Last week, Barbarian (watch it HERE) writer/director Zach Cregger secured an eight figure deal to make his next genre project – something called Weapons – for New Line Cinema. Weapons will be produced by BoulderLight Pictures, the same company that was behind Barbarian… and soon after news of the Cregger deal came to the surface, it has also been announced that BoulderLight Pictures has signed on a first look deal with New Line Cinema. As part of this deal, BoulderLight will develop high-concept, filmmaker-driven genre stories for New Line.
The Hollywood Reporter offers some background on BoulderLight. The company was founded by J.D. Lifshitz, 30, and Raphael Margules, 31. The two men, who are observant Orthodox Jews who met at Hebrew school (they don’t work on The Sabbath), bonded over their love of horror (Lifshitz was an avid reader of Fangoria and saw Scream 3 in theaters at the age of 7). After taking a year to study in Israel, the pair hit the road for Hollywood. Founding BoulderLight in 2012, their first project was 2013 horror movie Contracted, which had a budget of around $50,000. Since then, the pair have produced around two movies a year, almost 20 in the past decade, each of them in the horror, sci-fi and action sphere. All of them were ultra-low-budget, most little-seen, although some garnered critical acclaim such as 2021’s four-time Independent Spirit Award nominee Wild Indian. Then came Barbarian. Made on a budget of $4.5 million, Barbarian drew a lot of attention from genre fans and earned over $40 million at the domestic box office.
New Line’s Richard Brener had this to say about the BoulderLight deal: “J.D. and Rafi share a passion for cinema that puts the audience first. They have a proven ability to identify and champion stories and filmmakers that transcend genre, and no one works harder or faster as evidenced by the fact they set up a go movie with us before even moving into their offices. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with them.“
Lifshitz and Margules added: “We have long referenced New Line Cinema as the gold standard of genre entertainment and are incredibly grateful to be moving into the ‘House that Freddy Built.’ It is truly a dream come true to get to work alongside so many people we genuinely admire, and we are elated to help continue the New Line legacy and remind people why they love going to the movies.“
In addition to Barbarian, Wild Indian, and Contracted, other BoulderLight projects over the years have included Gone in the Night, Becky, The Vigil, Sun Choke, Uncaged, Dementia, Child Eater, and of course the sequels to Contracted, Dementia, and Becky. (The Wrath of Becky is coming soon.)
Are you glad to hear that BoulderLight has found a new home at New Line? Share your thoughts on this news by leaving a comment below.