Dark Sky Films' LACED Coming to VOD + Digital Platform January 12: "LACED is a modern thriller/drama in the vein of Hitchcockian classics like Dial M for Murder and Rear Window. Set in a single location, the piece explores the claustrophobic nature of young love strung with toxicity and lies, and the cyclical nature of violence.
OFFICIAL FILM SYNOPSIS:In a remote cabin on the evening of a record-breaking blizzard, a young woman plots to poison her abusive husband in order to end their toxic relationship once and for all. When the poison fails to kill him, she not only has to quickly concoct a backup plan, but also contend with her husband’s increasing suspicion that his intensifying illness isn’t wholly accidental. And with the unexpected arrival of her brother, her carefully crafted scheme threatens to spiral ever further out of control. Now trapped together as the snow piles up, double-crosses and horrifying secrets threaten to ensnare each of them in their own spiderwebs of deception."
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DARKLIT PRESS, THE SMALL PRESS HORROR PUBLISHER HAS SIGNED WITH IAG FOR FILM & TV REPRESENTATION: "Darklit works with authors of horror, suspense, and dark fiction from around the world, and its efforts to recruit, identify, and develop manuscripts from emerging genre authors has made the company a name brand independent publisher in horror fiction. Launched in 2022, Andrew Robert sought to provide a platform and editorial support for marginalized and underrepresented authors in the category and has seen a passionate and growing readership quickly emerge for Darklit’s prolific output. Their authors have been recognized by the most prestigious Horror fiction awards bodies, including the Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, Lambda Literary, and Splatterpunk awards.
Authors on the Darklit roster include Bram Stoker Award nominee Ross Jeffery, Splatterpunk nominee Steve Stred, Aurealis Award nominee Zachary Ashford, critically-lauded author and editor Caitlin Marceau, and Tyler Jones, who recently was recognized on the annual Esquire’s Best Horror Books list. Acclaimed authors Yolanda Sfetsos, John Durgin, Mike Salt, Tim Meyer, and Scott J. Moses have also recently joined forces with Darklit, with its library growing rapidly into 2024 and beyond.
IAG represents this deep bench of horror novelists across the board for film and television media sub-rights, and is actively shopping all of its titles for adaptation. "We are thrilled to collaborate with IAG for film and TV representation. This partnership marks a significant milestone for us, providing an incredible opportunity to transform the unique voices and visionary stories of our authors into captivating visual narratives. This is not just a win for DarkLit Press, but for horror and dark fiction enthusiasts everywhere, eagerly awaiting new, compelling adaptations" says Andrew Robert, owner/operator of DarkLit Press.
Darklit joins a spate of high profile signings for IAG’s Media Rights Division in recent months, including Janet Evanovich, the Mario Puzo Estate, Margaret Atwood, Alice Hoffman, Barbara Kingsolver, William Gibson, and Jeffrey Toobin."
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Interview with Gloria Mann about the newly released film 'R BnB'
Gloria Mann is known for her roles in Point Break, The Lennon Report, and The Cassie Confession. She co-produced and leads the cast along with Ryon Thomas & Bryanna McQueeney in the new thriller, "R BnB," written and directed by Robert Mann and filmed in upstate NY.
"R BnB is a story about Ryan Davies, 40, and his young bride, Mia, 20, going on vacation at a secluded Airbnb to celebrate their first-year wedding anniversary. Upon arrival and unbeknownst to the unsuspecting guests, the owners of the Airbnb, Kylo, and Aubree, secretly begin videotaping their every move, going so far as kidnapping Mia and attempting to kill Ryan.
In the movie, Gloria plays a fitness-obsessed and overprotective sister (Jennifer Davies) of Ryon Thomas (Ryan Davies), who leaves NYC to celebrate his first wedding anniversary with his young wife.
Gloria Mann speaks about her experience working on R BnB below:
How did you get involved with the R BnB movie as an actress and producer?
My brother, writer/director Robert Mann, and I work together to develop projects for our independent film company, Mannatee Films, which he started and is president of. I am the VP of development. Robert sent me "R BnB," told me he wrote a role for me in it, Jennifer Davies, and asked if I would like to help produce it.
As a producer for Mannatee Films, how do you balance the responsibilities of acting and producing? Were there any unique challenges you faced in this dual role?
Well, this film was shot during COVID and released during the SAG/AFTRA strike, so there were definitely more challenges than usual in acting and producing this one.
Creating a balance occurs early on in pre-production. The shooting schedule has to be secured in such a way so that as many of my scenes as possible are shot early on at the beginning of the schedule and also at the end so that I have adequate actor preparation time, which frees me up to be a producer on set. There are also days in the middle of the shooting schedule when I am on set producing and acting. On those days, we rely heavily on our AD, PAs, and line producer. It's all a team effort. I love being able to champion stories I feel passionate about, maintain a high level of artistic involvement, and hopefully make a meaningful impact.
Can you share your preparation process for the role of Jennifer Davies in "R BnB"?
As soon as I finished reading the first draft of 'R BnB," I began working on my character, Jennifer Davies. I hired an amazing local trainer, Joe Falanga, and trained hard every day, 5 hours a day, for two months so I could be in top physical shape to play her. My daily training included kickboxing, yoga, and weights. I also followed a very strict diet: lots of juicing, protein drinks, water, and healthy food.
Jennifer Davies has a pivotal role in rescuing Mia and dealing with the antagonists. How did you approach building the chemistry and dynamic with the other actors, especially considering the intense and suspenseful nature of the plot?
We had a great fight choreographer, Scott Blackwood, fly out from LA to be on set for three weeks to help us with those intense physical fight scenes. It was very important to establish trust and make sure everyone felt safe. We always talked about everything that we were doing with each other before we attempted anything physical. We took it slowly and stopped if anything felt "off" or if anyone felt unsure or unsafe. Safety is always the number one priority.
How did production go? Did you have any problems with filming locations?
The location was beautiful. Fall in the Hudson Valley can't be beat. The colors are magnificent. The only "unpredictability" shooting during October can be the weather. It can be tricky trying to maintain continuity. So the director, Robert Mann, decided to just add a line in the movie to solve that "unpredictable" weather element, which was Kylo saying: "The people here can be as unpredictable as the weather," which I thought was so clever. We had many stops and starts, waiting for the sun to come back out or for the rain to stop and for gusts of sudden wind. It did get a little frustrating some days. So adding that line took some of the pressure off of having to maintain a continuous sunny day "look" in another shot because sometimes the sun did not return.
Without giving away too much, can you share a particularly challenging or memorable scene from "R BnB" that stands out in your mind?
When Aubree ( Savannah Whitten) is on my back, and we are struggling/fighting while Mia is tied up, it was challenging for me physically because Savannah had to literally jump on my back at least 40 times during rehearsal. The scene had to be carefully choreographed so we didn't get hurt, but also because it is a pivotal and important scene in the story. It's dangerous. It has to be authentic, threatening, scary, and very specific. Thanks again to Scott Blackwood; we were able to capture the essence of who my character is in that scene, along with feeling a very real threat from Aubree.
Were there specific challenges or highlights during the production?
The biggest challenge was shooting during COVID, which meant we had to keep everyone (30 cast and crew) on set for the entire month-long shoot. It increased our budget considerably to feed and house everyone all of that time. I was always the first one up at 4 am and the last one to go to sleep, usually by 2 am. We made sure everyone tested regularly. We fed everyone healthy, good food we obtained from some of our local farms; I made green energy protein drinks for breakfast along with an offering of a full breakfast, vitamins, healthy CRAFT services, hearty meals, soups, and homemade breads. Thankfully, one of our other amazing producers, Les I. Goldman was with us on set for the entire shoot.
What's next for you?
I have a few projects in development that I'm excited about, so we shall see.
"R BnB" is available to watch on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, and Apple TV.
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