Joe Swanberg partners with Yale Entertainment to release five horror films

Connar Brown

EXCLUSIVE:Producer Joe Swanberg has been associated with Yale Entertainment‘s Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman to produce a set of five new horror films, each of which has already completed production.

The titles produced under the pact included Golden Hell, Caged, Yellow eyes, The Monkey’s Magic Carouseland Untitled project by Jae Matthews.

Written and directed by Kansas Bowling (Teddies), Golden Hell Watch as Queho, a Native American serial killer with a checkered past, picks off the residents of a struggling mining town in the Nevada deserts one by one, with the town sheriff hot on his trail.

Written by HK Moore and directed by Jay Burleson (The nobodies), Caged It follows a homeless dog walker who finds a wealthy client who saves him from financial ruin. But this is no ordinary dog…

Written by Mickey Solis and directed by Jesse Korman, Yellow eyes Watch as a young couple inherits a house containing a mysterious relic that houses the spirit of a powerful demon, and the wife of the man who possesses it must find an exorcist to save him.

Directed by Aidan Leary from his script written with CR Thompson, in his feature film debut, The Monkey’s Magic Carousel Watch as a children’s TV show host, caught in a case of amnesia, must confront his lost memories as his puppet co-stars turn against him.

In the untitled feature film written and directed by Jae Matthews, a young woman will do anything to avoid her ex at a secluded house party. But a supernatural virus that spreads among partygoers may take care of him for her.

Swanberg’s slate of horror films with Yale Entertainment was inspired by the producing exploits of Roger Corman, with a workflow similar to that of a season of television. Specifically, Swanberg draws on his experiences producing his Chicago-set anthology for Netflix. Easywhich he considered an efficient and economical model for feature films. Much of the crew moved from one project to another, while the scriptwriters and directors rotated.

In addition to Levine, Beckerman and Swanberg, producers on the five new films include Will Hirschfeld and Ben Gojer. Executive producers include Edmund Lowell, Declan Morgan, Jason Kringstein, Scott Levenson, Dajana Gudic, Jeremy Gardner, Mat Ajayi, Carla Jones, Jodie Lazar, Jeffrey Tussi, David Rudnick and Madeleine Cella.

In a statement to Deadline, Swanberg said: “I was very fortunate to team up with Yale Entertainment, who understood the model and were excited to try the more ambitious version of producing five feature films in a row. Using my resources from 20 years in Chicago, combined with the support of the great team at Yale and my co-producer Ben Gojer, we have brought to life five incredible projects, each led by exciting early-career filmmakers with great futures ahead of them.”

Swanberg went on to note that the projects “feature standout performances from truly exciting acting discoveries. Having witnessed firsthand the power of community early in my career – collaborating with Greta Gerwig, Ti West, Adam Wingard, Amy Seimetz and David Lowery on combinations of acting, directing, cinematography, editing and technical crew, or simply lending each other equipment and resources – I knew the projects would be stronger if the filmmakers worked as a team. I’m happy that many of the writers and directors worked on each other’s films in different capacities, creating a much stronger group of projects than any one would have been individually.”

In a joint statement, Yale’s Levine and Beckerman added: “We have long been fans of Joe’s work – he is a veteran and ultra-efficient wizard at film production. The team at Yale immediately found an affinity with Joe when it came to making quality films on quick turnarounds that look great on screen. We are very excited to now have the opportunity to produce these projects with him. We hope this is the beginning of a continued partnership between the company and Joe.”

One of the most recognizable voices in contemporary independent cinema, known for his ability to cultivate powerful performances and visuals on a minimal budget, as well as a pioneering contributor to the mumblecore movement, Chicago-based Swanberg has directed over 20 feature films in total, including Drinking Buddies, Merry christmasand Nights and weekendswhich he co-directed with Gerwig. In addition to writing and directing all 25 episodes of the Netflix series EasyHe directed television for HBO, 20th Century Fox and Netflix. He co-wrote and produced Dave Franco’s directorial debut, The rentand has also been seen starring in films by West, Wingard and Josephine Decker.

Levine founded the independent production company Yale Entertainment in 2010, and Beckerman joined as a full-time partner and producer in 2017. As reflected in its partnership with Swanberg, the company seeks to produce high-quality, filmmaker-driven feature films on conservative budgets, maximizing the chance for creative and commercial success.

In addition to the action thrillers in the Becky Series, Yale is known for titles such as The slaughter roomre-equipment Popular fictionUma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson; the directorial debut of SXSW Award-winning Brittany Snow Parachute; and the film starring David Duchovny, which will premiere at Tribeca Reverse the curseto name a few.

Upcoming releases from Yale Entertainment include Barron Cove starring Garrett Hedlund, Stephen Lang, Hamish Linklater and Brittany Snow; Electra starring Maria Bakalova, Abigail Cowen and Jack Farthing; and long-time collaborator Justin Kelly. Nice thingstarring Alicia Silverstone and Karl Glusman.