Pathology, a thriller which premiered last week (4/18) at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood, marks the feature filmmaking debut of director Marc Schölermann who helms spots via Hollywood-based Über Content. The director’s credits include commercials for such clients as BMW, Lexus, Nissan and Fiat.
Released through Lion’s Gate, Pathology is a dark medical thriller that centers on a group of pathologists who devise a game wherein one player kills someone and the others have to figure out how that victim died.
Milo Ventimiglia (of the NBC hit series Heroes) stars as a medical student who is taken under the wings of these doctors and quickly finds himself being drawn into their dangerous and sinister game.
“It seems like a clever move casting the star of Heroes,” mused Schölermann, “but the fact is that when I cast Milo I didn’t know who he was.” The network phenomenon was not on air in the director’s native Germany. “Milo was so interesting to us, we were convinced he would bring an incredible amount to the role.”
The William Morris Agency first brought the script to Schölermann’s attention via Lakeshore Entertainment. The writing team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor penned the screenplay.
Schölermann brought in cinematographer Ekkehart Pollack to lens the film. The pair had previously collaborated on more than 50 commercials in Europe.
In preparation for the film, the director also took a trip to the morgue: “Realism in film is so important to me,” noted Schölermann, who had the chief coroner of Los Angeles County on board as a medical adviser to the production. “Did you know that the L.A. morgue sells souvenir coffee cups, beach towels, and hats? It’s mind-blowing,” observed the director.
Schölermann is on a directorial roster at Über Content that consists of Jordan Brady, Todd Field, Jeffrey Fleisig, Gentlemen, Stewart Hendler, Jason Kohn and Dave Laden.
Supreme Court Upholds Law Banning TikTok If It’s Not Sold By Chinese Parent Company ByteDance
The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the federal law banning TikTok beginning Sunday unless it's sold by its China-based parent company, holding that the risk to national security posed by its ties to China overcomes concerns about limiting speech by the app or its 170 million users in the United States. A sale does not appear imminent and, although experts have said the app will not disappear from existing users' phones once the law takes effect on Jan. 19, new users won't be able to download it and updates won't be available. That will eventually render the app unworkable, the Justice Department has said in court filings. The decision came against the backdrop of unusual political agitation by President-elect Donald Trump, who vowed that he could negotiate a solution and the administration of President Joe Biden, which has signaled it won't enforce the law beginning Sunday, his final full day in office. Trump, mindful of TikTok's popularity, and his own 14.7 million followers on the app, finds himself on the opposite side of the argument from prominent Senate Republicans who fault TikTok's Chinese owner for not finding a buyer before now. Trump said in a Truth Social post shortly before the decision was issued that TikTok was among the topics in his conversation Friday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. It's unclear what options are open to Trump once he is sworn in as president on Monday. The law allowed for a 90-day pause in the restrictions on the app if there had been progress toward a sale before it took effect. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, who defended the law at the Supreme Court for the Democratic Biden administration, told the justices last week that it's uncertain whether the prospect of a sale once the law is in effect could... Read More