I want to send a shout out to Travis, who turns 31 today! Have a very safe and happy birthday Travis.

Lorraine Nicholson, Lee Majors and Bruce Dern have been added to the cast of the feature version of the 1960s ABC series “The Big Valley.”

The Western television series, which ran on ABC from 1965-69, revolved around the Barkley ranching family in the 1870s San Joaquin Valley.

Jessica Lange has been cast as Victoria Barkley, the matriarch of the Barkley family. Barbara Stanwyck originated the role on the TV show.

Stephen Moyer (“True Blood”) was recently cast in the role of the eldest son Jarrod.

Jason Alan Smith and Travis Fimmel have also been cast.

Nicholson will play the role of daughter Audra while Dern portrays Judge Adams. Majors, who originally played the Heath Barkley character on the TV series, will play the Tom Barkley role in the film.

According to Variety, production starts July 26 in Baton Rouge, La.

Daniel Adams is writing and directing the film.

Straw Weisman and Steven Brandman are producing. Kate Edelman Johnson, whose late father Louis F. Edelman created the series along with A.I. Bezzerides, is executive producing.

Source: Monsters and Critics

John Soto’s voodoo thriller Needle has been snapped up by a European distributor – even before the film screens at Cannes.

Needle is the story of two brothers who go on a quest to find an ancient voodoo machine, and was filmed in Perth. One by one, a group of teenage friends get picked off by some sort of supernatural serial killer.

It stars Michael Dorman, Trilby Glover, Calvin Klein model Travis Fimmel, Jessica Marais and John Jarratt.

Perth director Soto also wrote the screenplay, while Kane Manera produced it.

American distribution company Lighting Entertainment has been spruiking the product, and negotiated a sale to German-speaking group Telepool even before the scheduled Cannes screening.

“There has been tremendous interest in Needle since we first showed the promo in Berlin,” Lightning co-president Richard Guardian told Screen Daily.

“Buyer reaction to this initial footage made it clear that we had something special on our hands and we expect an even greater reaction to the finished version being screening in Cannes.”

Soto aimed from the start to make a film with international appeal. He described the plot as being Agatha Christie-style, and a gruesome suspense-filled story.

Very happy to hear this information!

Lightning licensed German-speaking Europe to Telepool, which negotiated a pre-emptive acquisition ahead of the film’s market premiere screenings in Cannes.

Playarte acquired the film for Brazil and Eagle Films for Middle East. Lighting Entertainment is handling worldwide sales excluding Australia and New Zealand, where the filmmakers are in talks with distributors.

Michael Dorman, Trilby Glover, Travis Fimmel and John Jarratt star in the story of a student who teams up with his estranged brother to recover a deadly 18th century device that goes missing after he inherits it.

Soto wrote the screenplay with Anthony Egan and Deidre Kitcher produced. The film shot entirely in Western Australia.
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