Matty Matheson launches a production company, Athletic Film Co. Matheson first became known for a barrage of high-energy YouTube videos from Vice, Bon Appétit, and other corners of the internet that showed him jumping into frozen holes or wrestling with large fish. But he had such a profound sense of vulnerability and dramatic acumen on FX’s The Bear that we believe he can do anything. The company also includes Ricky Staffieri (The Bear) and producer Hannah Welever (co-P: Ramy Youssef: In Love).
Writer-producer John Zaring is returning to narrative filmmaking with his newest screenplay, The Very Thought of You, a jazz-infused romance. After spending much of the last two decades producing celebrity-driven events and sports broadcasts with ESPN and FOX Sports, this will mark his first feature since the 2001 romantic comedy Pursuit of Happiness. Set in Los Angeles’ Eagle Rock neighborhood, the new film follows two wounded musicians finding connection through their shared love of music.
Sundance winner Who Killed Alex Odah? is acquired by Watermelon Pictures (Palestine 36, shortlisted for the Academy Awards). The feature doc won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Journalistic Excellence at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The film tells the true story of Alex Odeh, a Palestinian American teacher who was killed by a tripwire bomb explosion in his office.