"International commercial director Dario Piana will make his feature directorial debut with "The Deaths of Ian." The independent horror film is being produced by Stan Winston Prods. Written by Brendan Hood, "Deaths" tells the story of an all-American guy who is murdered each day by horrifying pursuers, only to wake up in slightly different lives to experience the terror of being murdered again. The movie will provide plenty of creatures which will be created by Stan Winston Studios. A summer shoot is scheduled on the Isle of Man..." (full details)

"Music video helmer Aaron Courseault will make his feature film directorial debut on the New Orleans-set indie "Cut Throat City." Paul Cuschieri is writing, and rappers Lil Wayne and Baby are attached to star. Described as the first post-Hurricane Katrina film with social relevance, the film is a heist story that begins in the grimy, decimated Lower Ninth Ward and then hits the road..." (full details)

"Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to the horror-comedy "Severance," directed by Christopher Smith and starring Danny Dyer and Laura Harris, which HanWay Films screened at the recent Cannes Market. In "Severance," an international arms dealer rewards his six-member sales division of corporate execs with a weekend team-building retreat in the mountains of Eastern Europe, where they encounter a renegade band of war-crazed soldiers seeking revenge..." (full details)