Film News Roundup: Lamorne Morris, Jackie Earle Haley Join ‘Death of a Telemarketer’
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In today’s film news roundup, Lamorne Morris is starring in “Death of a Telemarketer,” Wonderfilm has attached a director to “Greco’s Game” and Fantastic Fest will host the U.S. premiere of “I Lost My Body.”
CASTINGS
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Lamorne Morris, Jackie Earle Haley, Alisha Wainwright and Haley Joel Osment are starring in the independent comedy-drama “Death of a Telemarketer.”
The film, written and directed by Khaled Ridgeway, follows a too-slick-for-his-own-good telemarketer (played by Morris) who finds himself in a life or death circumstance when he is held hostage at gunpoint for trying to con a middle-aged man (portrayed by Haley) to win a sales contest at work. The film co-stars Matt McGorry, Gil Ozeri, Woody McClain, Sujata Day, David So, Ian Verdun, Gwen Gottlieb and Starletta DuPois.
Datari Turner is producing the film for Datari Turner Productions, along with James J. Yi and Meagan Good. Filming is underway in Los Angeles.
Morris did a seven-year run on Fox’s “New Girl” and starred in the feature “Game Night.” Haley appeared in National Geographic’s “Valley of the Boom” and Netflix’s “The Christmas Chronicles.” Wainwright most recently appeared in “Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments” on Freeform. Osment most recently appeared in “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.”
PROJECT LAUNCH
Wonderfilm Media has brought aboard David Marconi (“Live Free or Die Hard”) to write and direct “Greco’s Game,” based on James Houston Turner’s novel about former KGB agent Aleksandr Talanov.
The story is set in Los Angeles against the backdrop of human trafficking and a famous chess game used as an assassination plot. What starts out as a vendetta to kill the assassin becomes a journey of redemption with the help of two young women being held captive by human traffickers.
Marconi will be sharing writing duties with William J. MacDonald. Jeff Bowler and Bret Saxon will produce for Wonderfilm, with Turner and Ross C. Hartley executive producing. Wonderfilm is fully financing the picture.
FILM FESTIVAL
Fantastic Fest has scheduled the U.S. premiere of Netflix’s “I Lost My Body” after its debut at Cannes Critics Week.
Jérémy Clapin’s film, which centers on a severed hand trying to reunite with its owner, is told in hand-drawn animation style. It won the Cristal award at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
The festival will be honoring the career of Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike with a lifetime achievement award and a special screening of “The Happiness of the Katakuris.” The festival runs from Sept. 19 to 26 in Austin, Texas.
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