Forrest Films is an American

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

, financing, and

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

company. It was formed in 2018 and is headquartered in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, wh ...

, on the Warner Bros lot.

History

Forrest Films was founded in December 2018 by

Lucas Oil Lucas Oil Products, Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of automotive oil, additives, and lubricants. It was founded by trucker Forrest Lucas and his wife Charlotte in 1989. The company is a medium size manufacturer of lubricants ...

founder

Forrest Lucas Forrest Lucas (born February 1942) is an American businessman, the founder of Lucas Oil. Early life Lucas was born in February 1942, in Ramsey, Indiana, where he grew up, the eldest of four children. His parents Raymond and Marie had a small far ...

and race car driver-actor-producer Ali Afshar, with Afshar as CEO. The company aims to make inspirational and hopeful family films. ESX Productions, a film production and financing company formed in 2015 by Lucas and Afshar, operates as a label under the Forrest Films banner. Scott Kennedy, formerly head of operations and distribution for

Open Road Films Open Road Films, LLC (formerly Global Road Entertainment from 2017 to 2018) is an American film production and distribution company based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded by Eric Hohl on March 26, 2011 as a joint venture between the t ...

, was named president of worldwide marketing and distribution. In February 2019,

Christina Moore Christina Moore (born April 12, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, fashion designer, model and screenwriter. She was in the main cast of the sketch comedy series ''MADtv'', played Laurie Forman on ''That '70s Show'' during its sixth season ...

, a former ''

Mad TV ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentiet ...

'' cast member, was named vice president of development and production; Ava Rettke was named director of development and production; and Forrest Films signed a three-film deal with producer Hadeel Reda. Prior to the formation of Forrest Films, Lucas and Afshar produced several films through ESX: ''

The Dog Lover Protect the Harvest is an American 501(c)(4) non-profit advocacy organization founded by Forrest Lucas which opposes "the radical animal rights movement" and particularly the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which it calls "a wealthy a ...

'', starring

Lea Thompson Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961) is an American actress and director. She is best known for her role as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy (1985–1990) and Beverly Switzler in '' Howard the Duck'' (19 ...

; '' Running Wild'', starring

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of vario ...

; '' American Wrestler: The Wizard'', based on Afshar's time as a high school wrestler; ''Pray for Rain'', starring

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne ...

; and ''Dirt'', starring DeRon Horton. The first Forrest Films production, ''

Bennett's War ''Bennett's War'' is a 2019 American drama- sport film written and directed by Alex Ranarivelo. The film stars Michael Roark, Trace Adkins, Ali Afshar, and Allison Paige. It was released theatrically in the United States by Forrest Films on Augus ...

'', starring Michael Roark and

Trace Adkins Trace may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995 * ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993 * Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band * ''The Trace'' (album) Other uses in arts and entertainment * ''Trace'' ...

, was released in theaters in the United States on August 30, 2019. Later in 2019, Forrest Films will release the drama film ''The Ride'', starring Shane Graham and

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

and based on the life of

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

racer John Buultjens. The company plans to release seven films by 2021. Each will have a budget of $5 million or less. In July 2019, it was announced that Forrest Films would produce the mixed martial arts film ''Mickey Kelley'', starring

Sean Patrick Flanery Sean Patrick Flanery (born October 11, 1965) is an American actor, author, and martial artist. He is known for playing Connor MacManus in '' The Boondock Saints'' (1999) and its sequel '' The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day'' (2009), Greg Sti ...

Katrina Bowden Katrina Bowden (born September 19, 1988) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Cerie on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013) and as Flo Fulton on the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (2019–prese ...

, and

Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor known for a wide variety of dramatic and comedic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the late 1970s, some of his notable credits include '' Breaking Away'' (1979), '' The ...

, written by Flanery and Alex Ranarivelo, and directed by Ranarivelo. It will also feature

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...

fighters

Renzo Gracie Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family of Brazil, Renzo is a 7th Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlos Gracie Jr. He is the ...

Edson Barboza Edson Barboza Jr. (born January 21, 1986) is a Brazilian-American professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai kickboxer who competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and has formerly competed at ligh ...

, and

Mickey Gall Mickey Gall (born January 22, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Gall was born in Green Brook, New Jersey. He began training in boxin ...

. Other planned upcoming releases include romantic drama ''Roped'', sports drama ''Lady Driver'', thriller ''

The Stand at Paxton County ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'', and comedy ''Wheels of Fortune''.

Films

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
American film studios Film production companies of the United States Film distributors of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Entertainment companies established in 2018 2018 establishments in California Companies based in Burbank, California