Kino Lorber has acquired North American rights to Porto, the Gabe Klinger-directed film starring Anton Yelchin and Lucie Lucas. The deal comes as the pic shot in the Portuguese city preps for its North American premiere Sunday at SXSW. The pic is screening in 35mm in Austin, and Kino Lorber is planning a fall theatrical release with a commitment to show the film both on 35mm and digital before a winter VOD bow.

It’s one of the final film roles for Yelchin, who died last June in a freak car accident. He plays Jake, who along with Mati (Lucas) are outsiders in the northerly Portuguese city of Porto who once experienced a brief but intimate connection. He’s an American loner exiled from his family; she’s a French student abroad with her professor lover. One day they see each other from a distance at an archeological site and then again at a train station and a café, where Jake works up the courage to speak to her for the first time, and they embark on a night of carefree intimacy. The experience is looked at years later, both of them still haunted by the powerful moments they shared.

Source: Deadline

It all started three years ago with a Kickstarter campaign that helped raise funds to develop the project. Last year, we got to see the five-minute short film, which takes place in a world where man’s attempt to create artificial intelligence has spun wildly out of control. Now, the sci-fi short film, Rise, is now being developed into a full feature-length movie! It’s so sad that Anton will be no longer be part of the project, but I’m sure he’d be very happy about this news. Check out the short film below.

Source: Variety

When Anton Yelchin was killed in a freak car accident last June, the 27-year-old actor left behind five unreleased movies: “Star Trek Beyond,” the romance “Porto,” the delayed missing-son drama “We Don’t Belong Here,” a sci-fi mystery called “Rememory” and the twisted psychodrama “Thoroughbred.” We’ll now spend the year bidding Yelchin another bittersweet farewell with each release.

The latest sendoff came this weekend at the Sundance Film Festival, where the sensational “Thoroughbred” premiered. Yelchin has a supporting role in the movie, a “Heathers”-meets-”Persona” psychodrama depicting two wealthy teen girls (Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke) who concoct a twisted murder plot in suburban Connecticut.

“Thoroughbred” wrapped production two weeks before Yelchin’s death. It was the last movie he shot.

“He is truly a phenomenal actor and an unbelievable person, and I think all of us feel incredibly lucky to have spent time with him and to love him and to allow him to inspire us,” Taylor-Joy told The Huffington Post on Sunday as Cooke nodded along with her sentiments. “It’s really a testament to his ability as a performer because [Tim, Yelchin’s character], in the script ? it’s not that he’s not fleshed out, but I think a lesser actor would have made him more of a parody. The sympathy and the love that we feel toward him? He’s just having a rough time. [Our characters] grab him and pull him into something, and you really feel for him.”

The “something” Taylor-Joy alludes to is the aforementioned murder of her character’s savage stepfather (Paul Sparks). Yelchin plays a registered sex offender and local drug dealer. Because he has a gun, the girls lure Tim into their devilish scheme ? he joins “Team Estrogen,” as Cooke put it. Yelchin is dynamite in the role, frazzled and wide-eyed with paranoia.

“It was incredibly sad to hear the news,” first-time writer/director Cory Finley said, referring to Yelchin’s death. “I think I can speak for everyone in saying we felt very, very fortunate to have worked with him. He was, first, just a consummate artist on set. He did a lot of improvisation and came in with a lot of really specific character work done and really had a vision for the character and had a huge role in shaping that part.”

After a slew of enthusiastic reviews for “Thoroughbred,” Focus Features purchased theatrical rights for around $5 million, a decent sum for a Sundance title without much pre-festival buzz. No release date has been announced.

“He was also just the kindest, funniest and most playful guy on the set,” Finley said. “We always really loved him. It was a huge loss, but he was an amazing actor and a great guy.”

Featuring works from 22 countries and a new environmental theme being called New Climate, this first round of the full lineup sees five Day One movies kicking the festival off January 19 next year.

Thoroughbred / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Cory Finley) — Two teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. In the process, they learn that neither is what she seems to be—and that a murder might solve both of their problems. Cast: Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin, Paul Sparks, Francie Swift, Kaili Vernoff. World Premiere

Source: Deadline

Back in 2005, Anton starred in the independent drama-thriller, Fierce People, with Diane Lane, Donald Sutherland, Kristen Stewart, and Chris Evans. I have updated the gallery with additional production stills and poster from the film, as well as 1,053 high-resolution screencaps. Huge thanks to Dianne at Chris Evans Online for generously donating the screencaps!

The blooper reel from Star Trek Beyond has been released, which is included in the Blu-ray and DVD copies of the film to be released on November 1st.

New Europe Film Sales has picked up “Porto,” directed by Gabe Klinger and starring the late Anton Yelchin and Lucie Lucas. Film was executive produced by Jim Jarmusch.

“Porto” tells the story of Jake (Anton Yelchin) and Mati (Lucie Lucas), two outsiders in the Portuguese city of the film’s title who once experienced a brief but passionate love affair.

The film is the narrative feature debut of critic, curator and director Klinger, who previously directed the Venice-award-winning documentary “Double Play: James Benning and Richard Linklater.”

The film is a co-production between Portugal (Bando À Parte), USA (Double Play Films), France (Gladys Glover) and Poland (Madants), and is set to unspool at the San Sebastian Film Festival’s New Directors competition and the London Film Festival’s First Feature Competition.

Jan Naszewski, New Europe’s CEO, will present a promo for the film in Toronto.

Source: Variety