
BACKFREAKY TALES SETS LEADING CAST WITH STARS PEDRO PASCAL, BEN MENDELSOHN, AND JAY ELLIS FROM ENTERTAINMENT ONE AND MACRO FILM STUDIOSLOS ANGELES November 16, 2022 Entertainment One (eOne) and producers MACRO Film Studios announced today that FREAKY TALES, the Oakland-centered dramatic thriller written and directed by CAPTAIN MARVEL's Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden, has set a cast starring The Mandalorian's Pedro Pascal, Emmy Award winner Ben Mendelsohn, and TOP GUN: MAVERICK's Jay Ellis.
The film, financed by eOne and produced by eOne and MACRO Film Studios, began principal photography November 14th and will also feature cast including Jack Champion (AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, SCREAM 6), Angus Cloud (Euphoria), Dominique Thorne (BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER), Normani (The Proud Family), and Atypical's Keir Gilchrist and Michelle Farrah Huang, as well as a collection of notable Oakland natives.
eOne's Jillian Share, Jen Gorton, and Chanel Vidal will oversee the film's production with Share and Gorton executive producing. MACRO Film Studios' Jelani Johnson and Poppy Hanks will serve as producers and Charles D. King and James F. Lopez as executive producers. Also executive producing are Too Short and his manager David Weintraub, while Grammy-winning Oakland native Raphael Saadiq is overseeing the film's music.
Set in Oakland in 1987, FREAKY TALES is a wholly original, immersive film inspired by Ryan's experience growing up in the bay. The film is comprised of four interconnected stories each featuring distinct characters, real life locations and noteworthy historical events (some real, some imagined).
In addition to playing the title character in Disney's 14-Emmy-winning The Mandalorian, Chilean-born Pascal is known for his roles in smash hits like HBO's Game of Thrones and Netflix's Narcos. On the film side, he starred with Matt Damon in THE GREAT WALL and in this summer's THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT.
Mendelsohn took an Emmy for his work on the Netflix drama Bloodline. The same year, he played the main villain in the Academy Award-nominated box office smash ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY. He also starred in Steven Spielberg's Academy Award-nominated READY PLAYER ONE and has been in such critical darlings as KILLING THEM SOFTLY and PLACE BEYOND THE PINES.
Ellis recently starred opposite Tom Cruise in the blockbuster TOP GUN: MAVERICK, which is nearing $1.5 billion in global box office. He will next be seen opposite Amazon Studio's SOMEBODY I USE TO KNOW. On the television side, he starred for five seasons in HBO's Emmy-winning Insecure, FX's Emmy-nominated limited series Mrs. America and BET's The Game.
Thorne stars in the Marvel sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, being introduced as RiRi Williams, a smart, super cool 19-year-old MIT student. She will go on to anchor the titular Ironheart series for Marvel & Disney. Thorne made her feature film debut in Academy Award winning writer/director Barry Jenkins' IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK, as well as Academy Award Nominated feature JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH.
Pascal is represented by CAA. Mendelsohn is represented by WME. Fleck and Boden are represented by WME and Entertainment 360. Ellis is represented by UTA and Rise Management.
Champion is represented by CAA, Industry Entertainment and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher. Cloud is represented by A3 Artists Agency and Hirsch/Wallerstein/Hayum/Matlof & Fishman. Thorne is represented by James Swoope at M88, Paradigm and Michael Mahan. Normani is represented by M88 and S10 Entertainment. Gilchrist is represented by CAA and Thruline Entertainment. Huang is represented by Thruline Entertainment and Ellis Talent Group.
About eOne
Entertainment One Ltd. (eOne) is a talent-driven independent studio that specializes in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sales of entertainment content. As part of global play and entertainment company Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS), eOne s expertise spans across film and television production and sales; production, distribution and brand management of kids and family properties; and digital content. Through its extensive reach and scale, and a deep commitment to high-quality entertainment, eOne unlocks the power and value of creativity.
eOne brings to market both original and existing content, sourcing IP from Hasbro's portfolio of 1500+ brands, and through a diversified network of creative partners and eOne companies.
About MACRO Film Studios
MACRO Film Studios is a division of MACRO, a multi-platform media company representing the voice and perspectives of Black people and people of color launched in 2015 by Founder & CEO Charles D. King. The company's film projects have fifteen Oscar nominations and three wins. MACRO Film Studios co-financed the critically acclaimed Judas and the Black Messiah, Mudbound, Fences, Roman J. Israel, Esq., Just Mercy, Sorry to Bother You, Nine Days, Farewell Amor, Blast Beat, The Land and Blue Bayou. MACRO's multiple business verticals also includes a television studio (MACRO Television Studios) that finances, develops and produces premium television, talent (M88) and digital creator (UNCMMN) management divisions, a branding and creative agency (Brand MACRO) and an affiliated venture firm (Mac Venture Capital). Go to https://www.staymacro.com/about for more information on the media company.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
01/12/2025
L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...
01/12/2025
Artemis II is NASA's first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The crew, from left: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Vic...
01/12/2025
IRVINE, Calif. Wooden Camera has introduced its new Accessory Collection for the Canon EOS C50. The new lineup includes a low-profile, gimbal-ready cage, expand...
01/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for its Dec. 18 Open Commission Meeting that will include a vote on a report an...
01/12/2025
In most years, a graph of annual local TV ad spending is about as predictable as an electrocardiogram of a reasonably healthy patient in a doctor's office. ...
01/12/2025
Many industries have seen big-ticket hardware turn into software. Switchers, though, demand a combination of real-time performance and sheer bandwidth that has ...
01/12/2025
GENEVA Shanghai will host the next quadrennial Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-27) and World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-27), Oct. 11-Nov. 12, 2027. This...
01/12/2025
NEW YORK Just in time for Giving Tuesday tomorrow (Dec. 2), the Broadcasters Foundation of America is seeking out donations to help television and radio industr...
01/12/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Net Insight CEO Crister Fritzson has informed the company's board that he will retire from the video transport and media cloud technology ...
01/12/2025
01 Dec 2025
Kyivstar and Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation Select Go...
01/12/2025
The prequel to the global hit Sky Original mob crime saga, Gomorrah' is a s...
01/12/2025
Featuring Florence Welch, Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Flea, designer Bella Freud...
01/12/2025
Back to All News
A Down to Earth, All Too Relatable Hero: Cashero' Teaser ...
01/12/2025
In the rush to deliver content to every screen, many broadcasters overlook one of the most crucial steps in the workflow: format and frame rate conversion. Get ...
01/12/2025
Fox Corporation Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic to Participate in Upcoming ...
01/12/2025
Arvato Systems' Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Receives BSI C5 Certification (T...
01/12/2025
Summary This short video gives you an summary of the changes in under two minutes.
--...
01/12/2025
As the festive season approaches, RT Supporting the Arts is proud to showcase a...
01/12/2025
Researchers worldwide rely on open-source technologies as the foundation of their work. To equip the community with the latest advancements in digital and physi...
01/12/2025
Festive specials of Christmas in Kilmainham presented by Marty Whelan, High Road Low Road, Callan Kicks the Year and Keys to My Life
Ring in the New Year with ...
01/12/2025
Architect and television presenter Hugh Wallace, best known to RT audiences as a long-serving judge on Home of the Year, has died at the age of 68.
In a state...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...