennial Olive (Crew) who, after losing her job and imploding her latest dysfunctional relationship, leaves the city for a weekend of peace in the country, only to discover the shockingly dark underbelly of rural America.  She rents an eccentric, ornate country house from Harvey (Patrick), an old-fashioned widower who's struggling to hide his psychopathic tendencies. Soon two generations collide with terrifying results in this home invasion horror film that is also a darkly comedic critique…

Read More →

Posted on

Saban Films Partners with Kevin Smith on “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot”

LOS ANGELES (JANUARY 23, 2019) – Saban Films has acquired North American rights to Kevin Smith’s highly-anticipated Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, the sequel to the 2001 comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Jason Mewes and Smith are reprising the lead roles, alongside a number of returning players from the star-studded cast of the original movie, as well as a fresh new crop of cameos from the worlds of movies, TV, music and podcasting. Saban Films has committed to a substantial theatrical release. Jordan Monsanto of Smodco is producing alongside Destro Film’s Liz Destro. Production is currently underway. Jay (Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) were first introduced 25 years ago in Smith’s directorial debut, Clerks. The unlikely stoner icons have subsequently appeared in Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Clerks II, as well as the animated film Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie. The new movie will skewer reboots, remakes, and sequels while simultaneously being all three…

Read More →

Posted on

Saban Films Acquires Derrick Borte’s Dark Thriller “American Dreamer” Starring Jim Gaffigan

LOS ANGELES (November 5, 2018) – Saban Films has acquired North American distribution rights to Derrick Borte’s American Dreamer starring Jim Gaffigan (Chappaquiddick, Chuck) in his debut performance as a leading man. American Dreamer, which made its World Premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival to a sold-out house, follows a down-on-his-luck ride share driver who makes extra cash chauffeuring a low-level drug dealer around town. He soon finds himself in a serious financial bind and decides to kidnap the dealer's child. As the night grows darker, the tension grows as he escorts the drug dealer in search of the missing child. The film was well received with The Hollywood Reporter calling Gaffigan’s performance “dramatically satisfying.”  Robbie Jones (Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor), Isabel Arraiza (“Elementary”), Alejandro Hernandez {“New Amsterdam”), and Tammy Blanchard (Into the Woods), co-star. Directed by Borte (London Town, The Joneses) and penned with co-writer Daniel Forte (H8RZ), the film was produced by Scott Lochmus (To Dust, The Joneses) for Storyland…

Read More →

Posted on

Saban Films Takes Tate Murders Thriller “The Haunting of Sharon Tate” Starring Hilary Duff

LOS ANGELES (November 4, 2018) – Saban Films announced today that they have acquired U.S. distribution rights from Voltage Pictures to true-crime psychological thriller The Haunting of Sharon Tate starring Hilary Duff (“Younger,” The Perfect Man), Jonathan Bennett (Mean Girls, Cheaper by the Dozen 2) and Lydia Hearst (Between Worlds, “South of Hell”).  Daniel Farrands (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The Haunting in Connecticut) wrote, directed and produced the film. Lucas Jarach and Eric Brenner also produced through Jim Jacobsen’s Skyline Entertainment banner, which also fully financed the film. The film follows actress Sharon Tate (Duff) in the weeks leading up to her and her unborn child’s murder as she is plagued by visions of her impending death. “The Tate Murders remain a horrifying cultural fascination, even nearly 50 years after they occurred,” said Saban Films’ Bill Bromiley. “Hilary is mesmerizing as Sharon Tate; this is a brutal and unsettling story.” Bill Bromiley and Jonathan Saba negotiated the deal for Saban Films, along with…

Read More →

Posted on

Saban Films Takes a Stand with Olivia Wilde on “A Vigilante” with Directv

Sarah Daggar-Nickson’s Feature Debut Made its World Premiere at SXSW TORONTO (September XX, 2018) – Film acquisition and distribution company, Saban Films has acquired, along with DIRECTV, the North American rights to Sarah Daggar-Nickson’s A Vigilante, starring Olivia Wilde (Meadowland, Her, and the upcoming Life Itself).  The dramatic thriller made its World Premiere at SXSW and was produced by Lars Knudsen, Uncorked Productions’ Andrew D Corkin, Emmett Furla’s Randall Emmett and George Furla, Ambyr Childers, Wilde, and Allison Rose Carter.   Following its qualifying run in 2018, A Vigilante will be released theatrically by Saban in Q1 of 2019 and will have a one-month exclusive window on DIRECTV first.  Written by Daggar-Nickson, A Vigilante follows a once abused woman, Sadie (Wilde), who devotes herself to ridding victims of their domestic abusers. Morgan Spector, Kyle Catlett, C.J. Wilson, Tonye Patano, Chuck Cooper, Betsy Aidem, Judy Marte also star. Saban Films CEO Bill Bromiley said: “Olivia plays a badass vigilante which is refreshing and relevant while also…

Read More →

Posted on

Saban Films Acquires U.S. Distribution Rights to Val Kilmer Starrer “The Super”

LOS ANGELES (August 13, 2018) – Saban Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to The Super from director Stephan Rick and screenwriter John J. McLaughlin (Black Swan). Starring Val Kilmer (Top Gun, Heat) and Patrick John Flueger (“Chicago P.D.”), the elevated genre film is based on an idea from “Law & Order” creator/producer Dick Wolf, who produced through his company Wolf Entertainment alongside Tom Thayer, Patrick Rizzotti and Brett Forbes. The Super centers on the mysterious disappearance of several tenants at a luxury New York City apartment building. Phil Lodge (Flueger), the building’s new superintendent and former NYPD officer, immediately suspects Walter (Kilmer), the strange maintenance man. With his daughters’ lives on the line, Phil must decipher the cryptic riddles in which Walter speaks to solve the disappearances before it’s too late. Saban Films’ Bill Bromiley commented, “The Super marks a return to form for Val Kilmer, who delivers a truly menacing performance.” Bromiley and Jonathan Saba negotiated the deal for Saban Films, with Endeavor Content…

Read More →

Posted on

Saban Films Takes North American Rights to Keanu Reeves-crime Thriller “Siberia”

CANNES (May 11, 2018) – Film acquisition and distribution company, Saban Films has acquired North American rights to Matthew Ross’s Siberia, starring Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, John Wick) and Ana Ularu (Inferno, Emerald City) with supporting performances from Golden Globe Nominee Molly Ringwald (“Riverdale”, Jem and the Holograms) and Pasha Lychnikoff (Ray Donovan, Shameless). The romantic crime-thriller was produced by Stephen Hamel (Passengers) and Reeves of Company Films, Gabriela Bacher of Summerstorm Entertainment/Film House Germany, Dave Hansen and Braden Aftergood. Penned by Scott B. Smith from a story by Hamel and Smith, Siberia follows Lucas Hill (Reeves), an American diamond trader who sells blue diamonds of dubious origin to buyers in Russia. As the deal quickly begins to disintegrate, he falls into an obsessive relationship with a Russian cafe owner (Ularu) in a small Siberian town while colliding with the treacherous world of the diamond trade. “Siberia is a fresh departure from your average love story, balancing the high-wire act of being a thriller with…

Read More →

Posted on

Saban Films Takes North American Rights to Gerard Butler-starrer “Keepers”

CANNES (May 10, 2018) – Film acquisition and distribution company, Saban Films has acquired North American rights to Kristoffer Nyholm’s Keepers, starring Gerard Butler, Peter Mullan (“Top of the Lake”, Children of Men) and Connor Swindells. The thriller was produced by Andy Evans, Ade Shannon and Sean Marley for Mad As Birds Films, Butler and Alan Siegel for G-BASE, and Jason Seagraves and Maurice Fadida. Written by Joe Bone and Celyn Jones, and inspired by thea Flannan Isle mystery, Keepers tells the story of three lighthouse keepers arriving on a remote, uninhabited island for a six-week shift, who discover something potentially life-changing that isn’t theirs to keep. Soon the three are locked in a tense battle for survival, fed by isolation and paranoia, as personal greed replaces loyalty. “Gerard brings a charm and tact to the grittiness of this action-packed film,” said Saban Films CEO Bill Bromiley. “Keepers is full of tension, allure, and suspense. We absolutely love it.”  Phil Hunt and Compton Ross served…

Read More →