Month: November 2021

After years of struggling to start a family, Julie Rivers (Barrera) is pregnant again and moving into a new home with her husband as they embrace a fresh start. Upon being ordered to mandatory bed rest, Julie begins to slowly unravel as she suffers through the monotony and anxiety of her new constraints. Soon, terrifying ghostly experiences in the home begin to close in on Julie, stirring up her past demons and causing others to question her mental stability. Trapped and forced to face her past and the supernatural, Julie fights to protect herself and her unborn baby.

Bed Rest is being produced by William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, and Paul Neinstein through their Project X banner, along with Evans Taylor and Barrera. 

STXfilms will release Bed Rest directly in the US, UK and Ireland, and in the rest of the world through its network of foreign distribution partners. STXinternational will introduce the film to buyers at the upcoming Virtual AFM next week.

“Bed Rest is a chilling supernatural cinematic thriller,” said Adam Fogelson, chairman, STXfilms Motion Picture Group. “Lori Evans Taylor’s script was on the Black List for a reason: her compelling writing comes from a personal point of view we haven’t often seen on the big screen, and that will elevate the material. We’re also big believers in Melissa Barrera’s talent as an actress to bring this character to life. Horror has been a consistently successful genre for us at STX, and as a studio with a strong track record supporting female filmmakers, we are proud to be releasing Lori’s directorial debut. We’re also thrilled to be in business with William, James, Paul and the Team at Project X on a movie that will keep audiences riveted.”

Project X partners Sherak, Vanderbilt and Neinstein added, “We have known Lori both personally and professionally for years and have always been huge fans of her writing. This screenplay was so unnerving and deeply felt, we knew she was the right director to bring this to the screen. We had just worked with Melissa on Scream, where we saw her incredible talent first hand. We’re thrilled to have put them together, and that our longtime friends at STX will be our partners on this project. Their success with low and mid budget films and their commitment to female and diverse talent, both in front of and behind the camera, make them the ideal home for this film.”

The Burbank, CA-studio will be opening supernatural horror Bed Rest on July 15.

Hilary Swank is set to star in a drama from Tom McCarthy that has been ordered to pilot at ABC.

In the untitled series, a star journalist (Swank) moves to Alaska for a fresh start after a career-killing misstep, and finds redemption personally and professionally joining a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage.

McCarthy is writing and directing the pilot in addition to serving as executive producer under his Slow Pony banner. Swank will executive produce in addition to starring. Bert Salke of Co-lab21, Melissa Wells of Slow Pony, and Kyle Hopkins and Ryan Binkley of the Anchorage Daily News will also executive produce. 20th Television is the studio.

Should the project go to series, it would not be the first time Swank has starred in an ABC series. She previously appeared in the short-lived ABC sitcom “Camp Wilder” early in her career. She also starred in Season 8 of the Fox drama “Beverly Hills, 90210”. Most recently, Swank starred in the Netflix space travel drama “Away.” She is best known for her film work, having won the Oscar for best actress for both “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Million Dollar Baby”. Her other feature credits include “Freedom Writers”, “Conviction”, “The Core”, “Iron Jawed Angels”, and “The Black Dahlia”.

McCarthy is himself a three-time Oscar nominee, winning the award for best original screenplay for the film “Spotlight”, for which he was also nominated for best director. He was also nominated for best original screenplay for his work on the Pixar film “Up”. He most recently wrote and directed the Matt Damon-led drama “Stillwater” and is known for his work on films like “The Station Agent”, “Win Win”, and “The Cobbler”. In television, he co-created the limited series “The Loudest Voice” for Showtime.