If, like me, one of your favorite things to do each fall is to find and visit your local Spirit Halloween store, then you also might be excited to hear that Strike Back Studios and Hideout Pictures have finished principal photography on a Spirit Halloween movie written by Billie Bates, directed by David Poag, and featuring a cast that includes Christopher Lloyd and Rachael Leigh Cook.
The Spirit Halloween film is slated for an October release, and we'll keep Daily Dead readers updated on further details. In the meantime, we have the official press release, including the film's synopsis:
Press Release: (Los Angeles, CA—April 11, 2022) Strike Back Studios and Hideout Pictures continue their busy production schedule in 2022 having wrapped principal photography of “Spirit Halloween.” When a new Spirit Halloween store appears in a deserted strip mall, three middle school friends who think they’ve outgrown trick or treating make a dare to spend the night locked inside the store Halloween night. But they soon find out that the store is haunted by an angry evil spirit who has possessed the creepy animatronic characters. The kids embark on a thrilling and spooky adventure in order to survive the night and avoid becoming possessed themselves.
After a nationwide search the production found a group young up & coming actors to round out the cast including Donavan Colan (“Zoe,” “Getaway”), Dylan Martin Frankel (“Raven’s Home,” “Life & Beth”), Jaiden Smith (“Blue Bloods,” “The Mothership”), and Marissa Reyes (“Raven’s Home”).The film also offers audiences a cast filled with beloved veteran actors including Rachael Leigh Cook (“He’s All That,” “Love, Guaranteed”), Christopher Lloyd (“The Tender Bar”, “Back to the Future Trilogy,”) and Marla Gibbs (“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, “227”).
“One of the reasons I immediately connected with the script is it is very much inspired by some of my favorite kid adventure films growing up from “The Goonies,” “Gremlins,” “Monster Squad” and so many great films made by Amblin Entertainment” said Noor Ahmed president of Strike Back Studios. Strike Back Studios and Hideout Pictures also recently wrapped production on “Asleep In My Palm” starring Tim Blake Nelson in February, which also saw in February the release of Hideout Pictures production of “Ted K” by Neon. Hideout Pictures is best known for their critically acclaimed western “Old Henry” released in October of 2021.
The production is a collaboration between Hideout Pictures & Particular Crowd in association with Film Mode Entertainment. The feature film is directed by David Poag and written by Billie Bates. Produced by Noor Ahmed and Shannon Houchins, with Tomás’ Yanelevich, Peter Bevan, Mariana Sanjurjo and Clay Epstein executive producing. The production also formed a promotional partnership for the film with Spirit Halloween, with has over 1,425 locations across North America
Rachael Leigh Cook is represented by A3 Artists Agency and Fuller Law; Christopher Lloyd is represented by The Gersh Agency and Andrew Freeman Personal Manager; Marla Gibbs is represented by Momentum Talent & Literary Agency; Donavan Colan is represented by Carson-Adler Agency and Sky Talent Group; Dylan Martin Frankel is represented by CESD Talent Agency, Connecting Talent Company and Innovative Artists; Jaiden Smith is represented by CESD Talent Agency; Marissa Reyes is represented by Stewart Talent and The Michael Abrams Group; Shannon Houchins by Verve Talent and Literary Agency.
About Hideout Pictures
Hideout Pictures is based out of Nashville, TN where their parent company Average Joes Entertainment, a country music lablel was established over a decade ago. Hideout Pictures produced the critically acclaimed and box office hit western “Old Henry” that premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2021 and was then released October 1, 2021. “Old Henry” stars Tim Blake Nelson, Scott Haze, Trace Adkins, and Stephen Dorff. Hidedout also produced “Ted K.” that premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and was released by Neon in March 14, 2022. “Ted K” stars Sharlto Copley in an exploration of Ted Kaczynksi's life in in the years leading up to his arrest as The Unabomber. Hideout is in production of the 3rd season of docu-series Music’s Greatest Mysteries for AXS TV. In 2019 Hideout Pictures produced Kevin Smith’s last project, “The Jay & Silent Bob Reboot.” Also, that year Hideout produced the sci-fi thriller “3022” staring Kate Walsh and Omar Epps that was released by Saban Films. Hideout’s first production was the series “Still the King” for CMT that starred Billy Ray Cyrus. Hideout has the documentary in post-production currently.Strike Back Studios recently released the critically acclaimed feature documentary “The United States of Insanity” that screened on over 600 screens nationwide on October 26, 2021, with a limited theatrical run November 12 th before a Video On Demand and DVD release before Christmas and a release of “I, Challenger” across all TVOD/Digital platforms on January 11th, 2022. Strike Back Studioswill next release cinematic racing documentary“Rookie Season”across all TVOD/Digital platforms on April 15th, 2022 after a limited theatrical run in March. Strike Back Studios in partnership with Hideout Picture’s has been steadily creating/releasing incredible independent film success stories. Strike Back Studios formed a unique partnership in 2020 with regards to the financing and distribution of projects. The goal is to work with producers from the earliest stages of development and production on up. They are embracing the true tenants of film collaboration and are bringing them to global audiences. Strike Back Studios and Hideout Pictures is focused on addressing the growing concerns from producers regarding the distribution of independent features. The companies work with producers early in the production process to develop unique and innovate marketing and promotional strategies for their release. This will save producers from having to rely on taking their project to a film festival with the hope of a major sale to make them financially whole. Strike Back Studios still wants to screen projects at film festival but make the screening part of the distribution release strategy vs sales strategy. Current Strike Back Studios titles available for global audiences can be found at strikebackstudios.com.
About Particular Crowd
Particular Crowd is the original film label of WarnerMedia Latin America, a division of WarnerMedia. The label has already produced more than 100 films aimed at a universal audience, not only across the diversity of Latin America, but around the globe. The films are produced in English, Spanish or Portuguese and cover the popular genres of comedy, romantic comedy, horror, thriller, teen, and family films. It is an initiative focused on films with contained budgets, which puts the consumer first by making its content available on a multi-platform basis, including HBO Max, Linear TV (TNT, SPACE, HBO), cinemas, festivals and digital spaces. Based in Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires, Particular Crowd has film development, production and co-financing agreements and has already partnered with several leading production companies to generate content. In addition, it seeks to discover new talents and provide access and opportunities for the next generation of filmmakers.web: www.particularcrowd.com.
Ig: @ParticularCrowdAbout Film Mode Entertainment
Film Mode Entertainment is a leading worldwide sales agent, production entity and distribution company, focusing on commercially driven feature films of all genres and budget sizes. Film Mode represents projects at all stages of the filmmaking process, often as Executive Producer, with the aim of helping producers and distributors achieve maximum exposure for their films. Film Mode’s recent titles include Mayim Bialik’s feature directorial debut, AS THEY MADE US, starring two-time Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman, Academy Award-nominee and Emmy Award-winner Candice Bergen, Simon Helberg and Dianna Agron, CHICK FIGHT starring Malin Ackerman and Bella Thorne, CRYPTO starring Kurt Russell, Luke Hemsworth and Alexis Bledel, STAGE MOTHER starring Academy Award nominee Jacki Weaver, Lucy Liu and Adrian Grenier. Previous releases include SUGAR MOUNTAIN starring Jason Momoa, and THE GOOD NEIGHBOR starring Academy Award-nominee James Caan. Film Mode accelerated their growth and expanded their capabilities by entering into a partnership with SCREEN MEDIA, representing their catalogue of more than 600 titles, including WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE starring Leonardo DiCaprio, who was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his performance, and MONSTER, starring Charlize Theron who won an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress for the film. The company also has its own distribution arm, as well as a documentary label, DocMode. Film Mode is based in Beverly Hills, CA. For more information, visit www.filmmodeentertainment.comAbout Spirit Halloween
Spirit Halloween (SpiritHalloween.com) is the largest Halloween retailer in the country, with over 1,425 locations in strip centers and malls across North America. Celebrating more than 37 years of business, Spirit is the premier destination for all things Halloween, offering one-stop shopping for everything from costumes to décor and party goods to accessories. In addition to being a fun and interactive event for shoppers, Spirit stores offer complete selections of costumes and accessories for infants/toddlers, children, 'tweens, teens, and adults, along with exclusive décor you won't find anywhere else. For more information, please visit: SpiritHalloween.com
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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