Filming began this week on RISE, writer/director Sebastian Gutierrez's horror-thriller from Ghost House Pictures. Starring Lucy Liu ("Charlie's Angels") and Golden Globe and Emmy-winning Michael Chiklis ("The Shield"), Greg Shapiro ("Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle") of Kingsgate Films and Carsten Lorenz ("The Grudge") are producing for Ghost House. Rounding out the cast are Carla Gugino ("Sin City"), James D'Arcy ("Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World") and Academy AwardŽ nominated character actor Mako ("Pearl Harbor") who will next be seen in "Memoirs Of A Geisha."
RISE is a supernatural thriller in which a reporter (Liu) wakes up in a morgue to discover she is no longer among the living. She vows revenge against the cult responsible for putting her there and hunts them down one by one. Chiklis plays 'Rawlins,' a haunted police detective whose daughter is killed by the same cult and seeks answers for her gruesome death.
The behind-the-scenes team includes two-time Academy AwardŽ-winning cinematographer John Toll, ASC, who has the honor of being the only cinematographer to win back-to-back Oscars for his work on "Legends of the Fall" and "Braveheart." He recently completed filming on Cameron Crowe's "Elizabethtown."
In addition, production designer Jerry Fleming ("Permanent Midnight") and costume designer Denise Wingate (upcoming "Wedding Crashers"), who previously collaborated with Gutierrez on his directorial debut "Judas Kiss," return for this feature film. Lisa Bromwell serves as editor.
Mandate Pictures is handling worldwide sales on this Ghost House production. Mandate recently pre-sold RISE to Universal Pictures for distribution in the U.K., France, Australia and Latin America. The film has also been sold to Germany (Falcom Media), Italy (Eagle Pictures), Spain (Aurum), CIS (West Co.) and over 25 other territories.
Ghost House Pictures has quickly become the preeminent horror brand in Hollywood. With the creative autonomy and the ability to self-finance, develop, package and produce broad appeal theatrical films, the company has delivered such record-breaking hits as "The Grudge" and "Boogeyman." Formed in May 2002, Ghost House Pictures is dedicated to producing commercial horror films for the studios and major independents worldwide. The company is also currently in production on the "Untitled Pang Brothers Project" and its upcoming slate includes: Takashi Shimizu's horror sequel "The Grudge 2"; "Dibbuk Box"; and a remake of the seminal horror classic "The Evil Dead."
