Liz Cardenas: Last News

Naman Ramachandran Circle of Confusion, the talent management and production company behind “The Walking Dead,” has joined production and finance outfit Carte Blanche and Roadmap Writers’ genre screenwriting competition.Josh Dove at Circle is handling their side of the partnership alongside Kyle Stroud and Frank Ponce at Carte Blanche and Joey Tuccio and Dorian Connelley at Roadmap Writers.Carte Blanche will be greenlighting and fully financing at least one genre film. The script will have no more than five characters and five locations, and will focus on a contained, character-driven story.

EXCLUSIVE: Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group has acquired North American theatrical, VOD, and DVD rights to All Happy Families, the dramatic comedy that premiered at Chicago International Film Festival and at Mill Valley Film Festival last fall and just had its Southern California premiere last night at Dances With Films: L.A. independent film festival. Freestyle Digital Media is planning a fall 2024 limited theatrical and VOD release.Pic is the story of the Landrys, not the stereotypical midwestern family. A charming dramedy that stars Fleishman Is In Trouble’s Josh Radnor as an actor and writer in a slump and still waiting for his big break, whose brother Will (Rob Huebel) is crushing it as a series star. On the weekend before new tenant Dana (Chandra Russell) is due to move into their childhood home, the siblings and their parents find themselves unexpectedly under the same roof again. All the secrets and resentments come to the surface. Cast includes Becky Ann Baker, and John Ashton as the parents. Haroula Rose directed from script she cowrote with Coburn Goss. Pic’s produced by Liz Cardenas, Coburn Goss, Ian Keiser, Haroula Rose, and Mary Muñez. Michael Shannon served as Executive Producer.

EXCLUSIVE: The Gotham Film & Media Institute has today named the fellows set for the 2023 edition of its Festival De Cannes Producers Network Program, scheduled to take place in person at Cannes from May 17-22. The list includes independent filmmakers Maria Altamirano, Liz Cardenas, Leah Chen Baker, Yoni Golijov, Emma Hannaway Nikkia Moulterie and Carlos Zozaya.

EXCLUSIVE: Gravitas Ventures has acquired worldwide rights to the drama On Our Way, the feature directorial debut by Sophie Lane Curtis, toplined by Micheál Richardson, Keith Powers, James Badge Dale and Jordana Brewster. Vanessa Redgrave, Paul Ben-Victor, Ruby Modine and Franco Nero also star. Gravitas will release the film in theaters and on demand on Friday, May 19.

EXCLUSIVE: Film Independent has set Lexi Tannenholtz (Booger), Robert Colom (Mountains), Aya Hamdan (Out of Water), Shao Min Chew Chia (The Plutonians), Sabrina Stoll (Tiny Birds with Broken Brains) and Pin-Chun Liu (Wonderland) as the participants and projects for its annual Producing Lab, now in its 22nd year. 

EXCLUSIVE: Josh Radnor (Hunters), Rob Huebel (The Descendants), Becky Ann Baker (Girls), Chandra Russell (Southside) and John Ashton (Beverly Hills Cop) are set to star in the upcoming comedic drama All Happy Families. The film will shoot in Chicago, IL, and is the sophomore feature from director Haroula Rose (Once Upon a River), who co-wrote the script with Coburn Goss. 

The Bentonville Film Festival announces the jury prize winners for their 8th annual Festival.

EXCLUSIVE: Dear Producer has set Liz Cardenas (7 Days), Megan Gilbride (Tower), Sabrina Schmidt Gordon (To the End) and Avril Z. Speaks (Jinn) as the recipients of its inaugural Dear Producer Award, recognizing excellence in independent producing.

EXCLUSIVE: Kyle Stroud and Frank Ponce of production and finance outfit Carte Blanche, which has credits including Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter, are partnering with Joey Tuccio and Dorian Connelley’s Roadmap Writers to launch a genre screenwriting competition.