Related Resources • Upcoming Theatrical Releases • Movie Reviews • Recently Released or New on DVD

ContentFilm chairman Edward R. Pressman and president John Schmidt today announced that the company will finance and distribute “Love Object,” a psychological horror picture written and to be directed by Robert Parigi starring Desmond Harrington (“Ghost Ship,” “We Were Soldiers”) and Melissa Sagemiller (“Sorority Boys,” “Soul Survivors”). “Love Object” is produced by Lawrence Levy and Kathleen Haase, with Pressman, Schmidt and ContentFilm's Alessandro Camon serving as executive producers. The film is slated to go into production in Los Angeles in June 2002.

Pressman and Schmidt launched ContentFilm on September 7, 2001. The fully-financed production and distribution company is based in New York, with a mandate to finance, produce and distribute an initial slate of twelve to fifteen director-driven feature films to be shot mainly, but not exclusively, on digital video. ContentFilm is funded by a number of equity investors, including lead investor Syntek Capital, a major new European venture fund based in Munich, Milan and London.

In the eight months since they formed the company, ContentFilm's Pressman, Schmidt, head of business affairs Michael Roban and East Coast and West Coast production heads Sofia Sondervan and Alessandro Camon have worked at a furious pace, greenlighting and overseeing production on five films and acquiring and overseeing the release of one. Two films have already wrapped: “The Cooler,” a dark comedy set in Las Vegas starring William H. Macy and Alec Baldwin, just completed principal photography on location in Nevada, and “The Guys,” the film version of Anne Nelson's acclaimed post-9/11 play starring Sigourney Weaver and Anthony LaPaglia, is in post-production after shooting in New York. Currently shooting in here is “The Hebrew Hammer,” a “Jewxploitation” action-comedy starring Adam Goldberg, Mario Van Peebles and Andy Dick, with “Saturday Night Live” player Rachel Dratch, Melvin Van Peebles and former NYC mayor Ed Koch appearing in smaller roles. “Party Monster,” the chilling story of New York club-kid killer Michael Alig, starring Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green, goes before the cameras in June. In addition, the company acquired worldwide rights to Larry Fessenden's acclaimed cult thriller “Wendigo,” working with Magnolia Pictures on the film's domestic release in January.

“Love Object” is the twisted tale of Kenneth, socially insecure technical writer who forms an obsessive relationship with “Nikki,” an anatomically accurate silicone sex doll he orders over the Internet. Kenneth's life takes a turn for the better when his newfound romantic skills attract the attention of Lisa, a co-worker at his office. When the doll's jealous personality invades his own life, Kenneth becomes trapped in a perverse triangle, torn between the dominating, silicone Nikki and the flesh-and-blood Lisa, who offers his only chance for redemption. A film with elements of the prescient 1977 cult classic “Demon Seed,” and tonally akin to such early Polanski films as “Repulsion” and “The Tenant,” “Love Object” is a sexually charged thriller that is also a cautionary tale for our high-tech times.

“'Love Object' is that rare thriller that combines both the smart psychological script with a classic genre film payoff,” said Pressman in announcing the production. “Robert Parigi is a technically savvy filmmaker with a great sense of what will make audiences squirm.”

Said Parigi: “With 'Love Object,' I want to explore the darker corners of erotic horror by making a film that will scare you in very personal and intimate ways.”

“Love Object” is the first feature Robert Parigi will direct. He interned with Michael DeLuca at New Line Cinema in New York while earning a Masters' degree in philosophy, then worked as a producer on “Tales from the Crypt” for HBO “Profiler” for NBC. Parigi co-wrote the screenplay for “Holywood” with Marylin Manson, and also worked as a screenwriter on “Blair Witch 2” and “The Mirror” for Artisan. His original screenplay “Chrome Gothic” is being optioned by Andrew Mason, producer on “The Matrix,” and Parigi most recently served as consulting producer on “Fear.Com,” a horror feature picked up by Sony for worldwide theatrical distribution, with Warner Bros. releasing in the U.S.

Lawrence Levy most recently produced Bruce Beresford's “Bride of the Wind,” which was released by Paramount Classics last summer. Prior to that he produced the feature “Inferno,” directed by John Avildsen and starring Jean-Claude van Damme and Pat Morita. Kathleen Haase's feature credits as producer include “Detroit Rock City,” directed by Adam Rifkin and released by New Line Cinema, and Paul Schrader's “Forever Mine,” released by Lions Gate.

SOURCE: ContentFilm