EXCLUSIVE: Vertical Entertainment has acquired the North American distribution rights to the Bella Thorne feature Infamous, Deadline has learned. The distributor has set a virtual cinema and VOD release date of June 12 for the pic which was written and directed by Joshua Caldwell.
The deal was negotiated by Peter Jarowey and Josh Spector at Vertical with Arianne Fraser of Highland Film Group on behalf of the filmmakers. Highland is repping foreign sales on Infamous.
Thorne plays Arielle, a young woman who lives in a small Florida town, stuck in a diner job. Arielle has always wanted more: fame, popularity and admiration. But when she falls for a recently paroled young criminal named Dean, she drags him back into a life of danger, learning that posting their criminal exploits on social media is an easy way to viral fame. They embark on a dangerous adventure together that leads to robbery, cop chases, and murder.
Pic also stars Jake Manley (Midway, A Dog’s Journey), and Amber Riley (Glee, Straight Outta Compton). Pic is produced by Shaun Sanghani of SSS Entertainment alongside Colin Bates and Michael Jefferson of Lucidity Entertainment and Scott Levenson in association with Vertical Entertainment, Beer Money Worldwide and El Ride Productions. Thor Bradwell is producer. Sanghani also financed Infamous via his financing arm SSS Film Capital.
“We’ve always believed Infamous deserved a dynamic and exciting approach to its distribution and marketing so we couldn’t be more excited to partner with Peter and his team at Vertical Entertainment on the release of Infamous. They are the perfect company to bring this movie to the viewing public,“ said the filmmakers.
“Bella Thorne is a force to be reckoned with in this high intensity crime thriller that provides a distinct take on the desire for social media fame,” says Rich Goldberg, co-president of Vertical Entertainment. “We’re excited to bring this film to North American audiences.”
Vertical Entertainment is releasing on PVOD tomorrow the Josh Trank directed Bron Studios feature Capone starring Tom Hardy in the title role.