FROM “WEREWOLVES WITHIN” DIRECTOR JOSH RUBEN
PROTAGONIST PICTURES LAUNCHES SALES AHEAD OF EFM
Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black,” Stronger, “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law”) and Jasmin Savoy Brown (Scream franchise, “Yellowjackets”) are set to lead Josh Ruben’s (Scare Me, Werewolves Within) sci-fi horror Green Bank, it was announced today by Protagonist Pictures CEO Dave Bishop. Protagonist Pictures is launching international sales on the hot market title and will introduce to buyers at the upcoming EFM. CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group are co-repping North America.
Written by Aaron Horwitz (The Cleansing Hour), Green Bank takes place in a real American town where Wifi, cell service and all other radio transmissions are heavily forbidden. The film follows infant sleep-trainer Sloan (Brown), who realizes that the parents of the child she’s caring for are much more than the clueless yuppies they seem to be…
The film is produced by Big Swell Entertainment’s Andy Horwitz, whose credits include David O. Russell’s ten-time Academy Award-nominatedAmerican Hustle starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, the action-thriller Triple Frontier starring Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac and Charlie Hunnam, and Suicide Squad starring Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Jared Leto and Will Smith.
“In a marketplace where original, horror-thrillers slay at the box office, we need no further proof that audiences want to have fun at the movies again,” said Ruben. “That’s the magic word. Fun. Horror is the bulletproof genre, and Green Bank has the full package – it’s smart, scary and wickedly funny.”
“Josh has envisioned a perfectly paced roller coaster of a horror that expertly delivers on its promise to jolt, thrill, and terrify audiences, all while keeping them grinning from ear to ear,” said Bishop. “Green Bank is wall-to-wall, fright-filled fun led by a fiercely talented cast hailing from belovedfranchises. This fresh, subversive take on the genre, which continues to dominate at the box-office, is the perfect offering for our partners.”
Ruben’s debut feature Scare Me, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. His second feature, the cult comedy horror Werewolves Withinstarring Sam Richardson, premiered to great critical acclaim at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and went on to win the Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Award for “Best Indie.”
Maslany won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her work in the sci-fi thriller series “Orphan Black.” Her other credits include HBO’s Emmy nominated series “Perry Mason,” David Gordon Green’s Stronger alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, Simon Curtis’ Woman in Gold opposite Ryan Reynolds and Helen Mirren, and the crime drama Destroyer with Nicole Kidman and Sebastian Stan. She currently stars as the titular “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” in the hit Marvel Studios series for Disney+.
Brown broke out in the fan-favorite role of Mindy-Meeks Martin in the smash hit 2022 “requel” Scream opposite Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox. She will return for the highly anticipated sequel, Scream VI, which will release March 10, 2023. She currently stars in Showtime’s Emmy Award-nominated mystery-horror series “Yellowjackets” as the younger version of Tawny Cypress’ Taissa Turner. Previously, Brown starred in Shonda Rhimes’ ABC legal drama “For the People” and Damon Lindelof’s mystery drama “The Leftovers,” for HBO.
About Protagonist Pictures
Protagonist Pictures is a sales, finance, and production company with a proven track record in outstanding films and commercial successes. Based in the UK, the company handles films from around the world, always maintaining a strong focus on filmmakers with exceptional vision and storytelling skills.
Current sales titles include Eli Craig’s highly anticipated horror adaptation Clown in a Cornfield, Dario Russo’s darkly comedic folktale The Fox, starring Morfydd Clark and Jai Courtney, Raymond De Felitta’s Artist in Residence starring Diane Keaton, Andy Garcia and Josh Hutcherson, Peter Craig’s Wild Four O’Clocks starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Rebecca Miller’s She Came to Me, starring Anne Hathaway, Peter Dinklage, Marisa Tomei and Joanna Kulig, the underwater thriller The Dive by Maximilian Erlenwein, BAFTA Award-winning writer-director Mark Jenkin’s psychological-horrorEnys Men, which had its worldwide premiere in Directors’ Fortnight, and War Pony, the directorial debut from Riley Keough and Gina Gammell, that had its worldwide premiere in Un Certain Regard and won the Camera D’Or.
Other titles include Phyllis Nagy’s Call Jane, starring Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver, which premiered in Sundance and Berlin in 2022, Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas starrer Official Competition, by directing duo Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, which premiered in Venice in 2021, the 2021 Nordic supernatural thriller The Innocents which premiered in Cannes at Un Certain Regard, Censor, the opening night film of the Midnight section at Sundance 2021, directed by Prano Bailey-Bond and starring Niamh Algar – both Screen International 2018 Stars of Tomorrow alumni, Ben Wheatley’s In The Earth, starring Joel Fry, Ellora Torchia, Hayley Squires, and Reece Shearsmith – also a Sundance 2021 title, Limbo, directed by Ben Sharrock and starring Amir El-Masry, Saint Maud, from Screen’s 2018 Stars of Tomorrow writer/director Rose Glass and starring Morfydd Clark and Jennifer Ehle, Sound of Metal, directed by Darius Marder, starring Riz Ahmed and Olivia Cooke.
About Big Swell Entertainment
Big Swell Entertainment was launched in 2022 by Andy Horwitz, a film producer and industry veteran with over 15 years of experience producing tentpole films and independent features. Big Swell is a producing collective and home for the next generation of young, hands-on producers and storytellers. The Big Swell team includes both scripted and unscripted producers currently working under the same banner. Horwitz and team bring to Big Swell a deep creative relationship base and a wealth of experience navigating the Hollywood landscape. Big Swell has several projects on their current slate, many of which are slated for production in 2023. Most recently, the Big Swell script COURT 17 landed at the top of the 2022 Black List, making it one of the most liked unproduced screenplays in 2022.
