UPDATED with reaction. Mark Urman, a prominent figure in the independent film business who headed Paladin Film for the past decade, has died at age 66 after battling cancer. Word of his passing circulated over the weekend, especially among the many film and media professionals who live (as did Urman) in Montclair…

EXCLUSIVE: Paladin has U.S. distribution rights to Billboard, the latest film from Zeke Zelker. The movie starring John Robinson, Heather Matarazzo and Eric Roberts will begin its theatrical run April 5 in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, with plans to expand later in the month. The theatrical release will be…

Wolfe Releasing has obtained the theatrical distribution rights to writer-director Yen Tan's Texas-set family drama 1985 following its world premiere at SXSW this year. Gotham‘s Cory Michael Smith stars alongside Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen (Sideways), Golden Globe winner Michael Chiklis (The Shield), and Jamie…

EXCLUSIVE, UPDATED, March 1, 2108: In the wake of the Stoneman Douglas high school shooting in Parkland, FL which took the lives of three educators and 14 students, Showtime has acquired distribution rights of Shot, a drama about how three people’s lives are turned upside down from gun violence. The film stars Noah Wyl…

Talk about timing. Although the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements had not taken hold when the new sexual harassment-themed drama Submission premiered last June at the Los Angeles Film Festival, there probably could not be a better moment for its release. As I say in my video review above, this story of a college professor…

Paladin has secured the U.S. distribution rights to Path of Blood, a documentary on jihadi terrorism from director Jonathan Hacker based on his 2014 nonfiction book. Exec produced by Oscar winner Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker), the pic is put together from jihadi home-movie footage that was captured by Saudi security…

EXCLUSIVE: The first trailer for Submission starring Stanley Tucci starts off as a what could be an inspirational story about a teacher-student relationship set at a small liberal arts college on the East Coast. It quickly takes a sharp turn and dives deep into the topic of sexual harassment and the lustful abuse of…

Te Ata, the feature film that stars Q’orianka Kilcher and tells the true story of the renowned Chickasaw storyteller who entertained at the White House, befriended the First Lady, performed for European Royalty and on stages around the world in a career that spanned more than 60 years, just released its first key art…

Paladin has acquired Mr. Roosevelt, the comedy that stars former Saturday Night Live regular Noël Wells in what is also her directorial debut. The pic, which won the audience award and the Louis Black Lone Star Award at SXSW this year, is now set to bow in theaters in late fall, and Netflix has also acquired worldwide…

FilmRise has acquired North American distribution rights to The Boy Downstairs, writer-director Sophie Brooks' debut feature that stars Zosia Mamet and had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. An early 2018 theatrical release is planned for the pic, which centers on Diana (Mamet), an aspiring writer who…

Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired North American rights to Polina, the ballet drama starring Juliette Binoche that played at the 2016 Venice Film Festival. A July release date is in the works for the pic, which was co-directed by Valérie Müller and dancer-choreographer Angelin Preljocaj. Müller wrote the…

EXCLUSIVE: Jerry Lewis turns 90 today, and he’s got a gift coming. Blackbird's Lawrence Inglee,and Lightstream's Garrett Kelleher, the producers of Max Rose, Lewis’ first film in awhile, have set a deal with Paladin to release the film theatrically in the U.S. It will kick off with an April 10 premiere at the Museum of…