“Homeland” actor Rupert Friend will star in director William Brent Bell’s supernatural thriller “Separation,” which is inspired by “Kramer vs Kramer” and “The Sixth Sense.”
The film, being produced by Yale Productions and RainMaker Films, was written by Nick Amadeus and Joshua Braun and explores the horrifying consequences of divorce.
The production companies said additional casting will be announced at a later date, along with more details about the story.
“As soon as I read Nick and Josh’s script I knew I found my next project,” Bell said in a statement. “It blends emotional, relatable family drama with edge-of-your-seat scares and Rupert is the ideal actor to bring both aspects to life.”
Bell is most known for his hit horror films “The Boy,” which grossed $65 million at the box office for STX and just received a sequel with Katie Holmes, as well as “The Devil Inside,” which was released by Paramount Pictures and pulled in more than $100 million worldwide. Bell is repped by ICM Partners.
Friend was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of Peter Quinn in Showtime’s acclaimed series “Homeland.” This year alone, Friend has co-starred in a trio of projects including Armando Ianucci’s “Death of Stalin” for IFC Films, Paul Feig’s “A Simple Favor” for Lionsgate and David Lowery’s series “Strange Angel” on CBS All Access.
Next month, he stars opposite Willem Dafoe in “At Eternity’s Gate,” directed by Julian Schnabel, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. Friend is repped by CAA.
“Brent’s a visionary filmmaker and we’ve been eager to work together for years,” said Producer Jordan Yale Levine. “We could not be more excited to bring his vision to life on the big screen with Rupert leading the way.”
“Separation” is produced by Bell together with Levine for Yale Productions along with Jordan Beckerman, Russ Posternak and Jesse Korman, and RainMaker’s Clay Pecorin and Russell Geyser. Executive producers are Seth Posternak and Dennis Rice. Yale Productions’ Jon Keeyes serves as a co-producer.
Production will commence in New York in November.
17 Family-Friendly Halloween Movies, From 'Hocus Pocus' to 'Hotel Transylvania' (Photos)
Lest we forget, Halloween is more than just jump scares and "slutty (insert profession here)" costumes. From "Hocus Pocus" to "Caspers," here are the spooky-but-PG-or-below movies to introduce to the next generation.
'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' (1966) You can mark the changing of the seasons by the classic Peanuts cartoons that celebrates all the major holidays. Halloween is a big one, along with "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" and "A Charlie Brown Christmas."
CBS
'Something Wicked This Way Comes' (1983) Carnivals are pretty much never not-scary, but this adaptation of Ray Bradbury's novel is just the appropriate amount of scary.
Buena Vista
'Garfield's Halloween Adventure' (1985) Garfield tricking Odie into giving him all his candy is about as scary as this pirate-themed ghost story gets, but it did win the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program.
CBS
‘The Monster Squad’ (1987)
When vampires, mummies, werewolves and Frankenstein invade your town, who are you gonna call? Not Ghostbusters, in this case. This Halloween flick features a charming group of brave youngsters ready to fend their town off from a supernatural takeover.
TriStar Pictures
'Beetlejuice' (1988) Michael Keaton plays a mischievous spirit intent on causing chaos, go ahead and say his name three times and he'll bring plenty of fun -- but nothing too scary.
Warner Bros
'The Addams Family' (1991) This quirky, morbid family comedy should be buckets of fun for your Halloween family movie night.
Paramount
'Hocus Pocus' (1993) Despite its PG rating, "Hocus Pocus" remain a classic, iconic Halloween movie, and its cult status has only gained in the 20 years since its release.
Buena Vista
'The Halloween Tree' (1993) Ray Bradbury narrates this adaptation of his own book of the same name, and it's an Emmy-winning Halloween romp that's also a history lesson about the origins of the holiday.
Cartoon Network
'The Nightmare Before Christmas' (1993) Is it a Halloween movie? A Christmas movie? Nobody knows, but the good thing about this Tim Burton classic is that it can be relied upon all throughout the holiday season.
Disney
'Casper' (1995) A family-friendly coming of age tale and a fun, spooky adventure all in one.
Universal
'Harry Potter' series (2001-11) Does Halloween even exist in the world of Hogwarts? No matter, because this fantasy epic has spawned millions of costumed fans. And since there's eight movies, it's the perfect marathon binge for Halloween weekend.
Warner Bros
'Coraline' (2009) This claymation adaptation of Neil Gaiman's classic novella follows a girl who discovers an alternate world that's just this side of creepy ... but not too scary.
Focus Features
‘ParaNorman’ (2012)
Though he sees dead people, Norman’s relationship with ghosts is much more wholesome and friendlier than that of Cole Sear’s from "The Sixth Sense." Eleven-year-old Norman, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, teams up with his friends and family to ward off an incoming raid by the living dead.
Focus Features
‘Hotel Transylvania’ (2012)
Vampiric or not, family is family. This hilarious 2012 picture, along with the rest in the franchise, focuses on wholesome themes like love, community and acceptance.
Sony Pictures Releasing
‘Goosebumps’ (2015)
A film adaptation of R.L. Stine’s best-selling horror novels, this movie stars Jack Black as Stine himself and delivers as many laughs as thrills.
Columbia Pictures
'Ghostbusters' (2016) This underrated remake of the 1980s classic has a phenomenal comedic cast of funny ladies, and luckily, this is modern reboot that didn't go the "dark and grounded" route, making it a fun Halloween adventure, even for kids born with a smartphone in their hands.
Sony
‘The House With a Clock in Its Walls’ (2018)
Based on John Bellair’s 1973 novel, the star-studded film rendition follows young Lewis Barnavelt, played by “Room” star Owen Vaccaro, as he unravels the secrets of his uncle’s ticking house. Both new and seasoned Hollywood talent come together to make for movie magic everyone can enjoy.
Universal Pictures
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TheWrap’s viewing guide has all the fun of Halloween, without any of the super-scary stuff
Lest we forget, Halloween is more than just jump scares and "slutty (insert profession here)" costumes. From "Hocus Pocus" to "Caspers," here are the spooky-but-PG-or-below movies to introduce to the next generation.