Bella Thorne is in the midst of filming Habit, an indie film that is being produced by Donovan Leitch, 852 Films, Martingale Pictures, Voltage Pictures, Cloudlight, and Elevated Films, the production company behind the Oscar-nominated film, Mudbound.

First-time feature director Janell Shirtcliff is at the helm, directing from a script by Suki Kaiser, based on a story by Libby Mintz and Shirtcliff. The pic is about a street smart party girl with a Jesus fetish who gets mixed up in a violent drug deal and finds a possible way out — by masquerading as a Nun.

Producers are Leitch, Josie Ho, Michael Suppes, Chris Pak Yu Mung, Chan Pang Chun, Damon Lawner, and Libby Mintz. Cassian Elwes, David Unger, Will French, Adam Edelman, Suki Kaiser, Conroy Chan, Paul Miloknay, Thorne, and Nicolas Chartier serve as executive producers.

Thorne, best known for roles in The Duff, Blended, Midnight Sun, and Disney Channel’s Shake it Up, is repped by CAA, Foundation Media Partners, and Thirty Three Management.

Voltage Pictures is overseeing international rights, while domestic rights are repped by Elevated Films.

Source: deadline.com

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has learned that Bella Thorne will star in director Mitzi Peirone’s post-apocalyptic thriller The Uncanny.

Written by Peirone and Chaya Doswell, The Uncanny presents a future where every citizen is implanted with a chip capable of controlling everything from emotions to directions, until a routine update backfires, causing a cyber apocalypse. Wiping out most of humanity, five strangers miraculously survive, now forced to live hidden in a bunker with their implants ripped from their spines. They were the few lucky enough to survive – until Scarlet (Thorne) begins to suspect they were not saved at all, or by chance.

Rebecca Berrih (Elysian Fields Entertainment) who recently produced Beyond the Sky which was released by RLJ entertainment, Thor Bradwell (JT Leroy) and Courtney Shepard, who serves as Director of Development at New Republic Pictures, the company responsible for co-financing and producing Oscar Best Picture nominee 1917 and Rocketman, will produce.

Peirone directed, wrote and executive produced the mystery thriller Braid which made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival two years ago. That movie follows two wanted women who decide to rob their wealthy psychotic friend, who lives in the fantasy world they created as children. To take the money, the women have to take part in a deadly perverse game of make believe.

“The story offers a timely and compelling glimpse into human’s dependence on technology and the greater evils of such addiction” says Shepard about Uncanny. “We’re excited to have Bella on board for such a strong female-led team. I have no doubt Mitzi will craft something visually and thematically stunning.”

Thorne was recently cast in the home invasion thriller Masquerade and she’s also making her feature directorial debut with an elevated thriller written by Zander Coté, the story of which is being kept under wraps.

Thorne is repped by CAA, Thirty Three Management, Strategic and Hirsch Wallerstein. Peirone is repped by ICM and Thirty Three Management, as well as Jared Bloch of Felker, Toczek, Suddleson and Abramson.

Source: deadline.com