Bold Films Teams with Participant Media for Ric Roman Waugh’s ‘Shot Caller’

LOS ANGELES (April 9, 2015) – Bold Films today announced their next film, SHOT CALLER, will be directed by Ric Roman Waugh (SNITCH, THAT WHICH I LOVE DESTROYS ME) from his script. Bold’s Michel Litvak and Matthew Rhodes will serve as producers on the project along with Waugh and Participant Media’s Jonathan King who developed the project. Bold’s Gary Michael Walters will executive produce with Participant’s Jeff Skoll. The film will be fully financed by Bold Films. WME and Miles Mogulescu handled the negotiations for Bold. The film will start production on May 26 in New Mexico and be overseen by Bold’s Lisa Zambri.

SHOT CALLER follows a newly released prison gangster who is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California.

Bold’s Litvak said “Ric Roman Waugh is an extremely gifted, rising filmmaker and we are delighted to make this edgy, elevated crime thriller with him.” Added Walters “SHOT CALLER fits right into the Bold brand, and we are excited to work with Participant.”

In order to get a real-world grasp of prison and the gangs that run these institutions, Waugh went undercover as a volunteer parole agent in California. What started out as a simple research assignment became a two-year odyssey as doors kept opening, allowing him more and more access into this violent world. “No one knew I was a filmmaker,” said Waugh. “They just saw me as a rookie cop, so nothing was censored. What I quickly learned is the guards might control the doors and gates, but the gangs run the prisons…and they run the streets as well, directly ‘from’ prison. SHOT CALLER is an authentic look at our prison gangs and the law enforcement professionals who guard them inside prison walls.”

About Bold Films
Bold Films is an independent entertainment production and finance company dedicated to providing an artistic haven for creative talent. Bold Films’ mission is to produce original, studio-quality films, which have worldwide commercial appeal.

Bold Films’ projects from 2014 alone earned six Academy Award nominations. Bold Films produced Dan Gilroy’s NIGHTCRAWLER, which was released by Open Road Films and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo and Bill Paxton. NIGHTCRAWLER received nominations from The Academy Awards, The Golden Globes, the Independent Spirit Award (which it won Best First feature), PGA Awards, SAG Awards and WGA awards. Bold Films also produced and financed WHIPLASH, from writer-director Damien Chazelle starring Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture and won three: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Achievement in Film Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. Other nominations include The Independent Spirit Awards, PGA Awards, SAG Awards, and WGA Awards.

Next up for Bold Films in 2015 is Ryan Gosling’s LOST RIVER to be released by Warner Bros. on April 10. Bold Film’s third collaboration with Gosling, LOST RIVER marks his debut as a writer and director. The film stars Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan and Eva Mendes and recently had its US Premiere at SXSW. Additionally, NO ESCAPE, starring Owen Wilson, Pierce Brosnan and Lake Bell will be released by The Weinstein Company on September 2. The action thriller was written by John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle and directed by John Erick Dowdle.

In television, Bold Films is currently in production on the 2nd season of the hit series “Dominion” which airs on SyFy.

About Ric Roman Waugh
Ric Roman Waugh recently produced and directed the critically-hailed documentary THAT WHICH I LOVE DESTROYS ME, released by Participant Media/Takepart. The documentary follows two Special Forces soldiers as they grapple with PTSD upon their return to the United States. His last feature film was the thriller SNITCH, which he wrote and directed, starring Dwayne Johnson, Susan Sarandon, Barry Pepper, Michael K. Williams, Benjamin Bratt, Jon Bernthal and Melinda Kanakardes for Participant Media and Summit. SNITCH also offered a pointed look at the United States’ draconian mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Prior to that, Waugh helmed, critically acclaimed film FELON, from his own screenplay for Sony. The prison-based drama starred Val Kilmer, Stephen Dorff, Sam Shepard, Harold Perrineau and Nate Parker.

About Participant Media
Participant Media (http://www.ParticipantMedia.com) is a global entertainment company founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll to focus on feature film, television, publishing and digital content that inspires social change. Participant’s more than 60 films include GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, SYRIANA, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, FOOD, INC., WAITING FOR ‘SUPERMAN’, THE HELP, CONTAGION and LINCOLN. Participant launches campaigns that bring together government entities, foundations, schools, and others to raise awareness and drive people to take action on issues from each film or television show. Pivot (http://www.pivot.tv/), the company’s television network, is available nationally in 48 million homes, with a diverse slate of talent and a mix of original series, acquired programming, films and documentaries. TakePart (http://www.TakePart.com) is Participant’s digital news and lifestyle magazine and social action platform for the conscious consumer. Through its films, social action campaigns, digital network, and its television network, Participant seeks to entertain, encourage and empower every individual to take action.