‘Southern Gothic’: Lili Simmons, Kim Coates, Igby Rigney, Tom Bower & Justin Marcel McManus To Topline Drama From Oscar Winner Tom Schulman

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EXCLUSIVE: Lili Simmons (Power Book IV: Force), Kim Coates (The White Houe Plumbers), Igby Rigney (Midnight Mass), Tom Bower (El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie) and Justin Marcel McManus (Power Book II: Ghost) will topline Southern Gothic (working title), an upcoming indie drama from writer-director Tom Schulman (Dead Poets Society), which has wrapped production.The story is set in the dangerous and shady world of illegal, high-stakes keno gambling, in a run-down plantation house owned by Nick (Coates) in the rural South, at the turn of the 21st century.

Nick is enamored with the smart, tough and charming Keno ace Diana’s (Simmons) intent to win big and is determined to stake her.

Little Nick (Rigney), a one-time prodigy keno hustler, now reduced to servicing pool tables, strikes up a friendship with Diana and coaches her to win against the odds.

Diana must then prove herself in a man’s world to earn a match against Beaumont DuBinion (McManus), the undisputed world’s greatest keno player, who, it turns out, has a contentious and violent history with Nick.Schulman is producing the film alongside three-time Emmy winner Rick Wallace (Major Crimes), Sara Sometti Michaels (Crime Story) and Seth Michaels (Free Dead or Alive), with Amy Lippens (House) having served as casting director and co-producing.“I grew up around keno and though it’s hard to find now, it’s an exciting game and I never forgot it,” said Schulman. “I’m thrilled and grateful that so many great actors and film artists have come together to help bring this genre-bending story to the screen.”Schulman won an Academy Award in 1990 for his screenplay to Peter Weir’s classic, Dead Poets Society, starring Robin Williams.