David Koechner, Robyn Lively, Joe Chrest, Marissa Reyes, and Sofia Yepes will co-star in the film directed by Colby Holt and Sam Probst
AUGUST 5, 2022, Los Angeles, CA – Iris Indie International and dentsu’s The Story Lab announced today that principal photography has wrapped on their new LGBTQ+ Horror Thriller, GANYMEDE, featuring breakout performances from Jordan Doww (REACH) and Pablo Castelblanco, (who will next be seen as a series regular in the upcoming ABC Series Alaska Daily from Tom McCarthy starring Hilary Swank). David Koechner (ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY, “The Office”), Robyn Lively (“9-1-1: Lone Star,” TEEN WITCH), Joe Chrest (“Stranger Things”) and Marissa Reyes (SPIRIT HALLOWEEN, “Raven’s Home”) will be co-starring in the film, which is directed by Colby Holt and Sam Probst (PIG HAG, world premiered SXSW 2019). Filming took place over 19 Daysin Paducah, KY under the state’s new tax credit.
GANYMEDE tells the story of Lee Fletcher IV, a high school senior and third generation heir to a local political dynasty in a small town in the South. When he develops a crush on his openly gay classmate, Lee finds himself stalked by a grotesque, faceless creature that increasingly inhabits his thoughts and threatens physical harm.
A native Paducahan, Holt was determined to bring production back to his hometown, and filming a story of LGBTQ+ empowerment during Pride Month was a triumph of the rapidly changing landscape of small cities and rural areas in America.
Said Probst and Holt, “We are a country pulling ourselves in opposite directions – while widespread acceptance of the LGBTQ community may be at an all time high, we also are facing a new wave of backlash, violence, and discrimination. That ideological split and its real world implications are what we seek to dissect with this work. We wanted to explore the queer experience in the modern south, and the terror one can be made to feel with the realization they are gay or queer-identified.”
GANYMEDE is produced by Stephen Stanley (WHAT LIES BELOW), Kevin Greene, and Mark Goldberg in association with Iris Indie International. Geneva Wasserman of dentsu’s The Story Lab (SPIDERHEAD), J Craig Gordon, Kevin Stanberry, and Sean Fernald serve as Executive Producers.
The film is planning a 2023 film festival debut and will be up for sales in all territories.
Doww is represented by CAA, Scale Management and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher, and Castelblanco is repped by Stewart Talent, Creative Talent Company, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein.
ABOUT IRIS INDIE INTERNATIONAL
Founded in 2019 by Mark Goldberg, Joshua Russell, Dustin Whitehead, and Allan Whitehead, Iris Indie International is an independent film production company based out of the Southeastern United States with a focus on high-quality content built by good people. Iris champions original stories across genres by both emerging and established filmmakers. Previous projects include the recently-wrapped dramatic thriller Full Ride with Dermot Mulronery and Anne Heche and the indie comedy Holy Irresistible featuring Lea Delaria. They have multiple features in development and pre-production for 2022 and 2023.
ABOUT THE STORY LAB The Story Lab is part of dentsu International, a global investor, Emmy-nominated production company, and distributor of premium entertainment content (original TV series, animation, documentaries, and feature films). The Story Lab is headquartered in London with offices around the world, including Lagos, Singapore, Paris, Madrid, Sydney, and Mumbai. The Story Lab US is based in Los Angeles, CA.
ABOUT DENTSU INTERNATIONAL Part of Dentsu Group, Dentsu International is a network designed for what’s next, helping clients predict and plan for disruptive future opportunities and create new paths to growth in the sustainable economy. Dentsu delivers people-focused solutions and services to drive better business and societal outcomes. This is delivered through five global leadership brands – Carat, Dentsu Creative, dentsu X, iProspect and Merkle, each with deep specialisms. Dentsu International’s radically collaborative team of diverse creators unifies people, clients and capabilities through horizontal creativity to help clients create culture, change society, and invent the future. Powered by 100% renewable energy, Dentsu International operates in over 145 markets worldwide with more than 46,000 dedicated specialists, and partners with 95 of the top 100 global advertisers. www.dentsu.com
ABOUT COLBY HOLT AND SAM PROBST
Colby and Sam have been business and life partners since they met in Chicago in 2012. They are co-founders of Neighborhood Pictures– a full-service production company dedicated to creating queer, diverse, and heartfelt stories for film and television. Their first feature “Pig Hag” premiered in the Narrative Feature Competition at SXSW 2019.
Sam graduated from The Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago with a Bachelor’s in Digital Filmmaking & Video Production. Colby graduated from Western Kentucky University with a Bachelor’s in Psychology. He studied writing for film and television under Michael McCarthy (Mike & Molly, SNL, Sesame Street) at iO in Chicago.
ABOUT STEPHEN STANLEY
Stephen Stanley most recently produced THEY LIVE IN THE GREY, which premiered on AMC Shudder as a Shudder Original in February 2022 and the Netflix breakout hit WHAT LIES BELOW, which debuted as their #1 film in North America upon its April 2021 release. In 2012, he co-founded and ran the boutique US distribution label Ketchup Entertainment. As Head of Acquisitions and Distribution, he oversaw the release of over twenty-five films. Prior to Ketchup, Stephen spent five years at The Gersh Agency. In addition to his producing, he currently teaches at Savannah College of Art and Design.
Photo credits in banner image (from left) Pablo Castelblanco by Stephen Busken, Jordan Doww by Luke Fontana, and Melissa Reyes by Tory Reyes