EXCLUSIVE: Juno Films has acquired rights to the experimental drama The Same Storm, from writer-director Peter Hedges (Ben Is Back), for distribution in the U.S., Canada and the UK. The film will open at the Quad Cinema in NYC and the Laemmle Santa Monica on October 14. Filmed during the Covid pandemic using cell…

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-nominated writer-director, playwright and novelist Peter Hedges has signed with UTA for worldwide representation in all areas. Hedges most recently wrote and directed The Same Storm, a scripted feature that was shot entirely remotely, a glimpse into the lives of 24 characters persevering during the…

How many films have been made in which the director never met the majority of the actors? How often have performers had to operate the camera themselves rather than the cinematographer or operator or director? Any number of films have been made under great duress, but The Same Storm is a rare bird, a scripted feature…

EXCLUSIVE: Peter Hedges, like so many filmmakers looking not to lose their creative mojo during the pandemic, managed at the height of the Covid lockdown to take advantage of many talented actors trying to survive in the same circumstance, and in the best show business tradition managed to create a new film, The Same S…

For Peter Hedges, casting his Oscar-nominated son Lucas Hedges in his latest movie Ben Is Back wasn’t about opportunity, rather catharsis. The 56-year old filmmaker’s reasons for tackling a teenage drug addiction drama extend back to his mother, Carol Hedges, a former alcoholic who quit drinking when he was 15 years…

It was a father-and-son moment when Ben Is Back writer-director Peter Hedges was joined on Deadline’s The Contenders New York stage by son Lucas Hedges, who plays the title role in dad’s film about a drug-addicted son who leaves rehab to spend the holidays with his family, among them his mother played beautifully by…

A family drama is not unusual fodder for a holiday big screen story, but add elements of a suspense thriller by way of drug addiction, then the ante rises for a holiday release. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Peter Hedges took on the challenge, tapping his son, Lucas Hedges, as the son struggling with addiction, while…

With each passing year, Lucas Hedges multiplies his awards season filmography. First there was Manchester by the Sea, for which he was Oscar nominated. Then, last year, much-garlanded turns in Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. This year he's back with no fewer than three films: Joel Edgerton's Bo…

Every now and then several movies come along the same basic premise, and that is the case with a slew of films premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, all in the past 24 hours,  that deal with efforts of parents to change the course of their son’s life, and all of them happen to start with a ‘B’.  We…

Fifty-five seconds is all it takes for this Ben Is Back teaser to leave us wondering what’s next. Toronto Film Festival attendees will get the first chance, as Peter Hedges’ drama starring Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges makes its world premiere there as a special presentation next month. The trailer starts with a…

LD Entertainment, Lionsgate, and Roadside Attractions have partnered for the U.S. distribution of Ben Is Back starring Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges. The acquisition was announced by Mickey Liddell of LD Entertainment, Lionsgate President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions Jason Constantine, and Roadside Attractions…

Emmy-winner Courtney B. Vance (The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story) has signed to play opposite Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges in Peter Hedges’ drama, Ben Is Back, which began production today in New York. It follows Ben Burns (Hedges) who returns home to his unsuspecting family one fateful Christmas Eve…